# Outskirts Heroes RP Thread



## Platinum (Nov 11, 2010)

Welcome to the Outskirts Heroes RP Thread.

*Setting: Post Apocalyptic Fantasy*

*Lore:*
The World lies in ruin. Apocalypse came unannounced and struck silently and decisively. The Year was 2040. 10 years later and the remnants of civilization have only just started rising from the ashes. Only 7 cities were spared the wrath of the apocalypse. The greatest of them all the city of ____ . But these 7 cities are not enough to resurrect the world. They fight amongst themselves as much as they fight the hordes of savages in the wastelands. The people must look to other sources for salvation.

Outside of the borders of The 7 Cities there is no such thing as civilization. In the wastelands anything goes. Acts of slavery and cannibalism are a daily occurrence as those that go without struggle to survive in a harsh new world. Some have tried to impose some order in the wastelands but to no avail. Besides a few scattered settlements there is no order amongst the ruins.

No one knows what triggered the apocalypse but their was one peculiar side effect in particular of that cataclysmic event. A select few have mutated. Gained powers beyond their wildest dreams. This is the dawn of The Superhero Era. And those that have been granted power must make a choice. Who will they fight for? Will they fight to bring salvation or will they bring the world to it's knees.

Villains and heroes on the move. The decisions made will change the world. And even the gods themselves prepare to unleash their plans.


*Rules:*

1. Post in The OOC Thread first before posting here to get a power and a role.
2. Be respectful to those that post here. 
3. If you wish to post in this thread try to be at least semi active. I don't expect everyone to post once a day. But try to post at least 2 times a week.
*
Banned Members List:*

1. ???

*
Members List:*

1) Platinum
2) MrChubz
3) Wesker
4) ShikiYakumo
5) UltraDoots
6) Emperor Joker
7) Gundam Meister
8) Satehi
9) masamune1
10) SYSC
11) Alhambra
12) dimhaku
13) koguryo
14) Lord Chrono
15) Dante Alighieri
16) zenieth
17) Endless Mike
18) lambda
19) Cthulhu-versailles
20) hammer



For a list of locations and organizations please go to our wiki :


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## Platinum (Nov 13, 2010)

"There are no survivors" the officer replied surveying the small settlement. The small collection of primitive shacks now in ruins. Half eaten bodies lay amidst the rubble numbering about 10 in all. The rest of the bodies were most likely carried off to be a future feast. The smell of decay permeated the air. "It seems that the attackers ambushed them at night. It was swift and brutal, over before they even realized what hit them... So what should we do with the bodies sir?"

"Bury them. It is the least we can do. After that return and make a report to the administration about what happened here. I will pursue the attackers by myself."


"Why sir? By the looks of their footprints they are fleeing deep into the harshest parts of the Eastern Wastelands. They will die of exposure long before you find them."

"Their is water if you know where to find it, though that is no issue to me as you know. They will be alive when I find them. Their kind have never ventured so close to the cities before I must know what they are up to."

"You are giving them too much credit sir. They seem to be nothing more than a pack of deranged cannibals driven to attack this settlement out of pure desperation."

"You give them too little. They could of found nourishment easily elsewhere. Chaos in the wastelands ironically is vary rarely as random as it seems. No these men are dangerous and I will bring them to justice. Expect me back in several weeks".

"Yes sir". 

And with that the man raised his hood and walked alone into The Eastern Wastelands in search of his prey...


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 13, 2010)

*6 months ago*

*The slums of Pandemonium*

Victor Knight, the assassin better known as The Raven lay dying. his bones were boken, his face was ravaged beyond repair and Draygon the Butcher had flayed him alive. Too ad insult to his impending death he had been made to watch as his wife and two year old daughter were taken and thrown to the packs of feral dogs that seemed to tail Draygon everywhere. 

_'So master this is what becomes of your servent...this is what becomes of the First Sword of the Reaper. Struck down by a jealous acolyte of your very own cult, because you wouldn't choose him...alas poor Draygon with this act you may just have earned The Reaper's attention, but it is not the kind you'd want._

He choked out a harsh gutteral laugh at that last thought, which quickly turned into a hacking blood spitting cough. He heard footsteps approaching from from the East, and he wondered who was coming now

_'Probably just somebody Draygon sent to insure I was dead_ he thought sourly. the footsteps drew closer, and with it came an aura of darkness and cold...this was no hired thug he thought ot himself, this was something far more dangerous. _'Just my luck, a creepie crawler stalking up to me and I'm without a knife'_

"*There is much darkness in your heart my child*," a voice hissed "*and it is for this darkness I have come...for I am Erebus, and I have need of a champion*."


The Raven hacked out a cough and then chuckled "A champion you say...well you have about piss poor timing my lord. I'm already sworn to The Reaper...and well my times about up as it is."

The being hissed out a breath "*I am already aware of your previous attatchment, however with your death approaching, your contract with The Reaper comes to a close...in fact it has already been revoked*." Erebus paused for a moment before contuing. "*and alas I have spoken with The Lord of Death about my desire to claim you, and He agreed to let you go, so long as you complied with one last request*."

"And what would that be?" Victor inquired weakly, he was starting to slip away and he was straining to keep conscious.

"*You kill Draygon the Butcher and expunge his organization from the face of this city...Something I know you want to do, so tell me Mr. Knight. Do you desire vengeance against the man who murdered your **family*?"

Victor Knight's last action was to say one word before his death that night. that word was "Yes."

"*Then be reborn my champion, rise and fullfill The Reaper's final task*..."


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## Wesker (Nov 13, 2010)

*2 Months Ago : The Wastes*

Jack trudged along stubbornly against the raging winds, determined to find the artifact that could hold the key to keeping his village safe. Suddenly he felt a pull , he couldn't explain it but he felt compelled to go to the north. And there it was , the alien craft that the books in the university had spoken of. Carefully he went to examine it when suddenly he heard a bodiless voice speak to him.* "I have waited long for when the time was right, and when I would find someone worthy."* Jack replied "I don't understand, who are you?". 

The voice replied* "Long ago there was a prosperous race of psychics on a faraway planet. Tired of war and constant external threats, the most powerful of the leaders thought of a way to end war and to ensure peace for the entire planet. They shed their physical bodies and merged into a powerful entity,an Archon, capable of ending the conflicts, I was that being. Under my watchful eye the race entered a new era of peace. However soon a great evil visited my world , and despite my best efforts it defeated me and consumed most of my race. Weakened I boarded this ship and attempted to warn my allies, however an accident caused the ship to go off course and I landed on this planet that you call "Earth". Unfortunately I was to injured to survive outside the ship and I decided to hibernate until a time when this planet needed the power of the Archon the most. I have sensed that you are kind and desperately want to protect this world. Will you accept what remains of my power and all the responsibility that comes with it?"
*

Without hesitating Jack said "Yes I will accept it."  

*"Very well."* Replied the former Archon.

Suddenly there was a flash of light as the hatch to the craft opened and Jack was filled with power. 
*
"You are now the new Archon, I will guide and teach you as best I can."*

Now with the power to protect his village, Jack began towards home, and to a great adventure to come.


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## Cthulhu-versailles (Nov 13, 2010)

To the furthest south in the world, wherein thick forestry was dispersed sparsely in passes, a shanty town dwelled. It was a town without lights, shrouded in constant darkness where people huddled in their homes from fear. This day, black as night from the residue of the great change years passed, all were asleep in their abodes protected; that is, all but three. Awake and outdoors were two men of gruff features. They bore torches in their arms and stood over a woman on her back gazing uncouthly. She was giving birth, etching and shaking from pains. 

The two men provided words of encouragement, hot water, cloth, and beads of rosary to word off wavering cannibals. Superstition was life and life was dream, or at least this is what Ogion sensed at the brink of their thoughts: they were wordless thoughts of streaming consciousness.

Ogion listened for a moment more before pushing away thier eebs of thinking so that he could see birth in all its glory. Moments passed and then from the bowels was somethign born. The father was taken a back with joy seeing a small human knowing it of his flesh and blood. Yet, upon wrapping of the child in garments, despair descended; for the child’s skin gave off a light blue glow, the sign it was an alchemist. The boy could not be keep. The rules of the small shanty town were harsh but absolute. Looking at his wife in silence then, the man nestled the child close to his bosom and began to travel northward in the field. Ogion followed, his hood masking his presence to the night, and mind sharp at attention for danger. 

The father had stopped at a wall at the edge of what seemed a cliff. Galcing at the child hesitantly, he father wondered if this was this the right thing. He had never given the practice thought before, but now...no, the glow of skin filled his eyes again, and he pushed away his doubts throwing the child above the walls to cross-over the boundary into the other world. The newborn cried whence it hit the stony sticks and mesh of mud on the other side; it was injured, but also, this new place gave off a cold chilling sensation. The father turned his back then, and left to return. They would need to treat his wife, and find sacrifice elsewhere for the ritual to the Gods.

Ogion climbed the 20 foot high wall, slowly, nearly slipping from the weakness of his skeletal hands. The child was 30 meters down, and off in the distance he could see things approaching. They were the Doanug- a breed of wild cat more like snake then felone0 and there were five of them. Working together, they surrounded the child and hissed esoteric in lust, twisting legs like serpent baring their teeth. In the next moment they lunged...but it was for naught. The air in front whooshed around into a vortex like tornado of bursting and erring of flames. The beast screamed, and Ogion snarled a limerick of death fitting for their demise. He’d jumped from the perch of the wall unleashing his flamethrower. 

Having slain the beast, Ogion crawled towards the child, as he was unwilling to put stress on his sprained ankles. The newborn was covered in soothe and silent. Ogion checked the boy carefully, he was alive. Indeed, only with something from the change could have survived. Yes, the boy was an alchemist!

Picking the boy up, Ogion fashioned a garment to hold the child to his chest. The wall would be too high to climb back over. But for Ogion that was fine. He had a new companion…this would be penance of a kind. All was penance in way regardless. Looking then at the boy, Ogion pressed his hands to him and with a whistle of the air and shiffle of his power, he forced the child to be unconscious and then spoke allowed to himself: 

“You are like Yansick I once raised, I sense in you a power great… together with I, Ogion Trifune, you will help me topple the Gods.”


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## Stunna (Nov 13, 2010)

*Pandemonium*

Night had fallen over the city. Or at least what was left. Footsteps could be heard in the alley. A woman, running for her life, away from her pursuers, who obviously had less than sanctified intentions once they caught her.

?Someone, please!? She shrieked in terror. Deep down, she knew that even if someone could hear her, and was able to assist, they wouldn?t. That?s just how the world is these days. And she was right. Up above, looking down from the rooftops, a four men were watching.

?A-Alright, we?ve got to-? One of them began. They were all masked.

?We?ve got to wait.? The one in the forefront said quickly.

?Wait?!? The previous masked man exclaimed. His mask was one of the fox. ?If we wait any longer, she?ll be abused by those men!?

?That?s the point. Once they?ve disposed of her, we can play _our_ part,? The one in the forefront replied. His mask was a simple white one, with two slits for eyesight. ?And that?s the end of that. Be quiet!? He said, before giving his subordinate a sharp look. The fox masked man obliged, but was obviously tense. The woman was grabbed by one of her pursuers. There were four of them.

?Where do you think you?re going?!? He said. He was a large, obese man, with a scruffy beard, and he was donning the attire of a biker, though he rode no bike. He threw her to the ground and began ripping off her clothing with a great ferocity. The other men surrounded them, with smiles on their faces. They began to remove their own clothing. The fox masked man grew more restless, but he was grabbed by the shoulder by one of the other masked men, to restrain him.

?No!!? He exclaimed, jumping up. ?This isn?t right!! I?m done following a monster like you!! I?m doing _what?s right!_ The fox masked man leapt from the rooftop and slid down into the alley way via a gutter shoot. ?Leaver her be!? He shouted as he grabbed a pipe and smashed it over one of the assailants? head?s. He then proceeded to brutally kill all of the rapist with the pipe, before dropping it to the ground. The woman lay there, awe stricken, and fearful.

?Fool. Surely you know the consequences of your actions?? The plain masked leader said as he and the other masked men confronted the fox masked man.

?P-Please, Boss Mask?? The fox man begged. ?I was just doing??

?Yes,? Mask said, as he and the other lowered their hoods, and replaced their current masks with another. ?You were just doing? _the? right thing._? He finished saying, as they all simultaneously looked upon the fox masked man with their newly equipped masks.

?N-No? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!?


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## MrChubz (Nov 13, 2010)

In the middle of the wastes:

Kirk Ellis had been traveling the wastes east for two weeks in order to retrieve an item that was precious to a certain someone. During this time he had been attacked more times in a single job then he could remember. The savages that roamed this part of the wastes were the dregs of humanity. They were vicious, merciless thugs that want everything their victims carry including the clothes on their back. 
Kirk had fought many of these thugs to the death in the past. These encounters were no different then the last. The thugs put up a good fight, but in the end, Kirk's survival instinct he had acquired from roaming for many years made him prevail.
The danger in this job was the frequency of the attacks. After 2 weeks of traveling, Kirk was tired. However now he had reached his destination. It was a chained up shack that was relatively intact. No one could get in without the key. Kirk was the lucky man who held the key. He unlocked and unchained the shack. He then opened the door to find a single round, glowing object. That was his mission. It was to find it and give it to his employer.
He reached out and grabbed the object as soon as he did the shack compressed into Kirk, knocking him out cold.


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## dimhaku (Nov 13, 2010)

“Fuck this!”
Rake kicked apart his meager pile of sticks. There was no point. He no longer held a lighter. It had crumbled into fine dust before his very eyes.
He swore vehemently one more time. “Looks like I’m going to spend a cold night today.” The Eastern Wastelands were merciless. The desert was scorching during the day but the dry air of the desert never held any of the heat of the day during nighttime. He wouldn’t be surprised if he froze to death in the night.
“But then again, if I’m frozen to death, how could I be surprised?” he asked himself humorlessly. He plopped to his outspread bedroll and haphazardly gathered the rest of his meager possessions next to it. “Ah well, at least I can’t get burned,” he sighed as he stuffed the sleeping bag with all his extra clothes. When he had entered the desert about a week ago, he had been bracing himself for the dreaded sunburns that he had read about in novels. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that his Tiste Andii skin would not so easily burn. In fact, his only problems were adjusting to the heat. In hindsight, Rake beat himself over the head for basing his expectations on stories written about humans.
Rake slipped inside his sleeping bag and grimaced. The extra clothes packed in seemed to offer little extra heat and simply made the bedroll uncomfortable. He was extra careful in keeping his hands pressed tightly against his body. Fortunately, he had found that he couldn’t turn his own body to dust, only something else. He cursed the sheer randomness of this curse. It only seemed to activate when he didn’t need it. Yesterday, he had discovered an old well and attempted to remove the giant stone that covered it. “I laid there for three straight hours with my hands on the damn thing and nothing happened…”
At least he had achieved his goal of staying far away from other intelligent life. He didn’t know if he’d be able to disintegrate live things. He didn’t want to know. “I’m not going to be responsible for any more deaths,” he whispered to himself.
Soon, exhaustion claimed him. He wasn’t allowed a dreamless sleep, however. Nightmares of that fateful day when he had killed the rest of the Tiste Andii haunted him the entire night.


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## hammer (Nov 13, 2010)

Year 2030 location outskirts of the wastelands.

Several weeks have passed since Luke and his family escaped from the slave camps.  They traveled night and day without sleep in hopes of finding a safe place to live; even resting for a moment in this world could mean the death of you, to add insult to injury their food supply which they stole from the traders was starting to run low.  Even then the food was not very good all the slaves where aloud to eat was leftover slop and mold as if they where pigs. The family was malnourished barley able to walk and from the distance they could hear the sounds of horses moving in on them.  The family started to give up hope as they closed in.  There where five of them the leader of them wore a gold necklace and his teeth where covered in gold spoils from the ones he sold. He looked down upon the family with an evil grin.

“Do you know what happens to runaway slaves? “
He then turned to his friends.  
“Boys pins the families down make sure the father and son watches this”

He then loosened his belt lowered his pants and raped the mother which lasted about 30 minutes the parents tried their best to stay quiet believing that in doing so they can be brave for Luke . After the slave trader finished he ordered his group to tie the parent’s limbs to their horses, and bullwhipped the horses in four different directions giving them a gruesome death.
He then looked down onto the boy with a grin I can still use you your not broken like your parents.

Luke was in a state of shock and disbelieve his parent where dead he had given up all hope until he heard a voice in his head call out to him. It was the great titan gaia.

“My child I can not only save you but also give you great power but in doing so you must serve under me”.   Luke knowing that there is nothing left he agreed to this and in doing so the brand on earth was imprinted onto his chest.  Along with this crest I will give you a special ring but you must only wear it in dire times. Luke then responded with a quick “alright”.  Gaia assuming he did not understand the power of the ring attempted to explain but was interrupted with “Just give me the damn ring” once the contract was made gaia unleashed a creator onto the wasteland but decided it would be amusing to let one of the traders survive and run back to camp to see what will unfold.


Year 2040 location Pandemonium Bar
The hooded man walked into the local bar sat down and asked for a glass of water.
The bartender laughed.
Sir this is a bar why ask for water.
Before the hooded man could respond there was a scream in the back of the bar a man was about to attack a women. As he was about to stop it the bartender grabbed his arm.

It’s best to stay out of it; it’s none of our business. 
The hooded man jerked his arm away from the bartender and walked over calmly to the man, sir why must you bother this woman.
The man replied stay out of this midget.
The man let out a sigh. 
How about this lets all calm down and ill buy you a drink whatever you want. 
After saying this Luke started to pull his gloves off his hands in fear their might be a fight but the man let out a deep sigh and agreed.  They both walked over back to the bartender who felt a little intimidation of the two men sir 
“What would you like”. 
“A gin and tonic” he responded then decided to go to the bathroom. The bartender prepared and served the drink while the man was away Luke put a ordinary seed into his drink while the bartender was not looking. The man returned feeling refreshed started to drink his drink looked over to Luke and said 
“You know you may be a midget but you’re alright”. 
Luke looked at the man smiled and said
“I need to go”
Luke walked outside the bar and stopped and looked back as if waiting for something there was a loud scream inside the bar the man had weeds coming out of all openings in his body” Luke smiled again and said to himself
“A man who is willing to harm a child of gaia in anyway has no right to live”. Luke then continued to walk into the night.” Maybe I can find some water some place else”.


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 14, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

*1 Month Ago: The Southern Wasteland*

_"No, she's just a girl! Leave her out of this!"

My father attempted to tackle the hooded figure, but the man's hands  rapidly flashed twice. The first brought my father to his knees with  unseen force. The second sent a plume of green fire that wrapped around  him. Even in the throes of death, he still crawled towards the figure,  his hands reaching up to grab the man.

Then another one of those hooded raiders stepped out of the darkness and  produced a handgun, and neatly shot my father twice in the head. He  fell then, in a crumpled mass of charred flesh.

I was screaming in my head, wanting desperately to do something, but the  figure had held all of us with some unseen force and somehow my father  had broken free of it.

The hooded man murmured, "As I have suspected, this is the family we are  looking for. The father possessed the bloodline and it has now passed  onto the daughter."

"I will take the girl," he said to the other raiders assembled in the  room. "Our other brethren have completed their mission and left. I leave  you and the others to cleanse the rest of the village. Leave no trace  of our presence or any living thing here."

He clapped his hands once and there was a snarling, crackling sound from  seemingly nowhere. Suddenly, a door of green lightning came into  existence. He forcefully grabbed my sister by her red hair and she came  with him, helpless to resist, trapped the same as I and my mother.

Alice suddenly broke free of the unseen binding and she began screaming  incoherently. Her hair came loose from the man's grip and she fell down,  looking up at the man with pure fear in her eyes. There was a gust of  sudden wind and a bolt of red force came out of nowhere.

The hooded man instantly raised his arms in an X-block, and a pale blue  shield sprang into existence. It crumpled with a whining sound as the  bolt tore through it, striking the man squarely on his right arm.

There was a loud cracking sound. He simply grunted, his right arm  hanging uselessly at his side, and then said, "Not many have defeated my  defense. My master was not wrong to seek you out. At the same time  though, I can't have you going around like that, so...."

He waved his left hand and an arc of green lightning struck my sister's  small frame, knocking her down and unconscious. He simply touched his  right arm and it seemed that the bones realigned, his right arm whole  again. He picked up Alice and stepped through the lightning door. It  closed behind them in a flash.

Then, without preamble, one of the raiders simply walked up and shot my  mother twice in the head. I stared, her ruined face looking up at me.

One of the raiders whined, "Dammit, did you have to do it that quick? We could have had some fun first..."

"Keep your pants on, remember what we came for. There'll be plenty of women later anyway."

I'm not sure quite what happened then. I could hear screaming outside,  as my town died around me. I stared at the broken bodies of my mother  and father and at the empty space where my sister had just been.

I felt a sudden rising heat at the center of my gut, like lava  threatening to explode out of me. All I knew was that I was suddenly  free of whatever that had kept me unmoving.

I could feel the power now, a power strong enough to shape the cosmos itself. And I knew exactly how I was going to use it.

I simply said one word at that point.

"Die."

And blackness._

I awoke with a start, gasping and drenched with cold sweat. My hands  fumbled for the rifle in the darkness and I just sat there for a minute,  my hands tightly gripping the rifle as I just breathed and breathed.

Then I sighed. It was the dream again. The same dream I had been having  for the last three years. Three years of wandering these infernal  wastes. Three years of honing my powers for the time when I would need  it.

And I was still no closer to the men who had destroyed my world and taken my sister.

I coughed. The fire was out now and this room couldn't have gotten any  colder. I had managed to find some pre-Apocalypse newspaper and even  some firewood from the remnants of what had once been a convenience  store.

I left the rifle by my sleeping bag and got up. I searched through my  knapsack until I found the remnants of my rations. A couple of loaves of  bread and maybe one bottle's worth of water. Not good. Time to head  out.

I picked up my rifle and gathered my things. I grunted as I picked up  the pack. I'd have to move on anyway, this area was completely dead. I  had heard about a conclave of mages or some kind of reality warpers in  this area, but my lead had turned up completely empty. I walked down the  ruined stairs of the building, having to jump over complete gaps ever  so often. I only had to go three floors down. I walked out into the  ruins of what remained of our world.

No one really knew what happened or how it happened. Some say it was the  wrath of God for the uncountable sins mankind. Others had said it was  some sort of messed-up solar flare.

All I knew was, one day, the world as it we knew it came to a sudden and  painful end. I was only eight years old when it happened but I can  still remember when the Moon suddenly grew to be as bright as the Sun  itself, reports of seas evaporating instantly... It's not a pleasant  memory I like to revisit.

My family and I had been one of the lucky few who had escaped the  initial destruction and the aftermath. Almost collectively, the world  dubbed it the "Apocalypse." Not a terribly original name, but it fit  anyway. In the years after, strange stories were spread around. Stories  of people with fantastical powers, the kind of stories you hear from  books of mythology or your average comic book.

A surprising number of buildings had remained remarkably intact after  post-Apocalypse. More than a few had food that was as good as it was ten  years ago as it was now. So I trekked across the ruined landscape  until, a mile later, I found my destination.

A couple of the letters were still blinking, even after ten years, spelling out W A M A R T. The L was noticeably missing.

The first few floors were completely ruined, but I knew the fourth floor    and above were still intact. I also knew that, thanks to   pre-Apocalypse  regulations, most of the food had been vacuum-sealed and   flash-frozen,  keeping it in near-perfect preservation for at least  the  next few  decades or so.

I rummaged through a few aisles, picking up a box labeled "Kid Cuisine"    or something like that. I stuffed them into my bag until I heard a    sudden, loud metallic whine. I lifted my rifle instantly, flicking off    the safety.

The noise was coming from somewhere above the fifth floor. I cautiously    walked up the nearby stairway, trying to make as little sound as    possible. The noise got louder still, until I reached the top floor. But    it seemed to be coming from somewhere even higher than that. I looked    around until I saw a roof access exit. The door was ajar. As I  ascended   up the stairs, I heard raised voices shouting over the  incredibly loud   noise.


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 14, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

... "won't fucking work! Are you sure you plugged in those cables correctly? And stop that fucking racket!"

"I'm trying the best I can, goddammit! I already said we might need to get secure new parts. Just let me.... there!"

The noise suddenly stopped, but they continued to argue.

I could see them out of the corner of my eye, my rifle gripped tight and my breathing slowed to a crawl as I stood just behind the door. There were four of them, cloaked in black robes and arguing over some strange electronic contraption with thick black cables hooked up to what appeared a large satellite array like I had seen in some of my Dad's old books.

One of them demanded, "Are you sure this is going to work?" 

"You know what our master said. If this doesn't work, our asses are his. He's not exactly in a forgiving mood anymore, especially after what happened three years ago."

"Three years ago?" Another of them spoke up.

"Oh yeah," the first one grunted. "You're a newbie. We had been sent on some search-and-destroy op, to some godforsaken place up in the northern part of the Southern Wasteland. Junktown, Scrapcity... or... I got it, it was Scrapheap!"

My heart stopped for a moment. Scrapheap? They were talking about my town! I felt anger rising in my stomach, but I forced it down, listening. I really, really couldn't afford to get angry.

"Anyway, we had to pick some brat. So we just did a routine search through the city, kill anyone who resists, pick up any brat who matches the description. Our master was able to scry and find the girl. He picked her up and about half of us teleported out. The rest, I heard, were left to sweep the rest of city."

My fist tightened. These.... _men_, if they could be called that, were describing the destruction of my village as if it had just been another Saturday to them. 

"Anyway, from what I know, something happened there. I'm not sure what, but it was big. And I mean like really fucking big. Next thing we know, Scrapheap disappears from the map. There's a crater left about the size of two football fields there. We must have lost at least 300 trained magi. That's tons of resources down the drain."

The younger man whistled. "Wow. I imagine the boss wasn't happy about that."

"Right in fucking one. And the big boss, _his _boss, sure as hell wasn't happy either. From what I gather, our master's ass was up for throwing into the frying pan. He just barely escaped that and so now, he just pushes us around like a fucking slavedriver." 

I had heard enough. I stepped out from behind the door and aimed my rifle straight at the lead man's head.

As loudly as I could, I said, "Stay where you are!"

They whirled to face me. "What the fuck?" One of them exclaimed.

"Don't move!" I shouted, but then I barely dodged a bolt of violet energy that snarled through the air. It continued harmlessly past me and the rifle roared thunder as I pulled the trigger.

Sparks flew across a glittering blue shield and the younger man snarled something strange and alien. I was suddenly knocked back and the rifle flew from my grip, clattering uselessly away and down the stairs.

I saw arcs of lightning dancing in the hands of one of the men. I had no choice this time. 

I never knew how I had gotten this power. I didn't like using it either. I also wasn't so great at controlling it either. But for what I needed right now, it was enough.

Countless cosmic rays pass through the Earth. At least 65 billion neutrinos pass through every square centimeter on Earth. Most of them don't even interact with normal matter at all. But, for a person of my abilities, it was child's play to manipulate them to my own ends.

The arc of lightning fizzled anticlimactically against an invisible swarm of neutrinos. I then unleashed them and sent a powerful burst of concentrated cosmic radiation at the man who just tried electrocuting me. He was blasted backwards against the array, knocked unconsciousness from the sheer force of the blast.

I could see the surprise written on their faces. They hadn't expected to come up against someone who could also bring the heat. 

One of them sent a plume of white fire at me, but I blocked it again with a shield of cosmic radiation. I then decided to up the ante. Cosmic radiation was hardly the only power I controlled.

A wave of magnetic force suddenly ripped the array out from its cables and crashed into two of them, knocking them to the ground, bloodied and unconsciousness. 

In less than 5 seconds, I had wiped the floor with three of them. The only one that was left was the older man. He stood, looking shocked for a moment, but he snarled and raised his right hand.

Concrete spikes rose from the ground, a roaring wave of white death racing towards me. But my power wasn't just limited to manipulating cosmic radiation and magnetism. My power rested even deeper into the fabric of the universe itself.

I temporarily inverted the locus of gravity and suddenly, the spikes were flying uselessly, crashing with the force of a thunderbolt into other buildings distant. 

A sudden change of about 30 G is sufficient to crush solid bone. In this case, a sudden change of just 4 G simply knocked the man to the ground, bones snapping as he fell awkwardly from his own weight, now four times heavier than normal. For an average man weighing at 150 pounds, that meant suddenly weighing over _six hundred pounds_.

He was gasping heavily as I maintained the altered pull of gravity. Just breathing must have been hard enough for him. I could have increased the pull to around 10 G and knock him unconscious, but I needed him to talk. 

I stopped beside him and said, "I'm normally a nice guy, but for people like you? Not so much. Don't try anything stupid. So, I'm only going to say this once. You and your goons were talking about Scrapheap and that number you scum and your master perpetrated three years ago. Nod once if you got all that."

He nodded.

"Want to know a secret?" I whispered. "The crater? I made it. What I've done to you right now is _nothing_. If I really felt like it, I could crush you to about the size of, oh, this wide." 

I held my thumb and index finger out a short distance away. The man looked rather fearful at that. Then again, I was exaggerating, but he didn't know that.

"So then, here comes my question. What do you know about what happened three years ago?"

I lessened the pressure slightly around his head area and he blubbered, "Nothing, nothing I swear! The most I know was what I had just told Billy!" 

I increased the pressure again. "Are you lying to me?"

He croaked and shook his head as vigorously as he could. I relieved the pressure again. 

"Then, where is your master?"

"I don't know - wait, wait, I really don't know! He always sends proxies to see us or he meets with us. We've never actually gone to his place!"

I increased the pressure to about 6 G. He gasped violently. "Then where did you goons come from? Who sent you out here? And why?"

"Contact.... we met... in Pandemonium. Used to run with the Masked Bandits, they're a group in Pandemonium. Said he was one of the Oneori now. He said he had a message from our master, had proof too. We were supposed to come to set up a satellite uplink here, so we could reestablish a communication network from here to Pandemonium."

"Why?" I demanded.

"Fuck it, I don't know why! I'm not paid to know why, just don't hurt me!"

"I have one last question," I said. "Did you kill anyone that day?"

"What day?" he looked confused.

At this point I finally lost it, "You know goddamn well what day! The day I lost everything you son of a bitch!" I began choking him with my hands, but that was unnecessary.

The nearby array exploded into a mess of sparks and metal. There was an insistent pressure in my head, nearly driving me to the ground. The ground beneath began shaking and the man's face began to cave in as I uncontrollably began to increase the gravity around him. 

He was screaming in agony, begging me not to do anything and I could hear his bones beginning to snap. I breathed heavily, trying to regain control of myself until the pressure in my head suddenly stopped. And so did everything else.

I looked down. I had managed to stop myself in time. The man was heavily injured, but the wounds weren't life-threatening. I breathed heavily, in and out, in and out.

This was part of the reason I rarely used my powers. If I lost control for an instant, like I had been there, I only ended up with pure destruction. Had I been truly angry, I don't think this _building_ could have survived the onslaught.

I staggered away, back to my sack and picked up my rifle. I headed down the building. 

Pandemonium. The Masked Bandits. The Oneori. I knew nothing about the last two, but I knew a little about Pandemonium. It was supposed to be one of the most crime-filled cities in the world. Well, it was also one of the _only_ cities left in the world.

It wasn't close to here, but I could get there. It'd take me about a month, and the way would be filled with dangers.

But for the first time in three years, I had a real, genuine lead to follow and I wasn't going to let it go to waste.


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## MrChubz (Nov 14, 2010)

-With Kirk-

Kirk woke up in a cell with 4 other people. The cell was made of cement. One of its walls was replaced with wooden bars that kept the prisoners inside. Inside of it the floor was made of dirt. There wasn't many items for comfort. Two hammocks that were jury rigged to the walls, despite there now being 5 people in the cell. One man laid in one of them. There were no chairs however there was a single table.

He felt better then he had ever felt in his life. He wasn't just awake, but it felt as if he had a new sense. It was as if his awareness of the ground he stood on entered a higher plane.

"I feel incredible," Kirk remarked out loud.

"You won't as soon as you find out where you are," One of his cell mates said. All of the sudden Kirk snapped back into reality. He was out cold and now he was somewhere he didn't know, in a cell.

"What is this place?" Kirk asked the cell mate.

"You're in the finest work camp in the east run by everyone's favorite group of thugs, The Kin. Your body was dragged in here and tossed in this cell a few days ago. We were beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep forever," The cell mate responded.

"Why does the Kin have a work camp? They kill everyone who isn't them," Kirk asked.

"They keep the strong ones and put them to work. It's how they get food, shelter, and other necessities. It keeps them strong. It keeps them self-sustainable,"

The high Kirk was experiencing after he woke up was wearing off. Soon he realized what kind of trouble he was in, "Dman it!!" he exclaimed. Everyone in the cell felt heavier. The hammock with the man in it ripped at a weak spot and he came crashing down onto the floor.

"What the hell was that!? Now we only have one place to sleep!" The man that was in the hammock shouted.

"I don't know. I just got pissed and then I felt 50lbs heavier," Kirk said. He thought about why it could have been. The then remembered what happened before he awoke. He touched the glowing sphere, then the shack collapsed into it, not the ground. This gave him another worry, "Did any of you see any of the guards holding a sphere when they dragged me in here?"

"Yes," one of the cell mates replied, "It looked like a random piece of junk. They've probably sold it as scrap for a few bucks by now," The cellmate informed Kirk.

"Shit. I need to get out of here and I need that sphere," Kirk said.

"Good luck. No one has ever escaped. However maybe using whatever the hell you just did you have a chance," The cellmate said.

"Perhaps. I think I'll stick around for a while,"


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## Endless Mike (Nov 15, 2010)

Finn walked through the dense jungle as he eyed the sky, estimating the sun would set in no more than 2 hours.

"Dammit, just my luck to get lost, she's going to kill me if I don't get back tonight", he thought to himself, as he climbed over a decaying stone wall.

Suddenly, a sharp and terrifying growl echoed throughout the undergrowth. Standing not 20 meters away was a massive beast, somewhat resembling an elephant, but mutated into a far larger and fiercer form. Bristling with branched, spiked tusks and tentacle - like appendages, it was clearly viewing Finn as its next meal.

Finn, undaunted, casually walked toward the creature. It began to charge him, but upon reaching a distance of about 10 meters, it suddenly stopped, seeming rather puzzled.

"Come on now, big fella, you don't want to hurt me, do you?" Finn asked amiably, as the creature walked up to him and started licking his face.

"Yuck! Gross, get off!" he yelled, in response to this. the elephant - thing promptly stopped and its face seemed to take on an expression of sadness.

"Get out of here," Finn sighed, as the beast slowly lumbered off.

"Geez, what a day," he thought, as he wiped the drool off of his face with one of his sleeves. Suddenly an apparition appeared before him. It was a tall, blonde man, wearing what looked like a toga. His features were immaculate and perfect, in fact Finn could even say he was beautiful....

"What the hell? No! Snap out of it! I am not gay!" he yelled to himself.

The man laughed. "That reaction is normal. I am Eros, the God of Love. Obviously mere mortals cannot look upon me without feeling it."

Finn, snapped out of his trance, narrowed his eyes in skepticism. "You're a god?" he asked. "I've never seen a god before."

"Oh, believe me, we exist," replied the man. "We just don't deign to make personal appearances that often, or at least, we didn't use to."

"What do you mean by that?" replied the mortal, as he was getting rather impatient with this self - proclaimed "god".

"Have you ever wondered why you have the unusual gift you do?" Inquired Eros.

"Come to think of it, no, not really," said Finn. "It's just something I've always had, I never gave it that much thought."

Eros chuckled. "It is because of me. I have chosen you to be my avatar on Earth."

Finn's skepticism suddenly increased even further, evident by the expression on his face.

"And why are you only telling me this now?" he asked sarcastically.

Eros put his cheek on his hand and sighed. "Ever since the event, the gods have been becoming more active in mortal affairs. Many of them have been meddling with humans and granting them abilities they would not normally have. I figured I had to get some stake in this myself. But so far, you have been nothing but a disappointment." Eros struck a dramatic pose.

"You don't do anything! You just sit around in your little makeshift house with your metal girlfriend and waste your life away."

"She's not my-" Finn was interrupted before he could continue

"You are one of the laziest mortals I have ever seen, and I've been around for thousands of years! If you are to be my avatar, you must get out into the world! Take action! There will be an important group of people passing through the north of the southern wastelands one week from now. If you set out tomorrow, you can meet up with them in time."

"And what if I say no?" asked Finn, becoming very impatient with this Greek interloper.

"Then I'll take your powers away," replied Eros matter - of - factly.

"Hah, you're bluffing," Finn tried to put on his bravest face.

"Nope. Here, I'll even give you a demonstration." The god snapped his fingers, and suddenly a pack of vicious mutated giant rats started approaching the two. Finn attempted to pacify them, but, to his horror, he realized his abilities weren't working! As the rodents snarled and closed in, Finn started to panic.

"Okay! Okay! I give up! I'll do anything you say! Just give me my powers back!"

Eros smiled and snapped his fingers again, as the giant rats suddenly lost all of their aggression and slinked away into the underbrush.

"Remember - you leave tomorrow. Head due north."

"Okay, but I'm kind of lost right now," Finn replied sheepishly.

Eros pointed a finger towards a direction to the right of Finn. "That way. You'll be back to see your waifu in about an hour if you make good time."

"She's not my-" Finn began to yell, but then he looked up and the Greek god was gone.

"Hmph. Lousy gods or whoever, it's always something," he muttered under his breath, as he began hiking back in the direction he that had been indicated.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 15, 2010)

*The Present*
*The Backstreets of Pandeomonium: The Entrance to the Slums*

"We shouldn't be here Johnny,..." the portly man in the leather jacket said to the man opposite him with the greased back hair and roundface babyish face. Johnny was a tall and gangly young man, who had earned his namesake of Babyace only a few months prior...and he was eager to change it. Like his partner he to was decked out in expensive leathers  "They say the slums have become, cursed these last few months. Can't we sell the drugs somewhere else?"


"Draygon said we had to take the goods  here to a representitive of Lucky Luke's gang. I don't know about you Willy, but i'm not sticking my neck out, so The Butcher can cut it." Babyface Johnny paused for a moment and scanned his surroundings and looked back again to his partner who was sweating quite terribly. "I tell you what my friend, we get in there, make dat deal as quick as we can, then high tail it out and go get us a few beers b'fore we report back to Draygon's proxy?"

William the Squealer, shrugged before replying. "I'd like that Johnny, but they say the ghost of the Raven still haunts those slums. eternally vowing his vengeance towards the man who murdered him..."

Johnny cut him off with a derisive snort "The Ghost of the Raven's an urban legend, like the man himself was. Don't tell what they about the Raven, because some even say he's still alive. They're rumors Willy nothing more, now get your ass through that gate, b'fore I make ya." as he said this,e started walking towards the high topped gate that seperated the rest of Pandemonium from The Slums

"Wasn't no urban legend, that cut up Wallace last week...," Willy said to himself as he hurried after Babyface Johnny.

Across the street a figure shrouded in darkness, emerged from the mouth of an alleyway. The figure stared at the open gateway of the Slums for a moment before chuckling. the light from a malfunctioning street lamp cast a light on his brutalized face.

"A urban legend am I? Let's see if I can make myself a little more real in the minds of these lackies of Draygon."

The darkness stretched out from the alleyway and enveloped him...and in that moment he was gone.


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## Cthulhu-versailles (Nov 15, 2010)

The land of ruined Civilization was vast on this side; there was constantly changing forest and lands- mixed pines, differencing Wilkes, vines, leafs, and unstable plantation. The sight was enough Ogion knew immediately it was primed for restoration. But for environmental changed of this order, Ogion knew he would need followers. Thus he began his travels, holding the baby close to his chest.

A week passed in travel. Travel was easy for Ogion.  As specter he required little sustenance, though this was not the same for rest. Four times he had to stop to find a cave or create shelter scorching open a tree, so that he may slumber and ease in the sleep the build of resentment and fury of his curse. During such times, before going to rest, he would make of the earth and plants or beast that lurked soundlessly to feed the child. He had yet to think of a name for the boy, and so dreaming he would think of the possibilities…specter’s dream of reality. To sleep, Ogion made protective shield of force energy to deny entry to those that would com. It was strange how much these seemed to ease the boy. In truth, it should have been the opposite: a field of force created pressure and numbness when within, along with imposition on the mind. 

“Just how powerful are you, boy” Ogion asked allowed, staring intently at this little child before closing his eyes to rest. 

In the morning, Ogion began to travel again heading northwest. After only an hour’s journey, suddenly, he felt the slight presence of something nearby. What moved was fast to see and so, Ogion focused his mind to halt it. It shuttered to a halt, paralyzed, but erect on the ground. It was a man. Ogion moved to man slowly, but his approach was halted as figures blurred jumped downward from cliff covered. 

The creatures landed with a resounding thud, and Ogion store calmly at their figure. They were giants, with thick legs like tree stumps covered in fur, and upper bodies rippled with stretched muscle. They moved to block his forward path. To Ogion, this had made him worry. He worried not of harm to himself, but of that to the child; force blast uncontrolled could damage one frail as he. Thinking then, it soon came to Ogion what to do. He asked them for pacisms and mercy, so that he may pass. 

Of the giants, one stepped forward in response, his ten foot tall leg rippling as though to explode from the action.

 “Choose now or I choose for you. The boy or you life!” the giant yelled, vapid and impatient in his screeching. 

“Stop this” Ogion said.

“Your decision, make one!” the giant bellowed, clapping his mighty hands stirring the others to stomp frantically. 

Ogion glanced at each of their feet for a moment and then sighed.  

“You were once noble giant were you not” he asked.  

The leader of them seemed to laugh, though the guttural noise Ogion heard could hardly be called laughter. Kneeling downward, the giant met Ogion eye to eye…though he still stood 3 meters away.

“And what do you know of giants human? Do you know of Kurtz and his endless unstoppable hordes that lay waste to all those whom resist? Do you know of the atrocities he may force upon a race and his cruelty?” 

The giants paused then, seeming to wait for an answer. Ogion would give them one. It was the truth, a simple No.

“I thought as much. No I knew. You are free, or at least as free as these dark-lands allow. But do you know human, that even in service our people, the giants are noble to their end. There are none but us who would give you choice. Now choose! Your life or the boys” he screamed.

“Your choice is absurd. Your choice is-“ the giant cut him off.

“Death embeds everyone, but you will choose your life, and Kurtz will build his army stronger contracting more blood” the centurion giant, letting disparity and gloom drip onto his face in his speaking.

Hearing the words, Ogion wondered if all who crossed here had been given such a choice. And did they all choose their own lives? In the circumstances it was the only thing worth any sense, as a child could as likely survive alone in the dark-lands as water on the sun. However, Ogion did not like this harshness. No, he found it crueler then any swift death. But for him at least, he knew no decision would he have to make; for he was not alive and they would not have this child. 

Kneeling down upon the stone and moss ground, Ogion pressed his hand and curled them to psychic force. The creatures however were quick to see his plan. They charged, ravenous like beast. 

“Nuvelash!” Ogion screamed, pushing his hand forward curling the unseen wave of energy into a battering ram. A shockwave resulted upon impact, sending the first of the charging giants rocketing back. Another cry of “Nuvelash and another was sent sailing. The giants backed off. Was that it he thought, would thye retreat from just that? 

Ogion’s question was answered in the next second as the giants began to chant. Theier voices sound inhuman, so he was unable to make out the name exactly. However, there was no mistake, he sensed a great power being harnessed…was this the power of a god? 

“No, not again” Ogion screamed in his mind, paralyzed by fear of the newly formed winds flakes of ivory gathering upon their fist and bodies. His mind was awash with calls of the past and torments of the world’s brutality. Ogion did not move. 

“WAHHHH” the child suddenly cried out. 

“Boy” Ogion said suprise...he'd been been snapped out his stasis. He would have thanked the boy then, but there was no time and he was enraged. Burning deep purple in the Specter’s eyes, and thoughts not his own reflecting from the real world into his mind, Ogion skeletal visage shimmered. It had begun. In his right hand he gathered psychic force en mass, greater in size then even the 30 foot tall giants on each of his fingers, and screamed obscenity and bloody murder. In his left hand, he raised his flamethrower and pointed it at the fools, squeezing its trigger with glee. So did cometh the flames in blazing stream. Alone, the fire would have moved uncontrolled, by from the forced gather upon his fingers, a piece was shaped into direction; singular streams of heat engorged. The air and earth were scourged, and the giants defeated. 

This was the Fury of the Specter of Sorrow. Looking thus at his burned foes, he felt joy. For today he had killed servers of Kurtz, and one more dead, meant one more could be given back to the environment to Spite the humans who controlled Kurtz- a mere leader among a higher order- and the ones above even those humans known as Gods. 

The body count was at 10,013 now, but Ogion still had much more work to do. Saving the enviromen was a difficult task. 

"Perhaps it's time I return to base" Ogin said to himself, rolling another body over and firing a blast of force at the ground to make graves.


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## Gundam Meister (Nov 15, 2010)

10 Years Ago


! Mom, Dad !  a voice yell out inside a 500 meter crater the voice belonging to a boy of 11 years of age the boy the boy look around wondering how the crater was form the last thing he remembered was group of monster attacking him and his parents moment before one the monsters attack him he felt a powerful energy coming from inside of him before he fainted its been a few minutes since he woke up in the center of the crater ! MOM , DAD ! he yell out again with eyes filled with tears suddenly he heard multiple loud powerful roars from the sky looking up he saw more the similar monster that attack him and his parents their appearance similar to creatures he read about in book Chimeras he remember being the name of the group of monsters seeing them approach the crater at rapid speeds he started running out of the crater with all is strength managing to covered 60 meters before tripping he while getting up  he got is entire back cut by one them making fall again this time felling great pain biting his lip so he could fight back the pain coursing through his back he turn got up and turn around to see a group of 50 of monster 5 meters away the one in the lead starting to approach him in that instant the monsters jump towards him closing his eyes the boy awaited his dead suddenly he heard a roar of pain opening his eyes the boy found the monsters wings and legs where cut out .



Hey Kid a feminine voice call out suddenly standing before him was woman with long black hair holding a long sword in her hands


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## masamune1 (Nov 15, 2010)

They don't let me sleep in here.

I sit staring at the bars around my ethereal, otherworldy prison. My body, immortal, formless, still possessed of what gifts I bestowed upon myself, lies slumped against a pillar. It rises as high as the bars, into infinity, impossible neverending height, in a prison of impossible neverending length and breadth, as big and small as it wants to be, impossible as that may seem. But impossible means nothing. Not here, and not in matters concerning me.

The pillars, 8 in all, don't let me sleep. The makers of those pillars did not want me to sleep. Too afraid I might dream. Too afraid I might break free.

But they broke once. Once, not long ago. The gods were quick to fix them. But not quick enough to rob me of my slumber. I dreamed. Oh yes, I dreamed. 

I dreamt of my home, of my own world. I dreamt of it's mountains, of it's rivers, of it's sky and it's oceans and forests and deserts and it's everything. I dreamt of it's people, touched them all and saw how we had grown to billions (or would, or did, or might- time, too, is meaningless here), soared the sky and conquered the seas, unleashed wonders and horrors, battled illness, scorched nations, learnt to talk to one another from opposite sides of the planet. 

And I remembered how I could create, how I could bring the unreal to life and make the real meaningless. I remembered how I was free, free of more than these bars, free from the constraints of mortals and deities, free to be God and free to raise Earth to Heaven, drag Heaven to Earth, to tell reality what it was and to have it listen to me and obey.

And then I came to dream of the end.

I dreamt of destruction. I dreamt of magic. I dreamt of monsters and demons and wizards and beasts. I dreamt of the 7 cities and Wastelands, of survivors and kids, of gifts being granted to a random bunch of the deserving and undeserving, of old powers being unleashed and new ones being born, and all on an Earth that in my dreams I turned to a playground version of Hell.

I can't say it was a bad dream.

And I dreamt I was woken up. I dreamt the gods fixed those pillars, I dreamt they stopped me dreaming, because I knew they would and I wanted them to think it was their idea. I dreamt of my limitations, of my prison, and I dreamt  that from now on it would'nt hold me quite so well. I dreamt that I could reach my people again, that I could find their dreams and talk to them in their slumber, ask them questions about their lives, their hobbies, their family, friends, everything from their favourite food to when they last went to the toilet. 

I dreamt I could find the wicked and deliver unto them justice one thousand fold, if I so chose, or offer them repentance and the chance to serve me, to work with me towards a better world. I dreamt of the righteous being offered the same, of some saying yay and some saying nay, and I'm still deciding how to respond to the naysayers. 

I dreamt of the gods in their haughtiness, thinking the danger has passed, that they are safe, that Creation is safe, that they stopped me. I let them stop me. I let them because I knew they could, and I must let them think they have. My Dreams, my Oneori, they are mortals and Earthwalkers. I know the gods well enough to know they pay mortal men no attention, and I remember well enough that I will once again prove them stupid for this. They let the world slide into mediocrity when it deserves excitement, they let their power waste in their little private kingdoms and leave the world to it's boring self, they let my people suffer the agony of meaninglessness and the prison of mere possibility.

I offer the impossible. I am God stuck in this wrestched place by their petty jealousy. I will avenge myself upon them and teach my people of their injustices, so that they too may avenge themselves upon them. I will burn the gods and reign supreme over the Cosmos, great benevolent Ikelos, the One, True and soon-to-be Only God.

But now I'm back to staring at my bars, waiting silently for nothing to happen. But something does, I hear it, the screams of my home as whatever it was I dreamt of came true. My dreams always come true.

And I smile, ever so slightly I smile. 

I remember I dreamt I will soon be free.


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## SYSC (Nov 15, 2010)

*Vista*

*1 Month ago 
Pandemonium: Abandoned Casino*

Hen Lurker stands on a stage looking across the room seeing two man playing cards, one wearing a pair of spiked edged black sunglasses and the other a robe with a hood. The bartender who went by the name of Mack was cleaning a old glass with some cloth. Mack who by some way was able to own this piece of property with no harassment from scanvagers and raiders. None of the three seemed to care or pay particular attention to Hen on the stage but Hen was not bothered. Hen swings his red and white metalic guitar he dubbed "Maria" to the front of him and begins to play.

"You would see anything

You would see everything..."​

The two man begin to agrue loudly after just one turn. "Hey-Hey! I say that you no good cheat" the hooded man said pointing his finger in the other man's face. "The hell are you talking about! What are you trying to pull you coward!" the man with the black spiked edged sunglasses rebuted

"Hope is a motto for those who can't see there future

I see your insignificance

Your movements are meaningless..."

"You lying sack of shit" the hooded man said slaming the table with his hands. "You want to make something out of this!" the other said throwing his cards on the ground. The bartender looked over at them with a uncaring grunt and continues cleaning the glasses as he stacks them neatly on a shelf

"The whole world is upside down

I see the sins of this little town

The words left unsaid

I see the people, no the living dead..."​
The two continued badgering each other into doing something before they both toss over the table they were using. Hen begins to play on the Guitar heavily

"I see it all from a distance

These eyes full of resistance..."​
The two pull out thier rifles each gun inches away from their faces. "I-" Hen stopped himself. "The fuck are you inbreeds doing! Are you two fucking blind!Can't you two see what Im doing!" Hen intruded. The two man looked at each other and then at Hen confused before the hooded man said " Who the hell are you! Do you think either of us care about your crappy little song!" the other smiled at the statement.

Hen glared at the two taking a step down from the stage. He pulled the strap of his guitar off his shoulder and held "Maria" with both hands as if it was a baseball bat. "I am the man that see's all! I am Vista! AND WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO TALK ABOUT MY MUSIC LIKE THAT!!!" Hen screamed. 

Hen rushed at the man who spoke to him. The hooded man quickly turned he's gun and let out a shot with his rifle at Hen but Hen had already ran to the right of him full seconds before he fired. Hen threw the guitar over his shoulder before hitting the man full force with the guitar across the side of the head sending him flying into the bar shelf breaking the glasses. "What the hell!!!" Mack screamed. The other man looked over at the mess amazed by the speed and strenght by Hen. 

The man with the shades turned to Hen in what felt like time moving slowly until he saw the vengeful completely white eyes of Hen. Before he knew it the reinforced bottom of Hen's guitar smashed up against he's jaw. The man's teeth flew up landing every where and he's spiked sunglasses stumbled into the doorway of the casino. Hen panted looking very tired after what occured not even aware it  only lasted for mere seconds. Hen got down to a knee on the ground covered with playing cards, glass, teeth and blood. Hen was still panting before he's eyes darkened from white and returned back into he's natural brown eye color.

"What! You think cause I let you play here you can screw up my bar and fuck up my only two customers ive had in years! Here! Here!" Mack said reaching into his pockets and threw the pills down at Hen. " Take your drugs and get the hell out!" 

Hen gets up picking up a handfull. He stands still for awhile before opening he's palm and looking at the glass, teeth and pills. He tosses them on the ground, strapes "Maria" over he's shoulder and begins to leave. He stops at the doorway and picks up the sunglaases on the floor. He puts them on and leaves smiling as he waves goodbye to the furious Mack.


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## Platinum (Nov 15, 2010)

A week into the pursuit and he finally appeared to be gaining ground. He was only two or three days behind. They would have no where to hide when he found him. But the sun was setting. It was time to set up camp for the night. 

Rustling woke him up.

He rolled just in time to avoid a dagger thrust. The enemy came for him leaving him completely unprepared. He caught his assailant's hand and hit him with a right hook knocking him off his feet. It was pitch black his attackers had the advantage. He would have to wait for them to come to him. He liquefied his body and prepared for the inevitable attack.

A half second later a bullet punched through his body, and just as quickly his body reformed, the hole dissappearing. Another man charged at him his eyes wild with insane fury. He sidestepped the man and quickly drew one his revolvers and fired a single shot into his foot and another into his arm, he howled in pain and collapsed onto the floor.

In unison five men appeared each howling a blood curdling scream. One man was adorned in fine jewelry, gold idols of grotesque and inhuman shapes. He assumed this was the leader. The situation was turning bad. He was too tired to keep up his self liquefaction. He had to act quickly and decisively to subdue the leader and incapacitate his followers. As much as he regretted it he would have to kill them. They were almost upon him, he acted fast he dropped his defense and quickly grabbed two of the men's faces. With a look of shock and horror they slowly began losing form and seconds later they were puddles on the floor. He then quickly brought his revolvers up and shot the last two followers in between the eys. They crumpled in a heap onto the desert sand. He then turned and shot the other two men he knocked out earlier. Now it was down to one man.

"You know that all you strive to achieve will be for nothing" the leader spoke a small smile forming on his face.

"Your words mean nothing to me" The man replied coldly. "I just want to know why your kind have been moving so close to the cities, tell me and I will spare you the horrible fate that awaits you at the hands of The Administration".

The leader laughed harshly. "You really know nothing don't you? Our kind have always been everywhere.... In both the wastelands and the cities... I'm sure you would like to know the method to our madness but I will not tell you... but I will give you a hint. The second age of chaos is imminent. The Crawling Chaos walks the wastelands once more!"

A gunshot broke through the night. The cultist took one step backwards and then died. He fulfilled his end of the bargain. And thus he would be spared The Administration's wrath. It was time for him to return to Paradiso and deliver this knowledge personally.


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## Wesker (Nov 15, 2010)

As Archon walked towards his village on the horizon he thought of the past few weeks. He had gained psionic powers from an alien entity who entrusted him to protect earth. On the way back the entity had taught him how to use and control his powers. Now using his powers was almost as natural as using his limbs. 

As he neared the village he saw smoke billowing from the buildings. He raised his passive shields as he cautiously snuck into the village. From the looks of things the bandits had come back sooner than he hoped. As he moved further in Archon heard cries of terror mixed with laughter, moving towards the sound he saw a terrible sight.

Piles of corpses lined the village square, and in the center a man lay dying at the feet of 6 gunmen. The one in the middle said "Well looks like that's most of them, might be a few left.". "Hey look over there" said the one to the very left, "Looks like a lil girl ain't realized her parents r dead yet, well shell be joinin' em soon." Archon recognized the girl as the daughter of his neighbors. As the first bandit began to go towards her with a knife in hand, Archon let out a great shout and propelled a full force blast of telekinetic energy at the surprised bandit, splattering him against a nearby building.

The remaining bandits drew guns to fire at him but Archon quickly disarmed them with his mind and knocked 4 of them out using the butts of their own weapons. The one he left standing he levitated in midair. "WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!" Archon screamed at the helpless man, "Wouldn't you like to know." the man replied. Archon restrained another scream and calmly asked "Where are the others? There must be other bandits out there." The man spit at his feet and replied "Heh there are many more but I'm not telling you. Do want you want with me but it's nothing compared to what they will do if I talk." Archon contemplated the words and then knocked out the man. If he wouldn't tell him anything then perhaps his attire would. The man was clothed in typical bandit fashion but had on a grotesque golden idol and wore an ornate wristband with a latin phrase on it. Archon translated it as "Chaos".

While this was going on the remaining villagers had come out from their hiding spots. 
The village chief Adam approached him and said "Well from the looks of it you found what you were looking for. Those bandits won't know whats waiting for them if they return." Archon looked at him and said "No it isn't safe here and my powers are still developing, if they come in great numbers I won't be able to protect you all. Here I'll draw out a map to the hidden location of the artifact. The path to the artifact is well hidden to those who are not meant to find it. You should be safe on your way there."

Adam looked at him puzzled and asked "Where are you going?" Archon looked at the wristband and said "I need to find out who they are and what their goals are. These are no ordinary bandits, and I have a feeling that they are part of something bigger. I must stop whatever is being planned." Adam sighed and replied "Well I can tell you won't back down from this, you have that stubborn look in your eye. Will you at least spend the night and send us on our way? We still need to figure out what to do with those bandits."  Archon smiled and said "Yeah I can do that." 

The entity that gave him his powers, the former Archon, spoke to him saying "Rest well tonight, from here on out the journey will only get harder."


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 15, 2010)

The Slums: 9:24 pm

Johnny and William moved quickly through the slums of Pandemonium, making sure not to make eye contact with any of the residents of the ramshackle huts that lined both sides of the gravel road. This was the area of the city where the disease ridden and mutated freaks dwelled...William had heard that a cult of cannibals that worshipped some Eldritch horror also resided here. This thought alone made him want to be here even less and wanted to get this deal done and over all the more sooner. Most of all he wanted to get out of this damned city, nothing good ever came from living here. oh what he'd give for a chance to just pack up and leave...maybe make his way to Paridiso, or even New Genesis, just anyplace but here.

As he thought this, he fingered the bundle of cocaine in the pocket of his jacket, and thought of how after the deal he could somehow slip off and make his way out of the city. yes just shrug off his attempt at buying a beer and run away, he was good at running away...he slammed into of Johnny who had stopped without him noticing.

"Hey, watch it ya mook, you almost mussed my hair!" Babyface snapped turning around.

"Sorry Johnny, I wasn't paying attention...I was thinking you know."

"Ya should do less thinkin' and more seein, you get my drift Willy?" Johnny grumbled. "anyways despite the dust on my jacket, we're here and so are the dos queers from Lucky Luke's gang," he said pointing his thumb back towards the way he had been facing.

William looked around Johnny and saw that they had arrived at a small open field, at most it was a good couple hundred yards in length, here and there there was a few spurs of grass, but for the most part it was all weeds and dirt. surrounding the field was a ring torches, supplying the only light other than the stars. in the middle of the field was the represenitive from Lucky Luke's Gentlemen's Gang and what appeared to be his bodyguard. The gang member was a middle-aged man decked out in a suave yellow business suit and top hat, he had a cane in one hand and a cigar in the other.

his bodyguard was a massive brutish man , whose body did not fit with the business suit he had somehow been stuffed into it, his long black hair fell past his shoulders, and from his back a massive battle ax was slung...both men looked up as they approached.

"Your five minutes late boys...I had thought you weren't going to show, and the cannibals had gotten you," said the older man, his eyes twinkling as he smiled. "Of Course if you hadn't, Draygon would have lost another set of messenger boys haha"

Johnny scowled "Yeah well we're here now Mr. Gerald, so the money if ya please."

"Now now my boy....you should know better than that," Gerald said happily. "Show us the drugs...then you'll get your money. Otherwise...well Magnus here will have to start breaking limbs, and you don't want to face an acolyte of Tyr do you?" 

As he was saying this there was a large thud and a wheeze, as the man named Magnus staggered then fell face first to the ground. sticking out of his back was six shadowy knives, there was a seventh lodged in the back of his head. the remnant of the man's now shattered axe lay scattered on the ground.

Gerald screamed and started to run, only for a tendril  shoot out from the surrounding darkness and drag him back. as he was enveloped by the darkness, Willy heard a scream and then a loud thud. He turned to to run and found Johnny already well ahead of him...neither of them got very far, as something from Willy's deepest fears stepped out on the street ahead of them.

The figure was corpselike almost, it's skin (that Willy could see anyways, though eventhrough the vest, trench coat and jeans, there was little to the imagination)  clung to it's bones, making it almost skeletal in appearence...it's face was a ravaged wasteland of scar tissue, and it's eyes were the deepest purple. it was carrying a still breathing albiet unconcious Mr. Gerald over it's shoulder. Johnny like William had stopped in his track as the sight of the monster had frozen him with fear.

"You two work for Draygon the Butcher..." the creature said drawing closer. it's voice was hoarse as if it struggled to breathe. "and I need information as to his wherabouts...we can either do this the easy way...or the hard way...which is it going to be...


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 16, 2010)

"Let's try neither way, as we couldn't give you info 'bout, the boss man even if we wanted to," Johnny said warily.

"Oh and what reason would that be?" the creature said. William almost swore he appeared...amused somehow. 

"Well...Ya see...we don't know what da boss looks like. Cause we've never met him, only one of his proxies he uses as his messengers...and we can't help you by givin' ya him either...cause ya see we're goin' to be in hot water enough as it is, since ya gone and ruined our deal."

"Well then...then it's the hard way?"

"What's dat entail?"

"The Hard way, involves me breaking all the bones in both your miserable little bodies, until you telll me the information I want. Either way it will involve you two very dead in the long run. Going the Easy Way, you get killed by the Proxy for selling him out as well as not getting any money on this drug deal. Hard way...about the same...but then there's the third option. You tell me what I want to know, I let yo go, and you get out of this city as fast as your little legs can carry you...don't you think that sounds so much better than dying?"

"Johnny take the third option...if we can get out of this city fast enough we can be fine," William hissed.

"Yeah uh, I see your point dere Willy," Johnny said rooting in his pockets for a minute, before pulling out a slip of paper. "Ya know what...here. This is where we're supposed to meet the Proxy tomarrow evenin'...just you know give us a enough time before you go bustin' in his door."

The creature took the paper and studied it for a moment looking confused, before nodding and walking away, being quickly enveloped by the darkness.

Willy felt almost giddy, he was about to become free, he'd be rid of this pisshole of a town...he was onto bigger and greater things...if only Johnny would stop cursing.

"Damn it this old fucker didn't have any cash on him...he was going to double cross us...

Meanwhile outside the slums, Enigma stood alone in an alleyway, once again studying the piece of paper. Oh he knew the location all right, but why did it have to be at the abandoned Temple of Set of all places...

He just hoped that the cult hadn't made a return to the city in the last few months...


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## Endless Mike (Nov 16, 2010)

Finn stepped out past a final line of trees bordering the vast wasteland to the north. He looked around and saw sand dunes stretching as far as the eye could see, with vaguely - shaped mountain peaks just barely visible on the horizon.

"Wow, so this must be the desert. I've heard of it, but never actually seen it before."

His companion was less entranced.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked. "You won't survive a hike across that kind of environment, you'll die of thirst and heatstroke in a day or two."

"Eros said someone would be passing by this way soon. We'll travel with them."

"Well I'm not detecting anything," the green-haired girl replied skeptically. "Frankly, I'm not sure you didn't just make up this whole Eros thing. It's kind of hard to believe."

"Hey, you know me, would I drag us out here this far on such short notice for no reason?"

"Good point," she replied. "But still, we're getting nowhere. I suggest we make camp for the night and if these travelers of yours don't show up by tomorrow, we head back."

Finn sighed. "I guess so, I mean, he can't blame me if his directions turned out to be inacc-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot ringing out, hitting a tree behind him. He turned around and there were 3 bandits standing in front of him, all wielding pistols aimed at the two.

"You, hand over all of your valuables, now, and maybe we'll let you live," said the man who appeared to be the leader.

"I thought you didn't detect anything," muttered Finn under his breath, with more than a hint of annoyance.

"Don't blame me, they must have been using some kind of stealth magic!" She replied tersely.

"Hey, stop whispering and do what I said," replied the bandit leader, gesturing with his gun.

Finn calmly raised his hands in a gesture of submission, and walked towards the men. "Okay, okay, I don't have much, but you can take it. Just don't hurt us."

The lead bandit holstered his gun, smiled, and walked forward to meet his would-be victim. However, by this point, Finn had gotten close enough for his Charm field to affect all 3 bandits.

"You don't have to do this. I mean, we don't have much, and anyway, mugging people isn't a very nice thing to do, is it?" he asked, smiling non-confrontationally.

The bandits became disarmed by this speech, both figuratively and literally, as they holstered their guns.

"I... I guess you're right mister. My friends and I will just be on our way then. I hope you and your girlfriend have a safe trip."

"She's not my-" Finn began to yell at the bandits as they walked away, but he was interrupted.

"Get down!" yelled the gynoid as she dived on top of him, a bullet whizzing through the air where his head has been a split second earlier.

"What the-"

"Sniper! 302.4 meters away! He must have been using the same stealth magic as the others!"

Another shot rang out, but the girl raised her hand and the bullet ricocheted off of it. A pair of energy beams fired from her eyes, hitting the sniper's gun and causing it to partially vaporize. The man, now covered with severe burns, screamed and began running away, shouting something about how the Oneroi would make them pay. The first 3 bandits were long gone, having apparently been frightened away by the commotion.

"Thanks," said Finn, as he brushed himself off and stood up.

"No problem," his companion replied, as she walked off to begin gathering wood for a campfire. Finn took one last look at the desert which seemed to stretch on forever, then turned and followed her.


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## hammer (Nov 17, 2010)

Location Pandemonium ally.
Current time 8 pm.
Luke is sitting on the floor surrounding him is various things most people would find unsuitable to be near let alone sleep in, things like vomit and other bodily waste however, Luke lived his life like this as if it was nothing because of the abuse of being a slave the last warm place he was in was the bar so he decided its best to lay low for now to not draw attention to himself his goal in life is to restore the beauty of the earth and he cant do this dead. It?s raining, dark, and Luke is hungry, Luke takes his bag of seeds and notices he only has a handful left and even then only a few can grow into something edible.   There?s a scream in the distance which sounds like a scream of a child. Luke turns his head and notices a man are chasing a boy, the boy runs past Luke unaware of his existence Luke extends his foot out to trip the man. The man then lands face first in a pile of shit. The man gets up walks over to Luke and grabs him by the neck.  The expression on his face was filled with anger while the hood covered Luke?s face Luke had little to no emotion.

?You hobo what do you think your doing that pest stole from me and he needs to pay?
Luke looking into the man?s eyes sighed.
?All that boy wants to do is live why must you deprive him of that right?.
?The man then got angrier and punched Luke in the stomach you need to learn your place all you are is a homeless man why should I care what you say I am going to find that boy and take back what?s mine with interest. ?
The man continued to beat Luke then tossed him to the ground like a rag doll even though Luke knew he could beat him he decided that a fist fight would not be appropriate. As the man walked away Luke got up and as he placed his hand on his seed bag he remembered how few seeds he had left and that he should save them for something more important.  Luke then called out to the man as he took off  his left glove.
?Leave the boy alone or else.?
The man looked back in amusement thinking he walked back over to Luke he formed his hand into a fist and thrusted his first fist at Luke. Luke proceeded to catch his fist and upon contact to his hand the fist was covered by a thin layer of block of ice.  The ice was nothing special the hand while cold will not have lasting damage because while Luke?s  powers where given to him by gaia they are extremely weak but this man dose not know this however.  The man then looked at Luke in fear.

?You monster? he shrieked
?If you don?t go home and heat your hand you may lose it forever your lucky I let you live? Luke said with a grin underneath his hood hoping he would take the bluff even though this ability is near useless it is an involuntary power which takes all of Luke?s energy to use Luke? still questions gaia on giving this ability to him.
?I won?t for get this next time I see you you?re a dead man.?
Luke let out a smile knowing he was able to save the boy and do it without wasting his seeds.  However it came with a price he wasted so much energy freezing the mans hand Luke then fell to the ground unable to get up Luke stayed in the spot for the rest of the night.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 18, 2010)

The next Night: The Temple of Set

"I'm saying, Johnny and William aren't coming," the bald man wearing high end leathers named Rancid said. "I ran into Frank from Lucky Luke's gang earliar, he said the guy Luke Marcone sent to meet our guys got jumped last night. From what I can tell some creature's loose in the slums, and it not only almost got "Gentleman" Gerald, but it killed his bodyguard before anybody could react..."

"What's so special about some mook bodyguard?" inquired the man opposite him, who was sitting down on the steps that led up to what had once been an alter consecrated to Set: The God of chaos and the desert. Now all that remained was a pile of rubble, and mammoth statue of the God himself, that stretched to the ceiling. Just looking at it made Rancid uneasy, as when he was moving around earliar he had the odd sensation of it's eyes following him.

"Most bodyguards aren't acolytes of one of the war gods...this one was," he paused. "You've got to understand Proxy Spencer, Gerald apparently came back raving about being attacked by some shadowy demon, with razor sharp fangs...he then collapsed in Lucky Luke's mansion and hasn't awoken since. Johnny and Willy are about as good as dead I think."

"Well, let's wait and see...we still need that drug money. No money means i'm not happy. Me not being happy means, Draygon's not happy either," Proxy Spencer scowled. "You wouldn't want to see Draygon get angry would ya?"

"No sir, no one here wants to see that sir. It's just that..." he heard footsteps running towards him and the Proxy. Turning around he saw that two of the guards he'd left otuside running towards him, assault rifles slung over a shoulder. "I thought I told you to two to stay on duty," he growled.

"Something's coming chief...and it's apparently mad as hell, going by the sounds we were hearing out there. Rod told us to go to you, while he holds it off" The first guard reported, the other remained silent, possibly do to he was to scared to talk. Sounds of gunfire were heard outside...it continued for a few seconds, before stopping entirely, a moment later the steel door that marked the entrence to the temple shuddered with a loud thud. A moment later another loud thud rang through the temple, and Rancid could see it had been dented inword.

He turned to the Proxy as the ringing thuds continued "Find somewhere to hide," he ordered. The Proxy just nodded for running away to find a hiding place. There was a screech of metal and  the metal door came off it's hinges...and darkness came flooding in, followed quickly by a horrible creature.

Gentleman Gerald, had apparently been hit harder than he thought, this thing didn't have razor sharp fangs...nor did it have tentacles...he could concur with shadowy demon part though. "Fire, damn you fire!" he screamed at the two guards,as he picked up his own assault rifle...they started to oblige only to be smashed flat by the door, that to his horror, the darkness behind the creature had picked up and thrown at the two. The creature cocked it's head at him, and grinned...a moment later it was gone, the darkness swallowing whatever this thing was. Damn it all it could be anywhere now.

he Heard a sound behind him and he ttried to turn, but it was too late. as a tendril of shadow rammed straight through his chest and out his back. He slumped down, and the last thing he saw was the creature standing over him, before moving away.

_____________________________________________________________

Enigma found the Proxy cowering behind the statue of Set, the man tried to shrink away as he approached, but he was quickly corralled into place.

"Wh-what do you want?"

"What I want is to send a message to the gangs in this city...but most especially Draygon."

"You didn't have to kill my men, to deliever that message, you could have asked."

"Silly little man, this message can't besent with words...only actions, your mens deaths were only part of that message...as was Gentlemen Gerald's beating last night...now there's only one loose end to tie up..."


"...and what would that be?"

"Why your death of course!"

In a distant part of the city in a building marked the Pandemonium Times, the printing press of tomarrow's news paper lay empty all except one copy. The Headline read "The Phantom of the Slums strikes: Gentleman Gerald beaten, bodyguard dead...two missing"


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## Platinum (Nov 18, 2010)

After days of walking he was finally back. His cloak torn and ripped by the harsh desert winds he couldn't wait to discard it and put on some fresh new clothes but first of course he had some business to attend to.

The entrance to Paradiso was incredibly well hidden, most men in the world didn't even know the general location of the city. And even of those who did fewer still knew how to get in. To be granted entry one must follow protocol. In the center of a small collection of windswept ruins a single man stands. A man known as Peter. Only he and he alone could open the path to the city that lied hidden underground. A once secret city built in the days before the apocalypse, it was the only truly modern city left in the world. Entirely self sustainable due to advanced alternative energy sources and farming techniques it was truly paradise to those that gaze upon it who only remember a world of suffering. But everything was not as wonderful as it seemed in Paradiso. Those that ruled the city ruled it with an iron grip, from the shadows. This group of people was known as The Administration the true figures in power that controlled the strings of the puppet government. The people were kept blissfully unaware of this truth. Brutal and efficient The Administration had plans that extended far beyond their city. Plans that he had only the vaguest idea of. He dreaded breaking the news of what he had learned to them.

But first thing first he knelt 12 paces before the man called Peter and in a mild tone spoke "I seek entrance into paradise". The man eyed him betraying no emotion on his face. After a long pause he spoke in turn "You think yourself worthy of paradise?" 

"No I do not"

"And why is that?"

"Because no one is worthy of paradise."

"That is indeed true" Peter spoke. "Then why did you come if you knew you were not worthy?"

He paused for 5 seconds and then spoke "Because I was called."

"Then I shall open the gates for you." And almost immediately the ground began to shake violently. The Earth fell away as a deep hole appeared and at the end of that tunnel a gate was open. Leading deep into the Earth.

And with no delay he began the long journey down to the city.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 18, 2010)

*The Pandemonium Times: Part 1*

*The Phantom of the Slums*
*From the press of the Pandemonium Times*

_There's a phantom in the slums, and it's out for blood. As reported by the Times's own Julius Advent recently, the rate of dissaperances and suspected murders in the Slums have spiked these last two months. 

Most of the body count seems to belong to a cult dedicated to a creature called The Crawling Chaos...what this entity is is currently unknown, but the Times will report any new information on the Crawling Chaos as it becomes available.

One week ago however we reported on the brutal murder of one Wallace Sullivan, a hired gun in the employ of Draygon The Butcher's band of mercenarys. At the time, it was thought he'd been attacked by a cultist or some beast...however as of two nights ago this may no longer be the case, as we have our first eye witness account of something this reporter calls The Phantom of the Slums.

"Gentlemen" Gerald Murphy of Luke Marcone's Gentlemen's Club had been meeting with two messengers of Draygon the Butcher's mercenary gang, when the Phantom attacked, killing his bodyguard in an instant and dragging Murphy away. Murphy does not know why he was still alive...but he believes the creature might have found better sport in Draygon's messenger boys

The details for the reason between the meeting between Murphy and the messengers are unclear but it would appear Babyface Johnny and William the Squealer are now missing without a trace. and Murphy as this reporter has been told has slipped into a coma. Whether this Phantom was the thing responsible for Sullivan's murder remains to be seen, but be rest assured the Times will be covering any further developments as they arrive._

There were three stories under this one.

*Homeless man, marries Giant Cockroach; man vows to propogate a master race of human-cockroach hybrids.*

_________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile...

"Susan! we made the paper!" cried the one eyed hobo in the pink flanal bath robe.

a chittering reply came back to him from the otherside of the makeshift kitchen.

"What do you mean your not talking to me?"

another chittering reply.

"Ah but honey, I didn't mean to step on your sister."

_________________________________________________________________
and

*Mayor Magear celebrates Eigth year in office*

and finally 

*Renovation of Temple of Set, moving quickly; Plan to turn it into community center will go foward, as soon as they remove the statue of the god himself.*


_________________________________________________________________

Enigma grinned at this last story. "Somebody's forgotten that Set's sealed inside that statue haven't they..."


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 18, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

*One Week Ago

Jungle*

The jungle wasn't exactly the most comfortable place I had come through. I was sweating from the humid air and I had more mosquito bites in more places than I cared to count. With machete in my left hand, I hacked through the thick undergrowth. I held my rifle in my right, there was no telling what could jump out at you all of a sudden. Just last night, a wild mutant jaguar had jumped me and I had managed to kill it before it made me his next meal.

My arm was growing tired. I could have used my powers to manipulate the steel blade, but I wasn't entirely keen on using my still developing powers unless I absolutely needed it. Besides, I was more likely to simply send it shooting off uncontrollably. The sun peeked out in thin rays of sunlight that pierced through the canopy above.

The jungle was an odd mix of concrete and vegetation. Buildings surrounded me, utterly surrounded in thick vines and growth. Trees seemed to have sprouted straight through solid asphalt and concrete. It was hard to believe, but I was currently walking through what had once been a metropolitan city.

The jungle was beautiful, in a sort of wild, savage way. The destruction the Apocalypse had wrought had not left the Earth barren. New life and old thrived. It was almost as if the planet was turning back the clock, to a time before humans had existed.

It hadn't been easy making it this far. In about a week's time, I would enter the desert separating the outskirts of the Wasteland and the way to the Seven Cities. After leaving the dead city, I had made my way through mostly intact sewers before I found the metro. It was home to a settlement of Wastelanders. I had resupplied there and here I was, trekking across nothing but jungle for the last two weeks. 

I kept moving in an almost mindless march, hacking and moving as quickly as possible, taking water breaks every so often. I had be extremely careful to ration my food as precisely as possible. More than one wanderer had found themselves relying on the wild for food simply because they were careless in planning their rationing. Needless to say, only a desperate man would resort to eating from the mutated vegetation and the untrustworthy water around here.

Night was upon me before I could even notice it. I yawned, rather tired, and found a small, hollowed-out building to the side. I laid down my rifle and pack, relieved to be free of the heavy weight. I rolled out the sleeping bag and laid down. I'd rest for now, but then I'd have to go back to this mindless drudgery of navigating this jungle.

Oh well, one more week to go.

*One Week Later

The Desert*

Suddenly, blinding sunlight hit me like a blast of fresh air and jungle gave way to an endless expanse of sand.

Finally, I had made it to the very edge of the jungle! I would have almost whooped with relief, but then I remembered that I still had quite a ways to go through this desert. 

I had actually been running low on supplies but I had luckily stumbled upon a small slum of Wastelanders. They hadn't been real eager to divvy out some food and water, but that was before I offered to fix their broken metal gate. I had always been good with metal and that job had been enough to get me rations to probably last for a month.

I kept walking, but I noticed smoke emanating from somewhere on the border of the jungle, just about 40 yards away. I walked over, rifle in hand. There was no telling who it could be, friend or foe. 

I found what was a small, open tent by the dying embers of a campfire. The snoring was quite loud. But what caught my eye was a gorgeous green-haired girl, propped against the tent, eyes watching me like a hawk. Those eyes were eerie, as if they could see straight through me. She was watching my hands carefully. One held the rifle and the other gripped the machete. 

I got the message. She had no way of telling whether I was just another wanderer or a bandit. I slowly slung the rifle over my shoulder and sheathed the machete. 

I spread my hands in a placating gesture and said, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you like that. I'm just another traveler, making my way through here. The name's Edward, but you can call me Ed. You are...?"


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 19, 2010)

*The Pandemonium Times: Part 2*

*Slaughterhouse of Set*
*From the desk of the Pandemonium Times*

_We at the Times reported on the emergence of a creature called the Phantom of the Slums, two days ago...now it may have struck again, as well as moved out of the slums entirely. Yesterday morning the day crew working on the renovation of the Temple of Set discovered a grisly sight. Apparently during the night something had broken into Temple and slaughtered five members of Draygon the Butcher's mercenary band. The fact that the temple was only eight blocks from the Slums, may not be a coincidence.

The first thing Daniel Hendricks noticed, when he arrived on the scene, was that the newly installed front door had been torn off it's hinges. The next was the bode of a secuirty guard, that had been torn limb from limb, laying strewn on the steps. The inside of the temple was even worse.

Only one of the bodies were visible when he first entered, two of the others were under the wreckage of the door. the final body that was behind the statue of Set, had had it's face brutalized, before having something speared through it's chest. This last corpse was later identified as Charles Spencer a high ranking officer in Draygon's organization...What any of these people were doing here when they died is unknown...nor is it certain why The Phantom came here in the first place. 

If this was indeed the Phantom, then this adds even more bodies to it's already skyrocketing body count. It may not be a coincidence that both Luke Marcone and Draygon the Butcher have been reported to have met with Mayor Magear yesterday on this matter...whatever the case we'll be reporting on anynew developments should they occur._


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## Endless Mike (Nov 19, 2010)

Dante Alighieri said:


> *One Week Ago
> 
> Jungle*
> 
> ...



She stood up, eyeing the new arrival with suspicion, while simultaneously running multiple scans. "Chachamaru," she said. "Hold on a second,"

Climbing back into the tent, she gently shook her sleeping companion.

"Huh, wha..." he drearily mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"We've got company," she replied, as she helped Finn to his feet. Walking outside the tent, he eyed the new arrival.

"I wonder if this is the guy we're supposed to meet," he said, still rubbing his eyes due to being half - asleep.

"What do you mean by that?" the traveler asked.

"Well, it's a long story," replied Finn. "Do you believe in gods?"


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## Wesker (Nov 19, 2010)

Archon had been searching for 2 weeks to find a clue as to why the bandits were being so aggressive. He had encountered more of them but they were all as stubborn as the man he had tried interrogating before. As he was walking he stepped in something wet, hoping it was a source of water he looked down to find a mass of liquefied human remains.

Scratching his head he said "It looks like I'm not the only one with powers.". As he looked around for clues Archon noticed a trail of footprints leading away from the site. Quickly he began to race along the trail of tracks, hoping that whoever had done that knew more about the bandits, and hopefully would not be an enemy.


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 19, 2010)

*Edward Kent*



Endless Mike said:


> She stood up, eyeing the new arrival with suspicion, while simultaneously running multiple scans. "Chachamaru," she said. "Hold on a second,"
> 
> Climbing back into the tent, she gently shook her sleeping companion.
> 
> ...



She stood up then, looking at me suspiciously. She replied tersely, "Chachamaru." She glanced back at the tent and said, "Hold on a second."

She climbed into the tent and I heard the snoring abruptly stop. She was likely walking her companion. A tall, dark-haired man stepped out with the girl, yawning and rubbing his eyes out of tiredness.

"I wonder if this is the guy we're supposed to meet," he said tiredly.

Huh? Where they expecting someone to meet them here? 

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused.

"Well, it's a long story," he said. "Do you believe in gods?"

Gods? God? Scrapheap had never been a particularly religious place. The most I knew about religion came from some of the older folk, who sung Latin hymns and praised Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. I had never really listened to any of the new religions or cults either.

But, more to the point, why did he care if I believed in them or not?

Then again... in my travels I had seen things. Things that could not be explained by purely scientific fact. Things that transcended the natural realm altogether. 

I had heard stories. Beings who roamed the Earth with fantastical powers like my own, but like if they had been pulled straight from myth. Stories of gods and demons roaming the Earth, unleashed in the wake of the Apocalypse. 

I hesitated in my reply. "I don't know if I would call them gods. But I've seen a lot in my travels and a lot of it sure can't be explained by pure reason alone. Maybe there is something or some _things_ beyond all of this."

"It would certainly explain a lot." I shrugged. "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself. The name is Edward, but I also go by Ed. I met your friend here, Chachamaru was it? You had said something about meeting someone here?"


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## dimhaku (Nov 19, 2010)

Rake’s head suddenly snapped up. Tiste Andii were gifted by Mother Dark with a supernatural sixth sense. Something was going wrong in the Eastern Wastelands, of that he had no doubt. Of course, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause for the disturbance, but it was definitely there.

“These lands aren’t safe anymore. I have to move.” Rake wasted no time in packing up everything he owned. Due to his curse, he owned a little bit less each and every day. Just yesterday, his flashlight had crumbled to dust and left him relying on the light of the moon during the night. Packing things up now took no longer than thirty seconds.

With a grunt, he hefted up his bedroll with all his possessions wrapped up in them. He grimaced at the thought of what he was going to do. Venturing out of the Eastern Wastelands meant that he would probably meet other people. Even humans. “I’ve never seen a human before. Do they really have white skin?” To a Tiste Andii like himself, white skin was…unusual. His brother, Silchas Ruin had had white skin, but he had always been unusual. “He was an albino,” Rake told himself. “That was the medical condition. He was an albino.”

Rake suspected that he was slowly going insane. He expected it. In the books, they said that the last members of species invariably went insane. He clung to his memories of books. They were proof that he had once lived among society, not just wandering the desert. Without his constant reminders, Rake thought that he would start to forget that he had ever been civilized. He wanted to remember the times when he had not been cursed with the power to disintegrate things with his hands. With this roundabout train of thought, Rake headed towards the east.

Days passed when Rake suddenly found himself in a dire situation. A sandtiger. These predatory cats possessed 3 inch claws and 6 inch jaws, all dripping with neurotoxins. Thankfully, Rake possessed a limited form of resistance due to his Tiste Andii blood, but one good slash would leave him in a euphoric trance in which he would never awake from.

Sandtigers were worse than other predators in that they knew that creatures that walked on two feet were actually easier prey than four-legged creatures. Sandtigers actively hunted humans. Even if Rake was a Tiste Andii, he was humanoid enough to be considered prey.

The tiger growled. Rake swallowed. “I’m dead…” he whispered to himself in fear. His eyes fearfully tracked how the sandtiger easily balanced on the sand with its paws. Rather than sinking into the sand like Rake’s feet did, the sandtiger’s paws hardly seemed to disturb the sand. The sandtiger’s growls continued, reaching deeper pitches with every second. Rake began backing away. He cursed his foul luck. With a weapon, he might’ve had a chance. He knew that a Tiste Andii with a sword or spear had a reasonable chance due to their inherent poison resistance. But his only weapon was his unreliable curse.

Suddenly, the tiger’s claws dug into the sand and the growls suddenly spiked to a fever pitch. Rake tensed and dropped his pack on the sands. 
The sandtiger pounced.

Rake dived to the right and barely dodged the outstretched claws. He instinctively grabbed a handful of sand. As soon as the sandtiger turned around, Rake flung the sand into its eyes, hoping to blind it. He forgot that sandtigers had evolved a second eyelid to protect against sand long ago. The tiger merely pounced again. This time, Rake simply ducked. He didn’t turn back. He ran.

The split-second head start did no good. Glancing behind him, he saw the tiger glide across the sand, its weight evenly spread out amongst its paws. There were hardly any paw marks and the tiger easily caught up to him. For a short moment, Rake found himself running alongside the sandtiger. This time, the sandtiger did not miss. It leapt and its left claw raked across Rake’s back (see what I did there ).
Rake screamed in agony and collapsed to the ground. However, he could already feel the pain being replaced by a strange numbness. Rake’s mind suddenly began to wander and a grin unwittingly crept across his lips. ‘No…. I can’t let the Tiste Andii end here,’ he resolved. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. No luck.

The tiger pounced again. This time, Rake threw caution to the winds and raced to meet it. He flung himself into the tiger and tackled it.

The cat yowled as it went sprawling with Rake on top of it. Rake tried to pin down the cat’s limbs but he could feel the strength quickly leaving his body. “NO!” he screamed out. “DISAPPEAR! DISAPPEAR! DISAPPEAR!” The cat’s struggles intensified and Rake felt himself being shaken off. He quickly used the momentum of the cat’s wild struggles to flip the cat onto its stomach and then placed his hands around its neck, strangling it.

“DISAPPEAR! DISAPPEAR! FUCKING DISAPPEAR ALREADY!!!!” he shouted. The cat began to make a high-pitched keening noise as it felt its air supply choking away. One weakness of the sandtiger was its fragile organs. It relied on its poison to take down most animals. With Rake, though, his Tiste Andii blood allowed him to continue fighting for some time. He would not immediately go down after a slash.

“DISAPPEAR! DISAPPEAR! DISAPPEAR! I AM NOT GOING TO DIE TO A CAT IN THE MIDDLE OF A DESERT!” Rake screamed. Even though the strength in his arms was seeping out, his voice remained strong. “DIE ALREADY!”

Suddenly, the cat tensed and froze. Rake stared in wonder as the neck lightened, and then paled. In seconds, the cat’s neck crumbled to dust. 
The head fell and rolled in the sand.

The fight went out of Rake. With a sigh, he collapsed on top of the carcass of the cat.
“I did it…I….” his voice trailed off.


----------



## masamune1 (Nov 19, 2010)

The Doctor walked through the weird, eerie forest. The brilliant night sky was lit up by a full moon and littered with stars, unseen creatures sung their music in the midst of the tall varied trees. But the beauty was penetrated by a sense of alienness, that there was something unnatural about the thicket. The Doctor would neither have been bothered by this nor, likely, even noticed it, if he did not already know the why. 

He stepped into an opening where he came upon a cliff pouring out a waterfall into a pond, where The Ghost sat on a stone, poking the water with a stick. His plain white _larva_ mask betrayed nothing of his features, the rest of him hidden by his black hooded cloak. Around the pond were the others in their cloaks and masks, twelve in all. The Devil, The Jester, The Cat, The Wolf, The Gladiator, The Reaper, The _Magojiro_, The _Shikami_, The Faerie and The Moon, a myriad of patterns and colours. His own Plague Doctor's mask was gray with black lines running up both sides of the beak. It was a mask made to deal with death.

The Moon, he noticed, sat on a wall arching out of the cliff. He wore a domino mask, with a crescent arch on the left side, a silvery black in colour. He glanced at The Doctor, then sad "You're finally here."

"I could'nt get away", The Doctor replied. "Not without awkward questions being asked."

"We're all here anyway. Let's begin". The others silently moved around the basin; The Ghost did nothing, but stopped playing with the water.

"Kent and Finn have met up. Kent is heading towards Pandemonium. Knight, Luke, and the one called Mask are already there. It seems they all might be meeting up there. Laker is in Paradiso, and will soon meet up with Archon. The rest wander the Wastes. 

"Kent has been made aware of us. Finn too- a sniper gave up our name. He needs to be dealt with. No more slip ups."

The Oneori remained silent. The pond animated with images, like several small televisions, spying on the subjects of the lecture as they were at that moment.    

"We have to avoid contact with Kent for now. If he gets close to his sister, move her on. The time is not right yet." He looked up, "Is everything still going according to plan?"

The Jester answered him, "Our masks are still on, are'nt they? Everything is on schedule, there's nothing to worry about." His garish mask was golden and smiling, like a Comedy mask, with ridiculous red floppy belled points popping out of the head. His hood was pulled back slightly to show them.

"Don't be so presumptuous", said The Magojiro in a tone that betrayed no emotion, a frightening contrast with the white smiling face of a young woman that she wore. "We must not be so reckless to think our identities remain hidden, or our actions."

The Moon said "The Lord of Dreams cannot afford us to make any mistakes. Nor can we, unless you think we can face the gods alone."

The Jester raised his hands to surrender uncaringly, but said nothing. 

"In any case, we have lingered too long. Your orders are unchanged. You are dismissed", The Moon finished.

The Doctor quietly watched the others leave, then vanished himself, leaving only The Faerie and The Moon.

"What is it?"

The Faerie wore a large sapphire _columbina_ mask with bejewelled blue wings spreading out, covering her cheeks and extending outside her face. "What are we to do with the Kent girl?"

"Kent is the one we want. Is there anything so special about his sister?"

"I feel she might prove important in the future. I believe she has untapped potential of her own."

The Moon stared quietly at her. Her feelings were not to be dismissed out of hand, given the nature of her gifts. "We shall keep a close eye on her, then. Now go. I have to bring this to an end."

She left, and The Moon was on his own. The Kent boy was powerful, that much was certain. It would be interesting to see if his sister was a match.

But he could think on that later. He had business to attend to, and he could not do it here. He ended the dream, and woke up to his other life.


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## Wesker (Nov 19, 2010)

Archon sat meditating at night having his nightly lessons with the entity that now resided with him. For the past week the goal of his meditations was to go into a state the entity called "trance". He described it as moving one's consciousness beyond the physical realm and into the astral-metaphysical realms. He had lost the trail of footprints he was following, but if the person that left them did have powers it might be possible to pick up it's meta-physical trail. 

   Archon was about to give up for the night when suddenly he felt himself leave his body, he had finally done it. "Well done, now focus on finding the trail." said the entity. It wasn't too hard to find the trail, whatever it was there was something about it that made it stick out in the astral realm.

   However for a moment he thought he felt another distant presence, like something was watching him. However the sensation left as soon as it came. "What was that?" Archon asked the entity. "I don't know, I can only sense things through you, however it doesn't seem to mean you harm from what I can tell, but for now focus on maintaining the trail while returning to physical consciousness." Archon obeyed and returned to his body, he would have to push himself if he was going to be able to catch up to whoever it was that he followed.


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## Stunna (Nov 19, 2010)

“Jesus…” One of the masked men said as he and the other masked men entered the Masked Bandits hideout. Two of the masked men were carrying the fox-masked man. He was unconscious.

“What happened to Fox?” A masked man asked. He was wearing a wolf mask.

“Boss happened. Fox here was apparently out of line, so Mask made us whip out the Masks of Fear on him. He’s pretty shaken up.” The man in the lead said. He was wearing a toad mask. He grasped it and removed it, letting out a sigh.

“H-Hey! You know we’re never to reveal our masks! It’s his law!” Fox said, shielding his eyes. Everyone else did so as well.

“Pshh! Mask isn’t even here. He sent us back here alone, while he went for a night on the town, I guess. What’re you covering your eyes for! You tryin’ to tell me somethin’?!” Toad exclaimed.

“No… it’s just… Mask said…” Fox stuttered out.

“…Mask said to never look at a man without his mask. If you see a man remove his mask,” Mask said, coming out of no where and handing Fox a revolver. “Kill em’.” Mask placed his hand on Fox’s shoulder, as Fox reluctantly pulled the trigger, shooting Toad in the temple.

“Men! Why do we wear masks?!”

“It dehumanizes us! We are numbers! Statistics! We exist only for you, Mask!”

“That’s right.” Mask replied. “You are not human. You are not people. You’re pawns… That reminds me…” He snatched the revolver from Wolf’s hand, and put it up to his head. “You don’t have names. You are not to name one another.” Mask said, as he pulled the trigger. “I knew that letting everyone have their own personal masks was a bad idea. ‘But we won’t break the rules, boss! We promise!’ Bull! I want everyone wearing plain white masks by tomorrow morning! I’m heading to my room.” Mask said as he walked off.

“Let’s get F-I mean, this guy, to the infirmary.” One masked man said to the other. He solemnly nodded his head.

Mask walked slowly down a corridor to his quarters. “Maybe I’m too tough on these guys...”


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## Platinum (Nov 19, 2010)

A day had past and he was starting to get impatient. The Administration had yet to contact him. He knew that their was no way to speed up their inevitable meeting so he might as well enjoy himself. He decided to visit Martyr's Lake.

Martyr's Lake was always a sight to behold. A pristine lake 20 kilometers away from the main urban areas of Paradiso it was a popular recreation sight for the populace. People of all ages were there. Some fishing, some kayaking, and others just laying on towels this was the one of the few places in the world where you could see people enjoying themselves without a single care in the world. He always came here to think on his downtime.

He was resting under the shade of a large tree when a man in a white suit discretely handed him a letter and walked off without saying a single word. As expected the letter contained the directions to his meeting spot. Reluctantly he got up and began to walk to the meeting spot. 

"This is the place" he said in his mind. A small office complex in the middle of the industrial zone. He was to go to the third floor and meet with the representative. He greeted the receptionist and climbed the flight of stairs to the third floor. He entered the proper door and inside was another man in a white suit "make yourself comfortable" the man said gesturing to a chair. Once he sat down the man in the white suit continued. "Now then tell me what you learned".

He recapped the events for the man. Everything he learned and his speculation on what this meant. It took about ten minutes in all, the man in the white suit listened intently never interrupting and once he finished he finally spoke, "This is very.... worrying to say the least. But the avatar of the crawling chaos won't make his move for a few months at the very least. Of this I am certain. We still have time to strike first. Our army of the faithful is almost ready to march. We just need... a leader. An army is nothing without a competent leader. Would you happen to have anyone in mind?"

"No one I can think of. But i'll dwell on it."

"Good. Very good. Well The Administration has nothing for you to do at the moment. You are free to do what you wish. We will call on you when you are needed."

"Very well." 

"But perhaps might I make a suggestion? Aquarius is quite adamant about you making a pilgrimage to the Temples of The Zodiac."

"It's true that I haven't been there for a while. I might as well visit. Well it was nice having this meeting but I best get going.The journey to the temples will take a while it's best to leave immediately."

"We will meet again Laker, send my fondest regards to the gods for me."


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## Stunna (Nov 19, 2010)

“Maybe I’m too tough on these guys…”

“No!” Cried a voice. “Weakness will not be permitted in the Masked Bandits! Our word is the law!”

“No… not the mask again!” Mask exclaimed as he grasped his head. He leaned up against the wall in anguish. “I didn’t think I’d hear from you anytime soon…”

“I’m your mind. Your soul. I’m YOU. Of course you’d hear from me again. Whenever you doubt yourself, I’m here to remind you of what we’re fighting for.” The voice responded.

“Shut up! You’re not me!! You’re the mask! A possessed mask!” Mask exclaimed. When he realized he was making a scene he quickly ran into his room.

“If I’m simply the voice of the mask speaking through you, then how come you can hear me when you remove it?” The voice rebutted as Mask threw the mask across the room. It shattered against the wall.

Mask slumped down against the wall, crying into his arms.

“You’re still too weak. You still need power. Confidence. I refuse to have a host so feeble. You need some action. Go. Let’s have some fun.” Mask slowly stood back up, and opened a drawer. He grabbed a new mask and placed it on his face.

“_Yes… let’s._” He said, before chuckling.


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## Wesker (Nov 19, 2010)

The trail had stopped and then all but disappeared a day ago but Archon kept walking towards it's last location. As he came upon the location the astral signature became strong again. He saw a man come out of what appeared to be an underground chamber amongst some ruins and walked past another man standing in the center. Archon waited until the man he was following was away from the ruins and then started towards him. He brought up his shields just in case the one he was following was hostile. Once he was within hearing distance he asked "What do you know about the bandits that have become more active in the wastelands?"


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## Platinum (Nov 19, 2010)

Wesker said:


> The trail had stopped and then all but disappeared a day ago but Archon kept walking towards it's last location. As he came upon the location the astral signature became strong again. He saw a man come out of what appeared to be an underground chamber amongst some ruins and walked past another man standing in the center. Archon waited until the man he was following was away from the ruins and then started towards him. He brought up his shields just in case the one he was following was hostile. Once he was within hearing distance he asked "What do you know about the bandits that have become more active in the wastelands?"



"Sorry that information is classified" he spoke. He began to walk away but the man was persistent. He didn't feel like getting in a fight so close to the entrance of city. Peter would not be happy with him. He would give him a small piece of information and hope that was sufficient.

"Fine I will tell you one thing and that is it. The Crawling Chaos is active once more. You will receive no further information from me."


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## Wesker (Nov 19, 2010)

Platinum said:


> "Sorry that information is classified" he spoke. He began to walk away but the man was persistent. He didn't feel like getting in a fight so close to the entrance of city. Peter would not be happy with him. He would give him a small piece of information and hope that was sufficient.
> 
> "Fine I will tell you one thing and that is it. The Crawling Chaos is active once more. You will receive no further information from me."



Archon responded "That isn't very helpful, I have never heard of the Crawling Chaos. I must know more if I am to protect those I care about. You say it is classified so that must mean you work for a larger organization. Perhaps I can be of assistance to you, for you see I also have powers." He hoped at the very least the mention of powers would grab his attention.


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## Platinum (Nov 19, 2010)

Wesker said:


> Archon responded "That isn't very helpful, I have never heard of the Crawling Chaos. I must know more if I am to protect those I care about. You say it is classified so that must mean you work for a larger organization. Perhaps I can be of assistance to you, for you see I also have powers." He hoped at the very least the mention of powers would grab his attention.



The man knew how to play the game. He could admit that.

"I can only reveal more information to a member of The Administration i'm sorry. I can sense that you are quite powerful though so perhaps they would have some use for you..." He jotted some notes down on a piece of paper and handed it to the man. "Follow these instructions once you meet the man in the middle of the ruins and he will let you into the city. Once there find a man in a white suit and tell him that you wish to join the army of the faithful. Some time later another man in a white suit will give directions to a meeting location and if you are worthy the will let you join and tell you all you need to know."

"Now do you have any more questions you need answered because I am in quite a hurry. I have a pilgrimage to make and my god is probably furious enough with me as it is."


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 19, 2010)

*The Pandemonium Times: Part 3*

*Mayor Magear Declares it's Phantom Season*
*From the desk of the Pandemonium Times*

_We at the Times have reported over the last week and a half on the creature known as The Phantom of the Slums. a creature that over the last week and a half has attacked ten people and killed nine of them. It is also thought to be connected to the murders of the cult of the Crawling Chaos, that was based in the slums.

Now our honorable mayor has responded with this when our very own Julius Advent interviewed him yesterday. 

*"It astounded me, when Luke Marcone and Draygon came to me, and told me of this horrible monster that had been attacking not only thier men but perfectly law-abiding citizens as well. This must not stand, both Draygon's organization and Luke's Gentlemen's club are essential parts of this city. If our citizens have to constantly be worried, about being attacked by monsters, than we're no better than the Wastelands. I say this again: This Will not stand, I by the power invested in my office am declaring that it's now Open Season on this Phantom...and I say to him now, you better watch your back, because you've kicked the hornet's nest awake...*

What a truely wonderful man our mayor is, to have such concern for the citizens for his city...no wonder he's gone eight years in office without a single challenger..._

_________________________________________________________________

Enigma snorted, as he read the paper. The only reason Billy Magear never got challenged for his position of office was because he had all those who would even try killed. He found Magear's false concern vastly amusing...the only reason he even gave this interview was probably because Draygon wouldn't leave him alone otherwise.

_________________________________________________________________

_In response to this new policy, both Draygon the Butcher and "Lucky" Luke Marcone, have responded by placing bounties on The Phantom's head.

Marcone also gave out a statement 

*"This thing went and attacked one of my guys, that's not right, 'cause here at the Club we're family. The number one rule of the Club, is always avenge your fallen brothers, so guess what, i'll give 1 million dollars, as well as a night with one of my best girls, if he can bring me this Phantom alive. So what do you say champ, do youu people have guts to roll with the true gentlemen? *

Draygon the Butcher was not available for comment, his spokesman did tell us though that he was not only going to match Marcone's bounty but double it if somebody could kill the Phantom.

We will report more on this as it develops, as of now none have come forward who wish to take on The Phantom, but with so much money on the line, that will soon change._

There was two other stories below this one.

*Self-proclaimed Prophet of the Lord of Nightmares, arrives in city; preaches repentence and conversion;  says only the faithful will survive when Lord Ikelos comes again*

and

*Renovation of Temple of Set put on hold, in the wake of recent brutal massacre, Statue will remain where it is.*

_________________________________________________________________

"You hear that buddy," said Enigma from his perch from atop the staue of Set. "Looks like you'll have to wait a little longer before being set free."

"Get off my head you asshole, and clean the blood off the back of my legs!" the thundering voice of the god sounded in his head. "Why'd you have to kill Spencer back there, why couldn't you have dragged him to where my alter used to be! At least that way, I wouldn't be hungry now."

"My somebody's cranky aren't they?"

"Cranky! I just spent eight years unconcious! only to wake up to see your ugly face again Knight, and to find out that my cult is now almost non existant...what happened to them? who the fuck knows!...All I know is when I find somebody to break me out of here, i'm going straight to Magear and ramming my staff right down his throat. He's going to be my personal flagpole for when I burn this city to the damn ground!"

"You know when you do find somebody, maybe you should be less belligerent..."

"I'll shown you billigerent, you little..."

"Try the Eastern Wastelands..."

"What?"

"The Eastern Wasteland, I contacted Erebus last night about your...prediciment. He said there's a couple of tribes out there that still worship you, and are holding out hope for your return...send a message thier way, when your feeling less angry and vengeful." Enigma got up to leave tucking the paper in his arm. he almost stepped into the shadows to leave, but at the last minute he held back to say one last thing "Something tells me they'd be more than happy to come to your aid."

He stepped into the shadows of the temple and was gone. The statue was silent for a moment. "Hmph smart guy thinks he's all that, I ought to teach him some manners, doesn't he know who I was back in the day," a pause, and then a chuckle. "Course he did come through for me...Eastern Wasteland, why didn't I think to look there..."

_________________________________________________________________

Deep in the barrain terrain of the Eastern Wasteland were three villages, the villages lay quiet for the night as the residents were asleep...but that didn't last for very long, as cry after cry went up as resident after resident awoke from thier sleep, visited by the same message 

*"Free Me, from my shackles in fell Pandemonium, Set calls you to action"*

Come the morning a new cry went up, this time in unison as all three villages united as one in a chant.

"The Lord of the Desert calls to us!, The Lord of Storms calls to us! our God calls to us! Lord Set calls us to march! Lord Set calls us to march to war, aginst the fell Pandemonium! We are the Last People of Set and we answer the call with this! We are coming! We are coming! We are coming to claim Pandemonium in the name of Set, We are coming to cast out your rulers! We are coming to free our God from your clutches...for this we vow Pandemonium shall burn!"

They are coming...Now all they have to do is find the city


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## Wesker (Nov 20, 2010)

Platinum said:


> The man knew how to play the game. He could admit that.
> 
> "I can only reveal more information to a member of The Administration i'm sorry. I can sense that you are quite powerful though so perhaps they would have some use for you..." He jotted some notes down on a piece of paper and handed it to the man. "Follow these instructions once you meet the man in the middle of the ruins and he will let you into the city. Once there find a man in a white suit and tell him that you wish to join the army of the faithful. Some time later another man in a white suit will give directions to a meeting location and if you are worthy the will let you join and tell you all you need to know."
> 
> "Now do you have any more questions you need answered because I am in quite a hurry. I have a pilgrimage to make and my god is probably furious enough with me as it is."



"No I don't have any more questions and thank you for your help." said Archon. He could tell that pressing him for further information would be fruitless. He then headed towards the ruins and followed the instructions given to him and was let into the underground city.

Upon seeing it for the first time he was awestruck. He had seen pictures of cities in books but had never actually been inside of one. But sightseeing would have to wait for later, he had a job to do. 

After searching for sometime he finally found the man in a white suit. Walking up to him he said "I want to join the army of the faithful." The man looked him up and down, then wrote something down on a piece of paper and said "Go to this location, another man will meet you there, now off with you." 

About a half an hour later he came to a large empty house. 
Upon entering a man came out of the shadows and said "Well what do we have here?"


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## Stunna (Nov 20, 2010)

Mask walked through the dark alleyways of Pandemonium, reading a newspaper. Lights shone from the eye slits in his mask like a flashlight.

“A bounty… on the ‘Phantom of the Slums’. One million dollars? That’s a damn shame. Magear’s got cash to blow on chasing down wannabe heroes, while half the city starves. I mean, I ain’t no saint, but that’s some bull if you ask me. I guess the Bandits could use the money, though. This Phantom is as good as gone.” Mask said, as he crushed the paper in his hand.

“That’s what I wanted to hear! Now you sound like yourself.” The voice encouraged.

“Yeah, whatever. I don’t even care about the money. I’m just doing this to shut you up, Mask.” Mask said.

“So you admit it! We ARE one in the same!”

“No! YOU’RE Mask! I’m… I’m…” 

“Can you not even recall your ‘true’ name?”

“I know my name!” Mask shouted. “My name is… my name is…”


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## Platinum (Nov 20, 2010)

The business with the stranger settled he returned to the path that would lead him to the temples. It was unfortunate that his newly bought dark blue cloak would most likely be ruined by the time he returned to Paradiso but money was not an issue to him. The Administration was more than generous with it's compensation. He dreaded the meeting to be quite honest. He had come to an agreement of sorts with Aquarius, they suspended his outstanding missions for the god temporarily so he could focus on his work with The Administration, this deal would most likely not last. He regretted this deeply. His missions as the avatar of Aquarius were far more dangerous and provided less tangible benefit to the world around him. But he knew he Aquarius had plans that stretched even farther than The Administration's. And in a way he missed the danger, he had grown far too complacent doing easy jobs. He needed to improve his skills for the trials that were no doubt ahead. 
Maybe this will be a good thing after all". He tried to convince him self of this.

"As long as I don't have to work with any of the other.... avatars. I guess I can live with this." He most likely wouldn't be called on again for months and he knew this. Only when they were ready to make a move. But could he really put his trust in their so called "Army of The Faithful"? It seemed he had no choice but to. Aquarius would keep him entertained to say the least.

And once again he set off into the wastelands.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 20, 2010)

*Meanwhile with somebody whose lurking under a bridge*

"Susan, Susan, the paper brought wonderful news!" cried the homeless man 

annoyed chittering. 

"What do you mean I already told you thirty minutes ago?" the giant cockroach turned to him and tapped one of it's feet. "All right so maybe I did tell you about the bounty...can we collect on it? we could use the money to buy a house...we need room for our master race to grow afterall."

The cockroach appeared to sigh, before chittering a response. 

"Yay!...and so begins our next adventure: The Phantom of the Slums Vs. Richard Hobo master of the Voodoo arts & Susan the Cockroach Necromancer!"

The cockroach chittered again.

"But I don't have any pants."


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## SYSC (Nov 20, 2010)

*Vista*

*The Present: Pandemonium Slums*

A month has past by since Hen first experenced the power within himself. He hasn't played performed in a establishment or had a meal since then. He sleeps in a alley in the slums covered in crumpled newspapers and garbage. 

Hen wakes up yawning with the newpapers scattering across the alley as he gets up. He flips his shades perfectly on his face and drags his guitar as he walks down the narrow alley to the street opening. He passes the many faces that live here. Some ran out of their homes, some without families, some just waiting for death to come and save them from the burden of living in this apocalyptic world.

As he reaches down the alley to the slums he is stopped by huge husky man wearing tattered clothes. The man lifts his meaty fingers and points to Hen's guitar and says "Oh, still trying to scramble some change from these scumwalkers with your _music_ huh? AHAHA pathetic idiot!"

It was Chief, the self proclaimed leader of this little alley. Cheif always carried a bag of food he kept for himself. Hen never viewed him as a leader because of his selfish attitude and lack of compassion to others and because of this they have butted heads. 

"Yeah, I am lardass. The power of Music is the only thing that can save this world so shut up" Hen said

Chief walked over to a pile of garbage, he's body shifting left and right with every step. He droped himself down on it before saying "Watch your tongue. Im growing sick of homing such a smartass like you in my alley." Cheif pulls a soggy piece of bread from his bag eating it in one bite. "Plenty of people would want to be where you are. You're just another ungrateful mouth to feed" he says spitting pieces of bread on the ground. A little girl's stomach growls causing Chief to glare down on her angerly. She says sorry but Chief just mumbles something to himself as he lays down to sleep. 

"As a traveling rockstar im use to the famine and poor conditions of a world after the apocalypse but these people aren't. Instead of stuffing your face you could try actually doing something" Hen said

Chief ignores him. Hen picks up the dirty handle of a cracked cup and sits down crosslegged in a corner to the opeing of the street. He puts he's guitar "Maria" on his lap and begins playing "Walking on Sunshine". Hours pass by with nothing to show for. Nothing but the unmoved faces of the people in the slums. Hen picks himself up grabing his things and turns back into the alley leaning against a wall.

"AHAHA! If you couldn't tell there is no sunshine! Theres nothing to be happy about! And stop playing your crappy music when im sleeping" Cheif says waking up irritated. Cheif gets up turning to a wall to take a piss. Hen flings the cracked cup to the back of Chief's head. It breaks instantly and causes Chief to slip and fall on his own urine. 

"Didn't I tell you to shut up already" Hen said calmly

"WHAT! Yo- you im going to make you pay!!" Cheif said rolling on the ground trying to get up. When he finally gets up he runs at Hen throwing a fist. Hen quickly side steps him triping Cheif's leg with he's guitar causing Cheif to fall head first into a wall knocking him out. 

The people in the alley looked in awe at Hen. Hen walked to the bag where Chief had all he's food and took a piece of a bread and gave it to the little girl. She ate it smiling saying thank you. Hen gave her the bag and told her to hand out the food for everyone else. She ran down the alley handing them out to the people who in a long while begin to smile. 

A gust of wind blew down the alley carrying newspapers. One nearly hit Hen in the face before he caught it. He looked down reading a article to himself and said 

"...Phantom of the slums bounty, 1 million dollars and girls. This sounds promising"


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## Endless Mike (Nov 20, 2010)

Dante Alighieri said:


> Gods? God? Scrapheap had never been a particularly religious place. The most I knew about religion came from some of the older folk, who sung Latin hymns and praised Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. I had never really listened to any of the new religions or cults either.
> 
> But, more to the point, why did he care if I believed in them or not?
> 
> ...



"My name is Finn," he replied, shaking the newcomer's hand. "You seem pretty open-minded, so this story probably won't seem that strange to you..."

He then explained the series of events that had led them to their current position.

"Eros said we were supposed to meet someone here, and aside from a couple of bandits we took care of earlier, you're the only one we've seen."

Chachamaru interjected "This might be a shot in the dark, but have you ever heard of something called the Oneori? The bandits said something about it, but I don't know what it is, it could be a person, a weapon, a group... do you have any information?"


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 20, 2010)

*Edward Kent*



Endless Mike said:


> "My name is Finn," he replied, shaking the newcomer's hand. "You seem pretty open-minded, so this story probably won't seem that strange to you..."
> 
> He then explained the series of events that had led them to their current position.
> 
> ...



The stranger shook my hand. "My name is Finn. You seem pretty open-minded so this story probably won't seem that strange to you." 

For the next ten minutes or so, he proceeded to summarize the events that had led the two of them here. The story was amazing to say the least. 

A while back, when I was in high school, we had gone over the various deities of Greek and Roman mythology. I had no idea why it was important, especially in these kind of times, but among them had been Eros.

And apparently, this god had revealed himself to Finn and made him his avatar on Earth. Well, I had heard stories of this sort during my travels. It was myth come to life. It was hard to wrap my head around to say the least.

Finn finished his story, concluding, "Eros said we were supposed to meet someone here, and aside from a couple  of bandits we took care of earlier, you're the only one we've seen."

The green-haired girl spoke up at this point. ""This might be a shot in the dark, but have you ever heard of something  called the Oneori? The bandits said something about it, but I don't know  what it is, it could be a person, a weapon, a group... do you have any  information?"

Oneori? That could not be a coincidence. 

My hesitation caused Chachamaru to stare hard at me. "So you know something of them?"

"Not particularly," I said slowly. "Explaining it is going to require a bit of background. I came here from a city deep in the Southern Wasteland. I ran across a group of four magi. They weren't particularly pleased about my presence to say the least."

I left out the details of just why I had decided to attack them in the first place. I wasn't quite comfortable with giving away my life story just yet.

"So we fought it out and I subdued their leader. Apparently, they had been sent by their master to set up some sort of satellite array to establish communications from there to Pandemonium. As for why, he had no idea. They had met a proxy in Pandemonium who claimed to be working for the Oneori."

"And?" Chachamaru prompted.

"And nothing," I shrugged. "He wasn't able to tell me anything about them. He didn't seem to know anything at all about them. What I can guess though, whoever or whatever it is, it isn't anything good. These men are the sort who raid and pillage villages. Whatever this thing or person or people are, it's no friend of ours."

"The only lead I've got is Pandemonium and some group called the Masked Bandits. Beyond that, I've got nothing."

Finn frowned. "I can agree that this bunch isn't real particular about our health and what not. But what do we do now?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. This god of yours apparently sent you on some quest to meet up and travel with someone here. Maybe I'm that person, maybe I'm not. It's really up to you and your girlfriend as far as what you plan to do."


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## Endless Mike (Nov 20, 2010)

Getting annoyed again, Finn began to exclaim "She's not my-" "Save it," Chachamaru cut him off. "It seems to me that trying to hunt down more leads on the Oneori would just be looking for trouble, and we've had enough of that already."

"So since we're supposed to travel with you, I suppose the next logical question is where are you headed?" asked Finn.


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## Stunna (Nov 20, 2010)

?Wake up, boys!? Mask exclaimed, as he stormed into the hideout. He waved around the newspaper triumphantly. ?We?ve got a bounty to collect!? Mask proceeded to press a button on the wall, setting off an alarm. ?Get UP!?

Slowly, one by one, masked men came from hallways, picked themselves up off of the floor, and so on. No one had their own personal room except Mask. Another dehumanizing tactic.

?A bounty, boss?? One man asked, groggily.

?That?s right! The ?Phantom of the Slums?! There?s a million dollar price on his head, and we?re gonna collect. Every single last one of us! Now, everyone fall in line!?

Everyone did as commanded. All Masked Bandits were aligned in four lines.

?Line One! Scout the north! Line Two! Scout the east! Line Three! Scout the west! Line Four! Scout the South! I?ll go solo. You punks would slow me down.? Mask said, laughing. There was silence for a moment.

?What?re you waiting for? *GO.*?

Quickly, the bandits flooded out of the base, determined to locate the Phantom of the Slums, or face Mask?s wrath.


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## Platinum (Nov 20, 2010)

In the middle of a great valley in the central wastelands he meditated searching for the celestial gate for it was here that the boundary between the two realities was the thinnest. For ten minutes he sat unmoving and at last the gate appeared before him. He closed his eyes and stepped through.

He had almost forgotten what the celestial realm looked like. He walked among the stars here. There was no atmosphere and yet he could breath just fine, only the limitless expanse of space surrounded him. He walked on nothing and yet did not fall. Vast rivers ran through the nothingness and off in the distance he saw the celestial mountains though he had never visited them in person. He meant to do that one day but first thing first he saw that one of the priests of Aquarius was approaching.

"Welcome back to the celestial realm my friend" spoke the high priest of Aquarius. He hadn't changed at all since he had last saw him. Still the same ocean blue robes, an ornate gold chain bearing the sign of Aquarius hanging from his neck. In his left hand he carried the staff of Aquarius. "Our lord will be most pleased by your sudden visit".

"We all know that this trip was not a spontaneous occurrence on my behalf. Aquarius summoned me. Do you have any idea on what he seeks?"

"The gods are very concerned about the happenings in the world as you know. Aquarius wishes for you to resume your training as his avatar and then go on a few quests for him."

"I assumed as much. I shall make haste to the temple then."

"Very good sir. I will have your room prepared for you when you get back."

As he came upon the first celestial river he heard a familiar voice call to him. "Long time no see Aquarius". 

"Leo... I didn't expect you to be in the celestial realm." Leo too looked the same. The same fiery eyes, he was a very intimidating man. Over seven feet tall he was carrying his signature claymore in his left hand. His bold features betraying no emotion in his face. He had quite a reputation in the physical world as the Lion of Battle.

"I am quite the inscrutable man, did you forget this Julius?"

"Don't use that name. You know I don't like people using my real name."

"Sorry man I was just playing with you. So what brings you here?"

"Aquarius calls me."

"I see... so have you finally decided to accept the artifact?" Leo inquired.

"I'm not sure. I haven't decided. But can we please change the subject? So where is Scorpio?"

"Somehow I knew you would ask about her" Leo said, a small smile forming on his face. "She is in Pandemonium I believe, Scorpio has tasked her with the assassination of a man there. You have nothing to worry about, you know as well as I do that her poison has never failed her before."

"Your right" he said. He was slightly crestfallen that she was not here, she would have made his stay here a little more enjoyable. "So where is the rest of the gang?"

"Sagittarius is here, you should seek him out some time while your here, he will be glad to see you. Cancer as well. Though he is in a bad mood at the moment."

"When is Cancer not in a bad mood?" The Avatar of Aquarius replied, a smile forming on his face.

"True enough. Well Pieces is wandering the northern wastes at the moment. Though she is just about done there. The Gemini twins are off doing their own thing. No use keeping track of those girls. They will come and go as they please. Aries and Taurus are training here as well but it's best not to disturb them. Virgo is in Paradiso last I heard. And Libra and Capricorn are in New Jericho. Well we can catch up later. Best not keep the water bearer waiting."

"Thanks Leo" He replied. "It was.... nice seeing you again."

"And you as well my friend."

He turned around to shake his hand but The Lion was gone.

"Well let's get this out of the way" he said out loud, and with that he plunged into the first celestial river.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 21, 2010)

*Outside the walls of The Bowery*

"Repent! for the end is nigh!" the bearded man cried. "Repent! for when the second coming of The Lord of Dreams is at hand, only the faithful will be left standing!" The man stood in the middle of the street...though most payed the old man in the ratty and worn robe no attention...some stop and listened...while some others went to buy fresh fruit to throw at him.

"The first time he came, he found only charlatans and frauds! and so the world fell...It fell because people worshipped the heathen gods! It fell because people worshipped Set, They worshipped Zues! They worshipped Mael! They worshipped even the earth itself, there was a million religions, and all of them were false in the eyes of the mighty Ikelos! and so in his fury at these heathens...and the world fell! Now I ask you this, when Lord Ikelos comes again, will you be one of the righteous? Will you be one of his faithful? Will you throw yourself on your knees at his feet and beg for his divine mercy? If you don't then you shall fall with the rest of the heathens! And I say this...watch it you moron!" The self proclaimed prophet screamed as somebody knocked into him.

The man in the pink bathrobe, carrying a tray of cookies turned around. "Sorry about that friend," Richard grinned back at the furious "Prophet". "Here have a cookie, it will help that awful headache of yours."

"Headache, I don't have a headache, I feel perfectly fine."

"Ah well my mistake then, carry about your business..." Richard the Hobo walked away from the still flustered Prophet. he walked for a few street before digging under the tray and and holding a single sprig of hair to his eyes and grinned.

"Something tells me, that your going to have a nasty fall friend...you should have accepted that cookie."

_________________________________________________________________

*The Temple of Set*

Set inwordly glowered at his prediciment. _My face itches, has somebody been speaking ill of me...I can almost hear mother now...Osiris would never let him himself get sealed inside a statue...that's what you'd say wouldn't you mother?_

A shadow fell over the doorway followed by a man in a mask, who looked up at the statue.

"No sign of Enigma here either...Boss is going to be pissed...and where did all the others go to..."

"Hey you!" the man in the mask jumped, as Set's voice rang through his mind. "Yes you! Come wash this blood of the back of my legs." the masked man started to slowly back away "Dont you dare run away! if you do i'll turn your mind into damned jelly! do you want to be a drooling infant again? Go get a some water and a bucket jellybag!"

The man scrambled out the door, and Set was again alone. _He's not coming back is he? sigh I wonder what Osiris is doing now..._

_________________________________________________________________
The City of Rapture; The Casino of the Gods

"You going to make your move Osiris? or are you just going to sit there brooding?" asked the old man with the watery eyes, that used to be a Lord of the Sea "Don't be like Ares now." Mael jerked his thumb back to where two men sat arguing...These were Ares and Tyr, two former Lords of War...still attempting to regain their former strength and position in the world.

"What do you mean I got my ass kicked by a tiger! Last I checked Tyr didn't something similar  happen to you to?"

"Fenrir was a bigger threat than Treach was. and he only got my hand...Also Fenrir didn't usurp me like Treach did with you. That seems to me like yes you did get your ass kicked by a beast...and not only that but a Tiger who had only ascended two years ago." Tyr grinned sardonically "Strange when you wrested the title from me, didn't you promise to never let it go...Looks like you lied Ares."

"I'll show you a liar, you son of Echidna!" Ares roared and lunged at the former god opposite him...Mael just sighed. "So Osiris you in for the pot or are you folding like dear old Sobek?"

"I'm in Mael...I'm in, show me the cards..."

_________________________________________________________________

Enigma's left eye twitched, as he watched the gates to the Slums from his hiding place. Nobody had taken up on the bounty yet, other than a acolyte of Mangala. He almost felt like going outagain...but stopped himself when the gates open. a group of eight people entered seven of them were in blank masks, the other one was somebody from Luke Marcone's gang. His eyes drifted to the ones in masks, before muttering to himself.

"Some thugs from the Masked Bandits i'd guess...Been a while since i've killed any of them"

Enigma grinned...it was time to play


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 21, 2010)

Endless Mike said:


> Getting annoyed again, Finn began to exclaim "She's not my-" "Save it," Chachamaru cut him off. "It seems to me that trying to hunt down more leads on the Oneori would just be looking for trouble, and we've had enough of that already."
> 
> "So since we're supposed to travel with you, I suppose the next logical question is where are you headed?" asked Finn.



I watched Finn's face contort itself fantastically as he frantically exclaimed, "She's not my ---"

"Save it," Chachamaru interrupted. "It seems to me that trying to hunt down more leads on the Oneori would  just be looking for trouble, and we've had enough of that already."

Well, that was cute. Anyway...

What Chachamaru said was probably true, but I had little choice in the matter. 

Pandemonium. The Masked Bandits. Oneori. They apparently had something to do with those magi I had fought and that same group had destroyed my village. If I had any chance at all at finding my sister, I would need to pursue any lead I got.

"So since we're supposed to travel with you, I suppose the next logical question is where are you headed?" asked Finn.

"Pandemonium," I replied simply. "I need to get information from a group calling themselves the Masked Bandits. You are more than welcome to come with me, I could use the company and you folks seem all right." 

I pointed at the vast expanse of desert. "Pandemonium isn't terribly far from here, but it's still a pretty good distance. If we leave now, we should be able to arrive in three or four days time."


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## Endless Mike (Nov 21, 2010)

"That's still a pretty long hike," replied Finn. "Do you have supplies? I've never been on a trip this long before so I underestimated how much I needed to take. I only have maybe a day's worth of water left and no food. We're going to need food and water enough for two."

"Two?" Ed replied quizzically.

"Oh, um, (geez, how should I explain this)" Finn thought to himself. "She doesn't drink or eat," he said, gesturing at his companion and hoping that explanation would be enough, as he really didn't have time to go into a deeper one, and he also wanted to keep the fact that she was from another world a secret for now, as she had told him it would lead to trouble if anyone found out.


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## Stunna (Nov 21, 2010)

Emperor Joker said:


> "Some thugs from the Masked Bandits i'd guess...Been a while since i've killed any of them"
> 
> Enigma grinned...it was time to play


?Perfect. Mask will be pleased when we wipe you out. Guys, come out! We got em?.? One of the masked men said. Suddenly, three more groups of masked men came from behind the already present masked men.

?Alright, let?s teach this bozo a lesson!? The masked men all ran at Enigma at once, tossing the Marcone gangster aside. Enigma smirked, before casting a field of darkness, engulfing all of the masked bandits.

?-The hell is this?!? One exclaimed.

?Who turned out the lights!??

No one could see. All they could hear were consecutive grunts and shouts of pain. When the light returned, most, if not all, of the masked bandits were dead. Enigma turned his attention to the Marcone gangster. Mask watched with interest from above.


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 21, 2010)

Endless Mike said:


> "That's still a pretty long hike," replied Finn. "Do you have supplies? I've never been on a trip this long before so I underestimated how much I needed to take. I only have maybe a day's worth of water left and no food. We're going to need food and water enough for two."
> 
> "Two?" Ed replied quizzically.
> 
> "Oh, um, (geez, how should I explain this)" Finn thought to himself. "She doesn't drink or eat," he said, gesturing at his companion and hoping that explanation would be enough, as he really didn't have time to go into a deeper one, and he also wanted to keep the fact that she was from another world a secret for now, as she had told him it would lead to trouble if anyone found out.



Finn scratched his head. "That's still a pretty long hike," replied Finn. "Do you have supplies?  I've never been on a trip this long before so I underestimated how much I  needed to take. I only have maybe a day's worth of water left and no  food. We're going to need food and water enough for two."

"Two?" I replied, confused. There were three of us. Him, me, and the girl.

Finn looked slightly flustered at that and gestured towards Chachamaru, replying, "She doesn't drink or eat." 

I stared at Finn. What in the world was he talking about? Who didn't eat or drink?

"What does he mean you don't eat or drink?" I said, still very much confused. Finn didn't answer but looked rather sheepish. Chachamaru looked as stoic as ever. Well, whatever it was, I wasn't getting anything out of either of them for now.

I shrugged. "Anyway, I have at least 3 weeks supply for myself, about a weeks worth for three of us. That should be enough for us to get to Pandemonium."

"If you guys pack now, we should be good to go." I lifted my pack with a grunt, 

"Er yeah, I'm going to go do that now, pack that is," Finn said and he began gathering the various items strewn across his tent. 

I watched for a second before turning to Chachamaru, who hadn't moved yet. "So, what's the story with you two? How'd you guys end up together?"


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## Endless Mike (Nov 21, 2010)

Dante Alighieri said:


> Finn scratched his head. "That's still a pretty long hike," replied Finn. "Do you have supplies?  I've never been on a trip this long before so I underestimated how much I  needed to take. I only have maybe a day's worth of water left and no  food. We're going to need food and water enough for two."
> 
> "Two?" I replied, confused. There were three of us. Him, me, and the girl.
> 
> ...




"Again, we only need supplies for two, trust me."

"He's right, actually. Best to not question it," added Chachamaru. "As for our history, it's nothing special really. I got lost one day in the jungle and he found me, as I had nowhere else to go, I just stayed with him."

This seemed to pique Ed's interest.

"You live in the jungle? But what about the creatures?"

"My power makes me safe from them," replied Finn. "It works on more than just humans."

Ed turned to the girl. "So you have to take him with you whenever you leave your dwelling?"

"No, I can take care of myself. Well, for the most part," she added recalling the time Finn had to save her from that one freakishly large and powerful creature.

Finn watched as the traveler looked them over, clearly having many questions run through his head. He decided to wrap this up.

"Point is, I guess we're unusual people. But you don't seem like an ordinary person yourself, so we'll probably get along fine. I suppose we should get going now, we can talk more on the way". Finn lightly applied a touch of his power to the newcomer to subtly influence him to trust him, as he didn't quite like the way the conversation was going.


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 21, 2010)

Endless Mike said:


> "Again, we only need supplies for two, trust me."
> 
> "He's right, actually. Best to not question it," added Chachamaru. "As for our history, it's nothing special really. I got lost one day in the jungle and he found me, as I had nowhere else to go, I just stayed with him."
> 
> ...



Finn spoke up then. "Again, we only need supplies for two, trust me."

Again, back to that strange business about the girl not needing to eat. 

As if she heard my thoughts, Chachamaru added, "As for our history, it's nothing special really. I got lost one day in  the jungle and he found me, as I had nowhere else to go, I just stayed  with him."

In... the jungle? The jungle that had grown over the remains of the various dead cities of the world were hardly a friendly place for folk to reside, especially two people by themselves. I had managed well enough on my own, but I had no intention of actually _living _there. 

I asked the obvious question. "You live in the jungle? But what about the creatures?"

"My power makes me safe from them," replied Finn. "It works on more than just humans."

Huh. I supposed that explained it. Nonetheless...

I looked at Chachamaru now, as they continued packing. "So you have to take him with you whenever you leave your dwelling?"

"No, I can take care of myself." She shrugged then looked thoughtful. "Well, for the most part." 

They were certainly an unusual duo to say the least. Before I could ask more, Finn spoke first, closing his pack. "Point is, I guess we're unusual people. But you don't seem like an  ordinary person yourself, so we'll probably get along fine. I suppose we  should get going now, we can talk more on the way."

Well, I suppose I could understand that. I hadn't been entirely forthcoming about my background and they weren't yet aware of my abilities. It wouldn't be fair of me to have them tell me everything about themselves and me to say nothing.

I decided I could trust them for now. Finn grunted as he lifted his pack. I noticed that Chachamaru had no problem picking up hers. Then again, she wasn't carrying as much either.

"Ready, folks?" I said. They nodded tersely. 

I took out my map and my compass. I frowned, looking at our current position and where Pandemonium was. "Alright," I muttered. "According to this, we're supposed to head due northeast most of the way. We should pass a couple of salt flats and a dry valley."

"Anything else we should be aware of during the trip?" Chachamaru asked.

"This is bandit country, as you folks are doubtlessly aware. They love nothing better than picking off hapless stragglers like us for all their supplies." I grinned. "Though, between the three of us, they might find that a mite difficult."

I rechecked my bearings and unslung my rifle. "Well, guys, let's go."


----------



## Endless Mike (Nov 21, 2010)

Dante Alighieri said:


> Finn spoke up then. "Again, we only need supplies for two, trust me."
> 
> Again, back to that strange business about the girl not needing to eat.
> 
> ...



*2 Days Later:*

The three had been walking for just over an hour after heading off from the makeshift camp they had set up the last night. Finn seemed to be having the most trouble, needing to stop and rest every once in a while, slowing them down. He obviously was not in the best of shape. Eventually Chachamaru just started carrying him on her back during these times. Ed noticed that she didn't seem to be inconvenienced at all by this, and in fact he hadn't seen her tired or having physical trouble with anything since he had met her. As he pondered this, she suddenly stopped and held out her arm.

"Hold it," she said. The others stopped, Finn asking what was up.

"There are a dozen people approaching us from North-Northeast," she whispered. Finn took a quick look in the direction she indicated, but saw nothing.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I analyzed that stealth magic those bandits were using earlier, I think I can detect a trace of it now. They're only about 100 meters away and closing in, I'm guessing they're about to attack."

Her prediction turned out correct as 4 bandits suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere and surrounded them, brandishing swords, the others still hiding behind their magic screen, convinced they remained undetected.

"Hand over all of your valuables and supplies now," said one of them, in a gruff voice.

Ed laughed and unslung his rifle.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to bring knives to a gunfight?" he asked, as he unloaded a round, aiming just over the head of the bandit who had made the demand, intending to scare him off. To his shock, the bullet disintegrated a few inches before reaching him as it hit a glowing green shield of energy.

The bandit smirked. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to bring guns to a mage battle?" he asked, as he quickly ran up and got Ed in a headlock, moving his sword to the man's throat.

"Woah, woah, woah, everyone just calm down," said Finn, raising his hands in a disarming gesture. "I'm sure we can all work this out," he said, as he applied his power to the group that had surrounded them. "Just put down your weapons, and we can talk this out."

The bandits seemed to consider his request for a bit, preparing to sheathe their swords, when suddenly they began to convulse and took up aggressive positions again. However this was enough time for Ed to slip out of the grip he was in and stab the bandit in the throat with his machete. The man collapsed on the ground, his blood quickly being absorbed by the sand. The other three didn't even react to this display, and all wielded their swords in aggressive stances, closing in on the group. Their movements were perfectly synchronized and inhuman.

"Something's wrong, my power isn't working," said Finn in a panicked voice.

"They're being controlled, like puppets," replied Chachamaru as she calmly assessed the situation. "There is a powerful mage among the ones that are still hidden, he's probably the one who cast that shield too." She looked over to where she had detected the stealthed bandits, and prepared to attack, but then she realized that using any one of her ranged weapons would probably bring up unwanted questions from Edward. As the bandits closed in, she was prepared to make that sacrifice and fire anyway, when Ed suddenly spoke up.

"They're in that direction, right?" he asked, pointing to where she was looking.

Nodding her head, she was surprised as he raised his hand and a shockwave sped through the air, hitting the group of hidden bandits and not only making them visible, but knocking them down like a group of bowling pins.

"How did you do that?" asked Finn, as the mind-controlled bandits around the group suddenly lost focus and collapsed to the ground too.

"Hey, you told me about your power, I think it's only fair you learned about mine," he replied, as he crushed the former mind-puppets around him into the ground, incapacitating but not killing them.

The other bandits had gotten back to their feet now, and it was clear that they were led by a man wearing an ornate black cloak, as opposed to the sand - colored rags the rest were clothed in.

He shouted an incantation in an unfamiliar language, and a large bolt of green lightning fired from his palm, heading straight towards Finn. Before he could react, Chachamaru jumped in the way and took the blast for him, getting knocked backwards and down onto the sand.

"Chachamaru!" he yelled in concern, as he looked with anger at the mage. He reached out with his mind, attempting to make the man stop his assault, but incredibly, he was able to resist Finn's power. Still, the mental struggle distracted him, and Ed created another shockwave, knocking out or killing the remaining bandits, although the mage managed to create a barrier at the last second to protect himself. Finn and Ed ran up to him, the latter holding his machete to the man's throat. He tried to say a spell, but the energy that accumulated around his body fizzled out.

"Used up all of your power, huh?," replied Finn, deep anger still suffusing his voice. "Good. Now tell me who you are and who you work for or my friend here will make sure you never say another magic word again,"

"N-Never...never tell you..." the man managed to croak out.

"We'll kill you," replied Ed in a cold-blooded voice.

To the two heroes' astonishment, however, the man began to laugh.

"K-Kill me? Is that *cough* - all? What my *cough* masters w-will do to me is far worse..." after uttering those words, the black - cloaked mage collapsed on the sand. Finn checked him over.

"He's dead," he said. They soon found the cause - the man was carrying a Suicide Stone in his pocket - a magical charm that would kill the user if they truly desired death.

"Looks like someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make sure nobody traces the chain of command," said Finn, as he got back up. Some of the other bandits who had survived Ed's attack had gotten to their feet by now, but seeing their leader defeated they wisely decided to limp off and lick their wounds.

Chachamaru then appeared behind them. "I'm okay, thanks for asking," she said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, but we were kind of busy," replied Finn. "Still, thanks for saving me back there. Actually, you saved all of us, without you, we never would have been able to find that mage."

"No problem," she smiled.

Ed noticed that she was holding part of her left elbow with her right hand, near the place where the magical lighting had struck her.

"Are you hurt?" he inquired.

She blushed a bit, trying to cover the wound more effectively. "No, it's really nothing, I'm fine," she said, but Finn sighed.

"You might as well show him, it's become pretty much inevitable now," he said.

She looked from one man to the other and back, then finally sighed herself.

"Fine, just don't freak out, okay?" She said as she took her hand away from the area it was covering.

Ed gasped as he saw that the skin around her elbow was missing, and underneath, instead of flesh and blood, were metal and wires, some still crackling with residual electricity.


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## masamune1 (Nov 21, 2010)

The Faerie met The Moon once again, this time in a great Greek temple, with the shades of priestesses and their acolytes going about their business, indifferent to- or ignorant of- the male intruder. The Moon sat on the side of a great fountain in the temple centre, staring into the water, as the sapphire-masked Oneiroi walked up to him.

"Well?", The Moon asked.

"It is done. They have chosen to forget us for now.", she replied.

The Oneiroi all possessed formidable powers unique to themselves. The power of The Faerie was Magic, and as befitting a servant of the Dream Lord she was one of the strongest practioners of the craft in the world, perhaps _the_ strongest, at least of her own peculiar magical art. Whether it was in any way linked to her other strange gifts, such as her uncanny sense of foresight and premonition, was something that The Moon had enquried to her about once before. She did not know, or so she told him.

"I have spoken to Him since our last meeting. He says these things are a consequence of His actions, pieces of His plans and thoughts sometimes find the way into the dreams of certain people, like those bandits in the Waste or that rabble-rousing preacher in Pandemonium. They know nothing but words and images, and his power. It leaves an impression."

They both knew well the sort of impression The Master could leave on a mind, though they could only imagine what effect it would have on a bystander, on an ordinary man for whom the Dreams were not intended. For these men, it left them in a state of pure religuous fervour; they wanted to serve their god, or His servants, and they seemed to shared in his fury against the other deities. Evidently, that fury extended to the slaves of other gods as well, like Finn. That could prove to be a bother. 

"Is there a danger that they will realise what we are doing from this? That He is breaking free?", asked the sorceress, or whatever you wanted to call her.

"The gods are not as interested in the affairs of the world as they like to let people believe. They think it is just a consequence of the last breaking of the pillars, and will subside. The Oneiroi, if they know of us, are just a word to them, or at best just one of the hundreds of strange things He unleashed on the world in the Apocalypse. The End of the World did'nt bother them that much; neither will we. They know as little as anyone else."

At least, that is what Ikelos told him. He might have wondered how he knew so much from his magical gaol, but then again The Moon knew better than anyone of the power of his god. He was, after all, his Chosen Avatar, imparted with powers comparable to Ikelo's own, if lesser in nature, and just as His god was mighter than all others, so he too was mightier than all other Avatars. Or so too he had been told, but he had enough years of practice to easily believe it. 

And soon, he would come against these Avatars himself, and be able to put his faith to the test. The thought did not fill him with relish, but neither did he find it unpleasant.

"In any case, though," he continued, "we must still be careful with our Dreamings. The gods might not notice these things, but we can't have these people going around shooting at Finn or anyone else. The Reaper is dealing with that sniper, and anyone else he might have alerted. If it continues, we will have to waste our time cleaning up such messes. And we are too close to our goals to worry about that now."

"I understand." She paused, then said "You have'nt asked about the girl."

This drew a silent moment from The Moon. His black masked eyes, dark as the Void, stared into hers, which were just as dark and empty in this place, though his black skin left it leaving a slightly different impression than the contrast with her fair complexion. Or rather it would- neither was visible; here in the Dream world, their hoods and masks were worn over a dark empty nothing, their identities hidden to any unlikely interlopers. "You have learned something?"

"I have been watching her. I am fairly certain I am correct. She has untapped potential, but it is vast. She is strong, one day she may be even as strong as you." Or stronger, he thought he almost heard her said.

"As strong as me, eh?" The Moon stared in space while he digested that thought. "Well, that would be something worth seeing." He turned to face her again. "She has'nt caught on, though, has she?"

The Faerie almost seemed offended. "Of course not. My enchantment holds firm. She is a long time away from reaching _that_ level. Even if it did, she has been away from her old life so long. I think she'd chose to believe this herself, if we ever gave her the choice"

And we would'nt, though the idea had its merits. Enchantments like that were dangerous things. Kent and Finn and his girl only had a prod, and a skillful prod at that, one that would fool even Eros he did not doubt, to not worry about the Oneori, which after all were just a word to them. But the warping of minds and souls leaves an impression of it's own, and no matter how skillfully you hide it you cannot erase it completely. The gods were indeed indifferent to all the magical intrigues that wrecked the land, save that it gave them an excuse to play their games, but even if they failed to notice, there were other, less powerful creatures that would not, ones weaker than the gods but stronger than most men, monsters and spirits and other things that they did not want to draw the attention of. The ones that might not be attracted to The Faeries' magics might still see through them, if they were potent enough that even her skill could not hide them fully. 

Oh, she could face them down, of that much he was certain, and even if she could'nt, few could face the might of the Oneori all at once. But that was a waste of time and effort, and would draw the attention of even bigger beasts, and the gods themselves for sure. It was not something they could afford. But he had faith in her abilities. The girl, Kent's sister, was safe with the Faerie, from her brother and anyone else. Safe until the time came to serve her purpose. Those poor unfortunates who brushed past the Lord of Dreams had forced them to accelerate their plans, but as long as the damage was controlled Finn and Kent knowing now at least meant that the pieces were falling into place.


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## masamune1 (Nov 21, 2010)

*---------------------*

The burnt-faced man awoke from his sleep. The bandit sniper had been in this house for five days now, healing from his wounds. The villagers had looked after him, which was a pleasant change from laughing at him. He had tried to tell them of his dreams, of the Oneiroi and their mission to destroy the gods, of their wonderful powers and their...well, he had to make the rest up. He had learnt so little from the experience. But it was real, he knew that in his heart, in the deepest depths of his soul he knew the dream was real. That the Oneori were real.

But they just knew him as Barry. He was a local apprentice butcher. He was 26 years old, got drunker every night than most of them, and- as the girl who took his virginity took every opportunity to attest- he did'nt have a particularly impressive manhood. But then he had the Dream, the most real and frightening dream anyone ever had, and he took to the streets and started proclaiming the Truth. He had even learnt magic, learnt to hide himself, but that did'nt impress people much in this kind of messed-up world, not in this day and age. He learnt it from a bandit who worked with a gang out here; he had to pay a whole months wages for it too. 

Only three of the local boys believed him, so he taught them and got them to leave the village finding stragglers to preach the Word to. But they did'nt listen and they found it easier to just rob them (come on; he was a Prophet! He needed the cash more than they did!). Then one day they ran into Him- he recognised him instantly, smelt the stench of that Love-god on him, and saw from the distance (where he always kept- a Prophet also had to play it safe) as he used his evil magic on them. He was'nt going to let him get away, and he let loose his divine bullets at them. But then that other one showed up and burnt him like this.

The others had met up with him again (cowards ran off in the commotion) and brought him back, and the doctor had been caring for him ver since. But why did he wake up? It was still dark, and he never woke up when it was dark. But something was'nt right. Someone was in the room with him.

"No, that's not quite right", said a voice in the blackness.

He was startled- that was'nt anyone from the village. "Who-whose there?"

"It's not right to think your awake. This might look like your room in your doctors house, but you know that isn't true. It does'nt have the right smell, the right sounds, it does'nt feel the same. I'm not the only thing thats wrong here."

And the voice was right, the dep, unearthly voice that belonged to nothing human. Something was wrong about this place, but he could'nt figure out what. And he was cold, he was so very cold. He started to feel very afraid.

"This place", the voice continued, "is death. It's what death looks like. It's what death feels like. You are dead, Barry the Butcher Boy."

Dead.......No.......Yes. He knew it now. He did'nt want to say it, but he felt it in his bones. And he was'nt about to argue with this voice. He already knew who it belonged to.

The figure stepped out from the shadows. It wore a long hooded cloak, and a mask of a skull missing it's lower jaw. It's eyes were black, infinitely darker than than even this room.

"You are an accident, Barry. You should not have gotten involved with things you did'nt understand. You should have lived your life, and had faith in us. Now look what you have done. You have brought this on yourself. On yourself and everyone in your home."

He did'nt die from the burns, from the attack five days ago. Death had come for him because it had come for him, because it wanted to punish him. And it needed to punish the village, to silence the village, all because he'd talked about his dreams. That was it, and he knew it was the truth without being told any more. He had damned everyone. He had damned himself. 

The figure reached out with gloved hands and held his face, and forced him to stare at the image of Death. The Reaper had come for his soul "It's time to go, Barry."

The icy coldness swept all over him as The Reaper pressed it's fingers into his face and pulled out his soul. And darkness and decay and Death reigned over a small village in the wastes, to be forgotten by all as the bodies of it's few hundred people fell dead and empty in their sleep.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 22, 2010)

Stunna said:


> “Perfect. Mask will be pleased when we wipe you out. Guys, come out! We got em’.” One of the masked men said. Suddenly, three more groups of masked men came from behind the already present masked men.
> 
> “Alright, let’s teach this bozo a lesson!” The masked men all ran at Enigma at once, tossing the Marcone gangster aside. Enigma smirked, before casting a field of darkness, engulfing all of the masked bandits.
> 
> ...



"It would appear that Bandits have gotten soft recently...a pity" Enigma said as he turned to the gangster from Luke Marcone's Gentlemen's Club. He was surprised to see that he was smoking a cigarette, barely even paying attention. "Though it appears as if your made of sterner steel."

"Perhaps," the gangster said as he blew out a smoke ring. "Though, it would not be the making of a gentleman, if I attacked you with that rabble...I'd hate to get in the way of such fools so eager to die afterall."

Ah yes  thought enigma Luke Marcone's moral code. The very thing that made his gang halfway decent, a rare commodity in Pandemonium to be sure. He recalled "Avenge your fallen brethren" and "Protect the girls in your charge at all costs" were two such rules, The Gentleman's Gang held to... 

The gangster was pulling off his white gloves and putting them into pockets in his suit, after this he held up his hands and stepped back into a boxing stance. "Come at me oh fell Phantom, I'll show you how a true gentleman fights."

Enigma once again stepped back into the darkness "Hmph how cowardly, a Gentleman should attack from the front...not like this!" He reached out behind him as Enigma emerged from the shadows and grabbed him around the neck and through him to the ground before landing a powerful punch to his neck. To his shock, this wasn't Enigma, but one of the bodies Bandits wrapped in shadows ressembling Enigma's clothing.


"Too bad that wasn't me though." a voice said near his ear, before the gangster felt a biting pain in his neck. His last sight was that of his own body towering over him.

Enigma stared at the head for a moment before sinking into the ground, his own shadow just one of of many as it moved away
_________________________________________________________________

A few seconds later an odd sight came through the gate. It was a giant cockroach, wearing lipstick and and a top hat. It walked to where the bodies of the bandits lay, before chittering some over them. Three of them lurched to life and stood up. Susan the Cockroach Necromancer chittered again, before moving back through the gate. The Zombie Bandits nodded.

"Yes mistress, we follow..."


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## hammer (Nov 22, 2010)

It's dark and the air is filled with the smell of mold, currently Luke's eyes are closed as he begins to wake up with a throbbing pain to his head. His eyes to begin to open as he realizes he is chained to a wall in a basment.

"Heh this isnt the shitty floor I fell asleep when I scared that man off last night."

A man started to walk down a fleet of stairs as he carried a pipe over his soulder, the man crept up close to Luke.

"Do you remember me from last night" 

the man said as his left raised what appeared to be a stub from where his hand should have been.  Luke then looked into the mans eyes for what seemed to be several miniutes with a blank stare which was hidden underneith his hood.

"No I cant say I do but why are you showing me that nasty ass stub of yours did you lose your hand in your mothers vagina at birth?"

the man then rised his pipe and swong it into Luke's rips the crack of Lukes rips ecoed in the basment, The man then grined.

"The walls in these rooms are patted there is not a single person who can hear you there is no point in screaming".

the voice of gaia called out in Lukes mind.

"Luke why are you wasting time with this heaven who dose not respect the gifts I have given to humans you must remember our goal."

Luke swished the blood in his mouth around and spit in the eye of the one handed man.

the man responded with hitting Luke again only this time the ring fell out. the ring would bounce with a cling noise andthen roll to the mans feet. tthe man then picked up the ring and grinned.

"This is a nice ring you have here you dont mind If I take it do you".

Luke stared into the man's eyes and said with a monitone voice 

"oh dear god please dont take the ring from me of whatever will I do".

the man struggled with the ring because of the fact he only had one hand but that diddnt matter because before he fully put the ring on his whole body turned to a shroub.

"Luke then grinned"

I never did put that ring on I wonder what it will do to me if I put it on luke said.

Luke then freed himself from his inprisnment by exering force from his arms and legs causing his chains to snap.

"I guess I probobly chould have taken him" Luke said as he went over and grapbed the ring but thats no fun.  I guess I should leave this damp basment and go for a walk.

As luke exited he chouldnt help but notice the news paper the man left on his table.

*"It astounded me, when Luke Marcone and Draygon came to me, and told me of this horrible monster that had been attacking not only thier men but perfectly law-abiding citizens as well. This must not stand, both Draygon's organization and Luke's Gentlemen's club are essential parts of this city. If our citizens have to constantly be worried, about being attacked by monsters, than we're no better than the Wastelands. I say this again: This Will not stand, I by the power invested in my office am declaring that it's now Open Season on this Phantom...and I say to him now, you better watch your back, because you've kicked the hornet's nest awake...*

"Heh. This "phantom" has the Likes of Marcone and Draygon scared even the mayor I hate the fact I share the same first name as Marcone this "Phantom cant be all bad maybe I should look for him as I go for a walk".


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 22, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

*The Desert:*

We had been traveling for the last two days now. We were moving a little slower than I expected but well within time. We'd likely be at Pandemonium's door within 36 hours.

Finn needed to stop and rest every once in a while. I sympathized with him. It wasn't easy to walk long distances like this. I had just gotten used to it over three years.

Chachamaru had taken to simply carrying both Finn and his pack at the same time! She couldn't have been more than 120 lbs, at the most. On that note, I hadn't seen her once physically inconvenienced at all. She never complained, never ate, never drank, and never had to, ahem, relieve herself.

Needless to say, it was clear that she wasn't a regular human being. Well, who was I to complain. Neither was I for that matter.

Suddenly Chachamaru stopped. She seemed to be looking intently at something distant. "Hold it," she stated, holding up her hand.

Finn slowed to a halt. So did I. "What's up?" Finn asked.

"There are a dozen people approaching us from North-Northeast," she whispered. I looked sharply up at where she was talking about, but I couldn't see anything.

"Are you sure?" Finn whispered.

"I analyzed that stealth magic those bandits were using earlier, I think I can detect a trace of it now. They're only about 100 meters away and closing in, I'm guessing they're about to attack." Chachamaru replied tensely.

Suddenly, four men literally appeared out of thin air. They wore sand-colored robes, brandishing impressive looking swords.

One of them with a thick black beard came forward and pointed the sword at us. "Hand over all of your valuables and supplies now!"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. Swords, really? Didn't those go out of fashion a century or two ago? I unslung the rifle, flicking off the safety.

I guess it was my cue to say something appropriately badass. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to bring knives to a gunfight?" At this I tucked the rifle's stock into my shoulder, placing the front sight post just above the bandit's head. I didn't really want to kill him, not if I could avoid it, but I could give him a little scare.

The roar of the rifle dissipated into the open desert air as I pressed the trigger. To my shock, the round simply disintegrated just above the bandits head in a flash of glowing green energy.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to bring guns to a mage battle?" The bandit retorted before he tackled me before I could react, pulling me into a headlock and holding that rather sharp sword against my throat. He was strong, probably stronger than me and I wasn't able to break free.

Well, now was a time as good as any to using my powers...

Finn beat me to the punch. "Woah, woah, woah, everyone just calm down," said Finn, walking forward with hands raised. "I'm sure we can all work this out. Just put down your weapons, and we can talk this out."

Amazingly, I saw the bandits beginning to sheathe their swords. The man holding me removed the sword somewhat from my throat and began to let me go. Suddenly, he convulsed and I felt the blade arcing towards my throat. I panicked and threw him off, whipping out my machete and stabbing him through the throat.

Blood arced and was quickly taken up by the sand as the dying man shuddered onto the ground. I whipped my head up, pulling out the machete and picking my rifle. I noticed that the bandits were just circling us in perfectly synchronized movements, not even reacting to the death of one of their comrades.

Finn was panicking. ""Something's wrong, my power isn't working!"

They're being controlled, like puppets," replied Chachamaru with utter calm. "There is a powerful mage among the ones that are still hidden, he's probably the one who cast that shield too."

That would make sense. But, like the bandit said, guns were apparently going to do little here. I had no choice but to use my power.

I pointed towards where Chachamaru had indicated earlier. "They're in that direction, right?"

As she nodded, I immediately gathered the various cosmic rays around me, an innumerable quantity in all. They normally didn't interact with normal matter, but I had the ability to modify them to my own ends. A wave of coalesced cosmic radiation shot out at relativistic speeds, displacing the air in a shockwave as it slammed into the invisible bandits with the force of a thunderbolt. The bandits became instantly visible as their stealth magic was broken and were knocked down by the force of my blast.

"How did you do that?" Finn said in awe. For some reason, the bandits around us suddenly collapsed.

I grinned. "Hey, you told me about your power, I think it's only fair you learned about mine." I increased the force of gravity around the three bandits in front of us to about 10 G, instantly knocking them out and keeping them trapped for now.

I saw that the other group of bandits had gotten to their feet, dressed in the same garb as the four who had attacked us. There was a man dressed in an ornate black cloak, the same design I had seen back when I had faced the four magi back at that Walmart.

He snarled something strange and spidery sounding, pointing his hand at Finn. An arc of green lightning flashed, suddenly blinding as I began to raise up a shield.

But Chachamaru dove in front of Finn and took the blast head-on on her left arm. Arcs of lightning twisted and writhed around her and she was blasted backwards. I dropped the half-formed shield, stunned at what I just seen.

"Chachamaru!" Finn yelled, looking at the mage with fury. The mage suddenly fell to his knees and that was my queue. In anger, I formed another bolt of cosmic power and flung it at the group, knocking away the remaining bandits with force stronger then I had intended. The mage had managed to recover in time and raised a glittering green shield that scarcely absorbed the blow, knocking him down nonetheless.

We ran up to him and I brought my machete to his throat. He opened his mouth as if to say something, likely another spell. I tensed and began collecting cosmic particles around me in a shield but the arcing green energy around him suddenly fizzled to nothing.

"Used up all of your power, huh?," said Finn, raw anger laced with every syllable. "Good. Now tell me who you are and who you work for or my friend here will make sure you never say another magic word again."

The man replied in a low, thready voice. "Never... tell you..."

This man was among the same group that had destroyed my village. He had just nearly killed or had killed Chachamaru. As far as I was concerned, he was scum. So I had no trouble saying the next sentenced. "We'll kill you."

For some reason, the mage found that hilarious. He began to laugh wheezily. He replied, coughing, ""K-Kill me? Is that.... all? What my... masters w-will do to me is far worse..."

Then his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed, completely limp. I blinked for a second, surprised.

Finn looked him over quickly. "He's dead." We found the cause rather quickly, there had been a Suicide Stone in one of his many pockets.

"Looks like someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make sure nobody traces the chain of command," said Finn, looking disgusted at the mage. I watched the bandits out of the corner of my eye, choosing wisely to retreat.

"I'm okay, thanks for asking," someone behind us said rather sarcastically. I stared in shock.  It was Chachamaru, her green hair slightly singed and disheveled but amazingly, no worse for the wear.

Finn scratched his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry, but we were kind of busy. Still, thanks for  saving me back there. Actually, you saved all of us, without you, we  never would have been able to find that mage."

"No problem," she smiled. She gripped her left elbow tightly. 

"Are you hurt?" I asked. Of course she's hurt you idiot, what kind of stupid question is that!

She blushed slightly, drawing the elbow deeper into herself. "No, it's really nothing, I'm fine," she insisted.

Finn gave out a long sigh.  "You might as well show him, it's become pretty much inevitable now."

She glanced between us and then finally sighed herself.  "Fine, just don't freak out, okay?"


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 22, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

The sight I saw was more startling that gruesome. The skin had been  scorched off completely around the elbow. I expected to see bloodied  muscle and bone. Instead, a mass of metal and wires crackling with blue  sparks greeted me.

I was speechless for a few seconds. Talk about not being a normal human!  I could see Finn out of the corner of my eye, looking worriedly  for my reaction. 

Then I chuckled in spite of myself. Who was I to complain? Finn here was  the avatar of some God of Love. I over here could bend the laws of  nature to my will. I certainly could not complain about  Chachamaru.

I grinned. "I see what you mean now by needing only enough food for two." 

Finn relaxed at this. "So you've got no problem with this?"

I waved my hand. "Don't worry about it. That said, I've obviously got a  bunch of questions as you can probably guess. But, meanwhile, let me  help you with that."

Chachamaru looked surprised at that. "You know how to fix something like this?" 

"Can you still move your elbow?" I asked. She flexed her elbow. It still  moved normally. "Looks like the damage is only superficial."

I began picking up some of the fallen swords of the bandits, examining  the steel. "Shouldn't take me too long to come with a graft of sorts...  It won't be a pretty job, but should do for now," I muttered.

"Sorry, but what exactly are you doing?" Finn asked.

"I'm just going to shape a metal graft to replace the skin. It shouldn't  take more than an hour at the most. The steel in these bandits' swords  should prove sufficient." I picked up a particularly fine looking sword.  Good steel.

I traced my finger laterally across the blade, drawing a fine line of  cosmic radiation that sheared the blade right off the hilt. My control wasn't quite good yet so I got a jagged cut but precision didn't matter much here. A few more  slices and I had a satisfactory lump. 

"Isn't that a little big?" Finn hesitated. 

"I'm going to have to refine the metal a bit. We'll have to set up camp for tonight. That injury takes priority."

As Finn set up our tent, I pulled out the coal and wood chips I had  kept. I packed the sand into a large circle as I placed the coal and  chips, preparing the hearth. I also took out the tuyere and bellows as I  set up the top. It didn't take long to get the fire going. 

I got out the rest of my kit: the tongs, the fuller, the hammer, and  chisel. I didn't have a quenching tub with me, with the little quantity  of metal I was working, the supply of water I had could be used instead.  It would be a large loss of water, but we weren't very far from  Pandemonium anyway. For an anvil, I had a large, flat piece of metal. 

After Finn finished setting up the tent, they watched with interest as I  got the fire going blazing hot, sweltering heat radiating outward. I  inserted the steel piece I had carved out, heating it to a radiant  yellow-red shine. I kept the fire steady and began to shape the hot  metal, chiseling and hammering the steel into shape. Then I reinserted  it back into the fire, keeping the bellows going. It was an arduous  alternation of shaping and heating, shaping and heating. 

"Where'd you learn how to do all of this?" Chachamaru asked curiously.

"From my father," I replied, grunting as I hammered the metal. "He was a metalworker so he taught me the family trade."

"So where are your folks now?" Finn asked.

"Dead," I replied tersely. Finn didn't say anything after that. "Hey," I  said, trying to smile. "You didn't know, so don't worry about it."

After what seemed like a long time, I finally quenched the steel,  leaving a cool, thin piece of metal about the size of one's elbow. It  was quite flexible and would serve its purpose well. I let the steel  cool further before I took it out. 

"Now, all I've got to do is graft it onto your elbow. I'll probably have  to cauterize the skin around the wound though," I said apologetically  to Chachamaru.

"It is alright," she said. "Let me." She took the piece from me and  placed it against her elbow. Red beams of energy emanated from her eyes  and the metal melted to merge with her skin, seamlessly integrating with  her flesh. There was now only a metallic sheen where the wound had  been. 

"Sorry, I can't do much better than that," I said sheepishly. "You'd  probably have to get a real doctor to get a skin graft or something, but  I think this should do for now."

"Very much so," Chachamaru smiled. "Thank you." 

I began to disassemble my makeshift forge. At this point, I asked, "So, where are you really from, Chachamaru?"

She looked at Finn. Finn sighed and nodded. She replied hesitantly. "I'm  what your people call a gynoid - a synthetic humanoid. I am the last of  my kind, come here from the remnants of a forgotten world."

"So you're basically from outer space?" I said. I winced at how corny that sounded. 

"Basically," she said dryly. 

"So what what happened to the rest of your people?" I asked, frowning.

"They were destroyed by a fleet of starships led by a being calling  himself the White Fang. Somehow, I was able to escape the destruction of  my world and landed here, of all places."

The world was getting quickly getting stranger. Magi, monsters,  super-powered humans, gods, and now extraterrestrials. What next? 

Finn now spoke up. "Well, you practically know everything about us now,  Ed. But, what about you? You haven't told us anything about yourself."

I paused then. That was true. "I don't like talking about my past."

"Come on, man, you know that's not fair! We've trusted you with a lot of  stuff we'd rather most people didn't know. It's only right that you  trust us in return."

I still hesitated. Chachamaru looked at me with some concern. "Does it have to do with your parents?"

After a brief hesitation, I nodded. After that, for some reason, it became easier to tell them what happened.

I told them about my childhood, about Scrapheap. It wasn't the greatest  of places - the water often didn't work, and electricity was haphazard.  But, we lived in a community where everyone knew each other. A community  where everyone supported each other. We were all family there. 

I told them about my mother, June, and my father, John. About my sister,  Alice. How I had gone to high school and my own share of teenage  troubles.

I then told them about the night that had changed everything. The men who came at night and killed our village. That _man_  had started with my father, then taken my sister, and his followers  were left to wipe out the rest of my village. How I saw my own mother  die before me, as I was powerless to stop it. And I told them how I had  gained my power then and the aftermath after.

When I finally concluded, Finn and Chachamaru were very quiet.

"Wow," Finn said quietly. "I had no idea it was that bad."

"Is that why you're going to Pandemonium?" Chachamaru asked.

I nodded. "Those men I met back in the Southern Wasteland worked for the  same man who destroyed my village. His proxy is in Pandemonium and I  intend to find him, and in turn, the bastard who killed my parents and  took my sister." 

I stood up then. "If that's not something you guys are comfortable with,  I understand. If you intend to part ways, I would hold no ill will  against you."

I made to pick up my pack then, when I felt Finn's hand on my shoulder. 

"Ed, wait," he said. "All I know is that Eros sent me to go with you.  I'm wasn't sure why then and to some extent, I'm still not sure now. But  you're not some kind of crazy out for revenge, Ed. You helped me and  Chachamaru. You didn't have to do that, but you did. All I know is,  you're alright in my book. And for that, we're not going to up and  abandon you, man."

"We're with you, Ed," Chachamaru said. "Anyone else would have left when  they saw what I was. You didn't. If this Eros of Finn's wants us to go  with you to Pandemonium, then I suppose that's where we are headed." 

"Besides," Finn grinned sheepishly. "You can't just leave us in the middle of the freaking desert! Now _that_ would be evil." 

He must have applied a touch of his power because I began  chuckling then. "I was always the one for melodrama back in high school...  sorry guys, forget I even mentioned it. Let's head to sleep."

With that, we went to bed, Chachamaru watching outside.

*2 Days Later*

"Are we finally there yet?" Finn moaned, looking like a ghost.

To be honest, I was getting a little desperate myself. I had  overestimated the supply of water I had and we were parched from thirst  for most of this day. 

We had been walking along the path again, but the bandit encounter had  slowed us down more than I thought. I was also worried that we might be  lost at this point. I wasn't able to see the salt flat that we should  have passed yesterday. 

"I don't think I can take much more of this," Finn said but Chachamaru suddenly stopped. 

"There!" she pointed. It was a distant shape about five miles away,  obscured by desert haze, but it suddenly cleared. It was a garguantan city, imposing, even from this distance, with  innumerable skyscrapers and buildings.

Pandemonium.

We had finally made it.


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## Endless Mike (Nov 22, 2010)

As Pandemonium had finally been sighted, the three were relieved and began heading in that direction. Chachamaru slowed her pace a bit to fall behind Ed and walk next to Finn.

"That was a lot better than I had hoped for," she whispered. "Although I might be a little paranoid, I'm still not completely comfortable with him knowing my secret."

"Hey, he told us his past too," Finn whispered back. "I can tell he's okay."

"You're probably right," the green - haired girl said, "but there's still a little nagging doubt in the back of my mind,".

"You'll get over it in time," Finn replied. "At least we're almost at our destination."

"Hey, what are you two talking about back there," asked Ed, pausing to look back.

"Oh, nothing important," replied Finn. "How far away is this place anyway? We've been walking for an hour since we first saw it, and we don't seem to have gotten much closer."

"The desert can play tricks on your eyes," said Edward. "But I'm sure it's no more than a day's walk away."

Chachamaru stopped, staring at the distant city intently, her eyes glowing briefly.

"Laser rangefinding says it's 7.65 km. Shouldn't take more than a few more hours."

"Good to know," replied Ed, still a little bit unnerved by the robotic girl despite his earlier assurances.

The three continued to walk in silence for some time, until they noticed a small village maybe 1 km away.

"Could we maybe stop there for a bit?" asked Finn, breathing heavily. "My cantine is empty." He held up the bottle upside - down to demonstrate his point, as one or two drops of water fell out and evaporated on the sand.

"I suppose, I used up most of my water for the metalworking earlier," Ed replied, "and the village itself doesn't seem to be off the path, we would just have to make a slight change in direction. It seems to be like a surburb of the city." Ed smiled to himself, thinking of it in such a familiar term, evoking images of the world before the Apocalypse.

As they approached the village, however, they were surprised to see that it was apparently abandoned. The lights were all off, there were no people or vehicles on the streets, and there was no sound at all.

"This is really creepy," said Finn, as he looked around nervously.

"A real ghost town..." muttered Ed.

Chachamaru walked up to a vending box on the sidewalk and noticed the date of the newspaper for sale - yesterday.

"Whatever happened here happened recently," she said, pointing out the evidence.

Finn walked further down the sidewalk. "Hey, I found a general store," he said, peering in the windows. "The shelves are still fully stocked with food, and there are containers of water too!" He attempted to open the door, but it was still locked from the night before.

"Chachamaru, help me with this," he said, still trying to pry the door open.

"We can't just break in," she said, "let alone steal their supplies."

"Hey, you yourself said no one was here," Finn grunted, as his attempt to open the door failed, his hands slipping off the doorknob and causing him to fall to the sidewalk.

"You just don't know what it's like to be this thirsty," he said, as he brushed himself off and got up.

"That still doesn't justify stealing," she began, but suddenly Ed spoke up.

"It doesn't have to be stealing. I have some money with me, enough for a bit of food and water. We can just leave it on the counter. If anyone actually comes back here, I'm sure they won't mind."

"Fine, I guess," the gynoid replied, as she walked over and grabbed the doorknob, twisting it hard enough to break the lock. The door swung open.

"Better leave them money for a new doorknob too," she replied whimsically.

Finn and Ed walked in, the latter getting the money out of his pockets while the former immediately opened a jug of water and began drinking. However, they were both quickly alerted to an incredibly unpleasant stench suffusing the air.

"What is that?" said Finn in disgust, holding his nose.

"It smells like something died in here," said Ed, as he attempted to trace the source of the smell. Opening a door behind the counter, he walked up a flight of stairs, the other two following. It turns out the store also served as the home of the family who ran it, as they emerged in a hallway on the second floor, containing doors to several bedrooms and bathrooms. The smell was much stronger here.

Chachamaru walked forward, undaunted, and opened the door to one of the bedrooms. She gasped softly at what she saw.

Finn had managed to muster up enough resolve to proceed closer to the source of the stench and looked in.

There, on the bed, were two dead bodies, a middle - aged man and woman, flies already starting to pick at them. They quickly discovered 2 more bodies in other rooms - both young girls.

"This is sick, how did this happen?" asked Finn.

Ed was puzzled too. He had seen a town destroyed before (in fact, he had caused it), but not this way.

Walking back downstairs, Ed picked up the money he had left.

"Well, they're obviously not going to need it," he said, when the others gave him a questioning look.

Checking a few more buildings, they found it was the same story every time - everyone dead, seemingly in their sleep. Packing up some of the food and drink from the general store (after Chachamaru assured them it was uncontaminated and not responsible for the death of the town), they walked outside again.

"Let's get the hell out of here," said Finn. Ed readily agreed with the sentiment, and the three set off towards Pandemonium again, the city now looming much closer on the horizon.


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## Stunna (Nov 22, 2010)

“Damn… This Phantom is more formidable than I thought. Nothing I can’t handle though. It’s going to take a lot of time to recruit enough people to make up for those guys too… At least I’ve got the other three squadrons. Time to rally up the troops. _This ends tonight._”


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## Cthulhu-versailles (Nov 22, 2010)

Ogion had travelled for some days north. Upon these days journey, he'd further fed of man to earth several times. Though less then usual; Ogion did not wish to risk the child's life in needless conflit. Walking this day on elevated earth, high in fractured mountains, until was pleased when he saw a spiral like structure of earth, ash, mod, and subtance unknown. The structures was fire red and slik white, and if Ogion did not think it impossible, as he sensed no great power in the area, he would believed the whole thing was floating in the air. 

Walking towards the structure, Ogion noticed a spiral like stair case carved into the sides going downward. For a moment Ogion thought of what to do, and in the next moment he decided. Moving his skeletal legs slowly, he made his way closer to the structure. It was strange. The closer Ogion got, the more he saw no end. And yet, further ahead, the darkness that was this ubiquitous in sky dulled and lightened; the difference of colors was that of black and brown. Ogion did not much like this color mist eiter. Sighing to himself, he spoke to the boy a quick phrase:

 “A bit longer boy, we need travel only a bit longer” Ogion said, before suddenly he felt an overwhealming sense of fatigue and fell to sleep. For Ogion, dreaming was rarely calm. Such was the reality of his cuse. Yet, this time, something in his dreams seemed real…a figure…a thing…a felling. Whatever it was, Ogion sensed great power from it. Was this a god, he thought, disgusted. 

“Answer me, who invades my dreams” Ogion screamed, from the blank looking fields that were now his surroundings.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 23, 2010)

The cannonball came from his left and barely missed Enigma by mere inches. It instead hit the side of a hovel and went inside before exploding. He looked at the burning wreckage for a second before turning slowly to look at the two men. One of whom who had somehow fired a cannonball from his hair.

Both of them were dressed in overalls and very stained t-shirts, thier afros were scorched and thier eyes beady, the only difference between them was thier body weight and height. while one was short and fat the other one was tall and skinny...what distrubed him the most was that they had floodlights sticking out of thier hair. 

The tall one reached down and smacked the short one atop the head...something clanked and rattled. Not a good sign Enigma noted, and he considered just backing up and leaving.

"Sugarboy you idiot, you missed! Apparently all that time we spent in Rapture, did nothing for your aim! Honestly what would big brother Pigpen say..."

"I'm a sorry Afrolicious, my targeting systems malfunctioned..." the short man said with tears in his eyes.

Afrolicious...Sugarboy...Rapture. Oh joy thought Enigma, two more freaks right out of Rapture's mad science guild...and he had to run into them. the urge to just turn around and leave was getting stronger, maybe these idiots would go the wrong way and get ont the bad side of some demon or something.

"Or you sneezed!, we;ll never be able to collect on this bounty if I let you handle this...step back i'll kill him for you." Afrolicious stepped forward...and then bent down on his hands. Enigma raised an eyebrow and started to leave, only to notice something coming out from the man's hair. It was an energy cannon, and it was prepping to fire. Reaching into the Darkness he pulled out two knives and them at both men. They bounced off both men with a metallics clank, though Sugarboy did give a terrified squeal when it hit him.

_Well shit, they're cyborgs_ Enigma thought sourly. _Really annoying cyborgs._. Enigma was barely able to jump out of the way in time, before the beam fired. Aparently it wasn't stopping either as the explosion he heard soon after indicacted it had broken through the Slums Gate. 

"Looks like you missed too Afrolicious."
_________________________________________________________________

The beam of energy did not stop until it smashed through the Eastern Gate, and went out into the wastelands. Even then it only stopped when it impacted with a building from the nearby village. As discoverd only a short time before, the village's population had dropped to 0. Meaning the death toll caused by the beam did not increase beyond the four hundred it had killed during it's streak scross town.


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## masamune1 (Nov 23, 2010)

Cthulhu-versailles said:


> Ogion had travelled for some days north. Upon these days journey, he'd further fed of man to earth several times. Though less then usual; Ogion did not wish to risk the child's life in needless conflit. Walking this day on elevated earth, high in fractured mountains, until was pleased when he saw a spiral like structure of earth, ash, mod, and subtance unknown. The structures was fire red and slik white, and if Ogion did not think it impossible, as he sensed no great power in the area, he would believed the whole thing was floating in the air.
> 
> Walking towards the structure, Ogion noticed a spiral like stair case carved into the sides going downward. For a moment Ogion thought of what to do, and in the next moment he decided. Moving his skeletal legs slowly, he made his way closer to the structure. It was strange. The closer Ogion got, the more he saw no end. And yet, further ahead, the darkness that was this ubiquitous in sky dulled and lightened; the difference of colors was that of black and brown. Ogion did not much like this color mist eiter. Sighing to himself, he spoke to the boy a quick phrase:
> 
> ...



Ogion traversed the world of his dream for who-knows-how long. The fields made way for forests, the forests for mountains, the mountains for valleys, and the valleys at last made way for more fields. After endless, tireless wandering in this place he finally came to a farm, as devoid of creatures as the rest of this world save for a man working near the barn, captured in a dying dusk sunlight. The farm was halved between yet more miles of golden fields on the one hand, and miles of dirt fields on the other. Those fields were animated by thousands of bumps, as if something was planted or buried there. They sat neighbourly next to thousands of holes of equal size. The farmer worked away at one of these dirt mounds, recently filled if the shovel planted in the grass was any indication. He put down the hoe he was using to upturn the dirt, and as Ogion got closer he swapped the hoe for a rake and began to work the mound with that.    

The farmer was an elderly black man, a full head of silver hair sitting utop his crown. He was still fit enough evidently to look after this entire farm by himself. Ogion ignored whatever useless task he was doing in a world as temporary as a dream; he was more interested in who this man was that what he was working on. He feared he knew the answer to that question, and it made him sick to his stomach, even here, to e in the presence of such a thing.

As Ogion approached the farmer-god the man looked up, smiled and said "Well, hello there", then looked back to his raking.

Ogion stared silently at the farmer for a moment, then baldly asked the question, "Are you a god?"

This earned Ogion an even bigger smile, and this time the farmer stopped working when he looked at him. "Well, that was pretty direct, was'nt it?" He stared into space, as if remembering something, then said "That reminds me of a movie I saw once. Someone asks you if you're a god, and you're supposed to say `yes`."

Ogion had no idea what he was rambling about, but he ignored it. "So you _are_ a god then." It was'nt a question, but as it turned out, it was'nt quite accurate either.

The farmer went back to his raking, and replied more thoughtfully, "Well now, thats a difficult question. It's not wrong, you see, but it's not what I'd call myself either."

Ogion replied, "What would you call yourself?"

"God", the farmer replied without stopping. "I would call myself God. Just God". 

Ogion looked quietly at the old man tending his mound of dirt, and digested what he just said. "God.", he finally managed to say. "You are God."

"Thats right.", the farmer continued. "I know how you feel about gods, Ogion. Rest assured I'm not the same as them. I'm much, much more, and thats why they locked me away. I'm not any more a fan of them than you are."

Ogion was quiet yet again (it was getting to be a habit in this conversation), then registered the important part, "Locked away? How could God be locked away? Thats sounds impossible."

"Nothing is impossible, Ogion", replied God without looking up or smiling. "Not for me. Unfortunately, that includes silly things like that. They locked me up- they were scared of me you see-, and put me outside of everything, outside the Universe and Creation and all that. And they robbed me of my sleep, because when I sleep I dream, and in my dreams I can make anything possible. That terrifys them, because I can make then irrelevant, not that they are'nt even with me out of the picture. But I've started to escape, learnt to reach out and touch the minds and souls of people I think can help me.". He put down his rake, turned and said "And that brings me to you, Ogion."  

Ogion looked silently at the creature standing before him, the night beginning to creep in as the Sun faded away. "You want my help? What is it you want me to do?"

The farmer took a step closer, stared right into Ogion's eyes, and said "I want you to help me kill a god."


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## Stunna (Nov 23, 2010)

Emperor Joker said:


> "Looks like you missed too Afrolicious."


A Masked Bandit watched the confrontation between Enigma and the cyborgs from afar. His mask was zoomed in on the action, and he was delivering live feed to Mask?s mask.

?Darn it. Others are trying to move in on my bounty! I?ve got to hurry?? Mask said as he drove a hijacked motorcycle through the streets of Pandemonium.

?Boss, I?ve got the perfect shot from my location. I could take him out.?

?As if I?d trust you with something as important as that! Wait? that?s it! You will forgive me if I borrow your body for a minute.? Mask said in a conniving manner. He proceeded to change his current mask with his Mask of Control. Mask halted the bike at the side of the road, and then relayed the frequency back to his minion?s. The power of his mask overrode his underling?s, and he took over his body. 

?While I?m in this guy?s body, I can?t remove his mask, or the trance will be broken. Furthermore, if anyone tampers with my body, the trance will be broken. Maybe I should?ve done something more than sat on the side of the road? no time for regrets now! I?ve got one shot. I?d best take aim??


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## MrChubz (Nov 23, 2010)

-With Kirk-
"Rise and shine," One of Kirk's cellmates said as he shook Kirk.

"Hmmm? What time is it?" Kirk asked, half asleep. He was very tired and was in no mood to get up quickly.

"2:30AM. We need to be out there working by 2:45. Then we work 12 hours, get a 15 minute food and water break, then we work for another 6. I hope you're in shape," The cellmate informed Kirk.

"What the hell? How do they expect everyone to live?" Kirk asked. He rubbed his face and slowly stood.

"They don't. People here drop like flies. They just keep getting new people. All of us in this cell are lucky. We don' have the toughest job," The cellmate said. He turned around and left his cell (2:30 was the only time it was open. The area was highly guarded during this time), "Walk with me. You don't want to know what happens when someone is late. Just use your common sense and you won't get shot,"

Kirk waled beside his cellmate. He looked around. There were at least three well armed Kin members for every prisoner. Kirk thought back to when he was trying to retrieve the orb. Fighting one or two of these guys at a time was dangerous. Any attempt at trying to escape with this many of them would be a good way to commit suicide.

"What's our job anyways?" Kirk asked his friend looking at him.

"Look forward as much as possible. Don't look around like you were doing and don't mumble, they need to hear you," The cellmate said, looking forward, "We're allowed to speak as long as they know what we're saying. Looking around will get you shot. They don't like to take risks. They probably haven't shot you yet because you're new. As for your question. It's a surprise,"

They walked side by side in silence. Eventually the hallway where the other cells were ended and they reached a door to the outside. The sun wasn't up yet and it was still cold. There wasn't any grass on the ground, only dirt. Counting the building they just left, there were 6 building scattered around the campus. The largest one was home to the leaders of The Kin. The second largest was for the normal members. The rest were work buildings.

"See the large building?" The cellmate asked.

"I sure do," Kirk responded.

"Remember how I said we don't have the worst job? Well the people who work there do. They are the Kin leaders' personal servants. They do whatever they want them to do. Rarely do they last long," The cellmate explained to Kirk.

"Why's that?" Kirk asked.

"It's the stuff they make them do. It's not just telling them to get things or cook them something. No. Eventually the leaders get bored and have them do crazy shit.. My favorite death is when one of the leaders got bored and wondered what would happen if someone were to eat explosives and then get lit on fire. He dies quick fast and in a hurry,"

"What did happen?" Kirk asked.

"He was unable to eat the explosive and he was shot," He answered.

"Yikes. So where do we work?" Kirk asked.

"We're entertainers. By that I mean we fight things. Large, mean, and dangerous animals. Once a week we put on a show for everyone and before then we practice. We're a few miles south where they there's an abundance of native animals. We find them and fight them. Under supervision of course,"

"We don't get weapons do we?" Kirk asked.

"We get things like hammers, torches, bludgeons, swords if we're lucky. The supervision has guns so we're still hopeless. We're just lucky The Kin likes to see us defeat the animals. Otherwise we wouldn't stand a chance,"


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## Cthulhu-versailles (Nov 23, 2010)

masamune1 said:


> Ogion traversed the world of his dream for who-knows-how long. The fields made way for forests, the forests for mountains, the mountains for valleys, and the valleys at last made way for more fields. After endless, tireless wandering in this place he finally came to a farm, as devoid of creatures as the rest of this world save for a man working near the barn, captured in a dying dusk sunlight. The farm was halved between yet more miles of golden fields on the one hand, and miles of dirt fields on the other. Those fields were animated by thousands of bumps, as if something was planted or buried there. They sat neighbourly next to thousands of holes of equal size. The farmer worked away at one of these dirt mounds, recently filled if the shovel planted in the grass was any indication. He put down the hoe he was using to upturn the dirt, and as Ogion got closer he swapped the hoe for a rake and began to work the mound with that.
> 
> The farmer was an elderly black man, a full head of silver hair sitting utop his crown. He was still fit enough evidently to look after this entire farm by himself. Ogion ignored whatever useless task he was doing in a world as temporary as a dream; he was more interested in who this man was that what he was working on. He feared he knew the answer to that question, and it made him sick to his stomach, even here, to e in the presence of such a thing.
> 
> ...




Ogion's eyes burned a deep purple and his hands clenched into a fist. What this one called God had said sounded impossible. Yet, what if it were true? How could he find out the truth? It was then, in a brief moment of time seldom beyond a second, Ogion decided to extract information. Raping the minds of other wasn't something he had problem doing, and certainly not if this were a God. He hated them all. 

Calling upon the energy that dwelled within, Ogion's traced a line from his mind to this other, this black man God. In the first moment of contact, Ogion sensed an overwhelming feedback unlike any before.  Then next, Ogion simply heard the words "Petty tricks are irrelevant here" said by the God. 

Ogion ignored the words and pushed harder trying to wretch anything from this beings mind. But the more he tried, the weaker he felt, as though he were the one being weighed and pushed down by an immaculate unknown. 

After some seconds of struggle to Ogion, as matters of mind occurred beyond normative speed, he saw the fields around change from seemingly fresh farmlands to more decrypted weeds; mother earth look like she died. It filled him with a sense of anger and revitalized purpose. For if this was a dream, he could surely escape, couldn't he? 

"No. You should simply stop your struggle and hear what I have to say specter. You don't seem to understand the position you are in, and your hubris irks at my kindness." the God said, a young boy seeming to appear in his hands out of nowhere. 

"Yansick! Is that Yansick" Ogion cried in shock. 

The God looked at him wearily, and Ogion awaited his reply....


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 24, 2010)

*The Guild of Mad Science: Pandemonium Branch*

"Can somebody please explain to me..." fumed the old man with the wiry hair and white lab coat. "How the experimental energy cannon got installed in Android C07/D? It's not ready for field testing yet!" He stood at the front of a long table, with a video screen running down the middle, showcasing the battle between the Afrodroids and Enigma.

The guild members sitting on either side of the table, scratched thier heads in embarrasment, before one spoke up. "It wasn't installed when we sent them back to the Rapture Branch to correct on thier aiming issues...so who can say Dr. Shell."

"Lot of good that did us!" said the man called Dr. Shell, who was senior mad scientist of Pandemonium Branch. "We send them to Rapture to improve on the design. and Rapture sends them back with even worse aim, and AI issues to boot. Whose idea was it to call them Afrolicious and Sugarboy? It was you wasn't it Benson!" he screamed, pointing at a cowering man at the end of the table. Shell restrained himself and sighed. "This was just supposed to be a test run. The Phantom appearing was just good luck. But No some moron had to go install a highly destructive device in a experimental android. Now half of the Lower Quarter is in flames, and from what I hear the energy bolts are still going...Recall them...both of them."

The guild member gasped in unison, before one man whose nametag read "Minor Minion: Inverse" said. "Whatever for? we have The Phantom on the ropes...they just need to actually hit him, and we can collect on that bounty." he looked at the monitor, showing Enigma trying futally to cut through the Afrodroids armor. While Afrolicious continued firing off shots from his energy cannon.

Shell reached over and slapped him. "Didn't you hear me Inverse, The Lower Quarter's going up in flames, we need to go into damage control. We can't do that with two Phase 3 experimental cyborgs running around. We need to recall them and get men out on the street. we need to shift the blame away from us and onto The Phantom...what are you waiting for people move!" he paused. "But not you Benson, you and me need to have a chat about your naming habits..."

_________________________________________________________________

_This is fucking stupid_ thought Enigma. _I'm going to die by the hands of two androids who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn._ He was bleeding from several wounds inflicted by flying shrapnel and close brushes with the energy cannon. He twisted to one side to avoid a sword slash from Sugarboy, who had switched to melee when he realized his cannonballs weren't coming close to hitting his target...to bad his swordsmanship was just as abysmal as his aim. Enigma in return picked him up with a tendril and threw him into a burning house. He heard Sugarboy squealing in terror.

Turning to where Afrolicious still was, he was surprised to find him withdrawing the energy cannon back into his hair, along with the floodlights. He was even more surprised, when Afrolicious saluted him before just walking away. He heard scrambling behind as Sugarboy emerged from the house, his hair on fire. Like Afrolicious he too saulted before walking off in the direction the other android has went. Enigma just stood there confused.


"So...did I somehow win? did the tall one give up because I threw Sugarboy into that house? what the hell just happened?" he said to himself, as he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.


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## masamune1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Cthulhu-versailles said:


> Ogion's eyes burned a deep purple and his hands clenched into a fist. What this one called God had said sounded impossible. Yet, what if it were true? How could he find out the truth? It was then, in a brief moment of time seldom beyond a second, Ogion decided to extract information. Raping the minds of other wasn't something he had problem doing, and certainly not if this were a God. He hated them all.
> 
> Calling upon the energy that dwelled within, Ogion's traced a line from his mind to this other, this black man God. In the first moment of contact, Ogion sensed an overwhelming feedback unlike any before.  Then next, Ogion simply heard the words "Petty tricks are irrelevant here" said by the God.
> 
> ...



"I want to tell you something, Ogion. The truth, the harsh truth, but the truth you've know all along, deep down in your heart, is that this boy here, Yansick, he never stood a chance. Never."

The voice of God, which had become powerful, alien and unworldy at Ogion's pathetic attempt at mind proing, returned to that of a elderly human farmer, though now tinged with (feigned?) sadness; the sky remained on the ring of night, but the fields around had recovered from their spell of quickening decay. As God's anger with Ogion subsided, this world took on life again.

Any other time Ogion might have flew at a rage himself at what this "God" had just dared to say, but he was in the presence of an authority, of a power, the likes of which he had never faced before. It left him dumbfounded, defenceless against the accustations.

"You think the gods punished Yansick and yourself because you were a threat to them. But you know, deep down in your your soul you know, that that is a load of nonsense. No matter what great power this boy head, compared to the Pantheon he was no more dangerous than a bumblebee."

"No...That's not true", Ogion managed to retort. "The gods cursed me, just because I'd given him shelter. They made me wander the Earth forever, and...."

God cut him off, "....and you think, that they did this because Yansick frightened them. Because why else would they do such a thing? But they were'nt afraid, Ogion. They were _bored._"

Ogion stared in horror at the direction the conversation was taking.

The Deity continued, "You think they have'nt lifted your curse out of spite; I'd say, it's because Death has forgotten you. Yansick was unlucky enough to be born after the Apocalypse, when things were happening on Earth that got them interested in mankind again. They had ignored them for millenia because nothing interesting was happening, and they were to lazy to make anything happen. He caught their attention only because they were already looking, and you caught their wrath because, for no other reason, that god felt it had been too long since he had really screwed someody over. You are insiginificant and meaningless to them, Ogion, you and that boy. Neither of you were ever anything special."

Ogion turned away from God at this, and fell to his knees in shock. Of course, he could believe it to be true with himself easily enough, though he always felt the gods were more spiteful to him. But not Yansick; that he could not accept. He could not accept that everything that had happened to them was because Yansick was just an annoyance, that it was all meaningless.

And there was something else- this God said the Apocalypse drew the god's attention. While he travelled the world, he had been restoring environments to spite them, Yansick had waged his war against them, because they were to blame. They knew it to be true, that Armagedon was the fault of the gods. But this creature claimed they did'nt even care about the world until it happened. Who, then, or what, was responsible fo the....?

God gently laid his hand on Ogion's shoulder. "But I am different, Ogion", he continued, blind to Ogion's thoughts for once, "The gods do fear me, and they should because I can destroy them. I can turn all reality into a dream and bend it to my will. I can bring about an eternity of paradise", he leaned closer, "I can remove your curse", he said, making Ogion's head lift a little higher.

God went on, "There is no sin in my eyes greater than Sloth. The gods were lazy, destitute, the world had tumbled into nihilism and mechanism, it had begun to lose all it's meaning and wonder, and the gods did nothing to stop it. That is why they must be destroyed, because they no longer fire mens' souls. And you, Ogion", he went on more forcefully, "You are guilty of the same sin. You have accepted your curse. You deny it, but you were cursed to wander the world without end and that is what you have done, and your little temper-tantrums against those who follow the gods, and your wasted efforts as an eco-warrior, they are nothing more than childish acts of defiance against the inevitable. You have done nothing to try and escape your doom, and nothing to truly hurt the gods you so despise."

Ogion stared up at him with angry eyes. How could he possibly have done anything? What _could_ he have done? But God was not impressed with his anger, the anger that had slew thousands would not frighten such a being. "What I am offering you, Ogion, is a chance to actually do something useful with your fury for once, a chance to at last take your destiny into your own hands. I have a quest for you, in the city of Nevi'im, to begin searching for a certain artifact. This artifact is very special, because it holds the key to destroying a god. One, particular god."

Ogion looked into the eyes of God, now kneeling next to him in the dirt. "What god is that?"

"The one who cursed you," the farmer continued. "The Reaper. The god of Death".


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## Stunna (Nov 24, 2010)

“Now! While he’s distracted!” Mask, in the body of one of his thugs, exclaimed. He aimed directly at Enigma, but as he pulled the trigger, he fell over. “What the?!!” Was his last words before suddenly waking up on the pavement, in his own body. He was bleeding, and his bike was trashed. A car had hit him. “DAMN IT!!! SO CLOSE!” He cried out, holding his side.

“Sir, are you…” The driver of the car that hit him said.

“Don’t touch me!” Mask exclaimed as he ran off into the alley.

“Boss? Boss! What happened?!!” The formerly possessed underling shouted, as he stood up. He had lost connection with Mask.


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## Cthulhu-versailles (Nov 24, 2010)

masamune1 said:


> "I want to tell you something, Ogion. The truth, the harsh truth, but the truth you've know all along, deep down in your heart, is that this boy here, Yansick, he never stood a chance. Never."
> 
> The voice of God, which had become powerful, alien and unworldy at Ogion's pathetic attempt at mind proing, returned to that of a eldrly human farmer, though now tinged with (feigned?) sadness; the sky remained on the ring of night, but the fields around had recovered from their spell of quickening decay. As God's anger with Ogion subsided, this world took on life again.
> 
> ...



Ogion wasn't surprised to hear the name of the God that had cursed him, but he was surprised to hear this being called God had known. The curse of death might have seemed evident, as Ogion was skeletal more then man, but around the curse came an air of perplex uncertainty. It seemed to cloud the minds of those he meet more then he ever could, making them unable to speak of even what it was that had done this to him. 

"Ogion, stop thinking. You know the choice you will make, and I know it" God said, patting his hand on the skeletal shoulder to bid him rise. 

Ogion stood up and nodded, letting a question stammer from his mouth:
 What is this artifact you wish me to retrieve?" he asked. 

God pointed out to the fields in reply and let a smile grace his face; the artifact had no known name in language or expression, and what it was could merely be conveyed through impression, and even then, not all could know of it. 

Ogion focused then, trying to perceive what was beyond his human spectrum. It was slow, but crackles of deep white shot out, upwards, soaring further into the skies, and then spreading all around. From the white, an overlay of colors seemed to drape onto the air into shape, but this was still vague. Ogion focused harder, but it seemed no use. The shape would not evolve; it seemed stuck as whatever it was, unwilling to reveal itself. 

God walked towards placing his hand upon it, and the white faded from the air. 

I hold absolute control in this world, what you would call a dream, but your consciousness wakes as we speak. You are blocking yourself from seeing what I have showed you." God said, calmly, walking away into the field. 

"Wait! How can I do this alone?" Ogion cried. 

"You will. No, you want to, but you won't...you will meet"-God words were cut off as the farm lands faded, and the world returned to the desolate darkness it was before. Ogion had awoken, but he wondered still if this was a dream. Looking to his left, he saw the boy had taken penchant on his shoulder. It was comforting, he had returned. 

Without hesitation then, Ogion stood and gazed into his hands sighing. There was much he was thinking; there was much he wanted to do; and there was much he hoped he would not have to. However, what he knew clearly was that he would sleep again one day. Until then, he picked up the baby and headed in the direction he had been told. Though first, he uprooted some dirt, gathering some nearby shrubbery and planting it to grow for even if it lie it was his lie to live. He would not give up on the environment so easily, even if his spite was empty. Emptiness was all he was. 

But who was this stranger he saw further off seeming to stare at him now? Who was this observer watching him? Was Ogion yet awake?


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## Wesker (Nov 24, 2010)

The man in white looked him over and asked Jack "Why do you wish to join us?"
Jack replied "The ones I love are threatened by bandits that seem to have something to do with a crawling chaos. I had heard that you have knowledge on them. If you are against these bandits I would help you fight them." The man stayed silent for a bit , no doubt wondering how he had come across this information. The man then asked Jack "Well it is true we are opposed to the crawling chaos, however no just anybody has what it takes to go against them, I can tell there is something different about you why don't you show me." Jack hesitated for a moment, he didn't want to show his powers unless necessary but if he didn't the man would probably dismiss him. Reluctantly he used his powers to levitate and move several large pieces of rubble in the air. 

After he was done the showing the man in white smirked and said "Not bad a person with psionic powers could be very useful to us. Now where did you get your powers? Was it a god, radiation, perhaps some experiment gone wrong?" Jack replied "Why do you need to know?" The man said back "Our organization has made enemies of some......beings...... it would not do well to let one of their agents in would it? Oh and don't lie I can tell if you do."

Jack then told him the the story of the first Archon and how he had received his powers. After he was done the man stood silent, although he had acted casually when mentioning gods and powers the man was obviously caught off guard by the mention of aliens. After regaining his composure the man said "Interesting very interesting, now tell me how was it that you found this place?" Jack relayed the story of the liquefied corpses and how he followed Laker using by tracking his astral signature.  "Hmm that ability is rare even amongst psychics. I think I have the perfect job for you." said the man in white.

"So doe this mean I am a part of your organization now?" asked Jack. The man replied "Indeed it does. Now listen, the Crawling Chaos that these bandits talk about is a being that they worship and serve. It is an old, primordial being that predates even most gods. It had lied dormant and sealed for millennia until the apocalypse happened, the chaos unleashed during that event seems to have caused it to stir. Fortunately it can not yet come into our world. These bandits are working for a cult that wants to unleash onto our plane of existence. Now we have the resources and manpower to defeat the bandits however we can not find where exactly the cultists are hiding. Lately the attacks have gotten more frequent and more bandits with powers are showing up, they must be preparing to do something. What I want you to do is use your powers to find the cultists, when you do find them use this to communicate with us and we will send forces to clear them out." The man handed him a boxlike machine with a gemstone in the middle. "Think of it as a mental walkie talkie." said the man. Jack asked "What if your forces won't get there in time to stop whatever is happening?" The man replied "Then do everything in your power to stop them. We cannot afford to let even a lesser servant of chaos into our world." The man then handed him a map and an envelop with and odd seal on it and said "Now go to the location marked on this map and give the man there this envelope. He will give you supplies and set you on your way." 

Jack took the items and stared at them. He had no idea when he set off on this journey that he would get involved in something like this so quickly. But perhaps this was the type of thing the alien entity had given him powers for. Glancing back at the man in white he said "Alright well I guess I should get going." With that he set out towards the location on the map.


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## masamune1 (Nov 24, 2010)

The Moon found his master in the middle of some vast farmland, and watched as Ogion faded back to reality- the skeletal figure did not notice him. Ikelos stared blankly at the empty space, and then without turning his head, said "Well, that did'nt go quite as I hoped."

The Moon stood silently and obedient in the presence of the Lord of Dreams. He did not for a moment doubt that his god knew he was present, so saw no reason to draw his attention.

His belief was well-founded, "It looks like I'm still not what I used to be. In the old days, I could have kept him here forever, and shown him whatever liked. Still some practice needed, I guess.". Still without turning, he spoke to his Avatar, "So, I take it you have news."

"Kent and Finn are arriving in Pandemonium. Mask has made contact with Knight, and Knight has been injured."

"Injured? Erebus and The Reaper are worse judges of character than I thought. Bad enough that he died, now he's getting beaten after being granted such power. I do hope he does'nt prove to be a dissapointment."

The Moon remained quiet.

Ikelos turned to face his servant, a look of mild surprise on his face, "Is that all? Surely you can't have come here just to tell me _that?"_

"Alice.", The Moon bluntly stated. 

The King of the Night matched The Moon's silence at the mention of that name, as if considering how to respond. "I gather", he finally said, "that that is supposed to mean something to me."

"The Faerie feels she is strong. Strong enough that her powers might one day compare to mine." He made his accusation equally bluntly, "Is this your doing?"

Ikelos regarded his impetuous minion with unreadable eyes. "And if it is? What then?"

"Then I would like to be informed", said The Moon, betraying no emotion, "especially if this girl is intended to be my replacement."

This made Ikelos laugh, "Oh, ho ho, so you think that everything I've done for you, all the power I've imparted, all the orders that I've given you, you think that all that has been just so I can throw you away and put some girl in your place?"

"I would'nt put it past you", The Moon told his master.

Ikelos stared at his underling for a moment, then lowered his eyes to the ground, the smile not-quite leaving his lips, "Then you know me too well." He looked back up at The Moon, then shook his head, "No, she is not your replacement. But I do have plans for her, if you must know. Just like I have plans for everyone."

"Perhaps one day you'll share them with me."

"Hmm....Perhaps." Ikelos turned around and walked back over to his rake, and continued his work. "But don't count on it."

"What was all that about?", The Moon asked his rude master. 

"An errand. I need him to retrieve something for me. We'll see how that goes."

"And what something would that be?"

"Something", Ikelos said, "that will make me indespensable."


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## SYSC (Nov 24, 2010)

*Vista*

*Pandemonium: The Rooftops*

Hen stands in front of a hazardous 9-story building. He stares upon it. One half of the roof seemed to have burned off and the other with still creaking cracks that run down the side of the building to the ground. It looks as if a explosion went off in it. Hen adjustes he's sunglasses before walking in hoping the best. He uses whatever was left of the staircases to make it up the 9th floor reaching the entrance to the roof sealed and covered in chains. He slugs he's guitar _Maria_ off he's shoulder and shoves it between the door and the chain. Hen wrenches back and breaks the chains effortlessly. He carefully walks on the roof not wanting it to collapse.

"The air almost seems fresher up here" he says to himself as he reaches the edge of the roof and sits down with he's left leg stretched out. He looks down at the people.

"Im only some feets off the ground but just looking down at them its almost like...like im a God" he said. "Yeah, like any God still even exists to anyone" he said shrugging the thought off while he stratched he's head.

Hen then gets up enthusiasticly looking out at the city of Pandemonium. He then looks down at _Maria_ in he's hands and screams out "Anyway I risked my life climbing up this shithole for a reason!" 

He jabs _Maria_ on its bottom which opens a secret compartment on the reinforced side. Hen takes out a small red pill marked "Icine-49". 

"Good ol' Icy" he says fliping it up and catching it on he's palm. "If anythings going to help me catch this Phantom guy its this. Hopefully it'll amp up my power for a greater range of sight without killing me."

At that moment a thunderous energy blast flew by a block away leaving behind a trail of the melted ground. 

Hen stands still on the rooftop which begins to shake after calamitous blast. He readjusts he's shades and puts _Maria_ back on he's shoulder and looks to the right where the beam of energy came from.

"Something tells me theres a party going on envolving that bounty. And I never miss a party" Hen places the pill back in the side compartment of _Maria_ and says "Guess I wont be needing this anytime soon"

Hen examines he's guitar turning it side to side and says "God I hope theres a parachute installed in here"


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## masamune1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Melony waltzed calmly through the streets of Bowery, the walled-off enclave of Pandemonium that was the only safe part of the city, if only because all the biggest monsters lived here, and chose to make it hospitable. She held a large wicker basket in her right arm, and let her long blonde hair flow freely in the light breeze. She was making her way to the park, and immediately found Alice showing off to a bunch of children.

Melony thought about approaching, but decided to stay back and lean against a tree, watching the girl work her magic. It had been nearly three years since the 10 year old had demonstrated her gift, and in that time she had blocked out how to use it. Her big sister had only been caring for her for the last few months, and had her work cut out teaching her to use it. 

But the work was starting to pay off. In another age, a girl like her might have been hung or burned at the stake, or worshipped as a goddess after that failed. Now, she was just a girl performing tricks for her friends. 

Melony watched as the red-haired girl worked her magic. She had made a minature castle, white with crystal towers, out of thin air, animating little men and women out of the earth to populate it, expanding it into a small town. The kids gave her orders regarding what she should next- a cart here, a fountain there, a garden on this side of the moat, pets and horses and flowers and whatever else. The size and scale would rival nobody in the south-eastern wastes, but the control and the detail, for someone so young, were nothing but impressive.   

It was sad that it had to come to an end.

Melony walked up behind Alice and gently patted her head. "Alright kids, Alice has to go. Time to say goodbye.

A lot of _awws_ and _boos_ came back to her in response, but Melony would brook no resistance. "Listen, I'm her big sister. If you don't leave, I'll turn all of you into jelly and take you home to eat myself. Oh I'll do it-", she leant in closer so they were all around her, "Just. Like.", she snapped her fingers, and blue flame shot up "That." The fire sent them running for the hills, high-pitched screams left in their wake.

Melony smiled as the children scattered in all directions, forgetting once again that most were the spoiled offspring of well-bred thieves and murderers. She looked back down at Alice, who was still engrossed in her living toy castle. 

Melony knelt down next to her little sister and began stroking her hair, "You've started to get really good."

"I have'nt even started", she replied cheekily. The castle is too small (it was 5 feet tall)- I want to make it as big as the park, and the town as big as this city.", she said, raising her eyes to the Heavens and spreading her arms outward.

Melony was frightened she could actually do it. She looked at her quietly as she went back to working her magic, and then sadly broke the news, "Alice, it's time to go".

"No, please,  just 5 more minutes", she inisted. "I'm nearly finished, I promise!"

"No, I mean....It's time to go. It's time to leave."

Alice stopped playing, and just sat frozen to the spot, her eyes had went blank. 

She was silent for a few moments, then said, "Are you going away too?"

Melony smiled, "I'm going with you. I'm staying with you."

Alice leapt at and hugged her. Melony hugged back. "I'm your family. I'm not like all your other homes. I'm staying with you, and I'll be with you forever."

Tears began streaming down Alice's face. Since she was 7, she had been forced to move from place to place, some good, many terrible, always with different people. She had'nt had a proper family in so long. She did'nt want to lose this one. "Why do we have to leave?", she finally managed to croak out.

Melony was quiet for a moment, then whispered to her little sister. "It's your brother. He's found us."

Alice leapt out of the hug in terror, but careful not to leave Melony's arms. "No.....No! He can't have! Your wrong!" Her heart was racing, and her skin had went white. 

"He's outside the city now. He'll be here in a few days, maybe less. I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous here."

"But...why...how?", she cried.

"I don't know. I might be wrong, he might not even know your here. But it's too dangerous anyway. We can't risk it. You know that."

Alice looked up and around the park, looking at everyone and no-one. "But...All these people..."

"Will be fine.", Melony said. "He can't do anything here. There are strong people to protect them. The only one in danger is you." The Ghost walked silently up to them, putting his hand on Alice's shoulder. She squeezed it tight without looking. Melony, The Faerie, stood up and said "We have to go."

Alice nodded, wiped her tears away, and took one last look at the park and the children, her only friends. The Ghost excersised his powers, and the three vanished.

And as Edward Kent approached Pandemonium, the city braced itself for chaos.


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 24, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

We continued heading towards Pandemonium. The city loomed much closer on the horizon, growing larger and larger as we walked towards it, a gargantuan megastructure of steel and concrete. 

Just what in the world had happened back at that village? It had given me pause. I had seen destroyed villages - I should know, I ended up annihilating my own - but I had never seen the death of a town that way.

"I just don't understand what happened back there," I said, voicing my thoughts out loud. "I mean, it was as if they just... died all of a sudden."

"A mass plague perhaps?" Finn suggested, sounding just as bewildered as me.

"Few diseases have such a high rate of mortality." Chachamaru mused. "Also, many of the bodies seemed to be in or more less ideal health prior to whatever caused their death. It was as if they all simply contracted heart attacks at the same time"

"So, what do you think happened?" Finn asked Chachamaru.

She shrugged. "Unfortunately, I'm just as puzzled as Edward here. It does not make sense at all."

It made no sense at all. People didn't just keel over and die all of a sudden. I had no idea what could have caused what we had seen and that troubled me. 

We walked in silence from then on. It wasn't long before we were before the outer gates of Pandemonium. The city was ridiculously imposing from this distance, towering above our heads.

"Wow," Finn said, impressed.

I tried to act cool and indifferent, but the truth was, I was just as impressed as Finn was.

We were reaching what was the Eastern Gate when I heard a curious rumbling coming from somewhere nearby. 

Chachamaru looked curiously at the Gate for a moment, eyes flashing before her face gave way to shock.

"Chachamaru, what - " Finn began to ask, but then she knocked both of us down, hitting the sand next to us. I didn't have time to question what the hell was going because that was when the Eastern Gate suddenly exploded in a snarling cacophony of blackened steel and stone. 

A blinding azure beam of light scarcely missed us, radiant heat searing my lungs as the world was drowned out in a single, brief tone of blue light and thunder. As it passed over our heads, I turned around to see it strike a building from the village we had just left. 

We lay there for several long seconds. My ears wouldn't stop ringing from the incredible noise of... whatever that had been.

"What the hell was that?" Finn finally exclaimed.

Chachamaru was still looking at the Gate - what was left of it - before she replied, "Some kind of energy weapon. I had just detected its energy signature heading towards us."

If Chachamaru hadn't knocked us down at that exact moment... we would all be dead.

"Looks like you saved us again," Finn said, still looking a little shocked.

We got shakily to our feet, walking towards and through the burnt remains of the Eastern Gate. Chaos greeted us, as people were running and screaming in the streets, trying to get away from whatever had just shot that beam.

Blackened and burnt bodies lined the streets, along a direct line of that beam. Several cars had been caught in the path of the blast, now burning wrecks. 

A boy was crying and shaking three blackened bodies now very far from us. One of them looked to be the remains of a little girl, perhaps his sister. My throat caught and I averted my eyes. 

I could hear what sounded like successive thunderclaps and saw more flashes of azure light not very far from us.

"Did we just walk into the middle of a war or something?" Finn said, disbelievingly, taking in the grim surroundings. I had to agree with him, just what was going on?

Almost unconsciously, I had already unslung my rifle, looking for any sign of what was causing this. 

"Chachamaru, can you tell where this is happening?" I asked.

She focused her gaze along the scorched path where the beam had traveled, eyes flashing rapidly for a second. "Not very far," she finally replied. "I can detect the same energy source directly 315.3 meters away along this direction." 

I began walking towards where she had indicated, before Finn put his hand on my shoulder. "Hold on a second. We have no clue what's going on and it's not like it's any of our business either. Do we really want to go _towards_ what nearly killed us back there?"

I paused as I considered that. That made sense. But my eyes looked back to the blackened bodies and that same child. 

"Whatever it is," I said, gesturing towards the bodies. "It doesn't care whether it hits its target or innocent bystanders. We can't just let something like that, whatever it is, keep doing this."

Finn looked doubtful, but he sighed and assented. chuckling wryly, "That philosophy's going to get you killed someday you know?"

I smiled slightly. "Probably. Chachamaru?"

She nodded and began to lead the way. We navigated the ruined streets, passing apartments and stores. The thunderclaps continued, growing louder as we approached. 

Several houses we passed were burning, large holes shot through them. We must have passed tens of dead as we came closer. Just what the hell was doing all this?

At this point, the death toll must have been in the hundreds, given the ridiculous numbers of bodies we passed as we approached the remains of what looked like to be a gate not very far from us. I could hear explosions coming from just beyond it. That had to be the place.

"Watch out!" Chachamaru said suddenly and we scarcely got away from another bolt of azure light. My heart was pounding at about a hundred miles an hour and I began to form an invisible shield around us. I didn't know if it would protect us from that kind of awesome power, but it was better than nothing.

As we neared the gate, the sounds suddenly stopped. I scaled over the destroyed Gate, avoiding the embers that littered the ground. Not far from us, a.... _thing_ stood beside a burning house. It was skeletal and alien, shrouded in a cloak of utter darkness. It turned to face us. Its monstrous eyes swept over us and then it suddenly disappeared, dissolving into the ambient darkness.

A raspy voice, seeming to emanate from nowhere at all sounded out of the darkness. ""More hunters ay? Alas let you be warned, The Phantom of the Slums will  tolerate no threats. If you desire my head so badly, you'll have to work  for it."

Suddenly, a knife flew out of the darkness, aimed straight at me. Instinctively, I ducked, the blade scarcely missing me. When I looked up again, there was nothing.

I stared for a moment, taking in the devastation around me before an oddly appropriate thought occurred to me. 

The name of this city was Pandemonium.

From what I had seen so far, its makers had chosen its name well.


----------



## Endless Mike (Nov 25, 2010)

Finn watched as the shadowy being disappeared into darkness. There was no other sign of what had caused the devastation, only the burning and ruined buildings and streets around us.

"Whatever that was, looks like we just missed it," said Finn, surveying the destroyed landscape.

"Yes, but is that a good thing or a bad thing?" replied Ed

"Was that shadow thing the one who did this?" wondered Finn out loud. He looked over to Chachamaru, silently requesting her opinion.

"I don't think so," she said. "The energy I detected from him was completely different from that of the weapon, however, it was familiar."

This caused Finn to raise an eyebrow. "Familiar how?"

"Shadow magic," she replied. "I've seen something similar to it before, on my world."

"So now we have two mysteries," mused Edward.

Just then, a young man ran up to the three.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" he asked. "It's dangerous!"

"It seems the danger has passed for now," replied Chachamaru.

This made the man laugh. "Maybe the immediate danger, but don't be fooled. This is Pandemonium - it's always dangerous."

"So then what's the point of warning us?" Finn asked.

"Well you three obviously aren't from around here," the man asked. "I figured I should just do my duty and inform you of how to keep yourselves alive."

Ed studied the man closely.

"Does this kind of thing normally happen around here?" he asked.

"No, not on this scale," replied the local. "But still, every street and alley is a war zone here. You'd better be prepared to defend yourselves."

"Don't worry, we can take care of that," replied Ed.

Finn decided this would be a good time to gather information. Using his power, he began addressing the man. "Do you know anything about a group calling themselves the Masked Bandits?"

The man was clearly shaken by hearing this name, even when affected by Finn's Charm Field.

"Why do you want to know about them?" he asked nervously, dropping his earlier enthusiasm.

Finn turned up the juice and replied "My friend here is looking to meet with them. Would you perhaps know where they could be found?"

The man looked around nervously, then leaned over and whispered in Finn's ear. "A group of them hold meetings every Friday night at 7 PM at a bar on Setesh Street, down by the 6th district." He whispered the address to Finn. "Don't tell anyone I told you. In fact, as far as you're concerned, you never saw me," he replied, as he quickly walked away.

Miles Grady left the strange trio, but was soon enveloped by confusion. Why had he told them about the meeting place of the Masked Bandits? Talking about that kind of thing around here was a sure way to get your throat slit! He had no idea why he hadn't run as soon as the stranger mentioned the name of the notorious outlaws. There was just something in his voice, and his mannerisms - he liked this guy, and felt he could trust him. Oh, but what good was that ridiculous feeling now, when he was sure to be marked for death. The Masked Bandits had agents everywhere, they were sure to find him! Some might think he was being paranoid, but if you lived in Pandemonium, you wouldn't blame him.

"Well, we've got our lead," said Finn, "Although I'm a little worried. He was very reluctant to give up the information, even though I was using a very strong charm on him. These Masked Bandits must be pretty terrifying to have the populace in such a grip of fear."

"We're not going to give up our only lead," Ed declared resolutely. "I don't care how powerful these bandits are, I'm going to find them, and then find my sister."

Chachamaru spoke up. "I agree with Edward. There would be no point in turning back now. Besides," she smiled, "I've been feeling stronger than I have in a long time since we entered the city. I even think I could take a few of those energy blasts from earlier."

"Heh, what's with this newfound confidence?" Finn asked, a bit confused.

"It's the ambient magic. There's a great amount in this world since the Apocalypse, and I've been using it to power myself, however the concentration in the city is far greater than in the jungle or the desert. I'm still not as powerful as I was in my world, but I think you'll be surprised at how strong I've gotten."

Ed did a double - take at this. "You're powered by magic?"

"Yes," she replied. I learned how to harness it from my surroundings, because the way I used to absorb it was rather.... embarrassing. Doing it that way would give me much more power, but there's no one here with the requisite skills to do so, and even if there were, I wouldn't let them do it."

Ed was slightly intrigued by this, but seeing the expression on the gynoid's face he decided to drop it.

"Hey, I just realized," Finn broke the silence. "Do we even know what day it is?"

Ed couldn't remember, but Chachamaru spoke up. "Friday. 4:42 PM. I guess we should find something to do for the next 2 hours."

Finn looked around, the panic had mostly subsided for now, and many people were dragging away rubble and trying to assist the injured.

"I suppose we could help," Finn said. The others had no objection to this, and so they got to work.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 25, 2010)

Enigma heard screaming in the distance, now that the continuous energy blasts had stopped...how far did those damned things travel he wondered. A final explosion sounded in the distance, then silence. There was scrambling behind him, and he turned expecting one of the Afrodroids but instead it was three outlanders. Two boys and a beautiful girl with green hair to be exact. he glanced over the first one, a unremarkable fellow with a old rife in his hands. The second one had the stench of a god's avatar about him...The girl, in a quick inspection was something different, and he couldn't put his finger on it.

He had no desire to stand aound and see if these three were bounty hunters as well...not after Afrolicious and Sugarboy anyways. he moved a away as the darkness enveloped him, but chose to to utter this as a warning to the three, his rasping voice echoing in the darkness surrounding them.

"More hunters ay? Alas let you be warned, The Phantom of the Slums will tolerate no threats. If you desire my head so badly, you'll have to work for it." As a parting gift, a knige flew out of the darkness at the boy with the rifle...he did not look back to see if the man dodged it.

_________________________________________________________________

Several minutes later he stood atop a building overlooking the city _By the Reaper_ he thought to himself. _When I said that this city needed a makeover. I didn't mean it in a moltan slag and burning death kind of way_ he thought sourly...before grinning however _Maybe one of the beams hit  Magear's house..._ 

He looked around, the sun was beginning to set. he'd hide and wait til dark before he came out again

_________________________________________________________________
*The Guild of Mad Science*

"Damage report!" demanded Dr. Shell. "I need a damage report on how badly we look now in comparison to the Nevi'im Branch!"

"You want a comparison to the worst ranked Branch sir?" asked Benson curiously.

"Yes because with this epic fuck up, we made them look pants crappingly competent."

"Nobody's going to know it was out fault sir. reports coming back state while the damage done and loss of life is astronomical...It has been however quite easy to put the blame on The Phantom."

"Of course the citizens won't know Benson! That wasn't who I was talking about anyways. I'm talking about the whole Reaper damned guild, i've got to send in a report to High  Scientists Insano and Wonka about this clusterfuck! Do you know what that means Benson? it means the entire guild will know about this by the end of next week. So yes Benson I would like that comparison!"

Benson shrugged. "Still above them sir. We never caused a race of interdiminsional Nazi dinosaurs to invade remember?"

_________________________________________________________________

Susan chittered angrily at Richard, as she gestured at the molten slag that used to be her zombies. Richard just sighed with simpathy.

"Yes, I know they were technically your magical children honey, but you can always make more. There's tons of corpses out there right now."

Susan chittered with rage, and then stamped one of her feet, Richard paled.

"What do you mean your mother was right about me? Don't be like that honey..."

________________________________________________________________

The Reaper walked the city that night, and wherever it went strife and misery followed. Husbands lost wives, and wives husbands. Parents lost children and brothers lost sisters. and friends lost friends. This was not a night many would soon forget...nor would it be a night The Reaper enjoyed.

_Damned cyborgs_ thought The Reaper as he went about his duties


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## Stunna (Nov 25, 2010)

Mask leaned against a building, gripping his side in agony.

“Darn it… To come so close, and to fail.” He struggled to say, before letting his head drop. A Masked Bandit came running down the alley and kneeled down beside Mask.

“Boss! Boss! Are you okay?” He inquired.

“I’ll be fine… fool. You think an incident like this is enough to defeat Mask?!” He snapped. His subordinate jumped a bit.

“My apologies, sir.”

“No. _My_ apologies. I was wrong to snap at you like that.” Mask quickly responded. He thought for a second before grasping the bandit’s throat. “Don’t you dare tell anyone about this!! Now take me back to the stronghold!” He barked.

“Y-Yessir!”

The bandit threw Mask’s arm over his shoulder, and the two of them began walking slowly home.

“We’ll try again tomorrow. Call in to all of our frequencies. Tell everyone to report back to the stronghold, immediately.” Mask ordered.

“Sir.”

With that, Mask dropped his head again, to rest for the moment.


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## Gig (Nov 25, 2010)

Emperor Joker said:


> _In response to this new policy, both Draygon the Butcher and "Lucky" Luke Marcone, have responded by placing bounties on The Phantom's head.
> 
> Marcone also gave out a statement
> 
> ...



Oscar grasped the paper tightly it was the break he'd needed for years, it was a glimmer of hope on his dark miserable life, for years he'd lived as freak a monster struggling to carve out a life here in the slums of Pandemonium. Now was his chance this Phantom had opened the doorway to a cure 2 million dollars just happened to be more than enough to buy the services of the scientists he needed. 

Now he had a chance this Phantom had opened the doorway to the cure that Oscar craved his very dreams, and nightmares where about nothing but a cure now he would turn his dreams into reality itself, even if he had to paint the very streets red with the blood of Phantom he would have his cure and nothing not even the Gods them selves would stop him.  

Scrolling up the paper Oscar placed it carefully into the rags which concealed his hideous form, a form of protection from the judgmental eyes of the scum who had out cast him away for, walking down the dark ally his nose would lead him to his prey and to his salvation for soon the Phantom would meet his end.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 25, 2010)

*Billy Magear*

*Earlier that day: The Bowery*

Lord Mayor Billy Magear, awoke to find a ghost staring at him, he let out a yelp, as the spirit of Set grinned.

"You! you can't be here! I put you away myself..."

Set's beastial head continued to grin. "Ah but dear Mayor, I am. The power you stole from me is returning, and with them I grow stronger, and your city's destruction closer."

Magear paled at this, his rotund face started to sweat as horrible thoughts ran through his mind. "That can't be the seals that were put in place to sap away your power..." his eyes widened.

"Are weakening," Set finished for him. "You founded this city with my power...and now...," Set leaned foward, his face now mear inches from Magear's own. "The desert rises to reclaim it, and this town shall collapse in on itself, without my power holding it together." he paused. "With every moment dear mayor, your city falls deeper into chaos...and you lose control of what little power you have now."

Magear at this last comment fumed in rage. "Pandemonium shall never fall, so long as I reign..."

"It;s fall has already begun Magear. It began to fall years ago, when you walled yourself into your little fortress here. It began to fall whenever you gave most of your power to the gangs to do what they pleased...delusions will get you no where Magear. Pandemonium is dying, but it's taking it's sweet time to do so...you'd do best to remember that Magear" he said as he faded away. Billy Magear sat there in bed staring at the wall, until an aide came in and told him of his morning meetings.

_________________________________________________________________

Billy Magear felt his knees weaken as he looked out across his burning city. He stood atop the highest tower in his mansion...and sadly for it him it gave him a perfect view of the extensive damage. Set's words to him that morning came to him again _With every moment your city falls deeper into chaos, and you lose control over what little power you have now._

It appeared that Set was speaking the truth, when he said this, but Magear wasn't going to let go of his seat of power all that easily. Whoever did this would pay...and he would pay badly.


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## Serp (Nov 26, 2010)

SYSC said:


> *Pandemonium: The Rooftops*
> 
> Hen stands in front of a hazardous 9-story building. He stares upon it. One half of the roof seemed to have burned off and the other with still creaking cracks that run down the side of the building to the ground. It looks as if a explosion went off in it. Hen adjustes he's sunglasses before walking in hoping the best. He uses whatever was left of the staircases to make it up the 9th floor reaching the entrance to the roof sealed and covered in chains. He slugs he's guitar _Maria_ off he's shoulder and shoves it between the door and the chain. Hen wrenches back and breaks the chains effortlessly. He carefully walks on the roof not wanting it to collapse.
> 
> ...



Jessie was sitting in darkness also on the rooftop.
"Looking Enigma ey?" She says rising up.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help but overhear." Jessie smiled a smile that gave away nothing nor was it reassuring.


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## Wesker (Nov 26, 2010)

Jack continued towards the distorted but disturbing astral aura that he believed was close to where the Cult of the Crawling Chaos was based. When he initially went into trance he sensed two possible auras that could be where needed to go. One of the Auras was in the direction of the city of Pandemonium according to the map he had been given and the other was out in the desert. Although he doubted that the cult would base itself in a city, he sat in trance longer to learn more about the auras. 

The Pandemonium aura turned out to be a mixture of auras. It seemed that there was a conflict going on between many powerful beings there, and there was one large yet subtle aura that permeated the city. However he was not able to penetrate very deep into the desert aura the only thing he could discern that it was an undoubtedly evil one. In fact the aura seemed to have a sort of corrupting mental effect to it. Jack suspected that normal humans in it's influence would slowly have their minds twisted, fortunately he was far from normal.

He decided that the desert aura was the one that seemed to most closely fit what would belong to a being like the Crawling Chaos. Before he left the underground city he had picked up a holodisc similar to ones found in the University where he used to live. Although he suspected the Organization he now belonged to knew much more than what was in the disc, he did learn enough about this being to make a decision. Most of the earliest creation stories seemed to reference a being that matched the description of the Crawling Chaos, the earliest story called it Nyarlathotep. They described it as a primordial being that was there long before man existed, indeed it seemed to predate most gods. The people in the areas it went seemed to go mad and sometimes even transform. There wasn't much information aside from that, only a few bits of information about it being sealed and it's possible return. The aura in the desert seemed to fit a being like that. Jack got up and then headed towards the desert aura.

___________________________________________________________

After traveling all day Jack finally got to the border of the aura. He decided it would be a good idea to flex his abilities. Every day since he had gotten his powers, he had practiced his powers under the former Archon, who jack now referred to as Magister (the latin word for teacher). Since then his abilities had grown significantly, he now now had enough power to break through a small building and his control was fine enough that he could target specific nerves in the human body to disable enemies. He could  create a ball of sustained psionic energy that could break through concrete with ease. Since then he had been practicing a powerful technique that Magister called a "psionic storm" which he described as an unrestrained storm of energy that devastated the area it raged in. It was a dangerous technique that would be used as a last ditch attack. So far Jack could only conjure up a whirlwind of telekinetic energy, but it was a far cry from the full ability. Magister said that he had the technique down fairly well but still lacked the raw energy that was necessary. 

After practicing the technique for a few hours Jack went into trance again to rest. In trance Jack could rest while staying aware of his surroundings. He could only do this for a few days at a time before he needed actual sleep but he felt it was necessary this close to the aura.
___________________________________________________________

Phyro headed towards where the area where he sensed an intruder breach the detection field that covered the base. As the guardian of the cult's borders he had a duty to execute this intruder. Finally he saw a figure laying down in the distance. Conjuring up a ball of flame, he hurled it at the sleeping figure.


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## SYSC (Nov 26, 2010)

Serpaphobia said:


> Jessie was sitting in darkness also on the rooftop.
> "Looking Enigma ey?" She says rising up.
> 
> "I'm sorry I couldn't help but overhear." Jessie smiled a smile that gave away nothing nor was it reassuring.



"What the fu- oh eh yeah I am" Hen said turning around frantically looking upon the atractive women before regaining he's composure. The black smoke from the burning city began to raise behind him. 

"I didn't see you on the way up so assume you were up here before I as. Pretty skeptical time to make yourself known" he said wondering


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## Serp (Nov 26, 2010)

"I was drawing." Jessie said blankly waving down to the pad she had in her hand.

"I like the peace and quiet up here what are you doing here, not about to jump?"


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## SYSC (Nov 26, 2010)

Serpaphobia said:


> "I was drawing." Jessie said blankly waving down to the pad she had in her hand.
> 
> "I like the peace and quiet up here what are you doing here, not about to jump?"



"Well, sorta if I had a parachute" Hen said once again looking at the far away distance were the blast came from. He turns back walking to the women 

"I guess Im just enjoying a view. So the phantom, what exactly do you know about him?" Hen asked.


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## Serp (Nov 26, 2010)

"Well I guess you could say somewhere between nothing at all and everything about him, the better question is why you looking." Jessie asked.


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## SYSC (Nov 26, 2010)

Serpaphobia said:


> "Well I guess you could say somewhere between nothing at all and everything about him, the better question is why you looking." Jessie asked.



"The millions of dollars on he's head is one" Hen said.


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## Serp (Nov 26, 2010)

"In this city money isn't the top goal, I would have thought one like you would have know that. Things with meaning that you can't put a price on, that's what you need. But if you want to find him, you might be getting a good view but I doubt you can see good enough to pinpoint him."


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## SYSC (Nov 26, 2010)

Serpaphobia said:


> "In this city money isn't the top goal, I would have thought one like you would have know that. Things with meaning that you can't put a price on, that's what you need. But if you want to find him, you might be getting a good view but I doubt you can see good enough to pinpoint him."



"The other reason is this. Whether he's good or bad all he's doing is destroying a already broken city and people. Anyway from what ive read about him I wont catch him spending 15 minutes talking to a mysterious women so he's long gone by now. But I _could_ see him if I wanted to" he said walking over to her 

They're beautiful, almost like they're real" Hen said as he curiously nudged himself into looking at the drawings. "Hen Lurker" he said offering a handsake


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## Serp (Nov 26, 2010)

"These are nothing." Jessie said waving her arm over the picture. "Hen Lurker, was chicken stalker taken?" Jessie laughed to herself. 

Taking his hand, "You can call me Lifer."


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## Wesker (Nov 26, 2010)

Jack had sensed the man's aura while resting in trance long before the man could see him. Soon enough the man had stopped and his aura flared right as he conjured a fireball. Jack went out of trance just in time to put up a barrier against the flame. In retaliation he sent a telekinetic blast at the man causing him to fly backwards. The man suddenly shot up into the sky like a rocket while throwing dozens of fireballs in Jack's direction. Jack dodged most of them and used his powers to deflect the rest. The man was now zipping around him making it difficult for Jack to target the man's organs, he used his powers to create a wall of sand in the man's path. Jack then engulfed the man in an orb of solid sand when suddenly the sand exploded into a mass of glass pieces. 


Jack was stunned and blinded by the blast and the man flew towards him with a fireball in hand. Just as the man was about to blast him point blank Jack used his powers to sense the man and fired a psionic orb into the man's chest and out his back. 
After regaining his composure he looked around to make sure there weren't any others. Quickly he created a small sandstorm to hide himself and headed towards the aura. 


After 20 minutes of running he came upon a large compound that was full of astral energy, it seemed he had found the cults base. Just as he began to head to the base the ground began to rumble and a great snake erupted from the ground. Reflexively Jack blasted it with telekinetic energy, causing it's top half to explode into a paste. He paused for a moment and said to himself "I created that blast way too easily, what is going on?". Magister then spoke to him saying "It seems the energy of this place is empowering you. Most humans are twisted by this energy but your powers allow you to harness it without the maddening effects." Jack replied "Hmmm, do you think this will be permanent?".  "I doubt it" said Magister "You may retain some measure of this boost in power after you leave but most if it will probably fade." Although disappointed Jack was also grateful for the boost in power, for he felt that he was going to need it.


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## Stunna (Nov 26, 2010)

Mask lie in his room, alone. He wasn’t wearing his mask. He was recovering from the damages he had received when he was curb stomped by that car.

“So close… I was so close to that bounty…” He whined and moaned.

“Stop your complaining! We’ll get him next time!” His alter ego snapped.

“SHUT UP!” Mask exclaimed. He jumped up quickly, but then grasped his side in anguish. “Darn it!!!” He screamed. A bandit knocked on his door.

“Hey, boss, you alright?”

Mask grabbed the nearest object and chucked it at his door.

“Shut up!! Leave me!” He cried out. His face fell into his hands.

“We lack the manpower to defeat Enigma. But I know where we can get more.” His other self calmly informed him. Mask started to calm down.

“W-Where?” He inquired.

“There. Grab that paper.”

Mask obliged. He whipped it, and read it.

“Magear?”

“Yes, Magear! I say WE run for mayor… and then just TAKE the money! Not only that, but with the whole city under our control, catching Enigma will be a cinch!” His alter ego said.

“That’s madness!”

“Madness…?” There was a silence for a few moments. “THIS IS PANDEMONIUM!!!” For some reason, this greatly intimidated Mask.

“F-Fine. Let’s do it. We’ll rally the troops. And then we’ll sneak into City Hall…!”


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## Platinum (Nov 26, 2010)

Entering the Celestial River was always an odd experience for him. He felt his very essence becoming one with the river, he let go and let himself flow with the river and before he knew it he was in the Temple of Aquarius. The temple was done very much in the style of the Ancient Greek temples of old. He was in a long hall, which he knew was the heart of the temple, it was decorated with ornate artwork and sculptures of men who were forever lost to history. And sitting on a vast throne of water at the end of this hall was The Water Bearer himself.

"It's been quite a while since your last pilgrimage here" the god spoke, a slight tone of annoyance could be detected in his voice.

"Sorry for that my lord but you know I have been busy"

"You know why I have called you here I assume?"

"Yes, I will resume my training as you avatar."

"Good.... and have you finally decided to carry my relic?"

"I... have my lord. I will need it for the trials ahead of me."

"Excellent. I can finally make you a proper avatar" he extended his right arm and a wave of water rose out to meet him and on the crest of the wave was an small object wrapped in cloth. "Take it but do not look at it just yet. You will know when the time is right."

He did as instructed.

"Now your training can finally begin again. It shouldn't take too long for a man of your skill to catch up to the rest, and then you will go on a mission for me. Now rest your training begins in the morning."


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## Stunna (Nov 26, 2010)

There was some 22 members of the Masked Bandits left after their failed attempt at collecting the bounty on Enigma’s head. Mask had rounded the troops, but he was still recovering from his incident. They set out in the night, being sure to avoid being spotted. Morale in the gang had fallen substantially since their last mission. Some of them were murmuring behind Mask’s back.

“I think boss has lost it this time.”

“Yeah. First, chasing the Phantom of the Slums, and now we’re trying to take Magear’s office?”

Mask quickly stopped, and those following him did the same.

“Did I hear what I think I heard?” He asked. Everyone was deadly silent. The two murmuring members were pushed to the front of the crowd.

“W-Well s-sir…”

“Forget the ‘sir’ bull! Man, you’re out of your mind if you think we’re following you! Ain’t that right!!” One of the bandits exclaimed, quickly looking around, hoping to see someone else willing to side with him. He quickly lost his patience. “You’re a bunch of babies! If you all had half the heart that Fox had… Argh!! We’re the blind being led by the blind!! Can you not see that this man leads us only to chaos and damnation?!” He continued to rant. Mask started to make his way towards the belligerent subordinate. He was twice Mask’s height, but Mask still proceeded to grab him by the throat, and hurl him into the wall.

“I’m tired of all of this recent insubordination.” Mask said, slowly but sternly. He proceeded to change masks. Everyone turned around when he did. “Another martyr for a pointless cause.” It was his Mask of Control. He possessed the insubordinate bandit, and his body fell over. It was caught by another bandit. While within the defiant bandit, he grasped his throat, and strangled himself to death. With his shell dead, Mask’s soul returned to his original body. “Whew. That takes care of that. Let’s keep moving.”


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## Wesker (Nov 26, 2010)

Jack quickly made his way to a dark corner to send a message back to Paradiso. He was certain this was the base of operations for the Cult of the Crawling Chaos. Looking around to make sure he was well out of hearing distance he sent the message and got a reply telling him that troops would be there within 24 hours. Sighing he put away the communication device when suddenly he felt a great change in the astral energy of the base. 

There was a great roar which came from a tower in the middle of the base. From it came a wave of dark energy which engulfed the surrounding area. He encased himself in a protective bubble until the energy passed, when it did he saw that the cultists had changed. They still were humanoid but they were now black with scaly skin and tentacles sprouting from various points on their body. That was not all that had changed, there was now a constant energy emanating from the tower and it was growing.

Whatever it was that the cultists were planning it was obviously coming to fruition and probably would not wait a day. He would have to stop whatever was happening on his own. He then began making his way through the alleys towards the tower, sneaking along to prevent the former cultists from finding him. When he neared the tower he saw a group of the transformed cultists and two creatures that looked like enlarged versions of the former. He looked around and saw several large spikes in the ground. 

Concentrating he created a powerful psionic orb and launched it at head of the first large creature and cracked its skull. He then used the spikes to skewer the cultist creatures, by this time the large creature was charging towards him. Jack launched a blast at the creature but it only slowed it down. Quickly he dived out of it's way and pushed it with his mind towards a building. This plus the creatures momentum and size caused the building to collapse. Unfortunately the creature quickly broke out from the rubble and charged again. Thinking quickly Jack sent a spike underground in preparation for the next charge. As the beast charged again Jack used his powers to cause it's knees to buckle and shot the spike up just as it fell, impaling and killing the creature. Now with the way clear he headed into the tower and towards the source of the aura.
___________________________________________________________

The inside of the tower was dark and filled with dark energy. Even with his powers protecting him Jack felt oppressed by the energy. He had made his way up the tower, killing dozens of cultist creatures until he reached the 5th floor. Judging by the size of each floor he guessed that the tower had roughly 20 floors. The 5th floor was lit by several torches but the entrance to the stairwell to the 6th floor was dark, Jack sensed a presence there.

"You killed my apprentices!" a loud voice bellowed from the darkness and a large beast stepped forward. It was like the large creatures he had fought at the entrance to the tower, only bigger and covered in spikes. "For that you must pay" the creature whispered right before charging at Jack. Quickly he launched himself to the side, but the creature was more agile than it's smaller counterparts and it quickly followed him. Jack stopped and faced the creature, it lowered it's head in an attempt to gore him but Jack levitated himself above the creature and launched a blast at it. The creature crashed into the wall of the tower causing the entire floor to shake. As the creature regained it's bearings Jack focused and telekinetically crushed where he thought the thing's Achilles tendon would be. A normal man would have been compacted into a ball by the attack but  all it did was cause the creature to go to one knee and howl in pain. Using this chance Jack focused and launched the largest psionic orb he could muster at the creature. It crashed into it's chest and launched it into the side of the tower, the creature howled and coughed up blood but still got up. Jack thought "If it bleeds then it must have a heart." This gave him an idea.

The creatures skin somehow prevented him from directly attacking the inside of it's body. Earlier Jack had noticed a large iron gate that spiked at the bottom. Positioning himself in front of the gate he lifted it up as the creature began to charge again. He dodged easily enough and brought the gate down on the creature as it crossed the threshold, impaling it's left shoulder. Laughing the creature tore the gate out which left a large gaping wound in it's shoulder. "Did you really think that would kill ME?!" it said. Jack smiled and sent a chunk of rubble into the creatures wound, now that it was open he could feel the inside of the creatures body as he moved the rubble closer to the creatures heart. The thing tore at it's skin in an attempt to get the rubble out but it was too late. The rubble was already clogging it's heart causing cardiac arrest. After a few minutes the creature collapsed on the floor. After checking to make sure that it was truly dead Jack moved on towards the 6th floor.


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## MrChubz (Nov 27, 2010)

-With Kirk-

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Kirk said to his cellmate. By now they were in the woods where the feral, beasts lived, "They enjoy watching humans fight the animals but they like to see us live too?"

"Not all of us live. Every day our lives are on the line. What they like is challenge. You see, they don't get people that they deem tough enough to fight in the games every day. They need to preserve us. Some workers grow food, others hunt and gather, some of the skilled ones make armor, repair weapon, and build shelter. That's all important. However their morale is also important. That's where we come in," The cellmate explained.

"Interesting. It seems like they're handing us our freedom on a silver platter," Kirk stated.

"Not quite. Look around, there's guards all over the place. There's always someone watching. Remember that," The cellmate warned. He looked around for something to fight and trailed off.

Kirk wandered around for a little while. Trees and vegetation was abundant. There was more then enough cover for creatures who knew the landscape to ambush the human. On top of that most of the place was covered in shadows. The only light was sunlight that was able to pierce the dense vegetation. That was few and far between.

 He was armed with a trusty hammer (courtesy of a guard tasked with handing out weapons). He had it out at all times. He was alert and ready to fight for his life. His main goal was to live. Learning how to use his powers would come later.

He heard a rustling behind him. He whipped around and scanned the area. He didn't see anything at first. After a minute the creature making the sound revealed itself. It was a grizzly bear. It grunted a little but it didn't seem hostile.

"Easy there pal. There's no reason to get violent. I'll go my way and you go yours. That way everyone is happy," Kirk said softly. He slowly backed away, one foot at a time. The bear stared at the human but it didn't seem to mind Kirk being there too much. It just grunted. Kirk continued, "That's right. We don't fight, we never see each other again, and we both die of old age,"

Kirk was almost in the clear. He was lucky enough to come across possibly the friendliest bear toward humans there was. He may have had an angel watching over him, but he also had a demon in the form of Kin guards. One of the guards (who knew the landscape well and knew how to keep himself concealed) decided Kirk was getting off too easy. He fired his gun off in the air. Since he was positioned behind Kirk, it sounded as if Kirk made the noise. 

The bear wasn't happy it roared violently and charged at Kirk. Kirk still only slowly stepped back, "I'll kick your ass bear!" He shouted in a deep, firm voice, raising his hammer. Of course he knew he stood no chance with just a hammer. However his intention was to spook him.

He saw this as a good chance to test his new found gravity powers. He knew making things heavier would only help the bear so he decided making things lighter would be a better course of action. He lowered the gravity as much as he could as far as he could. Leaves and other light objects were floating. The bear felt lighter. He was spooked and ran away. Kirk survived but his victory was bitter.

"Well well well," the guard that fired the shot said, "What was that? I've heard of humans with super powers before but I've never seen one. You'll entertain the leaders of The Kin for a good long while," The guard said smugly. He pointed his gun at Kirk and smiled, "Go ahead and come with me,"


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## Stunna (Nov 28, 2010)

The gang hid, covered in the shadows, in front of the giant wall that separated the Slums from the Bowery.

“There are guards around. I wouldn’t put it pass them to have snipers stationed either. Trying to keep the scum out, of course.” Mask said. “I’ll handle the guards. Everyone turn on your earphones, and wait for my signal.” He then proceeded to put on his Mask of Camo, and ran out of the darkness, towards the wall. He threw his back to the wall, and threw down his backpack. He searched around, and then put on peculiar looking gloves, before putting his pack back on and leaping up onto the wall. With the Mask of Camo, anything in contact with Mask is affected by his invisibility as well.

“It still amazes me. The power of his masks. Where do you think he gets them?” One Masked Bandit asked another. The latter shrugged.

Mask continued to scale the wall like a monkey, and leapt over the side, onto it. He was so light on his feet that no one noticed. He silently grabbed a concealed knife and proceeded to assassinate the guards.

“Now for the snipers…” He said under his breath. His shoulder was quickly slashed by an useable force. He grabbed it in pain. “What was that?!”

“Boss! A sniper!!” A bandit exclaimed from the darkness.

“You fool!” Mask shouted at him. “You’ve given away your location!”

One by one, bandits began to fall.

“He’s got good men on hand… Magear. You fools will die for your ignorance!” Mask shouted as he ran and hopped over the other side of the wall, into the Bowery. He free fell for awhile before grabbing onto the wall and sliding down, evading the rain of bullets as he went. As soon as his feet hit ground, he quickly ran for the nearest shelter to conceal himself.


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## Cthulhu-versailles (Nov 28, 2010)

In the sky upon the clouds, a woman of gaunt features was gazing into a crystal ball set within the white. The imagery upon it had her attention, though its consistency wavered at intervals from the wind. She had been observing for the past hour, astonished and anxious, her eyes narrowing into their typical slits as Ogion drew closer to her location. The wait would soon be over. Like the specter cursed to walk the earth, she bore a curse of her own: all of them did. That was the thing that keep them in this make-shift order they called Montaigo of Spirits. 

Wasting no more time, the women jumped down plummeting a mile down to earth. She landed gracefully, as she always did, when the clouds where moved under he feet. Floating thus some meters above earth, she set off to met Ogion at their pre-determined location should he be unable to return to their home. He had at least remembered that much despite his new found obsession. 

Ogion had bruises around his skull like legions turn inward and made white from his encounter, and his skull felt swollen and heavy, heavier so then even his feet. Taking another step down the rootless path, he stopped suddenly sensing an approaching presence. She flew in causing a gale that shot him up into the air s floating serenely. She was the same as always. 
?Aeneid, put me down.? Ogion said demandingly. 

She nodded her thin shoulders, thinner then even he, and waved her hand causing the pieces of cloud atom she controlled to part entirely from the area, though she herself did not land. 

?Well, is that boy suppose to be your excuse Ogion? she asked, mockingly. 
Ogion simply nodded in reply and removed the wrapping of covers he had put upon the boy showing his glowing blue head. Aeneid moved suddenly in reaction and rested herself from her cloud. Though to fall was impossibility to her, and she merely floated to the ground. 

?I take you?re surprised then? Ogion said, somewhat vilified seeing her feet touch earth.

?We must return to tell the others. You have found one, an alchemist. This means great news to us, we will be able to?

-Ogion cut her off sharply: ?No, he is but a boy whose power will take much time to bear fruit. We cannot rush things. He is not ready to return? he said. 
?He is here so he is ready! Have you forgotten our promises! Our purpose! Do not feel fear Ogion, he will not be another Yan---

?Don?t, Aeneid? Ogion screamed interrupting her, and letting a psychic blast to fly past her harmless to strike and ravage the ground a fields length behind. 

The slights in Aeneid?s eyes narrowed for a moment then as she gazed backwards at the damage. What had happened to him, he had rarely turned his fury upon her so closely! Was it the boy, she thought, letting her eyes wonder to him and her hands raise in instinct to bring forth a hurricane. 
?No, it isn?t him? she said soon after, moving her hands to point behind tot lest the clouds there. The wind howled behind, and she raised herself from the ground surrounded by bustle of white. 

?Will you tell me then? she asked him softly. The softness of her voice now was what one would expect from the starved and small body she bore, and it eased Ogion to hear it. Thereafter did Ogion explain the remedies he thought to see, and in saying them, he had realized he did wish to seek them. He hadn?t been certain himself what he intended to do. 

? Off course I will come with you, though I think we should take more caution then simple embark on the sayings of something you spoke with in dream? she said, with her usual mocking tone. 

?The other meeting places, how many members do you think rest at them now?? he asked her. 

?None, they are all gone off to wonder aimless as you had I suppose.? she responded- and it was truth, for to Aeneid to be unable to find their location in the clouds meant hey were many dozen miles away from her. 

Ogion covered the boys head and wrapped him again, speaking into Aenied mind instead of through the common dialogue. He much preferred this method, though only she seemed comfortable with it in the order. 

To her Ogion did make suggestion, and with it she had agreed. They would travel to the place called Nevi-m, but first they would find allies. But allies through friendship and bond with mutual goals would take too long. The boy was more likely to mature before they found even one with such a method. No, instead, they would head to Rahab where one could find as many warriors as one could steal and escape the city alive with. Besides, Ogion had grudge to settle with the city?.with their way of life and with Aeneid his comport, he was confident no harm would come to the boy until it was time. 
It was thus with their thoughts collared and agreed, did Aeneid form cloud for them to stay upon and they raced for Rahab at speeds surpassing even the old worlds fastest hurricanes. 

----
The trio had flown for but an hour before Ogion felt the strong sensation of malice from the direction of Rahab, and someone trying to invade his mind. 
?Fool, you try amateur tricks? he screamed, focusing the ambivalent energies within like one does a shield to block out his thoughts from molestation. Then did he next cast psychic shields in the minds of Aeneid and the boy, though these much weaker then his own, they would do enough against such a paltry effort as this. Still, it worried Ogion. The city of Rahab was still half a days away. Yet, already the fiends that dwelled had tried to pry into his mind. But alas, he could not think to turn around, for he had the thirst for vengeance and fury scorching his eyes a purple haze and consuming his soul. 

Ogion's fury had surfaced, and he laughed as the feeling took over; he would bring chaos to those that deserved it most next to the Gods, and rid himself of this bitter feeling his encounter in dreams had left him with.


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## Gig (Nov 28, 2010)

SYSC said:


> "The other reason is this. Whether he's good or bad all he's doing is destroying a already broken city and people. Anyway from what ive read about him I wont catch him spending 15 minutes talking to a mysterious women so he's long gone by now. But I _could_ see him if I wanted to" he said walking over to her


?Is that so ?? Oscar called out as he lifted himself onto the rooftop ?How intriguing it seems I'm not the only one bold or foolish enough to challenge the Phantom of the slums?


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## Serp (Nov 28, 2010)

Jessie was shaking Hen's hand when the other person approached, she could tell from the grip of Hen that he either didn't know him or it was an enemy. 

Could she reveal her powers now, incase of detection.
"And who might you be?" She said turning to Oscar, moving her hand from Hen's grip  and hovered it over the picture of a tiger she had been sketching.


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## Gig (Nov 28, 2010)

“How rude of me” Oscar replied as he approached the duo “It was impolite of me to forgo giving my  name please forgive me, I am Oscar Johns former Doctor and Biologist under the employ of  the guild of mad science though such a life is behind me now to say the least” Oscar said as he walked closer “I do believe I mention it was rude to forgo giving ones name but but I have already overheard your names Lifer, Lurker, so I do think we should skip further formalities, for I have little time to waste, now if I remember correctly I happened to overhear you mentioning your desire to challenge the Phantom in hopes of claiming the substantial reward currently avalible”


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## SYSC (Nov 28, 2010)

"Yeah, thats the plan" Hen said after a brief moment of shock from the arrival of the beast like man. Hen turned at Lifer for a second wondering why she had her hand above her drawing. "So, do you have any particular interest in this?" Hen asked getting to he's feet.


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## Gig (Nov 28, 2010)

“Well you could say that” Oscar replied “As you can see I have a "unique" condition that I wish to deal with in time, but the equipment I require is quite rare and more importantly costly I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this, you see the Phantom has offered me a rare opportunity that I would rather not let pass by” Oscar said with a strained smile his mutated.... mouth being barely human enough to manage even the simplest of facial expressions.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 28, 2010)

*Midtown, The Lucky Man's Gentleman's Club*

A woman's scream rang through the club, and heads turned as a man in a mechanic's uniform pulled a knife on one of the dancers. Secuirty moved in on the man, but before they arrived, a shot rang out and the knife went flying. A old man stepped out from the office nearby, holding a revolver in his right hand, he was dressed in a a canary yellow business suit with a matching fedora hat, in his other hand he carried a falcon headed cane. The wrinkles on his face contracted in anger.

"Somebody clearly has not read the rules of The Club," Sneered "Lucky" Luke Marcone. "Otherwise you'd have known that you don't touch The Girls. and most of all you don't pull weapons on beautiful woman in my presence...Rocko, Kong, eject this man from my club, if he tries to get back in Shoot him." Two massive men appeared at the mechanic's side and took him by the arms. The man screamed and thrashed on his way out the door, a few seconds later another gunshot rang out. 

Marcone sighed as he walked up to the dancer and knelt at her side. "He didn't hurt you bad, did he Felicia?" he inquired.

Felicia wavered a moment before replying. "No boss, just a small flesh wound is all" she held up her right arm where the man had cut it... "I can still dance boss, there's nothing wrong."

"Nonsense," huffed Marcone as he took a napkin from his pocket, and dabbed at the wound. "You've been through a traumatic experience...and after what happend earlier  in the Lower Quarter...You should take the rest of the evening off...I insist, go make sure your family is okay. I was thinking of closing the Club down early today anyways. It's bad business to remain open in the face of such a tragedy." He smiled when the woman stared at him open mouthed, and he looked behind to see Rocko and Kong coming back in. "Ah yes, Rocko now that you're done taking out the trash, do miss Felicia here a favor and take her home to her family...make sure she get's there safe understand. 

Rocko nodded once, before gesturing to Felicia, who held up her hands "Let me at least get my stuff, before I go tonight" she said as she hurried off to the back.

Marcone watched her go and then eyed Rocko for a moment, before frowning. Something had tripped the alarms?apparently the guest he had been expecting had finally arrived. Turning to Kong he said ?Start closing down the Club for the night, get Michael to help you get the rest of the customers out of here.? He then turned and walked back to his office.

His office was decorated with pre-apocalypse memorabilia. Old posters of famous music and movie stars hung on the wall, along with old vinyl records. In one corner was an old black and white television and VCR, that he had found in the slums and had managed to get repaired by taking it to a man within the Guild of Mad Science, in another corner was antique record player. Luke Marcone was a old man, and he had old tastes, while others tended to forget the past, Marcone collected it and remembered it. At the very end of the room, a window stood open

Putting the revolver on a end table, he made his way to his desk in the center of the room. he still remembered that day in his childhood, when he had taken a fallen oak tree, and had made it into this desk. He sighed and sat down, before looking at the window, and then at the surrounding darkness. ?I know you?re there, you tripped the alarm when you came in a minute ago.?

Enigma slowly emerged from the shadows, and glared at the old man. Marcone just blinked mildly before saying. ?Take a seat Knight,? he said indicating a chair opposite across from him. Noticing the younger man?s surprised expression he smiled. ?I?m not a fool like the rest of the people in this town Knight. I can put two and two together, now sit down, we need to have a chat about why you attacked my men??

_________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile across town, three people set out for the meeting place of The Masked Bandits. A short distance behind them a man in a pink bath robe, followed them because the voices in his head told him to. Richard winced as the voice he thought was Baron Samedi told him to duck into a nearby alley. He did as a the green haired girl looked back.

"The Loa" berated him for almost being caught, and Richard apologised, as La Croix told him to get back out and follow them. Richard obeyed, If his "masters" wanted to play, they must play...he continued to follow the strangers unaware that they were already aware of him.


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## MrChubz (Nov 29, 2010)

-With Kirk-

"So what was that anyways? Telepathy? Leaf manipulation? Ha! I bet it's something lame like leaf manipulation," The guard mocked. He held his gun right up against the back of Kirk's head. The conditions were if Kirk makes any sudden movements, he got his head blown off.

"As far as I know I have control over gravity. It's not stupid like leaf manipulation. That would be the worst power in the world," Kirk remarked. He tried to move as slow as he could to buy himself as much time as possible. It was rather obvious to him that there was only one course of action he could take, "So was it you that made the bear attack me?"

"Of course. It gets boring out here watching you idiots try and reason with the animals. And to be honest, I don't like you guys. I'd rather you all get eaten by the beasts out there," The guard said to Kirk, "As a matter of fact I'm finding it tough to resist shooting you right now. However if someone were to find out I shot you for no reason before bringing you to the leaders, I'd be dead myself," To lower the temptation, he pulled the gun away from Kirk's head and pointed the barrel in the air for a second.

Kirk felt the barrel go away and his hair getting brushed upward slightly. It was just what he needed. He increased the gravity as much as he could. Before the guard knew what happened his hand was jerked down by the increased weight his entire arm was now burdened with. He accidentally dropped the gun. Kirk then changed the gravity back to normal. He whipped around and punched the guard as hard as he could, knocking him over. Following that he grabbed the gun that was on the ground, made sure it was loaded, then pointed it at the guard.

"Now what am I going to do with you?" Kirk asked with a smirk, "It wouldn't be nice of me to kill an unarmed man. However if I let you go you'll just go snitching,"

"I-I-I won't. I p-p-promise," The guard said, stuttering.

"Y-y-y-y-you w-w-w-won't? How do I know y-y-y-you won't?" Kirk asked, mocking the guard.

"Uh uh uh-,"

"That's what I thought. Lets find someplace hidden, then we'll see if you can't earn your freedom," Kirk said.

-Later-

After awhile Kirk found a cave. He figured it should be hidden enough. The last thing he needed was someone to find out he had a guard hostage.

"So about your freedom. If you answer a few questions I'll let you go," Kirk said.

"I'll do anything!" The guard pleaded.

"Great. I knew you were a good sport. Here's the first one. Who do you guys do most of your trading with?" Kirk asked.

"Each other," 

"Surely you guys need supplies from the outside from time to time. Perhaps there's a sketchy traveling merchant that does business with you guys?"

"Now that you mention it, there's one guy. He comes around with things we can't get ourselves. We all buy and sell a lot of things to him. His name is Jackson. As far as I know he's freelance. He just wanders around," The guard informed him.

"Great. Next question. Do you know anything about an orb. It looks sort of like a bowling ball. Perhaps it was traded to this Jackson fellow, maybe to one of your own," Kirk asked.

"I can't help. We trade lots of shit. I didn't sell it and I didn't buy it," The guard answered.

"Damn it. When was the last time this merchant of yours, Jackson, was around?" Kirk asked.

"A couple of days ago. He won't be around for awhile if you're just dying to meet him. He isn't very good looking so I doubt you are," The guard said.

"D-d-d-don't be a smartass," Kirk warned him, still mocking his stuttering from earlier, "Do you know where he's going,"

"My buddy chatted him up last time he was here. He said he was going south. Probably to sell to the next gang. Down there it's Emperor territory. I don't know much about them," he guard informed him.

"Great. I'll let you go," Kirk said.

"Thank you!"

"Yup. We're going to travel together. We're going to find the nearest bear, and if you can spook it, run away from it, or kill it, you're a free man," Kirk said, "You can even have my hammer. Going by Kin rules, that's more then fair. They did what he said. It didn't end well for the guard.


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## Serp (Nov 29, 2010)

"I'm personally in it for the fun of it." Jessie said to Oscar and Hen.
Jessie was noticing the way Oscar moved was not entirely normal nor was his face, after studying movement in the human form for a year in her course she knew it was quite right.

Jessie off handedly started to flick through her sketch pad pretending not to take much interest.
"Well if you two have important reasons, I'll just listen." Jessie said watching Oscar even more closely.


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## SYSC (Nov 29, 2010)

Gig said:


> ?Well you could say that? Oscar replied ?As you can see I have a "unique" condition that I wish to deal with in time, but the equipment I require is quite rare and more importantly costly I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this, you see the Phantom has offered me a rare opportunity that I would rather not let pass by? Oscar said with a strained smile his mutated.... mouth being barely human enough to manage even the simplest of facial expressions.



"Unique's a word for it" Hen said gritting he's teeth in a grin as a sweat drop fell from he's forehead as looked at Oscar now making a weird expression on he's face. 

"The way I see it there's enough money and fun to go around and we'll need as much help as we can find to catch this guy. So..." Hen said as he moved from Jessie towards Oscar about to offer a handsake but pulling back realizing he'll hand more than likely would get pierced by Oscar's talons. Instead he put he's arm over Oscars shoulder ignoring some slimly substance that sinked through the sleeve of he's long coat which caused some of Oscar's feathers to attach to it. Hen then looked at Jessie smiling 

"So I guess we're a team now ahaha!"


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 29, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

Just what had been that thing? One moment it had been there, and the next, it had disappeared entirely. It was if it had simply become part of the darkness and gone to who knew where.

Finn's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Whatever that was, looks like we just missed it," he said, looking around at the devastation around us. Ash and smoke filled the air as the landscape burned around us - houses, buildings, and the remains of people.

"Yes, but is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I wondered out loud. It certainly wasn't friendly but could it had done all this?

Finn then voiced the exact thought I had. "Was that shadow thing the one who did this?" He glanced at Chachamaru who pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"I don't think so. The energy I detected from him was completely different from that of the weapon, however, it was familiar."

Familiar? She had seen power like... whatever that had been?

"Familiar how?" Finn asked, surprised.

"Shadow magic," she replied simply. "I've seen something similar to it before, on my world."

I realized that Chachamaru, beyond the basic details, had actually told me very little about her world. I wasn't aware that hers also contained beings who manipulated the forces of magic.

But beyond that, there was a more pressing issue at hand. "So now we have two mysteries," I said, rubbing my chin. Just what the heck was going on?

Suddenly, coming around the corner of a building, a young man in plain clothing ran up to us, his expression a mixture of anger and fear.

Without preamble, he exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing here? It's dangerous."

Chachamaru shrugged. "It seems the danger has passed for now."

At that the young man laughed unpleasantly. "Maybe the immediate danger, but don't be fooled. This is Pandemonium - it's always dangerous."

From what I had seen so far, I had a feeling that this stranger was right.

"So then what's the point of warning us?" Finn asked then.

The man's eyes narrowed. "Well you three obviously aren't from around here. I figured I should just do my duty and inform you of how to keep yourselves alive."

I looked at the man hard then. A good Samaritan? A dying breed in this world. "Does this kind of thing normally happen around here?"

"No, not on this scale," the man replied. "But still, every street and alley is a war zone here. You'd better be prepared to defend yourselves."

No doubt. But I had a feeling that we could handle gangs and bandits just fine. Between Finn, Chachamaru, and myself, it would take something pretty powerful to beat us.

"Don't worry," I assured the man. "We can take care of that."

Finn now stared intently at the man. "Do you know anything about a group calling themselves the Masked Bandits?" he said suddenly and out of the blue.

Well, talk about getting to the point. Then again, Finn was the best for this sort of thing anyway.

The man looked startled at that and shakily replied, "Why do you want to know about them?"

Finn idly waved his hand at me, saying, "My friend here is looking to meet with them. Would you perhaps know where they could be found?"

I could see the conflict on the man's face but Finn was doubtlessly using his power as the man finally whispered, "A group of them hold meetings every Friday night at 7 PM at a bar on Setesh Street, down by the 6th district. Don't tell anyone I told you. In fact, as far as you're concerned, you never saw me."

He then took one look at us and walked away in the opposite direction as fast as possible.

Finn's power may not have been as visually impressive as my own or Chachamaru's, but I'd be damned if it wasn't extremely useful. Just like that, he had gotten the lead we had been looking for only minutes after we had entered Pandemonium.

"Well, we've got our lead," said Finn, bringing his hands together. "Although I'm a little worried. He was very reluctant to give up the information, even though I was using a very strong charm on him. These Masked Bandits must be pretty terrifying to have the populace in such a grip of fear."

I had to agree. That man was obviously frightened of being found out by the Masked Bandits. Whoever these bandits were, they were not something to be underestimated.

But that didn't mean that was going to scare me away. I had come to far to stop now. This was what I had been looking for nearly three years - my first, genuine lead to find the man who had destroyed my town and taken my sister.

"We're not going to give up our only lead," I said resolutely. "I don't care how powerful these bandits are, I'm going to find them, and then find my sister."

"I agree with Edward," Chachamaru said. "There would be no point in turning back now."

She smiled all of a sudden then. "Besides, I've been feeling stronger than I have in a long time since we entered the city. I even think I could take a few of those energy blasts from earlier."

I looked curiously at her for that. What did she mean?

"Heh, what's with this newfound confidence?" Finn asked, somewhat confused.

Chachamaru waved her arms around her. "It's the ambient magic. There's a great amount in this world since the Apocalypse, and I've been using it to power myself, however the concentration in the city is far greater than in the jungle or the desert. I'm still not as powerful as I was in my world, but I think you'll be surprised at how strong I've gotten."

Now it was my turn to be surprised. "You're powered by magic?"

"Yes," she said. "I learned how to harness it from my surroundings, because the way I used to absorb it was rather.... embarrassing. Doing it that way would give me much more power, but there's no one here with the requisite skills to do so, and even if there were, I wouldn't let them do it."

I stared at her curiously. Just what was she talking about? She averted her gaze, blushing slightly, and I decided to drop the subject. It wasn't important now anyway.

"Hey, I just realized," Finn said suddenly. "Do we even know what day it is?"

That.... was a really good question. It wasn't the first time I had lost track of the days. They seemed to sort of blend together in the wilderness. Out on the fringes of society and the remnants of humanity, days and arbitrary time schedules weren't really important.

Thankfully, Chachamaru knew. "Friday. 4:42 PM. I guess we should find something to do for the next 2 hours."

I heard a cracking sound behind me. I turned around, seeing a man push a piece of stone off another. A woman was tending to her injured child, and people were starting to come back into the enclosure.

"I suppose we could help," Finn said.

I certainly had no objection to that. I slung my rifle over my shoulder and we made to work. 

The devastation even in this humble enclosure was massive. From what I  could tell, we were in what was clearly a poorer section of Pandemonium.  There were no fancy apartments or restaurants in this section.

Instead, cheap houses made of wood and scrap and hovels littered the  streets. Grime and muck seemed to permeate the air itself. Well, that  and the smoke. I coughed and Finn seemed to be having a worse time of  it.

Of course, Chachamaru wasn't affected at all. She probably didn't even need to breathe in the first place. 

Fire liberally decorated the slums. Whatever paltry life the people in  this part had, it was gone. The damage to many of the hovels or houses  was utterly irreparable. Things would have to built from scratch. 

"Who would do such a thing?" Finn wondered.

"No friend of ours," Chachamaru replied. I readily agreed.

I saw a man not far from us, trying desperately to lift a large piece of  rubble, presumably off someone. I made towards him, Finn and Chachamaru  beside me. 

"Don't worry, son, I've almost got it!" Tears streamed down the man's  face. He was humbly dressed, in pre-Apocalypse garb. Muscles strained as  they uselessly budged against the enormous piece of stone. A piece of  the gate had fallen off. I could hear a muffled, panicked voice beneath  the rubble. The boy was still alive!

"Sir, please allow us," I said. He turned to look at us, surprised by  our presence. Chachamaru and Finn nodded and the three of us took the  large piece of rubble together in our hands. With Chachamaru's inhuman  strength (and a bit of gravitic manipulation on my part), we wrested the  rubble off the boy, setting it gently aside. 

Amazingly, the boy was more or less intact. His left leg was in an odd  angle, but beyond that he was fine. The surrounding rubble had actually  acted to keep the heavier stone above the boy, more or less protecting  him from being crushed to death.

The man gingerly picked up the child, hugging him tight as they cried  together. "Alex, Alex, when I saw the gate fall, I thought I had lost  you - I thought - "

The man's voice broke, overcome with emotion. He turned to the three of  us, exclaiming, "Thank you, thank you. I don't know what I would have  done if it hadn't been for the three of you."

"We're more than glad to help," Finn said.

Chachamaru sat down, looking the boy carefully over. He couldn't have  been more than five years old. He was still crying, the broken leg  clearly getting to him. "Beyond the broken leg," she said. "I think your  son will be fine. It would be prudent for you to seek out a doctor and  get that bone set as soon as possible."

The man nodded at that. That was when I asked, "Did you happen to see who did all of this?"

He shook his head. "All I know is that it was incredibly loud and there  were all these flashes of light. I spent more time trying to keep my  head down, you know what I mean?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I know."

He thanked us again and made off with the boy, holding him carefully. 

I coughed again, the blasted smoke getting to me. It was starting to clear up though.


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Nov 29, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

I passed by a small child, no more than eight or nine, her singed face expressionless as her eyes stared towards nothing. She sat by the burning remains of an adult. The sight was gruesome to say the least and the body was completely indistinguishable at this point, but I had seen worse.

We stooped down beside her. 

"Are you alright?" Chachamaru said gently. 

She said nothing, at least at first. But, those word had been enough to bring back the horrific experience she had undergone. She began to choke up, breathing erratically, before she burst out into a full wail. 

I winced. It was quite loud to say the least. Chachamaru made soothing noises and brought the girl to her chest, muffling her cries. 

There really wasn't anything we could say. Her father, or mother, or someone else very important to her had died. And there was nothing that could be done to change that.

After a couple of minutes, her muffled cries died down and Chachamaru set the girl aside. She was still sniffling, but was no longer sobbing. 

"What's your name?" Finn asked gently. 

"Cecilia," she said, rubbing her tear-streaked face. Chachamaru began to straighten her disheveled hair at this point. 

"Cecilia," I said, trying to sound as unimposing as possible. "Did you see the bad man who did this?"

Her throat caught again as the memory must have resurfaced but she managed to stop herself somehow. She nodded.

"Can you tell me what he looked like?" 

"There were two of them," she said slowly. "One was tall and thin and the other was short and fat. Their hair was all stuck up."

"Spiky?" Finn said, frowning.

She shook her head. "It stuck up, but not like in spikes. Together," she insisted.

"Hair that was sticking up, but clumped together?" I repeated. "Ah, an afro. I understand. What else did you see about them?" 

"They had these big flashlights coming out of their hair, it was so weird. It's like those space robots Jimmy Mack always keeps talking about. Then there was some kind of hole coming out of their heads?"

"A hole," I said. "I... see." 

She nodded in earnest at that. "They were shooting laser beams out of them holes. They were trying to fight some kind of monster. My Daddy had said that was some guy called the Phantom."

Her eyes dimmed at the mention of her father. Doubtlessly, he was the burnt figure she was sitting beside. 

"Cyborgs?" Finn wondered.

"It is the only conclusion that fits the facts," Chachamaru said in a low voice, finished with straightening the girl's hair. 

Cecilia felt her hair and gave a slight smile, hugging Chachamaru tightly. Chachamaru smiled in return, embracing the girl. 

"So, what the heck are mad cyborgs doing out in Pandemonium?" I wondered out loud. "I guess this Phantom character was that thing we had just seen."

"No doubt," Finn agreed. "Um, what are we going to do about her?" He whispered, gesturing towards Cecilia.

I hesitated. Goddammit, there was no easy choice here. We could not afford to take her with us. Our journey was nothing short of dangerous thus far and I had no intention of bringing a child into it. 

But, damn it, I couldn't just leave her to rot like this. What the hell were we going to do?

Chachamaru spoke up then, asking, "Cecelia? Is there anyone you can stay with now?" 

"Father Gregory takes all the kids in," she said, sniffling. "He's a really nice man. He lives in our church. I like going there because he gives me candy and makes pretty music.  I think he's over there."

Not far from us, a man in brown robes was helping another family, pushing pieces of rubble away along with some other men.

We stood up then. "Cecilia," I said gently. "There are other people who are hurt. We're going to go help them too, but we'll talk with Father Gregory and make sure you can stay with him, ok?"

"Promise?" Cecilia said.

"Promise," we said together.


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Nov 29, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

For the next hour and a half, the story was more or less the same.  Devastation was everywhere. We helped lift rubble and remove the dead.  Whatever doctors these slums had came out and we helped them to treat  the wounded and bury the dead. 

We were helping one of the doctors when a man in brown robes came up to  us. Kindly blue eyes peered over square glasses. His white hair was  tinged with ash and blood and his weathered face was pleasant and  inviting. Spots of ash and blood marred the robe.

"I have noticed that you strangers have been helping us through this  ordeal. For that I thank you. I am Father Gregory," he said, smiling as he offerd  his hand.

I shook it in earnest, his grip surprisingly strong. 

"My name's Edward," I replied. 

"Finn," Finn spoke up.

Chachamaru gave a slight bow. "And I am Chachamaru." 

"Again, I must thank you for the precious help you have offered us in  this time of trial. Without your steadfast help, I do not think we could  have recovered as many of our brethren."

Chachamaru's massive strength and my gravity manipulation had proved  crucial to ensuring that the larger pieces of rubble could be lifted  with ease. 

I remembered something. "I actually was going to ask about something. There's a girl - "

Father Gregory nodded at that. "Cecelia, yes. An apprentice of mine  had overheard you and informed me. She is more than welcome to stay with  me at the church. I will see if there are any good families willing to  take her in. If not, she will be able to live at the Church, if God so  wills. The same, of course, will be extended to all the newly orphaned  of these slums." 

I sighed in relief. That took a heavy burden off my conscience.

"Do you know anything about this Phantom and those two cyborgs who caused all of this?" Chachamaru inquired.

Father Gregory sighed at that. "The Phantom, I know little to nothing  of. He is a being who has been a thorn in Magear's side. The Mayor that  is. He seems to have set his set sight on Magear's forces and his allies,  among them Draygon and Marcone."

"I don't think we know any of those people," Finn said.

"Magear is of course the Mayor of Pandemonium. He was elected under,  shall I say, decidedly shady circumstances. Marcone runs a house of sin  in his city, where he peddles the lives of misguided women for profit."

"In other words, prostitution," Finn noted.

"And of this Draygon character?" Chachamaru asked.

Father Gregory hesitated at that. "He is a being of mystery. He appears  to be an enforcer of sorts for Magear, or so I hear, but his methods are  brutal and merciless. It is for this that he is known as the Butcher." 

"So then, you know anything about these cyborgs?" I asked.

He shrugged helplessly. "Of them, I know nothing at all. Perhaps the men  in the local houses of liquor would know, what with all the rumours  that fly around, but I try to avoid such idle activity."

"In any case, I suppose they were here to collect the bounty."

"Bounty?" Finn echoed.

"Magear set a hefty price on the Phantom's head. Bounty hunters from all over have come looking for him, and as you can see," he said, gesturing helplessly at the destruction. "We have been caught in the crossfire of all this." 

"Do you know anything about a group called the Masked Bandits?" I pressed. 

"Only that they are a powerful group. They wield some kind of strange  powers, but beyond that, I am afraid I have little to tell you." 

"We'll probably find out more about them at the location," Chachamaru  said quietly behind me. No doubt. Even if they were a no show, the fact  that they showed up so regularly at the bar meant that several people  there _would know.

"_Just out of curiosity," Finn asked. "Why do you live here? I mean, the  entrance to the outside of the city is gated off and everything. Why  this enclosure?"

Father Gregory sighed and I saw sparks of anger in his eyes. "The ones  who hold all the power, Mr. Edward, live on their own Mount Olympus, in  the center of the city. It is a walled off structure known as the  Bowery. There lies the concentration of power in this city, as well as  the greatest of monsters."

"As for everyone else, we are confined to live in these urban areas.  Those of us who are too poor to afford even the most meager of dwellings  must stake out a living here in these Slums."

"But, doesn't the Mayor or others do anything about all of this poverty?" Chachamaru interjected.

Father Gregory scoffed lightly. "Magear cares little to nothing about  the downtrodden of society. The only thing that likely matters to him is  reelection and expanding his sphere of influence. Beyond that, common  folk such as myself do not even enter into his thoughts." 

"So why are you here?" Finn asked.

Father Gregory smiled. "Because God had a mission for me and I chose to  follow it. I make my home among these people and I do for them what I  can. I take their confessions, I hold the sermons, and I minister to the  living and pray for the dead. We may be poor folk Mr. Finn, but our  lives are just as human and worth living as anyone else." 

Nonetheless, there was a pressing question that tickled my curiosity.  "Isn't the Roman Catholic Church gone though? I mean, how else can you  be a Father otherwise?"

"Eastern Orthodox," he replied, his eyes twinkling. "Our numbers may  have lessened, but we are still here. And our spirit is as strong as it  as has always been. As for my brothers from Rome, they too are still  around. You would be surprised." 

We made to leave but he stopped us. "I too would ask what you three intend to do here."

I hesitated and said, "To recover something precious." 

He nodded. "I understand that your business is your own. And I trust that you do not seek any nefarious ends. But do not forget that God watches over you, child. If you need help or are in a position where you think none can be found, you need but seek it from him."

"Thank you, Father," I said. "Thanks for your time."

"_Vaya con dios_, my friends," he said, waving us goodbye.

We met Cecelia again and told her the good news. She hugged each of us in turn and the Slums' inhabitants waved us goodbye as we left through the remains of the gate.

We  were walking in the direction Finn indicated. It took us about thirty  minutes until we reached Setesh Street. My feet ached. We had been  walking all of today. We were along Setesh Street, coming towards the  bar when Chachamaru stopped and looked behind her.

"What is it?" Finn asked.

"A man, dressed in a pink bathrobe, following us," she said. "He's been doing so for quite some time."

"Dressed in a.... pink bathrobe?" I repeated. Had I heard that right?

"Hostile?" Finn said, tensing up. 

"He's made no move against us yet, and I do not think he will be able to  enter the bar," she replied. "I suggest that we do nothing for now."

"Alright, if you're sure," I said, glancing behind me. I saw nothing. 

The bar itself was a spectacle of sorts, with a blinking neon sign that proclaimed *RUDDY RED'S BAR - THE BEST DRINK IN TOWN*!Flashing beer bottles were over our heads and the door was solid steel with gold trim.

There were two bouncers outside. They took one look at me and one of  them said tersely, "All weapons are to be kept by house management. No  funny business inside." 

Finn walked up and said, "Come on, we won't do anything. There's no need to stop us." 

The man hesitated for a second, but a voice outside bellowed through an  intercom. "What the fuck are you doing Jackson? Take their fucking  weapons and their fucking gear, you goddamned well know the fucking  drill!" 

Finn shrugged helplessly as we relinquished our weapons.

I didn't like parting with my rifle, my machete, and my knife. They also  took my pack and Finn's pack, tossing it inside some kind of chute near  the door. They ran us up and down with metal detectors to check if we  had any concealed weapons on us. 

Needless to say, the machine went haywire when it came towards Chachamaru.

"What the fuck?" said one of the bouncers eloquently.

Chachamaru said smoothly, "I have a metal replacement kneecap as well as  screws in several joints. It's due to an accident from a few years  ago."

"Still, we'll have to perform a strip search to make sure you haven't got anything on you," the other bouncer said, grinning slightly.

Chachamaru's eyes narrowed dangerously. There was no chance in hell that  Chachamaru would take that lightly. I backed away a bit.

Finn spoke up then. "We've already gone through this ordeal with you  taking our stuff and running us over with a metal detector. All this  just to enter a bar. I mean, what kind of bar does all this? Now you  want more? If that's the case, we can just pack up and leave and you'll  have lost three customers willing to pay."

Finn must have really turned on the juice there because the man simply  nodded obediently and opened the door. I took a deep breath and we  entered the bar.


----------



## Stunna (Nov 29, 2010)

Mask made his way through the Bowery, undetected. There were guards scouting all over, searching for anyone “wearing a mask”.

“This could become troublesome. Might as well have some fun, though.” Mask said, as he removed his Camo mask. He replaced it with the Mask of Illusions, and took the form of one of the guards. He confronted the first guard he came across. “Hey! I spotted one of the masked men! He’s over there! Back me up, will ya?” He said to the guard. The other agreed. The two headed into the darkness, where Mask quickly be rid of him, and stole his identification and weaponry.

Mask continued to make his way through the Bowery, towards City Hall.

“This is ridiculous.” He thought to himself. “People, starving and fighting to survive outside of these walls and here these people are living like they’re on top of the world. Someone should tear these walls down.”

Mask made it to City Hall. He proceeded to try to walk on in.

“Whoa,” A guard said. “Not just anyone is allowed in city hall.”

“But it’s City Hall.” Mask said, sarcastically. The guard became more aggressive.

“Not just anyone is allowed in city hall.” He repeated, more sternly.

“Listen, guy, I have orders. There’s a Masked Bandit running around, and we’ve got it on good knowledge that he’s after Mayor Magear.” Mask confidently argued.

“No one’s getting to Mayor Magear. We’ve got men protecting him.” At this, Mask simply sighed, bowed his leave, and walked away.

“I know what else I could do for fun… hehehe…” Mask chuckled under his breath. He went behind a building and changed form into Mayor Magear. He walked back to the guard.

“M-Mayor Magear!” The guard’s attitude changed quickly.

“Yes, it is.” Mask said quickly, brushing past the guard, with no retaliation. “Simple.” He said to himself once inside of City Hall. This was Mask’s first time in City Hall. It was bustling with suited men and women, but what they were doing, he had no clue. As he walked through the lobby, he was greeted by many. He made his way to the reception desk. “Excuse me, where is my office?”

The woman was shocked at this. “M-Mayor Magear! Surely you know where your office…” Mask’s expression sharpened. “S-Sorry sir! Forgive me! Take the elevator to the top floor, end of the hall!” She answered, apologetically.

“Yes, well, we all have our moments. Good day.” He said as he left the dumbfounded girl.


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## Serp (Nov 29, 2010)

Jessie rolled her eyes at this. "A team, we haven't even fully decided if we want to work together well I havent at least."

Looking at Oscar, "Like what the fuck is wrong with him?" She said waving her hand in his direction.


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## Stunna (Nov 29, 2010)

After Mask was gone, the secretary picked up the phone and dialed a number.

“We’ve found him.”

*   *   *

Mask got in the elevator and pressed the button for the top. But before the door closed, three men walked in.

“Same floor? The three of you?” He asked them. They were all guards.

“Yes.”

“May I press your button?”

“We’re going to the same floor as you.”

“Oh, alright…”

There was an awkward silence for a few moments.

“You boys wouldn’t happen to be in here for me, would you?” Mask asked, quietly. He could see them nod out of the corner of his eye. “Figures.”

They whipped out guns, and Mask whipped out one of his own. “How’d you bastards find me out?!” He exclaimed as the four of them proceeded to combat in Gun Kata. He took out one man by shooting him in the throat. 

“You think Magear’s the only one with powers, punk?!” One of the guards exclaimed. He was given a sharp look by the other. Mask took advantage of this and shot the distracted guard. He then knocked the other on his but and put the gun to his head. “Please! You can’t kill Magear! He’ll crush you!” The guard stammered.

“Pitiful last words.” Mask mocked. He was about to pull the trigger when the elevator stopped abruptly, throwing Mask on his back. The guard used this opportunity to shoot Mask in the leg. “Gotta think fast!” He thought as he leapt forward onto his hands. Like an acrobat, he proceeded to kick the gun from the guard’s hand, and then fight the guard, all while using only his feet, parrying the guard’s punches and all. He finally knocked the guard out, and fell over, grasping his legs. This had put great strain on them, due to the gunshot. “H-How… how did I do that…?” He struggled to say. “No time… I’ve got to get out of here. And fast.”


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## Endless Mike (Nov 29, 2010)

The three walked into the bar, looking around. Smoke and the smell of alcohol filled the air, causing Finn to cough a bit. They decided they should order something so as not to appear suspicious. Walking up to the bar, the bartender came over to take their orders.

"Name your poison," said the bartender, a rather stout, balding man.

"Whiskey," Edward replied, taking out some money to pay for the drink.

Finn looked at the menu. "Vodka," he said. He had never had it before and was curious.

The bartender then looked over at Chachamaru. "I'll also have vodka," she said. As Ed payed for the drinks, they all walked back into the middle of room. Ed pointed at an unoccupied table near the wall, and they sat down. Ed and Finn took sips of their drinks, but Chachamaru just pushed hers off to the side.

"So, this is the right time and place, are the bandits here?" whispered Finn.

"I've been listening and filtering the conversations going on," Chachamaru whispered back, "but I've heard no reference to the Masked Bandits."

"Great, there goes our lead," Ed said dejectedly.

"Wait, I'm not done," she replied. Gesturing to a pair of men in business suits drinking in a corner, she continued "Those two have been saying something about how their boss, a Dr. Shell, recently fired them for a mistake they made. I'm not sure of the details, but they did say that all of this damage is their fault."

This immediately got Ed and Finn's attention. "The cyborgs..." Ed whispered.

Finn then took charge. "You two, go outside, around the back. I'll meet you in a minute."

"What are you planning?" asked Chachamaru.

"This new lead is not going to run away from us, trust me," Finn smiled deviously, as his companions followed his instructions, Ed first reclaiming his weapons from the bouncer.

Slowly walking to the corner table, Finn addressed the men.

"How's it going, fellows?" he asked.

They looked up at him suspiciously, the man on the right saying "What's it to you?"

Finn smiled and activated his power.

"You two seem to be having trouble, I heard you're looking for jobs."

The two seemed surprised by this, but were too mesmerized to really question how Finn could have overheard this from across the noisy room.

"I just happen to know an employer who is looking for skilled workers like you," Finn said.

The men were clearly interested. "Go on...." the one on the left said.

"Just come with me, I'll take you to meet with him," Finn said.

The two took the bait. Standing up and putting down their half - finished drinks, they followed Finn out the front of the bar, as Finn picked up his confiscated items as well on the way out. Leading the two around to the back, they came face to face with Ed and Chachamaru.

"My friends here have come to discuss business with you," Finn said, winking to his companions. Getting the hint, Ed drew his rifle and aimed it at the two.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" One of them shouted. "What the hell is this?"

"Quiet!" Chachamaru yelled, as she grabbed the man and covered his mouth with her hand.

Finn walked around in front of the two now panicked men. "You're going to tell us everything you know about the incident earlier today," he said, not bothering to apply his power since both of them were at their mercy.

"I - I don't know what you're talking about." Replied one of the former scientists.

"I think you know exactly what we're talking about," replied Ed, cocking his rifle and aiming it at the man's head.

"Okay, okay!" yelled the man, "We, uh, we used to work for the Pandemonium mad science division! We figured we could use some cash so we helped install prototype energy cannons on two cyborgs and sent them after the Phantom!"

"Tell us more about this mad science division," Chachamaru asked, having removed her hand from the mouth of the other scientist.

"Our boss, uh, former boss, Dr. Shell is in charge of the operation", replied the man. "He reports to the mayor, and develops new technologies."

"I'm guessing none of these technologies are used to help the normal citizens of Pandemonium?" asked Chachamaru coldly.

"Um, uh, not really...." said the other scientist. The gynoid frowned in disgust, her suspicion confirmed.

"Tell us where this Dr. Shell is," commanded Finn, deciding to use some of his power because he had spotted more people walking past the alley they were in and didn't want to take too long with this interrogation.

The men gave an address, a laboratory near the edge of the Bowery. "Be careful though, it's got a lot of traps, autogun turrets, forcefields, that kind of thing," said one of the scientists. He immediately wondered why he had alerted these people to potential perils, and couldn't figure it out. Finn smiled. Turning his power up to an incredibly high level, he addressed the two. "You never saw us, and this never happened." It stated as a fact. The former scientists walked away, confused as to what had just happened, and decided to go back into the bar to finish their drinks.

Ed was still somewhat upset. The Masked Bandits had slipped through their grasp.

As if reading his mind, Finn replied "Cheer up, I'm sure we'll get more leads eventually. But right now we have to make sure that kind of disaster doesn't happen again."

"Besides," replied Chachamaru, "The technology this mad science division has sounds impressive. They could probably replace the artificial skin I lost," she gestured to the damage on her arm, which was currently covered by the sleeve of her shirt.

"Fine, let's find a place to rest for the night and try to reach this laboratory tomorrow", said Ed, as the three walked off in search of an inn or hotel.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 30, 2010)

Enigma watched the trio walk away from atop a nearby rooftop. These three he'd keep an eye on, he decided. They needed to be distracted, from the Guild somehow, they would not get to them before he could.

Sinking back into the darkness he looked towards The Bowery, where gunfire could be heard, he thought back to what Marcone told him.

_________________________________________________________________

"Nobody outside of his own organization, knows anymore where Draygon lives," Marcone said. "After what he did to you, his already massive paranoia, skyrocketed. He cleaned out his mansion and safehouses, and just disappeared for a couple months. There were rumors that he went and literally made a base under the city...but who could say if that's even true."

"So what's the best option?" 

"Well...He recently opened up a fight club in The Bowery. You might want to check there, you can probably nab one of his Lieutenants there. They're about the only ones who would know Draygon's location." Marcone scowled "Spencer probably knew, but you went and killed him, but alas the Fight Club's up on Hanson. You of all people should know where that is"

Enigma nodded, It would figure Draygon would build something right next to Knight's house. He started to turn and leave, only to have Marcone stop him. "Don't think i'm letting you get away, with hurting my men...If I see you again, I will kill you."

Engima nodded again, and then he was gone. Marcone snorted and got up to close the window, before leaving the office. "It's time to head home..."

_________________________________________________________________

There was movement in the alleyway below, and Enigma noticed a homeless man, carrying a heavy tome slink out, and follow the three outsiders. He had on a top hat with a skull and cross bones on it and a pink bathrobe.

_Richard is that you?_ Enigma thought to himself. _I thought the Guild killed you..._


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## hammer (Nov 30, 2010)

as the sun starts to set Luke is currently shopping at a local flowershop for varius types of flowers such as roses violets etc. and right after he went strait to a clothing store and picked out clothing that resembled that of a farmer.  Luke then swiching into his newly owned farmer clothes went down to the center of town the place just about everyone will go when heading home from work.  People swhere everywhere as Luke started to place the flower seeds into the ground.

_I hope people wont suspect me while I have this farmer outfit on, but since It is getting dark I dont think people will notice me anyways they shuld be heading home and to busy to think of what actually is happening in this town the gaia has forsaken. _ he thought to himself.

Luke carefully lined up each set of flowers taking out one seed at a time he ha atleast 6 packs of seeds and in each pack has about  over 300 seeds.  One by one the seeds went in the dry ground.

"there where alot of explotions today I may not have seen it but it must have been fools after enigmas bounty"


Luke finally finished planting his seeds he then threw his clothing in the fist garbage can he saw and set it on fire. he walked down into the darkness of the ally into the slums and snapped his fingers the flowers grew into great hights forming words.


"People of Pandemonium wake up, dont be fooled by the lies fed to you by the mayor. He is a fool who runs this town threw blackmail and bribes he tries to put blame on this Phantom figure but the Phantom is the hero the bounty placed on him will only bring more casuilitys somthing the mayor should know this but his worrys are not for his people but for his pockets people of Pandemonium raise up and fight the injustice of the mayor and his allies. the Phantom is the hero of this town and needs our support"


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## Dante Alighieri (Nov 30, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

We walked through the door. There was another door in front of us, also  made of solid steel. In this particular passage, there was a large sign  proclaiming CHECKPOINT and there was a man sitting behind bulletproof  glass, flipping through some magazine, looking extremely bored. I noticed our weapons and  gear stashed in a container in the room he was in.

We then entered the bar proper, opening the second door.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. It smelled of cigar smoke and  heavy booze. Finn coughed slightly and my eyes stung from the sudden  blast of smoke. 

The bar itself was a fairly typical set up. There were several round  tables with chairs scattered across the bar. A long table was on side,  behind which was the bartender and an endless array of alcoholic drinks  and ingredients. It was fairly busy - nearly all of the tables were  occupied.

"Hey," Finn whispered. "Shouldn't we order something?"

"It would look too suspicious otherwise," Chachamaru agreed. 

I fished into my pocket, feeling for some money. We walked up to the bar.

"Bartender?" I said.

He walked up, a gruff looking man rubbing a dirty glass mug. "Name your poison."

Cute.

There was a menu on the table and I glanced at it. I wasn't particularly  partial to drinking and technically I wasn't supposed to anyway. I was  only nineteen, but no one really cared what age you were in these times.  If you wanted liquor and looked old enough, you got it.

"Whiskey," I decided. I took out some of the cash I had. 

"Vodka," Finn said, looking up from the menu. The bartender glanced at Chachamaru.

"I'll also have vodka," she added. 

He named the price - and it wasn't cheap! - and I forked over the cash.  With practiced efficiency, he whipped out three clean mugs, rapidly  filling them with our orders in less than four seconds. I whistled,  impressed.

We took our drinks and I pointed towards a table by near the wall. It  was unoccupied as of now. We passed a group of men playing cards.

"I saw that, you swapped the cards!"

"No I didn't you son of  - "

We sat down. Chachamaru pushed her drink away. I sipped my drink,  looking around for anyone that might look like a bandit or at least know  something about them. 

But I hadn't the slightest clue where to begin. The men playing cards  perhaps? I could hardly go up and start randomly interrogating people.  These folk didn't look quite as friendly as those back in the slum. 

We sat there awkwardly for ten minutes, sipping our drinks and looking around.

 "So, this is the right time and place, are the bandits here?" Finn finally whispered.

Chachamaru replied with a low voice, "I've been listening and filtering  the conversations going on, but I've heard no reference to the Masked  Bandits."

Damn. _God damn_. That was the _only_ lead I had thus far to finding the proxy and it had just evaporated on us. "Great, there goes our lead," I sighed.

Chachamaru shook her head. "Wait, I'm not done."

She subtly tilted her head towards a dark corner away from us. There  were a pair of men in sharp business suits, drinking and arguing about  something apparently. 

Chachamaru whispered, "Those two have been saying something about how their boss, a Dr.  Shell, recently fired them for a mistake they made. I'm not sure of the  details, but they did say that all of this damage is their fault."

I immediately looked at Finn. I had no doubt that he was thinking the same thing I was. "The cyborgs," I stated flatly. 

Finn's expression grew hard. "You two, go outside, around the back. I'll meet you in a minute."

Wait, what? 

"What are you planning?" asked Chachamaru before I could.

"This new lead is not going to run away from us, trust me," Finn smiled  with manic glee, rubbing his hands together. I almost laughed - had he  started cackling at that point, I would not be surprised. 

Whatever his idea was, someone was about to end up on the short end of the stick. And I had an idea who. 

I drained my drink in a single pull, my throat burning from the taste and got up, Chachamaru right behind me. 

We walked out of the main door and past the checkpoint. The bouncer blocked the door.

"We're leaving," I said simply. "We need our stuff back."

The bouncer looked dispassionately at us, stating, "What about your other friend? Where's he?" 

"He's indisposed at the moment," Chachamaru said. "He said he'd meet up with us later." 

The bouncer shrugged. "Fine." He walked through a side steel door  towards the checkpoint. I heard muffled voices inside and he walked out,  carrying my pack and my weapons. 

He led us outside first and then handed them to me.

I took them, putting the pack back on and placing the machete and knife  back in their rightful places by my side. I gave the rifle a quick  look-over. Nothing had been tampered with apparently. I slung it over my shoulder.

"Satisfied?" the bouncer asked dryly.

We left at that and pretended to start going down the street. A little  while down, we took a quick turn and made our way towards the back of  the bar. 

 I gingerly stepped over litter and the bar's trash, which seemed to be  scattered all over the ground. "Geez," I muttered. "You would think that  they could afford a trashcan at the very least."


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Nov 30, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

I yawned, feeling worn out. We had been up all day and a lot had   happened. Besides walking for kilometers, we had also had a few close   calls and then helped out the inhabitants of the Slums. I felt beat and   wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. 

Chachamaru looked at me curiously for some reason. "Question?" I said. 

"Just random curiosity," she said. "That rifle looks quite old. Where did you get from?"

"My dad," I replied. "His father had served with the United States Army   in Iraq back in the 20th. One of the rifles he had gotten to use was   this, the M-14 battle rifle. My dad gave it to me for my fifteenth   birthday. It was what little we had left of my grandfather's things."

"It's one of the finest weapons ever made," I declared.   "Seven-point-sixty-two by fifty-one and one of the most accurate and   reliable rifles I've ever used. Even after fifty years, this thing just   keeps going." 

"Why the sudden interest though?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing in particular," she shrugged. "It's just that even with all   you've told us, to a certain extent, it seems as we know so little about   you." 

"My life isn't that exciting," I protested. "There's not that much to know. I'm as normal and boring as they come."

Chachamaru giggled slightly at that. "What?" I asked.

"Edward, honestly, I doubt _any _of us could be considered normal, let alone boring."

"Point," I admitted, chuckling. 

"What was your father like, Edward?" Chachamaru asked.

I hesitated but replied, "In many ways, he was a strict man. He believed   that a man's worth was judged by how much he applied himself to work   and for the sake of others. I guess that's why he pushed me so hard some   times. He didn't really put up with any nonsense either; if I   misbehaved, he'd just double the number of chores I had to do that day."

"But," I said, blinking furiously all of a sudden. "He was the best   father anyone could ask for. He loved me, my mother, and my sister. He'd   die for any of us. He _did_ die for us."

I paused awkwardly. "Well, turnabout's fair play. You've never told me about your homeworld. What was it like?"

Before she could reply however, I heard footsteps. I turned around to   see Finn and the two business men walking beside him. Finn grinned slightly   as he approached.

"My friends here have come to discuss business with you," Finn said,  winking. I got the clue.

I unslung the rifle and aimed the rifle at the two men, settling the front sight post center of mass.

I kept the safety on however. Of course, they didn't know that.

 "Whoa whoa whoa!" One of them panicked, beginning to back away. "What the hell is this?"

"Quiet!" ordered Chachamaru, striding towards the man with swift steps.   With practiced ease, she whirled the man around into an armlock and   muffled his mouth with her hand. He struggled uselessly against her   inhuman strength for a few seconds before finally slouching in defeat.

Finn took charge at that point. "You're going to tell us everything you   know about the incident earlier today," he said resolutely. I kept the   rifle trained on the two.

"I - I don't know what you're talking about!" stammered one of the men. 

I rolled my eyes. Whether they were dressed like bandits or in business   suits, all thugs had the same mentality. They were all cowards in the   end.

"I think you know exactly what we're talking about," I said coldly,   audibly flicking off the safety and shifted my aim to the man's head.

"Okay, okay!" the man all but screamed, eyes wide. "We, uh, we used to  work for the  Pandemonium mad science division! We figured we could use  some cash so  we helped install prototype energy cannons on two cyborgs  and sent them  after the Phantom!"

Mad... science division? Had I fallen into some cliche comic book   storyline or something? But never mind that, these two were responsible   for the destruction we had seen. 

Chachamaru kept the other man firmly in an arm lock but released her   hand from his mouth.  "Tell us more about this mad science division,"   she commanded.

He said nothing for a moment but then winced as Chachamaru began to   raise her arm, working the armlock. "Our boss, uh, former boss, Dr.   Shell is in charge of the operation," said the man warily. "He reports   to the mayor, and develops new  technologies."

New technologies like prototype energy cannons? What possible use could that be to the city?

"I'm guessing none of these technologies are used to help the normal citizens of Pandemonium?" asked Chachamaru.

I grew angry as the man hesitated. Was no one in power around here   decent? What I had heard about this city was true; there wasn't a single   honest soul among the ruling class.

"Um, uh, not really....," said the other scientist finally. Chachamaru looked away with disgust.

I heard voices nearby. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see   people walking past the alley. If we didn't finish up around here quick,   people were going to be asking awkward questions very soon...

Finn got the hint. He stared hard at both men, likely drawing up his   power. "Tell us where this Dr. Shell is," he said imperiously. 

They quickly gave us an address. It was apparently a laboratory, just along the edge of the Bowery. 

One of the men looked thoughtful and then said, "Be careful though,   it's got a lot of traps, autogun turrets, forcefields, that kind of   thing." He immediately looked confused as he finished his sentence.

I grinned, glancing over at Finn. When it came to getting information, Finn was a master of the art. 

Finn also smiled. He then stated matter-of-factly, "You never saw us, and this never happened."

The men stared blankly for a few moments before they stumbled away, back towards the front of the bar. 

I stared after them for a few seconds. Did Finn just make them _forget_ about us? What was he, one of those Jedi I had seen from those old movies or something?

We had a very definite lead onto the men who had caused all this mayhem.   But, meanwhile, the Masked Bandits had slipped clean through our   fingers. I didn't know if we could even find them anymore. There was no   other connection I had to the proxy other than he used to be one of   these Masked Bandits. Without that lead, I had _nothing_ to lead me towards my sister.

As if reading my thoughts, Finn laid a hand on my shoulder. "Cheer up,   I'm sure we'll get more leads eventually. But right now we  have to make  sure that kind of disaster doesn't happen again."

I reluctantly nodded. I hadn't expected this journey of mine to be easy   after all. Setbacks were to be expected. In any case, he was right.   These _scientists_, if you preferred to dignify them with that kind of name, were directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocents. 

I could not just stand idly by and let that kind of depravity continue. I   had seen the results of that kind of destruction before. I had helped   bury too many children today. Whoever these monsters were, I would not   allow them to reign free. 

"Besides," added Chachamaru, "The technology this mad science division   has sounds impressive. They could probably replace the artificial skin I   lost." She waved her left arm, a slight gray color at the elbow  visible beneath the sleeve. 

I nodded. "Fine, let's find a place to rest for the night and try to reach this laboratory tomorrow."

I yawned again, dead tired.

As we walked in search of a nearby inn or hotel, I mused over the day's   events. I had suffered a serious delay in my journey. But I had no   intention of backing away from the Masked Bandits. I would deal with   this mad science guild first. 

The Masked Bandits could wait.

For now anyway.


----------



## Wesker (Nov 30, 2010)

Jack had been going through the tower for hours before finally making his way to what he hoped was the top floor and the source of the dark aura. After defeating the monster on the 5th floor he found himself in an astral maze. It had taken a while but he finally managed to figure out the pattern the maze used. While he was in there his powers had become ramped up even more due to the psionic energy the tower emanated. Unfortunately whatever the cultists were planning was that much closer to completion.  This became even more apparent when he opened the door to the exit of the maze and felt a rush of dark energy permeating the room.

In the middle of the room was a man concentrating on an orb of some sort. Jack felt that the orb was where the dark energies were most concentrated. The man soon noticed him and turned to face Jack. "Most impressive you managed to not only resist the influence of these energies, but even used them to help you defeat the gatekeeper. You are one determined fellow. You could do well in service to Nyarlathotep." said the man. Jack was caught off guard by the man's polite tone and the fact that he seemed unchanged however there seemed something......off about him, he though it would be best not to fight this man if possible. Calmly Jack replied "What are you doing here? Are you trying to harness the energy of this.....Crawling Chaos for yourself?" The man laughed and replied "I do harness it but not for myself, at least not entirely. You see the apocalypse has proven that the current pantheon of "gods" are fools and incompetents that can't even keep one world from destroying itself. It is time for a true and capable god to rise again and take back the world which is rightfully his. This energy is not his power it is simply the key to unlock his prison." 

Jack looked back at the orb that contained the energy and felt the barrier that separates one reality from another shudder. "It is almost time soon the Crawling Chaos will cover this land. It is not too late for you, proclaim loyalty and you can be a leader in the paradise that Nyarlathotep will bring." said the man. Jack replied "Judging by what happened to your followers I don't think I like what your version of paradise is." The man frowned and simply said "So be it."


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## SYSC (Nov 30, 2010)

Serpaphobia said:


> Jessie rolled her eyes at this. "A team, we haven't even fully decided if we want to work together well I havent at least."
> 
> Looking at Oscar, "Like what the fuck is wrong with him?" She said waving her hand in his direction.



"What? Nothing, he seems fine to me. C'mon Lif why wouldn't you want to work with us!" Hen said with a big smile pulling closer to Oscar. 

"Anyway even you said things you can't put a price on are what really matter so ignore the medical equipment, ignore the bounty, and think about this city. Can you really sit here and draw all the beauty you see in the world while its being burned down to the ground all around you?" Hen asked trying to convince her.


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## Emperor Joker (Nov 30, 2010)

*The Guild and Draygon*

*The Guild of Mad Science*

Benson watched Dr. Shell, pace the the conference room restlessly. "We're fucked, you know that right?" Shell said "We're so fucked, that in years to come all would be Mad Scientists would look to us. They would then say to themselves 'This is what i'll strive not to be like'..."

"It's not that bad sir, we did afterall fire Carlon and Lodger, who was responsible for this."

"The main branch won't care about that, they need a scapegoat, in case shit hits the fan...I should have kept Carlon and Lodger, here so I could offer them up as sacrificial lambs, when Neo Genesis calls. Wait is the cloning machine up and running yet.."

"It's not even complete yet sir...I sent you that report, three hours ago..."

"Well, then we're out of options, unless one of the Junior Redshirts wants to offer themselves up..."

_________________________________________________________________
*Outside The walls of The Bowery. 9:00 PM*

_Somebody's been a busy little bee today haven't they?_ Enigma thought to himself as he stalked through the gates, watching as the guards carted off corpses belonging to The Masked Bandits. The guards failed to notice him, as he was just another shadow in thier mind. Getting through he looked around. By all appearences The Bowery hadn't changed at all in the last six months, Still the picturesque homes and lawns, still the upper class, looking down on the world. While the world outside these walls went to hell, The Bowery would remain the same.

Walking down the street for a while, he saw City Hall, rising up. Instead of walking towards it, Enigma turned right down a street marked Bueller, before turning left a moment later down Hanson. The fight club stood out like a sore thumb in this area. A massive three-story brick building, with stain glass windows, The Butcher's Den as the sign out front noted, was encircled by a row of houses. The front was decorated by a massive sign depicting a man being eviserated,while another was apparently being bludgeoned to death, by a man with spiked gloves. In front of the swinging door, a bouncer stood arguing with a man dressed in a business suit. He heard the words "The Guild" and then "The Phantom" and then "Draygon needs to see this" before the man held out several pictures that Enigma could not see. The Bouncer spoke into his radio, before waved the man in. Enigma hurried after.

The first thing he noticed, when he entered the room, was that it was surprisingly dimly lit. Even better for his powers. The next was the massive statue on the far side of the room, It depicted a creature...or maybe it was a badly disfigured man... in armor sitting on a ornate throne, which sat on a small mountain of skulls. _Who the hell is that? That's no Incarnation of The Reaper, that i've ever seen..._

Looking around the massive room, he noticed several boxing rings, as well as a pit, where two men were fighting in gladitorial combat. A man dressed in a toga lounged in a both, that overaw the pit, as one of the combatants, slashed through the other's arm with his sword, the toga wearing man said. "Yes, more blood, spill his guts for our glorious patron."

Enigma shuddered despite himself...this certainly did seem like a place that Draygon would build all right. He hard more screams and shouts from the stories above, he almost felt like investigating, but the Man in the suit was getting away. he stuck to the shadows near the walls, and followed him to the back where a man dressed in blood red robes, met him.

"The bouncer said you had something to show to the master," said the robed man. "Let me take a look, Draygon will only see those who he deems worthy of his time." The man in the suit, handed over the photos, and Enigma noticed they were of him and the Afrodroids. the robed man, looked through them, though he seemed to stare at one which had a closeup of Enigma's face for a while. He looked back up and addressed the man. "Who are you?"

"Niles Lodger sir. Formally employed at The Guild of Mad Science. One of Draygon's men told me that if I ever came across something relatin to The Phantom to bring them here...and Draygon would give me a reward"

The robed man scowled for a moment "Whoever told you that, must have been mistaken, but These pictures have something that would interest Draygon greatly...come with me." He reached behind him and pulled a lever, that made a trap door spring up, reavling a stone stairway leading underground. The man slowly descended, followed closely by Lodger, and Enigma himself.

It was much darker down here, only lit occasionaly by the occasional torch. Despite the faint light however, Enigma could still see perfectly, and noted the walls were coated with blood...up ahead he heard Lodger yelp as he stepped on a bone.

Soon enough they came into a room, that was soaked in blood, and bodies littered the floor. in the center The man that once might have been Draygon The Butcher stood, atop an alter, where he pinned a small burned child down. Enigma was replused, as the huge beastial man, loomed over the wimpering girl with a knife, before driving it into her heart. "More blood, for our new patron" rumbled the man as his jaw worked, Enigma noticed the fangs, as well as the tusks that now jutted outward. 

Enigma held back in the shadows as the robed man and Lodger made their way to Draygon, who looked up "Rincer, who is this?" he rumbled, as the robed man bowed. 

"A Niles Lodger sir, he has something interesting to show you."

Lodger handed over the photos to Draygon, who snatched them out of his hands. He looked them over for a moment, before his wild eyes widened in shock "Knight..." he snarled "Even dead, you are in my former master's favor." He crushed the photos with his massive hands, before turning to the other men.

"Leave us," he said to the man known as Rincer, who bowed and left the room. This time addressing Lodger "I take it you want a reward boy?" Lodger nodded, but then yelped when Draygon grabbed him by the arm. There was an audible snap, and Lodger screamed, his arm now broken. Enigma watched as Draygon lifted the knife and again and plunged it once...twice...thrice...four times into the man, before backing away grinning. 

"Your reward...is to be sacrificed to my new patron, Soon the rest of the city will follow, and then the world. More blood for my new god, more skulls for his throne, More Blood for newly awakened Khorne! For him I shed blood, and unlike my former master, he rewards me...he rewards me greatly." 

He turned his back , and Enigma felt a hand on his shoulder, "You are not yet ready, young one" said he voice of Erebus, and the world rotated and Enigma found himself now inside the Temple of Set.

"Why?" screamed Enigma. "He was right there, he had his back turned."

"You are ignoring the power radiating from him, Unlike The Reaper. Khorne in his ever present bloodlust, approves of Draygon's errent slaughter...and for every person Draygon kills, both him and Khorne grow stronger."

"Who is this Khorne? I've never heard of him, in any of the records of The Pantheon...is he newly ascended?"

"Nay on the contrary...he is quite old...But his power has waned since he crossed over from the universe that once called home. It will be some time before Khorne reaches his former holding again."

"So what do I do, If I am unready to face the man I swore vengeance against."

"You must seek help...even now there are people in the city that could aid you...but alas they are not strong enough either...It might be many a year before you are strong enough. You must seek them out, and grow stronger...The time will come when you are indeed ready to face Draygon the Butcher." The voice of Erebus faded away, and Enigma found himself alone, and thouroughly confused.

"So you're back are you?" thundered the voice of Set.

The time was now 5:55 AM, he had somehow lost almost nine hours, and he couldn't figure out how.


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Dec 1, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

We walked along Setesh Street before I realized that we had no clue  where we were going. It wasn't as though we had a map or anything to  find the nearest inn.

"We should ask someone if they know where a nearby motel or inn is," I said.

Finn nodded in agreement. There was a couple walking towards us, a man and a woman laughing about something or another.

"Sorry," Chachamaru said as they came near.  "Would you happen to know where the nearest inn or hotel is?"

The  man stopped, his companion coming to a halt beside him. "Oh, um,  there's actually a hotel not very far from here." He briefly dictated an  address and gave us precise directions on how to get there.

We thanked him and made our way there, leaving Setesh Street.

It  was the middle of the night but the entire city seemed to be alive,  simply teeming with an incalculable number of people. With the number of  lights on, it might as well as have been morning.

It didn't take  us very long at all to reach the hotel, a large building that had to be  at least 25 stories. High above us, large elegant script read *GOLDEN HORSE HOTEL* with an image of the titular animal just below.

The  setup was fairly typical: spacious parking garage, valet, the works.  There was probably more around the back, but it would do. My only worry was  if we could afford it.

We walked through the revolving door.  There was a fountain nearby, three large oriental dragons spitting out  water. Soft music played above us and the receptionist, a smartly  dressed woman with auburn hair looked up, a practiced smile on her face.

However,  she took a closer look at me and she looked warily at me. It was  probably because of the rifle slung on my back. Weapons were not illegal  in most of the major cities, including Pandemonium, but many businesses  wanted to have nothing to do with them.

"Hello, may I help you?" she said nonetheless, recovering and reestablishing that smile she must have worked so hard at.

"Hi," said Finn, smiling. "We'd like to book a room for three."

"I  see," she said, glancing at a computer screen. "We have several options  available. If you like, I can list them out and you can -"

"The least expensive one," I interrupted her. "If you would please."

"I see," she said slowly. "And for how long will you be staying?"

I glanced at the others. It wouldn't hurt to have a place to crash later.

On  the other hand, it wasn't exactly as if I was rolling with cash. This  one night alone would probably cut significantly into what money I  carried with me.

"Just one night for now," I said. She named the  price. I had to stop myself from choking at the figure. That was the  least expensive room? Well, it was better than sleeping on the street  anyway.

"All right then. Do you have a Pandemonium ID card?" she asked hesitantly.

I shook my head. "We just arrived here from the Wasteland," I explained.

She  sighed, all pretense of enthusiasm gone, and had us sign our names on a  roster instead. We were probably intruding on her boring, predictable  routine of normal, Pandemonium citizens as guests. In any case, we chose  by unspoken agreement to use fake names. I wrote down my name as  Gregory Mack. The name was unappealing to me, but it was the most I  could think of off the top of my head.

She took out the KeyCard  linked to our room. She then glanced at me again and said, "I'm sorry,  sir, but we do not allow guests to carry their weapons on premises.  You'll have to surrender them to our person if you wish to be a guest  for tonight. We will of course return them to you when you should decide  to leave."

I nodded, expecting this. I gave her the rifle and  the machete. I didn't give her the knife though - she couldn't see that.  Nor did I give her any of the magazines. She took them gingerly, as if  she was touching something disgusting, and stashed them under her desk  for now. 

She looked at me expectantly and I reluctantly handed  over the cash. She gave us the KeyCard then. "Floor 22, Room 22-39." I  took it and we entered the nearby elevator. A pleasant tune was playing,  relaxing and unobtrusive.

I push the button labeled *22* and the door closed. 

"Nice place," Finn commented as the elevator began to ascend, numbers slowly proceeding on the digital display... *1 *... *2*...

"Not cheap either. You get what you pay for," I muttered under my breath.

Chachamaru and Finn chuckled knowingly. I scowled, which only made them laugh more. 

Finn  yawned suddenly. "I can't wait to get it to bed. Finally, an actual  mattress to sleep on inside of on a damn sleeping bag!" 

The number at the top read *22* and the doors opened with a chime. The door immediately to the left read *22-17 *on a gold furnished plate and to the left of that, *22-19*. We walked down the corridor until we reached *22-39*.  I fumbled for the KeyCard and swept it through the slot. Lights flashed  and there was a loud beep as the electronic locks disengaged. 

It was dark inside and I felt for the switch. Light came on.

"Wow," said Finn. 

I  had to agree with him. I set down my pack beside Finn's and we surveyed  the room. This wasn't a penthouse suite or anything, but this one  hotel room was better than any place I had slept in. Then, again, I had  mostly staked out a living in various parts of the Wasteland, so I guess  I was easily impressed.

The walls were plain white, with a pattern of a golden horses in a thin strip around the room. 

"They've even got a television and everything," Finn said, practically rubbing his hands with glee.

There  were three rooms, a living area with four recliner chairs, a flat  screen television and a stereo system. There was a glass table in the  center and a small icebox nearby. Opening it revealed a collection of  cold bottled water and sodas. There was also a small shelf filled with  magazines and various books, mostly popular thrillers of these times. 

There was also a bathroom, stocked with all brands of shampoos and soaps. 

There  was of course the bedroom, two gigantic beds with another, albeit  smaller, television as well as a shared nightstand in between. 

What impressed me the most however was just how large the rooms were. I had definitely gotten what I had paid for.

Finn  fished into the icebox and retrieved two bottles of ice-cold water. He  tossed one to me and we took a long pull from the refreshing drink.  Chachamaru flicked through the books curiously.

Then I yawned and I saw Finn doing the same.

"I'm beat," Finn yawned again. "I think we should go straight to bed."

"Agreed," I said. 

We changed in separate rooms and entered the bedroom. I frowned. There were only two beds. One of us would have to share.

I  looked at Chachamaru questioningly but she shook her head. "I'll keep  watch if that's fine. I'm also interested in that television Finn  mentioned."

I nodded and headed straight to bed.


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 1, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

I got up blearily, stumbling out of bed. I noticed that Finn wasn't in bed and I found both Finn and Chachamaru sitting in the living area, talking. 

Finn noticed me and stood up. "Hey, good to see you're finally up."

"What time is it?" I yawned. 

"Actually, not that late. It's only 9:06."

My brain was processing something about why that was a good thing but it never got through. I yawned again and headed straight to the bathroom.

It felt good to take a real shower in actual human civilization again. After about twenty minutes, I felt fresh enough to take on the world. I dried off and redressed, heading back into the living area.

The television was on and there was something kind of news channel on. 

A woman in causal businesswear stood in front of the charred remains of a house.

"... reports of massive devastation across the Lower Quarter, with death tolls reported to be at least three hundred or more." 

They must have been talking about what had happened last night. 

"Hey," said Finn, noticing me. He was eating something, buttered toast apparently. "I hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and ordered room service. You had left the cash on the desk."

"Yeah," I said. "Don't worry about it." I joined him to a glorious breakfast with buttered toast and bacon strips with a long, refreshing glass of orange juice. The news drifted onto some useless topic about some celebrity or another. 

"This place is really something isn't it?" Finn grinned.

"It better be," I snorted. "I'm the one getting broke over it."

We all laughed at that, but Chachamaru said, "I think we should go to that address now." She gestured towards the clock, which now read 9:41. 

I nodded, getting more serious at this point. "I guess we should pack up now. I don't know where we can crash for tonight, but it'll definitely have to be a cheaper place. I simply can't afford to keep paying for a place like this."

It didn't take long to pack up again. We hadn't taken much out, since we had planned only to stay here for that one night. I did however take a few of the drinks with us. 

We exited the room and I locked it with a swipe of the KeyCard. We then entered the elevator and Finn pushed the button labeled *1*.

As we headed down, I asked, "What do you think we'll find at that place?"

Chachamaru shrugged. "Doubtlessly, many weapons of dubious purpose. But, more importantly, we'll be able to find the ones who caused the devastation yesterday."

"It won't be easy getting in though," Finn said. "You remember what that scientist said about their defenses and all."

"We should probably scout out their setup before we actually try going inside," I thought aloud.

Chachamaru nodded. "That would seem to be the best course of action." 

We exited the elevator and there was the same receptionist again, her smile faltering slightly as she saw us. 

I handed her the KeyCard and said, "We'll be leaving now, thanks. Would you happen to have my possessions."

She nodded and retrieved my rifle and machete. I sheathed the machete and gave the rifle a quick look over. The receptionist watched me warily out of the corner of her eye.

"Thank you for coming to the Golden Horse and we hope you come again!" she said, somewhat insincerely. 

We left through the revolving door and back into the city of Pandemonium.

We must have crossed an innumerable amount of intersections, but we finally made it to the outskirts of the Bowery. A gigantic wall greeted us, perhaps only five miles away, a barrier between us mere mortals and the rulers within.

"Well, we're not very far from the laboratory," Finn said. "According to the directions we got, it should just be a block away."

Alright then. Time to find out what the hell had happened yesterday, and with any luck, stop the men who had done it. 

But for now we'd have to scout the area. And I had a pretty good idea of how we were going to do it...


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## Wesker (Dec 1, 2010)

Jack took a step back as the cult leader transformed into a monstrosity of tendrils and shadows. Laughing the cultist attempted to skewer him with his newly formed appendages. Quickly Jack used his powers to dodge in quick bursts of speed. He sent debris towards the monster but it didn't even seem to notice. Again the monster attacked him and again he dodged. This time he tried a pure telekinetic blast. That seemed to affect it although it didn't seem too injured. Suddenly the ground erupted in a field of dark spikes. Jack barely had enough time to take to the air before several of the lower floors of the tower crumbled. Interestingly enough the higher levels stood in midair. 

Taking to the air Jack dodged the projectiles the monster hurled at him while gathering energy for a psi orb. After a few more seconds he launched the orb at the cultist landing a direct hit. The orb blasted a hole through the mass of black but the hole began to heal itself as soon as it opened. Distracted Jack barely managed to get out of the way when a tendril grazed his shield. During that instant he sensed that the black mass was pure psionic energy, realizing that he would have to channel large amounts of energy into the mass in order to do any lasting damage Jack prepared his shield to it's maximum strength. When the next tendril attacked him he held his ground and caught it with his shield then sent a massive wave of energy through the tendril into the main black mass. Sure enough the tendrils went slack and a small core of black flesh was exposed for a moment. However the mass erupted again in dozens of tendrils that thrashed angrily. Figuring the only way to take the abomination down was to attack the core directly Jack began making his way towards the creature.

The tendrils slashed at him and threw debris at him but Jack used his telekinetic sense to skillfully dodge the attacks while using his powers to hack and blast away the obstructions. Finally when he was close enough he grabbed another tendril and stunned it with a blast. Taking a breath Jack then grabbed hold of the exposed core and assaulted it with all his might. Waves of pain poured through him as the creature thrashed and shuddered, then all was black.

___________________________________________________________

He awoke to see the bleeding cultist leader slowly walk towards him with a knife in hand, a few limp tendrils all that remained of his monstrous form. Jack knew he had the power to finish this but his mind was clouded and he couldn't concentrate. As the cultist got closer he heard a voice, it was Magister "Get up you fool if you fail now this world is doomed! Everything you love will become corrupted and wither. Your village , your FAMILY!" At the mention of his village Jack began to gather himself, using the memories of his friends and family as a focus. As the cultist raised the knife Jack shouted "YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS WORLD!" and released a mighty blast that sent the man flying off the tower and towards the ground 20 stories below. 

After looking over the edge to make sure the man was dead Jack finally noticed that the orb was still growing stronger even without the cultists there. He gathered his energy and launched a psi orb at the object but to no avail, the object was to powerful for his conventional attacks to damage at this point. Now there was no other option he had to attempt a psionic storm, he wasn't sure if the power boost this place gave him was enough but he had to try. Focusing his energy onto the orb he worked it into a tight broiling point and then released it.  The energy exploded in a bright display of pure psionic power thrashing at everything around it for a a good minute. 

After the energy dissipated the orb was still there but cracked. Shortly the cracks began to widen as the harnessed energy began to seep out. Even as the energy poured out Jack sensed the attempted portal to the other dimension close. However the danger was not yet gone as the orb became more unstable. Quickly he mustered a shield and began to glide towards the ground when the orb burst sending large amounts of energy in all directions. Just as Jack hit the ground he blacked out.

___________________________________________________________

The destruction of the portal sent a massive surge of energy skyward that could be seen for miles. As well as sending shock waves throughout the astral plane. And on the other side of that portal an ancient being sat frustrated at it's failed plans. Fortunately for the being it had plenty of time to try again and it was very patient.


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## Endless Mike (Dec 1, 2010)

"Is that-" Ed began

"Yes, that's them," Chachamaru replied, her scans confirming their cyborg nature.

"Well well, what have we got here," the taller cyborg replied. "You think you three can just barge in here like you own the place?"

"Are you the ones that caused all of the devastation yesterday?" Asked Finn angrily.

"Yep, that was us. Pretty nice work, doncha think?" the tall cyborg sneered.

During the conversation, the shorter one had activated his own X-ray sensors, and discovered something interesting.

"Hey Afrolicious, that one is like us!" he said, gesturing to Chachamaru.

Angrily, she sprang forward. "I'm nothing like you!" she yelled, punching both of them square in the face and sending them flying to impact against the far wall, causing the entire room to shake and leaving rather large craters on the wall.

The pair got back on their feet nearly instantly, seemingly suffering no ill effects. Brushing off some dust on his coat, the taller one spoke. "Oh, this one's feisty! This is going to be fun!" Bowing down, a large cannon appeared from his hair, and fired a cannonball at Chachamaru, who quickly dived out of the way.

"Can we take these guys?" asked Ed, taking an defensive stance. He didn't bother taking out his rifle as he knew it would be useless here.

"I think so, as long as we're careful," the green-haired girl replied as she charged in for another attack. As she was about to land a blow on the shorter cyborg, his partner jumped in the way and punched Chachamaru aside. The short one revealed another cannon in his hair, firing a cannonball at Ed, who managed to raise a gravity barrier to stop it. By this time, the two were concentrating on Chachamaru with melee attacks. She was holding her own, but neither side seemed to be inflicting serious damage. The cyborgs suddenly jumped backwards on opposite sides and opened fire, catching Chachamaru in a deadly crossfire.

She just managed to block several of the shots, but another one hit her square in the back, knocking her across the room and impacting with a loud explosion. Finn tried to rush over and help her, but was kicked back by the short one. Edward figured he had spent enough time on the defensive, and attempted to immobilize them with increased gravity.

However, he had underestimated their strength. Both of them quickly shook it off and prepared to fire again, but at the last second were knocked to the side by Chachamaru. She was apparently no worse for wear after the attack, suffering nothing more than a few tears in her clothes and a scorch mark here and there.

*Deep Laboratory level*

Dr. Shell watched as the fight began, the screen in front of him relaying the visual data from the two cyborgs. He did a double take as Sugarboy's scan of Chachamaru flashed by. "Quick! Rewind that!" he yelled.

Pausing the video on the scan results, he looked over them with great interest. "I've never seen technology like this before.... yes! This could be just the break I was looking for!" He quickly spoke into a microphone, sending his commands directly to the Cyborgs' heads:

"Attention! New orders, capture that girl at all costs! Don't destroy her! I don't care about the others!"

"Aww, we were just starting to have fun," lamented Sugarboy, as Afrolicious smacked him over the head, causing a distinct metallic clanking sound.

"Orders are orders, let's just get this done before the boss scraps us," he replied.

"What are they talking about?" asked Finn, still hiding behind Ed's shield. He had tried to affect the cyborgs with his power earlier, but there was something in their programming that was preventing it from working. Realizing he was pretty much useless in this fight, he had taken to basically cowering, only once jumping to the front when he thought Chachamaru might be in danger.

"I don't know, but-" Chachamaru began to reply, but was cut off by two combined electrical arcs fired out of the cyborgs' afros. The beams struck her directly, and she screamed as bolts of lightning flashed around her.

Finn's scream was drowned out by the sound of crackling electricity, as she collapsed on the ground. Moving forward, Afrolicious picked her up with one hand and slung her over his shoulder, then began retreating toward the stairs.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Ed, firing a shockwave, but Sugarboy jumped in front and took it instead, quickly recovering. He then quickly scrambled down the stairs himself. Ed and Finn attempted to follow, but a titanium bulkhead slid in place, stopping them from following.

*Deep Laboratory level*

"Excellent!" Dr. Shell exclaimed with glee. "Those worthless tin cans have finally done something useful for once! This little incursion might be a blessing in disguise. Now to deal with the other two."

He pressed a button on a nearby console, and poison gas began seeping into the now - sealed sublevel B.

"Doctor, we still have people down there!" One of his assistants exclaimed.

"They knew how dangerous this job was getting into it," he replied dismissively, as the deadly gas began filling the floor.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 1, 2010)

*Richard & Susan*

*The Bridge of Dreams: Midtown, 8:00 AM*

Enigma watched as the man known once as Dr. Crichton, tried to console the giant cockroach, that he apparently lived with. He had thought Richard had died a year ago, when The Guild of Mad Science one night exploded in a massive fireball, The next day The Times ran The story that of the slain a Richard Crichton and a young woman named Susan Adumar working on turning Cockroaches into super soldiers  were among them. This was apparently not true, though whatever had happened that night had apparently cost Richard what little sanity he had left. Enigma listened and watched, and to his surprise The giant cockroach called Susan turned it's head towards his location, and a voice whispered in his mind. 

_Hiding will help you naught, dear Phantom. Why don't you come down and talk, My husband is in the perfect mood for company._

The cockroach then turned and clicked a few times at Crichton, who turned around before saying "I don't see anybody Susan, what do you mean somebody's there."

Enigma snorted, before appearing behind the man. "A wonderful morning isn't it Dr. Crichton," he hissed in Richard's ear, causing the other man to jump in fright.

"Who is this Dr. Crichton you speak of?" inquired the other man in confusion "I've never heard of..." Richard convulsed for a second, before rising rigid, and a deep voice emanated from him.

"I am Baron Samedi, Leave this man, Crichton will not come, for his persona is weaker than my brethren."

The giant cokroach stepped foward from the makeshift kitchen, and chitterd angrily at Richard...or was it "Baron Samedi" now. Enigma almost scratched his head in confusion, what was going on? Had that night a year ago, driven Crichton to the brink, that he now needed multiple persona's to deal with the stress?

"Baron Samedi" hissed, before replying angrily to Susan. "Foolish woman, You speak to one of The Loa with that tone! It was through us, that you survived that night, We will not relenquish our hold on this man...for with him we will grow strong again, and we will reclaim our seat in the World. The Guede Loa will reign again."

Susan chittered with rage again, but before "Baron Samedi" could reply, Enigma stepped in his shadows swirling around him dangerously. "It appears you do not know why I am here...I need somebody to get me into The Guild, and if it wasn't for the Persona called Richard, I would never have known that dear old Dr. Crichton was still alive. I am not asking for you to relenquish your hold on him...no matter how many of you are squeezed in there in his body. I just need a guide...I do not wish to fight for him, but I will."

Susan glanced at him for a moment, before walking behind the stove and retrieving a heavy tome and a top hat. "Baron Samedi" was apparently holding some inner monologue with the other personas. "Fine," he said after a while. "You may have Crichton as your guide, but any funny business and we will take control again." The voice stopped, the head slumped and the body became less rigid.

The next moment Crichton's head slowly rose wearily. his blue eyes were watery, and he looked at his dishevled body, in apprehension. "How terrible, I like like i've been through the wringer." he said, with a hint of a british accent. "How long has it been since i've last had a bath, could the Guede not have the sense to do that at least?"

Susan chittered nearby, and Crichton glanced her way. "Six months, are you certain dearest? Six months ago was the last time I was in control." The cockroach shrugged, and Crichton sighed before turning to Enigma "So you need a guide do you dear boy? Whatever for, have some grievence you need to repay in a utterly terrible way?"

"You could say that." Enigma said as he explained what had happend yesterday with the afrodroids.

"Ah...well then that I could understand." Said Crichton. "You want go there and throw the metephorical monkey wrench into thier works...For a moment I thought you were going to create a utterly unnessary bloodbath."

"Not unless we are discovered and they push me."

"Ah well, i'd hate to see it come to that, but alas shit happens, and if Lady Luck isn't with us, then well...we'll get to that when it occurs." he glanced at the pink bath robe for a moment. "Could I at least get some new clothes at least? I don't like walking into my place of former employment, with my unmentionables showing."

Enigma grinned.

_________________________________________________________________

a  half an hour and one unconcious body later, Crichton was dressed in a faded pair of blue jeans, worn out pair of boots and a pale green t-shirt. the man they had knocked out with Susan's frying pan lay sprawled on the ground in a nearby alleyway. 

Enigma looed to Susan who had the tome of voodoo arts in her arms and then Crichton. "Ready to go?" he asked, and the both nodded. with thier approval, the darkness in the alleyway quickly enveloped them, and they were gone.


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## Platinum (Dec 2, 2010)

The training was relentless. Week after week he spent his time honing his skill in the celestial mountains and it payed off. He was far faster, stronger, and had greater control of his abilities than he ever did before. He could even return liquefied objects to their former state now and liquefy objects from a distance.

The time he did not spend training or sleeping he spent conversing with Sagittarius and Leo. Cancer had left before he had a chance to talk with him, and at long last he was ready to leave the Celestial Realm and undertake his mission.

"I am giving you a choice of three missions" Aquarius spoke to him. "Choose whichever one you want, Leo and Sagittarius will take the other two."

After he picked his mission he left the temple, said his goodbyes and returned to the material world. All those weeks training in the Celestial Realm and barely 6 days had passed in the material world.

"Well it's time to get going"


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## masamune1 (Dec 2, 2010)

*Pandemonium Times: Bowery Edition*

*Mayor Leaves City*

_Lord Mayor Magear has taken a leave of absence from his office and left for New Genesis. An aide reported that he had been suffering from stomach pains and was seeking medical treatment. The timing has caused grumbling amongst some citizens as this comes in the wake the massive carnage unleashed on the city by the mysterious "Phantom", but most agree that the health of the mayor is more important than the deaths of a few hundred useless dregs......_

--------------------------------------

*People of the Desert Return*

_In a surprising development the old cult of Set have began making their presence felt again. They seem to be convinced that the return of their god is imminent and they even swear that he has visited the Mayor and warned him of his "impending doom". This classic crazy sect still operates in the slums and from the wastelands, murdering, kidnapping and brainwashing the slum-dwellers and are sure to provide our faithful readers with all sorts of hilarity with such antics over the coming days, but expect the to fizzle out after Set fails to make his big comeback. Again. The impressive resilience of this group and theri bizarre faith in some long-dead long-beaten glorified ghost continues to mesmerise...._

--------------------------------------

*Advertisement: Gore 'Fer All III*

_Don't forget to buys your tickets for the annual event that has tken the city by storm. Prepare to be enchanted as the boldest and stupidiest of the non-Bowrey citizens seek to win the $1, 000,000 gran prize in the most brutal, violent, and electrifying blood games man ever devised. To be held on the outskirrts east of the city, see our dumbest and poorest engage in desperate battle against savage beasts, disfigured mutants, and of course each other, all for our viewing entertainment. Also available on PPV on channel..... _


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## Wesker (Dec 2, 2010)

Jack stood at the entrance to Pandemonium. After awaking in the remains of the cultist base he found soldiers were busy searching the place. One of them got him and took him to a tent which had the man in the white suit from Paradiso. After informing the man of the exact details of the mission, the man give him his next assignment. Apparently a cult devoted to the god Set had become much more active recently. After hearing about the auras at Pandemonium the man told Jack to go there and investigate them and to find out what was causing the cult of Set to become active all of a sudden.
They had gotten him there quickly in a stealth aircraft. Apparently the Crawling Chaos cultists had beasts that prevented aircraft from approaching. 

As he stood there at the entrance to Pandemonium in trance he felt several auras. The first was the dark aura that permeated the entire city. Then there were three smaller, distinct auras in a location deeper in the city. And finally there were several auras moving towards the location the other three were at. Going out of trance Jack decided to go to where the three distinct auras were located. Securing his bag and the satchel that held the money the Administration had given him, he began walking and hoped whatever was going on here was not as bad as the Cult of the Crawling Chaos.


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## Stunna (Dec 2, 2010)

Mask took a gun and destroyed the security camera in the elevator. He then removed the Mask of Illusions, and replaced it with his normal one. He clenched his leg. He struggled to his feet, and took in a deep breath. The elevator had been halted, and if he stayed there, it’d only be a matter of time before he was caught. He juggled the gun in his hand for a few moments, before firing at the security latch on the ceiling. After opening it, he wall jumped through the hole.

“Now, where to go from here…” He grabbed the cord holding the elevator, and began climbing it upwards. “I’ve come this far, might as well finish the job!” However, the cord was somehow released from above, and the elevator began to freefall, with Mask outside! “Darn! If I try to grab onto the wall, my arm will fly off… I can’t keep like this…!” Mask closed in his body to shape like an arrow, in an attempt to fall faster, and re-enter the elevator before touchdown. He only had a few seconds to do so. He estimated about thirteen.

13…

12…

11…

10…

9…

Mask came close enough to grab and pull himself into the plummeting elevator. Once inside, he reached and grabbed the sidebar, and from there, put himself against the ground, put his head on his arm, and awaited impact, praying, though he didn’t know to whom.

4…

3…

2…

1…

The impact was so loud that it was deafening, and Mask felt as if he would lose consciousness. He struggled to his feet, and slumped against the wall. He picked up a gun, and held it, pointed at the door.

“One more countdown. They’ll be here… in 3… 2…” He cocked the pistol. “One.”


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 2, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

There weren't many people in this area of the city, surprisingly enough. The barrier walling off the Bowery loomed high above us as we walked towards the laboratory.

Finn was looking at the Bowery's walls before he suddenly said, "You know, I just thought of something."

"Oh yeah, what's that?" I asked, looking around to see if there was anyone here.

He gave me a slight grin. ""We've been worrying about money for nothing. I'm sure I could persuade someone to give us as much as we want."

I looked at him, surprised. I couldn't disagree that it would solve our money problems.

At the same time, doing something like that was just about the same as theft, only done much more efficiently.

Before I could voice my thoughts, Chachamaru spoke up. "Absolutely not," she said, glaring somewhat at Finn. "That's no better than stealing."

I nodded in agreement but Finn protested, "Hey, it's for a good cause! It's not like I'd be sending people to the poorhouse, I'd just take as much as we needed at the time."

Nonetheless, I had a problem with the principle of the whole thing. We could not, in good conscience, simply coerce people into handing over their money. Nor we could we simply believe that the fact we took only a little at a time justified it.

'Only this much, no more than that,' we'd tell ourselves. We'd only take a little at first. Then we'd take a little more the next time, and before long, we'd stop taking money because we needed it and start to take money simply because we _felt _like it. There wouldn't be much difference between us and common bandits by that point.

"Well we don't need any right now, and when we do I'm sure there are many more legitimate ways to earn it," Chachamaru replied with finality.

"Fine, but it's still - " Finn abruptly broke off, looking at something. I glanced towards where he was looking.

The building was easy to miss. It was small and plain, painted in a simple tan color. It couldn't be taller than a single floor. It was just your basic office space, typical of a small business.

And clearly, in bold black letters across the side of the building, was the address we had been looking for.

_This_ was supposed to be the laboratory? "Are you sure this is the right place?" I asked.

Chachamaru frowned, eyes intent and glowing faintly as she seemed to stare into infinity. After a few moments of silence, she spoke. "There is an extensive complex underground, and I'm picking up quite a  few unusual electronics signatures. This is the place, all right."

Clever. Rather than build upwards, they had built _down_. Still, something worried me. "What about all of the traps those men mentioned?" There were no autoguns or force fields to be seen.

Chachamaru slowly swept her gaze across the building, looking past it. "Seems they were telling the truth. They're concealed, but the place is a fortress."

Well, that raised a pretty big problem. We couldn't exactly stride right into the building without knowing what we were expecting. We'd probably get blown to bits before we could even realize it.

"However, I have identified a potential weakness," Chachamaru said, brows furrowed in concentration. After a brief pause she continued, "All of the outer defenses seemed to be linked to a small power generator buried some three meters under the entrance."

"If we could shut that down, the traps would deactivate." She broke her gaze and turned to look at us. "However, I can't think of a way to do so without arousing suspicion." She shrugged helplessly.

Maybe. We certainly couldn't go around blowing up the ground around us. That would attract quite a bit of attention, to say the least. But I had an idea.

"I think I've got this." I grinned slightly before turning my attention to the ground, closing my eyes, trying to drown out the world around me.

Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental forces of the universe. It is the force that holds chemical bonds together and governs the processes of life itself.

It is composed of two forces once thought to be separate, electricity and magnetism. But, in reality, they are both aspects of the same force. Just as a changing magnetic field generates an electrical current, a fluctuating electrical current creates a magnetic field.

And so, a power generator just three meters from the ground that could supply enormous amounts of electrical energy to power the defenses would generate a pretty significant magnetic field.

I concentrated my will, feeling for the currents of magnetic force. I could sense conduits of power through the air, a lattice of invisible energy traced out by the Earth's magnetosphere. But that too I consigned to the background. It was not what I was looking for.

I bore my will downwards, towards the ground, searching for a more potent field. It was barely there, an almost minute pulsation of magnetic charge. But it was there.

The generator was electromagnetically shielded, a Faraday cage keeping the generator electromagnetically isolated from the rest of the world. Even though it was generating quite a bit of power, the shielding prevented me from noticing it immediately. The cage would also keep the generator safe from typical electromagnetic interference.

I however, wasn't exactly typical. I forced my will past the cage, and was flooded with a sensation of sudden power, megajoules of electrical current freely flowing. The magnetic field around it was misshapen, rotating rapidly as the current alternated. I navigated my will down the source of that energy and located the heart of the generator. 

I willed my power through that connection, scrambling the current into a useless mess of energy flying every which way. Entropy took care of the rest as the massive energy spent itself, dissipating as the generator abruptly burnt out and the sensation of energy faded into nothingness.

I blinked, coming back to reality. "How's that?"

Chachamaru stared hard at the ground before turning to me. "The generator has been disabled. Good work." 

She walked towards the building, frowning. "It will be a few minutes at most before they notice, so let's make this quick."

We approached the building's innocuous front door. Suddenly, seeming to come from nowhere at all, a voice spoke, metallic and monotone.

"Please state your name and authorization code. If you are not authorized to enter this location, please exit within ten seconds. Failure to comply will result in non-negotiable termination. Thank you."

Finn stared before chuckling, "I guess the subtle approach is out."

Chachamaru grinned and pulled back a sleeve. I backed away, slamming my hands over my ears. "Here's your authorization!" she shouted, cocking back an arm.

There was a god-awful cacophony as the door and much of the surrounding wall simply exploded inwards, torn clean from its metal reinforcement. We ran inside and there was a man on the ground, dressed in black garb with a ballistic vest and helmet, complete with Lexan visor. We were in what appeared to be a basic reception area, doors on our left and right. 

"What the fuck - ?!"

"Goddammit, shoot, shoot, shoot!"

Out of the corner of my eye, there were three guards approaching us in a military run, similarly dressed as the man on the ground, bringing fully automatic weapons to bear. I snarled, slashing my hand through the air unnecessarily and a wave of magnetic force simply ripped the rifles cleared from their owners and crushed them into unrecognizable lumps of metal.

The men stopped in their approach, obviously shocked. I didn't hesitate and a bolt of cosmic power blew them through a nearby wall. 

A side door burst open, five well-armed guards pouring out, but I merely altered gravity to about 10 G around them. The abrupt spike in gravity brought them crashing down, unconscious before they even hit the ground.

All of this had happened in maybe eight seconds.

There was dead silence for a few moments.

 I noticed Finn with his eyes closed, brows furrowed in deep concentration.

"What are you doing? I asked.

"Trying to keep them from setting off an alarm," he replied. "But it looks like you got everyone on this floor." 

I nodded grimly and unslung my rifle, setting the selector lever to semi-automatic. I took out my earbuds and gave one to Finn, who took it questioningly. In enclosed places like this, gunshots would be physically painful to simply _hear_. 

Finn picked up one of the guard's batons. I raised an eyebrow.

"No gun?" I questioned.

"Not really familiar with them," he shrugged.

There was a door labeled *STAIRS - SUBLEVEL A ACCESS* to our immediate left. I gestured towards it and gingerly opened the door. Well, I hadn't gotten blown to bits or anything, so it couldn't be so bad. I entered rifle first, with Finn and Chachamaru right behind me.


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 2, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

We quickly descended until we came across another plain door.

Chachamaru tensed beside me. "Eight men are right behind that door. Likely more guards." 

I nodded, already beginning to draw on my power again, forming an  invisible array to cosmic particles to shield us from any physical  impact. 

"Chachamaru?" I asked calmly.

She kicked the door open, ripping it out of its steel frame and crashing  into two of the guards, knocking them away. The other six simply fired  their weapons, thunderous noise pounding at my ears despite the earbuds.  The bullets simply ricocheted off an invisible barrier perhaps two feet  away from us, ripples of undulating force registering in my mind as the  cosmic particles blocked every hit.

They stopped firing, clearly shocked as their magazines ran empty. I disengaged the shield and we went to _work_.

Chachamaru was already moving and simply swept her hand, effortlessly knocking down three of them in one go. 

I fired my rifle then, shooting one of them in the leg and bringing him  screaming to his knees. I kicked him as I moved forward and swept the  rifle left to right, catching another on the chin with the rifle's stock.

Finn kneed the last one in the groin and struck him across the back of  the neck with the baton, bringing the guard unceremoniously down on his face.

More guards poured out but I finished them off with a bolt of power,  smashing right through them and ripping a hole in the ceiling. Bits of  plaster and concrete fell down. A few of the lights nearby simply  exploded, caught in the uncontrolled backlash of some of my power. I  hadn't really worked out the control issues quite yet.

 "Quickly!" Chachamaru shouted, beside a door labeled *STAIRS - SUBLEVEL B ACCESS.*  Surprise was our main advantage at the moment. If we slowed down, the  enemy could regroup and plan out an effective strategy against us. We  had to press on as quickly as possible.

 We flew down the stairs, and I burst through the door on the bottom. It was  yet another office area but automatic fire suddenly erupted. The guards were behind a barricade of sorts, firing over  concealment down a hallway. I raised the shield again and then sent yet  another burst of cosmic force screaming down the hall, ripping the hallway to  shreds and tearing the barricade apart. Several of the guards were  downed but a few had managed to run away in time.

 "Holy shit! Get the fucking LMG!" 

 "Watch out!" Chachamaru said as a grenade landed at my feet. My eyes  widened and I began to raise a shield, but Finn quickly picked it up and  threw it down the hallway. The explosion was deafening as it blew apart some of the nearby wall.

 "Thanks!" I gasped.

 "Don't mention it," Finn said.

 We walked through the ruined hallway. I peeked out of the corner and  quickly ducked as bullets whistled past my hair. There was a small office just around the corner. Dropping to the ground,  I brought my rifle to bear, settling the front sight post center of  mass on one of the guards. The gun roared and the guard staggered, but his ballistic vest had  protected him.

 I shifted my focus to his knee and pulled the trigger. He screamed as  his left knee was nearly blown apart and he collapsed. Chachamaru simply  picked up a nearby door and threw it like a spear, crashing into the  contingent of guards and downing several in one go.

 I got to my feet and, screaming, we rushed into the fray. Finn knocked  one guard out from under his feet and I hit him with the rifle's stock  as he fell. Chachamaru worked the room with utterly frightening  efficiency, expertly and efficiently bringing down the guards two or  three at a time. 

 More and more guards began to flood the room, now carrying large  automatic weapons. Light machine guns and automatic fire ripped through  the air. I brought the shield up again, my vision filled with sparks of  thunder as the bullets crashed against the shield.

 Smoke filled the room as bullets struck wood and concrete and it was  getting difficult to see. We stayed behind the shield, forced to do  nothing but wait.

 I couldn't afford to break the shield to unleash a bolt of cosmic  energy. We'd get ripped apart in seconds. I breathed, trying to  concentrate as hard as possible. I didn't do this quite often and it  always strained my abilities.

It wasn't easy for me to manipulate cosmic radiation and gravity at the same time. Theoretically, the same unifying force underlies both, but my mind had not yet made that connection. I concentrated on the shield, willing it to remain in existence even as I shifted gears. 

 Then a sudden pulse of 10 G centered itself around the guards, felling them instantly. I sagged in relief and released the shield, the mental strain bearing on me.

 Silence.

 We rose, myself and Finn breathing heavily from all the excitement. The smoke cleared to reveal dozens of bodies around us. 

 I stared for a second, breathing heavily. At least that was over. I safed the rifle and slung it over my shoulder again.

 "This is pretty easy so far," teased Finn, hand on my shoulder. "I'm glad they haven't sent those cyborgs against us yet."

 "It's unlikely that they would deploy such destructive weapons inside of   their own base," replied Chachamaru, walking towards a door labeled *LOWER LEVELS - EXECUTIVE ACCESS ONLY*.

 I began to follow her, but suddenly she ran back up, shouting.

 "Back! Get back!" 

 Out from the stairwells stepped out two figures. One was tall and  slender, the other shorter and wider. They had afros on their heads and  large lights coming out of the sides.

Speak of the devil.

"Is that - ?" I began to ask, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, that's them," Chachamaru replied, gazing intently at both, as if ready to go at full speed right out of the gate.

"Well well, what have we got here?" the taller cyborg chuckled mockingly. "You  think you three can just barge in here like you own the place?"

They didn't look like much at all, but they had also been the ones who had destroyed a significant part of the Slums last night. If reports were right, they had killed _hundreds_ yesterday without even meaning to. We could not afford to take these two lightly.

Finn stepped forward, fire alight in his eyes. "Are you the ones that caused all of the devastation yesterday?" 

The tall cyborg sneered. "Yep, that was us. Pretty nice work, doncha think?" 

The... _bastards_. They had killed men, women, and children, whose only crime yesterday had been to live where they had chosen to make their battle. After what I had seen yesterday, I wouldn't lose much sleep if it came down to killing these two scum.

Suddenly, the shorter cyborg spoke up in a stammering, almost whining voice. " "Hey Afrolicious, that one is like us!" he said, gesturing to Chachamaru.

Chachamaru snarled with uncharacteristic fury, "I'm _nothing _like you."

One moment she was there, the next moment she was right on top of them, a fist cocked back. There was an almighty explosion of sound and thunder as she hit them with a full-swing haymaker, launching them into the far wall. She left a deep indentation in solid _steel_. The room shook precariously from the force of that one blow.

They sprang to their feet, shaking their heads and grinning as if nothing had happened. The taller one began to bounce lightly on the balls of his feet, clearly getting excited. 

He gave a mocking bow, as if initiating a duel. Suddenly, a freaking hole opened up in his head. With a resounding _boom_ a cannonball shot out at supersonic speeds, whistling like a mad hornet through the air. Chachamaru was already rolling as the hole in his head had opened, scarcely dodging the cannonball which blew apart a table behind us, sending splinters everywhere. I ducked, drawing up a shield around us.


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 2, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

"Can we take these guys out?" I didn't bother taking out the rifle. They  hadn't even been fazed by Chachamaru's incredible punch. I doubted  bullets would do anything to them.

Though, why weren't they using their laser cannons? I guess their  masters didn't want them to destroy their own base in the process of  eliminating us.

"I think so, as long as we're careful," she replied tensely. She then charged into the fray once more. She feinted to the left, but deked right,  ready to lay into the shorter cyborg. His ally was ready however and  snaked in front. His fist flashed and Chachamaru fell, clutching her abdomen.

At this, the shorter cyborg also revealed a hole in his hair. I had a  pretty big freaking clue what was coming next. I didn't know if my  shield could withstand a blow like that, but I decided to get a little  creative. I created a locus of intensely strong gravity just thirty feet  in front of me and as the cannoball rocketed towards me, it was  suddenly and inexorably pulled to the ground.  

Meanwhile the taller cyborg charged at Chachamaru, sensing his advantage, sending out a rapid series of punches as she got up.

Chachamaru moved blindingly fast, her green hair whipping through the  air as she smoothly ducked and diverted some of the blows before coming  back with a murderous uppercut to the chin. The cyborg staggered  back. "You fucking bitch!" he snarled.

Suddenly, the shorter cyborg charged, tackling her to the ground. 

She flipped him over with an elegant _tomoe nage_ as she fell,  sending him crashing to the ground behind her. His partner came down  with with his fist like a hammer and Chachamaru scarcely rolled out of  the way. The ground rippled in a shockwave from the sheer force of the  blow.

"Can't you do anything?" Finn yelled, as I barely kept us from becoming red paste on the walls.

"Not without hitting Chachamaru!" I shouted in answer over the noise of this incredible battle.

The shorter one had recovered and simply picked up a table, throwing it  her. Chachamaru shouted a cry of challenge and smashed through it  effortlessly into a cloud of metal shards. She grabbed the cyborg,  holding him flailing above her head and threw him into his partner. They  fell, stumbling almost comically together.

They recovered quickly, the taller one snarling in anger and he came up  with a straight high kick. Chachamaru bobbed to the side, grabbing the  leg and bringing it to her side. Her right foot swept out elegantly and  she spiked him hard onto the ground.

But the smaller one grabbed her from behind. Chachamaru struggled, but  he won out from the dominant position, arching his back as he suplexed  her right onto her head.

She rolled away, recovering as if nothing had happened. A normal person  would be dead by that point. Of course, Chachamaru was no ordinary  person.

The taller cyborg also got up and they advanced towards her, eyes full  of hatred. They glanced at each other and nodded before running at  Chachamaru again. She tensed and assumed another defensive stance. At  the last second, they jumped backwards, on opposite sides of Chachamaru,  heads bowed.

Thunder roared as an endless barrage of cannonballs came from either  side. Amazingly, hands moving faster then my eye could track, Chachamaru  blocked each individual cannonball. Rather than meeting the force  directly, she swept away them away, altering the angle fo approach to  hit the wall, the ceiling, or the tables in front of her. The devastation was amazing as the walls and ceiling were literally being blown apart.

Suddenly, she was knocked away and sent crashing through one of the walls, her defense suddenly overloaded. 

Finn yelled out a battle cry and I stared in disbelief as he actually  charged at the cyborgs. The shorter cyborg came up and kicked Finn. I scarcely had brought up a shield for him in time,  sending him spinning gracelessly away rather than getting snapped clean in two.

Now that Chachamaru was out of my line of fire, I could finally try to bring these  bastards down. I concentrated the gravity around them to around 10 G.  They fell suddenly, staggered by the sudden increase of gravity. But,  they abruptly straightened, as if nothing had happened.

I stared. I had clearly underestimated their strength. Overcoming 10 G  of force must have been nothing to them. They bowed then, ready to fire  their cannonballs.

I tensed and readied my shield around myself and Finn. Then a  green blur flashed out of nowhere. The two cyborgs were knocked away,  crashing through several tables in a row.

"I'm not quite that easy to put down!" Chachamaru said, hair singed and  clothes torn, but otherwise looking just the same as ever, as if she hadn't just tanked a cannonball  to the back.

The cyborgs hopped to their feet. 

"So you want more huh?" The tall cyborg sneered, before suddenly pausing, as if listening to something.

"Aww, we were just starting to have fun," the smaller cyborg whined. The  tall one simply smashed his fist over the other's head. "Orders are  orders, let's just get this done before the boss scraps us."

Strange. What was going on?

"What are they talking about?" asked Finn, recovering from the blow he had received. 

"I don't know, but - " Chachamaru began but then the cyborgs bowed their heads again.

Green light flashed and and Chachamaru gave out a wrenching scream as  arcs of viridian lightning coruscated around her, wrapping her in a deadly  embrace of crackling energy. 

"Chachamaru!" Finn screamed, but his voice was drowned out by successive  thunderclaps as the energy undulated and writhed. When it suddenly  stopped, Chachamaru lay on the ground, burn marks all over her clothes  and smoke wafting from her body.

The tall cyborg simply picked her up, grinning and left through the stairwell. 

I snarled, "Oh no you don't!" and hurled a bolt of cosmic power after  him. The short cyborg jumped in the way and the sudden attack staggered  him, but he recovered, stumbling down the stairwell. We ran at a sprint  towards the door but then the entire ceiling fell.

No, that's not accurate. An entire freaking _wall_ of solid steel  slammed into place, completely blocking the stairwell. We had barely  managed to stop ourselves in time before it flattened us.

I hurled another spear of cosmic force at it, but it did little more  than dent the wall. I threw another, and another, but I might as well as  have been trying to crush steel with my bare hands.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Finn snarled, kicking one of the tables in  frustration. "Ow, ow!" he yelped as he grabbed his toe in pain.

It would be funny if it wasn't so serious. Those cyborgs had just  knocked out Chachamaru and had taken her for whatever nefarious purpose  they had. 

I couldn't think of anything else had could have made this botched mission worse.

Fate was _not_ smiling on me that day. I heard a sudden, ominous hiss form above our heads. 

We looked up to see purple, almost colorless vapor begin to waft out of  an innumerable number of little holes on the side of the wall. 

I stared for a second. 

_Crap._


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## Serp (Dec 2, 2010)

SYSC said:


> "What? Nothing, he seems fine to me. C'mon Lif why wouldn't you want to work with us!" Hen said with a big smile pulling closer to Oscar.
> 
> "Anyway even you said things you can't put a price on are what really matter so ignore the medical equipment, ignore the bounty, and think about this city. Can you really sit here and draw all the beauty you see in the world while its being burned down to the ground all around you?" Hen asked trying to convince her.



Jessie looked around, Hen was fine with this deformed man why not she.
"Ok although things do tempt me, but I will still accept some money and tech, I am not doing this for free, we artists are poor."

Jessie smiled one of her most cruel smiles. "I have skills that would help you greatly, but I demand a full life size full painting of you guys, promise it to me and I will help you." Jessie looked at them both and before waiting for them to decide.

"Lets formulate a plan then."


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## Gig (Dec 2, 2010)

Removing Hen's arm from his shoulder Oscar stepped forward “A good plan will be fundamental to our success but more importantly we will be required to understand each others special gifts and curses, This will allow us to formulate a superior plan and course of action that will best accommodate all unique talents and abilities giving us a higher chance of success” Taking a few moments Oscar looked at his potential allies before taking in a breathe 

“Now as a gesture of good faith and trust not to mention it was my idea I shall reveal my own abilities, As I have already mentioned I am a former scientist as you may gather from this I am rather intelligent though I'd rather not brag about my superior genius it is true, I also possess a multitude of of super human abilities my intelligence not included” Oscar laughed 

“I am capable of lifting roughly 30 to 50 times my own body weight as I weigh an impressive 25.9 stone, In short this allows me to lift over 5 metric tons qhich allows me to easily overpower any common thug I may encounter with the utmost ease, as for my other super human traits, I possess agility equal to that of a feline and in addition I have the superior senses of a canine such as wolf, now I believe that is more than enough to give you both a helpful insight towards my combat  potential I look forward to hearing about your own abilities” Oscar said as he took a seat next to Jessie


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## Serp (Dec 2, 2010)

Jessie rolled her eyes, she never really liked revealing herself. 
"Well I am Lifewinder, I guess I can trust you with my powers but not my true name. I am an artist and my ability is to, how should I put it. Wind life into my medium or any piece of art, in short I can manipulate sculptures and models or make physical ink creations." Jessie shrugged and sat down.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 3, 2010)

masamune1 said:


> *Pandemonium Times: Bowery Edition*
> 
> *Mayor Leaves City*
> 
> ...



*The Lucky Man's Gentleman's Club*

"Lucky" Luke Marcone set down the newspaper on his desk and sighed drearily. Magear leaving in such desperate times, was a show of weakness in his eyes, the man should have stayed on the job regardless of whatever ailemetns were taking him...and if the Ghost of Set was haunting him...that was something else entirely. It added weight to the rumor that Magear had founded the city on the god's power. The city needed a better leader than Magear, but there was none to be found.

These cultists were worrying, but The cult usually came and went...and he hoped thier stay this time wasn't filled with bloodshed.

There was a knock on his door, and then Rocko followed by Felicia, entered. Marcone smiled at both of them, and then bade Rocko to leave. As he walked out he looked back at the girl and she smiled happily at him...Rocko ducked his head in embarresment. Felicia's turned to Marcone brightly and asked.

"You wanted to see me boss?"

"Yes...sit down..." Marcone sat back in his chair, as Felicia sat down in the one across from him. "As you know i'm getting up there in years.." Felicia nodded slowly. "You also know that i've been without a secretary for quite some time."

"Ever since dear old Mrs. Dodd died last year sir," Felicia said before starting. "Oh but boss, I can't...to leave the other girls...and I haven't been here all that long."

"Four years Felicia, is hardly a short time...you've been in my employment for well over four years. Most women wouldn't last that long, they'd either leave or they'd disapear entirely...picked off by muggers and demons most likely." Marcone paused for a moment as Felicia fidgeted. "I remember offering you this very same position four months ago, and you turned me down...I can understand what old Father Gregory says in the slums...my business is not exactly the most respectable." he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "What was it you said to me, when I first hired you on..."

Felicia glanced around nervously, and fiddled with ring of beads around her neck for a moment. "A girl's got to make money somehow...and in this town, you've got take what's given to you..." 

"Exactly! and just like that time, take what I am trying to give to you. Your family is more than likely in some dire straits with what happened yesterday...so why not take the position and the pay raise in salary and move them into another house...a better house than the shack you were living in before. Go on a few dates...You need a strong man in your life. Just take the job."

Felicia still fidgeted and looked unsure, but then a an idea popped into his head...sadly he would to cheat for him to get his way.

"I'll tell you what, we'll flip for it," he said holding out a old quarter. "Heads, you take the promotion, and you won't complain. Tails you can stay where you are, and you'll never hear another word out of my mouth about this."

Felicia nodded before replying "Very well."

The quarter went up in the air and Marcone stared at it for a moment, as it came down. "Heads...I win love, though technically you win as well." 

_________________________________________________________________

*The Eastern Wastes, a few days travel from Pandemonium*.

"Warleader! news from Pandemonium. We have succeeded in converting some of the lower caste to our cause, though the higher castes still hold strong."

Warleader Seti Mahkmud, stared across at the messenger for a moment. "A most pleasing bit of intel still, Rashid. Is there any other news, is Magear pissing himself in fear of our god's second coming?"

"Nay Warleader, it appears as if he has left the city, fleeing for far off Neo Genesis."

"He is truely a fool then, it speaks volumes of how cowardly the man is. When we are done with Pandemonium, we shall raze this Neo Genesis to the ground as well. Magear shall be ours, I swear it."
_________________________________________________________________
Outside the Guild of Mad Science.

"Doesn't look like much does it," muttered Enigma to his two companions, as they walked to the door. 

Susan chittered for a moment, before Crichton translated. "soemtimes things can be more than they appear, especially the Guild...Your one of those things if do say so myself dear boy."

"Feel free," muttered Enigma as they reached the door, to find it, and sizable section of the wall gone. He noted bodies strewn across the floor inside. _Looks, like we're late the the party...damn_ He though as  a metallic and monotone voice came from nowhere.

"Please state name and authorization code. If you are not authorized to enter this location, please exit within ten seconds. Failure to comply will result in non-negotiable termination. Thank you."


"Ah yes I had forgotten about this....I just hope they haven't changed the code." Crichton said. stepping foward. "This is Richard Michael Crichton, and two guests, authorization code, Zetta, Gamma, Alpha, Sixer, Decha Seven."

There was silence for a moment, and then a new computerized voice came o, this one female and smoothing. "Welcome back Dr. Crichton, It has been a year since you last clocked in, and you have 999 messages and 10 Video Messages...would you like to inspect them now?

"Negative."

"Very well, then you'll transported immediantly, to your work station, In your time away, The Super Soldier project, has advanced from cockroaches to gorillas...though recent notes that the effects of caffeine and violent video games, combined with the serum, do not have desirable effects on the test subjects. This simulation would like to suggest you tuck your arms and legs and try not to move, until you reach your destination. Scientist McCoy is still working out the kinks of the Tube....have a pleasent day, and may Mad Science forever reign supreme."

"What is it talking about?" Enigma asked in confusion. Crichton shrugged. 

"I Haven't the foggiest" he said, before a trap door, opened up beneath them, and they fell down a long and winding tube. Susan chittered in fear...and Enigma honestly couldn't blame her, as he didn't know what was waiting for them at the bottom of the shute.

_________________________________________________________________

Benson looked up at the screen in confusion...that can't be right. Richard Crichton was supposed to be dead, but here he was sliding down the Shute of Rainbows (Damn you McCoy how dare you name your contraption that)...with a Giant cockroach in a top hat and The Phantom of the Slums of all people.

"Uh sir..." he said addresing Dr. Shell, who was across the room overseeing The Afrodroids battle with the three intruders. "I think you might want want to see this."

Dr. Shell didn't even look up. "I don't have time for your bullshit Benson, leave me alone."

"But sir, it's importent!" he cried.

"It's not more importent than the cyborg girl, that's going to pave my way on easy street for eternity. Now shut up, before I fire you too."

Benson turned back around angrily. "Very well don't blame me, when the unexpected happen," He said quietly to himself. "Lady Luck is not the only one who can tip sides in people's favor."


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## Platinum (Dec 3, 2010)

Day two into his journey and surprisingly he met with precious little resistance so far. It seemed incredibly odd to him. Perhaps they were being drawn to the conflicted areas of the world? No matter what was happening it seemed we were about to reach a critical breaking point. The world was fast racing towards another great conflict. The next age of chaos.

But his mission was to observe, he was to head to Pandemonium and observe. There he would meet up with Scorpio and once the events in Pandemonium had concluded they would go together to their next mission. 

He was reaching the outskirts of the central wastelands, but it was already dusk. Not wanting to travel at night he found one of the few remaining trees and set up camp under it.

Tomorrow he would begin his journey through the harsher parts of the wastelands.

He woke up to an unbelievable scene, or was he really awake at all? Either way the night sky was a dull ominous green and in the sky stars of all manner of strange and impossible hues cast their strange glow. And in the middle of the field where he now amidst the turbulent and swirling shadows stood a man in a dark Grey overcoat, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Great power emanated from the man, he was far stronger than he. If they fought he knew he would die.

"I did not come here to cause you trouble. I just wished to meet you in person avatar of Aquarius."

"Who are you?" He replied back. He could not hide the faint change of tone in his voice as he spoke.

"Who am I? Well you could say I am a business man of sorts. Of course I only work for the most prestigious of clientele. But I best be going now as it is time for me to put my plans into action, but don't worry good friend we will meet again... in Pandemonium". 

He caught a gaze at the man's eyes dark purple eyes and once they connected the world around him began to fall apart. Time unraveled fast forwarding, rewinding, and stopping erratically and then suddenly he awoke under the tree. The sun was just starting to rise over the horizon. Not wanting to dwell on his encounter he started journeying to Pandemonium.


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## Endless Mike (Dec 3, 2010)

*Deep Laboratory level*

Dr. Shell was positively giddy with excitement as he studied the readouts on the various consoles around him. On a metallic lab table to his right, Chachamaru was strapped down and restrained, dozens of wires and cables attached to her body and leading to the surrounding computers. Her eyelids slowly opened as she looked around. She immediately realized that she couldn't move or activate any of her weapons - most of her physical functions had been disabled.

"Ah, look who's finally awake," the mad scientist proclaimed, and he walked to stand over her.

"Dr. Shell, I presume?" she asked, with a note of anger in her voice.

"So you've heard of me then! Excellent!" He said, still in a mocking tone of voice. He leaned down close, his nose hovering inches away from her face.

"You are quite an amazing piece of work, my dear. Tell me, who built you?"

"Telling you that wouldn't matter, but I wouldn't tell you even if it did," she spat, his words evoking memories of her now-deceased "mother".

"You're right. It doesn't matter," said Dr. Shell, walking around to a nearby monitor. "Because soon I will have all the information I need. Every attempt to hack into your higher brain functions has failed, your code is quite incredible, like nothing I've ever seen before. It's continually self-modifying and rewriting itself, much like the electrochemical impulses of a human brain... but that's not important. Studying your physical structure, it is quite impressive that so many weapons and devices could be fit into such a small frame, but it's nothing beyond our technology. What truly intrigues me, however, is your power source. At first I thought it generated electrical current from nothing at all, but of course that's impossible. I've since come to the conclusion that it harnesses some unknown force and transforms it into electrical current. What this force is, or how it is gathered and converted, are still beyond me."

"And you expect me to tell you?" She scoffed.

"Of course. Or else things might become unpleasant for you. Like this." As he said the words, he slightly turned a knob, and a crackling blue charge of electricity coursed through her body, causing her to convulse and scream. After a few seconds, Dr. Shell turned the knob back.

"That was level 5. It goes up to level 100. Are you going to tell me now, or shall we try level 10?"

"Go to hell," she stammered, still shaken up by the torture.

"Very well then," he said, as he turned the knob again, farther this time.

*Sublevel B*

Ed had managed to erect a shield a few meters across that blocked out the gas, but it was only a stopgap measure. They would soon run out of breathable air.

"Can you blast through the floor or something?" asked Finn, his voice clearly carrying tones of panic.

"It's heavily reinforced, and while I'm maintaining this shield I don't think I can really do much. How much air do you think we have left?"

"I don't know, a few minutes?" replied Finn. "Dammit, we were so stupid! We should have planned better, or gathered a larger group before trying a stunt like this. Now we're going to die, and Chachamaru has been captured and will probably be killed too, and we'll never complete anything we set out to do, and-"

"Calm down! Panicking won't solve anything," Ed reassured. "There has to be a way out of this. We just need to think."

Just as all hope seemed lost, Finn peered out of the corner of his eye and saw... a giant cockroach?

Tapping Ed on his shoulder, he pointed him to the apparition. "Do you see that?"

"Yeah, I do," replied Ed, in a somewhat shocked tone of voice.

"Good, then it's not just me," Finn replied. The oversized insect walked closer to them and started chittering excitedly, as well as gesturing.

"Do you have any idea what it's saying?" asked Ed, still concentrating on maintaining the shield. He was starting to feel short of breath, and that was a bad sign.

"Actually, I think I do," replied Finn. "My power lets me get in touch with animals and creatures.... I can't exactly read their minds but I have a general idea of what's going on. It says that two others broke in here with it, but they couldn't go any farther because of the gas, which apparently doesn't affect cockroaches. It wants us to follow it back up."

"But aren't the stairs to Sublevel A sealed off too?" asked Ed

"I would think so, but that bug apparently got in here somehow," Finn replied.

Accepting this logic, Edward and Finn walked back towards the upper stairs, Ed moving the shield along with him.

When they reached the stairs they had descended earlier in their invasion, they saw that, sure enough, their path was blocked by a vast metal partition similar to the one the cyborgs retreated behind. The cockroach simply walked up to the barrier and tapped one of its arms on it several times in a rythmic pattern, each tap echoing loudly. Immediately, out of apparently nowhere, an inky mass of blackness appeared in front of the barrier, resolving itself into a humanoid figure. When he looked at Ed and Finn, his eyes flashed with brief surprise and recognition, but he quickly averted them and spoke.

"Come on, grab hold of me, I don't have much *cough* time"

Ed and Finn did as they were told, with the cockroach joining. A curtain of inky blackness clouded their vision, and the next thing they knew they were on the other side of the barrier, on Sublevel A. The shadowy figured coughed some more, but seemed to be okay, having left the gassed room.

"Wait," said Ed, "Aren't you that Phantom we saw earlier? The one with the huge bounty on his head?"

Enigma immediately tensed up upon hearing those words, and assumed a fighting stance. "If you mean to collect, you won't find it easy," he said menacingly.

Finn realized the situation was escalating out of control and stepped in, using some of his power for good measure. "Now just wait a minute," he said, holding his hands in the air. "We're not your enemies. In fact we'd like to thank you for saving us."

Another man who was apparently with the Phantom and Cockroach then came up and shook Finn's hand. "It's a pleasure," he said. "It looks like you two already did a number on the upper levels, but you're lucky we found you when you did. My name is Richard Cr-" Finn quickly cut him off.

"There will be time for introductions later, but right now we need your help! Our friend has been captured by these mad scientists, and she's in terrible danger! You need to help us rescue her!"

Pouring on the Charm power, Finn hoped he could enlist these potential new allies before it was too late for Chachamaru.


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## Wesker (Dec 3, 2010)

The three auras he had been following were now underground. Jack had followed them to a heavily guarded compound. Seeing no visible entrances he felt around with his power. After several minutes he located a hollow in the ground. Focusing his power he ripped through a trap door and saw a what appeared to be a long tube going underground. Taking a breath he jumped down the tube and hoped that the power he had managed to gain on his last mission would be enough.

After getting to the bottom of the tube Jack walked through what appeared to be labs. Judging by the state of things there had been some fighting there. As he made his way to a lower level he sensed the auras he was following had stopped. Quickly he hid behind a wall and listened to a conversation. One of them was yelling about needing help to save a friend. Quickly Jack used his powers to search the compound for the missing aura, he found it further in and whoever it belonged to seemed to be in pain. When he turned his attention back to the conversation he heard one of the others say "Well what are we going to do about this damn gas?". Jack quickly made up his mind and stepped out from behind the wall and said "I think I can help you with that."


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## SYSC (Dec 3, 2010)

Hen stood, he's shades hiding the fact that he paid little to no attention to what was being said between Oscar and Jessie instead was thinking about Jessie's sudden interest of having a full body picture of him. He quickly snapped to after realizing this.

"I dont know if this is as much of a power as it is a sideffect from drugs but I have supersight" Hen said as he was quickly followed by confused looks from Jessie and Oscar. "I basically see everything"

"what like X-ray vision?" Jessie asked

"Hmm...enhanced vision. That will come quite handy. What have you mastered so far, telescopic vision? microscopic vision? infrared vision? heat vision?" Oscar asked

"Uh yeah" Hen said scratching the naturally pink hightlights in he's hair. "I can see stuff"

"Well, we all would benefit from training to know the full extent of out powers" Oscar said

"Oscar" Hen said in a strong voice to call he's attention. "You said something about being scientist...for the guild of mad science, right? It's a pretty intriguing name to say the least. What exactly did you do there?"

"Well, it-" Oscar said before the ground and building edge Jessie had been sitting on began to cackle and unexpectedly gave way. She tightly gripped her sketchbook and her eyes widened with shock not able to let a word out. Jessie had no way to aviod falling stories down to her death, she thought maybe of using her powers but wasn't aware what she could actually do to get her out of this situation. 

Just then Oscar threw he's arm and interlocked it with Jessie, trying not to harm her with he's talons. He pulled her off the edge towards Hen saving her from the fall. Hen stood looking as shocked as Jessie after the experience

"Lif! Are you ok?" Hen asked

"Yeah, for the most part" Jessie replied taking a breath. Looking up at Hen then at Oscar wondering if a thank you was in order but was interupted by Hen 

"This isn't a save place to have a conversation. We'll just have to continue this on the ground" Hen said

"Indeed" Oscar said to Hen as he turned to Jessie taking a knee with he's arms out. "Im able to glide a good amount of distances with these wings and to assure you're well-being I advice y-"

"Fine" Jessie let out not allowing Oscar to finish, not to thrilled about having to get on he's arms. Oscar held her safely as he got up from he's knee and turned back to Hen "I dont have flight so it'lll take some time to get back up here to bring you down as well" 

"Its fine" Hen said smiling while unstrapping he's guitar opening a small capartment at the base. "Ive found a parachute"

Jessie gave a smirk to Hen before Oscar elegantely gliding down from the rooftop. Hen followed in a suprisingly similar matter landing squarely on the balls of he's feet.

Hen quickly turned to Oscar remembering he's question but before he could speak he's stomach grumbled. 

"We'll need shelter as well. These streets dont seem safe at the moment" Jessie added as if Hen's grumbling was in a way saying they were in need of food.

"I do know a place that would consummate our needs" Oscar said. "-But... we willl need to discover a way inside The Bowery first"

"No" Hen replied the air seemed to thicken as if beneath Hen's shades there were fiery eyes" Our hunger and safety will just have to wait. We do first what needs to be done at the moment and thats to find that bastard Phantom and beat the crap out of him with my Guitar!" 

"Well so much for creating a plan" Jessie said to herself smiling a devilish smile with her head down


----------



## Emperor Joker (Dec 3, 2010)

"You think, she'll be okay in there?" inquired Crichton worridly as he looked to the giant slab of metal. he was holding Susan's top hat in his hands.

Enigma shrugged before replying, his lungs still hurt from the gas, from his attempt through. The shute had deposited them in Sub-Level A, when a large section of the tube, just dropped off, and left them in a area, that looked like a bomb had gone off. He honestly wondered how long before others found out about them. "Don't know. you said that body of hers was engineered to operate in those kinds of enviroments...So I assume she'll do fine."

There was a sharp and rythmatic tapping sound, that seemed to emanate from the other side of the barrier. "Looks like she found something, i'll be right back."

Stepping foward, he let the darkness take him, and he disappeared through the slab. Coming out the other side, he found Susan, and two very familiar others, waiting for him. His eyes widened in surprise. _Ah it was these two afterall, but where's the pretty one._ He began to hack and cough for a second. "Grab hold of me, I don't have much time." he said still coughing. He then looked to Susan, and all three joined him as the darkness took them again.

A few moments later they were back on the otherside of the wall. Enigma backed away and coughed trying get some fresh air into his lungs. He wasn't paying attention, up until the one with the rifle asked him about your bounty.

The shadows danced dangerously as he made his reply. "If you mean to collect, you won't find it easy," he said menacingly.

The other one stepped in, trying to placate him, saying something about actually wanting to help him. At the same time he felt something tickling his mind. _Ah seems my earliar assessment was correct, this one's godtouched...wonder which one_. He backed off regardless, no sense in killing these two, when they could be useful afterall.

As Crichton appeared and began to shake his hand, Enigma noticed something out of the corner of his eye, but before he could get a better look it was gone. His head snapped back around, when the one with powers started using them to persuade Crichton to help find his friend. Enigma stiffened as anaudible change came over the man. "Shit" he muttered as "Baron Samedi" grabbed the man by the neck and lifted him into the air. Enigma quickly formed the shadows into a massive blade as "Samedi" Talked.

"You dare mess with my host's mind boy!" Samedi said as the man's companion screamed at him to let him down, while aiming his rifle at him. Susan clicked in outrage, while reaching into her hat, pulling out mishappen gren plush doll

"Let him go Samedi, Now!" ordered Enigma as he brought the scythe like blade around to his neck "Remember our arrangment, put Crichton back in control, I will kill the body if you don't...you need it far more than I do."

"You assume much, chosen of Erebus, you think you can order The Loa around?"

"Without that body you'll be powerless again, now do it, or you and your brethren will be nothing more than harmless wandering spirits."

Samedi bristled with rage, but let the man go irregardless, a moment later Crichton took control again. "Oh my, i'm terribly sorry about that my boy."

The man stared up at Crichton for a moment, then to his companion, who slowly lowered his rifle, and then finally to Enigma. "Don't worry about it." he said weakly. "But my request still stands, will you three help me save my friend?"

Enigma sighed. "That depends. on what are we going to do about the damned gas."

A voice wrang out and old habits almost made him attack before  he saw who it was. "I think I can help you with that."

Turning to the man now walking towards them, he readied himself for an atttack just incase. "And how would you do that might I ask?"


----------



## Wesker (Dec 3, 2010)

It certainly was an odd group. Two rather normal looking men, a figure that seemed to be composed of darkness, an older rough looking man, and a cockroach with a top hat. Jack had to stifle a laugh at how absurd it was. The one made of darkness tensed up and asked "And how would you do that might I ask?". "Quite easily." replied Jack. He gestured and caused the gas to recede, making a clear zone in the room. The dark one cocked what seemed to be an eyebrow and said "Why are you helping us?" Jack replied "I don't like to see good people hurt. And from what I've seen whoever runs this place isn't exactly what you would call a saint. You can call me Archon." Turning to the two young men he said "Your friend is deeper in this compound. I can lead...." Jack suddenly sensed two strange auras coming to their location. "Shit it looks like someones coming for us." He raised his shield as the others in the room took fighting stances.


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## masamune1 (Dec 3, 2010)

"Alright, the way I see it our problem was this", Hen said, his elbows on the table, hands up for emphasis, "We should have made a plan"

Jessie, Oscar and Hen sat round a small table in a God-forsaken bar in some God-forsaken part of this God-forsaken city, drinking their sorrows away. Apart from the barkeep and some old guy reading at another table, they were the only residents tonight, the waitress having run off into the streets after serving Oscar screaming something about an alien invasion. They had spent nearly the whole day hunting down the elusive Phantom of the slums, then were reminded the hard way why he was known as "the elusive Phantom of the Slums". 

"No...Really?" said Jessie in an overly sarcastical voice. "Well that is just a _glorious_ revelation you have there. _Thats_ the kind of thinking that made you a general. You realise that `We should. Have had. A plan`. Brilliant thinking there, Napoleon. Just brilliant".

Hen let his face fall into his hands "Okay, I admit it. I messed up. We should have waited and came up with something. I'm sorry."

Oscar gulped a huge pint of beer down his throat, quietly looking back and forth at the two of them. They had'nt been talking talking to each other for the last two hours, except to decide to go to this bar.

"Still", said Hen, growing a smile, "At least I made some new friends". He raised his glass, and drank to that.

Jessie turned her head and gave him a look of disgust, "Oh, come on! That is just stupid! "`At least I made some friends.` Well we sure as hell did'nt make the million-dollar bounty, did we! Jeez!", she said, slumping back in her chair. "God, I hate you guys".

Hen and Oscar gave each other a look, and a small smile that didnt escape Jessie's notice. She "uck-ed" again, and crossed her arms in a huff.

Hen looked into his glass for a moment, then stood up and said "Well, Phantom or no Phantom, I stil need to use the bathroom. So, excuse me. I'll be back in 5 minutes."

"Whatever", said Jessie, as Hen left to do his business. She stared at the floor until he had left, turned to look at the door to the bathroom, then turned back to her drinking buddy here. She stared at him as he glurped down his drink, forgetting her as well as whatever manners he was raised with, as the drink was spilling out of his mouth as much as it was spilling into it. She looked at this weird, freaskish creature sitting across from her, and could take it no longer.

"Just what the hell happened to you, anyway?", Jessie asked Oscar.

Oscar stopped drinking, looked at her for a second then put his glass back down on the table. "Oh, that is such a horrid tale for me to tell!", he said melodramatically, putting his taloned hand to his forehead. He continued to gesture throughout his speech. "It seems an age ago that I was the darling of the scientific community.  Genetic engineering! Gene splicing! I revolutionised them all! Monkeys with wings! Fish that would solve math equations! A cat!", he went on, "that believed i was a bird named Gerald! Oh, many prizes and awards found their way into my trophy room, let me tell you. Not to mention more than a few lady doctors into my lab late at night, if you partake in my mea..."

"Oh, god, shut up will you?!" screamed Jessie after all the torture. "Blah, blah, blah and then you put that image into my head!" She pressed her fingers against said-head, and slumped her elbows onto the table. "God, and I thought that Lurker guy was full of it. But you! God! If we don't find the Phantom tomorrow I swear I'm getting rid of you guys. I spend one more day with you two I'll go nuts!"

Oscar sadly and humbly sat back into his chair, and resumed his drinking. 

"After the Phantom of the slums, you say?"

Jessie and Oscar both looked up at the eavesdropper at the next table. He was a well-dressed older man, _way_ too well dressed for a hell-hole like this place, which looked like a Western saloon after it was hit by an A-bomb. He gave a small laugh, wrapped his paper up in two, and walked up to their table. Jessie and Oscar never took their eyes off him (Oscar never stopped slurping his beer either). The man pulled up a chair and sat down between them.

"I think I can help you out there".

Jessie and Oscar looked at each other, and Oscar finally put down his drink when Jessie's eyes moved from his face to his glass. They both leaned over their table and turned to their guest. "We're listening", Jessie said. 

"Those two freaks the Phantom was fighting belonged to the Guild of Mad Science. Do you know it? They were cyborgs belonging to Dr Shell. If I'm the Phantom and I've survived a beating like that, I for one would not take it lying down. Word on the street is, he's out for blood. Blood of the guild."

The two were quiet for a few seconds, then Jessie said "And why would you be telling us this? Do you want a share or something?"

"No ma'am. I have quite enough money as it is. I just see a sense of destiny around the two of you, and your friend there in the bathroom. And believe me, I know something about destiny. This Phantom, I think he's part of yours. I'm sure of it. And I think tonight is your chance to cross paths with him. Him and many others walking the same path as you."

Drink might have dulled their wits to listen so intently to the ramblings of a total stranger. Drink....and magic, for the intruder was casting his spell on them even as he spoke, a spell that had allowed him for years to play this city like a violin.

"I think you know what you have to do. Tonight is the start of a new era. Everything changes from now on. You three are part of it, or are supposed to be. Your train into the pages of history will be leaving any moment. The Phantom will be at the Guild, if he isn't already. You three meeting up was no accident, and more meetings are to come. The gods will be watching you, for from now on you three will have their fate in your hands".

He slowly rose from his chair, and they sat mesmerised at his words.  "The Guild. Tonight. Be there." He left his paper on the table, and left, just as Hen returned and saw him go.

"What was that?", Hen asked.

His words snapped them back to reality. "Sorry...what?", said Jessie.

"That....That was Mayor Magear", Hen was sure of it.

"The Mayor?", Jessie said woozily, and stared at Hen silently for a few moments. "Wait...what? The Mayor? How much have you been drinking? That was just some old guy!"

"It was the Mayor! His face is all over this city! Don't you read the papers?"

They both stared at him, then Oscar sid "Well, I used to, but then I got these", he lifted up his talons, "and reading became something of a chore".

"Look, Hen, it was'nt the Mayor. Trust me, I'd know", though she did'nt actually read the papers. She did look at the one the old man left behind, though, and seeing the headline made her pick it up. "Look, it says right here, "Mayor Magear Leaves City". She skimmed through it a bit, then said "He's in New Genesis. He's getting medical treatment. That guy was'nt him."

"I was sure it was....", then he snapped out of it. "Well, if it was'nt the Mayor, who was he? What were you guys talking about?"  

"He was ...", Jessie started to say, then went quiet. He had told them something important. What was it?

"The Guild....Dr Shell.", Oscar said, staring dazily into space.   

"yeah...Yeah, that was it. The Phantom! He told us where to find the Phantom! He's at the Mad Science Guild", Jessie exclaimed.

"Wait...the Mad Science Guild? Are you sure? How would he know?"

"Shell!", shouted out Oscar as he rose to his feet. "I hated that guy! Drove me out of the Guild! Said I was mad and stupid! Me! After he was the one building that damnable warship of his!" 

"Er......okay", Hen said. He had clearly missed out on something important.

"We're going to the Guild", Jessie said. "Now. You....Guy", she said to Oscar,, not remembering his name, "You used to work there, right? You know the way?"

"Yes, I know the way. And I bet they have'nt changed the passwords either, even after all this time. Shell always let security slide."

"Good. Come on, we're going.", Jessie said.

"Wait", Hen said, "Are you guys sure about this? Just because some old guy said..."

"NOW! Get going! It's destiny! And it won't wait!"

Hen was left staring blankly in the bar as the two went out the door. He was silent for a moment, looked down at the table, picked up a glass and then turned to the barkeeper across the room "What the hell did you put in this?"

The barkeeper stared at him, and gave him a low growl in return. Hen Lurker put the glass down, raised his hands apologetically, and then raced after his friends towards the Mad Science Guild.

Where all sorts of hell was about to break loose.


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Dec 3, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

I acted as quickly as possible, desperately cobbling together an  invisible array of cosmic particles around us, a dome of protection  perhaps four meters across. Even now, I could see how quickly the purple  vapor diffused into the air, already taking up much of the usable air.

I  glanced at the downed guards, unconsciousness. They would helpless  against the gas, but there was nothing I could do. The gigantic metal  wall blocked any hope of escape.

"Can you blast through the floor or something?" Finn said, eyes darting back and forth. He was clearly on the verge of panic. 

I  hesitated and closed my eyes, willing all of concentration on the  shield. I then shifted my focus, bearing will towards the ground,  sending out a single magnetic pulse.

The feedback confirmed my  suspicions. The floor was heavily reinforced. No, that was an  understatement - it was at least twice as thick as the metal wall in  front of us. 

I could probably break through it - with time. But time wasn't our ally right now.

I shook my head. "It's heavily reinforced, and while I'm maintaining this shield I don't  think I can really do much."

Unfortunately, my control over my  abilities wasn't the greatest in the world. Doing two things at once  already strained me as it was. Trying to maintain a corporeal shield  while pounding the heck out of this floor would push me to my limits as  it was.

A troubling thought came into the forefront of my mind. "How much air do you think we have left?"

"I don't know, a few minutes?" replied Finn. "Dammit, we were so stupid!" he shouted, grabbing his hair.  "We should have planned better, or gathered a larger group before trying  a stunt like this. Now we're going to die, and Chachamaru has been  captured and will probably be killed too, and we'll never complete  anything we set out to do, and-"

He began breathing and talking  faster, getting more and more excited. I had to stop him before he went  into a full panic attack, or used up all of our air. 

"Calm down!  Panicking won't solve anything," I said, trying my best to assuage him.  "There has to be a way out of this. We just need to think."

Nice  words, Kent. Did I even have the sliver of an idea of how I was going  to act on them? There seemed to be no way out of this debacle. Was I  really going to die like this, here...

What in the world? 

Finn had seen it too. "Do you see that?"

I nodded numbly, dazed. "Yeah, I do."

"Good, then it's not just me," Finn said, continuing to stare at it.

It  was a gigantic freaking cockroach, an image of nightmare. Two dark  pools stared at us, its mandibles working horrifically. Its outer wings  were a deep brown, and looked as hard as solid stone. 

And for some reason I couldn't possibly fathom, it wore an impressive looking top hat. What the hell?

It scrambled at an alarming rate as it advanced upon us. 

It paused, cocking its head slightly as it began chittering nonsensically, raising a single chitinous leg.  

It didn't seem hostile. It hadn't attempted to attack us or another. Instead, it continued chittering rapidly.

Was it trying to say something to us?

"Do  you have any idea what it's saying?" I asked. I began to feel a little  lightheaded. What I wouldn't give to go to sleep right now... I snapped  to attention immediately. That was _not_ good. We were running out of air. I could not afford to lose consciousness.

Finn nodded in reply. "Actually, I think I do. My power lets me get in touch with animals and creatures."

Well,  that was interesting to say the least. Though I wonder how one could  understand an animal. It wasn't like it thought in English or something.

Finn  answered my unspoken question. "I can't exactly read their minds, but I  have a general idea of what's going one. It says that two others broke  in here with it, but they couldn't go farther because of the gas, which  apparently doesn't affect cockroaches. It wants us to follow it back  up."

I stared, impressed. He had gotten all that from _just_ a general impression of the creature's mind. 

Anyway, there was a problem with that idea. "But aren't the stairs to Sublevel A sealed off too?"

Finn shrugged. "I would think so, but that bug apparently got in here somehow."

That  still didn't make sense, but it wasn't like I could see any other  options. We'd go with the bug for now. We followed the cockroach back to  where we had come from the Sublevel B access. I made sure that my  shield went with us.

We were greeted with yet another enormous  metal wall. Well so much for that idea. The cockroach however simply  crawled up to the wall. Raising itself on its hind legs, it tapped the  wall in a rhythmic pattern. 1, pause, 1, pause, 2, pause, 3, pause, 5,  pause...

Where the hell had this cockroach learned the Fibonacci sequence? 

Suddenly, corporeal _darkness_ oozed out from beneath the wall, spinning into a humanoid shape. Ghastly eyes opened and a face of nightmare greeted me. 

Wait, hadn't I seen this guy before? The thing had the same reaction as myself, recoiling in recognition.

"Come on," he rasped, hacking. "Grab hold of me, I don't have much time."

I  wasn't about to grab onto whatever this thing was, but the cockroach  took his hand. Finn tried to reach for the stranger's hand, but was  blocked by my invisible barrier.

Oh what the hell. I opened a  small hole in the barrier and we took his hand. The next moment was  confusing to say the least. I felt like I was drowning in darkness,  pools of atramental blood pouring down my throat...

Suddenly, we  returned to reality. I stared, the familiar sight of Sublevel A greeting  us. The wraith continued to cough and somehow, we had escaped through  an entire floor up to Sublevel A.

I knew I had seen this being before. Just yesterday in fact? "Wait -  aren't you that Phantom we saw earlier? The one with the huge bounty on  his head?"

The wraith tensed, as if readying himself for battle. I  already began forming a bolt of cosmic power, ready to unleash if  necessary.

"If you mean to collect, you won't find it easy," rasped the Phantom.

"Now wait a minute," said Finn in placating tones, holding his hands in  the air. "We're not your enemies. In fact we'd like to thank you for  saving us."

I stared at the Phantom and he back at me. Neither of  us moved for a few seconds, but then he finally relaxed and I let the  bolt dissipate back into intangibility. 

Another man, dressed in a  pale green shirt and faded jeans, came up and shook Finn's hand. "It's a  pleasure," he said, in a strange and archaic accent. "It looks like you  two already did a number on the upper levels, but you're luck we found  you when we did. My name is Richard Cri - "

"There will be time  for introductions later," Finn interrupted. "But right now we need your  help! Our friend has been captured by these mad scientists and she's in  terrible danger! You need to help us rescue her."

The man, Richard, seemed to ponder that for a second but then his eyes  suddenly rolled into the back of his head. Before I could figure out  what the hell was going on, Richard's face contorted into a bestial  snarl and he grabbed Finn around the throat, lifting him effortlessly  into the air.

"You dare mess with my host's mind boy!" Richard screamed in a voice entirely different. 

Finn  began to choke, legs flailing and I immediately drew the rifle in a  single smooth motion, the front sight post settling on the man's head as  I flicked the selector lever to semi-automatic.

"Let him down!" I shouted. "Now, or I shoot!" 

The cockroach began to chitter rapidly, as if in anger and drew something from its hat, some kind of doll.

Suddenly,  darkness had coalesced into the image of scythe, gripped by that  wraith. It brought down on Richard's neck, letting it rest there. 

"Let him go, Samedi. Now!" The wraith rasped violently. 

Samedi, who was that? 

"Remember our arrangement, put Crichton back in control. I will kill the body if you don't - you need it far more than I do."

Richard, if that was who was anyway, sneered. "You assume much, chosen of Erebus, you think you can order The Loa around?"

The  wraith took that in stride, saying, "Without that body you'll be  powerless again, now do it, or you and your brethren will be nothing  more than harmless wandering spirits."

Was this man... possessed or something? I still had very little idea what was going on. 

Terrible rage flashed through the man's face, but suddenly he sagged,  letting go of Finn. Finn fell, gasping for breath, his face slightly  blue.

Richard blinked his eyes several times before stating in a horrified tone, "Oh my! I'm terribly sorry about that my boy."

Finn stared at the man, Richard or Crichton or Samedi or whoever the  hell he was. He looked at me and shook his head. At that, I slowly  lowered the rifle at that point, safing the weapon and slung it over my  shoulder. 

Finn replied hoarsely, "Don't worry about it. But my request still stands, will you three help me save my friend?"

The Phantom sighed. "That depends. on what are we going to do about the damned gas?"

A voice sounded from behind us. "I think I can help you with that."

Yet another man approached us. I examined him warily. Did these people fall from the sky or something.

The wraith only said, "And how would you do that might I ask?"

 "Quite easily." replied the man. He simply waved his hand and the gas retreated. I stared at him, startled. Did he have powers similar to my own?

The Phantom only said, "Why are you helping us?"

The man shrugged. "I don't like to see good people hurt. And from what I seen, whoever runs this place isn't exactly what you would call a saint. You can call me Archon."

He then turned to Finn and I. "Your friend is deeper in this compound. I can lead..."

Wait, what? How did he know about Chachamaru? What was going on here?

He then paused, cocking his head. "Shit," he muttered. "It looks like someone's coming for us."


----------



## Stunna (Dec 3, 2010)

As soon as Mask finished his count, the doors were forced open, and a squad of guards open fired into the elevator. A rain of bullets mangled the body, blood splattering all over the walls. The body slumped then fell over. The guards proceeded to take the body and put it in a bag. The same was done for the bodies of the guards. They were carried through the lobby, but everyone acted as if it was a normal occurrence. As soon as the bodies exited the building, the bag containing one of the un-mutilated bodies was slashed open from inside, and Mask launched out. Before the guards could react, he slashed them both in the necks, and made a dash for it.

“Perfect! It was a stretch, but somehow I was able to use my Mask of Control to possess that empty shell of a body! Then, after it was destroyed, I was put back in my body, which I disguised as a guard!!” He exclaimed as he continued to run as fast as he could to the city wall. “Argh!!!” The pain in Mask’s leg sharply reminded him that his wound was still there, and he fumbled to the ground in pain.

“We’ve got him now!” A guard exclaimed. A whole group of them were catching up to Mask.

“Darn… it can’t end like this…!!!” Mask shouted as loudly as he could.

“And it won’t!” An unknown voice answered out.

Three cloaked figures dropped down in front of Mask, and stood. The guards halted in their tracks and began pulling out their guns. The clocked figure in the front raised his right hand, and the other figure on his right responded, “Right!” He removed his hood, revealing a mask!

“W-what…” Mask mumbled.

“Take this!!” The masked man wearing a cloak exclaimed, as beams shot from the eye slits on his mask. He fired a beam at each guard, hitting their hands, and knocking away their guns.

“We don’t need firearms to handle you punks!!” They shouted as they grabbed their batons and rushed at the three of them. The cloaked man in the front raised his left hand, and the cloaked man on the left did the same as the right. 

“Okay!” A giant hand of energy emitted from his mask and scooped up all of the guards in a single hand. “Any last words, ‘punks’?”

“Mayor Ma…!”

“Too late.” The energy hand crushed all of the guards and then tossed them off into the air. The hand returned to the mask, and the two masked men put their hoods back on. The cloaked man in the front turned and threw Mask over his shoulder.

“Who the hell do you…” Mask began.

“Sleep.” The cloaked man said. His eye slits began glowing, and Mask began to fall into a deep sleep.
*
Sometime Later…*

Mask woke up abruptly in a bed. It wasn’t his bed… he didn’t know where he was. He grabbed his face in grogginess, but came to a shocking realization. He wasn’t wearing his mask.

“My… mask… WHERE THE FUCK IS MY MAAASSSKKKKKK!!!!!??”

A masked man with jet black hair entered the room. “So I guess sleeping beauty is awake. Morning. The name’s Claus.”


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## masamune1 (Dec 3, 2010)

Doctor McCoy was busy packing up the essentials into his lab bag. He was well aware the compound was under attack from multiple intruders, three of whom had entered via the Chute of Rainbows (God, he loved that name!). Shell had gone nuts and gassed the halls, killing several assistants but no interlopers. He was not intending to hang around for either Shell or these guys to kill him too. Looks like he would be the only survivor of the doomed Guild of Pandemonium.

"Doctor McCoy. What are you doing?"

McCoy yelped at the voice and turned around, falling except for catching himself on his lab desk. He faced the hologram in his lab, the hologram of his boss.

"Doc..Doctor Fleming! Sir! I was...I was just.."

"Our scans show you have suffered multiple intrusions in the last hour alone. Three separate intrusions, all their life signs still active. Are you having trouble?"

Doctor Josef Fleming was an intimidating man to speak to on the best of days. Supreme Head of the (Mad) Science Guild, headquarters said to be in another dimension, he certainly had an otherworldly look about him. The Plague Doctor, they called him, named for that grotesque mask he always wore. A long gray bird-beak with blackened glass eyes, the kind worn by medics centuries ago in the belief it protected them from the Black Death. And Death was something Fleming handed out often, and coldly, utterly without remorse.

"Doc...It's Doctor Shell, sir. He's gone mad.....Madder than usual. He sent his cyborgs out into the city and they caused all sorts of destruction and now these people are here and we can't seem to stop them and...."

"Be quiet", The Plague Doctor calmly said. "I'm well aware of yesterdays mishaps. Everyone is. It was the worst disaster in the history of the Guild."

McCoy was silent for a moment, but then said "But surely...the accident at Nevi'im..."

"That was no accident. The experiment went exact as planned."

"I....I see." He should have known. The deaths of thousands in a biological incident (involving Nazi dinosurs). What was so bad about that to the Guild? To Fleming? It's why he wanted to leave. Maybe their did'nt have to be _any_ survivors of this mess. The Guild can't find a dead man, and McCoy....

"I asked what you were doing", Fleming repeated. 

"I....I was....getting together my notes. The Guild is lost. Doctor Shell can't hold back the intruders. He's already captured one of them but she's a machine and he's so obsessed with studying her that he's letting the others wreck havoc and..."

"He has Chachamaru. That is good. He should be able to power his machine and get it in the air. Everything is proceeding according to plan."

_This_ did surprise McCoy. "Wait...what? What do you mean?"

"The Pandemonium Guild has outlived it's usefulness", Fleming calmly noted. "It was always a hazard setting up shop in such a dangerous city. We have decided to terminate all projects therein. Your final service will be to die, and to unleash the god Set in the process. It is neccesary, to bring our subjects together, the intruders in the building. They will grow thanks to these experiences." 

McCoy stood dumbfounded at these revelations. Everything that was going on, all this chaos, was all calculated by this man, this inhuman creature. It took him a moment to remember the most important thing he just said "Wait...Die? No, no no no no no. I....I can help you. I can bring you my research, join another division. I can...."

"It's too late, Doctor. I have no interest in your research. And I cannot chance that you will escape."

McCoy stared blankly at the monster in the room with him. Then he felt it, the blood running down his nose, out of his eyes. The pain in his head. Another city, another country, even another dimension, no-where was too far that the Plague Doctor could'nt reach you. McCoy keeled over in a violent seizure, shook horridly on the floor, then died. 

The Plague Doctor looked down on the dead man, and then terminated the hologram.


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## Platinum (Dec 3, 2010)

Every time he slept he returned to that hellish world. And every time that man in the Overcoat was there cloaked in distant and twisting shadows.

"Why do you fear me? You do not even know who I am nor my goals which I want to achieve, but it is okay. Fear is what keeps us alive, it has allowed us to survive as a species, so I understand you feelings misguided as they may be. You see contrary to what you think you are not my enemy and even though you will not obey me willingly your actions will be key to orchestrating my plans. Some nights I will return you once again to this realm and guide you down your predestined path and others I will leave you to your own devices. Though even on those nights where I do not directly speak to you I will always be in the back of your mind, the invisible hand that pushes you ever forward.

You cannot change this for it has already occurred, but enough about this, for I must tell you about the imminent future. When you reach Pandemonium you will be caught up in events you never could have possibly imagined. Events you had no interest in joining. But fate works in mysterious ways as you will soon see. First though you must meet up with you friend from the zodiac. You will find her in a familiar place."

Once again the world faded and dissolved around him and he woke up. This constant ventures into this mental farscape had begun taking a toll on him mentally. But he was ever so close to Pandemonium. Only a day or two away now. He did not like being treated like a tool by this mysterious man. Once he met up with him he would be sure to let him know so once he got to the city.

With a grunt he packed up his belongings and set out for Pandemonium.


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 3, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

There was a low rumbling to our left and I could see the wall shaking, bits of plaster and dust falling slowly to the ground. Then it simply exploded and chunks of stone rocketed towards us at transonic speeds. 

My shield was up, almost by reflex, catching the projectiles barely ten feet from us. They bounced off an invisible barrier, crashing loudly to the ground. 

"What the hell!" Finn exclaimed, who had nearly gotten decapitated just then. 

Out from the massive hole in the wall stepped two figures. One of them was tall and slender, the other short and fat. Both had impressive looking afros and large lights protruding from their heads.

The cyborgs.

_Again_. 

"You two again?" the Phantom rasped.

The Archon glanced at the wraith, surprised. "You know these two?"

"They're the ones who destroyed the Lower Quarter yesterday," I said, already gathering cosmic power into the shape of a lance. 

"And the ones who took our friend," Finn said with cold anger, standing up beside me.

"It seems our reputation precedes us," the taller one sneered. He gave a mocking bow. "The name's Afrolicious."

"And Sugarboy!" exclaimed the shorter one. He then got bopped on the head by Afro. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Did I say you could talk you idiot?" he snarled. 

"What are their capabilities?" Archon whispered.

"Fast," rasped the Phantom. "Extremely durable. Their aim sucks, but try not to take them lightly."

"They can shoot cannonballs at supersonic speeds," Finn said. "And they can generate electrical blasts."

"Weaknesses?" Richard inquired.

I shrugged. "Didn't find any last time. Right now we outnumber them. Let's abuse that advantage."

"Less talking, more fighting," the Phantom snarled. Darkness coalesced in his left hand into the shape of a spear and he hurled it, a spiraling mass of black energy rocketing towards the two cyborgs.

They disengaged at the same time, effortlessly dodging the bolt. And with that, the fight was _on_. 

I threw the cosmic lance I had prepared. Invisible force screamed through the air, tearing through steel tables as if they were paper. It struck the taller one, Afrolicious, but he simply rolled backwards, lessening the force of the blow.

At this, Sugarboy bent down, a hole opening in his head and there was a resounding _boom!, _painfully loud in this enclosed space, as the cannonball tore through the air. 

Behind me, the Archon raked a single hand and the cannonball was deflected upwards, smashing several lights and raining sharp glass all around us. 

At this, Afrolicious leaped into the air and came crashing down, striking the ground with almighty force. The ground shook and undulated in a slow wave of destructive force that radiated outward. 

I pushed Finn and Richard away, coming in front of it, raising yet another shield of cosmic force. I felt the pressure of that blow like a hammer against my mind, but my shield held. 

"Stay down!" I shouted to Finn and Richard. In a fight like this, they were little more than liabilities. I tried to hit Afro with another bolt of power, but he simply lowered his head, verdant lightning crackling along the edges.

My eyes widened as I already prepared the shield.

Then the world was drowned out in a single pulse of sound and light, as superheated air erupted. Ozone filled my lungs and I coughed. The shield had held, but I had felt the backlash of energy in my mind, driving me to my knees. 

All of this had happened in perhaps ten seconds. The room was ruined, scorch marks and holes everywhere.

The Archon took that opportunity to enter the fray and raised his hand. Several tables rose and launched themselves at the cyborgs. 

"Don't take us so lightly!" Afrolicious snarled as he deftly and effortlessly dodged each one. Sugarboy almost boredly shot each table out of the air with a precisely aimed cannonball.

"Alright," the Phantom muttered. "Forget what I said about them having bad aim."

"We got an upgrade, friend!" Afro sneered. He casually picked up a desk and threw it at us. I caught it with another shield, forced to do nothing but defend. Just a stray shot alone could kill Finn and Richard. But I couldn't attack the same time I protected them.

In any case, the Phantom and the Archon stepped up, facing the two cyborgs.

"Haven't seen you before," Sugarboy commented, looking at the Archon. 

"We hope you're more fun than that green-haired bitch anyway," Afro smirked.

"You bastards!" Finn snarled, but I forced him down. "Stay down!" I all but commanded. 

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Afro mockingly gestured. "_Come on_."

One second the Phantom was there. In the next, the wraith dissolved into darkness and reformed behind Sugarboy, a sword of dark power whirling through the air. 

But, with deceptive ease, Sugarboy caught the blade between his hands and then knocked the Phantom to the side. The wraith snarled, hopping back to his feet and ducked a side kick. He then dissolved into the darkness again, a cannonball flying through where he had been.

It held against my shield. I gritted my teeth. We were practically going to eat every one of their missed attacks! 

Meanwhile, the Archon had his hands full. He waved his hand in a slow, horizontal arc. The ground rose in a six-foot wave of gray death towards Afro. 

"Too slow human!" Afro almost effortlessly jumped over the wave, his head aimed towards the Archon. My eyes widened. I would not be able to disengage my shield and protect him in time. But, the cannonball crumpled against some invisible force. 

The Archon merely narrowed his eyes, launching another table at Afro, who simply smashed through it in a cloud of metal shards. 

"Is that all you've got?" he mocked, before dancing out of the way of another table.

Meanwhile, Sugarboy caught the Phantom on the legs, driving him to the ground. The cyborg brought his fist back but the Phantom dissolved into nothingness again, reforming a few feet away. 

He executed a swift series of punches, one after another, like a Wing Chun stylist. But Sugarboy simply deflected them all, before ducking a right straight and finally catching the Phantom with a wicked fast hook to the liver.

The Phantom tried dodging in time, but too late. A glancing blow sent him spinning away. He scarcely managed to dissolve in time before the cannonball rocketed through the air, caught against my shield again.

This wasn't looking good. We were losing.

Behind me, the cockroach chittered rapidly. Richard blinked before nodding, "Good idea Susan!"

.... Susan. He called his pet cockroach _Susan_.

It, or she, or whatever dropped its top hat. Three misshapen dolls fell out. Then one of them opened its freaking _eyes_. I almost stumbled back in shock, but all three rose, heads cocked. The cockroach chittered rapid commands and the dolls approached the fray.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked Finn.

"She's some kind of voodoo master," he said, sounding as bewildered as me. "Those dolls are basically going to help out."

I looked skeptical but I opened the shield slightly, letting them enter the battle. One of them ran at Afro, who was laughing as he pelted the Archon with cannonballs. Each one was expertly intercepted by an invisible barrier, but I could see beads of sweat forming on his brow.

One of the dolls then picked up an _entire section of the broken ground_ and threw it like a spear at Afro. He looked surprised at this sudden onslaught but he simply punched his way through it, before striking the doll with a vicious shin kick. 

It went flying away, through the hole in the wall and away. 

The other two dolls attacked Sugarboy, but he had no difficult keeping up with the two dolls _and_ the Phantom at the same time. He too expertly hit both dolls with two precisely aimed cannonballs. They splatted against the walls, singed but still somehow intact.

Beside me, Richard shrugged helplessly. "My wife still has much to learn about the voodoo arts," he said, rubbing the cockroach's wings affectionately.

I stared and had to stop myself from gagging. I forced myself back to the scene at hand. 

Afro was getting visibly frustrated at this point. The Archon had not tagged him once during this entire fight, but neither had Afro. Every single cannonball was expertly and efficiently blocked. 

"Fight fair you son of a bitch!" he screamed before charging at the Archon. He brought his fist back for a massive haymaker.

Then he slammed headlong into the Archon's shield. "Sucker," the man muttered before invisible force launched Afro away at nearly transonic speeds into the metal wall we had come behind. 

Afro fell to the ground, a human shaped dent in the wall but he stood up, grinning. "Not bad, not bad. For a human. But I bet you're not ready for this!" 

He lowered his head, azure energy crackling along the hole in his head. The Phantom saw this, his ghastly eyes widening.

"Get away!" he shouted and the Archon scarcely fell to the ground before a screaming lance of blue energy ripped through the air. It simply vaporized the metal tables caught in its path before it tore a burning hole through the wall just behind us.

"What in the hell?" The Archon exclaimed. That had been the blasts of energy we had seen earlier, the ones which could rip through an entire city unabated. 

"Like it?" Afro grinned. "The doc said we could play with this again."

The Archon responded with another blast of force, but Afro easily dodged it. "Come on human, I know you can do better than that!"


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## Endless Mike (Dec 4, 2010)

*Deep Laboratory level*

"Huh. Resilient one, aren't you?" Dr. Shell grunted in disappointment, as he turned off the level 100 shock torture.

"I..t-told you, you w-won't get an-anything from me..." Chachamaru rasped, her pained voice barely above a whisper.

"Perhaps it's time for a new tactic then," responded the mad scientist.

"Are those two dead yet?" he asked, turning around to face one of his assistants.

The red-haired woman wearing a lab coat had an incredibly exasperated expression on her face. "No doctor, that's what we've been trying to tell you. We've been tracking 4 new intruders, and they rescued them. The new intruders seem to have unusual powers as well. We have identified one of them as the so - called Phantom of the Slums."

"What!?" the mad doctor replied with outrage. "How did they-"

"No idea, we're apparently just a magnet for trouble today," replied the woman, somewhat sarcastically.

"Don't you ever take anything seriously, Dr. Rosenberg!?" Shell berated her.

"At least I've been actually focusing on the situation, instead of obsessing over that robot," she said, a hint of a smirk playing on her face.

"Arrgh... never mind that! What can we do to delay these guys?"

"I've already retrofitted the afrodroids with weaker versions of the prototype energy cannons and deployed them," she said, he eyes moving over the clipboard she was carrying. "They should be engaging the intruders momentarily."

"I never gave you permission to do that!" yelled Dr. Shell, clearly furious now.

"You wouldn't listen to anything anyone was saying, so I took matters into my own hands. Would you like me to recall them?"

He viewed the camera feed of the group and watched as one managed to somehow disperse the dangerous gas that had began seeping into Sublevel A with only a gesture.

Growling angrily, Dr. Shell finally said "No, let them go. We need to buy some time. This is clearly the end for the Pandemonium Mad Science Guild, so I say we go out with a bang. The fact that the mayor has left the city makes this an even more opportune moment. It's time to enact Operation Gibraltar."

The female scientist gasped. "Seriously? I thought you gave up on that since you couldn't find a way to power the ship for more than 10 minutes."

Shell smiled evilly. "While I was, as you say, obsessing over that robot, I found the solution." He gestured toward his helpless captive.

"Her power source seems to harness a form of ambient energy that is common in this world, and highly concentrated within the city. I still don't fully understand all of the technical details, but building an upscaled version should not be difficult. I've already entered the blueprints into the nanoassember matrix. I estimate we only have to hold out for about 30 minutes until it's complete. Then we can say goodbye to this wretched city once and for all!"

Overhearing this, Chachamaru realized that if he already had the information he needed, the intense torture sessions she had been through had been for nothing. This man was vile.

Dr. Iris Rosenberg was taken aback as well, but for a different reason. She often considered her boss to be incompetent and unstable, but occasionally he was able to pull off a feat of genius like this. She knew there was a reason she took orders from him.

"Very well," she replied. "I will continue to coordinate our defenses. What are you going to do with it?" She gestured towards Chachamaru, who, overhearing the conversation, was quite irked at being referred to as "it", but was more worried about the safety of her friends and the city.

"Like I said, the upscaled generator design is a very rough prototype. It would be a good idea to bring her along for further study in case anything goes wrong."

Dr. Rosenberg turned to a nearby monitor, watching the ongoing fight. "It looks like we're going to make this with time to spare anyway, as the cyborgs are winning. These intruders aren't that tough."


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## Stunna (Dec 4, 2010)

“Like I care!! Give me my mask!!” Mask barked, as he rose up from the bed. Claus quickly jumped onto the bed, like an ape, and pushed him back down.

“That’s a no-no! I’m afraid that if you keep up like that, your injuries may never recover!” Claus playfully taunted at him. Mask lashed out at Claus.

“Get off me!” He exclaimed. Mask leapt into the air, and pulled off and flipped through the air, landing flawlessly, before letting out a triumphant, “Tada!”

“I think I deserve a 10 out of 10 for that one! Been practicing for ages! What do you think?” He inquired. He seemed so sincere, which was somewhat off putting.

“I think you should shut up!! Give me my mask, and tell me where the hell am I? And who are you guys, running around wearing masks like me!!? With powers, nonetheless!!” Mask demanded.

“Who are you to ask us that? Do you even know where your powers come from?” Claus quickly snapped back. His ‘innocent’ composure was still intact, but their was a hint of authority in his voice this time. His statement hit Mask like a car. A feeling he knew all too well.

“T-That’s irrelevant! Now answer me!! Who are you!?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We’re the Masked Bandits!” Claus informed with extravagance.

“Impossible! I’m the leader of the Masked Bandits! I would know if my subordinates had powers, and they don’t!”

“But Mask. You don’t even know that YOUR Masked Bandits are dead. You see… you and I are a part of something much more bigger than ourselves.” As Claus continued to talk, his attitude changed more and more. “And now, you’re going to shut up. And I’m going to do the talking.” His playful mannerisms returned. “Cool?”


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 4, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

The Phantom dissolved away from another cannonball, forced to do little else but defend. He formed another sword of darkness in his hands, but Sugarboy simply knocked that away. He lowered his head, grinning.

The Archon couldn't do anything. He had his hands full with Afro. The cyborg laughed and dodged attacks, launching bolts of deadly energy very so often.

Sugarboy pressed his foot against the Phantom's chest, the wraith finally spent after the vicious, losing fight. "Bye, bye!" the cyborg smiled, azure energy whirling around him.

_Enough.
_
A bolt of cosmic force launched Sugarboy away, the crackling energy dissipating to nothingness. A sudden spike of 10 G brought Afro's leap crashing to a halt as he slammed unceremoniously to the ground.

I strode over to where the Phantom was, breathing heavily.

"Go and protect the others," I said. "Archon and I can take it from here."

The wraith hesitated but nodded once. He rose, limping over to Finn and Richard.

The two cyborgs stood up, hatred shining in their eyes.

"So, the little kid thinks he's a big He-Man, is he?" Afro sneered.

"Is this the part where you monologue us to death?" I asked nonchalantly before suddenly launching another cosmic lance.

The two dodged it with ease, running along the walls opposite us and then jumped towards us.

The Archon raised an idle hand, catching the two cyborgs in an invisible shield. I got the cue.

"See ya!" I snarled, unleashing my will.

This time I got them dead on, the invisible force lashed against them, sending them slamming into the ceiling. The room rumbled from the force of that blow and they fell, plaster and concrete raining down.

The Archon raised another hand and the cyborgs were sent crashing through the length of the room, tearing a long streak along the wall before finally crashing against the metal partition again. 

Afro flipped over into a feline crouch, roaring incoherently. Cerulean energy flashed. My eyes widened and I barely formed a lattice of cosmic force. Blue light blinded me and I could feel the energy like a tidal wave against my mind. But I kept pouring more and more energy into the shield.

Then the light vanished and I nearly collapsed from the strain of keeping the shield up. Beside me, the Archon was in similar straits.

"Damn it," he muttered. "Could barely keep my shield up."

I stared. Even with the combined efforts of our shields, we had still almost ended up being vaporized. 

I tried gravity again. I concentrated the locus of gravity around them to about as high I could manage, nearly 20 G. For perspective, if you were a 500 pound cyborg, you now weighed over _five tons_. 

The two cyborgs collapsed suddenly, crashing to the ground with two metallic clanks. But, even as I strained to maintain the pressure, they both rose slowly. They were overcoming twenty Gs of force!

The Archon got the hint and he began to pelt the two nearly immobilized cyborgs with everything he had. Steel desks, which we were running out of, crashed against the two and were only cleaved in two. Fragments of stone and concrete rocketed towards the pair, crumbling to dust against them. Even blasts of pure force served to only knock them down, as they began to rise again.

I desperately kept the power on them, straining myself to increase the pressure. I could get it up to about 25 G, but still they rose. To say I was amazed was an understatement. We had literally hit these cyborgs with nearly everything we had, but they just took it in stride.

The two cyborgs crouched, despite the enormous gravitational influence around them. They linked hands and verdant energy spiraled and crackled around them.

Green lightning filled the space between us in a heartbeat and I dropped the locus of gravity. This time, instead using a shield of cosmic energy to directly block the bolt, I created an altered field of magnetic force around us, channeling the electrical force uselessly away to the floor, grounding the current.

The Archon sent another bolt of force at the pair, but they snaked under it, rising to their feet gracefully. They shook off dust and concrete from their shoulders, not even dented from our onslaught.

Afro let out an uproarious cackle. "Is this seriously all you guys can do? Pathetic!" 

"Yeah!" shouted Sugarboy. "We can take you guys on any day of the week!"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Afro smashed his fist over Sugarboy's head. "I'm the only one allowed to taunt them."

"Wow," the Archon said beside me. "Is there any way we can harm them?"

"I do not recall these two being so powerful," the Phantom said hoarsely behind us. "The Guild must have upgraded them, bastards."

"There must be something we can do," Finn said helplessly.

"Done with the therapy session back there?" Afro jeered, before launching a section of the wall at us. It broke against our collective shields, pieces of concrete and steel raining around us. 

They took that momentary distraction to rush us. I barely got a shield up in time before Afro was on top of me, smashing his fist against my shield with earth-cracking force. He kept pounding on the shield, the feedback painfully apparent in my mind. 

Releasing this shield to blast him would probably be a bad idea. He was likely much faster than I was and besides, those blasts hadn't really affected them that much. 

Instead, concentrating as hard as I could, I created an inverted locus of gravity directly above him. Suddenly, Afro was sent flying upwards like a rocket, hitting the ceiling and then crashing back to the ground.

Beside me, I could see Sugarboy flying uselessly away, crashing against Afro and sending the two tumbling away. The Archon stumbled to his feet, somewhat shaken by the brief melee attack.

The two cyborgs were unfazed, getting back to their feet just as easily. I stared. This fight was going _nowhere_ and fast.

"This isn't really working!" I said to the rest, scarcely channeling another burst of electrical energy.

"Do they have _any_ weaknesses?" Finn asked.

Richard shrugged helplessly. "They seem to be particularly advanced cyborgs. If brute physical force was insufficient, I doubt we have much to offer. Those power generators of theirs allow them to fight almost indefinitely."

_Goddamn_. How the hell were we going to get past this? It wasn't like we could wait for their power generators to burn out....

Wait. _Wait!_ That was it!

I nearly failed to block a cannonball in excitement, but I turned to the group.

"Richard," I said suddenly. "If you were able to magnetically disrupt their power generators, would that stop them?" 

Finn's eyes widened in understanding, but Richard replied confusedly, "Theoretically, but I don't see anyway how we can accomplish - "

"Leave it to me," I said, giving a fierce grin. "I'm going to need a distraction, something to hold them off for now. I need a minute or two at the most."

The Phantom stood up. "Leave it to me," he rasped. "But make it quick, whatever you're planning to do."

He dissolved to the ground and sent Afro flying away with an unexpected strike, a mace of darkness held in his hand.

Afro rolled back onto his feet. "Back for more?" he snarled.

"Shut up and fight," said the Phantom and it was on. 

Tendrils of darkness freed themselves and lashed out at the two cyborgs, who either ducked them or blocked them with ease. The Archon was working frantically, shielding the Phantom at times or throwing bolt after bolt of power at the two - to no avail.

It was a losing fight, but that was okay. They just needed to last for a couple of minutes.

I sat beside Richard and the cockroach Susan, closing my eyes.

"What are you doing?" inquired Richard, the cockroach chittering behind me. 

"Quiet!" said Finn. I almost chuckled. With the constant cacophony of battle around us, quiet wasn't something that was really possible right now.

But, I set those thoughts aside and dove into the framework of the world. Reality washed away and my human senses faded to nothingness, replaced only with a perception of lines of power crisscrossing the world. They were lattices of magnetic force, an almost awesome sum of energies.

But, I ignored that for now. The ambient power was not what I was looking for. I felt sporadic bursts of energy from two loci not very far from myself. I traced my will down the connection and came up against a wall.

I felt... nothing. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I dimly noted that I had met a Faraday cage, which prevented typical electromagnetic interference. I could feel a faint, constant pulsation within and I knew that was what I was looking for. I tried to force myself past it, but the shield was quite strong, a much stronger cage than the one had been outside.

I drew more power to myself and _pushed_. Suddenly, I was past the cage and entered the heart itself. The power present here was massive, to say the least. I could feel the connections permeating every single pore of this being, a locus of energy that was easily gigajoules of energy. I concentrated my will on that core, a magnetic field wrapping around it and then the core of power burst, scattering into useless fragments of electrical current geared towards no end. The power dissipated to nothingness.

I withdrew from that connection, finding the other locus of energy. I repeated the process, finding the core of power and shorting it out. I finally went back and returned to reality.

I blinked, lying on my back. I got up, seeing the stunned expression on Richard's face. The two cyborgs stood, unmoving, their skins devoid of color somehow. 

Then a whipping tendril of darkness neatly separated Sugarboy's head from his shoulder. The Archon simply shouted a battle cry and pure force rocketed towards the two cyborgs.

They shattered into unrecognizable pieces of steel and wire, strewn across the ground like pieces of confetti.

I stared.

We had done it

We had won.


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## masamune1 (Dec 4, 2010)

High atop the Bowery skyline, in the dark night of his office space, a mysterious figure sat in the shadows. The large, spacious room was empty save for the lone man sitting at his desk, and pitch black save for the moonlight creeping through the windows, and the screenlight of the laptop atop his workplace. He was viewing the events of the previous few hours.

The video ended as Mask shot out the camera, having killed several armed men. He utilised his masks to execute a variety of effects, such as mind control or illusionary disguise. It seemed he even survived elevator crash, as his body was missing and those guards at the bottom were dead, though killed by others. At the end of this impressive performance of audacious break-ins and supernatural feats thrice in a row, the man in the shadows could say only one thing:

"My, how the mighty have fallen." 

He called himself Mask now, and led a second-rate street gang called the Masked Bandits- evidently originality died with his skills. He knew of this Mask, and was intrigued at such a blatant display of boldness and stupidity as his attempt to break into City Hall. But when he switched the masks, then there was a surprise. Just a second caught on camera, but enough to identify that face.

Who would have thought that after all this time, the boy had been hiding out in Pandemonium, right under his very nose? Did he even know he was taking such a risk? It seemed not- his memory, it seemed, was broken also. Why he was drawn to City Hall was anyone's guess.

The others would wonder at this miracle find. All these years he was in Pandemoium, and he expected them to think that he was as surprised as they. They did'nt trust him, believed him to be devious and deceptive. 

They knew him too well.  

Mask was that boy. The others were in the city. The Guild was finished, and Set was breaking free. Everything was falling into place. 

And soon, very soon, it would be time to make his move.


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## Serp (Dec 4, 2010)

The three of them stood out of sight, looking forward. 
"So that's the place?" Jessie asked.

"Kind of." Oscar replied, carring what looked like a large heavy object wrapped in a blanket on his back.

"What do you mean kind of?" Jessie asked.

"Well thats a way to them yes, but you can't just walk in and hope everything is dandy."

Jessie tilted her head. "Then what?"

"We must use finesse." 

"Use what?" Hen finally spoke up.

"He means we need to be nonces."

"Nonces?"

"Nevermind, animal tutti fruiti, what do we do? And you can drop that now, I must say thank you to that chinese resturant." Jessie giggle as Oscar dropped the object with a thud.

"Ok Hen what do you say?"


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## Endless Mike (Dec 4, 2010)

*Sublevel A*

Finn watched as the two cyborgs were dashed to pieces under the assault of Enigma and Archon. It was hard to believe, the two that had given them so much trouble had finally been defeated. He soon broke out of his reverie, though, and realized what needed to be done next.

Behind the wall the cyborgs had burst out of was a sharp vertical pit, with apparently no way of ascending or descending, other than a few irregular handholds on the side. The cyborgs must have climbed up this way.

"What is it, an elevator shaft?" asked Ed.

"What it is is our way down to rescue Chachamaru," replied Finn.

"But how will we descend? Climbing down would take far too long, and we have no idea what may be down there," replied the man, Crichton. Finn still shuddered at the memory of how the demon possessing this man had almost killed him.

The one known as Archon then spoke. "I believe if Mr. Kent and I combine our powers, we could create an inverted shield to slowly lower everyone down. I sense the shaft is only about 200 meters deep so it shouldn't take more than a minute or so."

"Sounds like a plan," Finn replied. "Let's make these bastards pay."

Archon and Edward walked to the edge of the shaft, both holding their arms outwards and creating an invisible cushion of force. Stepping on it themselves to show it was safe, they started softly floating downwards. The others quickly jumped on, except for Engima who teleported to join them. The two maintaining the field concentrated, their eyes closed, as they all descended into the darkness.

*Deep Laboratory Level*

"Doctor, the androids have been defeated. The intruders are on their way here!"

"Dammit!" shouted the aged scientist. "I thought they would at least buy us more time than this. We still have around 10 minutes until the Gibraltar is ready. Seal off all of the doors and bulkheads leading here, and gas the lower levels for good measure!"

"But sir, there are hundreds of people in those levels!" replied Dr. Rosenberg.

"Screw them, they were going to die anyway, only those of us aboard the Gibraltar will survive. That was my plan from the start!" He laughed with maniacal fury, causing the other scientist to shudder. Nevertheless, she followed his orders.

"You won't stop them. They're coming for you and you're going to pay for this, you monster," Chachamaru said defiantly from the table where she was still imprisoned.

"Someone shut her up," said Dr. Shell. A technician walked over to a console near her and deactivated her main power. Her eyes closed as she shut down.

*Deep Service Level 19C*

The group finally reached the bottom of the shaft, but nearly perished there as they began choking on more of the gas. Archon and Ed quickly altered their shield to keep it out. It was pitch-black down here, all of the power being rerouted for Dr. Shell's Operation Gibraltar. Generating an orb of glowing light in his hands, Ed illuminated the area for them. It was a rather nondescript corridor, but the horror came from the fact that it was littered with bodies, dead because of the unexpected gassing.

"The kind of people who would do this to their own allies..." Enigma rasped hatefully.

"Archon, do you know which direction-"

"That way," replied Jack, pointing down the hall. They all set out as fast as they could while still maintaining the shield. At the end of the hallway they came to another solid metal barrier, similar to the ones they encountered earlier.

"Alright boys and girls, you know the drill," said Enigma, as they all grabbed hold of him and he teleported them to the other side, expanding his powers to take the bubble of air they had with them. After bypassing a few more such partitions, however, the oxygen was beginning to run out.

"How much *gasp* farther, *gasp*" asked Finn, short of breath.

"Your friend should be just *gasp* beyond this next barrier," replied Archon, feeling the lack of air himself. After the next teleport, they were relieved by the fact that there was no gas in this room. In fact, there was not much of anything in this room. It was completely empty, except for the very center, where Chachamaru was tied to a table, a strange - looking device next to her.

"Chachamaru!" Finn yelled and ran up next to her, attempting to free her. His attempts proved futile though, as the restraints were far beyond the ability of human strength to break. Enigma walked up, releasing several shadow tendrils that neatly severed the ties. "Is she okay?" he asked.

Ed uses his senses to inspect the girl. "Luckily yes, she's fine, she's just deactivated," he replied.

"Deactivated?" asked Archon, puzzled.

"Long story," said Finn, as he slowly pulled her off of the table and turned her over on her back.

"She told me one time, she has an emergency reactivation switch, let's see, where was it... ah, here!"

Pressing a spot on her back, she slowly turned herself over, still weary and pained from the torture she had been put through.

"Chachamaru, are you alright?" Finn asked, very concerned.

"B-b-b-" She barely managed to get out.

"What? What's she trying to say?" asked Ed.

"B-bomb...."

The group immediately did a double - take, looking back at the strange device at the middle of the floor. Inspecting it more closely, they noticed a timer counting down, set to go off in 45 seconds.


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## Stunna (Dec 4, 2010)

“You can talk when I get my,” Mask began. “Ma…” However the words wouldn’t come out. His mouth began stitching and mending together, and the only noise he could make was muffled mumbling. He grasped where his mouth once was in distraught.

“This is _my_ Mask of Illusions. Now hush up and listen. I’ve a proposition for you. An offer to join the Masked Bandits. I wouldn’t take this lightly, as not just anyone gets one of these invitations.” Claus said. Mask slumped his head, apparently in thought. Claus stood there, awaiting some kind of response. Mask rose his hand slowly, and opened his palm towards Claus. “Hm?” A mouth grew in the palm of Mask’s hand and began speaking.

“Talk to the hand, cause I’m not listening.” The voice coming from the mouth confided in Claus.

“Ooh! Looks like someone’s got some real mental power!” Claus said, sarcastically.

=============
At this point, Mask proceeds to escape from his imprisonment at the hands of Claus, evading some “Masked Bandits”, and showing off some impressive agility and strength. However, this seems to be another case of his subconscious reactions. I will eventually come back and edit this, but after deleting my previous post, which contained all this action, I don’t feel like re-typing it. Sorry, lol. Just know that during this events, Mask escaped Claus and the others.
=============
Mask stood, looking over the wreckage that resulted from the his escapade and battle. Claus was presumably killed in the destruction of the building that Mask had just previously escaped.

“I don’t know what the heck is going on here…” Mask said to himself, as he slumped to the ground. He felt the mask he had stolen from one of the Masked Bandits. “But I’ve got to get to the bottom of these impostors. And as powerful as that Claus was, I think I’m going to need some help.”


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## Platinum (Dec 5, 2010)

And finally after days of walking he had arrived in Pandemonium. He met up with Scorpio, the two of them had agreed to meet up later once she had finished her job but for now they went their separate ways. 

He had a job to do as well. He was here and now he would observe. But where to start first?

He had no idea. But he had a feeling events would find him whether he wanted them to or not.


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## Stunna (Dec 5, 2010)

Mask slowly made his way back to his Masked Bandits hideout, believing that any remnants of the events at the Bowery walls would be there. Making sure not to attract any unwarranted attention, Mask made his way into the hideout.

“Anyone here? It’s Mask.” He called out, hoping for an answer. There was none. “Could it really be that everyone was taken out by Magear’s men…? It all happened so quickly. Over the course of the past 3 days, the entire gang has fallen apart… everyone dead. Except… me.” Mask spoke to himself, as he fell down as he slumped onto the floor. The hideout was dark. In the quiet of the night, Mask decided to allow himself to drift off into a deep sleep. A young woman, who looked about the age of 18, walked out from the shadows. She had apparently been hiding. Her clothes were old and raggedy, and she looked as if she were used to poverty. Everyone was outside of the Bowery.

“I had a feeling that someone was living here… but I was hoping they weren’t going to return so soon. Come on out, Cyrus. Rachel.” Two kids walked out of the shadows as well. The boy, Cyrus, looked to be about 14, and the girl, Rachel, looked about 6.

“Who’s this guy, Hall?” Cyrus asked. He seemed to have a consistent scowl on his face.

“Is he a bad guy, big sis?” Rachel asked, careful to hide behind Cyrus. Holly, the young woman, carefully came closer to Mask, inspecting him.

“This mask…” She noted. “This man is a Masked Bandit!”

“A MASKED BANDIT?!!?” Rachel cried. Cyrus quickly put his hand over her mouth. Her shout was so loud, it awoke Mask, who impulsively grabbed Holly by the throat.

“Who are you, and what the hell are you doing in this place.”


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 5, 2010)

Enigma looked around behind the bomb, and counted five wires sticking out of the back. "Five colors, Red, Yellow, Purple, Green, and Silver." he muttered. "Also there's a signature here...The Mad Bomber's Bomb Warehouse...Rapture."

35 seconds...30 Seconds.

"Cut the purple one...and then silver." Supplied Crichton after thinking about it for a second. Enigma made a small knife, while the others looked at the good doctor in confusion. "I'll explain in a moment..." he said to the rest of the team, while nodding at Enigma to continue. 20 seconds.

Enigma slid the knife under the purple wire and cut it, then waited a few seonds before cutting the silver one. The timer blinked off...and then the device started rattling as if alive. A moment later the bomb disappeared entirely as it suddenly winked out of existence. Enigma looked questiongly at Crichton, but Ed beat him to the question.

"So...what the hell just happened? That thing's not going to suddenly jump back out at us, when we're least expecting it is it?"

Crichton rubbed his chin for a moment for replying. "Possibly, though Dr. Swanson in Rapture probably won't bother. He loves to sell his time bombs and get the thrill out of people trying to figure out on how to disarm his bombs." he paused before gesturing towards where the bomb was before. "That was one of his most commen ones, as well the type most used by others throughout the guild. This type can figured out by a rhyme. 'Red and Green may kill a fellow. Yellow may leave no stain. Cut Purple and silver to save the day.' Quite an odd an odd obsession, but we of the Guild, don't exactly have room to talk."

Enigma shook his head, and turned to the others and Chachamaru in particular. "So what's next?" he said "Do we leave, content with the damage that has already been done to Pandemonium Branch of the Guild...or do we continue and go for broke, by whiping this stain from the streets?" He tilted his head and grinned "I'm sure you know what I vote for?"


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## Stunna (Dec 5, 2010)

“Hey!! You let my sister go, right now!!” Cyrus exclaimed as he rushed towards the two of them. Mask threw Holly aside to focus on Cyrus. The two exchanged blows, parrying one another, until Mask grabbed Cyrus’ wrist and threw him across the room.

“You’ve no right to be here!!” Mask shouted, before grabbing his arm in pain. Ever since his accident while trying to kill Enigma, he hadn’t fully allowed his body to recover. The injuries were piling on, and were starting to fall against him. “Now, get… outta… here…” Mask slowly said as he fell over, passed out. Rachel ran over to Holly.

“Are you alright?” She asked her big sister.

“Yes. I’m fine.” Holly said, as she rose to her feet. She walked over to Mask and examined him. “He’s exhausted. Plus he’s suffered many injuries. He’ll be out for at least a week.”

“You really learned a lot from mommy, didn’t you, Holly?” She nodded. “Can you check out Cyrus too?”

“Cyrus? What happened to Cyrus?” Holly asked as she rose up to her feet again and looked around. She saw Cyrus lying against the wall. “Cyrus!!” Holly exclaimed as she ran over to him. Cyrus pulled himself up.

“I’m alright. You said he was a Masked Bandit, huh?” Cyrus groggily asked as Holly held him.

“Yeah…” Holly’s mind drifted back to that dark night when she was attacked by four men. She was rescued by a Masked Bandit, but she also witnessed the cruelty of them. “… That man should be out for a week. We’ll rest up here for awhile, and then we’ll leave.”


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## SYSC (Dec 5, 2010)

Serpaphobia said:


> The three of them stood out of sight, looking forward.
> "So that's the place?" Jessie asked.
> 
> "Kind of." Oscar replied, carring what looked like a large heavy object wrapped in a blanket on his back.
> ...



"I say you guys took one to many visits to my stash when I was in the bathroom" Hen said taking off his shades. "But I see something"

Hen eyes began to dilate turning white. He gets up and starts walking out in the open towards the side of the Guild. 

"Hey! Hen, what are doing? We're using cover for a reason" Jessie said trying to whisper as silently as she can.

"This place is security stronghold. We cant just walk in thrust me Ive tried" Oscar said 

"Dont worry" Hen said waving them to move up over his shoulder while still staring forward at the building. "There's no guards, Or atleast not anymore."

"Hmm I dont hear anything coming our way" Oscar said

"You're right, they would have done something by now" Jessie said moving up with Oscar following. "Where would they be?"

Hen shrugged

"The only other time this place wasn't full of secruity was during a lab fire, years ago, it caused major damage and required a evacuation" Oscar said

"So...they're evacuating? For what?" Jessie asked

"There's something" Hen said placing his palm against the wall."Underground, dead bodies, gas... eh robots, with afros. Afros? Do they know what year it is? Thats so pre-apocalypse"

_Like he should criticize anyone's hairstyle_ 

Jessie thought giggling. "Are the robots dangerous?" 

"No, it looks like someone blown them to pieces. Im guessing there was a battle" Hen said

"Robots...with afros. Something about that sounds so familar" Oscar wondered "Wait, yes! Those prototypes- They were cyborgs! The blast in the city!"

"Come again" Jessie said

"A scientist, Dr. Shell, he created them. They were never stable, he tried to get me to improve he's designs but I declined. He only wanted to make them even more destructive, with the looks of what happened a couple of days ago in Pandemonium he suceeded"

"No wonder they evacuated. Whoever was able to destroy those things must be powerful" Jessie said

"Actually, it was a bomb that caused them to leave" Hen added

"A bomb?!?!" Oscar and Jessie said simultaneously

"Forget it, it got disarmed. Good thing too I dont think we would've survived that" Hen said

"You could have made us aware of that." Oscar said but Hen seemed to ignore him as his palm against the wall changed to a fist

"What do you see?" Jessie asked

"That destiny thing you guys were saying" Hen said "There's a room with some guys, a girl in wires, a roach thing and a guy with shadows rising from he's feet- the Phantom"

Hen began to walk off to the other end of the Gluid. "Looks like they're getting a move on"

"We should really construct a plan this time that involves more then just hitting someone with your guitar. Something big seems to be occuring at the moment" Oscar said turning to the direction Hen was heading off

"Ok Oz, what do you got?" Hen asked sighing as he turned around

"You have a description of the room and Buggy should know where it is." Jessie said speaking up getting Hen's and Oscar's attention. "And from there we cut them off, get the bounty and figure out just what the hell's going on"


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## Endless Mike (Dec 5, 2010)

*Deep Service Level 19C*

After the bomb was disarmed, Finn helped Chachamaru to her feet.

"Are you okay? What did they do to you?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"I'll live," she said, showing signs of recovery. "But we don't have time to waste, we have to get out of here before-"

She was interrupted by a translucent green hologram that suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, displaying a somewhat elderly man with a large head of hair and strange - looking goggles strapped to his head.

"I'm afraid it's already too late for you! Whoever you guys are, you've sure made a mess of things, but it's all for the best anyway, as I was looking for an excuse to do this for years! Now I'm afraid you're all going to die... hahahaha!" He continued to laugh as the hologram faded away, and then the ceiling of the room began to slide open, revealing a vast chamber with several huge circular nozzles pointing downwards.

"What? What is this?" asked Ed, his body tensing with anxiety at this new development.

"It's what I've been trying to warn you about," replied Chachamaru. "They're engines. He lured you all here so he can fire up those engines and launch his fortress into the sky while frying us all at the same time!"

As if on cue, a deafening roar began filling the room, causing Ed, Finn, Richard, Archon, and Enigma to cover their ears. Air currents started blowing, and a white-hot glow became visible inside the engines.

"Everyone, grab hold!" yelled Enigma, and they all teleported out a split second before the room they were in was blasted with 10000 degrees of flame exhaust.

*The surface*

At that moment, the entire city of Pandemonium began to shake, everyone from the Bowery to the outlying villages feeling the ground move underneath their feet. Fissures spread across the streets and sidewalks, buildings collapsed, and people began screaming and running for cover. A large part of the city, equal to at least a dozen blocks, as well as a section of the Bowery wall, tore itself out of the ground and began rising into the air. As the massive structure ascended, various battlements, weapons, and armor plating were visible on its exterior. The rocket engines that gave it the initial boost cut out, but it continued to rise, supported by some unseen force. Many of the city's residents stopped their panicked rush and looked up, captivated by the unearthly sight.

*Airship Gibraltar*

"The ship is maintaining altitude, all systems are functioning within operational parameters," reported Dr. Rosenberg, writing more information on her clipboard. The device was completely obsolete, but she liked to carry it around anyway for nostalgic value.

"Power consumption?" Replied Dr. Shell, sitting in a large command chair in the center of the room, the designated bridge of the craft.

"We're currently using less than 0.4% of the new reactor's capacity," she said, adding "The device is truly remarkable."

"Yes, what a lucky break. I should thank the intruders, heh, before I kill them that is. How are weapons?"

"Energy cannons 1 - 25 online, ready to fire at your command. Do you have a target?" asked a young technician operating a nearby console.

"Let's start with the mayor's office," said Dr. Shell, rubbing his hands together with glee. "That old blowhard has been ordering me around for years, and never gave me any credit for anything I ever did for him. Too bad he left the city, but at least I can give him a symbolic gesture of my appreciation. Fire!"

The technician pushed a button, and a huge, glowing bolt of blue energy erupted from a hole on the bottom of the craft, streaking towards the Bowery and impacting in a massive explosion, completely vaporizing the mayor's office and damaging several other nearby buildings. Upon seeing this, the awestruck citizens stopped looking up and immediately resumed their scurrying panic.

"Ha! Take that, asshole!" Dr. Shell whooped, surveying the damage on the main viewscreen. "Now let's begin demolishing the rest of this pathetic city!"

Dr. Rosenberg couldn't help thinking that he was enjoying this a little too much.

*The surface*

After a series of teleports, levitations, and good old - fashioned sprints, the group had finally made it to the surface, climbing out of a secret exit within the Bowery. As they looked around, they noticed they were standing right on the edge of a massive pit lined by now  - exposed underground structures. They also noticed that there was a huge shadow covering their location. It didn't take them long to find the cause.

"That thing is huge! How does it stay in the air?" questioned Archon.

Chachamaru answered the question. "They copied my internal generator, using the ambient magic in the city they're creating an antigravity field."

Crichton then finally began to ask the question he (and he suspected many of the others) was wondering about. "Excuse me miss, I can't help noticing that you're not exactly human."

"Is that a problem?" She asked.

"No, not at all," the scientist replied. "But it does raise several questions..."

"We'll have time for that later," replied Finn. "Right now, we have to do something about that... thing"

As if to highlight his point, the airship suddenly began firing multiple blasts from various fixed points on its underside, each one striking a different area of the city with devastating effect.

Of course the local law enforcement had reacted, but their simple sidearms were useless against the flying structure. One of the mayor's personal guards, a powerful ki - wielding martial artist, channeled his power into a bright red fireball that dissipated harmlessly against the airship's armor.

"That's why it's called the Gibraltar, it's solid as the rock of!" Shouted Dr Shell, as he watched the impotent display.

"Sir, the Rock of Gibraltar was split in half during the Apocalypse," Rosenberg reminded him.

"Grrr... I knew that!" He yelled, as he ordered the firing of another blast which annihilated the martial artist and a good bit of the surrounding environment.


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## Stunna (Dec 5, 2010)

Cyrus was walking throughout the Masked Bandit hideout.

“This place is much better than our last ‘home’. Much bigger on the inside than it appears.” He said as he walked down a long corridor. At the end of the hall was a door labeled “Mask”. “Is this that guy’s room?” Cyrus tried to open the door, but it was tightly locked. “Figures. But it’s no problem.” He said to himself. He reached into his pockets and brought out a universal key. He inserted it into the knob, and pushed the door open. He entered, and was suddenly overwhelm with a cold, dark sensation. He hesitantly entered the dark room, and turned on the light. A single dangling bulb in the center of the room lit up, but there was still many things concealed in the darkness. “What is this place?” Cyrus asked himself as he continued to look around. He put his hand up against the wall, when it suddenly began revolving. Startled a little, Cyrus jumped back. With a bit more confidence, Cyrus pushed the wall again, this time following through.

This new, secret room wasn’t as big as Mask’s, but it was sizeable. Cyrus turned the light on again, and was shocked at the sight that he beheld. “M-Masks?!”

On all three walls were dozens and dozens of masks, all with their own original, specific designs. He grabbed the nearest one and held it, looking at it intensely.

“You shouldn’t be in here.” A voice said.

“Who’s there!!? I’m armed!” Cyrus barked at the ominous voice. A man wearing a fox mask entered the mask room.

“The only name in which I am acquainted… is Fox.”


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 6, 2010)

*Underneath The Butcher's Den*

The underground chamber shook, and Draygon stumbled away from the alter. His beastial face was contorted into a terrifying grin, and he still clutched the photos of Enigma in his hands "Such wonderful chaos!" he rumbled. "The bloodshed and carnage by these quakes, must be a sight to behold...and it is for this I come...oh yes, Master Khorne these quakes must be a sign that my rise is at hand. I go to witness." he caught an aide by the throat as the Hooded man ran into the chamber.

"Where are you running, little pig?" inquired Draygon whispering into the hooded man's ear. "I hope you aren't fleeing in terror...as the only one you should fear is me and my master."

The aide struggled to breath as Draygon slowly crushed his windpipe. "Earthquake...airship...carnage...please...let...go."


Draygon cocked his head for a moment, and then smiled. "As you wish, little pig." There was snap, and the man crumpled to the ground. Draygon stared up at the cieling as another quake hit. "Yes!...YES!"

_________________________________________________________________

*The Lucky Man's Gentleman's Club*

Luke Marcone almost fell out of his chair, as another blast impacted nearby. Sweat drenched his face, and he was fading, he couldn't keep this up for very much longer. _"You are burning yourself out my love."_ a elegant voice emanated from nowhere. Marcone stirred, he knew the voice very well...but it had been years since he had last heard Her voice.

"I am aware of that mistress...but I must hold...I will not put my employees die today."

"Still the same as when you were young and fresh, my love. But alas at this rate, your manipulation of chance and luck won't hold for very much longer."

"It will...it must." wheezed Marcone as another blast hit, this one much closer. "Must hold...it must..." Marcone this time did fall out of his chair, and when he hit he knew no more.

"You are foolish my love...now you must rest, for I will not allow you to die this day. You have been my champion since the day you were born, and you shall be til the day I let you die."

_________________________________________________________________

Outside the club, another impact hit, and it would have destroyed the club, if not for a brilliant golden dome that now surrounded the building. The blast rebounded and hit the cannon that had initially fired it. 

Lady Luck was a fearsome and jealous goddess, she would brook no attempts on her champions that life this day...she still needed Marcone in the days to come.

_________________________________________________________________

The ground quaked from a completely different sourse, Enigma noticed, as another fissure broke open in the ground, and a horde of skeletons and undead emerged. A menecing presence prickled at the back of Enigma's mind, and he turned to see Crichton's eyes rolling back into his head, when they rolled back, they were now a steely grey. 

"We will tolerate the danger to our host no longer!" four voices sounded from Crichton at the same time. "We fight for our safety and none other." they turned towards Enigma. "Beware this day Victor Knight, for you shall be in our debt from this day onwards! " Crichton flicked his hand back towards the undeads and they slowly merged into one giant monstrosity. He then turned and walked off. "Come roach, we leave this group for the time being." Susan followed quickly after him, looking back only once, before they were lost in a swirling of shadows.

The monstrosity roared at the airship, and marched to meet it. A couple of blasts hit it, but it regenerated. the undead then tore of a piece of it's arm, and threw it at the ship. As it struck, Enigma saw that it reformed into several zombies, that were now crawling along the hull.

"Come...Dr. Shell is doing far too much damage, we cannot stand idle...I Propse that some of us fight it on the outside, and try and take down those cannons. While the rest of us go inside the ship, and take down that ship from the inside."


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## Endless Mike (Dec 6, 2010)

*Airship Gibraltar*

"Sir, cannon 19 has been disabled. Some kind of misfire. We also have intruders on the exterior of the ship, apparently spawned from that giant."

Dr. Shell frowned. He wasn't expecting this much resistance. However, he still believed he had a handle on things. "Armor Flash," he commanded.

Pressing a button, the exterior of the airship suddenly glowed bright yellow, heating up to tens of thousands of degrees for a split second, vaporizing the zombies attempting to break in.

"Intruders nullified," reported the technician.

"Good. Concentrate all firepower on that giant!"

The Gibraltar swiveled around, bringing to bear the largest amount of cannons it could on a single target, and they began firing en masse, overwhelming the massive zombie's rate of regeneration. Seeing this, the others finally began their assault.

*The surface*

Edward and Archon launched energy blasts at the active cannons, attempting to disable them, but their attacks were making little headway against the armor, even though the shields were lowered in order for the blasts to fire. Chachamaru joined in, firing a high-intensity laser from her eyes, and finally the three combined assaults caused one of the cannons to sputter and then die, the barrel melting shut. Another cannon responded, firing a blast at the three of them which they barely managed to dodge.

"If only my former master were here," lamented Chachamaru. "She could one-shot this thing."

"That's wishful thinking, concentrate on what we have to do!" Replied Finn, as he attempted to effect the minds of the ship's crew, but was having great difficulty due to the range.

"It seems the best strategy would be to destroy that thing from the inside," replied Enigma. "I think a team of Archon, Finn, and I would have the best chance. Only one problem - it's out of my teleport range."

"I can help with that," replied Chachamaru. "Hold on tight." Finn climbed on her back while she held Engima tight in her arms, Archon holding her hand and using his own powers to help levitate. Jets appeared from her feet and back, launching them into the air."

"My, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" asked Enigma, quite baffled by this strange girl. Before she could respond, they had to dive to the right to narrowly avoid another blast. Upon reaching a distance of a few meters to the massive flying fortress, Enigma engaged his power, cloaking them all in a field of shadow and teleporting them onboard. Chachamaru attempted to attack the ship again but quickly retreated back to the ground when it returned fire.

By this time the zombie colossus had been completely melted down, dissipating into several smaller zombies who could do little more than provide targets for the ship's powerful energy weapons. The remaining combatants attempted to spread out and attack the ship from multiple angles, but they were doing superficial damage at best.

"How long do you think it will be until they take those shields down?" Ed asked.

"Hopefully soon, I'm already damaged and I can't keep this up for much longer," responded Chachamaru. "I hope they'll be okay," she added.

Ed nodded resolutely and fired another blast at the ship, which dissipated harmlessly against its shields.


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## Stunna (Dec 6, 2010)

Cyrus and Fox entered the main room, which initially shocked both Holly and Rachel.

“Get behind me, Ray!” Holly exclaimed, as she held a knife out. “Cyrus, get away from him!!”

“Hold on, Hall. This guy…” Cyrus began, as he pointed back at Fox. Fox stepped forward, removing his mask. He was dashing, with spiky red hair the resembled fire.

“You’re that woman from the alley. Are you alright?” Fox sincerely inquired.

“You’re that guy. The one who saved me.” Holly struggled to say as she dropped the knife.

“You can call me Fox. I’d tell you my true name, but it’s been so long since I’ve been able to use it, I’ve come to forget it.” The three siblings looked confused, so Fox told them how Masked Bandits weren’t permitted to have ‘names’. “Speaking of such, what are yours?”

“Cyrus Clark. 14.”

“Rachel Clark! 6!”

“Holly Clark. 18.”

The tension had loosened some since everyone was formally introduced.

“There was another masked man here,” Holly began. “Are you with him?”

“Who?” Fox asked with great curiosity.

“He was going on about how this was his place, and that we’d no right to be here.” The eldest Clark confirmed.

“B-Boss?! He’s alive?!” Fox was shocked by this revelation. “I’d heard that all of the Masked Bandits had been wiped out!!”

“How are you here, then?” Cyrus quickly inquired.

“I’ve been out of commission for the past couple of days. Since Boss… Mask, attacked me. I only recently came to, and had heard what happened. That’s why I was shocked to find you here.” He finished, looking towards Cyrus. He noticed how as he spoke, he was receiving direct eye contact. “It’s sort of funny. For the past few years, my mask hasn’t been removed. Not once. One of the many rules of the Masked Bandits.”

“This Mask sounds like a monster!” Rachel shouted.

“He is. A bloody cold one. I come to wonder, how did you dispose of him?” Fox didn’t sound concerned in the slightest at the thought that Mask was disposed of.

“We put him to one of the vacant beds and locked the door. He seemed to have been through a lot the past few days. The injuries were so severe, and his body has been pushed so much, he’ll be out for at least a week. No less.” Holly confirmed.

“A week. Dare I say, that’s a fate too good for the man. At least… this is the end of the Masked Bandits.”

So it seemed.


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## Platinum (Dec 6, 2010)

Every lead he followed came up short. He had never had any extended stay in Pandemonium and thus never developed any reliable contacts. If he was going to find the truth of what was happening here, he was going to need some help. "Hey Aquarius" he heard a shout, almost as if on cue. It was Scorpio. She slowly approached him, her dark gray clothes and raven hair flowing ever so slightly in the Pandemonium breeze.

"You surprised me. I didn't expect to see you again so soon. I take it you have completed your mission then?"

"No. My prey is a slippery bastard. He has outsmarted me at every turn. I have never met someone like him before. It's incredibly frustrating."

"I know the feeling" he replied in a sympathetic tone.

"So any ways I have decided to put my mission on hold for the time being and help you with out a bit."

"That is awfully selfless of you Scorpio, and completely unlike you in every way."

"I'm hurt Aquarius" she replied coyly. "Well here is how I view it. If I help you I might just find some leads for my own mission and besides we both know you need all the help you can get."

"Thanks Scorpio, i'm flattered."

"Oh and I have something for you". She reached into her pocket and retrieved a glass sphere. Inside the sphere swirled a deep purple smoke, it was a storage orb from the Celestial Realm. She slammed the orb on the ground and once the smoke cleared all that was left on the floor was a staff. The staff was a light blue color, ornate carvings of waves covered the staff and in the middle was a large piece of garnet which seemed to pulsate with energy.

"My staff... Scorpio what are you doing with my staff?"

"I was asked by Aquarius to bring it to you. He had a feeling we would be meeting up soon and asked me to give it to you."

He took the staff into his hands. It still felt the same as it did when he last held it 2 years ago. He opted not to use it preferring his revolvers but having flexibility was always a good thing. And besides maybe with the training he underwent recently he could finally use it properly now.

"Thanks for bringing this back to me Scorpio".

"So..."

"So what?" He asked.

"Will you let me accompany you."

"You know I can't say no to you Scorpio. So do you got any leads?"

"Nope. I'm just assuming trouble will find us".

"It always does" He said. They both smiled.

"Well let's get going then". She nodded and together they set off to unravel the mysteries of Pandemonium.


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Dec 7, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

I blinked, surveying the destruction. The office space was ruined, to say the least. Streaks of molten concrete lined the walls, the floor and ceiling gouged with countless holes. Glass covered the floor, most of the lights blown in our fight.

Out of the corner of my eye, those three dolls that cockroach that summoned were walking back, singed but intact.

Finn was introducing us to the rest of this strange group, but I wasn't paying attention.

What caught my attention was what lay behind the wall the cyborgs had blown through. There was a circular hole in the floor, large enough for several people to fit through. I could see irregularly spaced handholds.

"What is it, an elevator shaft?" I thought aloud.

"What it is is our way down to rescue Chachamaru," said Finn behind me.

Beside Finn was Richard, who also peered intently down the hole. He rubbed the stubble of his chin thoughtfully. "But how will we descend? Climbing down would take far too long, and we have no idea what may be down there."

Point. But I had something of an idea on how to get down...

The Archon spoke first. "I believe if Mr. Kent and I combine our powers, we could create an inverted shield to slowly lower everyone down." He paused, closing his eyes for a moment. "I sense the shaft is only about 200 meters deep so it shouldn't take more than a minute or so."

"Sounds like a plan," Finn said, intently looking down the hole. "Let's make these bastards pay."

I walked to the edge of the shaft, the Archon opposite me. He outstretched his hands, gesturing for me to do the same. I complied and began to weave a network of corporeal cosmic particles, an invisible structure that would let us glide down to the bottom.

I stood on it first, confident that it was secure. A moment later, the Archon joined me. Finn hesitated but he too stepped on, along with Richard and his cockroach Susan.

The Phantom looked at the shaft distrustfully before dissolving into the darkness, reforming right beside us. I rolled my eyes but then focused my will on the structure. I closed my eyes and willed the shield downwards.

It felt a little disorienting at first, but we were soon descending at a respectable clip, not too quickly or else we would enter free fall. I kept my eyes closed, but I knew it must have been dark here. I couldn't see any lights from the top.

"The bottom's coming soon," the Archon said suddenly, and I eased the rate of our descent. I finally felt the shield contact the ground and relaxed, inhaling in relief.

Or at least I tried too until I began choking terrifically.

"What the - " Finn exclaimed, breaking off into a cough.

"It's - " I coughed. "The gas! Gas!"

We didn't have long. The air here was permeated with poison gas. Coughing and hacking, I willed a spherical lattice into existence, a little further up the shaft, trapping air. I quickly brought it down and expanded it around us, pushing out the poisonous air and leaving us with fresh air.

I took great gulping gasps of breath. Beside me, the others were in similar state.

It was so dark here. We needed a light. I would have brought out my flashlight, but I had stashed my pack elsewhere. I concentrated intently. This wasn't an aspect of my power I frequently used. It was a combination of my manipulation of magnetism and cosmic radiation. I spun a globule of cosmic particles in the space between my hand rapidly, encasing it with a magnetic field. It spun faster, and faster, until a glowing orb of light came forth into existence.

It illuminated our surroundings and I wished for a second it hadn't. It was a basic corridor, but it was utterly littered with bodies. Men and women in white lab coats, faces gripped forever in terror. I averted my gaze, disgusted.

"The kind of people who would do this to their own allies..." the Phantom almost snarled.

Finn spoke up then. "Archon, do you know which direction - ?"

"That way," he said simply, pointing down the corridor. We followed him quickly, I concentrating to maintain both the shield and the light. It strained me mentally, but I endured it.

At the end of the corridor, another metal barrier greeted us.

The Phantom chuckled wryly at the sight of it. "Alright boys and girls, you know the drill."

We took his hands, but as I dissolved into darkness, I realized that we had no way of taking the air we had brought with us! I nearly began to panic, until I realized that I was breathing regular air.

"Alright there Ed?" Finn asked.

I suppose that Phantom must have brought the air with him somehow. That explained it. "Nothing," I said distractedly.

We walked, turning here or perhaps making a right there per the Archon's instructions. I could see gun turrets and force field generators as we passed, but they were all mysteriously deactivated.

We passed several more metal walls, but the precious little air we had brought was growing thin.

"How much farther?" Finn gasped.

We were all panting heavily. Soon, we'd grow lightheaded and then unconscious as oyxgen deprivation and carbon dioxide poisoning would begin to kick in. It probably wouldn't be so bad, it'd be like going to sleep...

No! I shook my head, forcing myself to remain conscious. The light I held sputtered but remained intact.

"Your friend should be just beyond this next barrier," gasped the Archon. We reached the next wall, my lungs burning for air.

We teleported again, dissolving into nothing, before coming out on the next side.

To my relief, there was no poisonous gas here. It was entirely clear. For a few moments we just rested, gratefully gulping back fresh air.

The room was nondescript to say the least. There was nothing - except in the center lay Chachamaru, strapped to table hooked up to some kind of electrical array.

"Chachamaru!" Finn exclaimed, running up to her and tried to free her from the restraints. But they had been made to keep an angry cyborg for escaping and were much too strong for Finn to pry open.

I was wondering if I could cut it when a tendril of darkness neatly cleaved through the shackles, freeing Chachamaru. They returned back to the Phantom.

Finn asked anxiously, "Is she alright?"

I hesitated. There were scorch marks all over. She had likely been tortured. But beyond the cosmetic damage, she seemed to be alright. I closed my eyes, stretching out with my magnetic perception. Her insides seemed to be just as fine, but I couldn't sense any spark in her, no current or power in the slightest.

I opened my eyes, frowning. "Luckily yes, she's fine, she's just deactivated."

"Deactivated?" said the Archon, confused.

"Long story," Finn and I said at the same time. He struggled to pull her off the table and I helped him get her down.

He seemed to be feeling along her back.

Um, just what was he doing?

"She told me one time, she has an emergency reactivation switch," Finn muttered. "Let's see, where was it... ah, here!"

Pressing a spot on her back, Chachamaru's eyes opened. She blinked slightly before turning over slowly getting up to sit.

"Chachamaru, are you alright?" Finn asked concernedly.

The weariness faded instantly from her face, replaced with an expression of panic.

"B - b - b," she tried saying, unsuccessfully.

"What? What's she trying to say?" I asked.

"B-bomb...." She finally gasped out, pointing behind us.

Ah, bomb. Wait. Bomb. Bomb!

I looked back at the array. There was a digital timer attached to it, counting down in green fluorescent numerals. It read *00:45*, now *00:44*...

There wasn't a lot of time. I didn't know if I could shield us from the blast. That depended on how strong the bomb was. And from what I had seen from this crazy place, I was willing to bet it was going to be very powerful.

Could I fry it? Perhaps short-circuit it electronically? But I didn't know if that would set off the bomb or not. What in the world were we going to do?

"We're dead, aren't we," Finn said flatly, as if he were some sort of distant observer. I looked at him. That wasn't a good sign, maybe he was about to go into shock.

*00:40*

Then again, maybe I was about to as well. How in the world were we going to get out of this. We couldn't teleport or run fast enough to outrun this.

The Phantom began to rummage behind the bomb. "Five colors, Red, Yellow, Purple, Green, and Silver," he muttered. "Also there's a signature here...The Mad Bomber's Bomb Warehouse...Rapture."

Well, at least we knew who was about to do us in. But 5 wires. Presumably, cutting one or two of them would stop the bomb. But which one? We had at best a one out of five chance of getting it right.

Terrible odds, when you're gambling with your life.

*00:30*

"Cut the purple one and then silver," said Richard suddenly. I turned to look at him, puzzled. Did he know how to disable this? "I'll explain in a moment," he said hastily.

If there was one, I mentally added.

*00:20*

The Phantom produced a knife of darkness. I tensed and drew a shield of power around us. It might not do any good, but I wasn't going to roll over and die.

He severed the purple wire. I blinked, feeling for my body parts. They were still attached. So we were alive so far.

*00:15*

He waited until *00:10 *before cutting the silver wire. The timer completely disappeared. I relaxed.

Then the entire array behind to rattle violently. My eyes widened and I poured everything I could possibly muster into the shield, praying it would hold.

One moment I was staring at the array. The next I was staring at empty air. The device was gone. It had completely disappeared.

What... the hell?


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Dec 7, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

I turned to Richard, who was nodding with satisfaction. "So, what the hell just happened?" I said, gesturing towards the air. "That thing's not going to suddenly jump back out at us, when we're least expecting it is it?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Possibly, though Dr. Swanson in Rapture probably won't bother. He loves to sell his time bombs and get the thrill out of people trying to figure out on how to disarm his bombs."

"That was one of his most common ones, as well the type most used by others throughout the guild. This type can figured out by a rhyme. 'Red and Green may kill a fellow. Yellow may leave no stain. Cut Purple and silver to save the day.' Quite an odd an odd obsession, but we of the Guild, don't exactly have room to talk."

Cute, but severely disturbing.

The Phantom simply shook his head, muttering, "Mad, the lot of them." Right, hence the name_ Mad_ Scientists.

"So what's next?" he rasped. "Do we leave, content with the damage that has already been done to Pandemonium Branch of the Guild or do we continue and go for broke, by wiping this stain from the streets?"

He grinned, a manic glint in his eyes. "I'm sure you know what I vote for?"

I reflected for a moment about our situation.

Here we were, an avatar of the God of Love, a psychokinetic, a manipulator of cosmic forces, an android, a demon-possessed Mad Scientist, some kind of wraith thing, and a freaking cockroach of all things. It would be hilarious if this situation wasn't so serious.

Behind me, Finn helped Chachamaru to her feet.

"Are you okay? What did they do to you?" he asked worriedly.

"I'll live," she assured him. "But we don't have time to waste, we have to get out of here before - "

She was cut off as something suddenly materialized in the room in a burst of green light. It was a hologram, a somewhat old man with a thick head of hair and aviator's goggles strapped to his head. What was he doing with aviator's goggles? He had a wild, maniacal look about him.

He began to literally cackle with glee. "I'm afraid it's already too late for you! Whoever you guys are, you've sure made a mess of things, but it's all for the best anyway, as I was looking for an excuse to do this for years! Now I'm afraid you're all going to die!" He laughed uproariously, as if that were a hilarious joke.

The hologram faded into nonexistence, leaving us staring at nothing. There was a sharp *hiss!* as panels on the ceiling slid open, revealing gigantic circular nozzles.

More poison gas?

"What? What is this?" I said.

"It's what I've been trying to warn you about!" Chachamaru said. "They're engines. He lured you all here so he can fire up those engines and launch his fortress into the sky while frying us all at the same time!"

At that moment, there was an utterly deafening roar. I clapped my hands over my ears, the pain in my head nearly driving me to my knees. Great blasts of air struck us and I could feel radiant heat along my brow.

I started to raise a shield, for what little good that would do, but suddenly the Phantom took my head. He was shouting something, but I couldn't hear. Then I dissolved into nothing at all.

We materialized in the room behind the barrier. Poisonous air immediately filled my lungs and I began to cough violently. We really were screwed. I hadn't the time to bring some air with us, and besides, that room was a blast furnace now.

I could still hear the roar, muffled now. The entire place shook violently, as if there was an earthquake. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the barrier growing hot red, becoming molten from the sheer heat.

"This way!" Chachamaru shouted. "He said something about a secret exit through to the Bowery! We can get out here."

We practically sprinted behind her, coughing and holding our breaths they best we could. Every time we took a breath spelled only death. That barrier wasn't going to hold long either. We had to get out before we joined the fire.

We came against another massive wall. Behind me I heard roaring and behind us, blue-orange fire rushed to swallow us. At the last second, the Phantom teleported us through.

I took great gasping breaths of fresh air, this section was not poisoned. Beside me, Chachamaru urged us on.

"There's an elevator shaft not far from here. We have to hurry!"

I could see the partition behind us also beginning to melt. We raced after her, running for what seemed like forever, turning past corridor after corridor. I could hear the roaring behind us, the wall must have finally succumbed to the heat.

"Here!" exclaimed Chachamaru, a deceptively simple elevator in front of us.

She simply punched through the door, there was no time. We crowded into it. Richard pressed a button labeled *1*, but it didn't work. The power had likely been cut.

"That would have been too slow anyway," I muttered, glancing at the Archon. He got the hint and we pooled our powers, forming a shield of power around beneath the elevator. I also created a shield inside the elevator, around us, willing it to be more flexible than tough.

Then it began to rise. I willed it to rise quickly, we couldn't risk being fried from the heat. We went upwards like a rocket, crossing two levels in scarcely a second. The acceleration flattened us against the floor, G-forces increasing with our acceleration.

I could hear the fire roaring beneath us and I willed the elevator upward, faster still.

In less than ten seconds, we literally shot out of the top, the elevator car torn free. We rolled around for a few confused seconds, my and the Archon's shield keeping us from being damaged. Then we got up, Chachamaru prying apart the wreckage.

We were on the edge of some gigantic pit, lining an intricate array of structures beneath. This must have been the breadth of the Mad Science Guild and it was impressive to say the least.

I blinked. My watch read only *12:27*. It should be the middle of the day. Yet, we were standing in the middle of some enormous shadow.

That's when I looked up. It looked more like a city than a ship, but I could see massive nozzles attached to its underside.

Some of the same nozzles that we had seen several hundred feet below.

"Good god," I whispered.

It was gigantic, to say the least. At the least several city blocks wide

"That thing is huge! How does it stay in the air?" the Archon exclaimed.

Chachamaru sighed. "They copied my internal generator and by using the ambient magic in the city, they're creating an antigravity field."

Richard frowned. "Excuse me miss, I can't help noticing that you're not exactly human."

As if that wasn't obvious already.

"Is that a problem?" she asked, somewhat testily. She had just been tortured for an hour or two. I doubted she was willing to put up with any bullshit right now.

"No, not at all," the man replied. "But it does raise several questions..."

"We'll have time for that later," replied Finn impatiently. "Right now, we have to do something about that thing."

Suddenly, a number of holes opened in the underside of the ship. Cannons poked out from the underside and azure light flashed, beams of deadly energy tracing their way across the city.

I watched as a line of pure destruction carved its way down the street we had just come from, vaporizing people and cars in its wake and utterly devastating buildings.

The ground shook along the wake of that beam, a molten trail of death and destruction.

How in the world were we going to stop something like this?

Then the ground shook again and behind me, I saw Richard's eyes roll back. When they came back, they were steely gray.

A growing crack in the ground deepened to a fissure and from it, I could hear screams. They sounded wrong. Not just the fact that it was screaming I heard, but the voices themselves, they sounded as if they didn't belong here.

As if they didn't belong in this _reality_ to begin with.

The dead rose in a tidal wave from the fissure, crawling desperately to freedom, a mass of bloodied, mindless flesh come free.

Okaaaay. Creepy.

"We will tolerate the danger to our host no longer!" Richard, or whoever he was now, said. It was strange and ethereal, as if multiple different voices were saying the same thing. "We fight for our safety and none other."

He, or it, turned to the Phantom. "Beware this day Victor Knight, for you shall be in our debt from this day!"

What was once Richard turned back to the horde and waved his hand in a slow, wavy arc. Flesh joined, becoming massive arms, legs, now a head. From what was a mass of undead came a singular monstrosity. It was fascinating, in a horrifying sort of way.

"Come roach, we leave this group for the time being," whispered Richard. The cockroach skittered after him before they were enveloped by a vortex of shadows.

We all stared at each other somewhat awkwardly after that. I wasn't really sure what to say after that display.

Meanwhile, the undead beast gave off an unearthly roar, crying its challenge to the heavens. But the airship was simply too high for it to attack. I could see a couple of the cannons swirling to meet it and brilliant blue light bisected the beast.

It fell, cleaved in two, but then its flesh began to knit itself together. It rose again, roaring with fury, before tearing off a piece of its arm. It hurled it at the airship, which easily had to be at least 1000 feet up.

The projectile broke against the hull, reforming into constituent undead that crawled along the hull.

Meanwhile the Phantom, or Victor Knight, or whoever he was, muttered. "Come, Dr. Shell is doing far too much damage; we cannot stand idle." He gestured towards us. "I propose that some of us fight it ont he outside and try to take down those cannons. While the rest of us go inside the ship and take down that ship from the inside."


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Dec 7, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

It probably wouldn't do any good, but I felt utterly useless doing nothing. I formed a coherent bolt of cosmic force and hurled it at one of the cannons, my mind's eye guiding towards its destination.

It dissipated against some kind of translucent blue barrier that briefly flashed around the hull. A force field. I gritted my teeth, forming another bolt and hurling it.

Beside me, I saw the Archon doing the same, conjuring invisible lances of force at the same target. We kept up the attack, but made little headway against the force field.

Chachamaru stepped beside us, staring intently at the ship. Suddenly, red light burst from her eyes, striking the shields. The Archon and I began our assault again in fervor, hurling bolt after bolt of force at the cannon.

I noticed that the shield around the cannon began to dissipate. Finally, another barrage of our attacks blew away the shield into shards of dispersed energy, the cannon blowing apart in a burst of metal and smoke.

We didn't have time to celebrate as a sudden beam of cerulean fire tore towards the three of us. We barely got out of the way in time, as I willed a shield into existence around us, the Archon aiding me. I didn't try to block the beam directly; instead, I magnetically altered its path just to the side of us, burning a two-meter hole in the ground.

"You alright?" I said.

"Fine," the Archon replied.

"If only my former master were here," Chachamaru said almost frustratedly. "She could one-shot this thing."

Finn stood beside us, staring intently at the ship, brows furrowed in intense concentration. "That's wishful thinking, concentrate on what we have to do," he said distractedly.

There was no way we could stop this ship from the outside.

"It seems the best strategy would be to destroy that thing from the inside," rasped the Phantom. "I think a team of Archon, Finn, and I would have the best chance." He frowned. "Only one problem - it's out of my teleport range."

"I can help with that," said Chachamaru, rising to her feet. "Hold on tight."

Finn climbed on her back, the Phantom and Archon looking on strangely. Just what was Chachamaru doing?

Finn waved impatiently and the Phantom reluctantly went to Chachamaru, who grabbed him in a vice-like grip in one arm. The Archon simply held her other arm, levitating in the air.

Suddenly, there was an odd popping sound and then a sudden roar. And suddenly they were gone. I was left alone watching Chachamaru ascend at speeds just below Mach 1 towards the ship, jet funnels firing from her feet.

"She can fly?" I said aloud, disbelievingly. "She can fly."

Another lancing beam of blue light shot towards them and Chachamaru rolled to the right, pulling up and spiraling around the lance. She deked several more shots until she was just a dot in the air.

After several tense seconds, I saw her diving back to the ground, hands at her side as she dodged several shots. I had to deflect a few from hitting me and she landed elegantly beside me.

By now, the undead monstrosity had been defeated, reduced to slags of flesh and bone, or a few walking dead who posed no threat. There were still a few aboard the hull, but another flash of light eliminated them.

"They inside?" I asked Chachamaru. She nodded in response.

"How long do you think it will be until they take those shields down?" I wondered.

"Hopefully soon, I'm already damaged and I can't keep this up for much longer," said Chachamaru. "I hope they'll be okay," she said worriedly.

I hope they were too. I formed another bolt of power in my hands and hurled it.

_ Nothing._

It had taken me, Chachamaru, and the Archon's combined efforts nearly five minutes just to bring down _one_ cannon. We needed something more powerful.

Chachamaru fired off another laser burst from her eyes, before barely dodging another blue beam. "This isn't working," she said, frustrated. 

"I don't think we can really damage it from the outside," I said, throwing another cosmic blast at it. It did nothing but dissipate against those translucent shields again.

"We can't just wait for the three of them to bring down the shield," I said. I waved around at the destruction around us, which was going on across the entire city. "At this rate, there may not _be_ a city left to save by that time."

We pooled our efforts for another renewed round of attacks, but were forced to get out of the way of yet another laser. 

I stared at the ship. I felt entirely useless. I was pouring everything I had into these blasts, but it just wasn't enough.

It wasn't as though I could make my bolts more powerful right now. My control still wasn't perfect. If I tried to release all of my power, it would probably come out in an uncontrolled burst, as much as a danger to myself and everything else around me as it would be to that ship. 

I couldn't destroy _more_ of the city just to bring those cannons down. I needed some way to get more power; but how? It wasn't like I just go and steal some...

Wait.

_Wait_.

"That's it!" I exclaimed.

"That's what?" Chachamaru asked, firing another laser from her eyes. It spent itself against that blue shield. 

The idea was crazy, risky didn't even begin to describe it. "Every major city left has a power plant for each of its man sectors, right?"

"Yes?" she replied, confused.

"What if," I began excitedly, the idea taking shape in my mind. "What if we went to the Bowery's main power generator? And used it?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, still puzzled.

"What I mean," I said slowly. "Is that I can use that power to supercharge my abilities. To redirect the energy against that thing." 

Her eyes widened as she got my meaning. "You can't mean to do that!" she said. "The human body could not possibly handle that much power; you'd be electrocuted to death!" 

"Maybe," I said grimly. "But if I keep channeling the energy, it won't ever have to ground itself against me. Theoretically, I should be perfectly safe."

"Theoretically," Chachamaru said dryly.

"Theoretically," I agreed. "Though I'm all out of what other ideas we can do."

She sighed, before coming up with a wry smile. "You're really crazy sometimes, Ed."

I grinned. "Tell me about it." 

"What do you want me to do?" she asked. 

"Several things, actually," I said sheepishly. "I kind of need to find and get to whatever power plant the Bowery has. And quickly." 

"Get on," she said simply. I felt fairly awkward doing it, but I got on her back. She didn't even budge from the weight. 

And then she suddenly shot off into the air so fast that my heart fell into my stomach, racing at a hundred miles an hour. 

Twin jet nozzles protruded from her feet as she rose to the sky, high enough to see the entire Bowery.

"Wow," I said weakly. "Let's.... not do that again."

She laughed, before deking out of the way of an azure beam. I looked up. Cannons were tracking towards us. Airborne enemies apparently were more interesting to whoever was operating that thing.

"Over there!" I shouted over the roar of her engines. I pointed at a distant structure to our right, a conglomerate of buildings with large steam plumes. Those were cooling stations.

"Hold on," Chachamaru said intently, diving out of the way another blast before she accelerated towards the structure. The world bled into a blur around me, my body rattling from the G-forces of the sudden acceleration. 

She then began to slow down, circling around the power plant before beginning to land. Her body could probably handle an instant stop from full speed, but mine could not. 

Like most of the power plants left in the world, the power plant in Pandemonium's Bowery relied on geothermal electricity and solar power. The time of fossil fuels had largely waned and nuclear power generation had never really caught on. The potential behind geothermal and solar energy however, was virtually limitless. 

We had landed near the main relay. From here, electricity was sent out to all parts of the Bowery. It was here that I could harness the power of a city (well, part of it anyway) to lash out against that colossus in the sky.

"Hey, hey!" A man in a sharp business suit and hard hat came running at us, face contorted with anger. "No one is supposed to be here at this time! Get out!"

"Do you even see that thing up there?" I all but snarled, gesturing towards the sky. "And you're worried about protocol at a time like this?"

The man hesitated at that, before replying stubbornly, "That still doesn't explain what you do are doing here. Explain yourselves."

Chachamaru said simply, "My friend here requires use of your power generator. He has a plan on how to stop that thing from firing on the city." 

The man looked at me incredulously. "What the hell is she talking about." 

I was getting tired of talking with this man. We needed to get inside the relay. _Now_.

I applied a locus of gravity of around two G around the man, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees. "Listen; I don't have the time to waste here. Every second I waste talking with you, more people die. I need you, or whoever the hell is in charge around here, to open up that building. And I need that power rerouted. _Now_."

"Please, please don't kill me!" the man all but whimpered, held by the force of my gravitic influence. I released him and he got shakily to his feet. 

"I'll go get my boss now," he said weakly. I snorted, I wasn't that big of an idiot. He was probably looking for an opportunity to get the hell out of here.

"I'll go with him," Chachamaru said, walking beside the man. He audibly swallowed and the two left, going towards some plain office building to the west.

It didn't take long for them to come back. I was sure that Chachamaru, ah, _urged_ them along. She brought another man back, who she held in what looked like a painful armlock.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 7, 2010)

*Meanwhile*
*The Western Gates*

The body of Crichton and Susan stopped short of the gate and turned around. The Barons tilted Crichton's head looking up at the airship, "Yes." he said. "This spot will do nicely, Roach, draw a large cirlce around us."

Susan chittered  in confusion, "We must conduct a ritual, foolish woman. Our giant will not hold for long, and I doubt those fools who went inside the ship will last long either." He scowled, "But to do it, we must summon forth the one who usurped our power...now we will not ask again Roach, draw the fucking summoning circle."

Susan took of her hat and fumbled around in it, before drawing out a long stick of chalk, and did as The Guede Barons commaned. "Good now draw a seven pointed star." Crichton went to sit down at the center of the circle, and as each branch of the star was completed his form blurred, and reformed constantly. Richard appeared dressed in his bathrobe and his tome of voodoo in his hand. he sat at the corner of the first branch.

Baron Samedi came with the second branch. Dressed in a black and purple tuxedo and black top hat, and dark glasses. While his skin was dark, his face was bleached white and resembled a skull.

Baron La Croix came with the third branch. A suave looking man, dressed in a purple suit, and hat, the twinkle in his eyes suggested he was looking foward to the coming events Next was Baron Cimitière with the fourth branch. a gaunt and pale man, who was dressed all in black. his expression was utterly dour and stern, and he looked back towards the city and sighed. Baron Kriminel appeared with the fifth branch, a terrifying black man, dressed in a deep blood red suit. Chains held him to the ground, and he hissed and spat in rage and fury at being unable to move.

Susan finished drawing the star and stepped into the corner of the sixth point. Samedi looked at Crichton who was sweating now. "We must make haste, this circle will not hold for long, and we will be be forced back into his body." he looked to sky and began to speak again. "Come forth our usurper! come forth the one who defeated us and took our power, come forth and meet with us, for we have a request! We summon The Lord of Death...We summon you to us Mighty Reaper."

A bolt of lightning struck the ground in the distance...and then another. each bolt got closer and closer. And finally there was a blinding flash and a ten year old girl dressed in a pink sundress appeared in the seventh branch, looking confused. Samedi tilted his head, before the girl began to reshape herself, and a moment later a robed man, stood before them, his pale face stared at the Guede perplexed.

"Never thought I'd see any of you again..." he whispered absently, while looking to where the airship was raining death down on the city. "What is it you need? Make it quick i've got a job to do."

"You know what we need bastard!" growled Kriminel.

"Yes," said Cimitière "But you won't give it to us will you, even if it means getting rid of that!" he said pointing to the airship.

The Reaper smiled for a moment. "Ah but are you so sure? How do you know I am unwilling to give you back that power that you so long for?" 

La Croix cut in. "But it will come with a price won't it?" he said. "That's the way you work...and the way we used to work afterall."

"Indeed, but the price is not all that bad," said The Reaper. "It will only be temporary...i'm afraid. If you desire your power back so badly, you will need to try harder..and leave this city behind you."

The Guede glared at Death, and Death stared back, before finally. "Fine." said Samedi harshly. "we'll play your games...for now"

The Reaper clapped his hands together. "Well then excellent. You shall have the power needed for this one task only...but May I ask what it is you plan on doing with it?"

Kriminel coughed and then broke out in horrible laughter. "We're going to open up the Gates of the Underworld...and drag the people commaning that airship down."

The roars of thier giant faded, and they looked around to see it was no more.

_________________________________________________________________
*Inside the Airship*

Enigma, Finn and the Archon appeared inside what appeared to be a docking bay. It was completely empty aside from single shuttle which a small wiry haired man was scrambling around.

"Got to get out of here." Benson said to himself, as he checked the shuttle for any damage. "I'm getting the hell off this ship...and then i'm going to Neo Genesis. They're guild never let's shit like this happen." A hand grasped his shoulder and he yelped as he was yanked back. Benson found himself face to face with The Phantom of the Slums. "Please don't kill me! I only named the Afrodroids and worked on thier AI...I had nothing to do with anything that happened."

Enigma smiled hatefully, and he noticed Finn walking up behind. "I won't. That is I won't as long as you tell me where the shiled generators are."

"I...I can't tell you that, If anybody else found out, i'd be as good as dead."

Enigma grinned and began to haul across the room, ignoring the shouts from Finn and the Archon. approaching the bulkhead an inky stain expanded and he thrust Benson through it. Sticking his head through the portal he said to Benson "See that down there?, that's the ground, and your going to be meeting real fast if you don't tell me where the shield generators are on this damned thing."

Benson glanced around in fright and whimpered. Enigma growled. "You better tell me, my hands are getting tired, Oh look they're slipping."

Benson screamed and he was yanked back inside. "Level J...they're on Level J." he cried. "Take the elevator or stairs you honestly can't miss them."

Enigma looked at him for a second, and then jerked his head back to the shuttle. "Get the fuck out of here, don't let me ever see you again." Benson scrambled back to the shuttle and clambered in. 

"Would you really have killed him, if he hadn't told you?" Finn asked

Enigma said nothing for a moment. "Nah," he said at last, before cloaking themselves in darkness again, and set off for the elevator.


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 7, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

"Of all the days -- I'll have you hoodlums for this!" he frothed,  getting spittle all over his suit. The other man we had seen previously  was there also, cowering somewhat into the background.

"Shut up," I said curtly. I nodded my head towards the man in the hardhat. "So, did you tell your boss what's going on?"

"I heard," the balding man in the armlock snapped. "And of all the stupid ideas  I've heard today, this one takes the cake. Enlighten me, if you would,  as to why the _fuck_ I would want to just open the power relay for anyone and reroute the power wherever he so pleases?" 

Chachamaru arced an elegant brow. I shrugged and we got to work.

It took about ten seconds to bring him around to our way of thinking.  Between my gravitic persuasion and Chachamaru, he didn't stand a chance.

"Fine, fine, fine!" he snarled. 

"Will you behave now?" Chachamaru asked dryly. He scowled and Chachamaru let him go.

He fumbled around in his pocket, before pulling out a KeyCard. He swept it through the lock and we were inside. 

Large electrical coils littered the room, many wires wrapped around them. The actual electrical energy itself came from the main transducer, a separate building which converted the geothermal and solar energy into electrical energy. Here however, that energy was rerouted to different parts of the Bowery, so that the rich could have their merrymaking. 

On the 2nd floor, behind the glass I could see a room filled with complicated looking computers. Those likely controlled just where the power was rerouted to and that was the crux behind this desperate plan. 

I stayed on the first floor, careful not to touch one of those coils just yet. It was incredibly dangerous for anyone to be near them and touching them meant certain death. I hadn't yet prepared myself either to manipulate those vast energies.

I could _feel_ the power in those coils, energy enough to power an entire city, or part of it anyway. 

I gave Chachamaru my rifle and the rest of my gear. I didn't want it to get fried. I dimly found it funny that I was worried more about my rifle than myself right now. She and the two men ascended upstairs and they entered the room.

I walked up towards one of the electrical terminals. Large white letters proclaimed *PPR-B1-73*. It would do.

"Chachamaru," I called out. "Have them cut power from terminal B1-73. Divert the power away."

The balding man grumbled, but he acquiesced, starting up the computer system. I waited for a tense minute or so before I heard,

"WARNING, alteration of relay without authorization is strictly forbidden. Please state name and authorization code," came a monotone, female voice.

The man cleared his throat before stating, "Matthew Garrison, authorization code 113 Lambda Delta A7BH Yotta FLC Gamma 7922."

"Authorization valid," replied the computer.

I could hear keys clacking from down here, in this silence. Then I felt the energy from the terminal begin to fade, dissipating to nothingness. I tensed myself.

Moment of truth. Oh well. It would probably be a _very_ bad idea to directly interact with the coil's surface with nothing more than my bare hands. I concentrated, coating myself in cosmic particles, a shield that would offer me some protection against any residual electrical current.

I stepped up to the terminal, getting onto it. I gripped one of the coils with my right hand and the other with my left. 

I almost sagged with relief. Well, I hadn't been fried to death. That was always a good sign. I closed my eyes, focused on my breathing. 

I had one shot at this. Theoretically, it wasn't really different from what I did on a regular basis, manipulating cosmic or electromagnetic radiation around me.

It was just on a much bigger scale. How did that one movie go? My dad had said it was one of his favorite movies. 

'Size matters not.' 'There is no try.' Well, if I screwed up, there literally wouldn't be any second try. I'd be dead. I had to get it perfect the first time, or I'd be lucky just to get an open-casket funeral. 

"You don't have to do this Ed," Chachamaru said from above me.

I opened my eyes. 

"It's alright," I said calmly. "Just have them reroute all of the power to this terminal." 

She hesitated, but nodded firmly before relaying my instructions to the two men.

I tensed myself, bracing myself for the onslaught of energy. I had thought I had prepared myself for this.

I was wrong.

For a second, I was simply numb, the pain too enormous to even react to. Then I heard horrific screaming somewhere distant in my mind, before I realized that it was _me_. 

It was as if I was impaled on a bed of a thousand hot nails, raking endlessly across my body. I had _never_ taken this much energy into me. I fell to my knees, incredible pain drowning out the rest of the world.

But I refused to let himself be beaten by this power. This was pain. Nearly unbearable yes. But I had felt worse. Far, far worse.

I remembered Cecelia and her burnt father. The devastation we saw in the Slums. I... remembered my village, my mother and father. My _sister_. I remembered that day, in stark clarity through this pain.

And the pain I felt that day vastly outweighed what I felt now. This? This was _nothing_. 

I gritted my teeth, willing myself to rise, willing myself to master this power. 

To hell with it. I wasn't going to just let that bastard in the sky have free reign. I was _pissed_  damn it, and I hated the feeling of helplessness. I would not allow him  to devastate more of this city. I remembered what I had seen in the  Slums. It was the same people who behind that who were now trying to  annihilate the entire city. Enough was enough. 

I screamed my challenge to the heavens, wrenching myself upright and forcing my will down upon that power. It hurt, yes, but I could bear it. I could withstand it. 

I drove my will into the heart of the power I was channeling, power strong enough to supply a city. Raw power filled my senses and I roared along with it, crackles of blue-white lightning flashing around me.

It begged to be released, to be used on _something._ I needed to bring down those cannons, but I couldn't see anything because of that damned roof.

So the first thing I did was tear the roof clean off the building. Metal whined and screamed as I simply ripped the entire roof off in a magnetic burst, discarding it like litter. 

Finally. I could see it now, the enormous city-ship in the sky.

Blue beams raked across the landscape, devastating the city. That was enough of that. I concentrated on one of the active cannons, focusing my attention on it. Then I began to shape a bolt of cosmic force.

That itself would be something typical. The power I was pouring into it, however, was not. Power incarnate wrapped itself into the bolt, sinews of force and magnetic lattices shaping it into something far greater than I had ever created.

I roared and let the bolt loose, unearthly power streaking towards the sky at relativistic speeds. It was a testament to the strength of that ship that my lance didn't simply blow a hole clean through it.

Instead, a section of its shield simply blew into fragments of useless energy before the bolt utterly vaporized several cannons in one go. The shield instantly reformed around the ship, but the damage was done. 

I shifted my attention to another section of the ship. I still had quite a ways to go before all the cannons would be down. It didn't take long to form yet another lance of power and it screamed through the air, shattering the shield and annihilating several cannons.

At this, the ship stopped firing and then I could see several beams tracking towards our location. I snarled and extended my will. An invisible lattice of cosmic and magnetic force enveloped us and the beams were deflected uselessly away.

In return, another blast of cosmic power destroyed the cannons that targeted us. 

Another volley of beams came, tracking towards the rest of power plant, as if they hoped to blow us up with it, but I had none of that. I extended my range of influence around the plant, fueled by the vast power that filled my senses, and deflected those shots too. 

I hurled yet another burst of cosmic force, and watched as the ruins of the those cannons fell uselessly from the sky.

I knew I couldn't keep this up forever, but I had to go for as long as I could manage. I had already taken out many cannons, but there was still a long way to go.

I only prayed that Finn and the others would be able to stop this thing soon. I freed my mind from those thoughts and returned to work.


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## masamune1 (Dec 7, 2010)

The dark man stood on the roof of the building and watched as the _Gibraltar_ took the full-force of the cosmic bolt shooting out of the Bowery. The lights of the town flickered and died as Kent sucked the energy out for his barrage of attacks, and the airship barely survived the onslaught that took out scores of cannons in a fiery inferno. 

The boy seemed a bit drunk on power as he did not stop to think that the innocent masses below would suffer the effects of falling flaming debris, and the dark man did not doubt that many people died that night, cut and crushed by cannon pieces or burned by cinders. He wondered if the boy's friends (or whatever one would call them- Knight and Archon he had only met mere minutes before, Finn a few days) had survived those attacks unscathed, or if he had inadvertently hurt or killed them too.

The ship retaliated with multiple shots but Kent deflected them easily, blocking them with a shield of energy and resuming his reckless assault. If he did'nt stop soon he might bring down the whole ship alone, but that did'nt matter. The others would escape, either by Knight teleporting or Archon more riskly using his psychokinesis. Too bad for Finn he would be next to useless if that happened.

Kent was relying on the power generator to achieve this level of strength. But it provided a hint at what he was truly capable of, and the experience should leave him stronger than he was when he first arrived in the city. As the dark man turned his gaze to the raging fires and screaming civilians Kent was causing in his battle with the ship, the dark man could not help but smile.

Everything was going according to plan.


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## Endless Mike (Dec 7, 2010)

*Gibraltar Bridge*

"Report!" Yelled Doctor Shell, as the entire ship was rocked by a massive impact, many technicians and workers falling out of their seats.

"A powerful energy weapon is firing at us from the direction of the city's main power plant. It also appears to have a shield that is deflecting our attacks." Dr. Rosenberg replied, remaining remarkably calm as she picked her clipboard up off the floor where it had just fallen.

The ship was tossed again, but this time she managed to avoid dropping the clipboard.

"Cannons 17-24 are down!" Shouted a technician. "Shields at 65% and holding."

"Concentrate all firepower on that plant!" Commanded Dr. Shell. Dozens of cannons opened up on the building, but Ed's shield managed to deflect them. However he was unable to block the sheer amount of firepower and keep up his assault at the same time, so he was forced onto the defensive.

"Huh, looks like we're at an impasse," murmured Dr. Shell. Suddenly he had an idea. "Keep firing, but move us directly over the power plant."

"Yes sir," mumbled the technician from earlier.

*Gibraltar Hanger 4*

"You know, you didn't have to be so rough with that guy," said Finn. "With my power I could have gotten the information out of him much easier."

"How was I supposed to know that? I just met you," replied Engima.

"Good point," replied Finn, as suddenly the room started shaking and the three of them were thrown to the ground.

"What the hell was that!?" asked Finn, pulling himself to his feet.

"The ship was just struck by a massive bolt of energy," replied Archon, sensing the events outside. "Seems like someone has found an effective way to fight back."

"Let's just hope they don't kill us too," commented Engima. As if to highlight his point, another blast rocked the ship, and they were knocked down again.

"We don't have any time to lose," said Archon, quickly recovering.

Walking through the nearby door, the three located a staircase labeled 

*LEVEL E - HANGARS*

"5 levels down then, let's get moving," said Enigma, as he used his teleportation powers to hasten their descent.

Arriving at the door marked *LEVEL J - SHIELD GENERATORS*, they opened the door and saw their target - 4 massive, glowing cylinders, radiating with azure light.

"This is too easy," said Archon, as he prepared an energy blast, but before he could fire it, a strange cloud appeared in front of them, blocking the way to the shield generators. The cloud soon resolved itself into a humanoid figure, over 12 feet tall with massive arms, and seemingly composed of dark-gray metal.

"What is that thing?" Asked Finn

"Trouble," replied Enigma, going into a defensive stance and creating multiple shadow weapons. Archon fired the blast he had prepared, but the monster seemingly absorbed the energy into itself, showing no visible damage. Then it charged at them, its arms morphing into blades.

*Pandemonium Power Plant*

It was all Edward Kent could do to keep the shield up, as it soaked up dozens of blasts per second. Diverting even a little power into an attack would spell the end for him. However he did seem to be occupying the airship's full attention, as it had stopped firing on the rest of the city. Then, to his surprise, he noticed the ship began moving, heading in his direction!

"Chachamaru, what's going on?" He asked over the intercom.

"I don't know, you seem evenly matched. They might be trying to close the range so their weapons can deliver more firepower, but those blasts are incredibly coherent, so I don't think it would really hel- Oh no!" She panicked, as she realized what Dr. Shell was up to.

"What's wrong?" Asked Ed, still concentrating his utmost to block the volley of blue energy.

"This power plant is a combined geothermal/solar facility. Without sunlight, we lose half of our power!"

No further explanation was needed for Ed to catch on. The Gibraltar was moving to position itself directly above the power planet - blocking out the sun and thus weakening the shield enough for its weapons to break through. He watched the immense warship coming ever and ever closer.

"This is bad," was all he could manage to say.


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## masamune1 (Dec 7, 2010)

*3 Years Ago: Pandemonium- The Butchers' Den*

_Draygon the Butcher stood over the surgery table, focused intently on his work, when the Mage entered the room. The man strapped to the table had blood pouring out of his mouth- Draygon had cut out his tongue earlier- and now moaned in agony as Draygon expertly worked his way through his insides. The Butcher had all the skill and knowledge of a doctor when it came to torture and was a master of his craft. His face was grim and serious but he was indifferent to the poor man's pain; Draygon was not taking pleasure in this, not this time. The man was not here for punishment, or for Draygon's sadistic pleasure. No, today, Draygon was merely practicing. The victim was here for Draygon's hobby.

"We have found him", Draygon said without raising his eyes. "He is in a town called Scrapheap, out in the Southern Wastes. Take 300 Magi with you." 

Balthazar listened as Draygon told him this while carefully pulling out the mans intestines. He was one of a handful of powerful Magi in Draygon's employ, but he was also a senior figure in the loosely organized Guild of Magi and could find a sufficient number of underlings for such tasks. He asked Draygon, "Do you want the father, or just the girl?"

"The father is an old waste. His daughter can be molded. She's the only one we are interested in."

`We?`, thought the Magi. So his master was not acting alone. He glanced at the plastic curtains behind the Butcher and thought he saw the shadow of a man sitting on a chair, reading. "And the town?", the Magi asked. 

"Get rid of it.", Draygon said nonchalantly, still focused on his work.

"....As you wish", Balthazar said. And he left.

The dark man closed his book and entered the room. Draygon continued with the torture. "Well now, thats that worked out.", the man said.

"I don't know whats so special about this girl that you'd take this time to get her. What's some bitch from the Wastes going to do for you?", Draygon said with his usual manners. 

"Oh, the girl has quite special talents, I'm sure of it. But it's not her I'm interested in. It's her brother."

"Her brother?". Draygon still did'nt stop; he said this as he began drawing a line around the mans left leg in black chalk; this was where he would cut it off. 

"He has impressive gifts of his own. If I am informed correctly, he should be strong enough to take on all those Magi we just sent. I think he could kill them, if the proper motivation is given."

This did make Draygon stop. He looked up and stared his company dead in the eye. "So I just sent 300 trained Magi to their deaths. 300 men, down teh drain."

"That's right", the man said luntly, returning the stare without a hint of intimidation."

Draygon continued the stare for a few seconds, then shrugged and said "Shame", an picked up the rusty saw to work on the lime. Magi were useful, but he never particularly cared for them. His boss here was a powerful sorceror, of course, but he was in a different league entirely, and unlike the average Magi he knew how to fight with his fists.

"Just remember to put on a show. Can't have people thinking you don't care about the waste of manpower."

"Will do," Draygon replied as his victim wailed while he sawed through his limb. His master left, and Draygon continued with his practice. _


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 7, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

The sensation was incredible, albeit excruciating. I could feel the power on every pore of my skin, right down to the very tips of my toes. I was completely immersed in it, the power of Heaven and Earth flowing through me.

I willed another cosmic lance into existence, before sending it soaring towards the ship. It struck the ship like a thunderbolt, rending the shield to shreds and ripping apart several cannons. 

I swore I saw the ship _stagger_ from the force of the impact. 

I didn't slow down my attack. Another burst of cosmic power shot towards the heavens, tearing through the shield and destroying several cannons once more. This time I _did_ see the ship wobble. My repeated blasts were getting to it. More of the energy from the blasts was able to hit the ship itself, rather than spending itself against those blasted shields.

"Ed!" Chachamaru exclaimed over the intercom. "Concentrated fire coming your way, ten 'o clock high!"

A curtain of azure death rained down and I extended my will to meet it. Spiraling lattices of magnetic force warped and aligned themselves, supported by a matrix of cosmic energy. The cerulean beams were deflected away from us, the sky becoming blindingly blue for a second.

I began to retaliate but then Chachamaru shouted, "Again, same location!"

Screaming lances of blue energy rushed towards us and I reestablished the barrier, deflecting the shots. Scarcely had I deflected that onslaught when yet another volley came. And when I stopped that, another. Then another. And another!

"They're focusing you," Chachamaru said needlessly. 

I almost snarled in frustration. 

There was no time to fight back. If I opened myself to launch another attack, we would be wiped out in a moment by a single burst of those damned lasers. 

I had plenty of power to go around right now, but I didn't have the _control_ to back it up. I couldn't attack and shield at the same time. Unfortunately, I hadn't yet wrapped my mind around doing two diametrically different things with my powers.

I just gritted my teeth and kept up the defense. At least I had their full, undivided attention. The ship was no longer harming the city.

I thought I was imagining it at first, but I saw the ship moving. In _our_ direction.

"Chachamaru, what's going on?" I asked, focusing my will upon the shield.

Her voice replied over the intercom. "I don't know, you seem evenly matched. They might be trying to close the range so their weapons can deliver more firepower, but those blasts are incredibly coherent, so I don't think it would really hel - Oh no!"

Wait, what? Had something happened up there? 

"What's wrong?" I asked, still keeping my eyes skyward. I couldn't afford to lose focus. One slip up and we were dead. 

Her panicked voice sounded back a heartbeat later.

"This power plant is a combined geothermal/solar facility. Without sunlight, we lose half of our power!"

_Crap_.

I had forgotten that I had been dealing with a group of Mad _Scientists_. It was an extremely clever ploy on their part. 

It was moving towards us because it planned to place itself directly over our heads. Which would, of course, block all the sunlight and thereby weaken the amount of power I actually had available to pour into this shield. 

And then they'd smash right through it and kill us all.

I watched as the ship accelerated towards us, its sinister shadow approaching.

"This is bad," I swallowed.

I thought furiously, even as I kept up the shield. Was there anything we could do?

"Chachamaru," I asked. "Does this power plant have any solar storage facilities?" 

There was a brief pause before she replied, "Yes, but they've recently undergone maintenance. Just last night in fact. There hasn't been any time to store any energy for now."

I cursed under my breath. 

"The deficiency shouldn't be instantaneous," Chachamaru said thoughtfully. "The energy that's already been transduced from the solar panels should be still available." 

I nodded. I then voiced a thought aloud. "Those energy cannons shouldn't be able to fire forever either. They'd literally melt themselves from the overheating if they keep firing at the rate they are."

"Probably," Chachamaru replied. "However, they likely have cooling facilities inside. It shouldn't take them too long before they're able to fire again."

I nodded grimly. It came down to who broke first, us or them. If the power we had left was enough to hold them off long enough, they'd be forced to stop firing for a few minutes to cool the remaining cannons. I could begin the onslaught of attacks again.

But it wouldn't take long for those energy cannons to be back in working order again. And by that time, I would be working with effectively half of the power I was manipulating now. 

If Finn and the others hadn't stopped the ship by then...

The ship was coming even closer, its shadow stretching towards us like some kind of demonic specter. Even now, it kept up its barrage of attacks and I could do nothing but defend.

"You should leave," I said seriously to Chachamaru. "Take the two others with you, I can shield your departure."

There was nothing but static on the intercom for a few seconds before Chachamaru angrily replied, "I am many things, Edward Kent, but what I _am not_ is one who will abandon my friends. We got into this together, we'll see the rest of this through together."

"But - " I began to protest. 

"No," she said firmly. "I have faith in you and Finn. We _will_ make it through this."

I smiled wryly. I should have known that she would said no.

For now, we could do nothing but endure. For now, we had rely on faith. I had to trust in Finn and the others. 

I returned my attention to the beast in the sky and gritted my teeth, mentally preparing myself for the struggle to come.

It was like my dad had always said every morning in the forge.

_'Time to get to work, Ed!'_

That's right, Dad. 

Time to get to work. 

And so I did.


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## masamune1 (Dec 7, 2010)

*1 Month Ago: Pandemonium- The Slums*

_The mage Dee entered the empty church in the slum district of Pandemonium. The contact was supposed to meet him here. Dee was a middle-ranked in the Guild of Magi; he was her because Balthazar, one of the senior mages, apparently had a job for him. It was nothing unusual- the Guild often hired it's junior members out (most non-members, and some of the more moralistic members, regarded this as corruption, but what else was new in this city?). Balthazar had become a real slave-driver in the last few years since an incident where he lost 300 magi in some town in the wastes- Dee was one of the few survivors. The guild was too loosely organized for him to really be "blamed" for that, but Balthazar also worked for one of the big-time players, and he apparently was less accomadating. Balthazar felt he could'nt afford any more screw-ups, and that meant Dee could'nt either. If he knew what was good for him.     

Even as a fairly competent mage, churches gave Dee the creeps. He had seen all sorts of scary stuff in his time, and had been the scary stuff to quite a few people, but gods and religion unnerved him. Made him feel like he was'nt in control of his life. Course, the reason he was here was a remider that he was'nt, but one reminder was enough. 

"Dee, isnt' it?", said a voice behind him.

Dee turned to face the altar and recognised the face and the voice, but he did'nt have a name. He knew this man, but not in any close way, more like an aquantince. He ran with the Masked Bandits (the *real* Masked Bandits, not that fake street gang. Too few people knew the difference; he heard even the punks who used the name did'nt know they had stolen it. Would suck to be them). 

Magi and Bandits sometimes travelled in the same circles, because the average member of the guild- the Pandemonium branch, anyway,- made his living as a gangster and merc himself, a gangster and merc who could do magic. The Masked Bandits were nothing to be sneered at and had their own powers too. This guy, he did'nt remember the name, but he knew enough not to mess with him.

"I'm Gregory. I...think we've met", he said, shaking Dee's hand.

"Yeah....I've seen you around. You're with the Masked Bandits, are'nt you?"

"Not any more. I've given up that way of life. For God", he gestured to his monk robes. "I look after the children here. A lot of orphans and runaways in the slums. Some go missing, but....what can I say?", he shrugged, "The Cult of Set pays well for new members."

Mean as Dee was, he was'nt particularly happy to spend all day chatting with this slave-dealing, child-pedelling piece of dirt. He did'nt know Gregory that well but that's because he'd knew well enough to avoid his company. "You've got a job for me. Let's here it. I dont' want to hang around here."

"Alright, alright", Gregory said, still smiling his asshole smile. "You are right, Dee, I do have a job. Your master Balthazar sent me to.....commision your services."

Dee did'nt really think of Balthazar as his "master"- his boss, maybe-, but he let that slide. "Well, what is it?", he demanded.

"Eastern part of the Southern Wastes- don't worry, you won't run into reality warpers- theres an old Wal Mart with the top floors still intact. There should be equipment to establish a satellite link with Pandemonium. Balthazar wants you to sort it out." 

"Wait...thats it?"

"Thats it. Strict orders."

This seemed like a pretty crap job. Why the hell would they want a link to the Southern Wastes? And why the hell send him? He was a mage, not an engineer. "I don't beleive you. Prove it- there's gotta be some mistake."

But there was on mistake. Gregory showed Dee Balthazar's blue signet ring, the sign that he was a senior mage, and nobody could get that unless he gave it to him. "Orders are orders. Get a couple of your friends. You leave tonight."

Dee stared at Gregory dumbfounded at the order. It made no sense "Go", Gregory ordered sternly, pointing his finger at the exist of his church. He nodded, and left, thinking over what just happened. He would need to get the guys together, and maybe bring that new guy Billy. He did'nt know why they were being sent on such a useless errand, but if Balthazar ordered it he just had to carry out that order.

"Oh, one more thing", Gregory said, running up to him. Dee turned and listened to him, "I am with the Oneiori now", Gregory said.

Dee looked at him for a moment, and said "Who are they?" He had never heard of them.

"A very powerful group, a group that will change the world", Gregory said, failing to notice his own mispronunciation. He clasped his hands on Dee's face, and said, "Remember that. The Oneiori. Do not forget it."

"....Okay", said Dee, gently taking the ex-Bandit's hands off of his face. He walked out of the church, and saw some of Gregory's doomed kids playing outside as he left the slums, pondering over what just happened. It never occured to him that he was bait, that Gregory was ordered to make him remember that name- Oneiroi- so he could tell Edward Kent in the desert wastes. He did'nt know he would soon be beaten and left for dead in a Wal-Mart, the latest victim of Scrapheap's vengeance. And neither he nor Gregory knew about the powers using them to bring chaos to Pandemonium.  _


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## Wesker (Dec 8, 2010)

LEVEL E - HANGARS

"5 levels down then, let's get moving," said Enigma, as he used his teleportation powers to hasten their descent.

Arriving at the door marked LEVEL J - SHIELD GENERATORS, they opened the door and saw their target - 4 massive, glowing cylinders, radiating with azure light.

"This is too easy," said Archon, as he prepared an energy blast, but before he could fire it, a strange cloud appeared in front of them, blocking the way to the shield generators. The cloud soon resolved itself into a humanoid figure, over 12 feet tall with massive arms, and seemingly composed of dark-gray metal.

"What is that thing?" Asked Finn

"Trouble," replied Enigma, going into a defensive stance and creating multiple shadow weapons. Archon fired the blast he had prepared, but the monster seemingly absorbed the energy into itself, showing no visible damage. Then it charged at them, its arms morphing into blades. Archon moved Finn out of the way and dodged. Enigma then attacked the metal construct from behind but did not damage. Archon used this distraction to launch a quick psiorb. However all it did was leave a dent which quickly repaired itself. The robot formed a tendril and swatted at Archon. Archon quickly erected a shield as the tendril sent him flying into the wall. 

The robot charged at Archon but Enigma sent a powerful drill constructed from shadows through it's chest. The robot hunched over seemingly lifeless but suddenly the hole in it's chest healed and it quickly sent Enigma flying. Archon fire a powerful blast that sent the robot flying towards the other end of the room. "The damn thing can regenerate!" exclaimed Enigma. Archon replied "There must be a limit to it's regeneration, keep it busy for me while I try something." Enigma nodded and sent several massive tendrils to attack the already recovered robot. Archon concentrated and began to gather psionic energy into a massive psi-orb. Just as the machine finished beating back the tendrils Archon launched the orb which tore off the upper half of the machines body.

"Is it dead?" asked Enigma , "We'll soon find out." replied Archon. Suddenly as if on cue a shimmering grey mist appeared over the robot and began to merge with the being, causing it's upper half to reform. Scowling in frustration Enigma suggested "What if it's torn into a bunch of smaller parts?" Nodding Archon levitated a jagged piece of wreckage in front of them and said "Form a drill around this." Shadows formed around the wreckage and began to spin, combining his powers with Enigma's Archon spun the wreckage at incredible speeds. Just the robot got up they sent the drill driving into the chest of metal construct pinning it to the ground.

Enigma and Archon grunted as their combined strength strained to tear the metal body. Suddenly there was a grating sound and the construct exploded into thousands of tiny pieces. Finn who had been taking cover came out and exclaimed "You guys did it!". However soon the metal began to converge into a mist in the middle of the room in fact all the metal in the room seemed to be sucked into the giant mass. "It's growing, I hope you have some more tricks Archon." It seemed there was no other choice he would have to use the storm. Suddenly the mass that was the size of a small house lashed out towards them. Quickly Enigma teleported the trio out of harms way. "I can destroy it but I will need about 15 seconds to concentrate." said Archon. Engima replied "I'll buy you some time." Spreading out his arms a huge mass of darkness erupted from Enigma. The darkness formed into tendrils and the wraith engaged the mass of metal. 

Archon closed his eyes and concentrated. An aura of intense blue light surrounded him as he channled a whirlwind of power. Once the storm was ready he opened his eyes, the mass of metal was as large as a four story building and was easily pounding enigma into submission. "Get out of there." Yelled Archon. Before the metal monster could land another blow Enigma teleported behind Archon. Letting out a great battle cry Archon released the mass of energy which raged and enveloped the mass of metal and half of the hangar. 

When the energy dissipated there was nothing left of the creature and the hangar was all but demolished. After making sure the storm did it's job Archon smiled and slipped into unconsciousness.


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## Endless Mike (Dec 8, 2010)

*Gibraltar Bridge*

"Sir, we've just lost shields!"

"What!?" Dr. Shell exclaimed, glowering at the technician who had just made the unsuspected announcement.

Cowering and stammering, the young man continued "Th-there was some kind of explosion in the shield generator room. The pr-prototype nanoswarm entity detected intruders and engaged them, but it's no longer responding."

"Intruders!?" yelled Dr. Shell, becoming almost incoherent.

"Y-yes sir, one of them has been identified as the same Phantom who infiltrated the Guild."

"And," Dr. Shell said, composing himself and attempting to speak calmly, "was there any reason why you did not tell me this earlier?"

"Uh, w-well, you seemed to be very busy, uh, sir, and I-"

Before he could finish, the mad doctor took a strange - looking gun out of his pocket and aimed it at the fumbling technician. The young man's face donned a horrified expression, but before he could speak he was disintegrated by a bolt of energy.

"Rosenberg, take his station. The rest of you, continue what you were doing. And stop those intruders!" He yelled. Fearing his wrath, the bridge crew immediately obeyed his orders.

*Gibraltar Level J*

"Well, we've done what we came here to do," said Finn, surveying the wreckage of what used to be the shield generators. "We should probably try to find a way out of here now."

"I'm not sure about that," replied Archon, still panting from the exhaustion of the psionic storm he had just unleashed.

"What are you talking about?" asked Finn. "We don't want to be on this thing when it goes down!"

"That's exactly my point," continued Archon. "It's not going down. In fact the attacks it was sustaining earlier have stopped completely. If we don't take it out ourselves, there might be no one else who can."

Finn and Enigma were both deeply disturbed by this revelation.

"Then that means - all of our allies have been defeated?"

"I don't know. The ship is continuing to fire almost all of its cannons continuously, at a single target this time, but that's all I can sense," replied Archon, now showing some signs of recovering. "If you ask me, we should find this thing's engines and knock them out."

Just then, two guards rounded the corner of the hallway. "You three! Stop there!" they yelled, firing pistols. Enigma quickly formed a shield to block the shots, and then Finn asked them nicely to drop their guns - they complied, under the influence of his power.

"You two wouldn't happen to know the situation outside, would you?" asked Finn. One mesmerized guard explained how someone was using the power plant as a weapon against the Gibraltar, and the counterplan Dr. Shell had enacted to defeat him.

"Must be Ed," mused Finn.

"Well that throws my plan out of the window," commented Archon. "We take out the engines and this thing drops right on top of him."

"Then the weapons should be our priority," said Enigma. Finn questioned the guards as to where the main control center was for the energy cannons. However, the response was not encouraging.

"Each individual cannon is controlled by an independent gunner, who all take orders from the bridge. There is no central weapons control system."

Damn. Shell had designed this ship too well. Finn kept pressing on, though.

"What if a gunner decided to rebel and not follow orders?"

"The cannons can be deactivated remotely from the bridge," replied the guard.

"Is there any way we could override the bridge's control and deactivate them from somewhere else?"

"I don't know, I'm not an expert," replied the other guard. "But your best chance would probably be the engineering bay, on level M".

"Thanks," said Enigma curtly, as he knocked the two out with shadow whips.

The three ran towards the stairs, just as more guards arrived to pursue them.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 8, 2010)

*Meanwhile*

"You will need mortal blood, to fully open those gates." The Reaper said 

"Samedi tilted his head in confusion, before gesturing at Susan. "This is why she is here usurper."

"Miss Adumar is hardly of pure mortal blood anymore, just like Mr. Crichton will no longer suffice...as you should know." Death said quitely "Her blood will not do."

"Then this ritual is doomed from the start," Cimitière said whistfully. "You giving us the power will have been for naught."

"Perhaps...but then again, I recently came across three people buried in the rubble, that would suffice." The Reaper paused, before saying "I could summon them here if you want them."

"As this ritual depends on pure mortal blood, that would be prudent," Cimitière said "But I should be asking why are you so willing to help us?"

"That would be telling," The Reaper said smiling. "But consider these three as your payment." He snapped his fingers and a moment later with a pop, three figures appeared out of mid air. One was a attractive bllack haired girl, who looked around wildy at the figures, before staring at The Reaper. The second was a odd beastial man, with something huge wrapped up on his back. As he got up, the straps broke, and a massive stone dragon fell out. It was bulky and the stone showed off strong muscular limbs, it had folded up bat-like wings, and it's eyes seemed to follow everybody. The third one, was a younger man, who carried a old guitar, and was rather grungy in appearence.

"Where the hell are we?" asked the younger man. "Who the hell are you?" he said pointing to The Reaper. the girl scowled at her companion as he said this. 

The Reaper tilted his head in surprise "You don't reconize me? perhaps I should change my appearence to something more familiar." His form began to ripple and shift, before a moment later a hooded skeleton with a scythe stood before them. "Do you reconize me now boy?"

All three of them were silent, and The Reaper could tell that Guede were getting impatient. A moment later the girl said hesitantly "We're dead aren't we?"

The Reaper shrugged. "Not quite, your still very much alive. However I summoned you from what would have been your untimely death...to here, where you will repay the favor." he paused. "or at least one of you will, by taking part in a ritual...because you see it needs pure mortal blood for it to work correctly."

"And none of you here have mortal blood running through thier veins." Said the beast like man, his talons clicking. "What about him?" he said pointing to Crichton.

"He is of unpure mortal blood," said Kriminel, before cackling. "He will not do...unlike you three"


"Yes..." said Death "So you must choose, one of you must take The Roach's spot in the sixth arc...so which will it be?"

"I don't make deals with gods...or demons." said the beastial man. "So i'm out."

The younger man and the girl looked unsure, before the girl said. "What's the catch...will this ritual somehow kill one of us."

"Possibly...possibly not," said Death. "Though there might be some after effects, once the ritual is done."

"What kind of after effects?" inquired the young man.

"Well...theoretically." said the Reaper.

"Violent Nausea," Said Richard.

"Fainting," Said La Croix.

"Loss of virginity," said Samedi looking at the girl with a wide grin. 

"Possible loss or gain of supernatural abilities," said Cimitière.

"The sudden desire to eat raw meat," Said Kriminel. "Also you might suddenly want to start sleeping with the dead."

The girl rubbed her chin for a moment, before saying "you know what? Hen wants to do it." the young man's head snapped around. "Yeah you do go on Hen, I mean i'm just a girl afterall." she said backing away, leaving the younger man fuming.

Samedi groaned in annoyance. "I wanted the pretty girl, but you'll do." he said absent mindedly. "Go and take the Roach's spot in the sixth arc." 

The Reaper handed him a knife as he went past, "when they tell you, cut your hand and dribble the blood on the lines, The Baron's and I will take over from there"

As he replaced the massive roach, Samedi looked up. "The shields are down, The ritual starts now....now boy." At his words Hen brought the knife to his hand and cut across from it. and let the blood dribble from his hand. As the droplets hit the chalk out line it started to glow, a few moments later the entire cricle glowed.

"Blood for blood, pure blood for blood." Samedi said. "We shed this mortal's blood to open forth The Gate. We shed this mortal's blood, to bring down our fury on our foes. Rise forth our gates of the Underworld, Rise forth and drag down our enemies to our domain, where they shall remain forever more!"

The glow spread from the circle and enveloped the gates, and it began to grow. The gate stretched to the sky now, and it now was ornamented with rubies and jewels. 

The gates began to creak open, and on that night the dead reigned. horrific shadow wriaths screamed and wailing and thrashed, as they flew out of the gates in the millions. It was a never ending flood as they impacted with the airship, and began to claw thier way in.

_________________________________________________________________

Enigma, Archon, and Finn, stopped in thier tracks as a horrible inhuman wail came down the corridor. 

"What was that?" Finn said in horror.

More screams were now heard, this time it was a mix of human's screaming in terror and that continuous ghostly wail...

"I don't know, but i've got the worst kind of feeling about this," said Enigma. "The kind of feeling like we should get the fuck out of here."

"No, we need to deactivate those cannons, we can't leave now." Finn said heatedly.

"Very well then boy, lead on."


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## Endless Mike (Dec 8, 2010)

"Boy?" Finn remarked, annoyed. "I can't be that much younger than you!"

"Shut up and let's get going!" Responded Enigma, and they ran down 3 flights of stairs. Several guards attempting to pursue them where stymied by shadow tendrils that Enigma used to slice up their weapons.

Running down the hall, they quickly found a door labeled *ENGINEERING BAY - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY*. Surprised to find it unlocked, they ran in. The room was massive, filled with all sorts of machines and devices, the purposes of which were completely unknown. An incredibly loud sound of grinding machinery and hissing steam permeated the room, almost loud enough to drain out the ghastly wail that had started up earlier. The most surprising thing, however, was that the room seemed to be deserted.

"They must have left to deal with whatever this new threat is," mused Engima, as Finn ran up to the nearest console. Due to a lucky break, the engineer working here earlier had left his station without logging out, meaning no password was required to access the computer terminal. However, it was still puzzling, as Finn didn't recognize the interface at all, and didn't even know where to start when it came to deactivating the cannons.

"Dammit, does anyone here know how to work this thing!?" He cried out in lament. "If only Chachamaru was here...."

"Wait," said Archon, still recovering from his effort earlier. "I have a.... friend who might be able to help."

Wondering how he could contact any friends from in here, Enigma and Finn nevertheless gave him the benefit of the doubt, as Jack closed his eyes and communicated with the spirit of the one called Magister.

"Yes, I can help you, this system is quite primitive compared to what we had on my planet," the ethereal being spoke into Jack's mind. Walking over to the terminal, he began inputting various commands, until he he finally was about to deactivate the cannons. However, Finn reached out a hand and grabbed him by the wrist before he could type the command in.

"What are you doing?" Archon asked. Finn replied, "If we shut them off now Dr. Shell will just turn them back on, and then probably lock out this terminal. We have to coordinate this with Ed, so that as soon as the cannons stop firing he destroys them immediately."

The ship shuddered around them, knocking them off - balance.

"We don't have enough time for that!" Yelled Enigma. "Besides, how are we supposed to contact him from up here?"

"I can send radio messages from here," Archon pointed out. Engima's question being resolved, they sent a transmission to the power plant.

A female voice rang out from the speakers. "Huh? Who is this?"

"Chachamaru! Boy am I glad to hear your voice!" Shouted Finn, as he quickly explained the plan. Relaying the information to Ed, he mentally prepared himself to shift from defense to offense. By this time, however, the Gibraltar was almost directly over the power plant, and he could feel the power he commanded beginning to ebb as the solar panels were blocked out.

"Ready.... now!" Chachamaru shouted, as Archon inputted the command.

*Gibraltar Bridge*

"What do you mean Armor Flash isn't working on these things!?" Screamed Dr. Shell, trying to make his voice heard over the constant wail.

"I don't know sir, they seem to be partially incorporeal, and they have begun invading the outer layers of the ship, all of our weapons are seemingly useless against them," replied Dr. Iris Rosenberg, now manning the console that used be the post of the doomed technician.

"Bring the auxiliary forcefields online! And tell those repair crews to hurry with the shield ge-" He was then interrupted by another technician.

"Sir, all cannons have gone offline! Someone jury-rigged a security override from the engineering bay!"

*Pandemonium Power Plant*

"Ready.... now!" Ed heard Chachamaru say the words, and he immediately noticed the cannons stop firing. Concentrating his utmost to harness all of the waning power he was channeling, he fired a massive burst of energy at the airship looming above him. For a second he was worried it would be dampened by the ship's shields, but instead it rippled through the surface of the ship, taking out almost all of the remaining cannons and opening large holes in several places. The strange wraiths that were attacking the ship quickly took advantage of these openings to flow inside.

*Gibraltar Bridge*

"Well reactivate them and lock out their terminal!" Shouted Dr. Shell. Before the technician could comply, a massive blast rocked the ship, nearly knocking the mad scientist out of his chair, and causing various devices to spark, smoke, and explode on the bridge.

"Direct hit! Main power distribution grid is down, we've lost weapons, reading multiple hull breaches! Reporting escalating casualties from those shadow creatures!" Yelled the panicked technician.

"Sir, we have to abandon ship!", Dr. Rosenberg said, standing up from her chair and grabbing her clipboard.

He raised his gun and pointed it at her. "Who gave you permission to leave your station, doctor?"

"Listen to reason sir, the ship is lost. The only thing we can do now is escape."

Scowling, Dr. Shell finally put down his gun, and issued one final order. "Accelerate us down towards the Bowery. If we're going out, we're going out with a bang!"

He then ran to the door, trying to get to the nearest escape pod, Dr. Rosenberg and the other bridge crew following him.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 9, 2010)

*Gibraltar Bridge*

Metal screeched behind them, as a section of the floor was torn away and dozens of the creatures flooded in. Dr. Shell felt his heart scream in pain, but he couldn't help but watch with horror as the wraiths advanced on them. _Is this the end?_ he thought to himself. He watched as Rosenburg got to do the door and opened the hatch to the escape pod. she looked back, her eyes wide, as the wraiths had captured the other crew members and were dragging them away screaming.

Rosenberg then looked to the floor...or at his feet. _Why is she doing that?_ she then turned and fled, he tried to follow, but he couldn't move. He didn't know why. Looking down he now saw a body draped across the floor, at his feet...it looked familiar somehow...but it couldn't be.

He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and voice from behind him said "Dr. Hugo Shell...it is time." And so Shell looked up into the face of Death and faded from this reality. 

Dr. Shell had not lived to see his ship burn that day, nor was he alive even when Dr. Rosenberg fled the room. He had died the moment the wraiths had entered the bridge, from a fatal heart attack...

_________________________________________________________________

And so the ship began to plumet to the ground. In the power planet below, a robot girl and a young man watched in awe and utter terror as it got closer and closer. The robot girl sent one last call to three companions still inside the ship, to hurry and find a way out. She then grabbed the younger man, and fled herself.

In the Temple of Set, the god felt the airships's descent and inwordly grinned, his time was nigh, and reflected on the chances of it destroying one or more of the seals binding him. It was quite likely. 

In a old Gentleman's Club an old man was starting to reawken, to the horrified voice of his secretary and bodyguards. He did his best to soothe them, even as the voice of his mistress told him that he was still needed.

In his hideout a gang leader slept unconcious, overlooked by three young people. He was blissfully unaware of what was unfolding...lucky him.

Draygon The Butcher emerged from his den, that day and looked to the sky as the ship fell, and he roared in approval, for in his mind his time was coming, and it would be a time of bloodshed.

At the Western Gates, A group of many looked on, as the shadow spirits emerged from the ship carrying screaming people. None of them had noticed The God of Death's departure. The wraiths began to head back to the Gates as The Barons grinned.

Far to the East awaited the People of Desert, waiting for the call from thier god...it would be very soon indeed.

On the falling ship itself three companions, struggled on thier way to find a way out. They were only a short distance away from the escape pods 

_________________________________________________________________

"You sure you can fly this thing," inquired Enigma as Archon strapped himself in to the pod. He looked around as if expecting something to suddenly jump out . "The wails have stopped...it's like we're the last people on this ship."

"Then it will soon be empty," Finn said.

"Yes...and to your question...let's hope so." said the Archon. "Close the hatch will you...let's see I push this...and then this."

The pod rocketed out of the airship, and Archon had to veer sharply to the right, to get out of the way of the ship.

"Anyway to get in touch with the other two?" asked Enigma "We need to lay low for a while...and I know just the place....but we need to ditch this crate first."

Behind them the ship continued it's plumet to the ground. "We need to put some distance between ourselves and that as well." he added


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## Platinum (Dec 9, 2010)

From the rooftops of Pandemonium two figures were watching the events transpiring above with bemused expressions. The one leaning on his staff retrieved a wine skin and passed it to his partner who drank deeply.

"Things are finally starting to get interesting, eh Scorpio?"

"So it appears..."

"Remember we are only here to observe Scorpio..."

"Yeah yeah, I know" She could not hide the annoyance in her tone. "Pass me the wine skin".

"I think you've had enough for the moment" he said in a playful manner. She said nothing. "I'm restricting your alcohol intake more for my safety than your own, you're a pretty mean drunk you know". He flashed a smile at her.

She frowned and focused her attention away from him.


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## SYSC (Dec 10, 2010)

*10 years ago: Wembley Stadium*

_A man stood infront of thousands on a stage, the stars in the dim sky mimored the camera flashes from the screaming fans. The luminescent blue and yellow light passed over him as he craddled a metalic red guitar. They echoed his name as he stood in his own silence, eyes closed almost in a trance. "Valen! Valen!". His blonde hair swayed from the thunderous rhymatic clapping of the fans. His fingers blurred over the strings of his guitar in a beautiful movement while bursting a falsetto into the mic that echoed through the minds of the fans.

"A blissful rebellion to the end, they wont take us alive"​
The fans screamed there applause jumping up and down. Valen whipped the guitar to his back smiling. A twinkle caught the side of his eye backstage, he saw a small boy wearing a black suit with shorts with a look of awe on his face. Valen walked over and picked up the boy, confidently holding him up on his biscep. He walked back across the stage placing the boy infront of the mic as he lowered it. The boy's eyes widened as he looked at the ocean of people cheering, Valen got to a knee putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. He whipsered to the boy

"You're gonna be the grestest, even greater than me" Valen said while fluffing up the boys hair. "They're calling for you, Hen"

"They need you"​ _
_________________________________________

*The Western Gates*

"Hen...We need you" a soft voice called out.

Hen's eyes began to blink underneath his glasses. He was laying on the ground looking up at a white light with a unclear figure looming over him.

"Hen...We need you to wake the hell up! This isn't a time for you to be taking a nap" Jessie said jabbing two fingers to Hen's forehead.

"Fainting was said to be a side-effect from your deal with the God of Death " Oscar said while picking up Jessie's stone dragon. "Along with violent Nausea, possible loss or gain of supernatural abilities and the sudden desire to eat raw meat" Oscar said looking at Hen

"Any loss of virginity?" Jessie asked wondering.

"God of Death?" Hen said while rubbing his forehead. "There is no such thing as gods, much less whatever that was. And those aren't any abnormal side-effects a person cant get from overdosing on drugs"

Jessie picked Hen's glasses from his face and lifted his head to see the hundreds of wraiths leaving the airship twirling in the air causing the screams of many.

"Overdosing on *bad* drugs" Hen said taking his shades from Jessie and putting it back on his face. "Im just a rocker looking for a place to be, I dont care about this magic stuff"

"Im far from a religous person or a rocker for the matter" Oscar said before pausing to exmaine his talons. "But theres no denying the proof we've seen. If it wasn't for him we would all be crushed to death from the rubble that the airship caused when it erupted from ground. I suppose that was the something you were seeing underground at the Gluide and not the bomb"

Oscar, Hen and Jessie than looked on to see the airship heading downward to a powerplant.

"We aren't gonna stand here all night waiting for you to get up" Jessie said

A few meters away a dark swirl appeared on the ground before The Reaper rose in shadows from it. The Reaper turned to see the three together and slowly moved towards them. Jessie and Oscar took a cautious step back as he arrived above Hen.

"You did a good job tonight, boy" The Reaper said, his hand extended to help Hen up.

"I dont think its possible to interact with hallucinations" Hen said tilting his head towards The Reaper.

Jessie had her head down irratated at Hen's arrogance and Oscar looked on completely expecting The Reaper to zap Hen into nonexistence. The Reaper shrugged and began walking off with the wraiths zooming by ahead of him.

"But theres something I want to ask" Hen said getting up. "Do you mind filling us in on what exactly has been going on?"


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 10, 2010)

*The Western Gates *

The wraiths continued to flow back through the gate, until the seemingly never ending flood of demons and those they captured finally, started to slacken to disappear. As the last of the wraiths came back through the gate, it swung shut with a might clang, and began to shrink back down. A few seconds later the Western Gates of the city had returned to normal, and the light from the circle began to fade. 

As the Light faded, the Barons images began to fade and disolve. When it had cmpletely faded Crichton, now a sweating mess, slumped to the ground unconcious. Susan rushed over and started patting him on the head, trying to awaken him.


"But theres something I want to ask" Hen said getting up, from where he sat. "Do you mind filling us in on what exactly has been going on?" 

The Reaper tilted his head for a moment. "That's a vague question...there are many things going on in the world this day...do you wish for me to elaborate on them all?" he asked grinning. "Perhaps you'd like to hear of the Rashamon the Mutant, and his death today in the south fighting off, massive rats?"

"No, no you mistunderstand,"  Hen said impatiently. "What has been going on here in this city...why is this occuring?"

"Why is this occuring?" repeated The Reaper "Why does anything occur dear child? perhaps because it is fate or destiny...or perhaps because somebody is manipulating events. Who can say, it is just reality." He paused for a moment before smiling. "As for your first question...my my that would be telling wouldn't it, and you don't have a thing to offer me in return for that favor."

"Wait your not going to tell us?" Jessie demanded. "Your just going to leave us in the dark?"

"Hmm not quite." said The Reaper before pointing towards where Crichton lay. "Talk to him, he can fill you in..." The Reaper turned his head, as the airship hit the ground, and a massive explosion erupted. "I'd advise you to take cover...i'd hate for you to die from the shockwave and debris." He said before disappearing once again.

"Wait...come back." said Oscar screamed.

"Didn't offer us anything we didn't already know...told you it was just a hallucination." Hen said.

Jessie scowled at him in annoyance. "Whatever, but let's do as your "hallucination" says and take cover, before something big and huge squashes us...look the roach has the same idea." she said pointing to where Susan was dragging the body of Crichton away.

_________________________________________________________________

*The Temple of Set*

The explosion from the airship rocked his temple, and a piece of the cieling came crashing down. Set however did not care, "The first of the seals binding me is gone!, My spirit is free to roam this city...but I need a body, and lucky for me I know just the one." The laughter of the god echoed throughout the Temple, before stopping entirely. "Come my children, come, my time is at hand"

_________________________________________________________________

*The Eastern Wastes, Three days Travel from Pandemonium*

"Our God calls to us!" Warleader Seti Machmud screamed, lifting his scimitar into the air. "Once again, We march on Pandemonium! We march to bring it's government crashing to the ground! We ride this night, and we shall not stop until our god is freed!" 

The 1500 strong cult screamed back and in thier eyes was rage and fury. The desert rose that night, and from miles away, if any were to look on, they would see a massive whirldwind of sand rising in the distance.

However if the cult itself had looked to the North to a rocky outcropping they would have seen a massive figure watching them. A massive tiger stood watch, for The Lord of War would witness what was to come.

_________________________________________________________________
*Pandemonium Hospital, Midtown*

Gerald Murphy, lay in his bed comotose. He had been that way ever since the night Enigma had attacked him and his bodyguard. The nurse noted that Luke Marcone had not visited him that day and sighed before walking back out of the room. 

Looking Back at the older man one more time, the nurse's eyes widened in shock as Gerald's eyes opened and he sat up sharply in bed. Turning to her he said. "Girl, bring me fresh clothes and begin my discharge." said the voice emanating from his mouth. 

"Mr. Murphy...we can't do that...we have to keep you here over night...it's regulations." the nurse said fear in her voice. 

"I do not care for your regulations...do as I say." said the voice anger and rage becoming prevelent.

"I...I will try Mr. Murphy," said the nurse backing out of the room hastily.

Set looked down at Gerald's hands...his hands now and smiled. "Freedom, tastes sweet." he said and began to laugh.

_________________________________________________________________
*The Western Gates*

A bucket of water splashed Crichton across the face, and he started. "What was that for." he demanded, before looking around. "and Who are you people?" he demanded looking at Hen, Oscar and Jessie. Susan chittered at him, for a moment. "They said The Reaper told me to tell them what?"

"To tell us what exactly has been going on." said Jessie impatiently.

"Do I have a choice in the matter, because I have an aching headache. Susan dearest, do you have something for that in your hat?"

Susan chittered a negative, before Hen replied. "Not really, now if you don't mind?"

Crichton sighed, "Oh very well, though to be frank, I just regained control over my body earliar today...when exactly would you like me to start."

"Preferably when The Phantom started causing trouble," said Hen.

"Oh well, that might be difficult...how about i'll just take you through the events of today..."

And so he began his tale beside the gates...while charred debris rained on other sections of the city, that section remained mostly safe.

_________________________________________________________________
*The Edge of the Slums*

"Any luck on getting through to Chachamaru and Ed?" asked The Archon to Finn. They had been walking for quite some time, and they had left the pod behind them in Midtown. Enigma only response to where they were going was "Somewhere to wait it out."

Finn scowled up at the silent man ahead of them, before saying. "Who can say, we left the pod, before we could be certain she heard us...and even if she did, our directions are horribly vague."

"If they don't come, i'll go look for them, with the Archon here." said Enigma ahead of them. "We're here." he said stopping in front of a massive and rundwon bell tower "This is where we'll wait, and as they used to say 'My home is your home."

"You live here?" asked Finn looking at it in surprise. 

"More or less, it's more of a safehouse if you can call it even that." He said. "Now get inside before someone sees us."

The first floor was caked with dust, though despit that a small refrigerator was stuck to the wall, along with a small stove. on another wall hung a couple of pictures, depicting a average looking man with black hair, with a beautiful woman and a small wide eyed girl. Finn and The Archon noticed Enigma pause for a moment looking at the pictures, before walking up the stairs. "Be careful coming up, some of the stairs have termites in them." They continued to walk, until they reached the top. The furniture and arrangments were equally sparce. There was a wooden coffee table, that had piles and piles of old newspapers on them, and a couple of wooden chairs. stashed in a corner was a very small bed.

Enigma moved to sit down, and bade them to do the same. "Now I believe is the time for you to tell what brought you to this city..."


----------



## Endless Mike (Dec 10, 2010)

Chachamaru flew across the sky, carrying Ed on her back, as the massive airborne structure plummeted into the ground behind them. The shockwave of its impact threw them off course, causing them to crash into a third - floor window of a building that had been evacuated earlier.

"Are you alright?" Chachamaru asked, holding Ed in her arms.

"Yeah, I'm *cough*, fine, *cough*, I think", he replied, having a bit of trouble with the dust cloud that had been stirred up by the Gibraltar's crash.

"Good. We should get out of here, this building is not structurally sound." She helped him to his feet and they both descended the stairs to the ground level. Upon exiting the building, they looked at the remains of Dr. Shell's deadly weapon. The superstructure was still intact, jutting out of the ground at an odd angle, and smoke was rising from many fires that had been ignited from the crash, joining the smoke from the rest of the burning city after it had been devastated by the ship's cannons.

"So much for Pandemonium," Ed said, still awestruck by the sight. Just then, they heard a faint, muffled cry from behind them. Turning around, they noticed a barely - moving hand sticking out from under a pile of rubble.

Chachamaru immediately ran over and started to pick up the debris, while Ed used his powers to stabilize it. Underneath, they found a middle - aged man with graying hair and a mustache, wearing a casual suit.

"Oh, thank you!" He said, as he pulled himself to his feet. Chachamaru noted that one of his arms was broken. "I was trying to gather some emergency supplies before retreating to an underground shelter, but then that shockwave hit and I was buried. I thought I was a goner! Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

About to ask the man if he had any information on their friends, Ed was interrupted before he could start.

"Wait, I know! You two sure look like you've been through a lot. How would you like some new clothes? Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself: I'm Alan Martel, CEO of Martel's Fashion Emporium, the largest clothing chain in Pandemonium!" He looked around at the devastated city. "Err... at least it was, but we're expanding to New Jericho this year, anyway. One of my stores is just down the block, if you're interested!"

Noting that this man seemed strangely nonplussed by the devastation, Chachamaru thought it might be a good idea to take him up on his offer. After all, her clothes were barely holding together, and Ed's weren't doing that much better. They could also ask him for information later.

Once they reached the store, Mr. Martel was quite happy to see that it was virtually undamaged. Ed quickly picked out a plain brown jacket and pants, while Chachamaru chose a casual T-shirt and jeans. While putting the shirt on, Martel noticed the metal graft on her arm.

"I've never seen anything like that before," he marveled, peering in for a closer look. The gynoid immediately turned away, covering up the embarrassing scar.

"It's nothing," Ed chimed in. "But more importantly, do you have any idea where we might find the following people?" He described their allies to him.

"I'm afraid I've never seen anyone matching those descriptions before.... unless," his face suddenly twisted into a horrified gasp. "You don't mean the Phantom of the Slums! The evil supercriminal with the million dollar bounty!"

"He's really not that bad," Chachamaru said, but Martel would have none of it.

"Get out! Get out of here immediately! I won't have anyone who associates with criminals and murderers in my store! GET OUT!"

Backing off from the now - hysterical businessman, the two did as he said.

"He didn't seem to know anything anyway," remarked Edward as they walked down the sidewalk, glancing back to see Martel picking up the phone to call the police. Good luck with that considering the power was out and the entire city was in chaos. "At least we got these new clothes."

"Yeah, but that's a small comfort if we can't find Finn and the others," Chachamaru said, scanning the area for any sign of their friends.


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## masamune1 (Dec 10, 2010)

*Some Days Ago: Pandemonium- Slums*



Emperor Joker said:


> Meanwhile outside the slums, Enigma stood alone in an alleyway, once again studying the piece of paper. Oh he knew the location all right, but why did it have to be at the abandoned Temple of Set of all places...
> 
> He just hoped that the cult hadn't made a return to the city in the last few months...



_Darkness crept swiftly throughout the alleyway as these thoughts entered his head, darkness and shadow of the same nature as his own.

"Oh, don't worry about that, my Avatar. It's nothing quite so dramatic", spoke voice of his god.

"What is it then?", Knight asked the darkness. Erebus chose not to show himself, but oh well- gods had their eccentricities.

"The Temple of Set has simply been refurbished. Draygon's gang has taken over and started conducted business there. You are on the right track."

"It might be easier if you just told me where Draygon is, you know. Whats the point of popping up like this; just to check up on me?"

Erebus took a moment, then replied; "You spared Draygon's thugs back there. I was just curious about that. I did'nt think the Sword of the Reaper had gotten so soft. Perhaps I was a bit hasty in my choosing?"

"Soft?!", Victor Knight angrily replied, "I killed an acolyte of the War god back there! Think because  spared a couple of nobodies I'm soft even after something like *that?*" 

"Perhaps it merely means you are poor at choosing enemies", Erebus replied. Knight hesistated, and was about to respond but the God of Darkness continued, "I still have faith in your skills, Victor. Do not worry about that. I could just ue some reassurance. When you enter the temple, just make sure to leave....more of an impression. Oh, and do let me know how Set is doing. He must be quite lonely after all this time."

"And how I'm I supposed to do that? Are you going to give me your e-mail?"

"No. Simply return to this place after you are finished, or if you ever wish to contact me." 

This surprised Enigma slightly, "Whats so special aout this place?"

"Nothing", Erebus replied. "But there is a good pizza restaurant round the corner". 

And with that, the darkness and Erebus rescinded, leaving the avatar with his responsibilities. Leave an impression, eh? Well, he supposed he could do that....._


-------------------------------------------------------------


*Later*

_Victor Knight returned after a night of blood and carnage. He was curious and wanted to put his new god to the test, reckless though that may be. He stood around for some seconds without anything occuring and decided Erebus was merely teasing him, but eventually a cold, icy darkness swept through the alley. Once again, he stood in the presence of the God of Darkness, and once again Erebus chose not to take a form. 

"Well, you wanted an impression. I think the janitor will agree I left one", Enigma said.

"Indeed. I saw it myself. I'm sure Draygon will be quaking with fear when he hears of this.", Erebus said sarcastically.

Knight ignored the gods' jests, though in truth he found them somewhat unusual. "I saw the statue of Set. I felt him, stuck in there. I suppose I can thank you for that."

Erebus did not respond. After a few moments of awkward, slightly unnerving silence, Knight went on, "Sucks to be him, I guess."

"He still has some followers out in the Eastern Wastes. Not many, a thousand or so at most, though they "recruit" some people from the slums." Enigma did'nt need to ask if this "recruitment" still involved kidnapping and buying slaves. "Maybe when he wakes up", Erebus continued, "he could try contacting them. I'm sure he'd be glad to know some people still care for him."

"He's waking up?", Knight asked, slightly alarmed.

"Your little massacre woke up the dead. Don't worry, though- he's not getting out anytime soon. But perhaps you could pop in, make him feel special."

Victor Knight felt Erebus was mocking him. He also wondered if perhaps he somehow wanted this, that he was manipulated into awakening the desert god, then he recalled that Erebus could hear his thoughts. "Rather paranoid now, are'nt you my servant? I thought you might wake Set up, I will confess to that, but that was merely a prediction. What would I gain from tricking you into doing such a thing?"

What indeed, Enigma thought-spoke.

Erebus remained quite, though Knight was sure he heard the softest laughter. The darkness went away, and Enigma was once again on his own.



----------------------------------------------------------------


Across the ground and walls of the Pandemonium slums that night, a great, cold, dark shadow rescinded from an alleyway. The homeless it crepted over shivered in their sleep, and there were a death or two that night truth be told. It swept through the streets and arrived at the feet of a man, where it slowed and was sucked into his shoes and his cane. "Why indeed, Victor, why indeed.", said the dark man softly into the night. 

The dark man in the Victorian suit then turned around, and entered his favourite restaurant. He asked for a pizza._


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 11, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

Azure lances of death descended upon us and my will rose to meet it. The sheer volume of fire was incredible and I could feel the impact against my cosmic shield like a thousand pinpricks of pressure. The attack was endless, a continuous barrage of laser fire.

Some of those lasers simply dissipated against my shield. Still others were deflected away harmlessly into the air.

Had it not been for my shield, we would have been dead a thousand times over. Despite the blinding light of those laser beams, I could see the shadow of the airship. It was approaching rapidly.

"How much further?" I shouted over the incredible noise of that concentrated fire.

"It's currently 719.2 meters and closing at approximately 25 meters per second, " Chachamaru replied tensely over the intercom.

"Come on, Finn," I muttered, keeping my focus on that shield.

The ship continued to approach, that damned shadow growing closer. But all I could do now was defend, keeping all of my concentration on maintaining my shield.

"600 meters!" Chachamaru announced moments later. I gritted my teeth and continued my defense.

Those blasted cannons continued to send coherent lances of blue energy down at us.

"400 meters!" Chachamaru shouted.

Damn it, Finn. Unless they did something fast, we were to going to be ash down here...

That was when I heard it. It began as a low rumble in the distance. But then it rose and rose until all I could hear was unearthly wailing and screaming. I nearly lost my focus and dropped the shield and I stared as countless dark things rained from the sky, covering the ship like a dark curtain.

The ship flashed topaz once more, blinding me briefly but when my vision returned, those things were still there, a countless horde of wraiths and dark beings summoned from who knew where.

Then the sky became blindingly bright again as the ship heated its own hull to try to incinerate those things crawling all over it. But it was to no avail.

Chachamaru suddenly spoke over the intercom. "Ed, it's Finn! They've found a way to shut down the cannons!"

I nearly collapsed in relief. They had made it!

She continued, "They can only make them stop firing for just a second though. That's when you'll have to throw everything you've got at it!"

I nodded harshly, readying myself. I was tired of defending myself endlessly. It was time to strike back.

I could feel the power I wielded beginning to die, as the shadow of the ship began to cover the solar panels.

"Quickly!" I almost snarled, as my shield began to lose strength.

"Ready..." Chachamaru said. I tensed, inhaling.

"Now!"

The sky became miraculously clear, the beams of light fading to nothing. I didn't waste time. I took the same energy I had used for my shield and created yet another bolt of cosmic power. A magnetic matrix wrapped around it, as I pooled unearthly power into it.

I shouted to the skies and the bolt took off, racing through the heavens faster than a bolt of lightning.

The ship rippled, waves of metal undulating from the point of impact. Then metal screamed as entire sections of the hull were blown apart, nearly all the cannons incinerated to useless ruin. Gaping holes now littered the ship and I watched with morbid fascination as more of those wraiths poured into that ship.

I couldn't shake a nagging feeling though that I was forgetting something.

"Ed!" Chachamaru fairly shouted over the intercom. "That ship's coming down!"

Oh.... _crap_.

Metal rained down upon us as debris fell from the dying ship. No longer supported by its massive engines, it began to fall.

Towards us.

Glass erupted behind me as Chachamaru simply punched through the glass barrier.

"We have to get out of here!" she said, practically lifting me into her arms, my rifle strapped to her back.

"What about the other two?" I pointed out.

"They already left," she said, shaking her head. "They took off when you ripped the roof off."

That ship was getting larger in my vision...

I felt Chachamaru tense and we were off, shooting off into the sky. The sky blurred around me. My body lurched and my stomach did an unpleasant number from the sudden acceleration, but I could deal with that.

Then there was an absolutely incredible noise as the ship crashed into the power plant, throwing up a massive dust cloud and the shockwave knocked us toward a building.

I barely got up a shield around us before we crashed through it, glass shattering around us as we tumbled, holding each other tightly.

We lay there for a few seconds, perhaps too stunned by the events to move right now.

Chachamaru said gently, "Are you alright?"

I coughed, the dust getting to my lungs. "Yeah, I'm fine - I think."

"Good. We should get out of here, this building is not structurally sound." She helped me gingerly to my feet. I took a few experimental steps, flexing my limbs. Well, nothing seemed broken anyhow.

From what I could tell, this must have been some sort of office building. Several ruined cubicles were nearby. It had apparently been evacuated.

She handed me my rifle back and I took it gratefully, slinging it over my back. I had stashed our packs near the hotel we had stayed last night and I hoped they were still there. 

There was a nearby stairwell and we took it until we reached the 1st floor.

The devastation we saw outside was breath-taking. A massive dust cloud obscured the sun, and all I could see was flame. Fires burned everywhere, across the Bowery throughout the horizon.

Sirens rang everywhere and I noticed that all of the lights were out. No surprise. Between my draining of the power plant's energy and its subsequent destruction, most of the Bowery was likely to be bereft of electricity.

The remains of the massive ship littered the landscape, surprisingly still mostly intact. It jutted out of the ground like some sort of massive monument, blackened steel and all.

I hoped Finn and the others had made it out alright.

"So much for Pandemonium," I whispered, awed.

Of course, even a massive airship like that wasn't sufficient to destroy a gigantic metropolis like Pandemonium. Even much of the Bowery remained intact. Those walls, however, had been broken in the onslaught.

"Ungghhhhh..." I heard a faint cry behind me and I turned around, looking for the source of the noise. 

"Unggnnhh...." There was a twitching hand just below a pile of rubble.

"Chachamaru?" I said. She was already on it, crouching down and gripping in it her strong arms. I concentrated, lowering the force of Earth's gravity around the rubble, reducing the strain Chachamaru had to exert to lift it.


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Dec 11, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

We had thrown away several pieces when we found him. He was a  plain-looking man, graying hair and mustache, wearing a very dirty  casual suit. 

He coughed and took our hands gratefully. I noticed that his left arm  was at an odd angle. "Oh, thank you!" he said in earnest. "I was trying  to gather some emergency supplies before retreating to an underground  shelter, but then  that shockwave hit and I was buried. I thought I was a  goner! Is there  anything I can do to repay you?"

Well, we did need to find our friends. 

I opened my mouth to ask, but he interrupted me, speaking excitedly,  "Wait, I know! You two sure look like you've been through a lot. How   would you like some new clothes? Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce   myself: I'm Alan Martel, CEO of Martel's Fashion Emporium, the largest   clothing chain in Pandemonium!" He looked around at the devastated city.   "Err... at least it was, but we're expanding to New Jericho this year,   anyway. One of my stores is just down the block, if you're  interested!"

I arched an eyebrow at Chachamaru, who shrugged in response. Between  that battle with the cyborgs and getting blasted with electricity, both  of us were practically wearing rags. Chachamaru's clothes were torn in  several places as were mine. There was no point turning down free  clothing. Besides, we could ask him about our companions soon.

It didn't take us long to get there. As we walked, I asked Chachamaru quietly, "Any sign of them?"

She shook her head, frowning. "They seem to have made it off that ship,  thankfully. I couldn't detect them or," she hesitated. "Their bodies  there at all. So they must be safe."

I nodded. Thank God. 

The store's sign was ruined, large letters scattered on the ground, but the rest of it was surprisingly intact. 

Martel seemed pleased. He probably hadn't expected it to survive the  destruction. A fallen sign could be easily replaced, relatively  speaking. He swiped his KeyCard through the slot and ushered us inside. 

The store was quite large, though not quite as enormous as the  multi-storied Walmart I had frequented back in the Southern Wasteland. 

He held his arms (well, one of them anyway; the other was broken) out  wide and said, "Just pick out anything you like. It's on me."

We browsed through the various sections. I found a plain brown jacket  about my size and felt it. It was tough and felt durable. It would do. I  also managed to find some gray fatigues. I took both.

Meanwhile, Chachamaru came back from the women's section holding a causal T-shirt and faded jeans. I nodded.

Martel observed the two of us. "Well, go on! Changing rooms are just behind you. Go ahead and try them on."

We thanked him for his generosity and quickly changed. I kept my  original clothing - what was left of it - with me. It was still useful. I  could use it for bandages or something perhaps.

We returned and something caught Martel's eye. He was staring at  Chachamaru's graft. "I've never seen anything like that before," he said  in wonder. Chachamaru averted her gaze, pulling the sleeve down to  cover the scar.

"It's nothing," I said easily, changing the subject.  "But more  importantly, do you have any  idea where we might find the following  people?" 

I quickly and efficiently described Finn and the other two, the Archon and the Phantom.

Martel frowned, scratching his head. "I'm afraid I've never seen anyone matching those descriptions  before.... unless..."

He trailed off before gasping, "You don't mean the Phantom of the Slums!  The evil supercriminal with  the million dollar bounty!"

Ach. Perhaps it hadn't been a wise idea to mention him.

Chachamaru tried to reassure him. "He's really not that bad."

Martel's face contorted with anger and he snarled, "Get out! Get out of  here immediately! I won't have anyone who associates with criminals and  murderers in my store! Get out!"

I brought my hands in a gesture of surrender and we exited the store.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Martel picking up the phone,  perhaps to call the police or something. Good luck buddy. The power was  definitely out.

"He didn't seem to know anything anyway," I sighed. "At least we got these new clothes." 

"Yeah, but that's a small comfort if we can't find Finn and the others,"   Chachamaru said, looking around, her green eyes glowing.

"They wouldn't head to the hotel," I muttered. Chachamaru nodded. The Phantom wouldn't exactly blend in there.

"The Archon apparently didn't seem to come from Pandemonium either," Chachamaru said. 

"So they'd have to to crash at the Phantom's Lair," I concluded.

Lair. I almost winced at the corniness of it. 

"Yes," Chachamaru said. "That would be the most probable location. But where is it?"

"Well," I said, scratching my head. "He's called the Phantom, right? The Phantom... of the Slums! Yeah, that's what everyone calls him. So I guess it would be only logical for him to have staked out a place by the Slums."

"So, I suppose we can start our search there," Chachamaru replied.

"Yup," I agreed and we set off, heading back to the Slums. Perhaps I would get to see Cecelia again.


----------



## Endless Mike (Dec 11, 2010)

*Enigma's Hideout*

Finn had just finished explaining to Enigma about Eros, his message, and the events that had occurred on their way to Pandemonium. To his surprise, the shadow wielder actually seemed to accept this without much trouble. The reason for this was revealed when he told Finn that he was also chosen by a god. Archon's story of being empowered by aliens was also believed without much resistance. The world was indeed a strange place.

"After the battle, though, I can't help feeling that I got the short end of the stick," said Finn, frowning as he sat on the makeshift bed.

"How so?" Victor asked.

"Well think about it! You can teleport, make weapons, and do all of that cool stuff. Jack, you can fire huge blasts of energy and create forcefields! All I can do is mess with people a bit."

"You're really underselling yourself," replied Archon. "Your abilities are incredibly useful."

"Yeah, maybe, but when it comes down to an actual fight, 9 times out of 10 I can't do anything. I just have to pathetically hide behind someone else." Finn laid back on the bed, holding his hands behind his head.

"So then don't get into fights," Enigma replied bluntly.

"I didn't exactly have much of a choice recently!" Finn yelled, clearly upset now as he stood up. "Besides, I don't like the idea of seeing my friends fighting for their lives and not being able to do anything to help them."

Walking to the other side of the room, he turned around. "If my powers were stronger, I might be able to learn some kind of offensive move."

"Then you should practice and train your abilities," replied Jack.

"That might work for you, but for me it's not the same as just exercising or something," Finn said, his voice growing more annoyed by the second. "I got my powers from a bona-fide god! You'd figure if I wasn't strong enough he would have fixed that!"

"Then why don't you ask him?" Enigma said. This comment took Finn by surprise. Ask Eros for more power? Surely it couldn't be that simple. In fact, the idea was almost blatantly ridiculous. Why would a god just show up to help him whenever he wanted? Then again, why would a god have granted him these powers in the first place if he had no interest in helping him?

"How would I contact him?" Asked Finn, considerably calmer now.

Enigma sighed. "It's called praying. At least that's the standard way of contacting gods. I hear meditation also works, but I wouldn't know anything about that."

Huh. Praying? Finn recalled seeing this on old TV shows, movies, and books, and even a few times in real life before the Apocalpyse, but he had never seen any gods actually appear to grant these people wishes. Still, he supposed it was worth a try.

"Do you really think he'll answer?" Finn asked.

"Only one way to find out," replied Archon, somewhat bored - sounding.

"Okay then." Finn walked over to the edge of the bed he had been laying on earlier, and knelt down, holding his hands together in the position he remembered seeing people praying in.

"Uh, Dear Eros... no wait, that's not right, I'm not writing a letter, um, Eros, oh mighty god of, no no, that's just pointless flattery, um, Eros, if you would please grant me more power to help save the world - is that a little too melodramatic? Oh well, um, if you are listening, then please-"

Suddenly the room was filled with a bright flash of light, causing the three to temporarily look away. When they looked back, they saw a perfectly - sculpted man wearing a toga standing on the bed. His very body seemed to give off an unearthly glow.

They were all shocked. Despite his suggestion, Enigma never actually expected Finn's god to show up, and neither did Archon, nor Finn himself.

Finn was the first to speak.

"Y-you're here!" He stammered.

"Yeah, well, don't flatter yourself, I wasn't actually going to come at first, I just wanted to shut you up. That must have been the worst prayer I've ever heard!"

Finn's face dropped upon hearing this, worrying that he had failed to get the god's approval.

"Still, it was the first time anyone prayed to me in at least 1500 years, so I guess that's something."

"Th-then you know what-" Finn was cut off again by the vain god.

"Of course I know what you called me here for, but forget it."

"Wh-what? But you must have seen what just happened! I could hardly do anything! If you want me to be your champion, I need more power!"

Eros sighed, vainly flipping back his hair, and stepped off the bed, pointing an accusing finger directly at Finn's chest.

"I don't think you understand quite how this avatar thing works," the god said. "You already have all the power you need. It's up to you whether you can make the best use of it or not."

"You mean I won't get any stronger?" Finn asked, crestfallen.

"Now I didn't say that," replied Eros with a cryptic smile. "In order to progress as my avatar, you must best exemplify my attribute."

"Attribute?" Archon questioned, causing Eros to turn around and give him a dirty look for interrupting their conversation.

Turning back to Finn, the Greek deity spoke again. "Well, granted, I've taken on a few more since my early days, but you know my main one. Now you will face many more challenges on the road ahead, and I trust you will meet them admirably. One more thing - don't get discouraged. There are some fights you just can't win." With a wink, the god vanished in another flash of blinding light.

The room was quiet for a few seconds, until Enigma broke the silence.

"Still can't believe he actually showed up."

Archon nodded in agreement.

"What did he mean, exemplify his attribute?" Wondered Finn out loud.

"Well Eros is the god of love, is he not?" Offered Archon.

"Yeah, so what does that mean? I have to love people more?"

"Well you can hold off from loving me, buddy," said Enigma. Then the three broke out into laughter.


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## Platinum (Dec 12, 2010)

*11:45 PM

New Jericho- 5th District*

For three hours now she had been tailing her target through the squalor of New Jericho's 5th district. The man appeared to be nothing more than your standard New Jericho bureaucrat at first glance, but beneath that facade was a conniving man who was part of a great conspiracy. A conspiracy she had been sent to investigate alongside her friend Capricorn on behalf of her patron god. Libra didn't mind, she personally preferred the shadow games of espionage and avoided direct confrontation whenever possible. She wasn't like Leo who always demanded to be on the front-lines of any battle. Her main battles were those of the mind, and she usually won. 

30 minutes later and her target finally left the brothel he often frequented and continued walking to what she expected was the meeting grounds for the group of conspirators. Without hesitation she lifted herself up onto the nearest building and followed him from the rooftops above. Balance in many things came naturally to her and balance of the body was no different. Her footsteps were silent and nimble as her man unknowingly lead her to a worn down building on the East Side of the 5th district. 

Regrettably there was no way to get in close enough to overhear their plots without getting noticed but at least she would be able to see the rest of the conspirators once they left the meeting. But something did not feel right.

She turned around and was shocked by what she saw. Twenty meters away on the rooftops were 4 men who had been trailing her the entire time. Impossible! She should of been able to feel their presence before they got to within 50 meters of her. Then all of a sudden it hit her. These men were wearing spotless white body armor and emblazoned on their shoulder pads was a gold cross entwined by black thorns. "What are Paradiso recon troops doing in New Jericho", she thought to herself.

This was bad. She did not like her odds against 4 of these men especially when the possibility of more of them lurking in the shadows seemed an almost certainty. Her mission would have to wait, she needed to get away fast.

But could she get away? The grim reality struck her hard. She wasn't sure she could.


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## Platinum (Dec 13, 2010)

*3:45 AM

New Jericho- Rock Quarry*

How many hours had she been running? She honestly had lost track. For Libra her recollection of the past few hours was nothing more than city streets flying by in a futile attempt to lose her pursuers. She was able to slay one of them, her rapier's edge finding the man's heart but not before he was able to pierce her defenses and land a devastating blow on her right arm. Psychic power coursed through the Paradiso soldier's fist and it had wrecked havoc on her internally. Her right arm was rendered useless and even an hour later she had yet to regain feeling in it, but worst of all his attack effected her sense of equilibrium. 

In desperation she fled into one of New Jericho's many quarries to compose herself and plan her next move. She estimated she would only have an hour at the most before they found her again, she needed to think fast. But her options were far too limited.

She could attempt to flee into one of the districts again and hope to lose them in the urban sprawl? But no, that already didn't work out for and besides with her limp arm and stricken sense of balance she was more likely to fall to her death than to be killed by them?

After pondering her predicament for a few minutes she finally came up with a plan. She would retreat to one of the security checkpoints near New Jericho's outskirts and hope that would deter them from pursuing her. After all they definitely would not want to risk detection by the Obsidian Guard. Paradiso troops in New Jericho would cause a city wide outcry and deteriorate the already shaky relationship between the two cities even further. 

But she herself had to worry about being detected by the Obsidian Guard. But she was confident enough in her own abilities to think that she could avoid their patrols.

And then suddenly she felt a presence in the area. Three people fast approaching. She was in despair. Barely ten minutes had past and they had already found her! "How was this possible", she thought. How were they tracking her?

She jumped off the platform she was resting on just as it was brought down by one of the soldiers. She quickly rolled and took off in a sprint, hoping to create some distance between them. But it was no use as the men were quickly gaining ground on her. Her exhaustion was worse than she anticipated, her body was giving out on her and she knew her chances of implementing her new plan were shot. She did the only thing she could do she unsheathed her blade and turned to face them. She would be sure to make them regret interfering with her mission.

Her breathing irregular and her body wracked with fatigue nonetheless she brushed the dirt off her face and set up her guard preparing for what appeared to be her last stand...


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## Cthulhu-versailles (Dec 13, 2010)

*Recruting in Rahab Part 1*

The trio neared Rahab until 5 miles away when the glow on the baby alchemist intensified so, bluer then the skies of old, it shined past the tippet like mess of clothes he wore.  Agemenon brought their cloud to rest near the ground, and Ogion toke the boy out of his wrapping so he was naked.  The boy’s shine had grown more prominent the closer they neared the city, and finally it had become too potent to ignore. Clearly the boy sensed the misgivings of what lied beyond, and this was his warning. Ogion was amazed by his insight. Though much the boy did amazed him. 

Jumping off a bowl like cloud, Ogion’s feet touched the ground and he bent them wryly. They were stiff, but it was the feeling from the ground that made greater impact;  Ogion's face contotrted with discomfort. 

“What is it?” Agamemnon asked looking at Ogion’s reaction. It was somewhat of a particular skill considering the sentiments on a skull’s face weren’t the easiest to read. 

“There is alteration here…something fundamental about the environment…” Ogion said trailing off.  He bent down touching his hands to the ground and closing his eyes. To feel the consciousness of the immaterial was more difficult than dealing with human beings, but Ogion had lived long enough to become affective at both. Agamemnon was silent throughout his attempt. She knew of the process, as did all in the Spirit of Montiago. Still, for some reason the silence disconcerted her. 

“Yes, I hear. I hear” Ogion said to himself quietly, repeating other phrases of assurance that he would listen and try to relieve them. 

To Agamemnon watching on and holding the baby, her senses still felt bothered. It wasn’t the silence, but the wind. Beyond what she had moved, there was none in the area. There was no breeze; there was no gushing of air; and there was no fluttering down of winds that should be from the heights from which they descended. Like the stasis of storm contained by Gods, or a fissure refused and the damage erased, the area did not have breath. This was going to be fun. 

Ogion stood up and turned back to Agamemnon. 

“And” she asked him sharply. 

“Bodies of dead soldiers and others are buried deep around. There are at least thousands, and from speaking with them they lie even under the maelstroms like waters that surround inner Rahab’s hub.” He replied. 

“Fine, and did you get what you needed from them, or will-

“No” Ogion said cutting her off- “they had little information on weak-points. The earth to does not seem to know… it has likely been blocked off from knowing” 

“I could have told you as much. Prepare here then, I will begin my part” Agamemnon said, placing the boy on a cloud that was on the ground, and then letting a smile indent with malice take over her frail visage. It began. She raised her hands high into the skies, and waved them feverously. The skies rippled at a level unperceivable from the moving and creation of clouds- or at least the materials they were composed of- and soon the echoed of hissing was louder then even thunder. The storm would be concocted soon, and it would be a grand storm. Under normal circumstances, such a storm would lay waste to the very structures of the city and miles. But in her motions, and as the whites at all axis's above meshed and moved into position like globs of formed rice, Agamemnon knew already great destruction would not result.  This failure she knew would not be for lack of potency, but due to opposition. The city was protected well, as it took great skill and great power to distill the very winds of a city indefinitely. 

The floatation’s of white shapes were spread a mile apart now, and the winds unleashed like a dozen tornadoes and hurricanes bombarding a localized target. But to the city further off, barely a building was moved. No, it was the soldiers who stood watch that noticed first. They were but the weakest of army that was large it was legion. 

To each other, the guards spoke of a disturbance and wondered if they should alert someone of higher stature. Their wondering did not last long, as the prongs of psychic control they were under compelled them to do so. In but minutes, a captain of the army – if he could be called a captain as he to was controlled in degree- knew of the attempted attack on Rahab. And yet, his reaction was one of apathy. For in his mind, the situation was clear: why be bothered by weakling? Power need only concern itself with power. Let the fools come. They would eviscerate them to subservience. Such was the clarity of this captain thinking, his thoughts reached outward and struck at the trio. It was but an accident…a testament to his capacity…and it had hurt them badly. 

Ogion was the first to stand up. It was because of him they had survived the indirect psychic assault. He looked up from his position on the ground and was amazed the storm was still raging in its attempt upon the city. Next did Ogion’s had turn to his fallen companions. The boy was unharmed and glowing brightly, but Agamemnon’s skull had been fractured. For specters, this was but a superficial wound. 

“It was just as you predicted. Give me the boy.” Agamemnon said. 

Ogion nodded and picked the boy up off the ground and handed him to her. Thereafter, she created a small white cloud layering it many times over and leaving it for Ogion. After which she flew off in the opposite the direction of the city to take distance. Her part in this was over, Ogion thought, as he would need all his power to remain ideal to the psychic notice within Rahab.

Going upon what was his new found means of travel, known in legend of old as a nimbus, Ogion flew many miles over the water like trenches, until he reached his first obstacle. There, 100 feet away, standing in line like statues, was a group of 100 men with shaved heads with their backs to the Great South wall that blocked off access to Rahab.  And here Ogion had hoped he could have been subtle. Oh well, he had come to cause chaos, and so chaos he would cause, he thought, forming a psychic force in front of himself, taking out his flamethrower, and causing a sea of fury field flames to launch. 

---

The statuette men were hit by the flames and caught fire immediately. They fell easily and soon stopped moving entirely. They hadn’t even creamed. Ogion inspected their bodies closely, and immediately confirmed his suspicion. They were the disposed: individuals once under psychic controls but rejected for some reason or another, left to be no more than empty shells that longed for past experience. Shells could be guards no more than an empty room could be full. He had made many shells himself, but rarely had he seen such uniform emptiness amongst such a crowd. 

Ogion cursed under his breath as he walked past the last of the charred corpses and touched upon a point of the south wall, which pattered into a 2 person sizes entrance into the city. He then cursed again as he exited the hall a half-mile out, and saw again after many years, the massive beauty and terror that was the city of Rahab. A city whose structures somehow echoed in the viewer the designers were hubristic, but still brilliant. For they were structures whose size were liken to mountains, in a city whose sized shamed even the old ones from the previous world. 

From Ogion’s brief view of the blocks, no one seemed to be walking around outside, though from the knowledge he had learned in the Spirits of Montagio from Eprootihu, it was rare for the city to be bustling with activity. Why would people ho were effectively drones be whimsy walking about in the city in the first place? But then, why have such a massive city and resources if all one had were effective dolls to use them? Thinking about such contradictions and more, Ogion hide himself behind a nearby pillar from sensing an approaching presence. This one looked to be guard. He had many scars all over his naked body, but still possessed the looked of a disposed in his visage, and from the ambiance of energy. 

Taking a chance that perhaps the feeling was indicative of lower stature, Ogion focused his thoughts to pry into the man's mind. For one had to take chances in espionage...


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## Endless Mike (Dec 13, 2010)

The sun hung low in the sky as Ed and Chachamaru walked slowly down the city streets, stopping a few times to help people who were injured or trapped by the devastation. By this time there were many others assisting the effort, both local authorities and concerned citizens. Ed reflected grimly on how such a disaster had proven that even the people of this cutthroat city were not without compassion and humanity.

Humanity. He wondered whether his current companion would find that definition of the term offensive. He then recalled that they had never continued their conversation from earlier.

"You know, you never did tell me about your world," he said, glancing over to her.

"It really wasn't much different from this world," she replied, "before the Apocalypse, I mean. From the research I've done, it had an essentially identical history, the same countries, and even many of the same people. But there was also an 'inner world', an underground society that the general populace didn't know about. This included people with supernatural powers, mostly based on the manipulating of ki and magic, as well as supernatural beasts, demihuman people, vampires, even time travelers. In fact, there was an entire civilization on the planet Mars, hidden behind a dimensional veil so it was invisible to telescopes and probes."

Wow, Ed thought. That was quite something. He looked up in the sky, as he asked "Do you think Mars is inhabited in this universe too?"

"I don't know," Chachamaru replied. "It's academic anyway, since we have no way of getting there. By the way, you're looking in the wrong direction. Mars is that way." She turned and pointed at an angle to the ground behind them. Ed was confused for a moment, but then got it.

"Oh, other side of the planet."

Chachamaru smiled and kept walking, Ed following.

"What about you? Where did you come from?"

Her face became more sullen as she continued, "You know those time travelers I mentioned? I was partially constructed with the help of one of them, but the person who was primarily responsible was a young but genius scientist who was essentially my mother. At first I was just a machine with no real self-awareness or emotions, but I eventually transcended my programming and became fully sapient. I was lucky that mother was pleased by this, instead of attempting to destroy me, like many other scientists would have doubtlessly done in that situation." She thought back to Dr. Shell when saying this.

"They're all dead now," she said. "Everyone on my world, on all of the worlds I knew. Slaughtered by a merciless alien fleet for a reason I'll never know."

"I'm sorry," said Ed, rather moved by this story.

"It's okay," she said, attempting to put on a brave face. "What's done is done. I'm a citizen of this world now, and I have a new life, so I'm going to try to make the best of it."

"That's a good attitude," Edward said, admiring her resolution. Suddenly she stopped, walking over to a nearby building.

"Wait, what's going on?" Ed asked.

"Don't you remember this place?" Chachamaru replied. Looking around, Ed realized that he must have been too distracted by the conversation to recall the familiar buildings. They were right in front of Father Gregory's church.

"I figured we could not only check on Cecilia, but also rest here for the night, as it's going to be difficult and dangerous to search for Finn and the others after dark, which should be in 32 minutes."

"Sounds like a plan," said Ed, as he knocked on the church door. Father Gregory answered, seeming quite surprised to see them.

"Oh, you two are back. I'm glad to see you're okay, after all of that terrible destruction."

"We're fine," said Ed. "We were just wondering how Cecilia was doing."

"Oh, oh, she's doing just fine! She is very happy here," said the priest, a joyful smile crossing his face.

"May we see her?" Chachamaru asked.

"I'm afraid it's past her bedtime," responded Gregory. "You can see her tomorrow."

"Then do you know about the whereabouts of any of our friends?" Ed inquired. Gregory had already seen Finn, so he described the others, making sure to leave out Enigma this time. He also thought it would be prudent to avoid mentioning the giant insect.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone matching those descriptions," the priest replied.

"Well then, one more question," said Chachamaru. "We need a place to stay for the night. We're willing to help out any way we can to earn our stay."

Father Gregory laughed. "All children of God are welcome in my house," he said. "Don't feel any obligations."

"Thank you father," said Ed, as the two were then shown to their rooms.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 14, 2010)

*Tyr*

*Rapture, The Casino of the Gods.*

Tyr looked around the casino from the bar. Ares was arguing with Sobek and Fener. Tyr saw Ares start to tense up, and he sighed, it would only be a matter of minutes before fight broke out. He glanced to where two massive cyclops were standing near the door to the chamber. They were already watching Ares with annoyance, and were already reaching for thier clubs.

Mael was holding another poker game not far away. The regulars were there in the form of Osiris, Hermes and Raven. Though he noticd a few newcomers to the game, one was the spider god Anansi, the last two were mortals who he did not reconize.

Ares was now screaming in Sobek's face, the crocodile god snarling in warning. Ares reached into his tunic, and drew forth a knife, only for the cyclops to arrive and smash him to the ground. Ares screamed in rage as they carted him off. _Probably taking him to see Uncle Poseiden..._ Tyr thought to himself. _Lot of good that will do for you Ares, Earthshaker's has had about enough of you._

Tyr downed the rest of his beer and made to leave...he'd had enough of Rapture, and he spent far to much time in the city. It was past time for him to head north, and back to Asgard. On his way out he noticed Mael eyeing him curiously...before smiling and nodding at him.

As he approached the gates out of Rapture, the first thing he noticed, was that Jenkins' School for Adventurers was still open. He heard screaming from within, and a canine like shape darted out. 

"Bored already are you Coyote?" Tyr asked the animal. "You've only been back in the city for a few days." 

Coyote grinned lazily in response. "What can I say, I just enjoy yanking old Leroy's chain is all." He cocked his head. "Besides it's not like he deserves to stay in business, he's a fucking hack and everybody knows it. I don't even understand why people buy into his "Teachings" as they call it."

"People can be asinine and stupid, that's why..." Tyr grumbled.

"I suppose..." said Coyote his voice filled with annoyance. "But anyways, what are you up to One-Hand...Word through my grape-vine says your leaving."

Tyr did not ask how news had already reached Coyote so fast...there was no point. Instead he simply nodded "Yes, i'm heading back up North..." 

"Back home you mean...makes since the rains are coming, meaning Bifrost will be appearing soon...i'll walk you out, as i'm leaving myself. Heading southeast."

"Why that direction?"

"Heading to Pandemonium, the word coming from that city, is becoming curioser by the day. My sources are saying a convergence is accuring...Thought i'd pop in and see...maybe make it in before Trake and his buddy Ryllandaras show up." He cocked his head as Tyr jerked. "Ah you didn't know our new Lord of War is on the move did you? Are the gears working in your head One-Hand?"

"Stop!" said Tyr, raising his hand. "I know your games, Coyote, and I will not fall for them. To your unvoiced question, I answer nay. Nay I will not travel to Pandemonium to challenge Trake for my title. I am not near ready enough for that."

Coyote shrugged his shoulders, his eyes twinkling. "Very well One-Hand, but you are missing out."

As they left the city, Tyr went north, where Asgard awaited...Coyote went southeast to fell Pandemonium. Neither looked back as they walked away from the city.


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## Wesker (Dec 14, 2010)

They had been waiting for a few hours for the others to show up before Archon spoke. "I think I've recovered enough to try searching for the others." Finn looked up and replied "Well if you think you're up to it." Nodding Archon sat down cross legged and went into trance. The astral plane was foggy from the use of powerful magic and all the deaths that day. There was something else too, the aura that seemed to permeate the city seemed somehow more tangible, more focused, and malevolent however that wasn't his immediate concern. He concentrated on finding Edward and Chachamaru but they were either too far away or dead. Just as he began to pull out of trance he noticed another familiar aura, it was the man who had led him to Paradiso and there was another strange aura with him perhaps Paradiso had sent him as backup. In addition there seemed to be auras outside the city put the astral plane was too foggy to tell anything specific. "Don't relax I suspect something major may be brewing in this city." echoed the bodiless voice of Magister.

Archon pulled out of trance and stood up. "Well did you find them?" asked Finn. Archon replied "No I didn't but I don't think they are dead it is strange, the astral realm is much more hectic than I expected. And there seems to be a gathering of auras outside the city. Magister seems to think that something else may be beginning. I did however locate and acquaintance of mine who may be able to help us." Enigma frowned and said "Lead the way, anything is better than sitting around here doing nothing."

___________________________________________________________

After a good bit of walking they came to the area where Laker and Scorpio were staying. Making sure they were in plain sight Archon shouted "It seems we meet again." Laker turned to face them and cocked his head. Stopping a few meters away from the pair Archon quickly flashed the device the Administration had given him. Seeing the device Laker nodded and asked "Well it looks like we missed a lot of the fun. Did you have something to do with taking down that ship?" Archon replied "Yeah something, we lost a few of our comrades during the battle one of them is a woman with green hair she isn't hard to miss." Shaking his head Laker replied "Sorry haven't seen em." Archon frowned then asked "Well what are you doing here? Do you know if something else is brewing? There seems to be a lot of disturbance even with what happened today." Pausing Laker looked the trio over and then began his reply.


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## Platinum (Dec 14, 2010)

Wesker said:


> They had been waiting for a few hours for the others to show up before Archon spoke. "I think I've recovered enough to try searching for the others." Finn looked up and replied "Well if you think you're up to it." Nodding Archon sat down cross legged and went into trance. The astral plane was foggy from the use of powerful magic and all the deaths that day. There was something else too, the aura that seemed to permeate the city seemed somehow more tangible, more focused, and malevolent however that wasn't his immediate concern. He concentrated on finding Edward and Chachamaru but they were either too far away or dead. Just as he began to pull out of trance he noticed another familiar aura, it was the man who had led him to Paradiso and there was another strange aura with him perhaps Paradiso had sent him as backup. In addition there seemed to be auras outside the city put the astral plane was too foggy to tell anything specific. "Don't relax I suspect something major may be brewing in this city." echoed the bodiless voice of Magister.
> 
> Archon pulled out of trance and stood up. "Well did you find them?" asked Finn. Archon replied "No I didn't but I don't think they are dead it is strange, the astral realm is much more hectic than I expected. And there seems to be a gathering of auras outside the city. Magister seems to think that something else may be beginning. I did however locate and acquaintance of mine who may be able to help us." Enigma frowned and said "Lead the way, anything is better than sitting around here doing nothing."
> 
> ...



"Who is this guy anyways?" Scorpio said, her expression a mix of apathy and disinterest. 

He shot her a look. "Scorpio, don't be so rude to our company. Don't mind her, she's nicer than she appears when you get to know her." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, "So I see you have joined The Administration, and by showing me that you are probably assuming that I am on Administration business correct? Well you are wrong on that account, me and Scorpio are here at the request of our patron gods and the Zodiac at large. We have been asked only to observe, nothing more."

"A lot of good those orders are" Scorpio sneered.

"Scorpio you know as well as I do that orders are orders. While I am terribly sorry that you have lost your friends there is nothing I can do about it at the moment. As to the possibility of their being something major brewing in Pandemonium, I'm sorry but all the information we have gathered is classified."

"We haven't gathered any information Aquarius".

He sighed.

"Scorpio... just stop, you are making this more difficult than it need be. Yeah, the truth is we are in the dark as much as you three are. If you came here for information i'm sorry to disappoint you."

He paused to wait for a response.


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## Platinum (Dec 14, 2010)

*Change in New Jericho*

*4:05 AM

New Jericho- Rock Quarry*

The three men hesitated, obviously not expecting her to hold her ground. Slowly they circled her, waiting for the slightest drop in her defense that they could exploit. And finally their chance, and one of the men rushed in.

This of course was Libra's plan, with great fury and grace she slashed at the rushing man, her rapier cutting a swath across his face. The man stumbled, shocked by this unexpected attack. Dhe sidestepped his fall and quickly stabbed him in the back. One final gasp and the man was dead.

Before she could even react though Libra was sent flying by one of the men's punches. She attempted to stand, but was hit by yet another punch, the large amount of psychic energy behind it knocking the air out of her body. The second man kicked her rapier away, she was defenseless.

Her mind was hazy and she could barely keep her eyes open. "So this is how my tale ends, sad I was expecting a much more extravagant demise." She braced herself for the killing blow. But it never came. Once she got enough energy to look back up she could see that the two remaining Paradiso soldiers were dead. Standing between the two corpses was a man wielding two ornate battle axes, each freshly coated in blood. 

"Who are you" She managed to make the words come out of her mouth but they were near inaudible. She had taken more damage than she realized.

"Who am I, you ask? Know that I am not your knight in shining armor, I did not save you out of the goodness of my heart. I am known as Emerald of The Jeweled Fist and my organization has big plans for this city."

Those were the last words she remembered before she slipped into unconsciousness. 

An hour later she was found by Capricorn, lucky for both of them the Obsidian Guard was late on their patrols that day. Several hours later she awoke in the safe house they had been staying at during their mission here in New Jericho. She was relieved when she saw Capricorn looking at her, concern evident on his face. She was expecting to be waking up in an interrogation cell, or to not even wake up at all. She would worry about herself and her injuries later but first they had a job to do. "Capricorn", she spoke in a rasp. She had to wait several seconds to gather compose herself enough to continue speaking. "Do you know anything about a group called The Jeweled Fist"?


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 14, 2010)

Enigma peered suspiciously at the newcomers whom the Archon had brought them to. Both had the aura of avatars about them, and judging by thier conversation, who they were sworn to, wasn't that hard to figure out. 

He felt a twinge in his head, and he jerked his head to where the temple of Set was. He narrowed his eyes, as the twinge become a painful thudding. _Come_ said a mighty voice in his head, and a massive hand, came from the darkness,  and took him away. his last sight of his companions was them looking in utter astonishment, even the two newcomers had stopped bickering to stare, as he suddenly blinked out of existence.

Enigma, grunted in annoyance, who else came like a fist in his skull, than a elder god. he wondered what Erebus wanted now.

_________________________________________________________________

When he came to, he found himself now in the Temple of Set, staring face to face with two people. One was Erebus, the only piece of his body that was visible was his ash-colored face. the other was a raven haired woman, truely beautiful and seductive. her wide eyes stared down at him disaprovingly. 

Enigma blinked, the other presence he usually sensed was gone. But that was impossible, Set...couldn't have.

"Yes," said Erebus "His spirit is gone...but alas the destruction of one of his seals is still not enough to free his body."

The woman snorted "Your words are chosen poorly husband," she said. "You say alas, but it is fortunate that only one of his seals was destroyed, for if he were to be truely freed, it would be most terrible indeed."

"As you say wife," said Erebus before speaking to Enigma "I have a mission for you, my avatar...and I believe you know what it might ential already."

Enigma shook his head in confusion, and Nyx looked angrily at him. "You told me he was smarter than this husband." 

"He is alas...still a mortal, so he will have his faults." said Erebus. "Very well, I wish for you to find and secure one of Set's seals. If it is possible, secure more than one, you will keep it safe and out of the Lord of the Desert's reach...as well out of his people's hands...there is a convergence of powers coming, and Set is at the forefront...I wish to stall his rise for as long as possible...take your companions with you."

Enigma nodded in confusion, thinking back to his previous meeting with Erebus wich only added to his confusion. "Who is this man I see in your thoughts my avatar?" the god inquired and Enigma looked up in surprise. When Erebus spoke again, anger radiated from him, and even Nyx looked at him in surprise. "Ah I see, somebody has been manipulating you...I'd advise in the future, to very wary of faceless entities...For the events to come, might have you to blame for them." Erebus turned around and looked back at the statue. Before Enigma could inquire or ask for information, he was gone again. The next thing he saw he was back with his companions, who jerked in surprise at his sudden reappearence.

"What happened," asked Finn.

"Just a conversation with my god...he wants us to do some hunting."


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 16, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

We walked towards the Slums, making our way down the ruined roads. While I could see devastation everywhere, much of the city was surprisingly intact. Pandemonium was simply too large to destroy by even that monstrous airship.

We helped those in immediate danger along our way. It wasn't too difficult to move rubble or stone away thanks to Chachamaru and myself. At one point, Chachamaru had even rescued a family who were trapped inside a burning building. They had thanked her profusely for her bravery in getting them out safely.

After all the sidetracking we had done, the sun now was setting, a orange-red haze across the sky. By around now, I could see that whatever emergency services Pandemonium possessed had been fully deployed, working frenetically. Many citizens were also helping, moving away rubble, caring for the injured and more.

Even in a city like this, compassion and mercy could be found. Not even the harshness of this city was able to fully wipe that humanity.

Hmm. On that subject...

I glanced over at Chachamaru. She had introduced herself as a gynoid, but everything else about her screamed human. She looked human, she acted human (for the most part), and it was obvious that she could feel. She could care, could be scared, and more.

I wondered if she would take that sentiment as a compliment or find it offensive.

"You know, you never did tell me about your world," I said casually, trying not to press her.

She didn't say anything for a few moments and we kept walking.

"It really wasn't much different from this world," she finally replied thoughtfully.

"Before the Apocalypse, I mean," she amended. "From the research I've done, it had an essentially identical history, the same countries, and even many of the same people."

Well, that was _interesting_ to say the least. This whole alternate universe thing was a bit hard to wrap my mind around. Then again, gods, superbeings, cyborgs; with all that stuff running around the world, I guess I could accept the idea of a parallel universe for now.

She continued. "But there was also an 'inner world', an underground society that the general populace didn't know about. This included people with supernatural powers, mostly based on the manipulating of ki and magic, as well as supernatural beasts, demihuman people, vampires, even time travelers. In fact, there was an entire civilization on the planet Mars, hidden behind a dimensional veil so it was invisible to telescopes and probes."

Mars? Civilization? I had been fascinated by the space program, before the Apocalypse anyway. Lunar settlement and eventually Martian settlement had been on the list of goals by various space agencies around the world.

Of course, the Apocalypse had kind of thrown a monkey wrench into that business.

I stared skyward, where the stars would be. "Do you think Mars is inhabited in this universe too?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's academic anyway, since we have no way of getting there."

I guess that made sense. Still I remember that stupid fantasy I had back when I was a kid, an astronaut sailing into space, forever voyaging...

"By the way," Chachamaru added. "You're looking in the wrong direction. Mars is that way." She turned around, pointing at the ground.

What was she doing - ah, I see. "Oh, other side of the planet."

She nodded, smiling. I couldn't fail to notice that she had avoided talking directly about herself.

Curiosity got the best of me. "What about you? Where did you come from?"

Her eyes drooped at that and she spoke in a low voice. "You know those time travelers I mentioned? I was partially constructed  with the help of one of them."

Her eyes gazed into the distance, a wistful smile on her face. "But the person who was primarily  responsible was a young but genius scientist who was essentially my  mother. At first I was just a machine with no real self-awareness or  emotions, but I eventually transcended my programming and became fully  sapient."

She continued, "I was lucky that mother was pleased by this, instead of  attempting to destroy me, like many other scientists would have  doubtlessly done in that situation."

"They're all dead now," she said dully. "Everyone on my world, on all of the  worlds I knew. Slaughtered by a merciless alien fleet for a reason I'll  never know."

When she put it like that, it didn't sound that different from what I had gone through.

No, it was almost _exactly_ like what I had gone through. To wake up one day and find everything you know being destroyed around you, to have your loved ones die before your eyes...

I felt sudden moisture on my eyes and I hastily wiped it away. "I'm sorry," I said finally.

"It's okay," she said, trying to smile. "What's done  is done. I'm a citizen of this world now, and I have a new life, so I'm  going to try to make the best of it."

"That's a good attitude," I said. She had every right not to be the person she was, kind, caring, and brave. And yet, despite all that, she persevered. There was no doubt now. If Chachamaru could not be considered human, then nothing could.

She stopped suddenly. I halted beside her. "Wait, what's going on?"

She looked at me curiously. "Don't you remember this place?"

I looked around us before realizing where we were. We were back near the Slums' Church, where we had helped with the devastation with those cyborgs. It looked blessedly untouched by the devastation of the last few hours surprisingly enough. 

I had been too distracted by our conversation to notice where we had been heading. 

"I figured we could not only check on Cecilia, but also rest here for  the night," Chachamaru continued. "As it's going to be difficult and dangerous to search for  Finn and the others after dark, which should be in 32 minutes."

As if to confirm her words, the sky quickly began darkening. The sun was barely visible on the horizon. What she said made sense, but I still couldn't shake my worry for Finn and the others. 

"Sounds like a plan," I said finally. There was a large knocker on the plain wooden door, a bronze lion. I rapped it against the door three times and after a few moments, it opened. 

It was Father Gregory again, wearing those same ocher robes and the same weathered smile. His eyes lit up in recognition of the two of us. 

"Oh, you two are back. I'm glad to see you're okay, after all of that terrible destruction." He quickly ushered us inside. There was a row of long wooden benches and a dais in the center. Pictures were emblazoned on the walls, Christ and Mary featuring prominently in most.

"We're fine," I said, admiring our surroundings. "We were just wondering how Cecilia was doing."

"Oh, oh, she's doing just fine! She is very happy here," he replied, still smiling.

"May we see her?" Chachamaru asked.

He shook his head. "I'm afraid it's past her bedtime. You can see her tomorrow."

Still, there was something else we could do. 

"Then," I asked. "Do you know the whereabouts of any of our friends?" I described Finn and the others as accurately as possible, conveniently leaving out the Phantom and the Cockroach. No, I didn't need any more problems today. 

Father Gregory looked thoughtful for a moment before replying,  "I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone matching those descriptions."

"Well then, one more question," said Chachamaru. "We need a place to  stay for the night. We're willing to help out any way we can to earn our  stay."

"All children of God are welcome in my house," he laughed, waving his hands. "Don't feel any obligations."

"Thank you father." I nodded.

"Gabriel?" Father Gregory called. A young man in similar robes stepped out of a corridor, his expression pliant and attentive.

He waved toward us. "Please show these two to a room." He glanced at us, saying apologetically, "I'm sorry but I can only spare a single room for now. We are somewhat near fully stocked as we are still recovering from the destruction last night."

"It's fine," Chachamaru assured him. 

"This way if you will please," Gabriel said in a nasal tone. We followed him, passing through several plain corridors, doors on our left and right. 

A little boy bumped into me, running past with a girl chasing him, laughing. 

"Michael! Elizabeth! Back to your rooms, you know it's bedtime by now!" Gabriel called after them. He turned to us. "I apologize for that, they're still rather excited from all the ruckus today."

He led us to a room nearly at the end of the church and opened the door. It was a small, almost cramped room with a bunk bed. There was a nightstand with a plain copy of the Bible on the top. 

"If that will be all," Gabriel said, bowing and he left, quietly closing the door on his way out.

"Well, this certainly isn't the hotel," Chachamaru murmured.

I grinned. "No it's not, but it'll do. Better than sleeping on the streets anyway." I placed my rifle under one of the beds and set my pack beside it.

"I'll take watch," Chachamaru declared. 

"Alright," I shrugged. She left the room to let me change quickly.

I yawned, stretching out my hands. I suddenly felt so tired, so very, very... tired...


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Dec 16, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

I awoke suddenly, ripping off the covers in a sudden fluid motion. That was a bad idea since my head wound up hitting the underside of the top bed.

"Ow," I winced, rubbing my head gingerly. What the hell had I been thinking?

I noticed that Chachamaru wasn't here. She was probably seeing Cecilia right now or something. I glanced at my watch. *09:42 AM* read the digital face. 

I changed back into the clothes Martel had given us and, hesitating for a second, decided not to take the rifle with me. Gregory hadn't seemed worried about it so I supposed it was alright but no need to worry the children. I strapped on the knife anyway, out of habit more than anything else. 

I walked out of the room and immediately bumped into someone, knocking her down. I sighed. I seemed to be such a klutz today.

"Sorry," I said apologetically, offering her my hand. It was a girl, she couldn't be more than fourteen, wearing black robes. She took my hand and began immediately apologizing, "I'm so sorry sir, if only I had been looking where I had been going --"

"None of that now," I said easily. "The fault lies entirely with me. Sorry for running into you like that. The name's Edward."

She hesitated slightly before replying, "Susan."

"Nice to meet you Susan," I said politely. "Would you happen to know where my friend is?" I quickly described Chachamaru to her.

She nodded. "Yes, she left the Church saying that she was looking for someone. She's done the same for the last two days."

Ah, alright then. So Chachamaru was just looking for -

Wait.

Wait. 

I spoke slowly, "I'm sorry, did I hear you correctly? Did you say two days?"

Susan looked confused before replying, "Well, yes, sir. Father Gregory said that some ill or another had befallen you. We were unable to wake you for the last two days."

I stared at nothing, shocked. I had been out for _two days_? How did that happen. My last memory was, it was -

I remembered now. It had been just like _that_ time, when I had used my powers for the first time. The strain of channeling so much power through me had worn me out then, and the same strain I had undergone against that airship. No wonder I had been out for two days.

"Sir?" Susan said concernedly. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing," I said suddenly, blinking. "I'm fine now."

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," she said finally, bowing and turning to depart. 

"Wait," I said, calling after her. "Would you happen to know if Cecilia is available?"

She nodded. "She's should be finishing her first morning lesson by now. If you wish, I can bring her to the main prayer hall."

"Thanks," I said gratefully. 

I followed her to the prayer hall, which was mostly empty for now but a few people were in the benches, hands clasped in prayer. I could hear sounds from elsewhere throughout the building.

Susan left through another corridor and returned, Cecilia right behind her. Her eyes lit up upon seeing me and she rushed me, hands wrapped around my waist.

"Hey, hey," I laughed. "Good to see you too!"

"I was so worried Mister Edward!" she said. "Miss Chachamaru was too. You just wouldn't wake up."

"Now, see," I grinned. "I'm all better now. But enough of me, let's talk about you. How are you?"

She smiled. "It's great! I met a lot of my friends here and Father Gregory is so nice."

She frowned. "I don't like all the lessons though. It's so boring," she said, making a face. 

"Cecilia!" Susan scolded, but she failed to hide the smile on her face.

I chuckled. "It's great to know you're doing fine. And I'm sure the lessons can't be all bad. You'll learn to like them soon enough."

"I don't know about that," Cecilia said doubtfully. "But can I see you and Miss Chachamaru again?"

"It'll have to be later, Cecilia," Susan said patiently. "Your next lesson starts in five minutes, you'd better hurry back."

"Oh," Cecilia said plaintively. "I know! You should come back during recess! I can see and play with you then!"

She ran back towards the corridor. "See you later!" she called behind her and I waved her off.

I watched her leave. "Great kid."

"Yes," Susan agreed. "Her father had been killed in the attack a few days ago and her mother had died from some illness years earlier. For an orphan, she seems to be adjusting well already."

"That's good to hear," I said, relieved. 

"So what exactly do you do around here?" I asked curiously.

"Myself?" Susan said, turning to me. "I'm an acolyte, under Brother Jonathan actually. My biological mother hadn't expected another child, so she gave me up for adoption. And I ended up here, serving the Lord." 

I stared, the concept hard to wrap my brain around. There existed people like that, who would give up their own flesh and blood because it was inconvenient?

She seemed to read my expression because she replied, "It isn't easy, living out here in the Slums, Mister Edward. Please don't judge our little community too harshly."

"Alright," I sighed. As rundown Scrapheap had been, at least we didn't have to worry about problems like what Pandemonium seemed to be going through. 

"Do you know where Father Gregory is?" I asked.

"He's upstairs," Susan replied. "In the anterior chapel. But I think he's busy at the moment -"

"I won't take but a second of his time," I assured her. 

She looked doubtful but she gave me terse directions. I ascended the staircase, before reaching the upper floor. It overlooked the lower prayer hall and I could see four rooms placed opposite each other at the top. Like points on a compass, or the ends of a cross. 

I made my way towards the one directly in front of me, but I stopped. I heard raised voices inside, somewhat muffled by the thick mahogany door, but clearly audible.


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## Stunna (Dec 16, 2010)

Two days had passed since Mask had fallen unconscious, the Clarks took residence in and Fox reappeared. Life the Masked Bandit Hideout, drifted along as usual. Holly would go out into the slums to find food, while, unknown to her, Fox would always watch over her. Meanwhile Cyrus would stay at the hideout and babysit Rachel.

Mask was still out of commission.

Holly had returned with some scraps she found. ?Where?s Fox?? She asked, without realizing he had followed her out. Cyrus shrugged before Fox walked out of the hall.

?Right here. What?s up.?

?It wouldn?t kill you to help me out sometime, you know!? She snapped at him.

?I?m sure you were fine.? He mumbled as he returned to the hall. ?If only you knew.?

?The nerve of that guy! He?s barely any better than those other barbaric bandits. Speaking of such, how?s Mask?? Holly inquired as she laid down her findings.

?Same old, same old. You said he?d be out for at least a week, right?? Cyrus replied, seemingly hiding something.

?Yeah??

?Well, he seems to be stirring some.? Cyrus finished.

?That?s normal. He still won?t be up any time soon.? She confirmed.

?That?s good?? Cyrus added, uncertain.


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## Endless Mike (Dec 17, 2010)

"I hear you have some new guests," spoke an eerie, almost ethereal male voice. Edward listened in from the other side of the doorway, and kept quiet. He didn't recognize this voice, and his instincts told him that whoever it belonged to was trouble.

"Yes master, the fools don't suspect a thing."

That was Father Gregory. That sentence couldn't mean anything good.

"So what do you intend to do with them?" The mysterious "master" spoke again.

"Well the girl is quite attractive, I know many people who would pay handsomely for her. However I can tell these two are not defenseless, and trying to capture her would be more trouble than it's worth, so I figured I would just let them leave, after all, they are no threat to my operation."

Ed couldn't believe what he was hearing. The seemingly kind old priest who took in local orphans and offered them shelter was really a dealer in human trafficking? Well, Chachamaru wasn't human, but Gregory probably didn't know that. This meant that every child staying here was in danger. His mind raced, trying to think of ways to help them escape, when his thoughts were interrupted by the strange voice again.

"Change of plans, I'm afraid. Later today you will be visited by a friend of those two, who goes by the name of Finn. They will doubtlessly attempt to leave together, but you mustn't allow this to happen until after 8 PM."

"Why 8 PM, master?"

"I have arranged for some friends - or rather, pawns, to attack this place at that time."

Ed could hear the priest let out a sharp gasp.

"Don't worry, I will make sure they cause no damage to your establishment, but they will capture Finn and Mr. Kent, and take him to their employer.... Draygon the Butcher."

Father Gregory gasped again, louder this time.

"Master, I did not know you were working with-"

"I'm not." The voice cut him off. "Rather, he is working for me, although he does not actually know it. The Oneiroi control all things in this world."

Oneiroi. So that was it. Ed knew the invocation of that name would lead to nothing good.

"Remember, not before 8 PM"

"Yes, master," Father Gregory said, bowing low to the masked man in front of him. The Moon then vanished, retreating to wherever he had come from. Of course he knew that Edward Kent was listening at the door, in fact he had planned on it. It was important for him to know who was behind the coming events, the reason for this was not yet clear, but his god had instructed him to make it happen, and it was not his position to question orders.

Meanwhile, Ed was panicking. He barely managed to run back into one of the adjacent rooms before Father Gregory left the room he had been in, avoiding being detected.

"This is bad, this is really, really bad," he thought to himself. He could leave now and maybe meet with Finn later, or even wait for him to arrive and then leave immediately despite their host's inevitable stalling tactics, but that would leave all of the orphans in danger. But then again, he could hardly stay and risk being captured. With Chachamaru and Finn to back him up, he knew they would be a formidable team, but he had heard stories about the ferocity and power of Draygon the Butcher and his underlings, and was not quite confident enough to risk a fight, especially with so many innocents around. He tried to stop panicking and clear his head. First things first - he would go and try to find Chachamaru, she might have an idea as to how to deal with this situation. Listening at the door to make sure that Father Gregory had left, Ed slinked out and went back to his room, grabbing his rifle but leaving his other belongings behind so as to reassure the priest that he was going to come back. He couldn't tip him off and send Gregory hunting after him, that would just be another unnecessary complication.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Susan walked up to him.

"Are you going out?" She asked.

"Yeah, just for a bit," he replied. He looked away from her face, realizing this poor child was in serious danger and she didn't even know. She sensed his troubled emotions, and asked if anything was wrong.

"No, I'm just a little tired. A good walk will get the blood flowing again," he smiled for her benefit.

"Be careful," she said.

"You too," he whispered. Susan seemed slightly confused at this, but then accepted it and smiled, waving him goodbye as he stepped out of the door.

Things had just taken a turn for the worse.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 17, 2010)

*Meanwhile in Rapture*

Senior Scientist Ambrose looked up from his desk as his assistant walked in, with a pile of papers. He sighed they were bound to be complaints or requests for more funding from the rest of Rapture...God he hated this job. There were somedays he just wanted to dissapear and leave the city entirely in Mael's hands. He eyed the reports with apprehension. "What do we have today Mr. Bridge? Nothig horribly nasty I hope?"

Assistant Secretary Roland Bridge shrugged his shoulders with indifference. He was a younger man, who'd only been with the guild for a few months. He had a hawkish face and piercing eyes. His appearence and manner of dress gave the feeling of someone who doesn't take kindly to nonsense. "Doubtful, there haven't been any in incidents in the city this week Co-Mayor. Though there is some things we need to go over. First off are the departures and arrivals." He paused for a moment reading. "It appears as if Tyr has left, as of two days ago...it is doubtful he'll be back. Coyote has also left reportedly heading to Pandemonium."

"Yes and Coyote will be back, he always will...probably with several others in tow like usual." Said Ambrose sourly. 

"As you say sir...Also it appears as if we are being visited by a Time Traveller from Universe 32...No clue on how long she'll be around...Though she claims to be here to study the city." He paused for a moment "Hmm the officer in charge forgot to put her name down...oh well."

"Is that all?" asked Ambrose hopefully.

"No, we still have to go through the complaints...First off is a formal complaint from a L. Jenkins...says the trickster Coyote is ruining his business."

Dr. Ambrose put his head in his hands and sighed. "Jenkins thinks everybody is ruining his business. Tell him we'll look into it and to stop bothering us every other day." Ambrose so wished he could throw the man into the fire...he so did.

"Very well, Also the Guild of Magi once again sends a request to exile Ares from the city. This is the third time he's vandalized thier headquarters and run off with some of thier female members."

"Tell them to talk to Poseiden about that. Until he removes his protection we can't do jack shit to Ares."

"The City itself is starting to get rather annoyed with Ares as well sir."

"Well if our little space/time anomaly is getting pissed...let it. Rapture will deal with Ares by teleporting him into the sun, like it did with the last person it got angry at."

"That's probably not the best solution sir...it's rather unprofessional, and it might get us in trouble."

"Fine...fine, tell them we'll talk to Poseiden about it...is there anything else?"

"Uh yes sir, one more thing. a Anton Benson is seeking a transfer from the Pandemonium Branch of the Guild to the here...should I approve it?"

"Didn't the Pandemonium Branch blow up, a couple of days ago? Something about the Head Scientist going all loony and taking his airship for a joyride?"

"Something like that sir. It appears Benson is one of the few survivors of that debacle, and he's looking for a new position."

"What are this Benson's credentials?" Ambrose asked curiously. 

"He's a scientist who works in the field of AI's. He's responsible for the AI of those androids that went on a rampage in Pandemonium a few days ago...Though apparently he wasn't responsible for that incident."

Ambrose considered for a moment before saying. "Very well bring him in for a trial period see how he does."

Bridge nodded his head and made to leave. "Very good sir...that will be all for today."

As he left the room, Ambrose glanced at the clock on the wall. It read 2:30. "Four more hours...Go faster you bastard." The clock shuddered for a moment and then started to tick backwards. "Fuck you." he muttered as time started to rewind. God he hated this city


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 18, 2010)

*The Eastern Wastelands, a few hours travel from Pandemonium*


Warleader Seti Machmud looked at the city looming in the distance, the time was coming. They would release thier god, and slay the heathens in this city for imprisoning him. Then the rest of the world would pay...they would pay dearly. 

Messenger Rashid rode up to him on a pure bred stallion, it was lathered and exhausted. "Warleader, our scouts report that The Gates to the Eastern part of the city are wide open. Once more it seems that some tragedy befell the city, as some of it is ruins."

"A tragedy that will soon be eclipsed by our arrival, send word to my generals Hussein and Tut. Tell them we march again at once."

Rashid saluted and rode off in persuit of the generals. Soon after the desrt once again erupted in a fierce storm. It's winds howled like a beast in it's death throws and pure bloodlust could be felt from it.

_________________________________________________________________

The Massive tiger looked on as the ground erupted once more, before turning his gaze towards Pandemonium "It is almost time." Treach said to his companion.

Ryllandaras the White Jackal, also called the Man Eater and Scourge of the Plains, back in thier home universe gave a toothy snarl. "Who do we side with "Brother"? The cultists...or the city?"

"Neither, we our own side," Treach said. "In other words You can do as you please..."

"I Like the way you think Lord of War."
_________________________________________________________________

*The Eastern Gates*

Inspector Dennings turned from his work on overseeing the repair of the Eastern Gates, and looked out into the Wastes. He started and peered out at the massive sandstorm that had just come into existence. 

"Where the hell did that spring up from?"

_________________________________________________________________

*The Northern Gates*

Patrolman Cody, stood guard at the gates, when a man brushed into him, and apologized quicky. "Sorry bout that officer," The odd man said, dressed from head to toe in the furs of coyotes and wolves, his eyes dancing with glee. "I should look where I was going."

Patrolman Cody stared as the man walked off...he had bumped into him from behind. "But there's nothing behind but the gates...and I would have heard them opening." He said to himself. "I've also never seen a man like him before in the city...might be a dangerous sort." Cody gave chase to the man, but soon lost him in a crowd. 

While the patrolman cussed and swore. Coyote from his position within the crowd grinned...mortals were so easy.

_________________________________________________________________
*The Bowery*

"This can't be right," Enigma said to The Archon from where he stood beside the wreckage of a house. A short time earliar Chachamaru had come and collected Finn, saying something about Kent not quite waking up. Instead of going with them Enigma had enlisted Archon and Aquarius and Scorpio, on the mission that Erebus and Nyx had given him. He and Archon had seperated from the other two went to investigate a lead in Midtown. 

"What do you mean?" asked the Archon from where he stood in the doorway, plying up boards. "This is where your Sense and my abilities told us where there might be one of these seals..."

"Because I used to live in this house...I'm damned sure I would know If I had a seal binding a God buried beneath it."

"Perhaps, but this town holds many secrets, as you are of course aware...so maybe it was placed there after you moved out."

"More like forcibly evicted," Enigma said bitterly. "But sure let's up root the boards and root around some...couldn't hurt I guess...If it is buried under here, it probably buried deep."


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## Endless Mike (Dec 18, 2010)

Edward searched the city, covering an area at least 3 city blocks in radius from Father Gregory's church, but he had found no sign of Chachamaru. Resigning himself to calling off the search, he headed back towards the church to get his belongings. As he was about to enter his room, Cecilia suddenly appeared down the hallway and greeted him.

"Where's the note?" She asked.

"What note?" Ed responded, confused.

"Miss Chachamaru left a note on your door for when you woke up, it said to meet her and Mister Finn in... um.... I forget the address. But it was in the bad part of the city."

Bad part of the city? As far as he had seen, the entire city seemed to be one giant "bad part." But more importantly, if she had left a note, then where did it - Gregory. Of course. He must have taken it down as part of his plan to keep Ed here until 8. But if Chachamaru had already met with Finn, that meant he wasn't arriving here by himself at 8. Apparently the priest's mysterious master wasn't as well-informed as he thought he was.

Ed went into his room and gathered up his belongings, thinking of a way to sneak out discretely. Cecilia followed him in.

"Are you leaving?" She had a sad look on her face.

"Yes, but just for now, my friends and I will be back to see you again soon."

What he didn't tell the girl was that they would be returning to rescue her and the others, he didn't want to panic her.

"Do you know where Father Gregory is now, by any chance?"

"I think he's teaching the older kids in the third classroom," she answered.

Perfect. Sneaking out would be easy now. Cecilia followed him downstairs and waved goodbye. He would have said goodbye to Susan too, but she was in class with the priest now. Leaving the church, he made sure to walk at a brisk pace, but not too fast as to arouse suspicion. As soon as he could, he moved behind the shadow of a building, in case the priest managed to spot him out the window. After a while, he spotted a pedestrian.

"Excuse me, sir, can you answer a question?" Ed asked.

"Fuck off buddy, I'm busy," the man said, in what would have been known as a New York accent before the Apocalypse. Clearly this guy wasn't willing to cooperate, and Ed didn't have the patience to find someone who would. He decided to intimidate the man. Unslinging his rifle, he clicked off the safety.

"Hey, hey, buddy, I don't want no trouble, if you want my wallet I'll give it to ya," the man said, his tone quickly changing.

"That won't be necessary," Ed replied. "Just tell me, where are the 'bad parts' of the city."

"What, you mean the slums? Down past broad street, that-a-way," the man pointed to his right down a busy street.

"Thanks," Ed replied, putting away his rifle and heading off into the direction the man had indicated.

"Don't think you can get away with threatening me with a gun, buddy! I'll call the cops on your ass!"

Ed chuckled to himself at the idle threat. The electricity for most of the city was still down and the police were all busy with repair and rescue work. He just hoped he could find the others in a reasonable amount of time.


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## Cthulhu-versailles (Dec 19, 2010)

*Recruiting in Rahab Part 2 & 3*

*Recruiting in Rahab Part 2*

A psychic wave of Ogion energy invaded the outer etches of the soldier’s mind, slowly prying past his defenses. The specter had planned to gain information from the fledgling guard, but there wasn’t time. Instead, in attempt to mask his muted presences, he overlaid the sensory spectrum of his victim. The solider past none the wiser Ogion was there, but it was a hollow victory. Ogion cursed profusely into his mind scolding himself for not thinking Rahab would have increased his pawn’s defense. Or was it Rahab? Ogion knew only from legend when he had been in the city, a victim of control – a disposed- that Rahab had hand in breaking the minds. Perhaps he would look into it further, but for now he needed to find shelter. 

The city of Rahab’s structure were easy to hide within because of their vast size and the laxity one gains from knowing an area is under one’s absolute control. Yet, despite these deficiencies, it was easy to stand out: everyone wore the same clothes, and Ogion was not dressed for the part. Ducking into a nearby sanctum – something others might call a church- Ogion found robs to wear. He put them on over his own, for he could not take of his cloak. It was thus, fitted to seem like at least a villager waiting to be violated, like a lamb the people were who gave themselves willing to despair, Ogion moved through the city to his first destination. An hour passed in this way before he arrived at Ramapo Disposal. 

Ramapo was an old friend of Ogion; Ramapo was a disposed who had managed to make more of his life when free of psychic penchant. The two of them had much in common, and Ogion thought this to stand despite the many years since they had last seen each other. Thus,  staring downward at the mighty pit that was Ramapo’s Disposal, a pit that extend at least a sea’s depth marred by the very sea itself, Ogion did not hesitate to jump. There was no splash when the specter hit and only ominous descent. For as his body had first hit the still water that was no water but was, Ogion knew immediately he had made a mistake. Feedback unknown rushed into his skull like a thousand pins, and he blacked out helpless to even understand what had happened. 

A time later the specter, darting in and out of consciousness, felt his skull dragging on a floor. He could not move his head, and the light was dim, but his other senses captured his surroundings. To his nose, the protruding stench of decay burned deep tinkling his very bowels till even their excretion would have been a welcomed smell. To his tongue, the pressing of hot stones, ash, and soothe purest, washed around in mixture making him envy the taste of vomit. For his sights and sounds, he saw and heard the prodding of body parts made passage and structure, and denied what was fact. He was being dragged upon a road of rectums and tongues by a skinless creature with hunches instead of body. But worst still then all this for Ogion was the feeling of pain that was someone salacious in his mind and his body, as though to make him try to enjoy this torture. No one could enjoy such a thing, he thought, thinking nothing more before blacking out again.

In the land that was semi-sleep Ogion held refuge, and also there was something else. Blurring in and out, like a passing dream, Ogion saw the tall man and the calm fields. The tall man was speaking to him. No, it was not speech per say but communication of a different sort. A sort of urging to…to what…the tall man…God...GOD…what should I do? 

Ogion received no answer, but whether this was because he did not hear or get one he had no time to know. The tall man fade and Ogion’s eyes spread open to full wakefulness. He was looking at a ceiling several hundred feet high. The pain of before wasn’t gone, but it had lessened at least enough he could focus. He tried moving his hand, but soon found it to strenuous and lay still. 

“Ogion Triune, do you remember this place” a voice asked him from place he could not see. 

“Yes. It is the grounds of torture…the-
“Speak no more, Ogion. You remember wrong. We will heal you to be in service of Rahab as you once were” the voice said interrupting. It was the voice of an enemy solider; Ogion had been captured and taken to breed into a minion of his lordship once again. 

*Recruiting in Rahab Part 3*

“Who are you?” a voice asked Ogion.

“I am Ogion Triune, cursed specter and once disposed of the city Rahab. I grew up in the old Canada from the world before and I-

“Who are you?” the voice asked again more angrily interruptinh.

Ogion repeated what he had before, though this time the voice had not cut him off. Thereafter, the man standing over removed his hands from his skull and sighed in frustration. 

“We have not made any progress, Lord Tenabu, but in time I am sure I will succeed.” Grotto said to his lord. 

Lord Tenabu shrugged in boredom and then let out a weary laugh. “No, you will not. His psychic abilities are greater then yours. It is only because of my power to distort gravity were we able to capture him. Wake him” Tenabu commanded. 

“But me lord, how can we trust he will want to aid us against the forces of Rahab” Grotto asked nervously. 

“Think on it a moment. We know he was once a disposed and escaped from this city and has returned. Do you think he came back for peaceful negotiation? Now, wake him!” Tenubu Commanded. 

‘Yes me lord” Grotto replied putting his hands back onto Ogion head, focusing, and stabilizing the specter’s energies from the weakened state they had put him in. 

Ogion lay up from the make-shift bed he was on confused, but immediately lashed out with a psychic blast. Grotto replied it, though blood creped from his nose to the ground from his efforts. 

“Calm down, Ogion, if we wanted you dead you would have been. Read my mind” Tenabu said.  Ogion had already been doing so before the man had asked, though it was difficult. There were defense in place that made acquiring direct information nigh impossible. 

“This does not give me faith in motives toward me” Ogion finally said after a time when he was done prying at Tenubu’s mind. 

“I did not believe it would, but we share a mutual goal” Tenubu replied. 

Ogion lifted himself slowly from the table as Tenubu talked telling of how he was Lord of some disposed, and less soldiers, and how within the city and beyond he commanded a small (quaint) rebel force in secret in hopes of freedom for all enslaved in to Rahab.  How Tenubu had come about his forces he explained was purely due to luck, and that the disposed were looked upon so fleeting by those in power In Rahab. Likewise, Tenubu spoke of how though Rahab controlled had not weaned, and in fact grown stronger, that the Rahab at least seemed to have his attention focused elsewhere and delegated control of the city to his captains. Captains each who bore their own means of control and intimidation they relished. 

Tenubu continued further explaining of his plain to assassinate the captains with sleep agents and used the disposed to overthrow the regime, and it was then Ogion laughed. Tebu grew angry of course, but knowing Ogion o was of the city he wanted to hear of why he had mocked his mission so. The answer was simple: the captains and Rahab were too powerful, and attempting to kill them would insure one’s destruction. 

“You don’t know!” Tenubu cried.

“I have felt the power of Gods first hand…and though they in Rahab may not be Gods…though even there I am not sure…neither you nor I could ever topple them” Ogion said. 

Tenubu paced back and forth throughout the rooming swearing. Grotto tried to calm him, and it was then when his back was turned Ogion noticed the hunches on Grotto’s back. The man had looked disfigured from the front, but Ogion hadn’t presumed he was the same man that had dragged him. For a moment, Ogion’s eyes burned a deep purple and he began to let fury take hold. But thinking of the child, of Yansick, he calmed himself. 

Tenubu finally stopped in front of Ogion and glared at him. 

“Why did you come here if not to topple Rahab? What was your purpose in returning?” he asked. 

Ogion shrugged in reply and pressed his hands to the grounds of the cavern like room. 

“This earth calls for justice, and though I cannot give it entirely, I can still have vengeances. Rahab and captain’s are out of reach, but one can still cause chaos in other ways.” Ogion replied.

Grotto finally spoke then, for Ogion’s psychic leash on the ground had made him think he knew what the specter implied: “We’re already planning to rise the disposed of old and have them eat the crops, and cause general havoc. Lord Tenubu knows what he is doing” he said. 

Ogion shook his head, for that had never been his idea. Ogion had come, of course, to gather a force to aid him to Nevi’m, but also he had come to strike a blow on Rahab. And to strike a true blow, one did not target the psychic or those in power, but the indoctrination that dictate order. Ogion had come to strike at the foundation, at the religion itself... and in doing so he knew his chances of finding competent travelers would increase. So was the knowledge Ogion had from having been not but someone taken in to the army of Rahab once, but a member of the family.


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## Cthulhu-versailles (Dec 19, 2010)

*Recruiting in Rahab Part 4 and 5*

*Recruiting in Rahab Part 4*

Ogion had spent some hours over the course of many days getting familiarized with the new found architecture and happenings in the city. Here, it wasn’t a question of exploring, but one of slowly prying the information from the minds of those in Lord Tenbu’s group. The group he called a resistance was pathetically small, and fewer then Ogion had even imagined. They had no more then 12 people, and each of them still had much of the psychic restraints and locks of Rahab upon them, despite being of the disposed. How could such a force have thought they would topple a captain, much less a veritable God? Indeed, the more Ogion found out about their organization, the less faith he had they could have executed any semblance of their plan left alone. In fact, through subtle questioning, he had found out Tenubu was but the leader due to seniority, and not because he possessed particularly sound knowledge about Rahab. Admittedly, few had knowledge of this place as intimately as Ogion. 

	Today was the day of gathering of the armies in the cities Nile, and one as good as any to begin their plan.


Note: I don’t feel like writing da plan at the moment. Essentially, they’ll do some junk that has 4 members run off with Ogion, all the other 8 members get discovered, but da religion getting funked up in the sense swelling da Rahab army has to be reconfigured by da captain due to da people’s fait having wavered. Also, da captain gets pissed, and his screamed shakes da city likes an earthquake of the air. Captain screams for da army to follow and kill ogion, but Rahab communicates with da captain to let Ogion go because he 1) he somehow senses something greater /etc 2) weak family attachment to let him go because he’s kinda proud he escaped da first time or something…but also because he has a sleeper agent with Ogion to betray him and steal Ikelos item. 

Edit: The reason I posted this half post is so if masa wants to begin on his part without waiting for me, he knows what i'm planning to do. 

*Recruiting in Rahab Part 5 (GONNA DO IT AFTER CHIRISTMAS) *


*Recruiting in Rahab Part 6 *

Ogion and his new band of 4 meet up with Agamemnon. She had the baby floating on a cloud, and made 5 others for each to fly on. Together, the new group of seven flew along towards the coast. The trip would be long, but it would give all of them time to bond. They each had very different personalities, and Agamemnon especially hated Rosy. Rosy and her chipper attitude put even the most positive douche to shame. She hated it her so much. 

“What now” Murdoch asked Ogion. It was a good question. Ogion and Agamemnon had planned the journey this much, but both of them knew it was not possible to sail the oceans using Agamemnon and Druid’s power combined. Though of course they could try, but they’d likely not get very fair. The sea had life of its own and many wonders and rules one did not try to cross. 

"This is poor planning, Specter! And here I know you planned so well. I should be in charge" Durk said in is usual high pitched tone. The man sounded like a screeching siren, but it wasn't all his fault. he had been tortured so he no longer knew how to whisper. Or at leats thta was his explaination, as whenever Ogion thought about it through, that made very little sense. 

The group began to argue then over what course of action to take. Amongst their disagreement, however, a short stumpy man seemed to simply appear befoe them claiming he could solve their problems. Durk attacked him instantly, spitting at the man and his salivia moving at speeds of bullets. it did no good, his spit passed straight through the man. 

"An Intangiable, how wonderful!' Rosy said enthusically. Agamenon rolled her eyes, and Murdoch smiled secretly observing how each of them got on the other nerves. One day he hoped to observe them doing something else. 

"Hello, group of travellers! How are we today?" the stumpy man asked. 
None of them answered, though Rosy had began to before Agamenon had descended upon her clamping her mouth shut. It made Murdoch so hard. He loved the too of them so much. 

The stumpy man continued: "How rude, you don't even greet me! Well, anyway, I couldn't help but overhear your problem. And I can off course offer you a solution. I have a ship!" he said happily. 

Ogion tried to read the man's mind, but he got nothing. An intangiable was beyond reading. 

"I'll give youa nice sturdy ship and you just give me your powers" the man said, smiling still, and reaching out his hands.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 20, 2010)

*The Underworld*

What was he before he became The Coachman? How did he lose his head? Was he ever alive? Did he have a name? Was he even Human? Was he a Dullahan? These were questions that many asked the owner of The Death Coach...or as they used to call it in Ireland The Cóiste Bodhar. He always answered the same...He no longer knew. He had been a ferryman of the deceased since as long as he could remember...He was not like Charon, he did not get payed...his job he did for fun. 

Sadly it had been some time, since he had last driven his massive black coach in the mortal plane. It had been during the apocolypse, and he rode with the ghost of Henry McCarty as his shotgun. A banshee named Katherine would ride atop the coach and sing her song, and where they went, there would be death. On occasions a dethroned God of the Sea called Davy Jones would ride in the stead of McCarty...

But that was in the past...now he sat in a bar listening to dead rock stars play thier hits. He was getting fat (Which spurred people asking him how he ate with no head) and quite slovenly. He longed to relive those days, the apocolypse was such a fun time for him.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to find himself face to face with The Reaper. He was a utterly gaunt man, but his eyes danced with an intense fire. The Coachman's heart would be pounding in his chest if he was still alive.

"I have need of your services Coachman." said The Reaper smiling. "A situation has arisen...and I need some extra hands."

The Coachman would have grinned if still had a head. A gutteral and ghostly  laugh erupted from his neck irregardless.

_________________________________________________________________

*The Eastern Wastes, a few hours from Pandemonium*

The massive black coach sprang from the ground, and The Coachman laughed as his skeletal horses danced in excitment. Beside him, riding shotgun was the spectre of a young man, barely out of his teens. he carried an old winchester rifle and he grinned with manic glee. On top of the carriage was a pale teenager...Katherine's daughter thought The Coachman...let's hope she can wail as good as her momma. 

Inside the carriage sat The Reaper, who scowled as The Coachman and Billy the Kid hooted with glee. These three could come in handy...if all went well over the next several days, he might allow The Coachman free reign again.

The horses set off at a gallop spurred on by the hoots of thier owner. They made for Pandemonium...They're job was just like old...and they like they're master felt excitment at being back on the mortal plane....With each step, thier flesh began to grow back, until finally great black stallions were in the place of where the skeletons had been.

And from where they were many heads looked up in surprise. Be it the ones who knew what had just emerged again on the this plane, like Set, or the ones who just felt a old and powerful presence approaching, like Enigma and The Archon as they sorted through Victor Knight's house. It sent the same shiver down thier spines just the same.

The Coachman of the Death Coach had come again...and he was not an ascendent that could be bargained with.


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## masamune1 (Dec 20, 2010)

*Rahab- Epilogue*

As the band of Ogion the Spectre fled the city, the Prophet knelt in the darkness of his temple, eyes closed, yet watching.

Rahab the City was as giant as it's god. In terms of space, it was the largest of all the 7 cities, yet it's populace was a fraction of all but Nevi'im, a city of scribes, scholars and monks, if one discounted the guests camped outside it's walls. It was the oldest of the 7 cities, and the youngest; it's inhabitants were the refugees, survivors and the displaced who lived through the Apocalypse but saw their old homes and cultures, their old ways of living obliterated. It was then that the Prophet found them and led them to this place, lost and forgotten to time, a hidden city from an era ancient to the ancients. The Prophet saved them, and thus foreverafter they belonged to him, mind and body, heart and soul. 

The imposing Temple of Rahab stood tall over the city from the edge of a cliff, rooted firmly to the ground but for the space to let a great stream flow under it's bridge and into the dark chasm below, were it and it's creatures now satisfied the hunger and thirst of the vast army now stretched across it's banks. It's weird architecture- black grey and silver stone buildings adorned with accessories of sapphire and gold- could be described at once as both Gothic, Byzantine and Egyptian, were it not far older than all three. Other than patrols of guards at the walls and agents plundering the old megalopolitan for it's secrets, the bulk of the inhabitants lived in the homes around the temple, close to their Master, and his.

Rahab, Lord of Monsters and the Sea, and uncrowned Lord of Darkness and Chaos, was quick to play the game of Ikelos. After the Lord of Dreams destroyed the world, he made an offer to the ancient creature-he would give him the Ruin, let him claim dominion over all that was left of the Earth, and give him his vengeance on the Usurper, who would be cowed, humiliated, and finally robbed of his Crown, which would be returned to the Lord of Monsters. Ikelos even helped Rahab take the throne of the Seas from Poseidon, though worth less in this near ocean-less world, as a gesture of goodwill, and then he advised Rahab on the future. The gods would be drawn to the Game again, and Rahab should choose his champion.

At a towering 7'6, a giant of sinew and muscle masking a fierce and piercing intelligence, that champion mused that he had chosen well. The Prophet was a giant of a man, with a head of long raven hair stretching to his shoulders, a single thin scar running down his left cheek and innumerable others all over  his body. He had come of age in the Wastes, learned quickly the essentials of survival and the advantages brought by his size and strength in a world meant to be ruled by the large and the strong. He learnt the ways of combat, and found a talent for magic which his keen mind sharpened into lethality. And then he was Chosen, and made the offer of becoming an Avatar of Rahab, were he prepared to make a Sacrifice.

The Prophet had survived in the Wastes through his own skills but not for his own sake. In that desert hell he lived for his family- his brother, sister, aunt, cousins, grandfather, mother, and father. He and his siblings learnt to fend for their clan, and fought each day and night against wild animals, monstrous creatures, bandits, mutants, and all the horrors of the nightmarish land. Even after they found refuge in a new settlement, and he left and trained with the Guild of the Magi, he always made sure of their safety. As his heart grew bleaker and harder with age, he still made sure they were cared for.

But Rahab demanded their lives for his power. And after 3 days of indecision, he chose Rahab's power.

Rahab was All-Consuming. He Devoured all who served him, and all who opposed. The cult and the forces gathered to the city were all bent to his Will through the Prophet; the city, the faith and the Prophet himself all renamed to honour their god. Among the many gifts bestowed upon the Avatar was the power to control minds and souls, and then to turn them into extensions of his self. It was through the eyes of a guard on the walls of the city that he saw Ogion leave. The spectre's arrival in the city was unexpected, but it seemed he was merely seeking recruits to aid him on his quest. As this was all according to the will of Ikelos, and thus Rahab, the Prophet allowed it.   

As the Lady approached his side, he slowly opened his eyes, and let Ogion and his new found crew resume their quest, a paltry and fruitless rebellion crushed for his troubles too. The Lady appeared Japanese, or would have been called such in the old world, before the End. But even that was incorrect, he had learnt- the woman was an alien, a native of another universe, and a person of high-birth in that place. Dressed in a blue hooded cloak concealing her features, here in Rahab she was an agent of her god, one of the Oneiroi of Ikelos.

"He has left then?", the Lady asked.

"He has. What news on your end?", the Prophet replied.

"The Usurper has escaped one of his bondings. His cult will soon arrive in Pandemonium. When we are done with him, Rahab shall have his opportunity, then you can make your war." She spoke in a tone that betrayed no emotion, much like the Prophet himself. It was a professional pairing by their mutual lords.

The Prophet returned to his work. The Usurper would soon pay for his crimes, and Rahab would regain his full power again, and now in addition to the new dominion that he possessed. Doubtless Ikelos had his own agenda and could not be trusted, but thusfar he had upheld his end of the bargain. Whatever game the Dream Lord was playing, it evidently was going to benefit his god. 

Once Rahab regained his old power, the War would begin. The Prophet had laid the groundwork, gathering the great host outside the city and converting it to Rahab. And he had agents elsewhere too, spying on the other cities and preparing to sabotage them at the opportune time. They must be made ready, and he was concerned of the rumours that Paradiso was emerging as a rival power. His Faith in Rahab was unquestioned, but the Prophet knew well that Faith alone did not win wars, nor conquer a planet.


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## Platinum (Dec 22, 2010)

*Trouble in New Jericho: Prelude to Civil War (Part 1)*

"What is this shit?" The man yelled, his voice echoing powerfully through the stone temple. "Can't you just send someone else? I have important work to do here."

"It has already been decided. You are the closest to New Jericho, you will go there at once to aid Libra and Capricorn in their investigations. Leo can handle business here, Cancer they need your help far more than Leo does."

"This isn't what I wanted to wake up to you know" Cancer replied dryly. "As if suffering the humiliation of Leo being in command of a mission I initiated wasn't enough now you want me to have me removed before we even finish up... Whatever i'll go. Just let me go inform Leo of my leaving."

"No need, he has already been informed. Leo understands completely."

"Well isn't that just fucking fantastic. Just leave me Crab. I got a weeks journey ahead of me, and I need to pack."

"Very well" and the god dissipated into mist.

"This is bullshit" he mumbled to himself as he haphazardly packed his belongings. He didn't bother combing his unkempt hair. He quickly put on his cloak, grabbed his sickle and bag, then departed from his barracks.

The gods infuriated him sometimes. While others like Aquarius, Scorpio and Sagittarius were allowed to undergo important missions solo, he was always attached to some other avatar on a mission of little importance in the grand scheme of things. Sure he was the youngest at 25, but the age gap wasn't that great. Leo, the oldest avatar, was only 32 after all. He knew the hierarchy though, Aquarius, Leo, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Pieces, and Libra got all the important missions critical on the Celestial Agenda. While he, Capricorn, Aries, Taurus, Virgo, and the Gemini twins got the scraps. But just because their was a hierarchy in place didn't mean he shouldn't rail against it. He just didn't understand why no one else joined him. Perhaps they were content being small time, but he wasn't. This is what angered him the most, he felt he should be entrusted with more responsibility.

Instead of joining in the final assault on the valley fortress of Cooker's Cannibals he was being sent to be the third wheel to Libra and Capricorn. He wanted to be the one to take that bastard's head damn it. His glory had been taken from him by his own god.

As he neared the camp's outskirts he saw Leo waiting for him, as tall and imposing as always. 

"What do you want Leo", Cancer grumbled. He was in no mood to hear excuses or justifications.

Leo looked at him with sympathetic eyes. "I know you wanted to see this through to the end Cancer but trust me when I say that the mission you are going on right now is far more important than the killing a few cannibals. I wish I was in your position right now." He put his hand on Cancer's shoulder. "Trust me you will have a lot more fun in New Jericho."

"Somehow I doubt that" Cancer said, adjusting his cloak. He walked out of the camp without saying another word.


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## Serp (Dec 22, 2010)

Sometime Later.

Jessie was sitting with Oscar.
"You flyfaced asshole!" Jessie said kicking a can out of her way.

"I should never have joined up with you guys, art you say, beauty you say, money you say. Shit I say!" Jessie raged on. She was with Oscar Hen was gone off somewhere but she was sure they would meet again. 

"So where too now, you said we are going to move city, and too right I'm tired of this shithole of a city. Looking everywhere brings back memories, terrible terrible memories. Are we still going after Phantom or not? Just asking by the way." Jessie directed her question to Oscar.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 23, 2010)

He still remembered that day 12 years ago...oh yes he did. Back then he had been a High Priest of a temple that several years later the city of Pandemonium would spring up around. He remembered that day...for it was the day, a visitor came seeking sanctuary...it was also the day The Coachman of the Death Coach came...

And even now High Priest Ahmed, looked back across the desert, where a familiar black Coach and a familiar rider was making it's way to the very same destination. "Truely the worst of all omens." he said to himself. "To see The Coach twice in my lifetime." 

"It's just a carriage...probably some merchant." said the warrior beside him. His face was obscured by the scarf that he worse...but even Ahmed could see his eyes tracking the fell omen as it made it's way.

"No it is something far worse young warrior." he said. "The Coachman and his Coiste Bodhar, have not been seen in almost a decade...we may all soon be riding in there to the Underworld."

"You are being a fool, old man." said the warrior. "If you truely believe that this Coachman can harm us. We our Set's chosen, none can stand in our path...not even this so called omen of yours."

"You are the fool youngling then. for 12 years ago our alliegence helpes us nought, when The Coachman came into our temple. He came seeking a soul doomed to die...but we were in his way...and most of us did not avert our eyes that night." Ahmed whimpered. "Set himself came forward that night...and even he in his glory, did not have the power to challenge The Coachman." He stared at the man opposite him in terror. "Set left the loser that night, with several scars and open wouds to lick...and the rest of the people in that temple...they left in The Coach itself. They shared the fate of the man whom the Coachman hunted, because they would not avert thier eyes as The Coachman went about his duties."

Rage bridled in the warrior's face, and raised a hand to strike the elderly high priest, only to stop. Something other than the wind could be heard now, it was a keening wail emanating from the Coach. A voice also drifted to them, as The Coach changed directions...towards them.

"Katen...Katen...Katen." the voice whispered over and over again, and the warrior looked up in shock as he rode. A moment later his horse's left front leg, sank through a hole in the ground and he was thrown off the sattle. The Warrior was dead the moment he hit the ground...Ahmed heard a snap as he hit it. 

The Coiste Bodhar, drew nearer and nearer...and more people were stopping to watch. "No you fools!" Ahmed screamed , directing his eyes at the ground. "Keep riding, and don't look back! Don't look or he'll take you as well!"

But the warriors remained where they were, and unlike Ahmed, they saw the figure of The Coachman coming closer. They saw him raise his horrible whip, and then lash out at all of them once....they died with the sound of his laughter ringing in thier ears.

Ahmed rode hard, and the dying screams of his fellow cultists rang in his ears. He rode for Warleader Seti and the Messenger Rashid...they must know of who had come this day...They must know to let The Coachman pass through and not try and fight him...or else the entire army would soon be riding in that dread Coach.

Behind him The Coachman's laughter rang...Billy the Kid joined in. The Banshee on the roof continued to wail. The Reaper found he had some guests inside now...he had not expected collections to occur so soon. Again he scowled...for perhaps letting loose The Coachman was a very bad idea after all.


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## Dante Alighieri (Dec 23, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

Curious, I pressed my ear up against the door, trying to remain as quiet as possible.

"... I hear you have some new guests." It wasn't Father Gregory. His voice was musical, the syllables falling off like tones of a song. It was ethereal and powerful. But not at all soothing; instead, I felt great unease. This person, whoever he was, I knew instantly that he could not be anything good.

A familiar voice replied, "Yes, master, the fools don't suspect a thing."

Father Gregory? Just what was he talking about? He didn't sound anything like the kindly old man he had greeted us as. Just what was going on here?

The lyrical voice sounded again. "So... what do you intend to do with them?" he asked, teasing out each syllable as if tasting every one.

There was a pregnant pause before Gregory thoughtfully replied, "Well, the girl is quite attractive. I know many many people who would pay handsomely for her."

Wait. He was talking about myself and Chachamaru. He intended to sell her? I had heard about human trafficking, but never actually saw it first hand. An ugly feeling rose in my gut, a heat of anger and fury. Just how many people had he deceived, hiding behind the pretense of priesthood?

Gregory continued, "However, I can tell these two are not defenseless and trying to capture her would be more than it's worth, so I figured I would just let them leave. After all, they are no threat to my... operation."

He couldn't mean what I thought he meant. What kind of man could do that? He sold the children he took into his 'care?' That... bastard! I couldn't abide this. I felt like barging inside and putting my knife against this bastard's throat. But I couldn't, not yet. That mesmerizing voice spoke again.

"Change of plans, I'm afraid," the voice spoke. "Later today you will be visited by a friend of those two, who goes by the name of Finn. They will doubtlessly attempt to leave together, but you mustn't allow this to happen until after eight P.M."

Gregory replied confusedly, "Why eight P.M., master?"

The ethereal voice spoke carelessly, "I have arranged for some friends - or rather, pawns, to attack this place at that time."

Gregory gasped. He was probably only worried what the destruction would do to his business. He probably just thought of the children as little more than cattle, waiting to be sold.

"Don't worry," the voice reassured. "I will make sure they cause no damage to your establishment, but they will capture Finn and Mr. Kent, and take him to their employer.... Draygon the Butcher."

Father Gregory gasped again. "Master, I did not know you were working with-"

The ethereal voice grew cold. "I'm not. Rather, he is working for me,  although he does not actually know it. The Oneiroi control all things in  this world."

It was that word again. _Oneroi_. I had heard back at the Southern Wastes and now, I had heard it once more. I still didn't know who they were. They had something to do with Father Gregory, somehow. I kept listening.

The musical voice spoke with finality. "Remember, not before eight PM."

"Yes, master," said Gregory. 

Silence.

I barely noticed how hard I was breathing as I backed away from the door, stumbling over myself to enter one of the adjacent rooms.  I heard footsteps past me as Gregory left.

I had scarcely a clue what to make of all this. Apparently, Father Gregory, kindly old priest of the Slums, was really nothing more than a human trafficker. A slave holder. 

He was connected to this Oneiroi somehow and some allies of theirs were going to wreck havoc here; simply to get Chachamaru, Finn, and myself. All to take us to this Draygon person.

I could try leaving now and meet later with Finn or even wait for him and leave, but that would only leave everyone else her - Cecilia, Susan, and the others - in grave danger. 

At the same time, I couldn't risk getting captured. Even with Chachamaru and Finn's help, I still felt weary from the battle with the airship. I didn't trust my powers right now to help me last against another battle. I also couldn't start a firefight here, Cecilia and the others would only get caught in the crossfire. 

What I'd have to do would be to find Chachamaru and tell her what was going on. But where was she? 

I listened at the door, hearing nothing. Deciding it was safe, I carefully walked past the room and down the stairs. Gregory was nowhere to be soon. I breathed in relief and went back to my room, grabbing my rifle from beneath the bed and strapping on my magazine pouches beneath the jacket. 

I hesitated and decided to leave my pack behind. Taking it would probably tip Gregory off and I couldn't afford to have him hunting me as well, that was a bit too much for one day.

I left my room and descended the staircase towards the exit. Susan came out of a side passage and noticed me.

"Are you going?" she asked.

"Yeah, just for a bit," I said distractedly. 

This girl, she had devoted her entire life to this place. And it was nothing more than a lie. And in a few hours, her and everyone here would be in grave danger. I averted my gaze from her.

"Are you alright?" she asked concernedly, perceptive eyes watching me.

I smiled tiredly. "No, I'm just a little tired. A good walk will get the blood flowing again."

She watched me carefully before finally saying, "Be careful." 

"You too," I whispered, out of reflex. She looked confused at that but smiled and waved me out of the door nonetheless.

I headed out into the Slums. That was when I realized that I had no clue where Chachamaru had gone. 

I must have covered nearly 3 blocks trying to find her in vain, calling out her name and drawing strange looks from everyone. 

Damn. I must have wasted over two hours just trying to find her. She would probably come back to the church, but I had little inclination to return. But there seemed to be no choice. 

At this point, I had little choice but to literally book it. Perhaps I could draw the focus away from the church, at the very least. I returned grudgingly to that place, making my way quickly up the staircase and towards my room. 

Cecilia was there, right beside the door. 

"Mister Edward!" she said, her face lighting up. Then she looked thoughtful all of a sudden. "Where's the note?"

I stared at her, puzzled. "What note?" 

"Miss Chachamaru left a note on your door for when you woke up, it said  to meet her and Mister Finn in... um.... I forget the address. But it  was in the bad part of the city," she whispered to me.

'Bad part of the city'? The entire place seemed like one continuous 'bad part.' But where was that note? It wasn't on the door anymore -

Ah.

Gregory. Bastard. 

He had obviously taken it down to keep me here until those men arrived. However, if Chachamaru had already found Finn, then that meant they were arriving alone by eight. This priest's master wasn't nearly as omniscient as he fancied himself to be. 

I entered and began to quickly pack up, stuffing everything into the pack and winding the zipper shut. 

How was I going to get out of this place without Gregory noticing? That was something I'd have to figure out.

Cecilia had followed me inside. "Are you leaving?" she said, her expression worn in sadness.

"Yes, but just for now," I said gently. "My friends and I will be back to see you again soon."

What I didn't tell her was what we would actually be returning to rescue her and the others from whatever forces were going to come her. However, scaring her would do nothing but harm. 

A thought struck me. "Do you know where Father Gregory is now, by any chance?"

She pursed her lips cutely, looking thoughtful. "I think he's teaching the older kids in the third classroom," she answered.

Excellent. I could get out with ease now.

I made my way quietly down the staircase, Cecilia behind me. She gave me a quick hug and waved me off. I would have said farewell to Susan as well, but I didn't see her. She was probably in that class with Gregory. 

I walked quickly, even I though I felt like breaking into a sprint. But that would only stir up suspicion. I moved behind the nearest building I could find in case that blasted priest looked out the window or something. 

I kept walking, nowhere at all. Just where the hell was the 'bad part' of this city?

I passed a walking pedestrian and called out to him. "Excuse me, sir, can you answer a question?" 

"Fuck off buddy, I'm busy," said the man in a strange accent. 

What was what with people in this city? I didn't have the time to waste here! I unslung the rifle, flicking off the safety in a single smooth motion. I didn't aim it at him yet but he got the idea.

"Hey, hey, buddy, I don't want no trouble, if you want my wallet I'll give it to ya," the man said, sounding a lot more cooperative now.

"That won't be necessary," I said easily. "Just tell me, where are the 'bad parts' of the city."

"What, you mean the Slums? Down past Broad Street, that-a-way," the man pointed to his right down a busy street.

"Thanks," I said, staring hard at him before I safed and put away the rifle. 

As I left, the man called after me.  "Don't think you can get away with threatening me with a gun, buddy! I'll call the cops on your ass!"

I laughed to myself. There was no way electricity was back yet and I doubted the cops gave a damn about some death threat at this time. Repair and rescue work was still going on.


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Dec 23, 2010)

*Edward Kent*

They didn't call them the 'bad parts' of the city for nothing. Hookers and pimps sneered at me as I walked past, more than a few mockingly asking if I wanted some of their services. A few I suspected weren't even female. 

"Hey, buddy?" A man from the shadows came out, holding a broken glass bottle and smiled, a row of yellowed teeth greeting me. "Got any cash?"

I heard rustling in the darkness behind me. Great, likely more of his buddies. I probably looked out of place here. Getting the rifle out probably wouldn't intimidate him, he'd just get his thugs to jump me from behind.

I breathed. Damn it, I was pissed. I went from one mess to another these last few days. I was worn to the brink of exhaustion and I used more of my powers than I had done in the last few months. I had little to no patience for scum like these.

A quick burst of four Gs were sufficient to drop the man to his knees, his face worn in terror as the nearby trash can exploded, magnetic tendrils wrapping around the shards as they whirled around me like a tornado. 

It was the most intimidating thing I could think of on the fly. It proved adequate.

"Don't hurt me, don't hurt me!" he cried in terror.

I heard running feet behind me. So much for his companions. I kicked the glass bottle away and grabbed the man by his throat, lifting him to his feet.

Shards of metal sliced against his skin, opening up light cuts here and there. 

"Listen, scum," I said sharply. "I've had a really, really bad week so far and you're about the least dangerous thing I've faced so far. My patience is about this close to going. I don't really have the time to deal with people like you right now."

"Alright, alright!" the thug practically shouted. "I'll do anything you want, just don't kill me!" 

"Did you see a green-haired girl come here some time ago?" I asked harshly.

"That one bitch?" he said. "I mean, that girl?" he stammered as I increased the gravity slightly. 

"Yes," I bit out.

"She, she went towards where _he's_ supposed to be. Crazy, I tell you," he whispered.

"And who," I asked. "is _he_?"

"The fucking Phantom is who!"

Bingo. Finn must have crashed at wherever the Phantom had stayed and Chachamaru had managed to find him. 

"And where exactly is that?" I asked, keeping the pressure on. 

"I don't know," the man moaned. "Wait, wait, I swear! I don't really know! All I know is that he's supposed to be where the old bell tower used to be, but that's crazy! That place was demolished years ago, nothing's there!"

"Tell me where it is," I demanded forcefully. He stammered out directions and I dropped him, releasing my magnetic manipulation. The shards fell around me and I swept past him, walking towards the location.

God, Luck, Fate, or whatever deity must have smiled on me then because, just as I rounded another corner, I ran into a familiar green-haired girl. She stumbled back, next to Finn.

"Ed!" Finn said, surprised. 

"Finn! Chachamaru!" I said, relieved. 

"I had detected that magnetic power of yours earlier," she said. "Did something happen?"

"No, no, nothing," I said. "Listen, something's going on at Gregory's."

"Gregory?" Finn said confused. "You mean that priest at the Slums?"

"Yes," Chachamaru nodded. "The one I told you we had been staying at. What happened, Edward?"

"He's not what he seems," I bit out. I quickly summarized what I had heard to them.

"Bastard!" Finn whispered. "So all this time, he's been pretending to take in orphans when all he really does is sell them for profit."

"I know," I said grimly. 

"But that's not the worst of it," Chachamaru said in wonder. "You said this Draygon and his allies are coming to capture us there?"

"At eight o'clock," I said. 

"But," Finn said. "Everyone inside would be in danger. Cecilia and all the other kids, they'd be caught in the crossfire."

"We have to get them out," Chachamaru declared.

"I know," I said. "But just how are we going to convince all these kids to just pack up and leave?" 

"We can hardly tell them what's going on," Finn muttered. "That'd probably cause a panic more than anything else."

"Well?" I shrugged helplessly. "Any suggestions?"


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## Gig (Dec 23, 2010)

“To be honest what's the point ?” Oscar replied “Without the guild the money is useless to me, not only where they the only organization in this accursed city who would deal with one as extensively mutated as myself and even if they weren't there's no doubt there the only organization in this entire world who could possibly have the technology I require and now there nothing more than a bad memory at least here in Pandamonium they are” Oscar continued his explanation as he and Jesse came out of the one of the many side alleys which fed into the main street “You see my dear Jessie the guild is far larger than a single town or city, its reach extends to the four corners of our corrupt world and in nearly every known city the guild will have a presence, one such city I know is New genesis and that is where I shall be heading”
____________________

 “Subject 19 located, subject is traveling with genetically impure specimen, female, age unknown  awaiting further instruction” 
“You've done well Corporal the Senate is pleased continue observation, team 13 shall be prepped and dispatched immediately, continue observations and pursue subject 19 do not allow it to escape”
“What of its companion ?” The Corporal replied 
“She is insignificant to the Senate, ignore her, if she dares interfere eliminate her as you would any other” 
“Understood, Corporal Doe out”


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## SYSC (Dec 24, 2010)

Hen had been walking down the streets of Pandemonium, the terrain destroyed and battered still after days from the airship attack. His head up in the air, shades reflecting the small fractions of light coming from the sun as it became eclipsed from clouds of black smoke. Hen takes in a huge breath of air before coughing but enjoyed being around almost fresh air after living underground for the past 2 days with Richard and Susan.  

_"Those damn roaches just abandoned us like that"_ Hen thought trying to suppres his anger. _"They wanted to check out something, they made it sound like it was some God-like presence"_

"Whatever.." Hen said out loud "Just probably trying to warn the Phantom or Enigma or whatever he calls himself that I was coming for his ass"

"The Phantom of the Slums eh" a neasely voice said from a dark alley way. Hen turned sharply wondering who the familar voice belonged to.

"Now what is my favorite pink haired clientele up to nowadays" the voice said as a gray skinned man walked out of the alley way hunchbacked. His eyes were black and beady, his hyena like chuckle revealed his permantly rotted teeth. "Looking for the Phantom are'ya?"

"Heh Wheeler the Squealer" Hen said with a smirk. If Enigma is known as the Phantom of the Slums then Wheeler is the Rat of the Slums. Wheeler was the number one drug dealer in the city, they say he knows everything about the city from police payrolls to the daily deaths, some he played a role in. 

"Yeah, what if I am?"

"Then you must be doping on that _Icy_" Wheeler snickered. "You know one of those things kills the average person -well you aren't exactly average."

"No eh I havent even used it, threw it away with the rest of the drugs" Hen said stratching his head wondering if Wheeler would fall for the bluff. Hen didn't want to be baggered by Wheeler about doing some buisiness right now, especially sense it seemed like he knew something about Enigma that he didn't

"Wait what!?!" Wheeler screeched. "Do you know how much Icine cost and you just threw it away in the streets for anyone to find! Not to mention the shit that would happen if one of those super powered freaks crawling the city happen to get it and get there power amplified"

"It sounds like you know something about the Phantom"

"Dont try to change the subject!" Wheeler shot back. Hen then pulled out his bulky guitar twirled it around his fingers and in a swift motion hit Wheeler up the head with it.

"The Phantom, talk"

"Crap, you've never seemed like someone to side with the authority" Wheeler said palming his head in pain as blood began to gush

"Im not, you know I hate authority this is just well a interest. So what do you know" Hen asked

"Fine, sure he lives in a abandoned building by that church a couple of blocks west from here you cant miss it" Wheeler said

"Great" Hen said as he began to run back to tell Jessie and Oscar before scattering to a stop 

"No, cant waste any time its like ten minutes to eight he'll probably be out in the city by then." Hen said running past Wheeler turning a corner out of the alley.

_Hehe what an idiot, no one knows where the Phantom lives not even me. I dont know why Draygon's goons want ya but you're gonna be quite the reward_


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## Endless Mike (Dec 24, 2010)

"So I missed him again," Chachamaru said, sitting on a chair in Enigma's hideout, as Finn sad on the bed across the room.

"Yeah, sorry about that," replied Finn, still worried about what Ed had told him.

"It's kind of frustrating, a god appears in front of you twice and every time I'm somewhere else. It's not like he only appears to you either, as Archon and Enigma saw him too. I've never seen an actual god before - well, unless you count the _Ryumen Sukuna no Kami_ - but that thing hardly deserved the title if you ask me."

"I'm sure you'll see him next time," Finn said, still distracted by the plight of the children in Father Gregory's church.

As if reading his mind, Chachamaru replied "Don't worry. We're going to rescue them. But we should wait for Archon and Enigma to get back, we don't currently have a sufficient force to begin this operation."

"They'd just better get back here before eight, or-"

"Shh!" She interrupted him, holding her finger over her lips. "We've got company."

Both of them looked out the window and saw a strange - looking man holding a guitar standing on the ground, looking up at the abandoned bell tower. No wait, scratch that, he was clearly looking up at them. He could see them perfectly through the small, dark - tinted window.

"Stay here," Chachamaru said, as she went down the stairs to the front door. Walking outside and confronting the man, she made sure to keep on her guard.

"Who are you?" She asked.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 24, 2010)

*The Eastern Gates*

Roy Dennings looked in horror at what came full speed towards the city. The sand storm that had been approaching was not a sandstorm...it was an army, a damned army. The rode on horseback, thier bodies covered in ornate jeweled armors, and thier faces obscured by scarfs. Many of them rode with thier scimitars already unsheathed...a mighty roar emanating from them. He did not notice the giant white jackal that was harrasing one of the flanks...nor did he notice the massive black coach that was making the entire left side side flinch away in fear.

He did not notice, because the moment he saw the Cult of Set riding full gallop. he turned and ran...many of workers following his lead.

He did not get far, as he soon heard a horrible wailing. it hurt his head, but he also heard a voice calling over the wind. "Royal Dennings," it said over and over again. he looked back to see who was calling him, only to meet the headlong charge of cultist, swinging his scimitar. his last sight was a great black carriage, manned by a headless man, reaching out for him.

_________________________________________________________________

He woke up inside what appeared to the inside of antique carriage...and he had company. They were cultists who wailed and gnashed thier teeth for they were chained to the floor of the carriage...he also noticed several of his fellow workers silently weeping.

"Don't mind them," said the only other occupant. A pale robed man, use eyes burned with vibrant fire. "Some people, take death very poorly."

"Dead?" Dennings said confused. "I can't be dead...I...I" he was rubbing his neck...but now there was a horrible wound there...how had that got there...

"But you are, Royal Dennings...you died approximatly 25 seconds ago, via a slash to the throat."

The Coach came to a grinding halt and Dennings was almost thrown from his seat. "This is my stop i'm afraid." said The Reaper. "The Coachman will take you to the Underworld once his rounds are done."

Dennings sputtered and swore. He then gazed at The Reaper before asking. "What is it like...The Underworld I mean."

To his surprise The Reaper shrugged. "It depends...entirely on what life you lived and what faith you belonged to. You'll end up at a different portion of the Underworld than the these cultists will." And he opened the was gone. Dennings stared out at the carnage, as more souls came into the Coach...

"Damn...What a fucking day."

_________________________________________________________________

"You know our arrangments Coachman..." said The Reaper as chaos regined around them. A great white jackal roared into the city behind them attacking everyone and everything...and The Ghost of Billy the Kid watched it, raising his gun with a smile on his face. The young banshee on the roof continued to wail.

"Depends...what were those arrangments again." said The Coachman, who was turning every which way to get a better look at his surroundings.

"That you will not make this city into another Dallas, Texas or London England. People are going to see you...keep your habits to a minimum and I'll think bout giving you your head back...and letting you off your leash."

"Very well bossman...I'll keep my habits to a respectable low..." Said The Coachman laughing before using his whip to get the horses moving again. 

The Reaper stared after him annoyed.  He supposed he could leave this world in worse hands though.

_________________________________________________________________

Throughout the city panic and mayhem now reigned. The Coachman's laugh and the Banshee's wail could be heard in even the most solitary of places. For those who knew what it meant looked up with fear...and even those who didn't broke out in a cold sweat. 

Ryllandaras The White Jackal, roamed the city, content with Treach's third option. He struck out whatever he deemed a challenge to him and he relished in the Bloodshed he spilt.

The Cult of Set soon joined with it's compatriots in the city, and they began to storm and loot houses, dragging out entire familys demanding they give thier alliegence to Set or die. 

Inside a old abandoned casino Coyote looked up in alarm as culists interuppted his game...A few minutes later, he had knocked them unconcious and stolen thier wallets. He whistled a jaunty tune as he strolled down the street. He soon found himself at a place very odd...he was certain he wasn't planning on going to a Gentleman's Club today.

Inside The Club, a man who was far older than he appeared listened to the radio, as his bodyguards watched the doors. His Secratary hovered over him looking worryed. 

Draygon's mercenary band was out that day, and they gleefully engaged the cultists. "Blood for thier Blood God" they screamed "Heathen skulls for his great throne."

Richard Crichton and Susan wandered the back alleys, unaware of what was to come or what awaited them.
_________________________________________________________________

Enigma grabbed the small egyptian burial urn  from The Archon as he hoisted it up from where it lay in the ground. "Doesn't look like much does it?" said the Archon

"Seals never do," said Enigma. "They're meant to look unassumingat first glance...destroying them is damned difficult though."

"Not here to do that though."

"Nope...Erebus wanted us to keep one out of Set's reach...so that's what..."

Enigma jerked his head around as it suddenly felt like it was about to explode. _What the hell just entered the city...I can feel The Reaper's presence somewhere...but this one is different...and older_

"What is it?" asked The Archon.

"Nothing, let's get this back to the Tower...we can figure out where to hide it from there."

They emerged from the ruinedhouse, into the streets where chaos reigned. Laughter, screams and wails could be heard...and on occasion a voice would carry over the wind. Enigma looked back one more time at his former home, and then he and his companion were gone once more.


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## Stunna (Dec 24, 2010)

Rachel was walking around the Masked Bandit hideout alone. Any normal six-year-old girl would?ve been frightened out of her wits walking around a decrepit old building like this, but not Rachel. She came to Mask?s room and stared at the door for a few seconds.

?Mask.? She said to herself, for no particular reason. She reached out to touch the door, but pulled her hand back abruptly.

?You shouldn?t be here.? A voice called out from behind her. She quickly turned around, her arms up to her chest in a defensive manner. 

It was only Cyrus.

?Cyrus!? She exclaimed, running into his body and banging on his chest. ?Don?t sneak up on me like that!? Cyrus looked to the side as if disinterested.

?I?m sorry.? He said without much emotion. He seemed to always be stoic like this. There was a silence for a few moments. Then Rachel finally spoke up.

?Waitaminnit! If I?m not s?posed to be here, what?re you doing here, Cyrus?? She inquired sarcastically. Cyrus threw his arm behind his head and scratched his hair.

?I don?t have to explain myself to you. Mind your own business and respect your elders.? He finally said, still refusing to look his sister in the eyes. Whenever she moved hers to meet his, he looked in a different direction. He turned around and walked a few steps. ?Y?know what. Whatever. Do what you want.? He solemnly spoke. He continued walking. This agitated Rachel.

?You?re so weird!? She shouted. Cyrus kept walking.


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## SYSC (Dec 25, 2010)

Endless Mike said:


> "So I missed him again," Chachamaru said, sitting on a chair in Enigma's hideout, as Finn sad on the bed across the room.
> 
> "Yeah, sorry about that," replied Finn, still worried about what Ed had told him.
> 
> ...



Hen peaked over Chachamaru's shoulder looking inside before spinning around in place examining the area around him.

"Those guys up there dont seem like him. Damn it I must've missed him" Hen muttered.

Hen lifted his Guitar looking directly infront of him looking at the side of it, a small place on the guitar then suddenly slid open revealing a digital clock blinking _7:06 _

"Guess not" Hen said slightly shocked, his back turned away from Chachamaru. "Being underground must of screwed up with my sense of time"

"Hey!" Chachamaru said in a commanding voice although she was confused about what exactly was happening "I said who are you?"

"Oh, you're eh Chichifugi right? Like Richard said" Hen said turning around his finger pointing to her 

"That's not my- How do you know the- Who are you?" Chachamaru asked

"The names Hen im looking for the Phant-"

Chachamaru quickly grabed Hens hand pulling him in the belltower with her other hand covering his mouth. 

"Who is this guy?" Finn said coming down a staircase. "Whats with the hair?"

"Thats what im trying to figure out" Chachamaru said releasing her hold

"Well its not that abnormal compared to Chichi's" Hen said as he fixed his shades and trench jacket 

"Chichi?" Finn asked smirking 

"Thats- Why are you you here?!" Chachamaru snapped

"I CAME TO KICK ENIGMA'S A-"

Just then a huge gust of wind flew in nearly ripping the door off its henges, a cackling laughter echoed through the city. Everyone was knocked back

Ed then quickly came down the stairs looking at the others. He sighed "Now what"


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## Endless Mike (Dec 25, 2010)

"Well this guy is apparently after Enigma's bounty, but I have no idea what all of the noise is about," Finn yelled in order to be heard above the racket.

"Great..." said Ed sarcastically, still groggy from his recent nap and not having fully recovered from overusing his powers.

"Hold on," said Finn, as he walked up to address the newcomer.

"Eigma - er, the Phantom is not here, and we don't know where he is. But apparently something big is going down, and we would appreciate it if you would not cause us any trouble," Finn complemented his speech with a healthy dose of his power, in order to pacify Hen and make sure he wouldn't cause any them any trouble.

"Well, okay then," he said, not sure himself why he was agreeing so easily. "Maybe we should go check out the source of this wind."

"Way ahead of you," Chachamaru responded. "I'm tracking several incredibly powerful sources of magic entering the city. The ambient magic in the area has increased significantly, meaning I'm stronger too, but these beings are still way out of my league, and one of them is heading this way."

As if on cue, an eerie wail that seemed to pierce the group's very souls was heard, and it began to grow louder and louder.

"Look!" Ed yelled, pointing to the end of the street. An apparition in the form of an old horse-drawn carriage was slowly advancing towards them, emitting a tangible aura of fear and dread.

"Something tells me we should get out of here," said Finn, beginning to shiver in fright.

"I agree, let's go. You too," said Chachamaru, addressing Hen. Without bothering to argue, he followed the three down a side street, away from the path of the Death Coach.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 25, 2010)

The Coachman watched them go, his whip in hand. "The girl does not belong on this plane of existence." he said to himself.

Billy the Kid looked at him and then at the fleeing figures. "They're still within my range...do we take them down boss?"

The Coachman chuckled before replying. "No...but we keep an eye on them. We still have a job to do afterall. Wouldn't want our master to get pissy now would we."

Billy The Kid shrugged. "Where to then?"

"Wherever the screams are loudest..." and The Coachman roared with laughter.

_________________________________________________________________

Ryllandaras The White Jackal, stared at the Gentleman's Club, licking his lips with bloodlust.

He someone of considerable power within...but that mattered not, for he was more than they could handle afterall. He looked around himself, and saw more of him surrounding himself. One was carrying the body of a limp child in his mouth. Collectivly the swarm of D'ivers gave toothy grins and snarled...and soon the ground rumbled as they charged the front doors. Inside people screamed and a great axe came chopping down taking the head of one the D'ivers. The figures of two massive men now stood in the doorway, glowing brightly as these were Rocko and Kong, sworn to Tyr former Lord of War. 

Nearby Coyote the Trickster looked on with resentment, he wondered if he should step in as he saw more of Ryllandaras emerge from alleyways. In his office Luke Marcone stood up, his face contorted with anger. Ignoring the cries of alarm from Felicia he gripped the head of his cane and pulled a long and thin sword. _Been many a year since I last used you Shichi Fukujin..._. The old man began to glow brightly and he too stepped through the door to fight off the The White Jackal.

Enigma and Archon stood atop a nearby building watching as this took place. "Think you can juggle that urn and fight at the same time?" Enigma asked rolling his shoulders, the shadows danced dangerously. 

The Archon just smiled in reply...

Both of them leapt down to join the fray, much to Marcone's ire. Nearby The wheels of a carriage could be heard approaching. Coyote watched as shadows gripped one of the Jackals by thier forelegs and drug it beneath the ground. Muffled screams could be heard and then nothing came of it. Rocko and Kong had retreated for the moment clutching at thier wounds. 

Every attack missed Marcone, and he danced around the jackals dealing quick and fleeting strikes to the monsters. Archon had tossed several of them aside with a telkenetic blast, and was now laucnhing several more to keep them away. 

Ryllandaras the original growled with contempt and rage, but looked up like everybody else when the sound of coach wheels got louder and the same loud wailing got closer. "I'll get you later for this..." he said and quickly dissappeared. 

Marcone glared at Enigma and his companion for a moment, and acted as if he was about to attack him. He stopped the moment The Death Coach turned the corner, it's six horses snorting with fury. Marcone eyes widened with shock and stepped back inside his club and shut the door. Enigma grabbed Archon and quickly dissapeared likewise. A moment later a rifle round struck the ground where they just been a moment before.

"Damn, missed him boss."


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## Wesker (Dec 27, 2010)

Archon and Enigma reappeared in an alley somewhere. "What was that? That terrible aura." Enigma turned and said "I'm not sure, it wasn't the Reaper but it had a similar feeling, probably a deposed death god that the Reaper let loose." Archon stood silent for a few minutes. Ever since Set had been released the Astral realm was in a maelstrom, all across the city violent auras abounded in battle and slaughter. Finally Archon spoke "Well there are quite a few auras battling all throughout the city I'm guessing it's the followers of Set. As for Set himself I can't sense him , he must be masking his aura. However I did sense Finn, Chachamaru, and Ed back at the hideout along with another aura. But they seemed to have left. We have this seal but there are still the others to worry about. But we might need help with Set's servants running around, we can go to Finn and the others or we could go after the next closest seal. You know more about the seals and the city then I do, what do you think we should do Enigma?"


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## Platinum (Dec 28, 2010)

*Arrival*

After day's of wandering he was finally reaching the outskirts of New Jericho. This was actually his first time in the city, but he well knew it's history. 

No one knew where the great mountain on which New Jericho was founded came from, for their were no records of it there prior to the apocalypse. But nonetheless people were drawn to the great mountain and refuges sought shelter there almost immediately after the apocalypse. The refuges fought amongst themselves ceaselessly and their future was not a promising one. At least until one day when The King in Grey and the rest of the Seven Kings came to the mountain. Under their leadership the people united together as one and one year after the apocalypse New Jericho was founded, the second of the seven cities to be created.

Though shortly after the city was founded their was a schism among two of the kings. The King in Red and The King in Yellow each accused the other of leaking information of their plans to their enemies. All but the King in Black sided with The King in Red and in a fury The King in Yellow disappeared one night and has yet to be seen since. Shortly after the Kings agreed to go their own separate ways and help the wastes in whichever way they each saw fit. The King in Grey elected to stay behind in New Jericho and rule as it's leader. 

New Jericho's main exports are building materials, precious gems and metals from their many quarries and mines. Thus they are one of the keystones in the post apocalyptic world, with each city fighting to curtail it's favor. 

New Jericho's 5th district is the cities poorest area. Filled to the brim with illegal casinos and brothels, it is there where miners burn their paychecks in the hopes of striking it big. 

New Jericho's 4th district is where most of the middle class resides. It is here you can find most of the bureaucrat's and mining managers. 

The Commerce zone, also known as the 8th district, is the economic hub of the city with traders of many crafts selling their wares in open air markets.

The 3rd district is where most of the cities legal entertainment can be found. There are the casino's, clubs, and New Jericho's famous Arena, where fighters from around the wastelands come to do battle amidst the roaring cheers of the crowd.

And finally the most notable district is the 2nd district. This is where the heads of the various mining companies and other upperclassmen live. Members of the obsidian guard constantly control the streets and in the middle of this district is the Manor where the King in Grey resides. These last few years he has lived as a recluse taking few visitors. 

Cancer passed through the mountain gate, the entrance of New Jericho and was stunned by the lively streets. People of all types hurried in every direction. He had no idea where to start searching for the two but their was no need to rush. Tonight he was going to have some fun...


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 28, 2010)

Wesker said:


> Archon and Enigma reappeared in an alley somewhere. "What was that? That terrible aura." Enigma turned and said "I'm not sure, it wasn't the Reaper but it had a similar feeling, probably a deposed death god that the Reaper let loose." Archon stood silent for a few minutes. Ever since Set had been released the Astral realm was in a maelstrom, all across the city violent auras abounded in battle and slaughter. Finally Archon spoke "Well there are quite a few auras battling all throughout the city I'm guessing it's the followers of Set. As for Set himself I can't sense him , he must be masking his aura. However I did sense Finn, Chachamaru, and Ed back at the hideout along with another aura. But they seemed to have left. We have this seal but there are still the others to worry about. But we might need help with Set's servants running around, we can go to Finn and the others or we could go after the next closest seal. You know more about the seals and the city then I do, what do you think we should do Enigma?"



Enigma considered this for a moment, if they honed thier abilities they could possibily locate another one of the seals. However it would probably be best to regroup and find out what the others have found out.

"Let's regroup with the others...see what they've found out." he said after a moment. "If they've got nothing we'll head back out." He looked around him for a second before continuing. "We should probably stick to the rooftops, so we don't have another encounter with The Reaper's new errand boy."

Archon nodded, and a moment later the darkness had enveloped them once more.

Below in the streets Coyote watched them leave. _These two could come in handy_ he thought. _It's not everyday I come across mortals who aren't bumbling fools._


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## SYSC (Dec 28, 2010)

Endless Mike said:


> "Well this guy is apparently after Enigma's bounty, but I have no idea what all of the noise is about," Finn yelled in order to be heard above the racket.
> 
> "Great..." said Ed sarcastically, still groggy from his recent nap and not having fully recovered from overusing his powers.
> 
> ...



"They aren't following us" Finn said looking back, still running beside Chachamaru with Hen and Edward ahead

"No, it doesn't seem like they ever were but the power they're emiting is so great I can still feel it from here. His destructive power feels twice as much as the Airship" Chachamaru said slowing down with everyone else

"This isn't good" Finn responded. "We've got to regroup"

"What about Ceclia? " Ed asked which was followed by a silence as they looked at him with unsure grim faces. 

"We'll have to deal with it when we regroup. Theres just to much happening right now" Chachamaru said 

"No, theres no time!" Ed snaped

"How bout we split up?" Finn asked trying to sound reasonable. "I can get Ceclia and the rest of the childern out of there the quickest and somewhere safe using my powers. And you guys can meet up with the others"

"It wont be that easy. We know they'll be expecting us" Ed responded

"You're still not in great shape after using so much of your power" Chachamaru said looking at Ed. "You're the most vulnerable out of us so we should stick together to look for the others"

"But you're still gonna need some backup if anything goes wrong" Chachamaru said looking at Finn

"Eh then what about the scruffy guy being my backup." Finn said looking at the silent Hen. "He has to have some strenght atleast by being able to carry that huge ass guitar" Finn reached his thumb out to examine a cartoon sticker of a worried small man with the words "Pandemonium" written underneath in crumbling text (like pip boy from Fallout ) on the guitar.

Finn was then out of nowhere stopped by Hen's hand, who began to blink a couple of times

"How the hell did he see that?" Finn asked pulling his hand back

"It looks like he's coming out of it" Chachamaru said "Im picking up a high level of foriegn substances in his bloodstream that seem to be countering the effects of your power"

"What the hell did Chichi's boyfriend do to me?" Hen asked rubbing his head

"IT'S CHACHAMARU AND IM NOT HER BOYFRIEND YOU IDIOT!!" Finn furiously yelled

"IM A IDIOT? WHAT KIND OF NAME IS CHACHAMARU FOR A GUY!!" Hen responded in a similar fashion 

"Wait, do you hear that?" Ed asked looking forward.

They turned a corner and saw a group of man wearing white hoods and scarves. The group dragged out a man, women and boy from a small home.

"Please just spare m-" the man didn't finish his plea as he was struck in the face by the foot of a large hooded man. He kept his foot on the man's head as he spoke. "Do you really think you and your pathetic family deserve to be spared? Only the followers of set will be saved when he rises"

He then directed his attention to Ed, Finn, Hen and Chachamaru with a grin.


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## masamune1 (Dec 28, 2010)

The King in Red stood in the centre of the vast desert and took a moment to survey. To his right, a few mere yards away, a vast chasm into infinite blackness lay; in the days of oceans the pit was one of the deepest places on Earth, and soon it would be again. 

The blackened rock and earth beneath his feet reminded one that the sun, which still struggled harder to reach here than most other places, had not touched this floor for well over a hundred million years. Ancient, by any reckoning, save for the reckonings of those who knew of the much older things that ruled the world. It would take thousands of miles of travel in any direction to reach the towering, mountainous cliffs that were the bordering continents.

The King in Red stretched his arms out to his sides and slowly spun around for his audience, blind and captive though he was. The King in Blue knelt on the rocky surface, broken, bound, blindfolded and gagged, his face still showing the bruises from his brutal beatings. "Magnificent", the King in Red said. "Simply magnificent."

The King in Blue groaned slightly. The Red King was'nt sure if he understood, or if with battered ear drums and a likely concussion, he could only make out the noise. 

"Hard to believe this place used to be teeming with life", the King continued, gesturing uselessly towards the tens of thousands of skeletons of sea life surrounding them, from the smallest fish to the largest whale. "Then we came along and finished it. Millions of years of history, gone", he snapped his fingers, "just like that. And you, you are one of the priviliged few who found out....why."

More groans, this time angrier. Maybe he did understand after all. The King in Red turned to the King in Blue and looked down upon him, sadly. "Too bad for you."

In the years since the Kings had went their separate ways the King in Blue had dedicated his life to study, searching for the answers to the unanswered questions surrounding the Armageddon, the hows and the whys and the whos. A few days ago, while traversing the astral plane, he chanced upon his answer, brushing with the mind of the imprisoned god Ikelos. It taught him the terrible truth, and he ran with it to his only trusted ally, the one called the King in Red. It was the last mistake he would ever make.  

The King in Red knew, of course, that Ikelos had arranged all of this, but no point in letting the poor man know all that. The Red King needed a human sacrifice for the ritual, to fulfill Ikelos' debt to the Great Demon Rahab and make their war on Heaven and Earth. Ikelos had promised him such a sacrifice, who would have to be a very special kind of human indeed. When the King turned up out of the proverbial Blue, the King in Red knew his sacrifice had arrived. 

Leviathan, the Demon Rahab, had at last ascended to the throne of Poseidon and position of the Lord of the Seas, taking advantage of Poseidon's sudden loss of power following the Apocalypse and the boiling of much of his kingdom. But the victory was hollow so long as Rahab's new realm consisted of only a few scattered seas and the remants of a single ocean. To regain anything like the glory and strength his title demanded, some measures would have to be taken. And that brought them here.

The King in Red walked over to his erstwhile ally and grabbed him hard by the scruff of his neck, and dragged the broken blind man towards the pit and his doom. "I know this is all a terrible shock to you, my old friend", the King in Red chatted on, "but I want you to know that this has not all been in vain. I am an agent of change and progress, not mindless destruction, and Destiny has brought you to me to help with my mission. You were obsessed with the horrors of the end of the world; and now, you have the priviledge of helping me correct one of them."

The King in Red peered into the darkness, and then chucked the King in Blue in. He closed his eyes, raised his hands over the chasm, and muttered the incantation over his victims muffled screams as he fell into the blackness. The other preparations for the magic had been made before they left. 

He finished the enchantment, and once again opened his eyes and looked into the nothing. What he was doing now was one of the greatest feats in the history of the world, the wielding of powers far greater than any of his brethern Kings could conceive, or could conceive him to be capable of; and here, he had just killed his only audience. It would take some time for the magic to take effect, but that was fine. He had other business to do, and as events stood that business was immenent. He had to get back to civilization, and in an instant he was gone, the desert ocean witness to the vanishing of it's new father.


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## Platinum (Dec 28, 2010)

*Trouble in New Jericho: A Fated Meeting (Part 3)*

Cancer woke up to the fiercest headache he had ever experience. He rose from the floor where he passed out and rubbed his temples trying to relieve the pain pulsing in his skull. "What the fucked happened?", he thought out loud as he brushed the dust off his clothes. "Perhaps I had a little too much fun..." a sudden pulse of pain made him clutch his skull. Nothing seemed to be missing at least, his sickle still remained in it's holster, his personal items secure, and while he was definitely lighter of coin he still had more than a sufficient amount for an extended stay in New Jericho.

He wandered the winding streets of New Jericho's 5th district for a bit trying to compose himself. Twice he was harassed by beggars, one of which was particularly obnoxious and persistent. Cancer broke his nose with the end of his sickle when he pulled a knife on him. He passed by several brothels each with a number of shady looking women standing on the street corners enticing him to join them. He just scowled and kept on walking. He wasn't giving any more of his money to these dregs today or any day.

At last he finally came to a stop in front of a quaint looking outdoor cafe, in the better part of the 5th district. Sitting at one of the tables was a man he would recognize from anywhere. Tall and lanky, his sharp features stood out amongst the crowd. He took his cup of coffee and drank deeply.

"Capricorn!" Cancer yelled from across the street. The man slowly turned his head and his eyes lit up in recognition of the man who was calling to him. 

"Cancer my man" Capricorn replied. "Take a seat my friend I have much I need to discuss with you, waiter I need another cup of coffee for my friend here, we will be here awhile."


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## Endless Mike (Dec 29, 2010)

Chachamaru wasted no time. A sonic boom shattered the air around her, knocking her companions back as she suddenly disappeared. When Finn finally recovered, he saw that she had KO'd all of the cultists save for one, who appeared to be the leader, and was holding him up in the air with one hand. The family they were menacing had wisely scurried away.

"Hey, watch it!" said Hen. "I think I'm fucking deaf now!"

"You'll be fine in a few minutes," she said, still holding the cultist firmly. "I had to stop them from killing those people."

"What?" Hen asked, his hearing trouble apparently genuine.

"Now as for you, what is your purpose in this city?" She asked.

"Witch! Our righteous cause will not be stopped by the likes of you! Our god will smite you and all the other wicked heathens!"

She let out a short laugh. "I'm no witch, though I have known a few. Finn, a little help here?"

Gesturing him over, he walked up and applied his power on the cultist.

"Tell us what we want to know," he said commandingly.

"I am Mahmoud Nadim, priest of Set. The time of the rising of our god is upon us, and this wicked city that has imprisoned him shall fall! Beware, for he is manifest!"

"You say your god is here?" Asked Edward, now joining the others.

"Does he happen to ride in a horse - drawn carriage by any chance?"

"BLASPHEMER! YOU DARE COMPARE MIGHTY SET TO THAT DEMON COACHMAN?" Mahmoud was hysterical now, screaming at the top of his lungs. Chachamaru knocked him out with a quick blow from her left hand.

"We're obviously not going to get anything more out of him, but this is troubling. In addition to that coach driver, we have another unknown and powerful force invading the city, as well as this cult who claims their god is going to kill us all."

"I suggest we reprioritize," interjected Finn. "Saving the kids at the church probably wouldn't be a good idea right now, since we would have to take them all the way out of the city for them to be safe, and even if we do manage that, they would have nowhere to go. With all of this insanity going down, I doubt _Father_ (he spoke the title with disgust, like a curse) Gregory will exactly be able to arrange to sell any of them for a while. They're probably safer there than they would be if we tried to drag them through the streets amidst all this chaos. Instead, we should try to meet up with Enigma and the others and get to the bottom of this."

"But what about Draygon's attack?" Ed objected.

"That's not until 8 at night," Finn continued. "As long as we get this sorted out before then, we'll be okay."

Ed was upset at the idea of leaving Cecilia and the others with that monster, but he couldn't fault Finn's logic. As he was about to agree with the plan, Hen butted in.

"Hey, who's this Enigma guy you're talking about? Is that the Phantom? Because I'm still going to kick his ass when I find him!"

Chachamaru sighed in frustration and approached the musician.

"You will do no such thing. You should forget about that bounty, I doubt the government will be in any position to pay it after today."

Hen used his omnidirectional vision to observe the continuing devastation going on in the city.

"Huh, you might be right. But I still want to beat that guy up just out of principle!"

"What principle is that, being a hotheaded moron?" Asked Ed. "I say we just ditch this guy, he's obviously unwilling to cooperate with us, and if anything he's going to hinder us."

"Hey, hey, wait!" Hen yelled. "If you insist, I guess I won't fight him, at least until after all of this whatever the fuck it is is over. But when it's dealt with he's mine!"

Finn sighed. "Fine, whatever. We've wasted enough time already, let's get going. Chachamaru, do you know where they are?"

Her eyes glowed for a bit, and then she pointed to the right. "Around two blocks in that direction."

They all set off, Hen walking up to Finn. Gesturing towards Chachamaru, he said "What is she, anyway? I know she's not human."

"Long story," Finn said, and Hen seemed to accept that and not continue his line of questioning as they ran off to meet Enigma and Archon.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 29, 2010)

*The Bowery*

People jumped out of the way as The Coachman thundered down the street, his goal for the moment fast approaching. The Butcher's Den stood at the end of the strret walled in by the other houses, it's brutal decorations gliterring horribly. An old woman made a warding gesture as he passed, and he heard words in Celtic.

As the Coach drew closer, the horses started to whiny and jerk and pull on the reigns in fear, before stopping completely. The Coachman and Billy the Kid were almost thrown from thier position, "What's this?" asked The Coachman "Haven't seen you boys this jumpy since we last left Ireland."

The massive horses jerked thier heads to the Den not to far from them...and The Coachman saw something else glowing in those walls. His vision able to pick out every soul inside that club, but in the walls and in the floor and in the doors. Beside him Billy the Kid's eyes widened...even the banshee had stopped wailing. 

"This can't be," said The Coachman getting down from the carriage, his whip in hand. He strode up to the walls, only to be repusled back as if an invisible hand was pushing him away. 

"Gold...there's gold in those walls." he said and he chuckled wickedly.

"Aw shit," whispered Billy the Kid in horror, as The Coachman's chuckle had a tint of anger in it.

"I Haven't been barred from anywhere in four centuries." said the Coachman with fury rising in his voice. "And i'm stopped in my duties in this pisshole of a city."

And he roared. It was a roar filled with horrible fury, that caused the ground to shake. The entire city shook from the Coachman's rage that day, and even out in the wastelands it could be felt. Buildings toppled and people died and those who didn't felt thier souls writhe in agony as The Coachman screamed, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Stop your tantrem now servent." The Reaper said. "I did not release you, only for you to create another of your incidents."

The Coachman saw that The Reaper was carrying a rotting head...his head. It had slicked back white hair and pitch black eyes, and he wanted it back. "Give it."

The Reaper tilted his head in confusion. "Not yet Coachman...not yet...you need better control of yourself before your full power is returned to you...I believe that was what The Morrigan said to you when she took your head wasn't it."

"Yes, yes it was." he said as The Reaper's control over him tighened, forcing his thoughts away from what had angered him. "She did say that."

"Good...then back to your job." Said The Reaper. "Besides there's still a way inside The Den, you just have to be invited by someone who has already been inside." and The Reaper grinned.

Across the city, Enigma sneezed. Somebody has been making plans involving him and he knew it.


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## Platinum (Dec 30, 2010)

*Trouble in New Jericho: Revelations (Part 4)*

Cancer took his cup and drank from it. He nearly spit it back out, far too bitter for his tastes. Then again Capricorn always had a horrible taste in coffee. But not wanting to offend his friend he continued drinking. It was slowly growing on him. "So", he started in between sips. "Give me a briefing, what have you discovered so far?"

"It's not good my friend" he sighed. "Me and Libra have concluded that a civil war in New Jericho is inevitable."

"Civil War?" Cancer replied not bothering to hide the shock in his voice. "You can't be serious, I haven't seen any of the typical signs of unrest in the populace."

"That's because you've been drunk off your ass the entire time you've been here" he said in a playful tone. "Trust me, our sources confirm this. This is a town divided."

"So who are the major players in this rebellion?" Cancer asked inquisitively. 

"That's what we need to find out, and that's what you are here to help accomplish."

"I much preferred being on the front lines, i'm not cut out for information gathering."

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure of that. Now come on we have to go meet Libra at our safehouse. Don't worry we have already had a room prepared for you."

"Libra isn't just going to come here?"

"She can't, Libra has been recovering from extensive injuries she received while she was gathering information a week ago."

"She was attacked? By who?"

"Paradiso Soldiers apparently, I know I can't believe it myself."

Cancer was stunned, Paradiso soldiers in New Jericho? The two cities had a well known rivalry with each other. They weren't here on any diplomatic mission that was for sure. And why would they attack Libra? This was fast becoming a tangled web of intrigue. Perhaps Leo was right, this definitely promised to be entertaining to say the least. "Lead the way Capricorn, hopefully Libra still isn't mad at me from last time."

"Oh she is, but at least she can't do anything to you in her present condition. You lucked out to say the least." Capricorn cracked a smile, and Cancer couldn't help but smile in turn.


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## Platinum (Dec 31, 2010)

After hours of searching they were no closer to locating one of these seals than they were at the beginning.

"This is frustrating" Scorpio sighed as they stopped to rest for a moment. "The Celestial presence in this city is next to nothing. If we had half of the information network we have in the other 6 cities we would have found most of these seals already."

"I know Scorpio. But we have to make do with what we got. I might have a promising lead, we will follow up later on today. We should make a report first before acting further though. This thing runs deeper than any of us suspected. It might be prudent to ask for reinforcements to be sent here."

"What Aquarius afraid we can't handle it by ourselves?", she replied playfully. "It's your call though so do whatever you want." She tried to change the subject."So when are we supposed to regroup with that group of jokers that we are helping?"

"Not for a while at...", he stopped in mid-sentence as the ground beneath them began to shake wildly.

"What the hell is going on?" Scorpio cried.

"It's not an earthquake that's for sure. Come on Scorpio let's investigate."

The two of them ran down the city as fast as they could, struggling to stay centered amongst the rolling of the ground. Most people were to terrified to notice them running to the source of these shakes, those that did only saw a flash. A flash that was gone before their eyes could even comprehend that it was two humans passing them by.

Buildings toppled and collapsed as the two darted through the rubble with supernatural agility, batting away falling debris that came too close. And as they approached the epicenter all of sudden the rumbling stopped. They arrived at a scene of great destruction but the source of this destruction was nowhere to be found.

"Another lead lost". He yelled out in frustration and punched the nearest building that still stood, accidentally causing most of it to collapse.


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## Emperor Joker (Dec 31, 2010)

*The Southern Wastes, The "City" of Harlequin*
*The Palace of the King of Fools. *

The King of Fools lounged on his throne and watched as his harem danced seductivly in front of him. He so loved the dances...perhaps the one he chose as best this time would give him a fine heir...if not well she would go the way of the others that had failed him. 

The King was a massive and imposing figure dressed all in scarlet colored velvet, bells hung suspended from several parts of his attire, and when he walked  the bells would jingle. On his face he wore a mask portraying a white faced smiling man with a mustache in beard...in the old days he recalled it being called a Guy Fawkes mask. The King sometimes wondered who this Guy Fawkes was and what event had made people make a mask resembling his face. 

The King of Fools eyed a young blond girl dancing to his right dressed in a revealing shift, and under his mask he grinned...he liked this one. her family should be pleased, even if they hadn't seen her since his men had taken her when she only just five. It was the way of his kingdom afterall, that "All first born daughters would be given to the king"

His mind wandered and he found himself dwelling on other things...the ones who saught to dethrone him most of all. The one who called himself Pestilence he hated most of all. For he had set out on a campeign of terror against the nobles and in particular The King himself. Then there was Killroy the Leper Prince, who fights for the Lepers and the mutants and unofortunate. under his he sneered, The Lepers were only good as sacrifices to the gods...why would anyone fight for them. The mutants were mindless drones only good as slave.

He looked up as there was knock on the chamber door and so did the girls. He jerked his head at them and they slowly filed out. The knock came again, this time louder. "Enter," said The King of Fools, his voice was rich and almost musical. at the same time it was somewhat high pitched. 

Five people entered, four of them were his royal guard, dressed in red velvet with ballistic armor over top. one of them was bleeding heavily from where his left eye used to be. The other was a small figure bound in rope, his hands tied and a sack over his head.

"What do we have here Captain?" asked The king to the middle aged man that was stationed directly in the front. 

"My King, we managed to catch and subdue the one who calls himself Pestilence as he was in the act of destroying one of your food preservation warehouses"

"Pestilence is a midget?" 

"Not quite my liege..." and he motioned behind him and the sack was removed from the small figure's head. It revealed the face of auburn haired boy, that couldn't be more than ten years old. his dark eyes stared up at The King and he could see malice imprinted there. 

"Pestilence is a child? come now Captain, a child couldn't have done the things that Pestilence has done."

The man with one eye gave a hacking chuckle. "I bet you'd say a child couldn't kill a squad of 14 either...or take my eye and eat it...but you'd be wrong." and as he said this the child licked his lips, a bloodthirsty grin on his face.

"But he has to be to young...maybe a copycat...he seriously can't be Pestilence."

"But I am Jester King. I am" said the boy, his words mesmerizing, and his eyes burning with hate. "I am Pestilence...and if need be, i'll be your Famine, your War and your Death as well. I am Pestilence and where I walk the crops shall wither, the food shall rot, and plague shall spread. So I speak and so shall it be...for this I decree, your kingdom shall soon fall."

"So you are determined to play this part are you boy? Then you shall be treated just like the real Pestilence would be." He snapped his fingers at the guards. "Take to the dungeons, no food, no water, let's see how long it takes him to scream."

Pestilence looked amused at this as they carted out of the room. as he left he spoke once more. "Beware Fool King...for Like I, my brethren were also reborn with the Apocolypse...The Riders time have come again...and the Apocolypse it was only the beginning." and he cackled as the doors shut behind him. 

When he was alone once more The King noticed something else. There was something lurking in the shadows...and he knew what it was.

"No...not you...it's not your time yet." He whimpered.

A thing stepped out of the shadws. composed of nothing but rats, cockroaches and and assortment of other vermin, the god known as Blight was something to behold. A moment he was at the other end of the room and the next he was right beside The King stroking his cheek through his mask. He could feel his own skin rotting at the touch. 

"You've already had your sacrifices for this month...why are you here ." gasped The King of Fools. his tongue was starting to dry up. 

Blight did not answer, instead he rose several fingers, wagged them , then shook his head. "You need more?" the god nodded his head. "Why?" A steady hum started up from inside him...meaning Blight was showing annoyance. "Nevermind...you'll have more." 

Blight was back to it's original position now his eyes staring. The king shuddered despit himself, and Blight cocked his head in confusion, before raising a hand to point at the door near his throne that the harm had departed through. The King noticed that the young blond girl was standing there horrified. "You want her?" Blight nodded it's head. The King gulped and looked at the girl and then at the Lord of Disease...and then back again, his eyes were panicked behind his mask. "Take her then...just please leave."

The girl screamed as Blight suddenly appeared beside her, brushing it's fingers across her cheeks and began to watch as they began to rot. A moment later both the young girl and the Lord of Disease was gone...

The King sat on his throne and weeped behind his mask.


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## Platinum (Jan 1, 2011)

After a thorough investigation they were able to conclusively identify the source of destruction. "The Coachman eh?" Scorpio's words hung on the air. "Wonder what got him so riled up."

"That's another mystery we will have to find out. Let's go report our findings."

As they turned to leave Scorpio bumped into a shady looking man. "I'm sorry about that..." she started. The man's eyes flashed in recognition of the man standing beside Scorpio, they were pools of haunted purple. His eyes recognized the man as well. "Scorpio get back, that guy's dangerous!". He shouted but it was already too late. From the man's hands a dark green energy flowed and once again the two were trapped in that hellish dreamscape.

But not quite. They were still amongst the ruins of the shattered Pandemonium buildings, some rebuilt themselves as time re-winded only to collapse and turn to dust once again as it speed back up. The only thing that changed was the haunted sky.

"What do you...", the man raised a finger to silence Scorpio. He appeared to be in deep thought.

"What are you doing?" she started up again.

"Why listening to the music of course. The music of the spheres." He answered her question in a disinterested manner, clearly still listening in to something they could not hear.

"Music of the spheres?"

"Can you not hear it?" he asked almost in a cry. "It is the most pure sound in existence... Though I suppose it's not a bad thing you can't hear it, you wouldn't be able to handle it. Perhaps someday though..."

"Enough talk. I want to know who you are and what you are doing here."

"I was wondering when you were finally going to speak up. Now I'll answer your questions but I ask you not to interrupt me. I suppose it was rather rude of me not to introduce myself all those times before, I am known as Paradox to your kind."

"You can't mean that Paradox?" Scorpio asked the strange man before her, though she obviously knew that a man of this power had no need to hide his true identity."

He shook his head in annoyance. "Please do not interrupt me again. Yes I am that Paradox and as for what I am doing here that will take a little longer to explain. One of my primary duties is managing the timeline, making sure everything goes as it is supposed to. Basically I am the mechanic that make sure everything runs as smooth as possible. I already told you I am not your enemy, unlike those foolish ascendants and gods that seek to control this city. I have no motives as foolish as ambition. I merely come to you to offer my humble assistance."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a bottle with a large piece of parchment inside. He gave it to Aquarius. "Open this tomorrow".

"Why tomorrow?"

"Because that's when you are destined to open it." A smile flashed on his face.

"And if I open it now?"

"You won't". Another smile formed on his face, this one larger than the last. "And besides you have no way of knowing if I lied to you. Perhaps you were supposed to open it right now, either way you will be opening it when you are meant to. Now if you two will excuse me, I have a meeting with a certain angry god, and he hates to be kept waiting." He turned to look at Scorpio and bowed. "Madam it was nice to meet you, I look forward to seeing you again."

And in a sickly green flash he was gone and the world was normal again...


----------



## Platinum (Jan 1, 2011)

*Trouble In New Jericho: The Game of Espionage (Part 5)*

After much walking the duo of Cancer and Capricorn came to a rather large villa near the center of New Jericho's 4th District. It was here they would spend their next few weeks, planning and gathering information. "Pretty swanky place you got here", Cancer replied dryly as he tapped his fingers against his leg. Capricorn seemed not to hear him, but he pushed his partner forward and followed just behind him. He was gazing at a lone bird flying over an apartment complex in the distance.

This time it was Cancer's turn to push. "Look at birds on your own time", he didn't even bother to mask the annoyance in his voice.

"You're right, I'm sorry man." He reached into his pocket and retrieved a worn bronze key which he inserted into the lock. "Come on, Libra should be in the study upstairs."

Libra's face turned sour as she saw Cancer enter the study. "They sent you?", the venom in her voice made him flinch.

"You can't possibly still be mad at me?", the look in her eyes said it all and her arm was moving towards the nearest, heaviest thing to throw at him. "Look you are just going to have to get the fuck over it. It's not like I wanted to come here and be you and Capricorn's third wheel. Cut me some fucking slack."

Her arm stopped moving and returned to her lap. She turned away from his gaze and continued reading the book she had open on the table. She spoke without looking at either of them, "Okay I have formulated a half decent plan for our immediate actions. Capricorn I assume you filled him in on the details of our mission?"

"More or less."

"Tell him everything.... but not now. The plan I have come up with is simple enough. Each of us will pursue a separate avenue of information."

"Should you even be going out Libra? You look absolutely terrible." 

"I'll be perfectly fine Cancer, I don't need your concern. Capricorn you will be following up on that contact we have established."

"Roger"

"I will be looking for information on The Jeweled Fist. And you Cancer...." A devilish smile appeared on her face. "You will be signing up to fight in New Jericho's famed arena first thing tomorrow."

"The arena? Are you out of your mind? You just want me to get beat half to death I know it."

"That's only part of the reason. The Arena is a gathering point for many of New Jericho's elite. Both the nobility and the army flock there in droves, all talking about the latest gossip. With the amount of information flowing there you should be able to find something of worth. Besides you are more of the arena type. Me and Capricorn aren't cut out for that sort of thing."

"I can agree with that at least."

"It's nice we agree on something then. Capricorn can you cook up the dinner tonight? I'm busy studying this book I picked up today."

"Sure thing Libra, but don't stay up to long reading, you need your rest."

"I won't. Now will the two of you please leave, it's hard to focus with so many people in the room. Our game of espionage begins tomorrow at dawn."


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## Serp (Jan 3, 2011)

Gig said:


> ?To be honest what's the point ?? Oscar replied ?Without the guild the money is useless to me, not only where they the only organization in this accursed city who would deal with one as extensively mutated as myself and even if they weren't there's no doubt there the only organization in this entire world who could possibly have the technology I require and now there nothing more than a bad memory at least here in Pandamonium they are? Oscar continued his explanation as he and Jesse came out of the one of the many side alleys which fed into the main street ?You see my dear Jessie the guild is far larger than a single town or city, its reach extends to the four corners of our corrupt world and in nearly every known city the guild will have a presence, one such city I know is New genesis and that is where I shall be heading?



Jessie yawned. "New Genesis huh? Well this fucking city is abit worse off that it was last time."

She raised a hand and scratched her head. "I've been chasing promises buggy. So what will you promise me this time." 

For once Jessie was worn down and a sigh fell out of her mouth. The skull on her T-shirt looked up at her sullen face, accidently bringing him to life. Jessie was bound to this shithole of a city, she had made a deal to stay here and it was that which turned her bitter. But now she decided that she didn't care anymore.

"Come on then Kamen rider, what would you do with me?"


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## Gig (Jan 3, 2011)

Installation Epsilon (Somewhere in the wastes)

Doctor Roads waited impatiently for years he'd been researching and experimenting to replicate   the super soldier process his brilliant predecessor, Professor Canals had created years ago, it had been an uphill struggle for years working with nothing but records and no samples at all the only successful specimen codenamed 19 had escaped Senate custody years before Roads even took up the post and had somehow destroyed highly valuable data on its creation, it had been a massive blow surpassed only by the untimely demise of Professor Canals prior to specimen 19s escape. 

But those setbacks had been just that mere setbacks, for Roads was a determined and brilliant scientist who had rekindled the long dead project bringing his unique genius to bare, though it had taken him years he had finally succeeded, he had recreated the process his predecessor had created well almost recreated. 

It was an imperfect process though effective in its own right, Roads unlike Canals was incapable of stabilizing the gene augmentation process as such his own creations had proven inferior, while Canal's process allowed the transferal of multiple genes from different creatures simultaneously allowing the creation of truly superior warriors, Road's process didn't his process was limited to gene transfer from a single organism to another meaning his creations where though powerful where incapable of achieving the perfection the Senate demanded. 

“Doctor Squad 3 has reported that Specimen 19 has been found,” The Senate officer reported
“Excellent, 19 is the last piece that alludes me, he is the key which will allow me to perfect the gene transfer. He is to be captured intact preferably alive for study Sergeant Cross” Doctor Roads replied
“Understood Doctor I shall make preparations for 19s immediate capture” Sergeant Cross replied he was a dedicated and efficient soldier of the Senate, a specialist in capture and retrieval before his promotion to Sergeant he'd been a highly successful and active participant in the Senate's slaver operations in the wastes. 
“I trust you or your men won't fail me or The Senate. I'd hate to find that I have more volunteers for my experiments Sergeant” Roads replied with a smile before dismissing Cross Afterall he needed to prepare for his important guest


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## Platinum (Jan 3, 2011)

*Trouble in New Jericho: Blood and Honor (Part 6)*

Day 1 10:45 AM:


Cancer was frankly surprised at how easy it was to get signed up to fight at New Jericho's famed arena. Apparently as long as you were willing to bleed for the spectators they would accept anyone. Fresh meat was always in demand. His first match was scheduled for later on in the evening. Just before sunset. 

He spent the few hours between his arrival and the fight preparing himself. He had a light warm up and ate one of the meals that the provide the fighters as a courtesy. It tasted awful, but it was packed with nutrients apparently. With an hour left before his match he wandered a bit around the arena hoping to eavesdrop onto some information. He unfortunately found nothing of worth, just the idle chit chat of the social elite. 

As he walked back he overheard from one of the passerby's that his opponent was favored in their match 20 to 1. And the more he heard, the more it infuriated him. He hated being underestimated, these people would regret betting against him. On his way bet all his remaining money on himself.

He heard the roar of the crowd. The match was only minutes away now. He sat on the floor trying to center himself before they called him out. He could not help but overhear the announcer.

"And now ladies and gentleman we come to our final fight of the day. Our first fighter is one of our mainstays. A fierce creature more machine than man and currently riding a twenty win streak please welcome Cain!"

The crowd erupted in a voracious cheer. From this distance, his view obscured by the giant gate in front of him, he couldn't make out the details on his opponent. All he could see was a shadowy figure.

"And his opponent, a man of unknown mettle, this is his first time fighting in this arena. A fierce looking man with a temper to match please give it up for The Vagabond!"

The crowd cheered, not as loudly they did for his opponent, but they cheered nonetheless. He liked the cheers, it was a sound he could get used to. As the gate retracted he stepped out into the arena's battleground. He couldn't help but think how stupid the name they gave him was. But it was no matter to him. It was time for him to get a look at this opponent of his.

The two were ten paces away from each other now and he could see his opponent much better. His appearance was frightening to say the least. Cybernetics covered his body, wires and metal crisscrossing his exposed skin like webs. His entire left hand was missing, replaced by a fiendish hunk of metal. His right eye was missing as well, replaced by a dark red beam of light. What skin he had left was an olive color with short dark hair with red highlights at the tips. 

Cancer attempted to rile him up. "Hmm, what's one of your kind doing this far out? Your xenophobic tribesmen rarely travel, unless you got exiled. That's it isn't it? You are a disgrace, a shame on your tribe forced to fight in the arena to eek out a living."

The man said nothing, didn't even change his body movements in the slightest. It was unnerving. Well it's not like he needed to taunt him in the first place. He knew he could take this guy. He grabbed his sickle with his left hand and assumed his fighting stance.

The gunshot was the sign for the fight to begin. Instantly his opponent lunged at him, serrated edges of metal aimed at his torso. He was fast alright but he never fought an avatar of the zodiac. His lunge came up empty. Cancer dodged with ease. Now it was his turn. 

With a great burst of speed he shattered the sound barrier. He was behind his opponent in an instant and delivered a crushing blow to the back of his head with the grip of his sickle. This sent his opponent sprawling to the floor, and with another move he pinned his opponent to the ground placing the edge of his sickle right on his throat. Just like that it was over. 

The crowd was struck silent. And then... cheers. The loudest cheers he ever heard. Sweet music to his ears. Perhaps now they would learn not to underestimate him.

He exited the arena soon after, but not before collecting his substantial prize money. Tomorrow is when his mission truly began. But for tonight, he was going to treat his friends to a feast.


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## Platinum (Jan 4, 2011)

*Trouble in New Jericho: Troubling Developments (Part 7)*

New Jericho: 4th District

Day 1-7:40 AM

Capricorn began his day as he always did. With a cup of coffee and a light breakfast. He began to study the newspaper he bought off the crier on the street corner. Nothing particularly interesting, just a few disappearances and another labor dispute between miners and their respective company. Those were becoming far more frequent by the day.

He took a sip of his coffee. Exceptionally bitter, just the way he liked it. Today was not going to be very exciting. His most promising lead was not available to meet until four days from now. But that didn't get him down, he would make the best of things. Today he had a meeting with a contact in the Stergo Mining Corps. One of New Jericho's major companies. He hoped that would shed some light on the situation. He finished up his jelly pasty and coffee, leaving a substantial tip for his waitress. 

Three hours later and he arrived at the meeting spot. Some dingy building in the 5th district. It had seen better days for sure. The roof was missing and spots and the entire building was covered in a fine layer of dirt. He knocked twice and waited for the door to open. Two armed guards escorted him inside.

The man was rather odd. A small portly fellow, he constantly dabbed the sweat off his forehead with a velvet cloth. He looked like he was about to burst out of his white business suit. Crowning his head was an hideously out of place toupee.

"So" Capricorn said sitting down in the leather chair he was provided with. "Tell me what's going on in the Stergo Corp mines?"

"Oh things are getting very interesting" he replied with a halfhearted laugh. "You could cut the tension with a knife. Each side is having a hard time tolerating the other, fights are a common occurrence in the quarries and mines these days."

This talk continued for some time. He was giving him nothing he already didn't know. Capricorn was starting to believe this man was all talk.

"You promised me you had valuable information" Capricorn said in a sincere manner. "You have told me nothing I didn't already know."

"Oh I was just getting to the good part. You see Stergo has been hiring a private mercenary army under everyone's noses."

Now things were getting interesting. "Go on."

"Apparently the other mining companies have followed suit. The miners have suspicions but nothing solid to go on. They apparently use the abandoned mines as housing and training areas. Complete Civil War is only weeks away in their estimations."

Capricorn tossed the man a small pouch of coins. "That's all I needed to know from you. It's been a pleasure." He got up and left. The man was too busy counting the coins to notice his departure.

Nothing else for him to do today but go back to the villa.


New Jericho

2nd District- 4:00 PM

Libra had spent the past few hours at New Jericho's Library. This one had a reputation for containing knowledge that couldn't be found anywhere else in the city. Thus it was mainly used by the elites. The scholars and merchants of New Jericho. She had to bribe the guard with a small pouch of gems before he would let her in.

She poured over several books. Absorbing the knowledge within their pages, she was fast learning about the cities culture and political machinations. 

A particular book she found exceptionally interesting. "The Untold History of New Jericho" by the mute scholar Demetrius. She came upon a particular passage in the book.

"Few know the true story of The Jeweled Fist. In the days shortly after the apocalypse in they fought a bloody war for control of the area that would eventually become known as New Jericho. They were on the verge of defeating the fragile NJR before the seven kings arrived to try and end the conflict that engulfed the land. The Jeweled Fist realizing that they could not possibly hope to defeat all seven kings disbanded and went into hiding. Some suspect that they are just biding their time, waiting for the right moment to take over the city. But no on knows how many of them are left. Many were hunted down and killed by bounty hunters and vengeful fathers...."

It went on for several more pages. She would study this book in more detail later. She smuggled it out of the library. Outside it was fast getting dark. Nothing more she could do today, she set off for the safe house.

She entered to Capricorn and Cancer preparing a grand feast. Apparently Cancer won big on a bet at the arena that he placed on himself. She could believe it, he didn't have a scratch on him. And if he wanted to treat her to a meal than so be it. It wasn't like her to turn down free food.


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## Platinum (Jan 4, 2011)

*The Seven Kings: The King in Black*

In the wastelands there is a most fantastic place, most do not think it real but I tell you that it indeed exists. Here the natural and supernatural blend into one.

A place of eternal night, the shadows slither in the mesmerizing light of a blood red moon. It is the home of some of the most horrifying monstrosities the wastelands has to offer. A million ghouls dance as one to the beat of hellish drums and the wraiths cry out endlessly, their voices becoming an omnipresent moan that echoes off the cliff sides. Creatures from beyond the stars wander it's empty spaces.

And in this place lives a man, he who resides in the ruins of an ancient castle. It's courtyard, the graveyard of ten thousand swords. This man is known the world over as the King in Black and he is the ruler of these esoteric lands. He has fashioned a select few of those humans brave enough to live in these lands into a fighting force feared the world over, The Black Swarm. Raised in such a hellish land they fight to the bitter end, they fear nothing and they run from no one.

In this land he rules over all. He is the King of Ghouls and Humans. Of wraiths and abominations.

He is the King in Black. The Eldritch Prince.


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 5, 2011)

*The Dungeons of the King of Fools*

The guards accompanying Pestilence bodily threw him into his cell, and as they did he heard one of them say. "Are you sure we should put him there? I thought we weren't supposed to give The Northerner company..."

The other said. "Freaks should be in the company of other freaks...besides it's not like our big blonde Northman is any threat, what with his energy drained, and belt and weapon taken away." and he heard the man chuckle "Isn't that right northerner, you're just a big old teddy bear..." Pestilence heard the men walking away chuckling to themselves. 

He groaned and looked up to the man chained against the wall. He was a tall blonde man, whose eyes shone like great lightning strikes, his clothes were ripped and torn, and from the stench of the cell, he had been here for quite some time. He had a long blond beard that stretched to his chest, and through it Pestilence could see him mouth crooked up in a smile.

"Welcome, Rider!" the man boomed his accent was Icelandic in nature...or would have been if Iceland still existed at this point and time. "It has been many a century since I have met one of your kind...four centuries in fact. I believe it a reincarnation of War...Female if I recall. We did battle which lasted for days, then we made peace over some nice beer...and when we were drunk we had wonderful sex. our acts destroyed whole moutain ranges that week...The mortals thought the world was ending." And he laughed, and it was great and hearty and Pestilence took an instant liking to the man. 

"How did you know what I am..."

"How? while even weakened I can see the aura that all Riders have about them...though I d find it odd that You and your comrades still exist after The Apocolypse."

"That Apocolypse was little more than bump in the road on the way to our destined task...however said task, given to us by The Silent One is fast approaching."

"Ah, then it is as the sages had said...Tell me young Rider...what day were you captured on?"

"I was captured today...and Today is a Thursday...but I don't see why that matters."

"Thursday you say...indeed for it is my day...and since it is my day that is what you shall call me...Mr. Thursday."

"As you wish...But I must ask, why haven't you left yet...Despite what the guards said, I can still feel power inside you."

"That is true young Rider, and I have not left, because I have no reason to. Like you I assume I am biding my time. And when the time is right I shall gather my strength and let loose."

Pestilence nodded slightly...though unlike Mr. Thursday, he had not intended to get captured. He jerked up his head as he heard a steady thumping noise, coming from below them...it was muffled but still audible. 

"So you hear the Drums in the Deep as well Young Rider. Blight is not the only thing that The King of Fools feeds sacrifices to. Do not listen long and stay away from the door. The Drums of Goblins will drive mortals mad...even ones such as you...Beware the rulers of those who dwell beneath the earth young rider for they are not friends of man." and Thursday softly chuckled and was still.

Pestilence looked at him for a moment before noticing he had fallen asleep. So he sat in the corner of the room and tryed to tune out the drums an kept an eye on the door. On occasions he could hear grunts and growls and some words in another language and even some clawing at his door. However nothing came into the room that night and Pestilence slowly plotted his escape.


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## Serp (Jan 5, 2011)

"So creepy, what would you have for me?" Jessie asked, she was still quite depressed. 

But before Oscar could respond.
"Nineteen, hold your ground." The voice came from all around them, small laser pointers scattered over Oscars body, with a few on Jessie.

"Great! Now I'm gonna get killed or raped!" Jessie was now angry. "I fucking hate you!" She could feel her anger seething insider her or was it anger?


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## Wesker (Jan 5, 2011)

*An Administration Prison.*

The head guardsman entered the bloodstained prison cell. "Who was he?" he asked one of his subordinates standing by. The subordinate responded "One of the surviving cultists from that Crawling Chaos incident. Kept muttering things to himself the entire time. I came to check on him this morning and I found him dead along with those scribbles written in his blood." The guardsmen squinted to read the writing, from what he could make out it said _That is not dead which can eternal lie and with strange aeons even death may die._ "What the fuck does that mean?" said the head guardsman. "Be sure to document the scene and make sure you take clear photos of that writing. I want a full report by tomorrow so I can send it to the higher ups."


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## Platinum (Jan 6, 2011)

*The Seven Kings: The King in White*

In the wastes wanders a man, clothed entirely in the most pure of whites that has never been sullied. The only feature visible are his piercing blue eyes that seem almost translucent, they gleam with the most fantastic of knowledge. At his back are a band of noble disciples. They have been entrusted with his arcane wisdom and employ it's uses to help the downtrodden.

In the first days following the apocalypse he gathered a massive following as he marched across the wastelands. Employing his wisdom and god given powers he cured those were sick, on the very doors of death itself. In fact he made them far stronger than they ever were before, his touch eliminating any impurities or defects in the object he focused on, even those from birth. 

Two and a half years after the apocalypse he came to discover a lost underground city. He and his flock founded the city of Paradiso. According to legend he is still considered the official leader of the city even if he hasn't been there in the last seven years. For shortly after founding the city he took a small band of his most dedicated followers and departed. On some secret mission only he knew about. In his stead he left the city in the hands of a man that would soon become known as The Director. The Head of The Administration.

But he is still revered as a living saint by those in Paradiso. He is known as The Man of Miracles. He is The King in White.


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## Gig (Jan 6, 2011)

Serp Targaryen said:


> "So creepy, what would you have for me?" Jessie asked, she was still quite depressed.
> 
> But before Oscar could respond.
> "Nineteen, hold your ground." The voice came from all around them, small laser pointers scattered over Oscars body, with a few on Jessie.
> ...


?Curses! It would appear that my travel arrangements where a tad behind schedule this time around? Oscar said out loud as he carefully placed the Dragon statue he'd been carrying for a good few hours down between him and Jessie before raising his hands into the air.  
?How unfortunate that our glorious plan to defeat the mighty Phantom will never be used? Oscar said with a slight grin
?Science speak again and they'll be your last words, this is your only warning? A voice called out as several powered armored men armed with rifles emerged from the shadows there helmets and heavy armour completely obscuring there human features making them appear more like robots than human soldiers.   They where the near perfect instruments of The Senates will there facelessness surrendering no emotion, while there stout armour caused even the bravest of foes to think twice.


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## Serp (Jan 6, 2011)

Jessie was still angry but she could tell what she had to do, she didn't want to die. 
She focused on the dragon, with all her rage. 
"KILL THEM!" She shouted at the dragon and the dragon seemed to listen. It raised its head and looked around. Something it had never done without Jessie concentrating on it. The dragon snorted and opened its mouth to show a wide range of stone teeth. It was acting like a dragon, it had free will for some reason.

It looked at Jessie and then jumped behind her and started to savage the men there. Jessie was unsure if Oscar noticed the difference this time, but she surely did. Sure she could feel her power draining faster, but her mind was free to think without concentrating hard on moving the beast, but she could feel she could control it if she wished.

A smirk crossed her face.


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 7, 2011)

*The Other Horsemen: The Wanderer of War*

*The Northern Border Town of Donar's Mercy *
*The Rum Tum Tugger's Bar (Every hour is Happy hour)*

The bartender stared across at the massive man warilly, and then looked around the rest of the bar, stopping for a moment on a group of ten people that apparently fashioned themselves after the vikings of old. They were getting rowdy and he felt that they were going to cause a scene soon. 

The man in front of him was sipping at his ale and was dressed from head to toe in a travelling cloak, as he moved the bartender could the ringing of chainmail beneath and he could see the hilt of a massive broadsword sticking up from his back. The man was a towering figure, standing at least 7'6 if not more. As the bartender watched him, the giant looked up and stared back with his hawkish eyes, before his broad face turned upwards in a smile. The Bartender blushed and turned away, eyeing for a moment the giant's companion. 

She was a petite woman, barely even 5 feet in height, her hair was a deep aurburn and fell past her shoulders and her eyes an  deep purple. Freckles lined her face, and her face beamed with an embarrased smile. every once in a whle she would sneak a peak at her companion before turning back. 

Unlike the giant however, she was dressed in fine silks that hugged her body and made the curves of her body stand out, on her hip was a rapier and on the other a pistol. The bartender knew he wasn't the only one in the packed bar that eyed the woman lustfully. The woman drained the last of her ale before saying "Another round barkeep!"

"At once mistress. Same brew as last time?" At her nod he turned away and started to make her drink. A moment later he heard the drunken laughter and ramblings from the vikings stop. The next he heard chairs scraping the floor, and heard stumbling boots approach, and all conversation in the bar stopped.

"Barkeep...more for my pals back here." said a deep and slurred voice. "Hey barkeep didn't ya hear me, I said I need more."

"I heard you perfectly Erik." said the bartender glancing over his shoulder at the man dressed in furs, his companions the lite-vikings right behind leering drunkenly at the other residents. "However you'll have to wait until i'm done with the lady here."

"Bah!" bellowed the man called Erik. "The woman can wait, we are the ones who follow in the footsteps of the vikings of old, and we demand our ale now!" As he said this he stepped up the counter beside the giant and took the mug from his hands, before dumping it on his head. The men laughed and cackled in thier drunen stupor, while the giant seethed with rage.

"You spilled my drink." he rumbled quitely as he got up off his stool and stared down the Erik, gripping the sword handle on his back. Erik just sneered back, and gripped the handle of his short sword. "That was a mistake, you never spill a man's drink..."

He started to unsheath his sword only to be stopped by the woman who stepped away from the bar and pushed him back with her hand. "Let me handle them master...these fools aren't worth your time."

"As you wish Mira...make it quick, and try not to stain the floor to badly."

"I'll try Master." she said a confident smirk on her face, her eyes dancing with delight. She gestered to the drunken rabble infront of her. "Come on boys, whats the matter afraid to hit a poor little girl like me." and she dashed foward, with two daggers that had appeared in her hands. She slashed quickly at Erik and cut clean across the belly, he fell to the ground grasping his intestines where he lay moaning. The Bartender watched in horror as she then lept into the circle of nine men, and then looked back to the giant who was watching the fight with interest, the bartender gulped before looking back and started as hand went flying followed by one of the vikings heads.

More of the vagabonds fell beneath the woman's assult, she never once reached for her main weapons at her hip instead relying on the two daggers. and when one of her opponents rested them out of her hands she crushed his throat with a quick palm strike, picking back up the dagger, she slashed one more time at the last remaining man who fell to the ground gasping as blood poured from his throat. 

As the man fell, War stood up at the bar again. "Everyone, let's give my apprentice a hand, if the Silent One wasn't turned away he'd surely beem with pride at what this apprentice of mine ha s done! Now my treat A round of ale for everybody." 

At this last statment left his mouth cheers erupted from the other tables, and Mira blushed at the Horseman's words. The bartender cringed however, he now had to explain to the constable at what happened here, and he did not look foward to it.


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## Dante Alighieri (Jan 7, 2011)

*Edward Kent*

Chachamaru and Finn looked at me, just as helpless as I was. On one hand, we couldn't afford to be captured by this Draygon and his allies. But at the same time, we could hardly leave Cecilia and the others to be caught in the crossfire of all this. But neither could we tell them what was going on. That would only cause more problems.

"I'm not sure what we should do," Finn said slowly.

"Perhaps we could recruit the others' help?" I mused.

"Yes," Chachamaru nodded. "That would seem to be the best course of action. We can return to Enigma's place."

"Enigma?" I asked, puzzled.

Finn glanced at me. "The Phantom. It's the name he actually goes by anyway, Enigma that is."

"Well then, lead the way." I gestured and we set off to the bell tower.

The tower wasn't particularly tall, but I could see why most assumed it to be abandoned. It hardly looked fit for living inside, but that was probably just an illusion. The Phantom likely kept the tower in this state to warn off any curious folk from intruding upon him.

Finn fumbled with some sort of key and opened the door with an echoing creak. The interior was considerably less imposing than what could be seen outside. It looked surprisingly normal, spartan perhaps, but not what I expected of the Phantom of the Slums.

I scratched myself, suddenly self-conscious. I hadn't bathed in a few days. The grime and dirt of constant battle was getting to me.

"I'm sorry," I murmured to my companions. "Does he have some sort of wash room or anything like that?"

"Yes," Finn nodded. He pointed out the direction to the bathroom, two stories up and in a hallway to the left.

I left my pack and rifle on the lower floor and ascended, finding the bathroom easily. I washed my face and hands thoroughly, refreshing water splashing across my face. I might have taken a shower, but I wasn't entirely sure about this place.

I still felt rather tired. Channeling the power to a city to supercharge my abilities had drained me more than I cared to admit. There had only been one other time where I wielded my powers like that and back then, that had resulted in the destruction of an entire village.

I heard raised voices suddenly, muffled by the floor beneath me. It was coming from the bottom floor. I made my way downstairs when I heard a sharp whistling sound, like scything wind, and an eerie, almost omnipresent cackle.

I paused, mid step down the stairs. Just what the hell had that been? The roar grew only louder as I descended, like some maddening thrum against my ears.

I reached the foot of the stairs, seeing Chachamaru, Finn, and some one else entirely on the floor, in front of the open door. Wind whistled and whined.

Here we go again...

"Now what?" I sighed.

Finn had to yell above the snarling winds as he got up. "Well this guy is apparently after Enigma's bounty, but I have no idea what all of the noise is about!"

"Great!" I shouted back sarcastically.

"Hold on," said Finn. He helped the other man up.

"Enigma - er, the Phantom is not here, and we don't know where he is. But apparently something big is going down, and we would appreciate it if you would not cause us any trouble," Finn said pleasantly.

"Well, okay then," the man said agreeably. "Maybe we should go check out the source of this wind," he added.

"Way ahead of you," Chachamaru said intently, glowing green eyes staring off intently into the distance. "I'm tracking several incredibly powerful sources of magic entering the city. The ambient magic in the area has increased significantly, meaning I'm stronger too, but these beings are still way out of my league, and one of them is heading this way."

That ethereal cackle sounded once more. I shivered involuntarily, cold sweat forming on my brow.

I saw it then. "Look!" I shouted. A thing had materialized out of thin air, near the end of the ruined street. It looked like one of those old horse-drawn carriages, except this one was a glowing, translucent gray. I could hear my heart beating rapidly over these manic winds.

"Something tells me we should get out of here," Finn said slowly.

"I agree, let's go." Chachamaru nodded. "You too," she said, gesturing at the other man. We raced down the side street, moving laterally away from whatever the hell that was.

"They aren't following us!" Finn shouted as we ran.

"No," Chachamaru said calmly. "It doesn't seem like they ever were; but the power they're emitting is so great that I can still feel it from here. His destructive power feels twice as much as the Airship."

I stopped then, looking back at Chachamaru with faint disbelief. That thing had more power than the Airship? As far as I remembered, that thing had come close to razing an entire city.

"That isn't good," Finn said worriedly. "We've got to regroup."

Problem was, just where the hell was the Phantom and Archon? Still, they all seemed to have forgotten a rather pressing issue at hand.

"What about Cecilia?" I asked pointedly.

Chachamaru and Finn said nothing for a few moments.

Finally, Chachamaru said, "We'll have to deal with it when we regroup. There's just too much happening right now."

I replied testily, "No, there's no time!"

Finn raised his hands. "How about we split up?"

I was a little dubious about that idea, but he continued, "I can get Cecilia and the rest of the childern out of there the quickest and somewhere safe using my powers. And you guys can meet up with the others."

"It won't be that easy," I warned. "We know they'll be expecting us."

"You're still not in great shape after using so much of your power," Chachamaru said gently. "You're the most vulnerable out of us so we should stick together to look for the others."

I sighed. I didn't like the thought of it, but she was right. As it was now, I was tired. I still felt weary from that battle days earlier.

Chachamaru continued, looking at Finn this time. "But you're still gonna need some backup if anything goes wrong."

Finn shrugged. "Then what about the scruffy guy being my backup?" He gestured towards the other man. "He has to have some strength at least by carrying that huge ass guitar."

I didn't think that was a particularly good idea. We had only just met this guy, whoever he was. We could hardly go around trusting every random stranger we met.

Finn reached out to touch the man's massive guitar when he suddenly grabbed Finn's hand from behind him, not even having to look behind.

"How the hell did he see that?" Finn asked, pulling his hand free.

The man blinked, coming out of whatever self-induced stupor he had undergone. Funny, I hadn't even noticed how silent he had been for the last few minutes.

"It looks like he's coming out of it," Chachamaru added. "I'm picking up a high level of foreign substances in his bloodstream that seem to be countering the effects of your power."

I glanced at Finn. This man had apparently reacted rather badly - biologically speaking - to Finn's power.

"What the hell did Chichi's boyfriend do to me?" he asked, rubbing his head gingerly.

Finn saw red. "It's Chachamaru and I'm not her boyfriend, you idiot!"

"I'm a idiot? What kind of name is Chachamaru for a guy?"

I ignored the man's rambling and concentrated. I heard something. Beside me, I saw Chachamaru doing the same. She had likely picked up the sound long before I had.

"Wait, do you hear that?" I said.

Just around a corner, I saw a group of men in white hoods and robes. They appeared to be forcing a family out of their small house and onto the street.

"Please, just spare my - " the man began before interrupted by a kick by one of the hooded men. He pressed his foot against the man's skull, snarling, "Do you really think you and your pathetic family deserve to be spared? Only the followers of Set will be saved when he rises!"

He paused before turning to us. Beneath the hood, I saw his mouth break out into a grin.

There was a sharp, deafening cr-ack! as Chachamaru suddenly blurred, trails of moisture wrapped around her. The shockwave knocked us back and we watched as she quickly and effortlessly dispatched each of the hooded men, except for the leader. She held him up in the air with a single hand.

The family from earlier was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, watch it!" shouted our unknown companion with the guitar. "I think I'm fucking deaf now!"

"You'll be fine in a few minutes," she said. "I had to stop them from killing those people."

"What?" the guitar-carrying man asked again. The sound had affected him more than us apparently.

Chachamaru ignored him, her attention on the hooded figure she held. "Now as for you, what is your purpose in this city?"

"Witch!" snarled the man. "Our righteous cause will not be stopped by the likes of you! Our god will smite you and all the other wicked heathens!"

Chachamaru laughed. "I'm no witch, though I have known a few. Finn, a little help here?"

Finn got the idea. He cleared his throat and said simply, "Tell us what we want to know."

Even in the grip of Finn's power, the hooded figure spoke mockingly, "I am Mahmoud Nadim, priest of Set. The time of the rising of our god is upon us, and this wicked city that has imprisoned him shall fall! Beware, for he is manifest!"

Set? Hadn't be been some sort of God in Egyptian mythology?

Well, he could be hardly real after all. Then again, the same could have been said for Eros...

"You say your god is here?" I interrupted.  "Does he happen to ride in a horse - drawn carriage by any chance?"

The man turned to me, eyes flashing with anger as he roared, spewing spittle. "Blasphemer! You dare compare mighty Set to that demon Coachman!"

Chachamaru looked disgusted at his outburst and knocked him unconscious with a single strike of her left hand.


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## Dante Alighieri (Jan 7, 2011)

She shrugged. "We're obviously not going to get anything more out of  him, but this is troubling." She tapped her fingers against her lips,  looking deep in thought. "In addition to that coach driver, we have  another unknown and powerful force invading the city, as well as this  cult who claims their god is going to kill us all."

"I suggest we re-prioritize," said Finn. "Saving the kids at the church  probably wouldn't be a good idea right now, since we would have to take  them all the way out of the city for them to be safe, and even if we do  manage that, they would have nowhere to go."

He waved his hands helplessly. "With all of this insanity going down, I  doubt Father Gregory will exactly be able to arrange to sell any of them  for a while. They're probably safer there than they would be if we  tried to drag them through the streets amidst all this chaos. Instead,  we should try to meet up with Enigma and the others and get to the  bottom of this."

We could hardly just abandon the kids at the Church. It wouldn't be long  before Draygon's forces would show their faces. "But what about  Draygon's attack?" I pointed out.

Finn nodded. "That's not until eight at night. As long as we get this sorted out before then, we'll be okay."

Damn.

I didn't want to leave Cecilia and the others with Gregory any longer  than we could afford, but what Finn said made sense. As I began to  reluctantly assent to the plan, the guitar-carrying nutcase interrupted  me.

"Hey, who's this Enigma guy you're talking about? Is that the Phantom? Because I'm still going to kick his ass when I find him!"

Chachamaru sighed in frustration. "You will do no such thing. You should  forget about that bounty, I doubt the government will be in any  position to pay it after today."

The man glanced around us before drooping. "Huh, you might be right. But  I still want to beat that guy up just out of principle!"

Just what kind of idiot was this guy?

"What principle is that, being a hotheaded moron?" I said testily. "I  say we just ditch this guy, he's obviously unwilling to cooperate with  us, and if anything he's going to hinder us."

"Hey, hey, wait!" said the man, holding his hands up. "If you insist, I  guess I won't fight him, at least until after all of this whatever the  fuck it is is over. But when it's dealt with he's mine!"

Finn rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. We've wasted enough time already,  let's get going. Chachamaru, do you know where they are?"

She looked around us, green eyes glowing. "Around two blocks in that direction."

We began walking then. I could hear sirens as well as screams and shouts of terror muffled only by distance. It didn't take us long until we literally ran into our former companions. 

The Archon and the Phantom were before us, the Archon carrying some kind of ornate jar.

"Archon, Enigma!" Finn said with tangible relief in his voice.

"We were looking for the three of you as well," the Phantom said. He gazed at our guitar-carrying companion. "Who's that?"

The man grumbled slightly, put out by not being able to kick the Phantom's ass, as it were. "Name of Hen," he said finally. 

"Can we trust him?" the Phantom asked dubiously.

"Given what we're up against," the Archon said seriously. "Another man in this fight wouldn't be undue."

"What fight? And just what is that urn?" I asked pointedly. 

Silence reigned for a few moments.

"Do you either of you two know what the hell is going on here?"

"It's a long story," the Phantom began. "Let me try to summarize it as best as I can."


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 7, 2011)

*Dr. Crichton: The Wrath of the Condemned*

*The Backalleys of Pandemonium*

A troop of warriors that were twelve strong had broken off from the main force and had taken to skulking the back alleys. They attacked attacked and slaughtered everyone in sight, they trampled over animals and kicked past the homeless. When some of the unfortunate tried to flee they were struck down. 

As the troop came to the mouth of another alley, great etheral chains shot out and snagged two of them. and dragged them back screaming. a moment later a great crunching could be heard, as if they had been snapped in half. The troop backed up as a wild-eyed man stepped out from the mouth of the alleyway. his faded shirt and jeans now stained with blood. Behind him the troop could hear something chittering in the alleyway.

"Speak your name fool." said one of the warriors stepping foward and drawing his sword. "So that we will know who we have killed."

The man chuckled and then begn to cackle maddly. "Name, you wish to know my name." he said with a flourish of his hands. "You mother fuckers have forgotten much to not the name of Baron Kriminel, the Loa of the Criminal condemned to death!." he stopped for a moment but continuing that. "And you know what bitch I believe your condemned to die!."

He raised his hands and pointed at the men, and out of the darkness the chains came rushing out to attack the warriors. They screamed and thrashed as the chains wrapped around them and Baron Kriminel laughed. "Yes my duckies rip them to pieces. The more blood spilt will make me stronger."

His cackle mixed with the warriors death screams rose in the night air and carried for a fair distance. Behind him in the alleyway Susan continued to chitter in fear


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 8, 2011)

*Set*

*The Bowery*

Towering over the city was the remains of the mansion of Lord Mayor Billy Magear. Once a imposing building it now lay in ruins due to the events of the past few days. An entire tower of the mansion had been atomized by energy blast from the Gibraltar barely missed the majority of the house. And only a short time ago the quake caused by the Coachman rocked the house's very foundation.

The House was in danger of crumbling to the ground and it was only a matter of time before it did just that. The conditions inside the house though did not seem to matter to the middle aged man now rifling aroind inside it. 

Tables, chairs and other furniture went flying as Set, stormed through the house. "Where is it! I know it's here!" he roared shaking the cieling and causing dust and grime to fall. "My seal is here I know it." A long table went flying from the dining room and sent crashing through a wall and Set paused in his tracks as something glinted in the hole. "a Safe..."

Set smiled as he knelt down to inspect the metal box, before just shrugging ripping it's door right off it's hinges. Inside were several pieces of paper and a egyptian burial urn. Set smiled again to himself, and started to inspect the papers. Two of them were unimportent, and were orders for Draygon the Butcher. another was a bank ledger that would be payed to the lucky bounty hunter that claimed The Phantom's head, at the bottom was signed Draygon's name. Set tucked this one into one of his pockets, who knows maybe he'd have time to rob a bank or two eventually.

The last one was a notice from a guardsman near the Eastern gate, that he had prevented  a construction project that would unearthed one of the seals. Set tucked this one into his pocket as well, before reaching in and grabbing the urn...and to his surprise it shattered in his hands...and he felt his powers rushing back into him. 

Set clenched his fists and smiled, before walking up and leaving the house. He started to walk off down the street heading to the slums to meet his cult, and find the rest of his seals. As he walked away he waved his hand in a flourish and the house collapsed to the ground with a crash.


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## Platinum (Jan 8, 2011)

*Trouble in New Jericho: The True Battle Begins (Part 8)*

New Jericho- 3rd District

09:30 AM: Day 2

Last night went rather well. The food was great and Libra has seemed to ease her hostility towards him. He was ready for his next battle in the arena.

There was a big commotion around the arena as he arrived. The citizens were speaking in frantic and exciting tones. Apparently a tournament of sorts had been announced. The winner would be given a grand award apparently and a chance to battle The Champion of New Jericho himself. He couldn't help but crack a large smile, this was his chance to make a name for himself. He would win this tournament and defeat this champion. 

His match was scheduled to be at 4:00 PM. Apparently it was going to be a four man free for all. 

He spent the few hours of free time he had training and went to check his odds. They were 10-1, still not good enough for him but they were improving. With half an hour left he went to complete his final preparations.

He didn't bother listening to the blowhard announcer this time, but he listened to the cheers. They were even louder than yesterday.

His opponents were 3 magi. God he hated mages, especially the type that hid in the shadows and attacked from affar. The sound of a bullet echoed in the silent coliseum and the match begun.

He moved just in time to avoid three blasts of magic, those assholes were ganging up on him! He didn't mind, more glory for him to take all three at once. He took the situation in quickly, one was an ice mage, the others being water and earth mages. The earth mage would be the biggest threat, but he could not ignore the water mage either. He wanted to keep his abilities hidden until his match with the champion but circumstances wouldn't allow that. He would show these assholes how the elements were supposed to be used. As the Avatar of Cancer he had an especially potent variety of fire manipulation at his hands. He grasped the hilt of his sickle tight, watched it turn white hot, the jewels glowing with mysterious energy, hellish flames licking the metal. He was going to enjoy this.

He made his first move on the ice mage, they were faster than he would of assumed but he was faster still. Deftly dodging their attacks he closed the gap and delivered a fierce horizontal slash into the mages torso. The mage crumpled in a heap of flames. He would be fine though, his flames would cauterize the wound and the mages personal shield would prevent any serious burns.

He turned just in time to avoid being caught in a fissure, and rolled out of the way of a wave of water. He got careless there and almost lost as a result. He wouldn't make that mistake again, it was time to get serious.

 He didn't avoid the second wave of water that came rushing towards him, instead he unleashing the full power of his flames and evaporated it causing the entire arena to be covered in a haze of superheated steam. The steam didn't bother him one bit but it caused his opponents quite a bit of agony, and behind this screen of steam he was invisible to them. He took full advantage of the speed difference between the three and assaulted the two mages with a punishing flurry of flame powered punches and kicks. And just like that it was over, when the steam cleared he was the only one standing.

And just like that his battle was over, the screams of adoration came louder than ever...


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## Endless Mike (Jan 8, 2011)

The group ducked into a nearby alley so as not to draw attention while Enigma explained about Set and the seals.

"So that guy was telling the truth," Finn mused.

"What guy?" Archon asked.

"Some crazy cult leader," Ed replied. "We stopped him and his goons from attacking a family and he kept ranting about how his god is going to appear."

"Well he very well might if we don't secure the seals," said Enigma. "With the cult invasion and that guy in the stagecoach that's not going to be easy."

"Well you have one already," Finn said, indicating the urn in Engima's hands. "As long as no one breaks it that means Set can't escape, right?"

"It's not that simple," Enigma replied. "If even one seal is destroyed, Set will be freed, but in a limited capacity. He'll likely have to possess a human body, but with every other seal that is broken more of his power will return. Even if this one remains unbroken, with all of the others lifted he'll be more than powerful enough to defeat us and take it from us."

"How many seals are there in total?" Asked Chachamaru.

"Seven," Enigma replied. "One was broken by a blast from the airship, I've got another one right here, and we have no clue where the rest are."

"Where did you find that one?" She continued

Archon gave the address.

"And where was the first one?"

"What are you getting at?" Asked Finn, confused about his friend's line of questioning.

"I have an idea, but it's a long shot," she said.

Archon joined in, "I felt something when the airship went down, a faint but evil aura, in the area over the power plant."

"Okay, that's two. Any idea where any of the others might be?" The gynoid asked.

"If we knew that, we wouldn't still be looking for them!" Shouted Enigma, seeming somewhat impatient.

Chachamaru ignored his outburst and closed her eyes, deep in thought.

"That cultist said that Set had been imprisoned by the city, which means the city was likely built around the seals that contained him. The city was founded by Mayor Magear, so he would have likely kept at least one seal in a place he could carefully guard, which would mean-"

"His house!" Archon yelled, cutting her off.

"Yeah, but that place took a serious pounding from the airship. If there was a seal there, it's almost certainly broken by now," said Ed.

"Wait, I'm not done yet," Chachamaru said. She bent down and used her index finger to draw a perfect circle in the dirt. "The positions of the 3 seals we know about would be here, here, and here", she made a mark in the dirt for each one as she checked them off. She then drew a line connecting them.

"The angles are exactly as would be expected for a regular heptagon," she said, making 4 more marks in the circle and connecting them to form the figure. "So now we know where the other seals are."

Everyone else was speechless for a moment until Finn spoke up. "Chachamaru, you're a genius!"

"Thanks," she said, blushing slightly.

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go! I'm itching for some action!" Said Hen, slinging his oversized guitar over his back.

"Do we need to take this guy along with us?" Enigma asked.

"Hey, I didn't ask to join forces with you either, I'm still going to kick your ass after all this is over!"

"I'd like to see you try," said Enigma, brandishing several shadow tendrils.

"Woah, woah, hold on!" Finn yelled, moving between them to stop the argument. "We don't have time for this, we have to find the rest of the seals!" He applied a bit of his power to help reinforce his point, and the two backed down. The group then gathered and headed for the nearest point indicated on Chachamaru's makeshift map.


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## Stunna (Jan 8, 2011)

Rachel opened the door to Mask?s room, and crept in, slowly, careful not to do anything that may wake him. The room was dark.

?T-this isn?t so bad?? She lied to herself, in an unsuccessful attempt at solace. She suddenly stopped at the sound of moaning. ?Who?re there?!? She shouted out. Moaning again. ?I-I?ve got a weapon!? She lied again, and again, an unsuccessful attempt at solace.

?Ugh? Who else would be in this room? but me?? Mask groggily said as he walked out from the shadows, holding his head. Rachel let out a loud scream that echoed throughout the entire hideout, and sent Mask tumbling to the ground. She rushed out of the room in terror. ?The heck was that?!? Mask wondered to himself, as he got up and followed Rachel. The young girl made her way back to the others, and ran into the nearest person?s, Fox?s, arms.

?What?s going?? Fox looked up at the hall where Rachel came. ??on??? There stood Mask, leaning against the wall for support.

?Fox?? He said in confusion.


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## masamune1 (Jan 9, 2011)

*North Africa- Three Thousand Years Ago*

_The Great Leviathan lay battered and broken on the coast of the continent, it's mighty serpentine form stretched out across 300 miles while the blood from it's wound poured out into the sea. The Lord of Darkness, Storms and Chaos had claimed to rule all under Heaven, and Heaven had finally struck him down, pierced it's neck with a divine spear at the climax of a titanic battle between demon and God.

For an age, Rahab had defied the might of the sea gods, he had made the oceans his playthings and, when he was bored, he would unleash great storms and typhoons on the world of haughty man. Nothing on Earth was his equal- a creature without fear. But the Creator put an end to his reign- or tried, for where iron and bronze, arrow and lance, sword and spear had all failed- so, too, it seemed, had Almighty God. The Great Leviathan had survived Heaven's wrath. He was broken, he was beaten, but he was alive. 

The wound in his side would heal; he would recover his strength in the dark watery depths, and when the world had thought him gone and itself safe, the Great Black Sea Dragon would return to again wreck it's terror on gods and on men. 

The thought made it smile. and ignore the stinging pain for the meanwhile. But as he closed his eyes to sleep, intending to renew his strength before returning to the depths, he sensed the presence of an intruder. He opened his eyes again, to catch a glimpse at the foolhardy meal. 

The creature had the body of a man but the head of a beast, a strange black animal resembling a cross between a jackal and an aardvark, large pointed ears and a bemused expression. It was one of the heretic gods of Egypt; Set, Lord of the Desert and patron of Foreigners. His recklessness and his smirk suggested to Rahab he was mocking it. Was that possible? In it's long life, Leviathan had never evoked anything but fear and awe- this Set must surely be mad to come here amused.

"My, my, my.", Set muttered. "So this is how the mighty have fallen."

Rahab let out a growl....and licked his lips. A god would make a tasty snack before his forthcoming hibernation. Perhaps reading his mind, Set went on "Oh, I see you are still awake, and you think you're fit to face me. Well, after all that, I suppose, I guess I'd think I could take anything too."

Set stood on the wound on the Leviathan's neck. The dragon let out a ferocious scream: this Set was mad....and very, very stupid. Yes, he had survived a fight like that, a fight that shook Heaven and Ocean and Earth. And yes indeed, surviving such a battle proved he could crush this lowly deluded divinity like an insect. 

"The wriggling serpent, whose flesh has been given to the wilderness. I saw the whole thing, monster- I saw the battle, and I saw my chance." A spear of his own appeared to Set's hands, and Rahab's eyes widened at the sight.  Leviathan did not know fear....but it knew fury, and what was happening enraged him.

"Today, fortune smiles on me, oh Lord of Chaos, Darkness and Storms." Set smirked, a wild bestial smirk on it's canine mouth, then raised his weapon. He plunged it into the brain of the creature, which shook in fury, it's whole body shaking so as to cause an earthquake, then it fell dead. 

Set looked at the body for a moment, then pulled out his spear. All was silent for a moment, then a deep rumbling made him back away from the corpse. The Great Leviathan began to shift and shake, then it's body burst into black and blue flame. Several minutes past, and it's skin crumbled into it's bones, which finally dissolved into nothing. The body was gone, as if it had never been there.

Set watched all this with curiosity, then when it was over he waited. And...waited. He began to get incredulous. Had it not worked? Had all his preparations and magic been for nothing? 

But then he felt it, felt the power rush through him. His strength and dominion increased expodentially.... and his dark nature turned darker still. 

The Lord of the Desert ascended to the thrones of Darkness, and Storms, and Chaos. And the Great Demon Rahab fell into Underworld, crashing into the Styx, and falling deeper still. The soul of the beast would not soon forget this. It would climb back through the world of the dead, tear it's way through Cerberus and all who dared stand in it's way. It would return to the world of the living, for it's final death was not due 'till the end of time. 

It would return....and Set, and man, and all gods and mortals would taste it's vengeance._


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## Stunna (Jan 9, 2011)

Mask was sitting on the couch, opposite to Rachel, Holly, and Cyrus, who were careful to keep their distance from him. Fox leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

“So… I’ve been out for about two days?” Mask asked, awaiting confirmation.

“Y-You…” Holly began.

“You were s’posed to be out for a week!” Cyrus exclaimed. Mask looked over at him, and he sat back.

“Your names… from oldest to youngest: Holly, Cyrus, and Rachel?” The orphans nodded in agreement. Mask sat up, and walked over to Fox.

“You permitted their stay here, Fox?” Mask asked, sternly. Fox didn’t flinch, unlike last time.

“Yes.” Fox sternly replied.

“I notice you’re not wearing your mask…” Mask continued.

“I’m no longer a Masked Bandit.” Fox replied, again. Mask and Fox continued to stare at one another. Mask suddenly broke away and walked down the hall. He kept walking before stopping.

“If Fox doesn’t mind your stay… neither do I.” He continued walking again.


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## Platinum (Jan 10, 2011)

*Trouble in New Jericho: A Battle With The Champion (Part 9)*

New Jericho- 3rd District

10:00 AM- Day 10

Today was the day. Battle after bloody battle all lead up to this. He defeated Magi, mercenaries, superhumans, beast masters, blood mages and more. All fell to his sickle and now he was up against the strongest opponent he will have ever faced.

His opponent today was known across the world as the champion of New Jericho. A man who according to rumors was on the cusp of ascendancy. He was revered by the people and he in turn protected them. It is said that he stopped an entire army of savages himself who attempted to raid the city. As the head of The Obsidian Guard he was the second most powerful man in New Jericho. He is the sole influence that keeps the city from open civil war.

And today he would taste the steel of Cancer's sickle. He had an ace in the hole, a secret technique available only to avatar's of the zodiac. It might reveal his true identity but it was the only way to win.

Several hours later...

He was face to face with this champion now and he had to say he was impressed. He wore rather standard clothing, fatigues and a grey cape but he had a presence that was impossible to deny. His eyes were full of knowledge and constantly scanning for information. But for such a grizzled warrior he had no scars, which spoke volumes of his talent. His weapons of choice were two knifes attached to ropes that were connected to his gauntlets. Which gave him a long range attack while not hampering his close range.

"Just so you know kid I won't be holding back." His tone was not threatening but it came across as such. He seemed to be itching for a fight.

"Neither will I" Cancer replied full of bravado. He pulled his ace out his cloak and showed it to the man. It was an orb swirling with red energy. Every avatar of the zodiac received such an orb from their God. It was loaded with cosmic energy, only to be used in a dire situation. By breaking the orb, you could call upon it's power, though the physical toll on the body was severe. It effected everyone differently but for him it increased his speed 5 fold on top of a momentous increase in strength and power.

He smashed the orb. Red energy flowed into his veins traveling through his entire body. Even the Champion himself was in awe. The pupils in his eyes disappeared replaced entirely by a blood red color that pulsed and swirled across his retinas. His skin vanished beneath waves of fire, his sickle glowed with blue-white flames. He pointed his right index finger sky-ward and shot a flame a thousand feet into the air. In this form he was practically flame incarnate.

The champion wasted no time his blades rushed out to meet Cancer. They were unbelievably fast, but he was far faster. He batted the first one aside effortlessly with his sickle and caught the other in his hand. He rushed forward with a flurry of attacks. And he connected, one blow across his left forearm and one vertical slash across his right eye. The man wiped his finger across the wound and saw the blood. He looked pleasantly surprised.

"Those wounds will scar... you are the first to ever scar me kid congratulations are in order, you are far more powerful than I would have ever imagined but i'm afraid this ends here." His knifes were faster now, faster than he had ever seen anything move, they danced and twirled he was utterly helpless before them and in a second it was over. His body was covered in cuts, none deep enough to threaten him but he felt the cosmic energy leave him. He collapsed, unable to move, he had lost...

Luckily his body was quick to heal. In two hours he was able to move again, he felt like hiding. He was ashamed at how effortlessly he went down. He saw the champion walking down a corridor with a mysterious man and he tailed the two. Perhaps he would agree to a rematch after that man was gone.

The two were in deep discussion. "You can't possibly be serious!", the champion yelled at the man. "You know I can't leave New Jericho, their will be open war a week after I depart."

"We have to risk it, we have found something, something big. We are forming an expeditionary force that you must lead."

"You are taking Obsidian Guardsmen out of New Jericho as well?"

"We must, the other cities are sure to have heard this news as well. But we found it first, we must be the ones to claim it. You don't think Paradiso will send an Archangel out to investigate, or that Neo Genesis won't send their finest? Hell the Black Swarm or The Guild of Mad Science might even get involved. We need you, you are our only chance to succeed."

"I'm not even sure I could defeat an Archangel..."

Cancer absconded as the two continued their shouting match, now this was some valuable information, he had to tell Libra and Capricorn what he learned.

But his body was aching fiercely now. Using that was going to put him out of commission for a few days. He just hoped he could make it back to the villa before it was too painful for him to walk...


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 11, 2011)

*40 Minutes later, The Northern Gates*

The group soon came to thier destination, After having to take detours several times, due to The Coachman appearing. Luckily they were never caught unawares as the hooting laughter of the Coachman (and his companion) as well as the loud wail could be heard whenever he drew near. On occasions they would hear screams and the crack of a winchester rifle as well. 

Now the Northern gates loomed overhead, and Enigma could sense another presence nearby...and he readied himself for a fight so that he wouldn't be caught by surprise.

"Careful where you tread, we've got something else lurking around up here."

"Is it the pack of giant white jackals again?" asked The Archon and the rest of the group looked at the two questiongly.

"Jackals?" said Hen in confusion "Seriously?"

"I don't think so," said Enigma addressing The Archon. "This doesn't feel like Ryllandaras...it's something else." he paused. "So as I said be careful where you step."

They rounded the corner and was now directly in front of the gate...only to find the odd sight waiting for them. Near the gates lay a heavyset guard, moaning in pain and trying to get the being sitting on his back off of him. The person on top of him was a wild eyed and brown haired man dressed all in furs, a great shaggy beard hung down from his face. The man was looking at them directly and he smiled. In his hands was a egyptian burial urn...Enigma noticed Hen and Ed start to step up, but the sound of the stranger's voice stopped them. 

"Took you boys forever to get here." He said amused, before looking at the group. "More than I expected though." he sniffed. "Why does one of you smell of the undead?"

Hen jerked at this, and Finn peered over at him curiously, before stepping forward. Enigma's head continued to buzz with this man's presence. 

"I trust that you are not here to fight?" said Finn slowly. "However I must ask what you plan on doing with seal?"

"Well..." said the man cheerfully. "Let's call it a bargaining tool shall we...I'll give it you lot as payment."

"Payment for what?" said Enigma and Ed at the same time.

"For doing me favor in the near future boys...and girls." he added after glancing at Chachamaru. "I'll need your assistence in Rapture very soon, ousting a certain pesky someone from the city."

"Who would that be? an enemy of yours." Chachamaru said

"You could say that...though it's more like an annoyance, you won't find out who until you come to the city...So do you accept Ol' Coyote's request younglings." said the man and he grinned.

The group looked wary only for Hen to step forward and say "You never offered us a time limit, so I don't see why not...give us the pot."

Coyote's grin widened and he lay the urn on the ground, "You chose wisely lads, I look forward to seeing most of you in the future."  A moment later a large coyote was in the place the man had been and it ran off.

"Did anyone else see that?" asked Hen "Anybody."

"Yes...and we also saw you made a bargain with the Lord of Mischief and Trickery." said Enigma sourly. "Now we've got to go to a city run by fallen gods and Mad scientists...now telling who he wants us to off."

"Well it's not like he's forcing us to go there now," said Finn. "He didn't even give us a time limit, and he didn't seem in that much of a hurry."

"Trickster Gods never are." said Enigma shrugging. "No point on dwelling on it now though...though i'd rather have not been in the debt of another god..." he went over and picked up the urn. "That's two down now. What now? Do we try and find a place to stash these or do we split up and search the city again?"


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## Stunna (Jan 12, 2011)

“What’s up with you?” Fox asked, as he came out onto the ceiling, where Mask was looking out over the slums.

“What’s up with you?” Mask asked back. “You sure do seem more confident since last time we met. Heck. I thought you were dead or something.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t. Back to my question. What’s up with you?” Fox repeated.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You know darn well what I mean!” Fox snapped. “Before you took your power-nap, you attacked those kids because they were in here without permission, and now you’re okay with their stay?!” 

“What, do you want them out?” Mask asked, without turning around, and without much emotion.

“No, but I want to know what’s changed?! Why are you behaving like this…?” Fox began calming down. Cyrus was listening from behind the door. There was a silence. Fox slumped his head.

“Maybe… maybe I’m tired.” Mask began. Fox lifted his head. “I’ve been through a lot in the past few days.” He continued, scratching his head. He removed his mask, but didn’t turn around to show his face. “Y’know, that was the first time I’ve personally removed my mask. It actually feels…” Mask turned around and looked at Fox, with a smirk. “Good.”


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## Platinum (Jan 13, 2011)

*Trouble in New Jericho: Uncovering The Truth (Part 10)*

New Jericho- 2nd District

12:22 PM- Day 12

Libra put the book down triumphantly, her studies were done. For the last 12 days she had spent every waking hour prying various tomes of arcane knowledge for the information she needed. She had familiarized herself with the cultures and politics of every major New Jericho faction.

Cancer's arena battles had proven useful in the end, for with the knowledge that the champion was soon departing the city she could reasonable predict when open civil war was going to occur.

Her studies of the Jeweled Fist were incomplete as much of the info about them has been lost. But she was able to learn much about old guard.

Now before she could put all her ideas into a coherent plan she needed the final critical pieces of information from Capricorn's contact. 

She was worried though, even three avatars might not be enough for this situation. What she had read up on the Jeweled Fist almost frightened her. As soon as they had formulated their complete plan she was going to request reinforcements from The Celestial Realm. She had two people in mind and hopefully one of them would come, either Pieces or Aquarius would suffice...


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 13, 2011)

*The Other Horsemen: Agent Omega Part 1*

*The University of Paradise, Paradiso*

Professor Gregory Blackwater looked up at his class as he spoke. He was a tall and rather gangly man wearing horn rimmed glasses, and his brown hair was starting to turn grey. he had wrinkles around his eyes which were a sapphire blue. His fashion sense was off putting wearing a suit that was black one one side and white on the other, and then in the middle became gray. If any were to ask him about this he would reply it is the nature of life and death, White represents a person when they are alive and triving. Gray represents a man in his waning years as he gets closer to death. and Black represents the man's inevitable death. His clothing was about the only thing that would make people look twice at him, as he was a rather unassuming man...but perhaps that was for the best.

"...Now can any of you tell me which gods were responsible for the hoax of New Years Eve 1999. Or as it was called the Y2K virus...anyone." he was saying, his voice carrying a sligh nasal pitch, before gesturing to a surprised young man sitting in the corner. "What about you Mr. Mulligen."

The young man looked as if he was caught in the headlights of a car for a moment, before he muttered "Zeus?"

"Zeus? why would Zeus bother with such an inane thing...Does anyone care to correct Mr. Mulligen here...ah yes Miss Dayburry."

A bright eyed girl stood up, somewhat fearful, and glanced around her. "Wasn't it Raven sir? or at least widly believed to be."

"That would be correct...or to be more precise it was Raven and Coyote...though there are some that believe Loki might have had a hand in it as well" he glanced at the girl. "Sit down Miss Dayburry."

She did, and then somebody knocked at the door. Blackwater looked up to see the face of the headmaster, and knew he had company in his office. "I'll have to step out for a bit...amuse yourselves until then."

He stepped out and met The Headmaster. "They're back again for you, say they have another "errand"...whatever that means. What kind of jobs are they giving you Greg?"

"That's classified, I can't tell you Terry."

The headmaster sighed but let it go nonetheless. "He's in your office." he said and then walked off.

Blackwater walked down the hallway and stopped at the door to his office. Inside was standing a tall man dressed all in white. On the oaken desk was a folder. The Man in White looked at him and gestured to the folder. "Your assignment is in there Omega...as is your payment from the your last assignment."

"Excellent..." said Blackwater sitting down and taking up the folder in has hands, he took out a bank check before flipping through the pages. "A spy...here?" He aid arching an eyebrow.

"Yes...we don't know how he's gone on this long without being detected." said the Man in White. "Your assignment is to track him, get what he knows out of him....and then elimimate him." He paused. "Should be simple, given your abilities."

"Very well...Standard rate will do for this one," said Blackwater. "Is there anything else?"

"Something's been found in the Northern Wastelands..." said the Man in White taking out another folder. "If you are interested, let us know." he said and walked out the room. He stopped when Blackwater spoke again. 

"I'll need a couple thousand in advance for that one."

The Man in White nodded and walked out of the room. Gregory Blackwater, both flipped through folders for a few minutes, before getting up. The man also known as Agent Omega to the Administration, and the Horseman known as Death in his previous lifetimes, walked back to his classroom. Soon Class would be over and the hunt would begin.


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 14, 2011)

*Set: The Eastern Gates Part 1*

*Pandemonium, The Slums*

Set strode down the streets buildings collapsing in his wake. This city would be reclaimed by the desert, and it would be rebuilt in his name. Somebody ahead of him caught sight of him and tried to run away, only to be frozen in place when he exherted his willpower. the ground rose up to swallow those few screaming fools and Set smiled gleefully. He could sense a remnant of his own power nearby, and if he had to he would tear this part of the city down brick by brick to find it.

As he walked he heard more screaming as he rounded the corner several people ran past him and the cult members pursuing them surrounded him instead. The one who looked to be the leader, studied him and drew his scimitar. He was a large man, most of his face obscured by the scarf enveloping his face.

"My, what do we have here?" said the man, in a hissing voice. "A little piggie who wandered away from his home...where you going little piggie...maybe I should stick your filthy heretic ass right here and now." 

"A heretic am I fool." Set said and noticed the other cultists had backed away, looking at him with fear. "It's a shame that my cult hosts a fool who can't even feel the presence of his own god...perhaps it is you who should die, as a fool such as you doesn't belong in this cult."

Reaching out Set touched the man's chest, and his skin immediantly began to change and contort into sand. The man screamed as the rest of his body followed before his entire body fell apart on it's own. 

"When we are done with this city," he said addressing the other cultists. "I will weed out any other fools like him, The Chosen is no place for ones such as he." He paused for a moment. "Find the one who lead you here and bring him here...tell him Set has things to discuss."


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 14, 2011)

*Poseidon and Mael*

*Rapture: The Casino of the Gods*

"The time is coming...almost time to act," The great bearded man whispered to himself. He was a man of average height and build, wearing ornate scale armor that was cracked and scarred in some places. His face was lined somewhat with age and there was a scar that ran from his right temple down diagonaly to where his beard started. His eyes were the color of the sea and if were any to listen they they could hear the faint crashes of waves or the earth rattling slightly when he walked. 

His office was decorated in the colors of a deep  blue and light green. and on the wall massive Sea shells and other ornaments hung. A three pronged trident hung on one wall, and below it was a shell incrusted shield and sword.

The door opened and Poseidon once Lord of the Sea and now reigning lord of Earthquakes and Horses looked up to see his partner Mael step into the room. The small man smiled, and Poseidon wondered what the alien Elder God was thinking of.

"Do you feel it my friend?" asked Mael his watery eyes glittering. "You must for even Osiris felt what has happened."

"If you are referring to the that new sea that appeared a short while ago...then yes. The slight powerboost it gives both of us however is not enough to push my plans foward all that much though. We are not as powerful as we used to be afterall...not with Leviathan sitting the throne." He paused "I suppose Old Pontus stepped in...if he did, he sure took a while too notice, what had happened to his domain."

"Some of the lesser River gods are saying that the King in Blue might have been responsible..."

"A mortal...that's surprising," said Poseidon with bemusment. "In some ways i'd rather have had Pontus been responsible..." He paused for a moment looking back at Mael. "I'm guessing that wasn't the only thing you wished to discuss."

"You'd be right. Other than the Ares issue...which you are still unwilling to act on. I've managed to get Rapture to turn over a little portion of it's power to be used for your plan...not to much though as our little Anomaly started to get rather cranky when I pressed it."

"That will come in handy tonight then."

Mael started, "Tonight, but Set wasn't according to our plans due to fall for several more days."

"Things seem to have gotten out of our hands apparently...though it shouldn't matter, I believe I've prepared enough...even if Coyote and Erebus has thrown themselves in as a monkey wrench."

"Then we should start preparations at once...i'll warn the players at the table tonight to be careful."

Poseidon nodded his head and Mael left the room heading back into the Casino proper. He honestly felt himself liking the man, it was odd to find someone that was willing to help someone weaker, but Mael seemed to have no problem...There was a part of him that wanted to visit Mael's home world and see what it was like. But that would have to wait....wait until after he had reclaimed his throne from the usurper Rahab.  He touched the scar on his face, and thought of delivering one such just like it to the Great Leviathan...as payment for what he had done to him.

Poseidon sighed....that would come in time. He would not be like Zeus, as haste would only mean his downfall. Tonight he would claim Set's titles and he would be one step foward to reclaiming his throne from Rahab himself.


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 14, 2011)

*Set: The Eastern Gates Part 2*

Warleader Seti Machmud marched alongside his messenger Rashid and the warrior who had came and fetched him. The warrior had claimed that Set had taken a mortal disguise and had sent for him. Warleader Machmud almost smiled, had his master sent for him to reward him for his service...he certainly hoped so.

As they walked the warrior ahead of them gestured down the street to where a lone man stood. He was dressed in a wrinkled suit and Machmud noticed that he was looking at what appeared to be sculpters.

However as they drew neared he noticed that they were people made from sand, thier faces contorted in terror.The man turned and a psychic presence battered at Machmud's mind and beside him he could see Rashid cringe in pain. He lookaed at the man's eyes and immediantly averted them for they were like some horrible inferno. If he looked into them more, he was afriad, that he might burn himself somehow. The pressure on his mind persisted, and he somehow knew that this was indeed his lord and master, and he dropped to kneel at Set's feet. 

"A wise decision Warleader, I am glad that here are those  among my chosen who are not fools."

"Never my lord...We our at your service eternally...What do you ask of us my lord? Do wish us to attack nd bring down The Coachman, for the damage he suffered us on our approach to the city?"

"No!" said Set harshly "Do not confront The Death Coach, if you see it get out of it's way...it will be gone soon. You will do nothing but waste your lives and my time if you attack him." he paused "However there is something..." and Seti Machmud listened as his god explained the situation in the city. 

"So Warleader...you will return back to The are around the eastern gates and raze it to the ground...oneof my seals is there...and when we find it we shall destroy it..."

Soon after the slaughter began anew, only stopping when The Coachman appeared a few times. The cult burned down houses and killed everybody, and ignored all atempts at bringing others into the fold. Once they were ambushed by a group of mercenarys belonging to Draygon the Butcher. another time members of the Guild of Magi appeared, followed by a squad of Pandemonium's law enforcement.. All were rebuffed and killed, and the search for the Seal near the Eastern Gate continued. 

However soon in a search of a guard outpost, the search came to a hault when Rashid found the seal underneath the floorboards. Set smiled as he let loose his powers upon the urn, and his smile widened when it began to crack and break.


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## Wesker (Jan 14, 2011)

"That's two down now. What now? Do we try and find a place to stash these or do we split up and search the city again?" asked Enigma. Archon opened his mouth to respond when he suddenly felt a disturbance in the astral realm, by the look on Enigma's face he had felt it as well. Archon looked towards the direction of the disturbance and said "That surge of power, Set must have found another seal, it seemed to be near the eastern gates. Judging by that power we can't afford to let Set break even one more seal, I say we split and search the city hiding the ones we have already won't do much good if Set finds the others." Enigma nodded his head in agreement. "Agreed, we should also have our current seals split among us. Now who is going with who?"


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## masamune1 (Jan 14, 2011)

*The Backalleys of Pandemonium*



Emperor Joker said:


> *The Backalleys of Pandemonium*
> 
> A troop of warriors that were twelve strong had broken off from the main force and had taken to skulking the back alleys. They attacked attacked and slaughtered everyone in sight, they trampled over animals and kicked past the homeless. When some of the unfortunate tried to flee they were struck down.
> 
> ...



A wretched scream echoed throughout the streets of the city as Baron Kriminel fought angrily for control. _*"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! FUCKER! NOOOOO! YOU'RE NOT PUTTING ME BACK YOU ASSHOLE!!!!!!!!!!!"*_

Baron Samedi stoically carried on. "Come on. You've had your fun now; time to go back in your box."

The giant cockroach cowered in the dirty alley corner while the homeless man in the filthy clothes let out one last, terrible scream, then fell to his knees. He remained unmoving for a few moments, then slowly rose to his feet.

Baron Samedi surveyed the carnage and sighed. Death God or no, there was something more than a little unnerving about the scene, even if the dead were cultists of Set. Kriminel was....wrong, and he would'nt much care who they were. Or if they were. This was pure sadism, blood for bloods sake.

But it was also nothing new. He had had to keep the maniac on the leash for centuries, fought him even. Samedi was used to it. But he did'nt particularly like it.

Besides, he'd rather be out there chasing women. Or men.

Susan sensed the change in her husbands' attitude, rose, and walked slowly towards him. The Loa turned round to face her sadly, and she stopped. She had hoped it would be Crichton. Or even Richard. Not one of them. Not one of these....things.

The Baron regarded her with heavyhearted eyes. He took one of her hands (or feet), and said "I'm sorry you had to see that, _mon cherie._ Beauty such as your should not be exposed to these ugly things."

Susan chirped, and turned away from him. She wasn't in any mood to accept his sweetness."

He looked at her regretfully, then sighed. Never let it be said he had no class or manners. "Do you want to see him?"

She raised her head slightly, then slowly turned around to face him.

Samedi smiled, and took both her "hands" this time. He closed his eyes, and Richard opened them dazily. "Susie? What happened? Where are w...."

Susan did'nt let him finish, planting a big kiss on her husband, and horrifying anyone who might be watching. He had to push her away for air, and after gasping for a few seconds managed to say "What was that for?"

Susan started chirping again (or whatever sound cockroaches made), before he raised his hands; "You know what, don't tell me", he said, looking around at Kriminel's mess. "I don't think I want to know."

Susan lowered head, still unnerved at the memory. Richard looked at her for a moment, then said "Let's just go home."

Susan started to turn, but Richard held her back. "Hey, Susan,", he said. "I love you."

Susan smiled (inside), then leant in for another kiss, before a great black blade sliced through her bottom-up, killing her where she stood.


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## Endless Mike (Jan 14, 2011)

Ed answered the question. "I think the guitar guy, Finn, and I should try to take the seals we have and get out of the city On the way we can stop by Father Gregory's church and see what we can do to rescue the kids. Enigma, Archon, and Chachamaru can go after Set and try to stop him or at least stall him in order to buy us time."

"Us, fight a god? Are you sure we can?" Archon questioned.

"He's nowhere near his full power, and if we wait any longer he'll just find more seals and get stronger, it's really our only choice," Enigma responded.

"I'd rather be in the group with Chachamaru," Finn objected.

"Are you sure she's not your girlfriend?" Hen asked.

"Shut up!" Finn yelled. Chachamaru sighed at their immaturity.

"Edward's plan sounds good to me. If they can get the seals to safety they can return to the church and try to stop Draygon's attack."

"Okay, sounds good," Archon replied. Enigma handed Finn both of the seals he was carrying, as the group split in two and went on their way.


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## Platinum (Jan 15, 2011)

*Trouble in New Jericho: The Plan Comes Together (Part 11)*

New Jericho 2nd District

Day 14- 8:00 AM

After days of delays and rescheduling he was finally going to meet with his prized contact. He sat outside of The Peaks, one of New Jericho's finest cafes, reading today's paper and waiting for his meal to arrive. 

Every day the situation seemed to deteriorate even further. Yesterday 20 were injured in another work dispute. He couldn't fathom how bad it would be once the people realized that several key Obsidian Guard regiments and The Champion himself had departed the city, from other contacts he was able to get a vague idea of what they were searching for, and he couldn't help but wonder in who's hands it would end up in.

His waitress came and dropped off his food. It was nothing much, some type of exotic coffee and a house specialty soup. His coffee was especially delicious, especially bitter with just a hint of that earthy taste that he loved. His soup was a chowder of some sorts, he couldn't identify the meat, but it tasted good enough. A little too spicy for his tastes though. After he was done he left a tip on his table and set off for his meeting place. 

His first impression of the house was one of awe. It was definitely impressive alright. An immaculately kept front yard decorated with various marble statues was the first thing he saw. In the distance he could see an artificial lake which housed an impressive variety of rare fish. Adjacent to this lake was a large gazebo where he assumed she took her lunches. "Quite impressive for someone that is little more than a high price call girl" Capricorn thought to himself. Information about this Lady Dahlia was scarce but she had connection throughout New Jericho going up to the highest echelons of the government. She had access to knowledge unobtainable through other means, he just hoped she would give it to him.

He was greeted by one of her butlers and together they walked the paved road to the entrance of her mansion. The butler was saying something but he was only paying half attention to him. They both stopped as he opened the wooden doors to her mansion and Capricorn stepped inside.

She had an impeccable sense for design he must admit. The inside was done in a heavily modern style, various artifacts were strewn about in various shelves and cases, many dated back to the pre apocalyptic world.

"Lady Dahlia your guest has arrived" the butler announced. 

The lady stepped into the room and motioned to the butler. "Josef we will be taking lunch in the usual spot." The butler acknowledged and left without saying a word.

"Follow me then" she said to Capricorn and started walking to the back yard. She was very easy on the eyes. She was pretty tall for a female, her features were smooth and delicate, her skin had no blemishes of any type. Stands of her dark black hair covered her left eye. She was dressed in a rather revealing dress though that was to be expected. On her shoulders was the fur of some type of animal he couldn't identify, it looked rather expensive, he assumed it was some type of rare animal.

She motioned for him to take a seat in one of the open chairs in the gazebo and he obliged. Josef came shortly after with their meal.

"So..." Capricorn started. "Were you able to get the information I requested?"

"Of course I was darling", she gestured to Josef again and he produced a large vanilla folder, "Straight from the government archives."

"Excellent", Capricorn replied as he drank some of the tea provided to him. "You do no know how much this will help us in our..."

She put up a finger to silence him. "Now now darling, you must know in any trade, especially my trade, nothing is free. I will trade you this information for information of your own."

"What information could I possibly have that you would want?" Capricorn inquired.

"You and your friends must have dug up something. Even if you think it will have no value to me, trust me I will find someone that could use it."

"Well I don't know how much value this has but my friend Cancer did recently discover that The Champion of New Jericho will be departing the city soon. Apparently they found something of value in some ruined city up north that might spark an arms race of sort."

Lady Dahlia's eye lit up. "That is very interesting... any idea what they are searching for?"

" I was able to discover that their is possibly a cache of experimental pre war technology in several facilities in this ruined city. Alongside some artifact of some sort that is supposed to contain a great power."

"This information is acceptable, Josef give our friend that folder."

He unceremoniously handed it to Capricorn who glanced through it.

Lady Dahlia got up from her seat "Well it was a pleasure doing business with you, once you finish your meal have Josef show you out. Hope to see you again darling."


Several hours later...

Cancer and Capricorn sat silently while Libra glanced at the various documents in the folder. After half an hour Libra suddenly spoke "Good work Capricorn this was exactly what we needed."

"Just great" cancer deadpanned, he was still feeling sore from his battle four days ago, "Now what do we do?"

"We have to wait until things boil over, but with this information we know all the key players. We can stop this before it gets too bad, but we might need some more help."

"It would be wise to ask for help." Capricorn added.

"Fuck that, we don't need anymore help, we can do this by ourselves." 

"Cancer shut up, this is too much for the three of us to handle."

" You shut up Libra, we are three avatars of the zodiac, together we are a fucking force to be reckoned with. We don't need anyone."

"Stop being stubborn" Capricorn replied, not even trying to hide the anger in his voice. "We cannot stop a rebellion with just the three of us."

"Fine" cancer relented, though it was obvious he still wasn't sold on the idea. "Who else did you have in mind?"

"Our choices are slim" Libra admitted. "I was originally going to ask for help from Pisces, but he flat out refused. Apparently he rather work on some other mission."

"Not like we needed that asshole anyways" Cancer added grumbling.

"Aries and Sagittarius are out, the Gemini twins are still missing and Virgo is still in Paradiso at the moment."

"How about Leo, I would be able to tolerate Leo being around."

"He's on some other mission Cancer. Taurus is a no, and Scorpio is a no as well which leaves us with Aquarius."

"Oh so Aquarius is back from his little hiatus then" Capricorn added with a smile.

"Apparently, he's in Pandemonium on a mission with Scorpio which is close to concluding. I asked the Celestial gods to ask him to come here after wards."

"Oh god not Aquarius. Why that guy? That asshole shirks his duties as an avatar to run around with The Administration for a few months and we are supposed to welcome him back just like that? How can we be sure that he is even up to the task?"

"Aquarius' work with The Administration was important to our agenda as well Cancer, and besides we need all the help we can get. If you don't think he is up to it challenge him to a match or something when he gets here."

"Excellent idea Libra" cancer was smiling now. "I'll show that guy how far beneath me he truly is."

"Now now you two enough of this. I think we should celebrate how far we have come instead of bickering with each other. How about we go out to eat tonight, my treat."

That was something both Cancer and Libra could agree on.


----------



## Emperor Joker (Jan 15, 2011)

*Marcone*

*The Lucky Man's Gentleman's Club*

Marcone paced his office, every once in a while looking at the suitcases he had packed in the corner. His eyes darted to his mantle, where a small urn sat. "Damned cultists, damned Magear...damn this city! In less than a week it's gone straight to hell and further...i'm not sticking around to see what happens after today," he muttered to himself. 

He stopped his pacing and leaned on his desk, when there was knock at his door, and Kong entered a minute later. "Preparations are almost set up for our departure sir," he said. "we just need a few more minutes to set up the explosives."

"Excellent, best to make it look like we're dead...have Norren start evacuating the girls down through the tunnels." he paused. "Has Rocko found those two from Paridiso asking around about Set's seals for some reason?"

"He caught sight of them not too long ago, but he hasn't actually been able to get ahold of them yet."

"Well when he does, tell him to bring them here. Seeing as how they're actually asking about them, I doubt they're part of the cult that stormed through the eastern gates not to log ago," Marcone sighed. "It will be my last deal I ever do in this city, if they can convice me of thier intentions."

Kong nodded and left the office, a moment later Marcone could hear the floor lifting up outside. Hushed whispering could be heard as well as his girls and several of his bodyguards made thier way down into his escape tunnels.

"Are you sure giving the seal to Avatars of the Zodiac is a good thing my love...what if you can't trust them" said the voice of Lady Luck from nowhere in particular.

"Better them than with the cultists or Draygon for that matter...," he said in return. "It might not do much good in the long run, but I will not have blood on my hands."

"As you wish my love...as you wish."


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## Platinum (Jan 15, 2011)

Aquarius and Scorpio sat on the rooftop of a decrepit Pandemonium building pondering their next action. Scorpio was drinking from the wineskin that Aquarius brought with him, while Aquarius was eying the bottle he received from Paradox.

"You still haven't opened that stupid bottle yet?", Scorpio asked in between gulps.

"It hasn't felt like the right time yet..., and give me that", Aquarius said as he grabbed the wineskin from her hands. "You have had enough for the moment, I need you sober for this mission."

"We haven't even gotten any leads about those freaking seals. And to tell you the truth I really don't even feel like putting our necks on the line for these people."

"Me neither", Aquarius admitted "But we have to."

"I know. I just wished we had some... who's that Aquarius?" She said pointing down to a guy gesturing at them. A man whom they would later learn was named Rocko.

"Don't know", Aquarius replied. "But we may finally be getting somewhere."

Aquarius and Scorpio both fell to the streets to see what this man wanted...


----------



## Endless Mike (Jan 15, 2011)

The three men ran at top speed down the street, the sounds of chaos, fighting, screaming, and death all around them, fires lighting up the evening sky.

"How much farther is it?" Hen asked, as he repositioned his guitar in order to carry it more easily.

"Just a few more blocks according to Chachamaru's map," replied Finn. "We should be-" Before he could finish, a thunderous roar drowned out his words, as at least a hundred cultists blocked their path, pouring out of a street perpendicular to the one they were on. A few dozen of them noticed the three and moved to attack them, while the rest continued on their way, screaming like wild animals.

"Dammit! We don't have time for this!" Yelled Finn in annoyance, as he tried to pacify them with his powers. However, the attempt was less successful than he had hoped, as they seemed to be driven by an overpowering fear. Hen swung his guitar around and batted away a flurry of thrown knives from multiple directions, then smashed his assailants, knocking them out. Ed fired a shockwave which blasted many of them off their feet, clearing a narrow path.

"Come on, let's go!" Finn yelled, as the three ran for the opening. Finn and Hen got through safely, but just as Ed was about to meet them, the last of the cultists scattered, and it finally became apparent why they were acting even more crazed than usual: they were being pursued by The Coachman.

The Death Coach arrived, the wailing of the banshee drowning out even the cultists' screams, as strange phantasms administered death to everyone in its way.

Finn and Hen were already on the other side of its path, and were continuing to escape, but there was no way Ed could meet up with them without becoming the ghoulish monster's next victim. In a split-second decision, he wisely decided to run in the opposite direction of his friends, barely managing to escape as the Coach continued its pursuit of the cultists.

"Dammit," he thought. The other two were too far ahead for him to catch up now, and he didn't want to risk that carriage driver coming back. In addition, he still wasn't sure exactly where the seal was, as he had trusted Finn to memorize the map. He decided that if he still wanted to be of use, he should try to find the others and help them fight Set, they could definitely use the firepower he could bring to the table.


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## masamune1 (Jan 15, 2011)

*The Backalleys of Pandemonium*

Richard the hobo stood in shock as the white-orange blood of his wife splattered all over him, before she split in two and fell to his left and right. The great dark magical blade that ended her life still stood in front of him, reaching above his head, but he did not see it, not really.

"Su.....Suzi?", he finally managed to mutter, before the blade receded rapidly back into the night, before an invisible force raised him off his feet and threw him with force across the alley into the wall, his back slamming against it before falling face first into the ground.

Baron Samedi groggily rose onto his hands and knees, and spat out some of Crichton's blood. Darkness. The realm of Erebus....and of Set. Perhaps the desert cunt had found time to bless one of his followers since- before, even?- he woke from his little beauty sleep; or maybe he was about to face the bastard himself. He never did have any manners, the little prick.

Heh. Or maybe Knight had decided he did'nt want to go on living.

Instead, as the Baron rose to his feet, a cruel, mad smile on his lips, what walked down the alley looked more like a man than a good. Dressed in a dark Victorian style and wielding a black cane with a gold top, the slightly plump figure walked through Susan's blood without paying her any mind, a calm and relaxed look accentuated with the slightest smirk on his face as he fearlessly approached the former Lord of Death. 

The man casually glanced at all the cultist corpses spread throughout the alley and he leisurely paced towards his prey. "My, my, my, what a rotten mess this is.", the man said, stopping a few yards ahead of Samedi. "It seems the young Baron still has'nt learnt how to not break his toys."

Baron....So he knew about Kriminel, and probably him and the others, and their...arrangment with this scientist. But he called him young, and Kriminel was centuries old. Either this bastard had a stupid sense of humour, or he was indeed a god. He did'nt seem to be Set or Erebus though; he smelt, and felt, different from either of them. 

And yet.....He did'nt seem quite human, either.

Samedi stared back into the eyes of his attacker defiantly, his insane smile still on his face. "Baron, eh? Sounds like you have an idea who are fucking with. Well, you little bugger, you know it's not polite to not introduce yourself. Who are you? What do you want? And", Samedi added, the smile growing wider, "how badly do you want to suffer, before I send you to Hell?"

The dark man smiled, closed his eyes and lowered his head. "The answer to all three is this.", he said, raising his eyes again to stare back at the _Loa._  Slaves, Baron Samedi, do not question their masters."  

The Baron no longer smiled, and just returned the dark man's gaze. He replied with a dismissive "Hmph", then unleashed his magic. Shooting both arms out, a stream of green, eldritch flame ripped through the street straight at the stranger, reaching the other end in a second and scaling several stories in height. 

Samedi knew immediately the demon had avoided the attack, vanishing at an astonishing speed. The Baron stood his ground. He had lost the enemy, but he knew he was still there, waiting to strike from any angle. 

Instead, he struck from all of them. Dozens of black, shadowy threads shot out from the walls and the ground, binding Samedi's arms, legs, and neck, and forcefully dragging him to the ground. Then one slid across the back of his head and he felt it pulled up.....before being bashed, hard, into the ground. Once, twice, thrice....then he lost count. When it was over Crichtons' face was a bloody, broken mess, and as the thread on the back of his head receded the dark man appeared behind the fallen form, emerging out of the shadows, then kneeled in close to the _Guede`_ hosts' ear. 

As the brilliant green light from Samedi's raging flames illuminated the scene, the dark man whispered to Samedi. "This is why I came.", he said, then he jabbed four fingers hard into the hobo's neck. A brilliant white light shot out of the wound, and an ethereal screaming escaped Crichtons' throat. The dark man reached further, and pushed his hand and his arm deeper into the light, searching....and finding. Then grabbing.

All four _Loa_ and every other soul inside struggled violently against this blasphemous intrusion. "Don't worry", the dark man said smugly. "I'm only after one of you", and he slowly pulled the spirit of Samedi out of Crichtron's body.

The light shone even brighter as a ghostly form was dragged out of it's mortal host, the dark man's hand holding onto a skull with a tall top hat ghostly transcending it, and fiery green burning from it's eyes, nose and mouth. The skull beamed it's blinding light as it tried and failed to resist, the dark man pulling harder and dragging out the outlines of a skeletal body and skeletal arms, all still immersed in spectacular glowing white. 

_*"YOUUUUU DIIIICCKKLLLEESSSS MOOOOTTTHHHEEEEERRRRRR FUUUUUUCCCCKKKKKEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!!...."*_

Baron Samedi screeched echoingly into the night, before the dark man pulled his form out entirely, and the spirit of the loa vanished. The brilliant white light, and the gaping wound on the back of Crichton's neck where the dark man and jabbed his hand into, had all vanished with him, leaving only the dark man and an unconscious vagrant, lying in an alley of corpses and a line of green flame, creamating the remnants of his cockroach wife.

The dark man rose to his feet, and gave a slight, mocking salute to his defeated advasary with his leather gloved hand. Having achieved one objective, he calmy walked away into the night, preparing to stalk his next marked prey.


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## Stunna (Jan 15, 2011)

Fox stared long and hard at Mask’s face, as if he had been blind his whole life, and only now came to realize he could see.

“Shocking, I know.” Mask said, as he put his hand through his hair and put his mask back on. He turned back around. “But I had a dream while I was gone. I was a kid. Well, younger. And there were a lot of figures. Masked figures. I was masked too…” Mask stopped, as if speaking proved a challenge. “I was scared… I still am. I don’t recall my entire dream, but there was a voice. It still rings loud and clear. It was familiar too. It was telling me that my awakening has begun.” He turned to face Fox once again.

“Why… why are you telling me this?” Fox questioned.

“Because… I don’t think I’m going to be alive much longer. There’s so much I’ve wanted to do… so much I regret. And so much I think I need to do. But I know I can’t.” Mask admitted. “My time is coming, and I don’t think you and those orphans should be here when it does.” Cyrus opened the door a bit more to hear the entire conversation, but pushed it too far.

“Whoa!” He shouted as he fell.

“You…” Mask began.

“Cyrus!” Fox interrupted. “What are you doing here?”

“What… are you?” Cyrus asked Mask. There was a silence.


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 16, 2011)

A rifle round caught one of the fleeing cultists in the back, and Billy the Kid whooped as the dead cultist's soul floated inside the Coach. "We're going to owe Charon a few drinks, when he's done with these guys...they might just sink his boat."

"I do believe your right Mr. McCarty, I'll bring it up to the Ferryman when we see him later tonight." Said the Coachman as several of the cultists fell beneath his horses and were trampled. "Hopefully he won't shoot me down this time." He paused and looked far to the left where several cultists had turned down a side street. "Get the one in the middle, Billy...Hussein, Hussein" and as he called a skinny cultist halted in his tracks entirely and was soon shot down by another round from Billy the Kid's rifle.

_________________________________________________________________

Two cultists fell backwards clutching at the shadoy knives in thier chests for a moment, before becoming still. "Twenty-five," muttered Enigma as he reading several more and shot them off, hitting several in mid stride as they rushed forward. "Thirty."

"Why do you keep counting?" said Archon as he repulsed the onrushing and seemingly neverending mob with telekinetic blast. 

Enigma gave a lazy smile. "Seeing if I can beat my record of cultist kills," and then he snorted. "These guys are hardly even a challenge at the moment...I shouldn't even be counting."

"That's rather morbid." said Chachamaru quietly, striking out at the cultist attacking her.

"Probably, but I feel the need to pass the time, until Archon here gets a good lock on to Set."

"So you're doing it out of sheer boredom?" asked the Archon and then jerked his head "He's Southeast," he said. "It will take a couple of your jumps to get us there though."

Enigma nodded and the other two grabbed hold of him. As they teleported away Enigma reflected on how this whole course of events had not been part of his plan at all, and if he ever got ahold of the man who had so callously impersonated Erebus, he would rip him limb from limb...No perhaps not, death was too sweet for one who impersonated gods, he would deliver him personally to Erebus and let him carry out the best punishment imaginable. His old plans were dust and ash now...but new plans were quickly arising in they're place.


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## Platinum (Jan 16, 2011)

Aquarius and Scorpio stepped into the Lucky Man's Gentleman Club and were greeted by a tense and nervous looking man they assumed must be Marcone. "Great you're here now we can get down to business."

"You aren't even going to offer us a drink? You aren't a very polite host you know." Scorpio said.

"There is no time for formalities, they'll be here before we know it. I assume you are here for this", he snapped his fingers and one of his henchmen produced a suitcase which Aquarius assumed contained one of the seals.

"Yes of course we are", Aquarius stated matter of factly. "So are you just going to give it to us or what?"

"How do I know your intentions are pure?" Marcone inquired. "Bad things will happen if this falls in the wrong hands."

"We are avatars of the zodiac.", Scorpio went on. "How could you even think we would be in league with that band of freaks?"

"You never know." Marcone replied. "After all we all know the tale of Ophiuchus."

"You are just going to have to trust us." Aquarius replied. "If we were with them do you think we would be come to meet you face to face without an army at our backs?"

"You make a good point" Marcone admitted. "Now that just leaves the method of payment."

"Method of payment?" Scorpio inquired.

"Well yes I just can't give you this for free."

"But we don't have anything that would interest you."

"Not necessarily" Aquarius responded as he fished something out of his cloak. "This was given to me by Paradox himself. I haven't opened it but he assured me the contents were valuable."

He handed the glass bottle to Marcone who inspected it thoroughly. "It's a deal. Now give our friend the suitcase."

Aquarius extended a hand to take the suitcase and took a peak inside. Everything looked good to him.

"We have company approaching fast!" someone yelled in a panic.

"Damn we aren't ready yet!"

"Scorpio" Aquarius said as he gently nudged her. "You up for a fight?" He flashed her a smile.

"Always" she replied flashing a smile back.

"Me and Scorpio will handle these people, just finish whatever preparations you have left and get out of here." 

Aquarius grabbed his staff and Scorpio retrieved her daggers from her cloak. The two rushed out to meet their foe.


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## Wesker (Jan 16, 2011)

Enigma , Chachamaru , and Archon appeared suddenly out of the darkness. "How much further?" asked Enigma. Archon replied "We are about a block away.....wait a sec I sense something." He concentrated on the auras he felt, Aquarius and his companion were with Marcone and seemed to be in battle with a large group of cultists. Another aura he sensed to be Edward seemed to be getting closer to them and Set. Archon quickly said "Shit it looks like the cultists have found another seal at Marcone's. Listen to me, Edward seems to have been separated from the others and is heading towards us. You guys meet up with him and keep going towards Set I will go help protect the other seal." Enigma paused for a moment and replied "Alright you go help them, we'll meet up with Ed." Archon nodded then headed towards Aquarius using his telekinesis to speed along.

___________________________________________________________
Later at Marcone's Aquarius and Scorpio were holding off scores of cultists with many already dead around them. "How many of these guys are there?" said Aquarius as he liquefied the face off a club wielding man. Scorpius replied "Meh at least their easy kills, you would figure the cult of a god would have more superhu-" but was cut off as a 9 foot man came crashing through a nearby building towards the two. Both the Avatars deftly dodged the man who fell into another building, but failed to notice the group of cultists jumping down from the building behind them. Just as the cultists were upon the two an invisible force hurled the cultists into a nearby building. 

"You guys look like you have your hands full" said Archon as he descended from a rooftop. Aquarius turned to reply but was cut off by the giant coming at them again. This time Scorpio sent several daggers glowing with green poison towards him but the towering man simply swatted them away and tossed a chunk of rock at Scorpio which slammed her against a wall knocking her loopy. Quickly Aquarius slammed his staff on the ground and the earth beneath the man turned to liquid, taking advantage of this opportunity he ran towards the giant with a burst of speed but was repelled back when the great man clapped his hands together to create a great boom. Archon barely managed to catch Aquarius.

 Aquarius grunted and said "I'll need to make physical contact to take him down." Archon nodded and said "When I say so I want you to liquefy the ground in front of his path." By this time the giant had gotten out of the puddle and was charging towards them. Archon pushed against him with telekinesis causing him to slow down. When the giant was almost between them Archon shouted "Now!" in response Aquarius liquefied the ground and Archon used hit telekinesis and the giants own momentum to shove him face and arms down into the liquefied ground. Aquarius took this advantage to slam his staff into back of the giant and with a grunt liquefied the bestial man's spine. 

By this time Scorpio was back on her feet and walked over to them "Not bad at all" she remarked. Archon turned towards an alley with a concerned look and said "Don't relax just yet I can sense more coming."


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## Platinum (Jan 16, 2011)

"Time for round two then" Aquarius said in between gasps. "Okay, Scorpio it's your time to shine. Get to the rooftops and use that technique, me and Archon will hold them off until you are ready. Just be sure that you are far away enough that we won't be caught in range."

"It won't take me long." she replied and jumped up to the rooftops. 

The cultist broke out of the alleyway and charged the two. Aquarius swept his staff in a wide arc breaking the legs of several cultists and flipping more over, while Archon hit another group with a telekinetic assault.

This continued for several minutes, cultists continued to pour through at a steady pace with no end in sight. Approaching amongst the horde was two more of the 9 foot men. "Looks like we are in for a long fight" Aquarius spoke as her brought his staff down on the skull of a cultist shattering it completely.

"Seems to be the case" Archon replied as he blasted a group of four.

And then all of a sudden the cultist pouring out of the alleyway slowed, and without speaking they all fell down dead, the nine foot men included, leaving only the small group of cultist before them. They quickly dispatched them.

"What the hell happened?" Archon replied clearly confused by the sudden deaths of dozens of men.

"That was me", Scorpio replied from the rooftops. She jumped back onto the street and approached the two.

"Yep, Scorpio's special poison. A completely invisible airborne toxin that kills in seconds. It's her trump card." Aquarius spoke.

"Scary. Very scary." Archon replied. To which Scorpio smiled. "Can't rest yet though. More people are coming." He pointed to another alleyway as the first man came running out.


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## masamune1 (Jan 17, 2011)

*The Masked Bandit Hideout*



Stunna said:


> Fox stared long and hard at Mask?s face, as if he had been blind his whole life, and only now came to realize he could see.
> 
> ?Shocking, I know.? Mask said, as he put his hand through his hair and put his mask back on. He turned back around. ?But I had a dream while I was gone. I was a kid. Well, younger. And there were a lot of figures. Masked figures. I was masked too?? Mask stopped, as if speaking proved a challenge. ?I was scared? I still am. I don?t recall my entire dream, but there was a voice. It still rings loud and clear. It was familiar too. It was telling me that my awakening has begun.? He turned to face Fox once again.
> 
> ...



*A Few Minutes Ago*

Cyrus nervously unlocked the door to Mask's old room, it's former occupant a few doors away.

He fumbled about in the dark and finally found the light switch. He clicked it on, and illuminated the walls, and the dozens and dozens and dozens of masks hanging from them. Quickly but quietly, he closed the door behind him.

Even at 14 and poor, he could tell these masks were carved out by an artist. All sorts of shapes and sizes, a myriad of colours and designs, each one had it's own distinctive features and identity. There were animal masks, of a wolf and a bear and tiger and snake; there were the fancy, elaborate ones you'd fine in Venice, and ones from the Far East, not that he was sure either of them still existed (he'd only read about them in his mum's books); plain ones; strange ones; there were masks of magical creatures; masks of demons; masks of death. And more. The closer he looked, the more masks seemed to appear, like they had hidden themselves until he turned his back.

Cyrus got on top of a table and picked up a red leather Devil mask off of the wall. It covered only the eyes and top of the cheeks, and two small horns portruded from the top. Cyrus stared at it, fascinated, then moved to put it back and pick up another one, eying what looked like a Fairie.

_"Hey! You! Kid!"_, a voice ringed out.

Cyrus fell off the the table and crashed hard on the floor. He was hurting, but he quickly fumbled onto his knees and looked around. No-one was in the room. 

"H-Hello?", Cyrus said. No response. "Is anyone there?"

_Cyyyrrruusssss......."_, a voice whispered, a new one this time.

Cyrus spun around. The voices.....They were coming from the masks....

_"Lost his mummy......Ha! Ha Ha!"

"It's all a dream...."

"Ikelos.....Phobetor...."

"Coming....He is coming....."_

Cyrus head his hands to his head. The voices.....Inside his head. 

More joined in, all rambling, and he had to get out. He opened the door and escaped, and shut it fast. The voices stopped, and he slumped to the ground.

"(I was scared...I still am....)", Cyrus heard from down the hall. It was Mask, still with Fox.

He....felt him. And he recognised the feeling. It was the same as that room, as those masks. Creeping over as stealthily as possible, Cyrus opened the door a bit more to hear the entire conversation, but pushed it too far.

?Whoa!? He shouted as he fell.

?You?? Mask began.

?Cyrus!? Fox interrupted. ?What are you doing here??

?What? are you?? Cyrus asked Mask. There was a silence.


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 17, 2011)

After The Archon departed,Enigma teleported away for a moment, before returning with Ed. The younger man looked somewhat shaken , but overall he was okay.

"How did you get seperated from Finn?" asked Chachamaru. 

"Had a nasty run in with that horse drawn carriage. Had to take a detour, otherwise i'd have gotten run over."

Enigma was barely paying attention however, as the closeness of Set's aura had started a rythmatic thumping in his head. This was not what he had in mind whenh he had told Set about his cult...not at all. He jerked somewhat when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey...You okay?" said Ed. 

"Perfectly fine...let's get this over with...If we can ambush him, we might just have a chance of taking him down."

Both of his companions nodded, and all three of them were gone again.

_________________________________________________________________
*A few blocks from The Lucky Man's Club*

"How is the assult going?" asked the Warleader. "Are we inside yet, have we spilt the heathen's blood across his door."

"No Warleader!" replied Messenger Rashid. "We have encountered resistence in the form of several outsiders."

"We don't have time for them send out the golems."

Rashid bowed at this, and heavy thuds could be heard from an alleyway. A moment later a massive hand appeared and gripped the building beside. The body attatched to it was a massive creature composed of sand of stone, that stood almost twelve feet tall. It set off down the street, heading towards the club. A moment later four more emerged and followed after the first.

_________________________________________________________________

"How much longer." demanded Marcone, leaning on his cane, the old man's face was contorted with worry.

Kong looked up from where he was. "Scratch what I said to you before boss, we need about fiteen more minutes to set up the timer accuratly."

"So we'll need someone to stall for a little while longer...very well." He looked out the window at the seemingly never ending mob of cultists and sighed. Gripping the handle of his cane he drew forth the thin bladed sword from within _Looks like i'll be using you yet again Shichi Fukujin_ "Rise forth Bishamon."

Mist erupted from the blade and spiraled out, before forming into the specter of a stern looking asian man, holding a spear in one hand and a small pagoda in the other.

"What does The Lady's Consort command?" the ghost of Bishamon asked in a rough voice. 

"Help those three," Marcone said and pointed at the three outsiders. "Fight off and stall the cultists until we are ready to retreat."

"As the Consort commands!" said the specter, before walking out the door. Screams soon erupted as the cultists were batted away and broken by the servent of Lady Luck. 

A moment later however Marcone could hear something else, the steady thudding of several things coming from down the street. 

_________________________________________________________________

Set jumped back as a huge section of a building came flying at him. As it fell he sent out a massive blade made from sad it cut it in two. However this was apparently what his attacker had in mind as a massive invisible blast struck him from the side sending him tumbling. 

Looking he saw a younger man striding in to attack him "Hmph somebody wants to die a slow death today." Set mused.

Set stepped forward, only for Darkness to completely envelope the area in a giant dome. Set snorted. "You seem to forget Knight, that I control darkness as well." he waved his hand and the dome disppeared, only to reveal that a giant chunk of the skyline had now been laced with darkness formed swords and knives. As he stared they all began to fall at once, and Set gave a crazed smile.

"Let's see how many you can nullify." came Enigma voice from around him.


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## masamune1 (Jan 17, 2011)

*The Masked Bandit Hideout*

Mask looked blankly at the teenage boy who just fell through the door, digesting the question. Fox was staring at the ground, digesting all that Mask had told him.

Cyrus got to his feet, slowly. Mask did'nt answer him, and a silence fell on the room for a few minutes. Cyrus asked again, "What are you? That room....You did that...."

"My room?", Mask asked matter-of-factly, staring out to the door in question. "You've been in my room?"

"I....I heard them. In my head.", Cyrus said, and he closed his eyes and place both hands on his temple. "They sounded different....but they felt like you. They all felt like you."

"You heard them?", Mask said, still with little emotion, then took his own mask in his hand and looked at it. He narrowed his eyes as he stared. _"He heard them...."_, he thought to himself, and wondered at that. His mask had talked to him before, but he thought it meant he was going crazy. If this kid could hear them too....

_"Kill him."_, rang out a voice in his mind. It was his mask, back again.

_"What?"_, Mask mentally asked back, shocked.

_"Kill him. Snap his neck. He knows too much. You've got to kill him"_ 

_"Are you insane? I'm not going to kill some kid. And what are you mean he knows too much? What are you keeping from me?"

"Just grab the little squirt, throw him to the floor and throttle him. It's easy."_, the mask said, ignoring his accusations. _"Trust me, you've got to. They'll find you if you don't."_

For as long as he could remember- which was'nt very long- Mask had felt like he was being hunted. But he never knew by whom. _"Find me? Who'll find me? What are'nt you telling me?"_

_"It's for your own good. Now kill him. Do it. Do it now!"_, the mask demanded, louder and louder.

_"No...I won't! Go away!"

"Kill him!" Do it!"

NO!

"DO IT NOW!"

"NOOOOO!"_

Mask was on his knees now, hands held tight against his head. Then a new voice cut in.

("You know what? You're right")

Mask, opened his eyes, relaxed his hands, and looked up. It was Fox talking. The mask in his head had stopped, and had fallen to the ground.
"What?", he asked back.

"I said you're right. I agree with you.", Fox replied.

Mask just stared back. He did'nt know what he was talking about.

"You are'nt going to be alive much longer", Fox said, and punched Mask in the face.


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## masamune1 (Jan 17, 2011)

*The Masked Bandit Hideout*

Mask spat blood out of his mouth before Fox grabbed him by the hair, and dragged him out of the room. Holly and Rachel both appeared, and Holly shouted "What are you doing?!", with shock.

"Stay back.", Fox said, and took Mask outside, throwing him out into the empty street. 

Mask rolled on the hard, dirty ground, and held his sore sides, his arms throbbing. He struggled to get to his feet, but Fox was on him again and threw him further. 

The Clarks were at the door and Holly walked out into the alley, warning her brother and sister to stay back. Cyrus stared at the fight, while Rachel started crying. Holly shouted "Stop this", but Fox said "Stay back! This isn't about you!"

She did, but she was clearly upset. Fox went back to Mask, but he threw a trash bag in his face. It splurted open and covered him in some kind of liquid, and Fox went to his knees, coughing. 

Mask caught his breath, then held up his hand. He was terrible at fighting, and had always relied on his masks. Besides, he really did'nt want to fight. 

"Stop....just....stop", he panted.

Fox fell onto his hands and started spitting. It must have been a really filthy bag. He turned around and looked at Mask, disgust in his face. "Shut up", he said. 

Mask breathed heavily, then said "So much for trying to get a second chance, then?" 

"_Second chance?",_ Fox angrily retorted. "You put me in a coma just for trying to _help someone!_ You expect me to still buy that garbage, after you get another one your episodes?"

Mask stared back at him in horror. "You...you knew?"

"What, that your crazy? Of course I knew! Everyone knew! Why did you think we were so scared of you!"

Holly looked at the two, then asked, nervously, "What are you talking about?"

Fox turned to look at her. "He's mad. He hears voices, he talks to himself, he gets these moodswings. And he's an asshole. Bad combination." He returned to Mask. "He might want to change, but he's nuts. He's dangerous. And it sounds like he might have been brainwashed as a kid. It's all _very_ sad....and I've had enough of it."

Mask looked back at all this, aghast. He thought he'd kept it hidden, had it under control. But they'd known. He got on his hands, and closed his eyes tight. He tried to calm down....and he smiled. 

Well, at least things could'nt get any worse.

Holly turn to the kids, "Go inside"m she said, and they did, reluctantly. Rachel went in first, then Cyrus started to close the door.

Fox started to move in on Mask again, but then stopped. Darkness crept over the empty street, covering all three of them.

_"The Phantom!"_, Mask thought to himself. _"Has he hunted us down?"_

"Thats the second time I've been mistaken for Knight", a voice said in the darkness. Mask did'nt recognise the voice, but it sounded vaguely familiar, like an old dream.

The dark man appeared out of thin air in between Fox and Mask. Tendrils slid up both their legs and Holly's, rising up to their bodies, holding them firm. _"You!"_, Mask exclaimed. He recognised the man instantly.

"Yes", said the man in the dark suit. "Me."

_________________________________________________
*Later*

Cyrus stood near the door for a few minutes while his sister was in the other room, shaking. It was quiet outside, and he had'nt heard anything in a while. He nervously opened the door, slowly, and looked outside.

He opened the door fully now. He looked around, but everyone had vanished.


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## Endless Mike (Jan 18, 2011)

As the shadow spears and swords flew through the air at Set, he disappeared in a swirl of darkness, leaving the projectiles to embed themselves harmlessly in the ground. He reappeared next to Enigma, preparing to strike, but he was blasted back by a powerful wave of invisible force. Before he could stand fully stand up, he was hit by a powerful kick that sent him crashing into a nearby building, the structure collapsing down on him after the impact.

Easily shrugging off the many tons of rubble, he stood up, and finally got a good look at the entire group assaulting him. There was the avatar of Erebus, of course, as well as another man who had a rifle and a wielded strange powers, and finally a green-haired girl who he could tell was not human.

"You three are fools to challenge me," he said, raising his hands as a strong wind started blowing around him and clouds started forming.

"Maybe so, but we've still got to try," the girl said, as she transformed her right arm into a machine gun and began firing tens of thousands of rounds per minute at the weakened god. Ed and Enigma did a slight double - take at this, surprised that she had this ability.

The bullets riddled Set's body, knocking him back a few feet, but after several seconds of continuous firing she ran out of ammo, and Set simply grinned. He opened his coat to reveal that the wounds on his body were being refilled by sand, as if he was made of it.

"Well, so much for that," Chachamaru said, transforming her hand back. "But if you're made of sand, then the best option would be-"

"Heat!" Ed cut her off, as he concentrated a blast of radiant microwave energy, joined by the lasers from Chachamaru's eyes.

Set's body began to glow white-hot, the heat was so intense that the debris of the building he was standing in began to melt and fuse together.

"It's working!" Yelled Enigma in surprise, as he prepared to join in with more shadow weapons, but before he could a mighty shockwave emanated from Set's burning body, leveling an area around the size of a city block and knocking back his three assailants with massive force.

Several blocks away, Finn and Hen paused temporarily as they felt the blast, and looked behind them, seeing a large cloud of dust rising from its location.

"That came from the direction the others went!" Finn said worriedly. "I hope they're okay,".

"Yeah, that Phantom better be okay so I can kick his ass later!" Hen replied enthusiastically.

"Shut up!" Finn yelled, growing more annoyed with this man by the second. They quickly resumed their sprint to the church.

Enigma slowly pulled himself up out of a pile of rubble, rubbing his head with his right hand. He had taken quite a blow from that unexpected attack. Looking around, he was relieved to see his teammates were alright, Ed having formed a shield to absorb the brunt of the blast and Chachamaru tanking it with her natural durability. Still, they would have to get back on the offense soon before-

His thoughts were interrupted as a booming voice rang out.

"You fools? You dare to challenge a god? Now be swept away with the desert sands!"

Set was floating in mid-air several hundred meters away from them, creating another storm which was becoming more violent at an alarming rate. Soon it took the appearance of a huge tornado of sand, with bolts of lightning crackling around it, Set himself a glowing figure in the center. Ed and Chachamaru tried to combine their firepower again, but it was deflected by the still-growing vortex. Enigma quickly teleported to their position, still having to yell to be heard above the howling wind.

"That defense is too powerful at this range, but if we could get closer we might be able to do some damage!"

"Get closer? To that? Are you crazy!?" Ed yelled, as the debris of the buildings flattened by the earlier explosion had now been added to Set's storm and was swirling around like so many deadly projectiles at an ever - increasing velocity.

"He's right, we can't do anything from here," Chachamaru said. "I can fly us close if you provide a shield, but Engima will need to distract him."

"I know I'm going to regret this in the morning," said Ed, more to himself than anyone else, as he climbed on her back. She activated her rockets again, flying along with the direction of the swirling wind on a spiraling course toward the god-storm.

Meanwhile, Enigma performed a series of short-range teleports until he was standing on one of the pieces of flying debris caught by the tornado. Barely managing to hang on, he began firing a barrage of shadow weapons at Set's position.

Noticing this, the Egyptian deity concentrated his storm, causing the vortex to snap sharply in Enigma's direction, sending the chunk of debris he was standing on flying off into the distance. He barely managed to teleport back to the ground before it slammed into another building. At roughly the same time, Chachamaru and Edward, the latter concentrating his shields to their maximum power, managed to penetrate the wall of wind and sand and reach Set himself, immediately bombarding him with a barrage of physical and energy attacks.

The sudden assault took the god by surprise, causing him to lose control of his storm as it quickly dissipated, and he fell to the ground. Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, they charged him at full speed, but Set then demonstrated his physical prowess by deflecting Ed's strongest electromagnetic attack and swatting him aside like a fly, and catching Chachamaru's punches, matching and then overpowering her in strength, and throwing her to the ground. She tried to hit him with another laser blast, but it went right through his head which reformed almost instantly.

"This is honestly the best you can do? You are even bigger fools than I thought!" With that proclamation, a pool of darkness appeared on the ground beneath them, sucking them both down into its murky depths before they could react.

Luckily, Enigma had sensed this and used his own powers to interdict Set's ability, rescuing the two through another darkness portal and teleporting them to his location. By this point Set was in the air again, brewing up an even bigger storm than last time, with emphasis on lightning this time.

"This is not looking good," Ed observed, and the others nodded their heads in mute agreement as they tried to devise a way to strike back.


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## Wesker (Jan 18, 2011)

Archon and the others had finished beating down the cultists when five great golems came booming down the street. The first of the golems threw a great chunk of stone at the group but Archon reflected the stone back at the golems with a great blast of telekinetic energy which knocked down two of the golems. Aquarius used this opportunity to attack one of the fallen golems with his staff but the great construct's stone skin seemed to repel his liquefaction powers. The now annoyed golemn swatted at Aquarius but the avatar quickly dodged and returned to his companions who then ran to a nearby alley in order to formulate a plan. "These things must have enchanted skin." said a frustrated Aquarius. Archon replied "I fought something similar before , if you can somehow get something inside their bodies your powers might work, perhaps we can get the golems to hurt each other, they seem rather clumsy. Scorpio if you can distract three of them Aquarius and I can try and take down the first tow." Scorpio paused and then said "Sounds like a plan."

Turning towards the golems Scorpio sent acidic daggers towards three of the golems and nimbly dodged their attacks as she lured them away. Meanwhile Archon sent a blast of telekinesis at the remaining two golems. As the two rushed towards them Aquarius lept in between the golems, as one swatted towards him Archon pushed its fist towards the other golem causing to to knock the construct to the ground. As Aquarius occupied the other golem Archon created a large psionic orb and launched it at the golemn causing it to crack. As the golem got up Archon grabbed onto it's cracked back and readied his shield. As the great construct hammered away at his shield he concentrated on the cracked stone and concentrated on the weak points. Then with a a great grunt Archon ripped apart the golem along the cracks with a large blast of telekinetic energy. After recovering from the blast he headed to help Aquarius.


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## SYSC (Jan 19, 2011)

Finn looked over his shoulder completely shocked to see Hen squatted on the ground with his elbows resting on his knees 

"WHAT THE- HURRY THE HELL UP!!!" Finn shouted with anger

"Eh, Im tired" Hen said raising his hand to scratch his face "Is it me or has there been a lot of running this month?"

_
"This idiot just gonna stay here and get himself killed"_ Finn thought himself aggravated, not noticing he had ran back to Hen

"Hey! This isn't a joke they're risking their lives out there against a God! Anyway the faster you get up the faster you can fight the phantom"

"You cant get hurt from a hallucination and well its like your girlfriend said, the mayor up and left the city so its not like I'll be getting the bounty reward after kick his ass"

"SHE! LOOK JUST-" Finn yelled as he repositioned the seals to his side and  slowly waved his hand infront of Hen looking to use his powers to get Hen to start moving before stopping halfway "You know what, fine have it your way"

Finn turned around mostly angered with himself for wasting so much time when Celia and the other kids were still in danger

"Its not like you're in much of a hurry since you have enough time to go beat up a church pastor. What exactly could a pastor do for the grudge against him? " Hen asked inquisitively as he stood up

"The bastard isn't a pastor! He's a slave-owner he sells the orphans as slaves for his own benefit!" Finn screamed as started to run 

"That's...repulsive" Hen grimly said to himself. He then began to run up by Finn. 

The two ran down the street in silence both with a serious look on their faces. As they turned a corner into a alley they saw three men yelling wearing brown robes. Finn stopped and flinched thinking _"Damnit! Not this again!"_ but Hen kept running

"THIS IS DISGUSTING! WE THE FOLLOWERS OF SET HIDING LIKE ROACHES FROM A SCUM LIKE THAT! THAT WRETCHED COACHMEN! WE SHALL HAVE HIS HEAD ALONG WITH ALL IN THIS CITY" one of the cultist yelled with his fist in the air to the other two cultist 

"RIGHT WE HIDE NO LONGER! NOW-" The cultist stopped in his sentence seeing two men rush towards them

Hen leap in the air spinning himself and his guitar to smash the side of the cultist's face and sending him head first into a brick wall. Hen didn't hesitate and hit the second cultist in the torso with his guitar causing him to fly out of the alleyway doing backflips

"What is this?! How dare you!"

Hen dashed directly at the last cultist now with a intense grip on his guitar staring holes through the cultist even with his shades on. He lifted his head to do a horizontal slash. At the moment of contact large chainsaw blades slide out and surrounded the base and side of the guitar. The sound of the chainsaw blades spinning ripped through the air as it cut the cultist in half. Finn had as much of a shock look as Hen. For Hen the moment was in slow-motion, the top half of the cultist body still floating in the air while the bottom half was steadily falling to the ground. Hen eyes was dilated and changed to neon pink, everything then became black and white beside the odd shade of crimson red blood that splattered up in the air.

And then everything continued as Hen's eyes returned back to normal. He was still in the motion of the attack meters away from the cultist as his two halves fell on the ground. Hen rested his guitar to his side and loosened his grip which caused the chainsaw blades to re-enter back into the guitar. 

"You gotta admit that was pretty cool, bro" Hen said smiling as he turned around

"C'mon lets go we're still a couple blocks away" Finn said running by Hen. Hen followed and the two continued to sprint towards the church


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 21, 2011)

Up in the air, Set's power began to wane, and the storm he was conjuring began to die. _What no!_ he thought and he howled with rage. _Is this all three seals can accomplish?_

A vision of a man flit past him in his mind. The man was laughing as he drained Set of his power "With this power, my city it will be built on." The god roared as he was pushed inside a statue as the man grinned at him. 

Another image flitted through his mind, he was holding a great spear over Leviathan's head. the great beast's roar echoed in his mind's eye. Though unlike last time something happened. the monster lashed out and with one bite took off both of his legs. "This will be the least of things that happen to you when I exact my revenge Desert Rat" said Rahab.

Below him, Knight stood watching his head cocked, Set could feel himself descending somehow. What had that image meant? that had noot been how it happened. He had come away the victor that day. 

The robot girl moved off to the side, followed by the younger man, who sent a blast of concentrated heat his way, which sent him flying. As he fell Knight appeared in mid-air before aiming, broadsword straiht at his head. Set dispersed himself and reformed back in the air and sent a wave of darkness crashing into the group below. 

The image of a bearded man with a great scar on his face, appeared in his mind. He had Set on the ground and held a three pronged trident at his throat. "With your power, I shall reclaim my throne...you should be thanful," said Poseidon. He plunged his trident down and blood gushed from Set's throat and he roared.

"No! That never happened! None of that ever happened!"  cried Set, making all those around him stop for a moment. 

Another image, that of a handsome man came. He was carrassing Set's face, before gripping it tightly. "Don't feel bad...this will be the best for everyone." said Eros impassivly, as he crushed his face to a pulp. 

Yet another image, this time a man dressed all in furs, was leaning over his head, a knife in hand. "I have many many plans that can come to fruition with a power such as yours," said Coyote grinning. 

Something slammed him from above and he fell to the ground. One last image appeared in his mind, that of a horrible black coach riding towards him. "Been a long time, since I collected on a god!" The Coachman laughed.

Rising he spat blood from his mouth, as he rose to meet his attackers. _I used my power up...so fast....to fast._ He looked wildly around one last time, and roared with anger. The wind kicked up and threw all three of his assailants back, where they collided hard with a house and he fell to one knee. "This can't happen...this can't. I am Set, I will not be beaten by mortals!"


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## masamune1 (Jan 21, 2011)

Ed and Enigma hit the ground with a force, but Chachamaru landed like a cat and quickly retailiated. She rushed the desert god and kicked him in the side of the head while he was on his knee,  sending him flying into a small nearby building which crumbled under the impact, burying him. For the moment.

Getting back to their feet, Ed stayed in position while Enigma moved in closer to the green haired terminator. All three stared at the ruins, waiting.

"His power is fluctuating", Chachamaru said. "He is getting weaker."

"Impossible", Enigma said. "Even with the seals, Set is Lord of four domains. He should'nt go down this easily."

"Well", she said, a little bitchely for Victor's taste, "he is".

"Here he comes", said Ed from the sidelines, as Set pushed aside the debris and walked out of the demolition, scowling.

Set raised his right hand into the air above his head, and dark, stormy clouds manifested in the sky. He then lowered the hand, and pointed it squarely at the pair. Chachamaru moved out of the way fast and Enigma teleported, and a bolt of lightning struck the ground inches in front of where the two had been standing.

_Missed,_ Set thought angrily to himself, but he did'nt let his expression change. He lowered the hand, then raised it to try again but was hit by a blast of cosmic force from Ed, sending him flying into the distance.

_____________________________________________________________

Finn and Hen stalked through the slums, passing fire and death and other signs of the havoc wrecked by Sets cult. Once or twice they were attacked by the cultists, but Finn Charmed them and sent them on their way, with the instruction that they were to stop all this mayhem. He was'nt sure if it worked, for the hold of the Lord of Chaos and all that over them seemed to be getting stronger, but it was better than nothing. It did'nt occur to him to fear that the urns might boost that hold as those followers got closer, but if it had, it appears those fears would have been unfounded.

They approached the church and it seemed to have escaped the devastation. Whether that was because it was spared for its past dealings with the Set faith, or it had just been lucky for the moment, he did'nt know. The whole area was deserted, no signs of children or anything. He did'nt know if that was good. 

"Do you see anything?", Finn asked.

Hen appeared to be staring into space, then replied "No. Nothing."

"Nothing?", Finn asked with surprise. "Not even in the church?"

"I can't see inside the church".

"Really? I thought you could see through walls?"

_I can_, Hen thought, _I saw through to that damn Mad Science Guild._ 
"They must have used some kind of magic on the place.", Hen said, quickly adding "Not that I believe in magic."

"So.....That place could be crawling with Draygons men then?"

"Yep", Hen said matter of factly,

".....Okay then.", Finn replied. 

Both stayed still and quiet for a few moments, though it felt like hours. Until-

"Well, lets go in then", Finn said.

And they walked up to the church, hesitated, then burst open the door.


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## masamune1 (Jan 21, 2011)

The church was lit, but empty.

Finn and Hen stood in the open doorway, each with a hand still on one door. They took in the smells, the sights, and the eerie silence. The place seemed deserted.

Finn scoffed inward because it made too much sense. The city was in chaos, insane followers of an evil god were loose and cutting down enemies left, right and centre, not to mention the Coachman and the Phantom. Gregory did'nt want to take his chances that he would be spared, or perhaps he got some warning somehow. The kids, moreover, did'nt know the lies their livelihood was built on, and would have been frightened and confused, and maybe in danger. And Gregorys' assisstants, who might not know what he was up too (doubtful though that was), would'nt want to stick around either. And if Ed had skipped, the game was up, and he might even have to worry about Draygon too.

So, he just took the kids, and ran. Of course he did. It would have been stranger if they were still here, thinking of it like that.  They should'nt have prioritised the urns; someone, at least, could have went for the kinds, and they had speedsters and teleporters who could have done it in no time. Stupid! And now, the kids were lost, taken to some other part of the city, or the wastes, or wherever, 'till Gregory found a new client.

"There's a body.", Hen said. 

"What?", Finn panickly asked, though he kept his voice to a loud whisper. He feared it was one of the children.

"It's upstairs", "through that corridor, and along a bit", Hen said, tracing the path with his finger. The corridor was to the left of the altar, and the pair quickly but cautiously  

Finn and Hen carefully but quickly moved down the church and ascended the staircase. They came to another, smaller corridor, leading up to a door; Gregory's office. The slowly walked up to it, and opened the door.

The body of the fake Father Gregory was sprawled on the ground, no blood or injuries to be seen. His eyes were open, and he was convulsing slightly, but he was clearly dead, or dying, with no obvious cause. 

No cause, that was, other than the large demonic ghost crouching over him.

Hand on the forehead of the deceased slave-peddlar, seemingly siphoning the lifeforce right out of him, the monster must have been nine feet tall when standing, or what passed for standing as it seemed to be legless,. Pale and transparent, it had four small horns portruding from it's skull in a mock crown- and it was visibly a skull, even from behind. It wore nothing but a ragged shirt which it's exposed ribs poorly, and an aura of death seemed to emmanate from it. 

The spirit turned it's head, and looked dead at the two. It's eyes glowed a pale yellow, and it's mouth had only fangs, two at the top and two smaller ones at the bottom. Finn and Hen stood staring in terror, and the ghost took it's hand from Gregory's head, and began floating slowly towards them. 

Finn took a step backward but Hen remained transfixed, as if he saw deeper into the apparation. But Finn grabbed him and pulled him out of his trance, and the two ran.

The reached the doors, but they slammed such of their own accord, and no amount of hitting or panicking seemed to work. The spirit slid down the stairs, and all other sources of light died, leaving it's grey-white, glowing form and yellow eyes the only sources of illumination. It deftly, but unhurriedly, floated over the seats for mass, and moved towards its prey. 

Finn and Hen pressed their backs hard against the door. Hen still stared, wide eyed, at the spirit of death, but Finn could'nt help but shut them tight, and he remembered the last time he felt this feeling. It was back in that village in the wastes, the one filled with the dead, where the life and souls of every man, woman and child had been stripped from them as they slept, like a thief in a night. And Finn wondered- no, he _knew_- he was now face to face with the thief. And Avatar or no, he was as powerless as the rest.

So this was the end. Eros had wasted his gift on a dead man. He had travelled through the wastes, battled killer androids, rushed through the streets of a mad and hellish city, tried and failed to rescue children from a treacherous phony guardian while his friends, his new friends, fought against a cult and its god. 

And all so he could die here. He thought about the Phantom, and Ed....and Chachamaru. He thought about all that teasing. Love her? He did'nt know. But it looked like he was'nt going to find out. 

He felt the hand of the spirit press against the door next to his head, and sensed as it drew it's head closer to his, as if inspecting him before killing him, and he could hear if sniffing him, smelling him, and he hallucinated breathing in vapours of death as he did. Then he felt it move away, somehow, and he imagined it moving in to take a closer look at Hen, and matching his stare by looking him dead in the eye. He could not imaging the horror of that.

Finn felt the ghostly pressure from the creatures' hand lift off the door, and felt it back away....slowly. It was moving away for a killing stroke. Finn braced himself, eyes still shut, shut so tightly it hurt. But he did'nt dare to look, did'nt dare to see into those eyes, those horrid, pale, deathly yellow eyes, eyes that burned out from Hell. 

He continued to brace himself, but no attack came. He began to notice his own heavy breathing, and then noticed that aura, that terrible of aura of death and decay, had receded. He braved himself to open his eyes, and found his head was turned to stare at Hen, who was staring off into space. He looked around at the dark, empty church in the middle of the Pandemonium slums. The evil spirit was gone.


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## masamune1 (Jan 21, 2011)

The Coachman pulled hard on the reigns of the horses drawing his carriage, bringing the trio and the growing legion of ghosts packed within to a halt in one of the city streets. The people who had sensibly stayed out of the way to let him pass now fleed in screams and terror, fearing that he had stopped to collect any one of them.

Instead, he simply looked up into the night sky. 

"Well, would you look at that?", he said, referencing the tall pale shade floating away from the slums, not too close to where they were now, but not too far.

The Lord of Death looked outside his window and searched. "I don't see anything.", he finally said, after a few seconds silence.

_Oh don't you?_, the Coachman thought wickedly to himself.

The Reaper began to get annoyed. "Stop hanging around. We need to move. It's almost time."

_Yes, yes it was_, the Coachman thought, and a large grin grew on his face as he woke the horses back into a rush with his whip, Billy the Kid going back to screaming "YEE-HAW! in his ear. 

A very special someone was expected to die tonight. It was a surprise to everyone when the notice came, not least the master in the carriage back there. The Coachman was brought out for several reasons, but above all because this one soul might cause some trouble, as he was not expected to take death lying down.

But that kind of trouble.....well, that was what made this job so good.

________________________________________________________

Finn shook Hen gently, though he was still shaking himself. "Hen", he said, trying to get his attention.

It did'nt work, so he shook him harder. "HEN!", he shouted. This got a response. Hen turned to face him, though his expression did'nt change.

Finn stared at him, then asked "What happened?"

A moment, and then Hen back to the church, and lowered his eyes and sense and memory returned to him. "It.....It just left", he said, "It went back, and it flew away, through the roof. It's just....gone."

Finn thought about asking why, then realised he could'nt possibly know the answer. He slumped down to the ground, still in shock, then he realised- "The kids.", he said.

"What?", Hen asked.

"The kids!", Finn exclaimed. "If Gregory is.....is dead"- he did'nt want to think about that sight for a while- "then what happened to the kids?"

"Maybe I can answer that", a new voice called out from the dark. Finn and Hen both jumped to alert, and a hooded figure appeared at the altar. 

"Who are you?", Finn demanded.

"I'm the welcoming party," the mage said, and new figures emerged from the shadows. Tall, brutal looking figures, filled with scars and menacing weapons. It was Draygon's ambush.

"The children were taken as payment. Gregory lost you three, and so he owed us something in return for his life. My master Draygon will find something for them. But it appears we will get what we came for after all."

Finn smirked at this, and he and Hen quickly opened the unsealed door. But they were only welcomed by more men, a dozen or more, all as fierce and bloodthirsty as the ones indoors.

Finn tried to Charm them, but it did'nt have any effect. "I'm a senior mage of the Guild, Mr Finn," Balthazaar said, scaring him slightly that he knew his name. "And I prepared the men for that. You just are'nt good enough, servant of Eros."

Finn thought about making a run for it, but there was no where to turn, ugly brutes everywhere. Hen tried it anyway, tried to force, or maybe jump his way through, but he was quickly knocked down, hard....and he dropped his urn, which smashed on the ground. 

_Shit!_, Finn thought to himself, before a massive fist punched him in the head. He dropped his own urn and saw it smash too, before black unconsciousness took him.


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## Platinum (Jan 22, 2011)

With just three golems left they were close to victory. Scorpio appeared back with them. "Okay I lured the three away from here but they will be back any moment now. I have an idea to defeat one, but I will need Archon's help."

"Explain then." Aquarius replied.

"I will need him to distract one of the golems so I can climb upon it's back. I will melt away some of the stone with one of my more acidic poisons to create a weak spot which he will then use to blow the golem to pieces."

"Sounds like a good plan to me" Archon replied.

"Now Aquarius we just need you to take out one of the others. We can finish the third one off together."

"Okay then, give me one of your daggers, I got a plan."

Scorpio reluctantly handed over one of her daggers just as the first two golems came back.

The three quickly sprang into action. Archon kept the first one off balance while Scorpio quickly climbed up its back and got a foothold. Focusing all of her poison into the palm of her hand she quickly corroded part of its shell. "Now!" she screamed while nimbly jumping off the golem. With a powerful telekinetic blast, Archon disintegrated the creature.

While this was going on Aquarius was fighting his own golem. He jumped onto it's shoulders and with all his strength thrust her dagger into it's rocky skin. "Not deep enough". He quickly jumped to it's other shoulder to avoid an attack and then jumped into the air. When he landed he brought his staff down hard on the hilt of the dagger burrowing it in even deeper. He continued hitting the dagger until it was in deep enough, past the magical layer of protection on the beasts skin that prevented his liquefaction from working. He channeled his power into the blade and liquefied the golem from the inside out. And with one last swing of his staff at the golem the whole thing fell apart. Aquarius retrieved Scorpio's dagger from the slurry.

When the third golem arrived it fell just like the others beneath their combined attacks.

With that done they were ready to face the rest of the surviving cultists. But there were none, they were all killed by a mysterious asian man. It looked like for now the battle was over.


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 22, 2011)

Marcone watched as the last of the golems and cultists fell, and turned to Kong. "How much longer?"

"One Minute", said the larger man bending over a cylinder like device. "Timer will be set up for three minutes, giving us enough time to get down and away from the blast."

"Or so I hope at least."

"Yes...well, that's why we got the girls and other employees out before this whole mess started...we'll have noone falling behind."

Marcone nodded and looked out the window again, only this time to see massive sand storm erupting for not far away. _You should be running My love_ said the voice of Lady Luck inside his head _The foolish Warleader is spending his power...leave his fate to the explosion_

Marcone nodded and then said "Once your done start heading down to the escape tunnels, and follow us out."

"Us?" said Kong confused. "Your taking those three with us."

"Just out of the city...and then we'll part ways."

"Whatever you say boss."

Marcone sighed and stepped out the door, looking at the storm for a moment. "Consort! do you wish me to engage the storm's controller?" cried Bishamon

"Nay Bishamon, return to my sword," said Marcone and the ghost nodded before dissolving into mist. 

"As for you three, come with me, I doubt you wish to face the leader of the cult head on."

"Where exactly are we going then?" asked Scorpio offhandidly.

"Out of the city...just come ."

_________________________________________________________________

Warleader Seti Machmud stood in the center of the sandstorm as it moved down the street. Rage emanated from him as he walked, and sand now encompassed his body. 

So the golems and those who followed him into battle had failed. They had failed to take down four people, one of them a old man. It appeared that this cult was filled with nothing but simpering weaklings then. He thought back to Rashid, lying unconcious in a heap at the mouth of an alley. The fool had tryed to stop him from going out....had said that a goddess walked in the shadow of the old man. Had said not to throw his life away. The Warleader had smashed Rashid's face against the wall for his cowardess. 

He then thought of the High priest called Ahmed, and how he had begged him to not enter stray into the Coachman's path. The old fool had rambled on about how even Set himself couldn't match The Coachman's power, and he had done so until his men had carried him off screaming.

Warleader Machmud sneered, such utter cowardise...how was it that he was the only one among Set's followers that had a spine. No matter when they were done this day, he would grow a new army, one that was fit to follow Set.

The Lucky's Man appeared before him, and Set spat on the ground at the sight of it. Bodies of his cult and remains of his golems littered the ground around...but no one else was there. The sand storm around roared with rage at this, and the Warleader coul almost feel the buildings shake from the wind. 

"Where you cowards! did you flee, like you simpering dogs you are!" he roared with rage and the wind picked up, the buildings arund him rattled, and a moment later as he stretch out his hand, the entire front wall of the Lucky Man's Club was torn foward. 

The Wind died as he surveyed the two story club, and then he strode forward. Sand battered the insides, and what little lighting was obscured. he looked at the poles and the dancing areas. and then looked at the bar...where a large device lay with a timer. 

5
4
3
2

"No..." roared Warleader Machmud as the bomb clicked down to 1 and then 0. 

The resulting explosion was massive as it traveled far up the street, Vaporising much of everything close to including the club it was sitting in. The street itself was scorched and blackened, and the same could be said for several other buildings.

However the Warleader still stood there afterwords, his darting around in horror. He would forever remain in that spot, even after he finally did die, as some sort of horrid monument. The glass prison would hold for quite some time, before some months later, a gang of teenagers would steal it and toss it off of the tallest building in town.


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 22, 2011)

The dead town on the outskirts loomed ahead of them as Marcone made his way out of the exit hatch and looked around. It appeared as if all of his employees had made it through uncscathed. The odd exception was Rocko who had a large gash opened up in his forehead. When he had asked Rocko had replied "Banged my head on the hatch coming out..."

Behind him, Archon, Laker and Scorpio come out of the metal hatch, and looked around surprised. Marcone held back a smile, as most people could walk right over it and not notice it. It certainly appeared that the cult had rode right over the disguised hatch and kept on going. 

"and with this, my time in this city comes to an end..." he said outloud. "We will be heading to Neo Genesis to set up business again. However I will not stop any of you, if you wish to leave."

To his surprise none of them spoke up, though Felicia did fidget a little bit. Turning to the other three however he said. "You on the otherhand, I'll be parting ways with...."

_________________________________________________________________

Treach looked off to his left as a bloodied Ryllandaras came up to him. "Seems you ran into something, a bit out of your league."

Ryllandaras snarled before replying. "You could say that Lord of War....you could say that...though a bomb is hardly a living thing."

Treach nodded slowly before turning back to the city. "Our purpose here is almost over, then it will be time."

"Time...for Set's fall, and our rise." said Ryllandaras his bloodied muzzle turned up in a toothy grin.

_________________________________________________________________

Set grinned madly again, and Enigma didn't need to hear Chachamaru telling him, that his power was rising again.

Set roared once more and a rain of lightning came down from the sky, Enigma teleported them all away just as the cluster hit. A moment later they appeared behind the god, Enigma aiming a mace at Set's head. 

A great shadow claw erupted from the ground grabbing all three as they appeared though, and through them up in the air. Set's grin widened, as the cloud's got darker, and then started to descend and form into something else.

The twister enveloped the party entirely and Set could hear them screaming inside.


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## masamune1 (Jan 22, 2011)

*The Lords of Darkness- Part 1*

The battle had moved to a wide and large open square surrounded by low story buildings, many of which had not escaped the carnage of the last few days. They were in the centre of Pandemonium now, the Devil’s Square, and from the way the battle was going, thought Victor Knight as he struggled against the twisting wind and the shadowy grip of the darkness, it seemed like a fitting place to be.

Reaching deep within himself, drawing strength from the sheer hatred he held for the Butcher and his will to live to see him die, Enigma managed to pry open the dark hand and teleport out of the tornado with Kent; Chachamaru, meanwhile, used the opportunity to bring out her jets and fly out of the top, where she morphed her arms into miniature rocket launchers, unleashing a barrage of explosive death on the Egyptian god. From a safe distance, Ed and Enigma stared in awe, but when the smoke cleared, Set still stood, smirking at the girl.

“Very impressive”, Set shouted up to his would-be killer. “Especially for a soulless doll.”

Chachamaru’s eyes widened in rage at this, and she flew straight at the Lord of Chaos for a hand to hand fight. She punched, punched, kicked and punched again, but her fists and feet simply met sand, Sets body seemed to be made of it; but worse  still, the sand was getting tougher . Even for Chachamaru and her phenomenal strength, Set was too powerful, a fact he demonstrated when he grabbed her last kick, and threw her with force towards her teammates. She spun and rolled hard against the ground, and struggled to get to her feet. 

Scowling, Victor Knight teleported behind the enemy and unleashed a set of dark spikes from the ground. Set,  without turning, stopped them in mid-air, exercising his authority as the Lord of Darkness. At that same moment, Set used Knights own innate darkness to levitate him, and throw him back to his companions, where he too hit the ground hard. 

He wanted them all in one place. His power was renewed, and the smirk on his face showed that he now meant to play with them, enjoy their suffering before destroying them for giving him such trouble. Enigma worried about how he got so much stronger, if Aquarius and Archon and that girl failed to stop the cultists’ raid on Marcone’s, or if something happened to Finn or Hen.

Or- and perhaps he feared this most of all- he wondered if the forces of Set had penetrated the Butchers Den, killed Draygon….and robbed him of his revenge.

Set’s eyes moved over Enigma, still on his knees; then to Chachamaru, barely off of hers….and then swept back over Victor to Ed, where they came to rest.

Set raised his hands outward at stomach level, like a humble prophet of the end, and made his invitation. “What’s wrong, Mr Kent? Are you the only coward in this little band?”

Unnerved that Set somehow knew his name- perhaps another sign of his growing strength, Ed nervously and slowly marched out to fight a god. An angry low snarl of “No!” from Knight was ignored, while the girl- maybe more badly injured than he realised-just stared wide-eyed at this recklessness.

Ed move closer until only a hundred yards separated him from the evil deity, then stopped, and looked directly at him. Set watched back, his hands at his sides, no expression on his face, his shirt blowing in the sandy wind, then he closed his eyes and cracked his neck. Ed braced himself and readied his shields, but must have realised Set wasn’t going to give him the chance to fight. He lured him out as a lamb to the slaughter. “Foolish boy”, said Set as he opened his eyes, “You should have been a coward.” 

Purple-blue lightning crackled in his right hand, and he aimed it at the kid, and Knight knew his shields wouldn’t save him from death. He prepared to try once last desperate teleport, though he knew Set could now control that too, when he sensed it as soon as Set did. 

Instead of frying Edward on the spot, Set widened his eyes, and turned to look behind him, the moment before two great streams of flame lit up the ground. The first, a bright eldritch green, stood a height with the nearest buildings, but it was dwarfed by the second, a towering stream of flaming darkness; an awesome illumination. 

As Set stared, furious it seemed, at the two walls of roasting flame, a glowing set of Egyptian symbols- nine in all, laid out three by three, manifested under his feet, and fury turned to outright terror. Enigma surmised the situation immediately as he saw that a powerful magic was being made to work here, and he guessed that this was a sealing of some kind.

Eyes now blazing, Set turned back to face Ed, though he seemed to only be searching for the sorcerer in question. At that very moment, a black tendril reached out from outside the hieroglyphs and grabbed his left wrist; a second later, another reached out and grabbed at his right, before he had the chance to struggle. Two more tendrils wrapped around his knees, pulling him down on them, and yet more came and wrapped his chest and his neck, while the first two pulled his hands together and connected like tight handcuffs. 

Set was cowed by his own power, and Enigma could barely believe it. The Lord of Darkness was not yet at full power, but he was mighty enough that he must now control utterly his own realm. But someone had now shown even greater mastery of darkness than its own god, and even used it to bind him. Victor did not think it was Erebus, and instead his thoughts turned to the Erebus impostor. Somehow, he knew it was him, though he never suspected that such a man was stronger in darkness than Set himself. Indeed, he had thought that it must have been one of Sets own blessed followers, for the only real outcome of that trickery was to awaken the Desert Lord.

But it seemed both Knight and Set had been pawns of an even more powerful player. And when Enigma looked out to the fires, he could see that player emerging out of the air. And he knew him immediately.


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## masamune1 (Jan 23, 2011)

*The Lords of Darkness- Part 2*

Set raged as he struggled against the shadow bindings that held him to the ground. Once again, the day of his resurrection had seen another setback, as if fate let him out only to toy with him. His cult was pathetic, his powers were erratic, and his rise heralded the rampage of the Coachman in this cursed city. 

And now? Now he had been bound by someone wielding his own power! And no matter how hard he tried, he could not even begin to command the darkness holding him down. At five seals, he should now have been strong enough that only a handful of individuals could match his strength in it, and fewer still overpower him so easily.

Set wondered if Erebus was responsible for this. Had the Elder God truly reached out from his world of apathy just to put him back in his box? Was his opponent tonight to be the very personification of the Darkness itself?

_No such luck, I?m afraid,_ a mocking voice echoed in his head. A voice he knew and loathed with every fibre of his being.

His bindings loosened enough to allow Set to look over to his right, as a man emerged out of nothing and calmly, and patiently, walked towards him. 

The dark man was dressed in black head to toe, in the Victorian style. He wore a long black frock coat over black trousers, and a white shirt and crimson red waistcoat, with a silk puff tie of the same colour to complete the outfit, a small black gemstone knitted into it. He carried a black cane with a golden top in his left hand- though, mind, he was ambidextrous- but he seemed to have left his top hat back in the slime pit he crawled out of. 

William Joseph Magear, Lord Mayor and Founder of Pandemonium, happily walked up to the god he imprisoned near on a decade ago without an ounce of fear, for he had just repeated the feat. The hair on his balding head was still as black as the day he had locked Set away, as was his beard. He was still not slim, though he really only had a bit of a tummy, despite the obese caricatures that worked their way into the papers, and that belied his surprising agility and fighting prowess, though that was put to shame by his sorcerous abilities. Truth be told, he hadn?t aged a day, not even a trace of a wrinkly appeared on his face, still he had the look of a man in his 40?s. 

Magear came to a stand just a few feet away from the Lord of so many things, and rested his hands on his cane. And if Set could break free for only two seconds, he would have used them to instantly cut the bastards smirking head off. 

?Here I am wandering the streets of my fair city, taking in the beautiful scenery?, Magear said, gesturing to all the senseless destruction, ?and what should I find??. He leaned in closer, barely out of arms reach, ?I find my pet snake, slithering around like he owns the place.?

?Untie these chains, you cretin coward, and this snake will tear your stomach open?, Set threatened his captor.

?Oh, don?t worry, I?ll let you go. Why shouldn?t I? After all?, and here he came in even closer, within the binding glyphs, ?I?m the one who let you out in the first place.?

Sets? mortal eyes grew wide at this. ?What? Why??, he asked, and before Magear could answer, ?Could it be that you?ve given up in life??, he mocked back.

?No Set?, Magear replied, now standing upright outside the seal again. ?I?ve just got no more use for you.?

Sets rage threaten to boil over, but he could do nothing about it. ?What did you just say?, he said, in a low tone filled with malice.

?`You built this city with my power`, isn?t that what you said to me??, Magear  continued, ignoring the threat, and referencing the event a few days prior when his astral form reached into William?s bedroom. ?I don?t think you appreciate the full gravity of the situation.

?You see, Set?, he carried on, ?It?s true I raised a few buildings with your?.`divine` essence (_sic_), but I?ve also been using you to keep the lights on, the water flowing , and the fires burnin?. You see, a god, is like a giant battery-bunny. They just keep going, and going, and going, and going.?

?All this time?you were still draining me?, said Set, in a surprisingly stoic manner. ?That?s why I?ve been struggling against these three?, and he gestured with his head towards an unmoving Ed, who had been watching all this, an unsafe distance from it and another from his allies. ?My power hasn?t fully restored yet, even with the seals broken.?

?Correct?, the Lord Mayor said.

Set smiled inward. _If that?s all, you are dead man. My power will restore quickly. Even now, I feel it,_ Set thought to himself, and he squeezed his hand tight, testing his new strength. _I just have to keep you talking, old man._

?And then there?s the other thing?, Magear went on.

That shocked Set, ?What other thing??, he demanded impetuously.

Magear let out a gentle sigh, and then gave a small smile. ?Well, all of this, it was part of an arrangement we had made. An old friend of yours thinks you have something that belongs to him, and we, the Oneiroi, were obliged to get it back.?

William Magear then took a few safe steps back, leaving his cane standing just outside the seal.?Oneiroi? Arrangement? What are you blathering about? Answer me, mortal!?, Set demanded of the mayor.

 ?Come now, little child?, the Lord Mayor said. ?Whoever said I was mortal??

Set stared blankly at this last question, and did not notice the swirling darkness gathering behind him. Then he heard the footsteps- heavy, strong, the sound and weight of a great heavy creature.  He felt him as he heard it, and for the first time in his life Set was frozen with fear. They stopped at his back, and he knew what was over him.

He glanced at the boy, still terribly close to the fight, and as he looked upon his horrified face he reach out with his mind and looked through his eyes, to see the monster standing behind him. It had taken a smaller form, but that form could hardly be called ?human? though it stood on two legs. Standing a full 12 feet tall, wearing a torn sleeveless jacket that reached down to it?s knees, the creature resembled a hideous reptile, a lizard or some kind of evil snake, and it looked down upon the god with dead, soulless eyes, behind which was only icy cold hatred.

?On your face, little worm?, the Great Leviathan ordered Set, and when he did not the black chains pulled him down anyway. His human face was pressed on it?s right cheek, but still he saw through Kent the nightmare that was unfolding. 

Rahab picked up the black cane that William Magear had left behind, and in his hands it transformed into a long, black, evil looking spear, so giant it looked big even in the monsters giant hands. It was big enough that it?s tip was nearly as big as a human skull. 

As he looked out to the city Set saw, in the distance, but not so far, a green horse-drawn carriage slowly pull up to watch the unfolding events. Even from here he could make out the mad grin of the Coachman and his cowboy partner, and could feel the cold excitement of his master from within. The carriage door slowly opened, showing an inviting blackness inside. 

Rahab raised the great weapon high above his head, exclaimed ?The King is dead?, and brought down the spear smashing into Sets neck, obliterating the head. Sets spirit escaped his human host, but was sucked into the vortex that was the open door of that terrible carriage, and though he snatched and clawed at the ground his spectral form was swiftly drawn in and shut inside with Death, and the Coachman pulled at his horses and fled back to whence he came with his quarry.

Sets power of Storms, Darkness and Chaos rushed through the welcoming veins of its old master, and the evil demon took a moment to stare into the eyes of the stupid human boy gawking at the scene. A hideous smile grew on his monstrous lips, and he said ?Long Live the King?, before vanishing in the darkness.


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## masamune1 (Jan 23, 2011)

*The Lords of Darkness- Epilogue*

Like his friends watching from the sidelines too far away to do any good, Edward Kent had fallen to his knees in the face of the tremendous events to which he had just borne witness. The god Set, an evil force of nature he had tried to fight and stood no chance at all against, had been so casually defeated by a mysterious man who stepped out from another era. He had then been killed by some kind of horrid monster that Ed dearly hoped he would never lay eyes on again, and the nightmarish Coachman had fled at his death, and Ed knew right away that he had been in the city to collect his soul.

Yet in the aftermath of all this magical mayhem, of gods dying and new ones born, of monsters and demons and sorcerers and ghosts, it was still one thrown away word that whispered in his head, a nonsensical name that he had heard only twice or thrice before and had been wiped from his mind, but now drew his attention to the dark man still standing off to his left.

_Oneiroi._

All he knew of this word was that it could lead him to his missing sister, and this god-killing tyrant in front of him seemed to hold the answers. As he wondered to himself whether he had the courage to question this evil magician, now simply looking down at the spot where Set was once chained, lost in his own thoughts, the answer swirled into being next to the despot.

The mage had teleported to this location to make his report, and he gave a low bow. “My Lord Mayor, we have captured Hen and Finn.”

Ed grew even angrier at this, though he could still only stare hard at the two men such a distance away, so near yet so far; he did not think to wonder how he heard them, or notice that the dark man was letting him listen in in his head. Farther off to the side, Chachamaru took in a shocked breath, and she explained to Enigma what her superhuman hearing had picked up.

“Hmm.”, said the master of the city rather dismissively, still staring at the smoking spot. 

The mage endured the silence nervously for a few seconds, then said “My Lord, what do we do now?”

Magear closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. “We do as we will, as always,” he replied rather cryptically. He then turned his head to notice Ed, and said to the mage, “It seems you have a fan, Balthazaar.” 

Balthazaar turned to meet the furious eyes of Edward Kent, now standing on his feet, staring back at the bastard who abducted his sister all those years ago. Balthazaars’ eyes narrowed, and he muttered to himself, ”The boy from Scrapheap.”, not knowing Ed could hear it in his mind.

“So it is”, Magear said, and then raised his hand to his mouth to shout to him. “Edward! How are you doing? Do you want to talk to us?”

_No, I want to beat answers out of you_, Edward thought, and he could feel his power growing with his rage.

_Is that so?_, Magears voice spoke in his head, and then Balthazaar spoke; he hadn’t taken his eyes off of Kent. “Do you want me to take him too, my Lord?”, he asked the mayor.

“No”, Magear said, “I’ll take him myself”, and he pointed one finger and cocked his thumb, much like a gun, put it to the back of the mage’s head, and flicked it back. Balthazaar’s brains splattered all over the ground.

“….no…..NO!”, Ed screamed as his best lead died, but Magears’ voice laughed in his head, and he could hear him as he spoke. “Relax, Ed. You don’t need him to find your answers.”

Ed looked up at the mayor of Pandemonium as he strolled along Devil’s Square, stopping at the spot Set stood before he was chained and killed. They now stood eye to eye, one hundred yards apart. Further off than that, Enigma said, “Whats that idiot doing? I need to get him out of there.”

“There is a huge amount of magical energy coming from that man”, Chachamaru said first. “Some of it is like yours, but stronger. I don’t think that would work,”

Victor scoffed and looked back at Magear. He knew he was a powerful mage, everyone in the know heard how he somehow managed to imprison Set. But even so, Knight never expected him to be _this_ strong, to defeat Set, even a weakened Set, so casually, when he and Ed and this robot girl near-suicidally failed. They might have lived, but the way things were going he wasn’t sure that things hadn’t gotten a lot worse.

Ed stared hard at the smirking man in the dark Victorian suit, who seemed to have all the answers. “Who are you?”, he finally asked.

“I have many names, Mr Kent”, the dark man replied. “William Magear, the King in Red….but among the Oneiroi, and tonight, you may know me as The Devil.”

Ed could well believe he was, but he also was a man with answers. “Where is my sister?”, Ed demanded.

A look of what seemed like genuine sorrow fell over The Devil’s face, and he said to Ed at last, “I’m sorry. Your sister….Is no longer in this world.”

Ed stood dumbfounded at what the demon had just said, and felt white hot fury turn into raw power. He gathered up a huge amount of cosmic energy to himself, more-even- than he used to break the _Gibraltar,_ and unleashed it at this evil man. The huge explosion pushed him further back, but his shields managed to hold up, though Enigma had to teleport himself and Chachamaru back further to the roof of one of the buildings.  Many others were shaken to their foundations, and collapsed, and a giant belching smoke cloud rose out from the target, climbing higher even than Magears’ still burning walls of flame. 

Ed was floating now above the ground slightly, raised by the energies he now commanded, but he fell to the ground and onto his hands and knees, and he started to cry. That was it, then- his sister was dead, and he would get no answers.

_Things never go well for you, do they Ed?_, said the voice in his head.

Ed looked up in utter disbelief. The great black smoke cloud began to clear away, and steam from the blast was smoking the wing of a great black dragon, it’s red eyes tired and great form, head to tail several yards in length, rising 20 feet in the air even from it’s current crouching position.

The dragon raised it’s great black wing and William Magear calmly stepped out. He then turned around as the dragon lowered his wing, and moved to inspect the damage. He laughed, and turned back to Ed as the dragon vanished as it appeared- in a puff of smoke.

“Not so much as a scratch, Ed”, the Mayor said, then took a few steps closer before stopping to say, a cruel smile on his lips, “Is that really the best you can do?”  

Enraged further, but anger now backed by desperate fear, Ed gather up more energy and blasted the dark man again, this attack even stronger, pushing his limits to the brink. The Devil simply raised up one hand to catch it in a great ball of blackness, which vibrated and burned as Ed poured energy into it. He spent it up, and Magear lowered his hand, the energy absorbed by the vanished black orb.

Ed got angry again and decided to break his face with his hands, but as he prepared to ran the Mayor vanished and reappeared right in Ed’s face, covering the whole hundred yards at incredible speed. He grabbed Ed by the back of the neck, and pulled him into a hard knee, which knocked the wind out of him. He punched him in the stomach for good measure, then gave him a high kick that took him off his feet.

Chachamaru flew into the air and prepared to fire a machine gun arm, but Magear simply waved his hand and multiple rifts appeared in the sky behind her, and great dark tentacles of some alien monster reached out from beyond to grab her.

Enigma teleported twice to get to her, and they vanished together in safety, for he saw they stood no chance, and that Magear wanted Ed alive. The mayor waved the sky monster back from whence it came, and looked down at the broken, exhausted body of Edward Kent, who was fast fading out of consciousness. The Devil smirked, and summoned the darkness to envelop them, and when it was gone so were they.


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## masamune1 (Jan 23, 2011)

*The Ghost, The Faerie, and The Devil-Part 1*

A hard fist smashed into the face of the former Masked Bandit with the fiery hair. The dimly lit room, with it's bare walls and floors of darked grey stone, resembled nothing but a medieval torture chamber, and right now the owner felt obliged to honour the spirit of that.

Draygon stalked his pathetically weak victim like a great jungle cat as he futily attempted to drag himself away by hands towards the wall on the other side, trying simply to put some distance- and distance- between himself and his merciless jailer. Barely ten minutes had passed and already he had suffered numerous bruises and fractures; his nose, lips, hands and chest all bled and he struggled to breath, and it was clear to him that both legs were broken. 

Draygon had had this one- his name was Fox-, brought to him first, before he started, and offered him the chance to leave if, and only if he et him in hand to hand combat. It seemed he was not up to the challenge. He would make the same offer to the next one too, and the next, though with them the fight would work double as an interrogation, because he knew some of them had information that he wanted, information that he thirsted for- the whereabouts of Victor Knight, the so called Phantom of the Slums, and the only man Draygon seemed destined to have to kill for a second time.

This one, though, knew nothing and he knew it. He wasn't here to answer questions- this was just a warm up.

But it seemed the weakling couldn't even serve that purpose either. 

Draygon spat on the ground, walked up to the broken enemy, and stamped his foot hard into his spine, probably breaking it. Fox's chilling scream echoed throughout the Fortress, and then the baby even started to weep. Disgusted, Draygon left the room, and then instructed the guard outside to ?Get rid of that?, then he made his way back towards the dungeons.

Time for the questioning to begin.

____________________________________________________


Finn groggily awoke in a cold, dark cell of stone which barely had the room for the two occupants it held. His hands were chained behind his back like his cell mate, and both of them sat in a pile of dirt wet straw, which seemed to pass for their bedding.

Hen sat slumped to Finns' right still unconscious, a large black right eye painted on his face. He didn't want to imagine how he himself looked. He was sore, he was thirsting, and he seemed to be a captive of a man called Draygon the Butcher, a name that didn't exactly fill him with confidence that things were about to get any better. It was a mercy for him that he had forgotten about the evil spirit the two of them encountered in that church. 

Finn managed to sit as upright as he could, and then looked around to assess the situation. There wasn't even a bucket, which meant either their jailers didn't care about their hygienic well being, or they didn't expect them to be held there very long, neither of which was a pleasant thought. He looked out the small barred window on the door but could make out only a faint light, then stretched his neck as he looked around the rest of his cell.

Thats when he noticed they were not alone.  

Standing mute in the right hand corner, mere inches away from Finn himself, a freakish looking guard stared blankly at the wall. He was of average height and slim build, and wore a long black hooded cloak, his hands invisible under the long wide sleeves. 
And on his face, he wore a plain white mask, with small openings for his eyes, nose and mouth, which seemed to hide nothing but pitch darkness.

If the guard noticed that Finn was awake and looking at him, his actions betrayed nothing of it. He just continued standing to attention, staring at the wall almost as if he were a statue. Finn didn't think he was the talkative kind and doubted pleading to be let out would do any good.....but he also thought that mage didn't seem to be around, so he decided to try something a little more powerful.

Finn exercised his power, and this got the Sentinels attention. He turned his head slowly around and looked down at the prisoner staring back into his empty eyes....something that actually unnerved Finn. But he fought for his courage, and said to the guard ?Let us out?.

But the guard just continued to stare. He did not obey the command, and suddenly Finn felt a deep sense of unease looking at this man. 

After a few moments, the guard turned back to the wall, and simply walked right through the door. 

_Literally_, he walked through a closed door. 

After staring at the closed exit in silence for a few moments where the apparition had just waltzed out, Finn managed to find his voice. 

?Huh?, he said.


____________________________________________________


Ed sat crouched like an eagle in his lonely cell, the only other occupant an unconscious girl lying chained to the wall in the far left in a dirty bed, though the chains were mercifully long enough she could move her arms, which was more than he could say.

But broken, defeated, and here in this evil place, Ed didn't really have much to do apart from sitting around in the darkness anyway. His friends were gone, the Mayor had beaten him....and his sister was dead. That last truth still twisted him like a knife in his heart, and he wondered if she had been dead for a long time, and he hadn't been chasing a ghost al these months, or years. In all honesty, that might be easier to take.

The cell door opened, and Ed angrily eyed the Devil as he waltzed in and placed a stool on the ground about a foot away, still dressed in the same clothes far as Ed could see. He sat down, spread his knees, clasped his hands, and smiled.

?So?, said William Magear, ?Lets have a chat?.


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## masamune1 (Jan 23, 2011)

*The Ghost, The Faerie and The Devil- Part 2*

Mask woke up alone in a filthy cell chained to a wall, a lamp on a table in the corner providing decent enough light to let his see all the dry piss, dirt and blood splattered all over the bricks.

The door was shut, and the shadow of a guard could be made outwith, but dire though the situation looked  his room had one redeeming feature- the girl sitting on the stool in front of him.

Elbow on knee and black leather gloved hand on her face, the girls smile went from small to big as she saw him awake and regain his senses. “Hello there”, she said in a pleasant, pretty voice.

Mask stared back at her and returned her politeness, “Hello to you to”, he said, as thoughts filthier than the cell crept into his mind.

“My name is Melony.”, she said, and clasped her hands together in front of her. “I'm your sister”.

The thoughts didn't budge. He took in what she said, and then said, “Sister....right. Well, if you're my sister”, and he raised up his chained arms, which were in front of him “Wanna let me out of here?”

Melony just continued to smile at him, and he lowered his hands. The girl looked to be in her twenties, and wore a black hooded duffel coat of cotton. Underneath she wore a shirt, a blue waistcoat and black trousers, with black leather heels on her feet. She had long blonde hair and a mischievous twinkle in her eye, with a hint of coldness and cruelty. 

Mask sighed, and said “Alright, sis. What do you want to talk about?”  

Melony just looked back at him, her smile fading slightly, and then said “You really don't remember anything, do you?”

Mask looked back her for a moment, then replied honestly “No....No I don't.”

“I've been to your little hideout before I came here. I saw those masks of yours. You are so....fractured”, she said, waving her hand as she searched for the word. It's like you broke your own potential into dozens of pieces, just to hide from us. Now that”, she said, raising a finger, “that was impressive.”

She lowered her finger, and clasped her hands again,and looked him dead in the eye. “And whats more,I can't even see inside your head”.

Mask had no idea what this crazy witch was talking about, but in the back of his mind someone was pressing a button, repeatedly. He ignored it, and asked “If you're really my sister, whats my real name?” 

“Myles”, she said without hesitation. “Myles Dorian”.

Mask looked back at this woman as she answered the question that had plagued him for as long as he could remember, then he finally said “You've got to be kidding me.”

She wasn't smiling any more, but her eyes passed through him and she appeared lost in thought.

Their silence was then interrupted when the door was unlocked and opened, and two tall brutes came in and threw Fox to the ground. Melony turned her head to look at him with unfeeling eyes, eyes, as if he were a minor curiosity while she pondered bigger things. Mask, though, looked at his broken body in horror, and his low moans in anguish. 

“It looks like Draygon has finished playing with his toy”, Melony muttered.

Mask turned back and stared at her in terror _Draygon? This was Draygon's place?_, he thought terrified to himself.

Melony turned her head stared back at him with narrow eyes.  She gave a dismissive “Hmph.”, and stood up and walked out while the guard took the stool. 

Mask screamed at them both as the left the room “Where's the girl we were with?!”, he demanded. No answer, and the door shut tight. 

_”Let me out of here!”_, he screamed, but heard them all walk away.

Mask slumped his back against the wall in shock, and turned to look as Fox again. He was barely alive, with blood and broken bones evident, and with Draygons' reputation Mask feared he had endured the wrath of the Butcher himself. And he was dying- somehow, Mask knew that too.

But selfish a thought as it was, Mask- or Myles Dorian- had a knot in his stomach that told him Fox was still the lucky one. He had an ominous feeling that his own impending nightmare was going to be far, far worse.


----------



## masamune1 (Jan 23, 2011)

*The Ghost, The Faerie and The Devil- Part 3*

The Devil sat in front of Ed and said "I feel I owe you an apology, Edward. You seem to have misunderstood me last night. 

"Edward", he said, coming in closer, "your sister is not dead."

Ed had chosen to stare hard at the floor soon after Magear had sat down, not having the stomach to look at him. But these words jerked him to life, and his head snapped up to attention. "What?", he quickly said.

"In all fairness, I never told you she was", said the Mayor, waving his hands apologetically. "All I said was that she was no longer in this world. But I never said anything about her being _dead."_

Ed continued to stare at the dark man before him, then fumbled to his senses. "Wait...What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Magear's eyes narrowed and the smallest smile crept onto his lips. He leaned in and stared at the ground, and began his explanation. "You have seen gods, demons and avatars upon this journey of yours, so this should not be hard to accept. No, it should be easy, since you've already met that girl." He unclasped his hands, and unfolded magical threads with his fingers. "The world you know, we call it The Ruin, as well you can understand with the events of the Apocalypse. But there are others, a number of worlds running parallel with this, cut across dimensions. This is the scale the Oneiroi work on, and it puts us beyond even many gods."

He raised his eyes to look back at Ed, "Your sister is safe, safe in another world. We took her away from this place,; and your job, Edward Kent,", he said, now pointing his finger, "will be to travel across dimensions, across the barriers of time and space, to search for her. And in so doing, you will fulfill your destiny."

Edward listened to this, and then asked "And what is my destiny?"

The Devil smiled and said, "To save them."

Ed gave a blank reply, so the Devil went on. "This world", he said, "is the epicentre of a catastrophe. The Apocalypse, you see, was not confined to here; the cracks have spread out to the other dimensions, some worse of the rest, but all in danger. Time, itself, is breaking, and one day soon, in the not too distant future, so will all of these.

"You, Edward, you and your new found friends, you are the key. You have the powr to change all of this. There is a solution out there; forgotten somewhere in the multiverse, the one thing that can repair all the damage.

"You will find it, Ed, find it and free it. That is your role."  

Ed looked down at the floor and thought about all this. He was wrong- he _did_ have trouble believing it. Not because he hadn't seen stranger things, but because he didn't trust this man. 

He could accept that his sister was alive- of course, he could hardly help himself there; he could believe in alternate universes- after all, isn't that where Chachamaru came from?; he could even, bar his sense of modesty, being but a kid from a lost town in the Wastes, believe that he and the people he met were meant to save them, and at the state of this world he could readily believe they might need saving.

But what he didn't believe, what he could'nt, was that this man was only interested in saving worlds.

This man...He had looked this man in the eye, and he didn't like what he saw. Nothingness. Great, black, empty nothingness, the kind of emptiness of feeling that allows a man to wipe out entire towns, run a city built on death, abduct children, and play peoples' lives like a musical instrument. Whatever "destiny" this man had in mind for him, it was not about saving worlds. It was too easy to believe; something far more sinister was afoot.

He knew the Mayor was baiting him for more questions, so he obliged. "Who are the Oneiroi?"

"Wrong question, Ed", he replied. "I won't be telling you that quite yet."

He remembered something Magear said last night , "The King in Red....You said you were the King in Red. I've heard of them. Is that who they are? The other Kings?"

A small laugh. "Nice try. But no. We are much bigger than them. But that'd be a good place to start, don't you think?"    

The cell door opened, and a blonde haired girl in black entered. She tapped Magear gently on the shoulder, and he opened his hands again. "Our time is up, it seems", and he got up and made for the door, though the girl stayed behind, looking down at him.  

"Are you going to let me out?", Ed said. He did'nt think he could do much questing in these chains.

"Earn your happy ending.", The Devil said over his shoulder, and then stopped and turned around, and then he walked out the door. 

The girl walked up to Ed and crouched down in front of him, put both her gloved hands on his face, and kissed him. 

That.....was surpising.

She pulled back, then traced a finger through his hair. "I guess.....you and me are family, then?"

Ed gave her a perplexed look, then she explained, with a smirk, "I'm the one looking after her."

Anger rose inside Ed, but his powers did not respond. He must have burned himself out. "Where is she?", he ordered.

She gave a little laugh, then stood up and left, that evil smirk still on her face.

_"WHERE IS SHE?!"_, he shouted, but she simply left through the door as The Devil had. She did not close the door, and a few seconds later a tall, evil looking brute of a man entered and eyed him, and ordered Ed to be unchained.

"You're turn", Draygon the Butcher said.

_____________________________________________________

The Phantom of the Slums stood outside a great stone fortress on the outskirts of the city. He knew it well enough, and he felt a bloodcurling excitement at the chance to meet it's owner again. 

A 14 year old boy stood next to him, and looked at it more nervously. He was only here because inside was his sister. Somehow, he knew that.

"This is the place?", the Phantom asked the frightened kid.

"Yes", Cyrus Clarke said, "They're all in there."

Enigma looked at the boy, then looked back at the Fortress. He smiled inwardly. _Good_, he thought.


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## SYSC (Jan 25, 2011)

_ 'click

"Quite possible the biggest thing to ever happen in the history of ever. Valen Lurker"

'click

"The greatest musician that ever lived, Valen Lurker... still missing."

'click

"I just dont understand was he kidnapped...did he leave. The world needs to know"

'click

"I think it's a conspiracy, they're trying to silence the music to control the world but without the music the world might as well end"

'click

"Donde esta Valen?!?! DONDE?!?! DONDE?!?!"

_​
Hen opened his eyes blinking and sat up sluggishly, yawning. He tilted his head to his shoulders and felt a blackeye. He then noticed the chains in his wrist

"Crap..." Hen muttered

"Yeah, I know. Apparently this is where Draygon keeps his prisoners" Finn said sitting beside him

"...they stole my shades"

"We could be prisoners here for life, we dont know what has happened to the seals or everyone else. Is that really all you can think about?" Finn questioned

"No, it isn't. Where's my guitar?" Hen asked getting up looking around the cell

"How in the hell am I suppose to know. Why would they allow you to have your guitar" Finn asked

"Where is it!" Hen yelled looking back at Finn

"...I dont know" Finn said

"Listen up!" Hen growled out of the barred window "Know one thing and one thing only who ever's responsible for this I am going to kill you!"


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## Emperor Joker (Jan 25, 2011)

7:30 PM 

*NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! So Close!* The screams echoed out into the desert as the horizon darkened. Treach and Ryllandaras howled with rage as they paced back in forth. The hair stood on as thier anger flared. 

"So close, we were practically right there!" screamed Ryllandaras, his own blood flying from his mouth. "Damn that Leviathan, our reasons for being here were for nothing now....when next we meet I'll be going right for his throat."

"I get the feeling we might just be doing that sooner rather than later...something massive is in the works" Said Treach. 

"Yes...something else is brewing out there...we just need to be there...right Lord of War.

"Indeed."

_________________________________________________________________

Out past the Northern Gates, in a rocky outcropping, a man dressed all in furs lay completely still. Suddenly though he jerked up, and started feeling his face. 

He began to laugh heartilly. "Well played Earthshaker...well played." said Coyote clapping his hands together. "You out maneuvered me you did...I suppose I should return to Rapture...to see your newfound power at work...and to wait on those mortals now in my debt."

_________________________________________________________________

The Coachman left the city that evening via the same gate he entered. that morning. The banshee on top had stopped wailing and now looked down on the two creatures below her. Inside the coach the legion of spirits wailed in torment...all except for two.

"You will be the first that feels my wrath, when I return from this...detour." Set said who strained against the chains that bound him to the seat. 

The Reaper all but snorted. "Death is hardly a detour...and I doubt you'll be returning anytime soon. Your power is all but gone. The domains that you controlled are no longer yours. The little power you have left will die and fade the moment you cross the Styx," he said "So you see, you've gone around the bend...all in the name of vengeance." This time The Reaper did chuckle.

Outside a stone portal rose from the ground in front of the coach. it was sculpted and carved to resemble that of bones, and rubies and jewels glittered at the top. "Going back down." said the Coachman as he reached the portal. "Down, down to that dead town...."

_________________________________________________________________

*Rapture, The Casino of the Gods*


Poseidon, Lord of Earthquakes and Horses...and now the crowned Lord of the Desert, felt the power flow through him. At the same time he knew the Poker Tournament that Mael had orchestrated was coming to an end. He also knew that the time limit for drawing on Rapture's power had passed as well.

None of that mattered though, for he had at least partially succeeded in his plan. True he had not been able to claim either the positions of Storms or Darkness. But in this world The Desert gave massive power.

He clenched his fist and felt the power...yes this would do nicely. He was now just one step closer to taking back his throne from Rahab. 

One down...many more to go.

_________________________________________________________________

Night came to Pandemonium, faster than one would suspect. It came like a burgler, quick and methodical. Perhaps it was the deep shock that had cemented itself into the residents, as most didn't notice it.

However below the city Enigma smiled. His power was fast reaching it's peak as the night got longer. looking at Draygon's massive fortress, he couldn't see any noticable weak points from his angle. Meaning there would have to be a noticable distraction for them to get in.

Shifting his gaze to a guardhouse, he counted five...no six guards moving around inside. he also noticed a turret mounted machine gun. 

"Showtime." he said to himself. "Everybody ready..."

The rag tag group behind him collectivly nodded. 

"I'll go first...we need to do this fast. The more time we take here, the more time Draygon can bring in more men...we are operating on a limited time frame here."

"I Believe we already know this," said Chachamaru testily.

"Just making sure your in the correct mindset...as I doubt many of you have ever been in a extraction or strike team before..." he said quietly. "Archon i'm going to need you to take out that turret."

Everyone nodded again, and Enigma made a step outword. "Let's get this started." Stepping foward the darkness contorted and fromed into a small orb. He stopped and threw it, which then soared all the way in and through the window of the guardhouse. "Bang!" his voice rasped, and there a massive crack as the orb exploded, riddling all six guards with shadow formed nails that were seven inches long. Enigma had to duck as several of the nails flew out the window and almost got him.

The turret started to swivel around as this was happening, and was immediantly crushed by the Archon's telekinesis. Almost immediantly an alarm's wail began to sound, and he could hear guards and mercenary's mobilizing. "Grab on everyone...we're within range for me to teleport inside now."

They all did and soon they were gone.


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## masamune1 (Jan 25, 2011)

"Bring 'em in", Draygon called to outside the door.

Ed heard some noise, and two familiar faces were brought in- it was Finn and Hen. They both had bad bruises and looked like hell, but they were alive. That was a relief. 

Ed still stood close to his wall, while the other two were pushed over to the one on his right. He was unchained, but the wall seemed the safest place. He would have felt more exposed without it, as he could be surrounded so easily by these monsters. 

He rubbed his wrists to ease the pain in them from the cuffs, but never took his eyes off the thugs. There were three of them, and probably others outside. All were huge, covered in arcane tattoos, with bodies littered with scars and injuries. One stood at the door, blocking any escape. Another stood near to that one- he was the one who pushed Finn and Hen in. And closest, to Ed's left, stood the leader. He met him shortly after he woke up, before the Mayor had come in. He had said he was Draygon the Butcher. It was a name that meant nothing to Ed, but apparently he was an enemy of the Phantom, and had promised to make them talk. Looked like he was ready to make good on that promise.

Draygon's knuckles were bloody, and from what he just said it looked like he had just tortured some poor soul with them. Ed glanced over to Hen and Finn again, but they didn't have any injuries to justify that kind of beating. So, he must have other prisoners, and he might think they know something about the Phantom too.

Ed looked over at the girl in the corner, and dared a question. "Who is that?"

"Isn't it obvious?", Draygon said. "She's a bitch."

Well, this _was_ a charming fellow.

"Who are you? What do you want?", Finn asked from the side.

"What do I want? I want that bastard Victor Knight back in the ground where he belongs. I want to send that Phantom back to Hell like I did before. And it just so happens, I've had a little chat with old Magear, and it looks like today is a day I get all I want.", he said with an evil grin.

Ed didn't know what he meant by that, but it didn't sound good. "What are you going to do with us?"

"Get my answers", Darygon said. And at that, he started moving towards Ed, violence in his eyes.

And then an alarm rang out. 

The whole room and corridor outset was flooded in a dark red light. Draygon looked up, confused, and a voice crackled over the radio. _"Attention! The Guardhouse is under attack! Attention! The Guardhouse is under attack! Attention!....._

"Well", Draygon said, looking to Ed, then to Finn and Hen, "it looks like I might not be needing you three after all."

The guard next to Finn and Hen used a baton to beat them down, Hen first and Finn second, whacking their legs to break their balance and then beating their back to keep them down. Ed started to move to help them- his powers had still not recovered, or maybe Magear had blocked them somehow- but Draygon was on him with inhuman speed, thrusting a punch into his gut, even harder than the one he got last night, then hit with a hard elbow while he was lowerd, struggling for air. That brought Ed tro the ground, where Draygon gave him a swift kick in the stomach. 

Ed coughed up blood, and feared his internal organs were bleeding. He knew right away he was in serious trouble, and would need medical attention soon. Looking over at Hen and Finn, both on the floor in pain, he could only wonder at whether they were as badly hurt as he was. If the alarm was a rescue attempt, he hoped they had doctors with them.

Draygon left his broken prisoners writhin on the ground, and he and the other two went out the door. It was closed shut, and one man was visible through the bars, still guarding them. Otherwise, and for the girl in the corner, they were alone.


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## Endless Mike (Jan 26, 2011)

*Rapture, the Casino of the Gods*

Poseidon smiled sinisterly as he felt his new power flowing through him. He held his right hand palm - up in front of him, and a miniature tornado of sand materialized. He laughed gleefully, like a child playing with a new toy. He was interrupted, however, by a bright flash of golden light. Turning around, he stared angrily at the interloper.

"Eros." Was all he said, but that was enough to convey his meaning.

"Poseidon." Eros responded in turn.

"What do you want?" The former sea god asked, clenching his fist and making the sand vortex disappear.

"Are you having fun with your new power?" The god of love asked.

Poseidon laughed. "Upset you missed out? Sorry, but as the mortals say, you snooze, you lose."

Eros frowned. "You know that power rightfully belongs to me. I need it for something much more important and less petty than personal glory, which is all you care about."

"Then why don't you take it from me?" Poseidon taunted, standing up. He stretched out his arm and the trident hanging on the nearby wall flew off its mounting and into the god's hand.

"You're one of the most powerful gods in the world today. I remember when you were just a minor deity of little note, and I was one of the Lords of Olympus, but you've been busy, haven't you? You could surely defeat me in combat and take my power." He pointed the Trident at Eros' face, but the love god did not show any change in expression.

"But you won't, will you?" Poseidon put down the trident. "You will never just attack another god to steal their power. It's not your style." The bearded god laughed again. "Take your prophecies of doom elsewhere, your attempt to pretend that you want power for more than your own self - interest isn't fooling anyone."

Eros sighed. "You never learn, do you? Fine, I will go. But first, answer me this: From where did you get your new power?"

"From that Egyptian fool Set, of course. Surely you know this?" Poseidon responded.

"And who was it that defeated Set?"

"The cursed Leviathan."

"Wrong. The Leviathan didn't show up until the battle was already over. I suggest you look further into the events surrounding Set's downfall, and you will see that I am telling the truth." Before Poseidon could respond, Eros vanished again in a flash of golden light.

"Hmpf. Who does that upstart think he is?" Poseidon sat back down and picked up a drink.

*Draygon's Fortress*

"We're going to die here, aren't we?" Asked Finn, still numb from the pain of the wounds he had suffered.

"Don't talk like that," Ed responded. "There's something going on outside, it seems like this place is under attack. It might be a rescue attempt."

"Yeah, and it might be those cultists coming back for another attack, or a monster like that Coachman," Finn said. He buried his head in his hands.

"This Draygon guy, I don't know how, but I can tell that he's not normal. None of us stand a chance against him. When I tried to touch his mind, I found nothing but rage and hate, but beneath that, something even more horrible that I couldn't even describe. It scared me, it seemed to say that everything is hopeless - we're all going to die."

"That's not the attitude to have," Ed said. "We'll get out of here, trust me."

"I wish I could," Finn replied, still deep in melancholy. "Chachamaru... I might never see her again...."

"Hah, I knew it! She is your girlfriend!" Hen butted in. He immediately regretted it as Finn hit him with a stare so cold, angry, and serious that he didn't even need to apply his power.

"*SHUT. UP.*" He said, in a more heavy and ferocious voice than either of them had ever heard him speak. Hen, cowed by this sudden display, meekly complied. Ed, however, felt like pursuing the matter - he had to try to distract Finn from his depression somehow.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" He asked.

Finn looked at him angrily, but his harsh stare soon dissolved into a forlorn expression.

"Yes," he said, barely audible.

"You keep insisting she's not your girlfriend," Ed continued.

"She's not, but... I wish she was," he replied. "There are details behind our relationship - it's a long story."

"We're not going anywhere," Ed pointed out.

Finn sighed, and figured he might as well tell him.

*Finn and Chachamaru's residence, Southern Wastelands, several months ago*

"I'm sorry for trying to influence you," he said, sitting next to her on an old, battered couch that he had scavenged for his house.

"It's okay, I forgive you," she replied. "You never tried anything, after all. And you saved me from that monster."

Finn recalled the skyscraper - sized creature that he had conveniently charmed before it was able to devour the gynoid.

"Yeah, I was honestly surprised I was even able to affect that thing," he said.

"So, now that we're okay, maybe we could start over? If I haven't made it clear already Chachamaru, I - I really like you." He was clearly embarrassed, not having much (or indeed any) experience with romance. That's what happens when you spend most of your life living by yourself in the wilderness.

She smiled. "I like you too, Finn." He leaned in to kiss her, and at first she seemed to comply, but then she pushed him away.

"No, this is wrong," she said, looking away from him.

"Just because you're not human-"

"That's not it." She interjected. "I - I was in love once before, on my old world. I saw him die right in front of my eyes. That was the worst experience of my life, and I never want to go through that again."

She was crying now. Finn was worried that he had upset her, but he still tried to reassure her.

"You won't have to," he said.

She immediately grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "Can you promise that? Can you promise me that you'll never die?"

He was taken aback by this sudden action. "I don't think anyone can promise that," he said.

"No, of course not," she said, wiping off her eyes. "But you see now why we can't be together."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Finally, Finn spoke again.

"What was he like?" He asked.

Chachamaru smiled, warm memories coming back to her. "He was wonderful, kind, and strong. He was the first one to regard me as a person instead of just a machine. However, I had a lot of competition for his affection. Come to think of it, I don't think I really ever had a chance with him."

"I find that hard to believe," Finn said. "He would have to be crazy to choose anyone else over you."

She smiled slightly, but then frowned again. "But still, I really did love him. And then I saw him burn, his last words drowned out by the sounds of fire and death."

Finn lowered his head. He really had no way to empathize with or understand the horrors Chachamaru had been through - such a tragedy had simply never occurred in his life. He had run away from his family at a very young age, and even when the Apocalypse came, he had had no loved ones to lose.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I know, you've told me that before," she responded. This time she let herself fall into his arms, her need for comfort had grown high enough.

"We can still be friends, right?" Finn asked, looking down at her. She smiled.

"Of course."

*Draygon's Fortress, Present Time*

"That's pretty much it," Finn said. "I wouldn't have told you that if I wasn't about to die," he added.

Edward had been so engrossed in Finn's recollections that he had forgotten about the original purpose of his inquiry, to distract Finn from his nihilistic thoughts. Seeing that Finn himself hadn't forgotten just served as an annoyance.

"This isn't like you! Giving up like this. We are going to escape, and you are going to see her again. Listen, I'm sensing some unusual energy discharges outside. I can't be sure at this distance, but I think they're similar to Archon's psionic powers." This finally got Finn's attention.

"Our friends are coming for us, and we're getting out of here." Ed stated with finality.


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## Dante Alighieri (Jan 26, 2011)

*Edward Kent*

The Phantom glanced around him. "We shouldn't discuss this so openly,"   he rasped. He nodded towards a nearby alley. We walked into it, settling   against some nondescript corner.

"So?" Finn asked. "What exactly is going on?"

The Phantom sighed and began to explain. It took him at least ten minutes to explain everything he had learned.

I stared at him in disbelief when he finished his tale. Set? Seals to   set him free? Set was a god from Egyptian mythology. He couldn't be   real, could he?

Then again, there had been Eros. If the Phantom was right, this was going to be very damn difficult indeed.

Just how in the world were we supposed to take on a god?

Finn scratched his chin. "So that guy was telling the truth."

I glanced at Finn. Was he talking about who I think he was?

The Archon looked puzzled. "What guy?"

I shook my head. "Just some crazy cult leader. We stopped him and his   goons from attacking a family and he kept ranting about how his god was   going to appear."

The Phantom interjected. "Well he very might if we don't secure the   seals. With the cult invasion and that guy in the stagecoach, that's not   going to be easy."

Finn nodded towards the urn in response. "Well you have one already. As   long as no one breaks it that means Set can't escape, right?"

That made sense. So long as we kept the urn intact, we didn't have anything to worry about, right?

The Phantom sighed in response. "It's not that simple. If even one seal   is destroyed, Set will be freed, but in a limited capacity. He'll  likely  have to possess a human body, but with every other seal that is  broken  more of his power will return. Even if this one remains  unbroken, with  all of the others lifted he'll be more than powerful  enough to defeat us  and take it from us."

Damn. There went that option.

Even a limited god would probably prove to be a problem as it was. Let alone one that could possess human bodies.

Chachamaru looked thoughtful. "How many seals are there in total?"

"Seven," the Phantom said. "One was broken by a blast from the airship,   I've got another one right here, and we have no clue where the rest   are."

The airship had caused a pretty sizeable dent in the city. I suppose it   wasn't too surprising that it taken out a seal in doing so.

"Where did you find that one?" Chachamaru asked.

Archon stated the address.

"And where was the first one?" Chachamaru pressed.

What was she thinking?

"What are you getting at?" Finn asked, looking puzzled.

She glanced at him. "I have an idea, but it's a long shot."

Us taking on - and surviving - a battle with a god was going to be a   long shot to begin with. This entire journey of mine had been nothing   but a long shot.

So far, par for the course.

Archon added, "I felt something when the airship went down, a faint but evil aura, in the area over the power plant."

"Okay, that's two," Chachamaru said. "Any idea where any of the others might be?"

The Phantom appeared to be losing his patience with all these questions.   "If we knew that, we wouldn't still be looking for them!" he snapped.

Chachamaru said nothing, merely closing her eyes in thought. Several tense moments passed.

She opened her eyes. "That cultist said that Set had been imprisoned by   the city, which means the city was likely built around the seals that   contained him."

That sounded reasonable enough. Chachamaru paced, seeming to grow more confident in whatever conclusions she had drawn.

"The city was founded by Mayor Magear, so he would have likely kept at   least one seal in a place he could carefully guard, which would mean - "

When she put it that way, it was exceedingly obvious.

"His house!" the Archon said excitedly.

She nodded. Her idea sounded likely, but there was a problem I had with it.

"Yeah," I said. "But that place took a serious pounding from the   airship. If there was a seal there, it's almost certainly broken by   now."

Chachamaru shook her head. "Wait, I'm not done yet."

She knelt down, tracing a circle in the dirt. "The positions of the   three seals we know about here, here, and here." She marked off three   lines along the circle's edge. She then connected the intersections with   straight lines.

She continued, "The angles are exactly as would be expected for a   regular heptagon." She added 4 more marks equally spaced along the   circle, before connecting all the intersections to create the very   figure in question. "So now we know where the other seals are," she   shrugged.

Silence.

Finn spoke first, "Chachamaru, you're a genius!"

"Thanks," she replied, blushing and ducking her head.

It was genius. If we correlated each of those positions along a map of   the city, finding the other seals would be child's play, relatively   speaking. I began to fish around for one of the maps of Pandemonium I   had.

The strange man we had brought, Hen I believe, began to pace restlessly.   "Well what are we waiting for, let's go! I'm itching for some action!"

The Phantom rolled his eyes. "Do we need to take this guy along with us?"

I agreed. Did we really need to take whoever this guy was along with us?

"Hey," Hen snarled, walking up to the Phantom's face. "I didn't ask to   join forces with you either, I'm still going to kick your ass after all   this is over!"

"I'd like to see you try," rasped the Phantom. Shadows nearby flickered   and wavered. I tensed. Were they going to duke it out, right here,  right  now?

"Woah, woah, hold on!" Finn yelled, pushing them apart. "We don't have time for this, we have to find the rest of the seals!"

The two glared at each other, but finally backed down. I sighed in   relief. I handed over the map to Chachamaru, who quickly and efficiently   reproduced the heptagon she had inscribed on the ground.

"The nearest one," she murmured. "Should be right... here. Just along   the Northern Gates. If we hurry, we can make it in less than fifteen   minutes."

That didn't sound too bad. How hard could it be to get to the Northern Gates?

Pretty damn hard as it turned out.

*40 Minutes Later*

After dodging that blasted Coachman several more times, we finally made   it to the Northern Gates. We had to have wasted at least twenty minutes   with all the detours we had to take just to stay the hell out of the  way  of that ghostly stagecoach.

Thankfully, it wasn't an exactly subtle carriage, what with wailing   horses and the cackling Coachman. He was dead giveaway every time. Yes,   yes, I know that was an incredibly corny pun, but I'm tired. Bear with   me here.

The Phantom suddenly stopped and held up a closed fist. We halted.

"Careful where you tread," he said quietly. "We've got something else lurking around up here."

I looked around, but saw nothing.

"Is it the pack of giant white jackals again?" whispered the Archon. I turned to look at him.

"Jackals?" scoffed Hen. "Seriously?"

"I don't think so," the Phantom replied to Archon. "This doesn't feel like Ryllandaras...it's something else."

Just what the hell was he talking about?

He turned to look to us again. "So as I said be careful where you step."

We turned around yet another corner, just a few steps from the Gate.   What we saw was entirely unexpected. A heavyset guard lay on the ground,   moaning in agony as some sort of weird man sat on him.

His eyes flashed wildly, unkempt hair shaking with the wind, a great,   shaggy beard flowing down to his chest. He wore what appeared to be   various furs, stitched haphazardly together.

He smiled wildly, revealing a row of yellowed teeth. And in his hand, was an ornate urn. One not unlike the one we already had.

I stepped forward, tensing, gathering my power to the forefront of my mind.

His voice gave me pause. It was harsh, yet... almost regal tones flowed   from his lips. "Took you boys forever to get here. More than I expected   though."

He sniffed the air suddenly. "Why does one of you smell of the undead?"

Hen jerked beside me and I glanced at him. Finn stepped forward,   speaking slowly, "I trust that you are not here to fight? However I must   ask what you plan on doing with seal?"

"Well..." said the man slyly "Let's call it a bargaining tool shall we...I'll give it you lot as payment."

"Payment for what?" I asked at the same time the Phantom did. He glared at me for some reason.

He waved a hand idly, hopping off the guard, who was now unconscious it   appeared.  "For doing me favor in the near future boys...and girls."

He leered appreciatively at Chachamaru's figure before continuing, "I'll   need your assistance in Rapture very soon, ousting a certain pesky   someone from the city."

Rapture? It was an extremely exclusive city, hardly just anyone could   get in. And he wanted us to get rid of someone there? I felt uneasy   about the whole scenario.

"Who would that be? Chachamaru said. "An enemy of yours?"

"You could say that," the man shrugged. "Though it's more like an   annoyance. Of course, you won't find out who until you come to the   city." He grinned again. "So do you accept Ol' Coyote's request,   younglings?"

I could think of a thousand reasons why to say no, but dammit, we needed   that urn. Could we fight him for it perhaps? I mused over the options   before Hen suddenly spoke, "You never offered us a time limit, so I   don't see why not...give us the pot."

The man's grin only widened and he let out a strangely authentic,   barking laugh.  "You chose wisely lads, I look forward to seeing most of   you in the future!"

There was a flash of pale light and instead of a man, a coyote stood in   his place. He stared at us with intense eyes - the same eyes that man   had - and howled to the sky before running off and out of sight.

We didn't saying anything for several seconds.

Hen broke the silence first.  "Did anyone else see that? Anybody?"

"Yes and we also saw you made a bargain with the Lord of Mischief and   Trickery," the Phantom said distastefully. "Now we've got to go to a   city run by fallen gods and Mad scientists. No telling who he wants us   to off."

"Well it's not like he's forcing us to go there now," said Finn, trying   to see the best of the situation. "He didn't even give us a time limit,   and he didn't seem in that much of a hurry."

"Trickster Gods never are," the Phantom shrugged.

"No point on dwelling on it now, though I'd rather have not been in the debt of another god..."

Another god? I decided not to press. It wasn't really relevant right   now. The Phantom picked up the urn gingerly. He muttered, "That's two   down now. What now? Do we try and find a place to stash these or do we   split up and search the city again?"

The Archon opened his mouth to speak, but paused turning towards   something. "That surge of power.... Set must have found another seal! It   seemed to be near the Eastern Gates. Judging by that power we can't   afford to let Set break even one more seal."

He continued, "I say we split and search the city. Hiding the ones we have already won't do much good if Set finds the others."

The Phantom nodded. "Agreed, we should also have our current seals split among us. Now who is going with who?"

While it certainly made sense to stop Set from breaking other seals, it   would also hardly do for us to simply leave the seals we did have   unprotected. It was too risky.

I spoke up. "I think the guitar guy, Finn, and I should try to take the   seals we have and get out of the city. On the way we can stop by Father   Gregory's church and see what we can do to rescue the kids."

"Phantom, Archon, and Chachamaru can go after Set and try to stop him or   at least stall him in order to buy us time." I concluded.

The Archon looked questioningly at me.  "Us, fight a god? Are you sure we can?"

"He's nowhere near his full power," the Phantom replied. "And if we wait   any longer he'll just find more seals and get stronger, it's really  our  only choice."


Finn looked unsure about the idea. "I'd rather be in the group with Chachamaru," Finn objected.

"Are you sure she's not your girlfriend?" Hen rolled his eyes.

"Shut up!" Finn yelled.

Chachamaru simply sighed and shook her head. I hid a smile.

"Edward's plan sounds good to me," Chachamaru said. "If they can get the   seals to safety they can return to the church and try to stop  Draygon's  attack."

"Okay, sounds good," Archon said finally. The Phantom handed Finn the two urns we had.

"Good luck," Chachamaru whispered to us and we turned and went our separate ways.


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Jan 26, 2011)

*Edward Kent*

"How far to the nearest seal?" I asked Finn.

"According to the map," he replied. "Just under fifteen minutes from here, if we double time it."

"Damn!" I snarled. How could I be such an idiot?

"What?" Hen asked.

"The map, I forgot to take the damn map with us. Chachamaru still has it."

"Er, don't worry about it," Finn said. "I remember the locations,   there's only four more after all. Well, three, besides the Eastern Gates   that is."

I nodded hesitantly and followed Finn, who seemed to know where he was   going. I could hear screaming in the distance, and saw smoke trails   stretching towards the heavens.

"Hurry," Finn added unnecessarily. We ran down one alley before exiting   out onto a street several minutes later. Death and chaos surrounded us   as we navigated past ruined hulks of metal and avoided blazing fires.   Stacatto gunfire could be heard nearby and I deflected a few stray shots   away from us with a whisper of magnetic force.

"How much farther is it?" Hen asked.

"Just a few more blocks according to Chachamaru's map!" Finn yelled as we jumped over a fallen telephone pole. "We should be -"

Sound exploded as a single roar filled the air, the sound of a hundred   people raising their voices in unison. Cultists streamed through a side   street, suddenly filling the area, shouting commands and screaming   strange things.

One of the men in white shouted, pointing at us, and several dozen   cultists began to stream towards us, drawing swords and scythes as they   charged towards us.

"Dammit," Finn snarled. "We don't have time for this!" He closed his eyes, brows furrowed deep in concentration.

A few cultists approached us, one of them quickly and deftly flicking   throwing knives in our general direction. I began to raise a shield but   Hen stepped in front, smoothly drawing out his oversized guitar and   deflecting the projectiles with practiced ease.

One of the cultists came near, his sword flashing. Hen caught it easily   against the back of the guitar before kneeing the man in the groin and   then slamming the face of it against the man's chin. A loud twang!   signaled the man's end as he fell, unconscious.

Several more approached, but Hen easily dealt with them all, his eyes   moving rapidly and his movements confident, sure, and precise. But even   he was having difficult taking on fifteen men at once.

I breathed, drawing on my reserves of power and let loose a slow,   undulating wave of cosmic force. It slammed against the cultists,   knocking them aside like some unstoppable battering ram, blessedly   clearing a narrow path.

"Come on, let's go!" Finn shouted and we followed him into the fray,   running past the downed cultists. They got out safely, making towards   one of the alleys when the cultists abruptly scattered. Their keening   wails pierced the sky as they -

No. That sound wasn't them.

_Oh crap_. I whirled around to see that ethereal stagecoach again, its   driver cackling wildly as the horses let loose another wail that caused   my hair to stand on their ends.

The cultists stumbled away, screaming in fear. Several simply dropped   dead while others had their chests blown apart by some ghostly gunman.   Ethereal beings of green light rose from the ground, shrieking as they   tore the life from all in their path.

I glanced at Finn and Hen. They were along the path now, almost at the alley. They hadn't noticed that I wasn't with them yet.

I made my decision. I turned around and hauled ass in the opposite   direction. They were too far away and there was no way I could reach   them without being another victim of that damned Coachman.

Dammit, dammit, dammit! This day just kept getting better and better.

I had no clue where the seal was - Chachamaru had the map and Finn had   memorized the directions, but we hadn't exactly discussed them in great   detail.

I narrowly avoided one of those verdant apparitions, my heart pounding   against my chest. I ran into a nearby house, blasting the lock apart in   my desperation. I heard the wails growing louder behind me. The door   blew apart behind me and I kept running, smashing through a glass window   with cosmic power and tumbling onto the backyard before I began to ran   down the alley.

There was no way I could meet up with Finn or Hen now. If there was   anything I could do, I'd have to find Chachamaru and the others. They   were out fighting a god, and they needed every bit of help they could   get.

East, I needed to head east.

I ran through another house, blasting through a wall, desperation   fueling my power. I heard the Coachman's cackle close behind me. Way too   close for comfort. I was about to run through yet another house when   the shadows suddenly coalesced into a human form.

The Phantom. I felt sudden relief.

"The Archon said you got separated," he said abruptly. "Took a little while to find you, but let's get the hell out of here."

He offered me his hand and I took it. Darkness swallowed us whole and we tumbled through nothing for several long moments.

We returned to reality and I staggered, slightly shaken by the teleport. Chachamaru's worried face came into my view.

"How did you get separated from Finn?" she asked concernedly.

I shook my head. "Had a nasty run in with that horse drawn carriage. Had to take a detour, otherwise I'd have gotten run over."

Beside me, the Phantom grimaced, clutching his head as if he was in pain. I laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You okay?"

"Perfectly fine," he rasped. "Let's get this over with. If we can ambush him, we might just have a chance of taking him down."

"Where is he?" I asked tensely.

"Just southeast of here, by the Eastern Gate." Chachamaru replied.

"Hold on," the Phantom said. "I'll get us there in a second."

I reluctantly took his hand and darkness took us once more.

We materialized right next to the action. A man stood in a ruined   clearing below us, snarling something in some language I had never heard   before.

"That's Set?" I asked.

"Yes," the Phantom said grimly. "Shall we?"

As if on cue, Chachamaru simply ripped a giant chunk of concrete out   from the rubble around us. She stepped forward and tossed it as if it   were a javelin. It rose and began to fall, right on top of the man.

Sand rose from the ground in the shape of a massive scimitar and simply   cleaved the section in half. But, while he was busy with that, I had   already prepared my attack.

A bolt of cosmic energy lanced invisibly through the space separating   us, cleanly hitting him and sending him flying away. Streams of sand   followed his wake. It was a blow that could have leveled a house, but   Set simply rolled with it, recovering quickly.

I felt dizzy, the effort from using the bolt getting to me. But Set was   just as fresh as ever. His eyes stared at us with hatred.

Then darkness shrouded everything. Somewhere ahead of us, a strange   voice called out, tinged with amusement and the promise of power. "You   seem to forget Knight, that I control darkness as well!"

The darkness disappeared as quickly as it came. But, hanging in the sky   above us, was a literal myriad of swords, spears, lances, and other   weapons all forged from darkness itself. All above Set.

"Let's see how many you can nullify," the Phantom rasped.

And they began to fall like rain. Set smiled crazily and simply raised his hands towards the heavens.

He dissolved into nothingness and the Phantom's assault failed to find   its mark. I felt a chill course through me as I brought my power to   bear. He materialized just behind me, a sword of sand held in his hand   as he prepared to decapitate the Phantom.

Another wave of cosmic force rearranged those plans. He was knocked to   the ground, stunned by the sudden power of that attack. Before he could   fully rise to his feet, a green blur raced past him, tearing the ground   in its wake.

Set was blasted into another building and Chachamaru came to a stop   beside us. The building promptly collapsed, its steel girders already   stressed to their limits. Tons of steel and concrete crashed down on   Set, burying him beneath the rubble.

A tense moment passed before Set suddenly rose out of the rubble,   brushing off the debris as if it were dust. He stared at us, eyes   flickering madly. "You three are fools to challenge me."

He raised his hands again. Power shimmered and spun and wind began to   pick up around us. It began low at first, but it soon picked up into a   howling tempest, even as clouds began to form around us.

Chachamaru would have none of it however. "Maybe so, but we've still got to try."

She extended her right arm and it suddenly inverted, rearranging itself   until it resembled a gatling gun more than anything else. The barrels   began to spin and thunder shattered the air as thousands of rounds began   to fire out of that gun, tearing through the god with deadly ease.

I covered my ears, the sound deafening as I stared at that gun. Well,   wasn't she full of surprises. I wondered where she even kept the   ammunition.

While the impacts knocked Set away a few feet, he remained standing,   rolling his eyes and looking extremely bored. It didn't take long before   the barrels cycled uselessly, as Chachamaru ran completely out of  ammo.

Set only grinned in response, opening his coat and showing that he was   completely unscatched. What should have been a mangled mess of flesh was   instead a mass of sand, reforming itself into skin before our very   eyes.

"Well, so much for that," Chachamaru muttered, the gun rearranging   itself back into her arm. "But if you're made of sand, then the best   option would be-"

I got the picture.

"Heat!" I snarled as I called upon the ambient power around me.   Invisible microwave energy coalesced around me before I let it loose.   The heat instantly made him catch fire, even as I began to pour more of   my power into it. Chachamaru joined me a heartbeat later, red beams of   energy lancing through the air.

The radiant heat proved so intense that the rubble around Set began to   liquefy and slough off, even as Set began to sink to the ground, now a   fiery, white hot specter.

"It's working!" the Phantom shouted.

I had barely reacted in time. A massive blast of force suddenly erupted   from Set's form, a wave of pure destruction racing towards us at   hypersonic speeds. My shield snapped into existence and we were blasted   away, tumbling around a lattice of semi-permeable cosmic particles.

We tumbled around for several confusing moments, lost in sound and fury,   before we finally came to a stop. All I could see ahead of us was a   massive dust cloud, perhaps a few blocks away.

I rose to my feet, relieved to see the others alright. Where was Set? We'd have to -

"You fools? You dare to challenge a god? Now be swept away with the   desert sands!" Set's voice thundered across the landscape, regal fury   laced with every syllable.

He floated above us a few hundred yards away, another vortex forming   around us. Sand rose from the ground, wrapping itself around the vortex   until a literal tornado of sand came into existence. Bolts of lightning   raced around the edge of that storm, Set's glowing figure caught in  the  center.

"Again!" Chachamaru shouted and we combined our powers once more.   Another burst of microwave radiation and laser beams shot towards the   vortex, but it spent itself against the storm.

The Phantom was beside us now, shouting above the howl of the storm.   "That defense is too powerful at this range, but if we could get closer   we might be able to do some damage!"

I stared at him. "Get closer? To that? Are you crazy?"

Even as I spoke, rubble, cars, and the remains of several buildings rose   from the ground, adding themselves to Set's massive storm.

"He's right, we can't do anything from here," Chachamaru said. "I can   fly us close if you provide a shield, but Enigma will need to distract   him."

"I know I'm going to regret this in the morning," I muttered, even as I   got on top of her back. Twin jets protruded from her feet and we were   sent racing into the sky, my heart thundering. We shot towards the   storm, circling towards it.

"He's distracting him now!" Chachamaru shouted. "Ed!"

I didn't need to be told twice. I brought up my will as we met that   vortex of destruction. A matrix of spiraling cosmic particles shielded   us, even as tons of sand and debris spent themselves against the shield.   I felt the impacts like knockout punches against my mind, my already   wearied will stretched to its limit.

But the distraction worked and we were suddenly inside. The Phantom was   actually teleporting from debris to debris, sending off rapid lances  and  knives of shadow at Set. A chunk of debris flew towards him and he   dissipated into nothingness.

I breathed and let loose an utterly massive bolt of power. He hadn't   been expecting it and took the bolt clean. He was sent rocketing to the   ground with supersonic speeds, even as his control over the storm  ceased  and the vortex disappeared around us, tons of sand and debris  falling  from the sky.

We pressed the assault, Chachamaru diving to the ground and catching Set   with a double-fisted strike that sent him spiraling away. I let loose   yet another burst of power, but Set was prepared this time. He  deflected  the strike away somehow, even as a massive of whip of sand  crashed  against me.

Only a sudden, desperate shield had kept me from being flattened, even   as I fell to the ground. Chachamaru landed, an endless flurry of   supersonic punches and kicks ripping through the air. Yet, Set was even   faster, if it could be believed. He matched her blow for blow and then   threw Chachamaru contemptuously to the ground, ripping a large gash in   the street.

Chachamaru crashed beside me, but not before she whirled around, eyes   glowing red. A screaming lance of deadly energy shot through Set's   skull, but it instantly reformed.

"This is honestly the best you can do?" he snarled. "You are even bigger fools than I thought!"

Suddenly, I felt myself sinking into the ground. I panicked, looking   down to see a pool of nothingness at my feet. Darkness swallowed me   whole. When I came back, I was with the Phantom, Chachamaru right beside   me. He had teleported us away from that strange shadow attack.

Set took to the sky again, lightning flashing around him even as the sand spun itself into yet another storm.

"This isn't looking good," I whispered and the others only nodded grimly in reply.

Suddenly, that massive storm began to die down. The lightning dissipated   into a few stray sparks and sand streamed down from the sky.

"What's happening?" I shouted above the din of the dying storm.

"I don't know!" the Phantom replied.

As the storm died, the winds gave way to reveal Set, still in mid-air,   his face contorted with pain and hatred, clutching his head. What the   hell?

We didn't waste any time on banking on this opportunity however.   Chachamaru and I circled around the remains of a building, trying to get   a better shot.

Chachamaru looked up, eyes glowing red. Crimson lasers screamed through   the skies, immolating Set. I added my own power to the fray, a powerful   shockwave of cosmic force that blasted him backwards.

The Phantom blurred, his body disintegrating to shadow, only to reform   in midair, a dark broadsword held in his hand. As he nearly decapitated   Set, Set only dissolved into darkness and sand, before reforming  several  meters away.

He raised his right hand, screaming alien words and a wave of shadow   spread from his hands, rushing to envelop us in its grip. The Phantom   teleported again, grabbing both of us abruptly and teleporting us away   from that blast.

Set was again moaning, holding his head and speaking frantically. "No! That never happened! None of that ever happened!"

What in the world was going on?

Chachamaru wasted no time and rocketed off, and a blast of red heat lit   Set aflame, the sheer force of that blast sending him crashing to the   ground. She landed beside us, as we waited for the dust cloud to clear.

It revealed Set, wiping blood from his mouth as he stared at us with   hatred. He roared, the sound incredibly loud and we were blasted back by   a gale. I wrapped a shield around us just before we crashed into a   house, glass and wood splintering and shattering around us.

Chachamaru landed with feline grace, green hair waving in the fierce   winds left from Set's assault. She took off with supersonic speeds,   ripping the ground apart in her wake. She flipped over and landed a   fearsome kick on Set, sending him flying into yet another building.

The small office building swayed, before it crumbled, tons on debris falling on Set.

I got to my feet then, breathing heavily. We kept our eyes focused on those ruins, waiting for Set to reappear.

Chachamaru shook her head in near disbelief. "His power is fluctuating. He is getting weaker."

The Phantom sharply looked up at her. "Impossible. Even with the seals,   Set is Lord of four domains. He should'nt go down this easily."

"Well", she said almost dismissively, "he is".

"Here he comes," I said abruptly, as Set blasted out of the ruins, stalking towards us.

He raised his hand into the sky, and wind swirled above him. He then   lowered his hand, pointing it towards Chachamaru and the Phantom.   Chachamaru instantly moved out of the way the same time the Phantiom   teleported.

Azure lightning lanced through the space separating us, instantly   superheating the air and filling the area with the smell of ozone. It   left a smoldering crater where the two had been just before.

Set raised his hand again but I had none of that. A bolt of cosmic power cleanly hit him, blasting him away yet again.


----------



## Dante Alighieri (Jan 26, 2011)

*Edward Kent*

I awoke to pain and stench. The cell was barren, except for a girl who  was chained to the wall on the left on a bed. At least those chains were  long enough for her to rest her arms.

Mine were low to the ground, forcing me to crouch. They were short  enough that sitting down made my arms and shoulders burst into agonizing  pain. 

A man had come through once, a hulking brute who called himself Draygon  the Butcher. He told me that I was presently a guest at his fortress and  that any attempt to escape by me would only result in a very painful  and messy death for me. He'd be by later to make me talk about where the Phantom was, he promised. 

I had said nothing, staring at the ground, and he left. 

I continued staring at the ground. Grime and muck slathered the  floor, and the stench of blood and death filled the air. I was dead man  walking; or crouching, anyway. 

But there wasn't anything else I could do. My friends were long gone. The Devil had beaten me.

And... my sister was gone. Forever. 

I would have had an easier time tearing off my arm than admitting it. The truth twisted itself like a knife in my gut. 

Had she been dead ever since that night? Had I just been chasing nothing  but a memory for these last few years? I wondered if it would be easier  to accept her death if it had been like that to begin with. 

The cell door opened with a resounding creak and a man in a Victorian  suit strode in. I jerked, my shoulders straining painfully against the  chains as I stared hatefully at the man; no, his title was apt. 

The Devil himself. 

He crouched down in front of me and clasped his hands, smiling warmly. "So! Let's have a chat."

I stared at the ground, ignoring the bastard. 

He sighed deeply. "I feel I owe you an apology, Edward."

I said nothing.

"You seem to have misunderstood me last light, Edward."

Silence.

"Your sister is not dead."

My eyes jerked upward even as I almost tried - with utter agony - to stand to my feet. "_What_?"

The Devil shook his head apologetically. "In all fairness, I never told  you she was. All I said was that she was no longer in this  world. But I  never said anything about her being _dead."_

What in the hell? I stared, before finally replying, "Wait - what do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Magear only smiled slightly. "You have  seen gods, demons and avatars  upon this journey of yours, so this  should not be hard to accept. No,  it should be easy, since you've  already met that girl."

That girl? Chachamaru?

His voice rose, excitement obvious in his tones. "The world you know, we  call it The Ruin, as  well you can understand with the events of the  Apocalypse. But there are  others, a number of worlds running parallel  with this, cut across  dimensions. This is the scale the Oneiroi work  on, and it puts us beyond  even many gods."

I listened, saying nothing, waiting for him to finish.

He stared hard at me.  "Your sister is safe, safe in  another world. We  took her away from this place and your job, Edward  Kent,", he said,  pointing almost accusingly at me, "will be to travel across  dimensions,  across the barriers of time and space, to search for her.  And in so  doing, you will fulfill your destiny."

It sounded almost too fantastical to believe. This man was a murderer, and lying was hardly beyond his capacity. 

But, still, if there remained even a possibility that Alice was alive,  if there was even a sliver of hope that she was not lost forever....

I would venture into Hell itself to retrieve her if need be. "And what is my destiny?" I asked. 

The Devil smiled his damnable, omniscient smile. "Well, if I told you that Ed, you never would do it. Not even for your sister."

But you won't, so I will. 

_Exactly_. His voice echoed in my mind, even as his lips made no motion of their own. 

Was my destiny truly that horrible? Or was he just continuing to string  me along. The puppet master's games were already wearing their toll on  me. 

To a certain extent, the bastard was right. I didn't have much trouble believing that the situation was at least possible. 

Then again, I had no idea why anyone wanted two kids from the Southern Wastelands so badly. 

The Devil remained, as if our conversation still wasn't over. Well, perhaps I could get something more tangible out of this.

"Who are the Oneiroi?"

Magear shook his head. "Wrong question, Ed. I won't be telling you that quite yet." 

But I wasn't done quite yet. It was something he had said last night.  "The King in Red; you said you were the King in Red. I've heard of them.  Is that who they are? The other Kings?" 

Magear chuckled. "Nice try. But no. We are much bigger than them. But that'd be a good place to start, don't you think?"    

The door opened again, revealing a gorgeous blond dressed in entirely in  black. What was it with these people and black? I suppose it came with  the territory. She tapped the Devil on the shoulder and he stood. "Our  time is up it seems." 

He began walking towards the door, though the girl remained, a curious and yet, strangely sinister smile on her face. 

"Are you going to let me out?" I called after Magear.

He paused, stopping just in front of the door. "_Earn_ your happy ending," he said simply, before exiting. 

I stared after him, deep in thought about what he had said. Out of the  corner of my eye, I saw the girl walk up to me, sweeping back silken locks of golden hair. She crouched down so that her  face was just inches from hers.

I was about to say something when she cupped my face with her gloved hands before pulling me into a sudden, passionate kiss.

What the hell? It was over before it barely even began as she pulled  back, running her fingers through my hair. "I guess... you and me are  family, then?" 

I stared at her, not comprehending. She smirked, eyes dancing maliciously. "I'm the one looking after _her_."

Comprehension came instantly and I recoiled from her touch. I felt the  anger growing inside me, but my power didn't answer it. I was too spent  from the last few days of constant fighting. 

"Where is she?" I said in a low voice.

She gave only a tinkling laugh.

Bitch.

She rose, leaving through the still open door.

"Where is she?" I snarled after her. 

That was when he walked in. He was tall, muscles covering every inch of  his body. Strange, nightmarish tattoos adored several parts of his body  and he eyed me with anticipation. It was Draygon.

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

Another man came right behind him, another hulking brute littered  with scars and tattoos, though not quite as imposing as the first. 

"Unlock him," Draygon commanded and the lackey complied, unlocking the chains around my wrists. 

"Your turn," the brute said flatly. "Bring 'em in," he commanded to someone outside the door. 

Two more thugs came in, escorting two familiar faces. It was Hen and  Finn. Both looked like hell, but they were alright. I sighed in relief. 

I rubbed my aching wrists and shoulders, keeping my back to the wall.  With all these thugs, the wall was ironically the safest place in this  cell. I wouldn't be surrounded as easily. 

 Draygon was rubbing his knuckles, which were bloody and most likely,  none of it was his. Neither Finn nor Hen looked injured enough so  Draygon must have beaten up on some other poor prisoners. It looked like  he was here ready to make good on his promise to make us talk. 

I glanced over at the unconscious girl again. "Who is that?"

 Draygon examined his knuckles disinterestedly. "Isn't it obvious? She's a bitch." 

 So much for that.

 "Who are you? What do you want?", Finn asked. 

Draygon snorted. "What do I want? I want that bastard Victor Knight back in the ground  where he belongs. I want to send that Phantom back to Hell like I did  before. And it just so happens, I've had a little chat with old Magear,  and it looks like today is a day I get all I want." He grinned maliciously at that last.

I didn't know exactly what he wanted, but it was probably nothing good  and bad for our health besides. "What are you going to do with us?"

Draygon eyed me.  "Get my answers."

He began walking towards me. I tried backing up, before remembering that A) I was against the wall and B) I was in a cell. 

Then a miracle happened. An alarm blared, its roar audible even through the thick stone. 

Dark red light shone from outside the cell. Draygon looked outside, seemingly bewildered before a voice squawked on a radio, _"Attention! The Guardhouse is under attack! Attention! The Guardhouse is under attack! Attention....!_"

"Well," Draygon shrugged, looking over us. "It looks like I might not be needing you three after all." 

The guards next to Finn and Hen pulled out their batons and went to  work. A few strikes to the legs brought the pair to their knees and  repeated strikes to the back kept them down. 

I began to go over to stop them, but Draygon was in front of me before I  could react, burying his fist in my gut. I staggered, the pain  incredible even as an elbow to the temple dropped me to the ground. My  vision flickered and Draygon began kicking my stomach viciously. 

I coughed, specks of blood on my fingers. So much for miracles. Had I suffered an internal  injury? I felt weak and in serious pain. The other two looked just as  worse off. If this alarm was because of a rescue attempt, I hoped they  had medical attention with them. 

 Draygon swept past us, his guards following. The door shut with a resounding _clang!_ and we were alone, for now. 

We didn't say anything for a few minutes, still recovering from our  newly inflicted injuries. The alarm's blare was dulled against the thick  stone, but it rang and rang. 

 "We're going to die here, aren't we?" Finn said finally.

 "Don't talk like that," I said tiredly. "There's something going on  outside, it seems like this place is under attack. It might be a rescue  attempt."

 "Yeah, and it might be those cultists coming back for another attack, or  a monster like that Coachman," Finn bitterly. He sighed. 

"This Draygon guy," Finn continued. "I don't know how, but I can tell that he's not  normal. None of us stand a chance against him. When I tried to touch his  mind, I found nothing but rage and hate, but beneath that, something  even more horrible that I couldn't even describe. It scared me, it  seemed to say that everything is hopeless - we're all going to die."

I gazed at Finn, sensing the frustration and fear he was feeling. I  tried reassuring him.  "That's not the attitude to have. We'll get out  of here, trust me."

 "I wish I could," Finn said gloomily. "Chachamaru; I might never see her again."

 "Hah, I knew it! She is your girlfriend!" Hen crowed.

Finn turned to look at Hen, his icy glare instantly silencing Hen. He  spoke two syllables through gritted teeth, his voice ragged and feral.  "Shut. Up." 

Hen did exactly that, bowed by this sudden outburst. 

Still, maybe Hen had the right idea. There had to be some way to keep Finn from wallowing in depression.

 "You're in love with her, aren't you?" I asked simply.

Finn glared at me, but it soon gave way to an expression of longing. 

"Yes," he whispered. 

 I looked at him, his face buried in his hands.  "You keep insisting she's not your girlfriend."

He sighed. "She's not, but - I wish she was.There are details behind our relationship. It's a long story."

He walked right into that one. "We're not going anywhere."

Finn sighed again and nodded and began his fantastical tale. He told of  how he discovered Chachamaru, breath-taken by her beauty. How he had  tried to use his power on her, to no avail. How she had fled and how he  saved her from that massive monster. 

And why Chachamaru, despite the fact that she deeply, deeply cared for  Finn, was afraid to open to him, afraid of losing someone close to her  again. 

The Hedgehog's Dilemma. The closer you get, the more it hurts.

"That's pretty much it," Finn concluded. "I wouldn't have told you that if I wasn't about to die," he added cynically.

I had been so fascinated with his tale that I forgotten why I had even  pursued this topic in the first place. To get Finn to stop thinking like  this. Somehow Finn hadn't forgotten at all, which was very annoying. 

I replied heatedly,  "This isn't like you! Giving up like this. We are going to escape, and  you are going to see her again."

Then, I felt something press against my mind. It was a burst of energy, emanating from somewhere outside. It felt... familiar.

"Listen," I continued. "I'm sensing some unusual energy  discharges outside. I can't be sure at this distance, but I think  they're similar to Archon's psionic powers."

Finn looked up, surprise - and hope - in his eyes. 

 "Our friends are coming for us, and we're getting out of here," I said.


----------



## Emperor Joker (Jan 27, 2011)

_Beware The Gray Men, young master. Never stray from the path first chosen for you or those terrible beings will come. They will come with their fleets and their guns, and they will set things back the way they were before. For to the Gray Men there is only one path, one destiny in life, all others will upset the balance. The balance as shown by their seers. Pleading will do you no good my son...for The Gray Men listen to no reason but their own.

Fear the Gray Men my son, for you do not want to see them come. _

_________________________________________________________________

Two men dressed in gray, stood atop a hill overlooking Pandemonium. Both were utterly identical, even in facial structure. Both wore Grey slacks, T-shirts and long coats, as well dark gray dress shoes. On their heads they wore bowler hats, and the only thing that wasn't gray about their attire was the large black sunglasses they wore on their ash colored faces. 

Both men stood ridged as they watched the city, and at the same time both reached up to push their glasses further up their small noses.

"The balance is being upset, Mr. Key," said one.

"Indeed, Mr. Lock, The Grey Men may soon need to make another example of another world..."

"Most certainly Mr. Key. If these humans don't learn the mistake their making, this realm will fall, just countless others did who have upset the balance."

"The foreign singularity could be a problem though, She is upsetting the balance more than anything.

"We shall have to keep an eye on our little android friend...she may upset The Natural Order of things further. Finn was never meant to leave that jungle according to our sages...as for the others...they must be watched."

"Indeed...we will inform the Hierarchy if things start to shift erratically. The future foreseen by the Sages must be unblemished."

The wind picked up around them, but the two men never moved. They continued to stand there on that hill, and continued to observe the city.

_________________________________________________________________

Enigma darted out for the way of a a hail of bullets as they came his way. "Shit", he muttered to himself. Just their luck he had teleported the party right into a large staging area...thankfully they weren't that many of the tatoo mercenaries to deal with. 

Behind him Scorpio and Aquarius were fighting off a hulking bruiser who soaked up damage and kept on coming, Enigma almost turned to help them, before noticed Chachamaru moving to assist them. 

A bolt of force from Archon took the trio of mercenaries he was fighting unawares and knocked them off balance. Seeing his chance, Enigma grabbed two of them and smashed them through the wall, while Archon took out the last with a psionic blade. 

A roar sounded from the brutish man behind them, as he staggered back from a knife in his stomach. Something else caught his eye...the figures of Cyrus and his sister darting towards the stairs at the end of the room. 

"They're running for it...," he muttered, before looking at the brute again. "Fuck being subtle...I don't have time for this nonsense."

A massive block of pure solidified darkness appeared at the ceiling and came crashing down. At the same time of the impact, two tendrils ripped through the large man's body and brought him to his knees. The last sound the man made was a horrified scream as the block came crashing down on him squashing him into a bloody pulp.

"The kids are getting ahead of us...or are trying to make a run for it," he said.

"We'll go get them back." said Aquarius and Scorpio. They started to head off in the direction the kids had gone.

“As for you two, you'll be heading off without me...I've got a date with The Butcher, that's been a long time coming."

“What…no,” said Archon. “We’ll get nowhere if we split up.”

Enigma just smiled before disappearing. 

“He’s going to get himself killed!” cried Archon.

“That might be exactly what he wants,” said Chachamaru quietly. “One final battle against that one man…We should be heading onwards irregardless though.”


Enigma reappeared, several moments later, a floor down. He stared ahead of him and found noone in his path just that. “Come out, Draygon…you started this, now I’m going to finish it.”

Four mercenaries suddenly appeared out of a intersecting doorway. They caught sight of and began to aim their rifles. Dodging their rate of fire was simple work, now that night had truly set in.
Enigma grinned at them. “Is that it! You can’t offer anymore?” cried with amusement. The Darkness shifted around them, and massive black hands shot out of their wall. They latched onto the four men and began to drag them backwards back into the walls. They screamed and thrashed as they were drug away as if they weighed little more than a doll. Their screams of pain and torture continued as they drug completely into the wall…until abruptly it stopped. 

Enigma’s grin faded after this, and he strode forward kicking the rifles out of his way as he walked past. “I’m coming for you Draygon…and the pain you inflicted on me and my family, will be nothing in comparison to what I have in store for you."


----------



## Platinum (Jan 28, 2011)

The Rooftops of Pandemonium

Watching the carnage unfold Paradox couldn't help but smile. Everything was going according to plan, but being the lord of time they always did. 

From this vantage point he could feel and see everything. He could feel The Gray Men watching from afar. Such loathsome people they were. He could feel the fury and rage of Draygon The Butcher another reprehensible man. He could feel the anger in the man that pursed him. The emotions of those locked in their cells he could feel it all. And most interesting of all he could feel the cold calculating King in Red, up to another one of his schemes of course. So many people trying to fight their inevitable fates.

Paradox could almost sympathize with them in a way and briefly wondered if he should intervene. Then once again he smiled to himself, after all he already knew what he was going to do. But he liked pretending that he had the illusion of choice, just like mortals did. He disappeared into the green vortex that appeared before him...

He reappeared in the middle of ten of the butcher's men. Reacting quickly they all rushed to meet this unknown enemy. Paradox did nothing waiting for them to get closer and closer. Then he raised his left hand into the air, put his thumb and middle finder together and snapped. The men before him aged 10,000 years in an instant. In unison their weathered and crumbling skeletons fell onto the floor. 

This was all he was meant to do. The avatars of the zodiac would be able to advance uninhibited now, though they would not get out without a fight. With this done Paradox opened another green vortex. He would leave the rest to unravel as he knew it would. He had places to go and people to see. It was time to pay a few people a visit in Rapture...

His piercing purple eyes faded just as Aquarius and Scorpio came running by in pursuit of Cyrus and his sister. They didn't even notice the skeletons on the floor.


----------



## Endless Mike (Jan 31, 2011)

Chachamaru and Archon tried to chase after Enigma but he was too far ahead. As they ran down the dark corridors, suddenly they were cut off by four hulking figures who appeared out of two side rooms.

They were both at least 8 feet tall, and wearing massive, ornate suits of armor with many sharp and dangerous - looking points. Each one wielded a different weapon - a club, a mace, a spear, and a broadsword.

"Halt! We, the Personal Guard of Draygon the Butcher, will not allow you to pass any further!" The club-wielding one announced in a commanding voice.

"Maybe you guys didn't notice, but one of us already got passed you," Archon answered. "If you're supposed to be guarding your boss Draygon, I'd suggest you go after him and stop wasting time with us."

The four armored figures turned their heads to look at each other in silence for a second, and then burst out laughing. Finally, the mace-wielding man spoke:

"Do you really think that upstart street rat has a chance against our master? It was he who ordered us to separate him from his compatriots so he could kill him in personal combat! Too bad you won't be around to see your friend fall."

With that, the 4 guards charged forward, striking with their weapons in unison. Archon attempted to repel them with a telekinetic blast, but it was less effective than he expected, barely slowing the down as he and Chachamaru jumped out of the way. The floor where they were standing a split - second ago was shattered by the impact of the powerful attacks.

Chachamaru attempted to bathe them in concentrated heat from her lasers, but the energy had little effect and was quickly reradiated back into the corridor, raising the ambient temperature by several dozen degrees. She tried shifting the target of the attack to their weapons, but the result wasn't any better.

"Their armor and weapons are made of some kind of highly resistant material," she concluded. "Looks like we're going to have to try a different tactic."

"Let's see how they like this then," Archon responded, as he summoned up a powerful bolt of psychic force and launched it like a torpedo down the hall. The four guards staggered, electricity - like energy arcing across their armors, but they quickly recovered and then rushed the two invaders. Archon erected a telekinetic shield, but they kept pushing forward, gradually but inevitably breaking through.

"Whatever that armor is made of, it seems to absorb and dissipate energy attacks very efficiently," Chachamaru mused. "I'm out of physical ammo, so I guess there's only one option."

She charged forward at transonic speed, landing a flurry of punches on the four guards, taking them by surprise. For all of their durability, it seemed their reactions were only human. When they recovered, one of them tried to slash her with his sword, but she deftly grabbed the blade and maneuvered the guard into a disarming hold, managing to wrest the weapon from him. Another guard tried to impale her with his spear, but she blocked it with the stolen sword and the spear snapped in half. Jumping out of the way before the others could land a hit, she tossed the sword to Archon.

He picked it up, but it was so heavy he had to use his telekinesis to wield it properly. Still, it proved an effective weapon against the guard's armors. With him and Chachamaru working together in concert, soon all of the guards were down.

"We should split up, I'll look for Ed and Finn, you can try to find Enigma," Chachamaru suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Archon said, closing his eyes in concentration. Chachamaru raised an eyebrow.

"I'm detecting Engima up ahead, he's locked in battle, and from what I can tell, he's losing."

"Lead the way then," the gynoid replied. Archon nodded and they both ran off to help Enigma against Draygon.


----------



## Platinum (Jan 31, 2011)

"God I can't believe our horrendous luck" Aquarius remarked in an exasperated sigh as Aquarius and Scorpio were running through the Butcher's Den. "First we get caught in the middle of some city wide conspiracy and cultist bullshit. Then we have to fight off legions of said cultist all to prevent Set him self from returning to full strength. And now we are in the middle of an absurd rescue mission for people we don't even really know. I know we are avatars of the zodiac but this is too much in one day even for me."

"We owe it to them" Scorpio replied as she deftly avoided several traps. "The world is a much better place without Set around. The Celestials will be pleased to hear about this. And besides... they might still be of some further use to us."

"I guess... anyways this Draygon sounds like he might be a tough nut to crack. Do you happen to have your orb with you?"

She looked at him with horrified eyes, "You can't be serious?"

"I'm deadly serious." he replied his tone icy and cold. "We can't let this guy live. He is far too dangerous. If it comes down to it... we will have to use them."

"We can't! In this enclosed space we are just as likely to kill our new allies as we are him."

"If it comes to down to it I won't hesitate" and that was the end of that conversation.

A few seconds later the kids were in sight as were 4 of Draygon's men who were advancing menacingly on the two. As a complete blur to the Butcher's men Aquarius and Scorpio brought their weapons to bare. Aquarius grabbed his revolvers and shot two liquefying bullets right between the eyes of the two on the left, while Scorpio launched two of her daggers, each one burying itself in the exposed flesh of the necks of the men on the right. And just like that the battle was over.

"Finally we caught up to you two" Aquarius spoke in between breaths. "You will stay by our side until this thing is over understood?" The two nodded in understanding.

They advanced further and further, the butcher's men falling under the combined might of the two avatars. Eventually they arrived at the first of the cells. "Stand back and watch me work" Aquarius replied cooly as he focused his power into the palms of his hands. Who needed keys when you had the power of liquefaction in your very hands?


----------



## Platinum (Feb 1, 2011)

*Rapture, The Casino of The Gods*

"Did I miss the poker tournament?" Paradox inquired jokingly as he slowly materialized, the last tendrils of unearthly green slowly dissipating at his feet. He took the nearest chair and sat down. "I don't know why you guys never let me play in these tournaments of yours" his voice was thick with mock sorrow.

"You well know why The Lord of Time can't play in these tournaments" Poseidon grumbled. 

" Well well if it isn't the new 'Lord of The Desert' himself." Paradox cracked a wide grin as he slowly drank from a silver goblet that he materialized out of thin air. "Tell me Poseidon how does it feel to go from ruling the oceans themselves to being the ruler of a bunch of lifeless sand? Well it's a step up from being the ruler of nothing I suppose."

"Don't test me Paradox" Poseidon replied not bothering to hide the anger in his voice.

"As if your sand would be able to harm me." his tone was now deadly serious. "Besides I didn't come here to pick a fight, actually I came here to speak. I have some interesting information that it is now time for me to reveal to you all."

"And what information would that be" Ares the former lord of war inquired.

"Oh Ares didn't see you there." he waved his hand in a half-hearted greeting. "Now where was I? Oh yes the information. But first I suppose I should preface this information. You see I was just in Pandemonium, such gruesome business no? And what a fantastic turn that saga took. Who would of predicted that Set would free himself and his band of savages would run assail Pandemonium itself? And further still who would of predicted that Set would be stopped by The Leviathan and an unlikely combination of two avatars of the zodiac and the avatar of Erebus among others... except me of course" he cracked another smile.

"Just get to the point already" Poseidon sneered.

"No need to be so testy. Well anyways all the drama in Pandemonium will be for the most part wrapped up after this night. It won't be concluded of course, but the loose ends will not be tied up for some time. Now it's time for us to look to the next battlefield.... New Jericho."

"Why New Jericho?" Ares couldn't help but ask.

"Why New Jericho indeed. I assume most of you know about the upcoming Civil War that threatens New Jericho and I assume most of you have just dismissed it out of hand as the affairs of mortals exclusively. But let me tell you their is potential for great gain for the one wise enough to seize it."

"Elaborate" Poseidon half demanded.

"The King in Blue is dead."

"What?" several shocked voices replied in unison. 

"Killed by an unknown force no less... well unknown to all but me. Anyways due to the circumstances of his death we will soon have a new ocean in this world of ours.... But this is not close to the full scope of impact to his tragic demise. For soon their will be a meeting of The now Six Kings and every one of them will be in attendance.... even the King In Yellow himself."

"The King in Yellow has returned?" Ares replied, shocked by this revelation. "I thought he was busy wandering the cosmos ever since the schism between the kings?"

"Yes but he has given up wandering to return to this planet once more. Furthermore The King in Grey in response to the death of his friend will be abdicating his ruler ship of New Jericho in order to return to active duty. You know what that means don't you guys?"

"The position of Lord of The Mountains is open once again...." 

"Exactly" Paradox remarked. "The King In Grey, he who guarded the obsidian throne but never took it as his own is leaving the city. One who was smart and ambitious enough would capitalize on this civil war and use it to find the location of the fabled obsidian throne and take its power for themselves." He saw the faintest of glimmers in Poseidon's and Ares' eyes and knew he had set the wheels in motion. 

"Now excuse me everyone while it was nice speaking to you all I have to pay a visit to Osiris and Ophiuchus now. I know where to find Osiris and I assume Ophiuchus is in the Mamba's Den?

"Where else would he be?" Ares replied.

"True enough. Well it was nice seeing you all again. Farewell."


----------



## masamune1 (Feb 1, 2011)

hammer said:


> as the sun starts to set Luke is currently shopping at a local flowershop for varius types of flowers such as roses violets etc. and right after he went strait to a clothing store and picked out clothing that resembled that of a farmer.  Luke then swiching into his newly owned farmer clothes went down to the center of town the place just about everyone will go when heading home from work.  People swhere everywhere as Luke started to place the flower seeds into the ground.
> 
> _I hope people wont suspect me while I have this farmer outfit on, but since It is getting dark I dont think people will notice me anyways they shuld be heading home and to busy to think of what actually is happening in this town the gaia has forsaken. _ he thought to himself.
> 
> ...



*Now*

Luke wandered a dark, weird forest he had never been in before. He did not know how he got here but nor did he realise he didn't; he just walked, ducking the branches and skipping the roots, until he came to an opening- a large pond, fed by a tiny waterfall streaming off the face of a large, black rock, painted with moss and leaves.

On a smaller rock in the middle of that pond, a lady waited on him. 

"Luke", the lady said.

"Gaia", Luke replied.

The Elder Goddess appeared as a pretty, mature woman with curled, chestnut hair falling down to her shoulders, clothed in a beautiful green dress. Her soft smile and gentle nature, as always, left him enchanted.

"Luke, you need to wake up", said the lady on the pond.

"What?", Luke replied, not understanding what she meant.

"Wake.....up......"

Luke opened his eyes and found himself slumped in a corner, still chained to the wall in the cold, damp, hard cell in Draygon's fortress. He had been there for some days, not long after his men had caught him after that stunt he pulled supporting the Phantom. His body still ached from the Butchers' beatings as he demanded he tell him everything he knew about Victor Knight-the Phantom's name was Victor Knight.

That mage of his, the only one in his employ, had painted strange symbols on Luke's face and body, and since then he had been unable to use his powers. He would never admit it to these bastards, but that hurt him more than the pain. Cut off from nature, from his gift from Gaia, he felt naked and alone, more alone than in this prison. It was like he had been carrying a little piece of paradise with him at the tip of his fingers all these years, and they had stole it from him. Now he was unsafe, stuck in a prison run by a maniac in the middle of a hellish city in a dead world. It was a dreadful feeling.

He couldn't be sure if it was Gaia who truly wakened him from his sleep- the only escape he had from this rotten nightmare- or if it was the alarms that were now blaring in his ears, announcing that intruders had breached the building. He didn't think for a moment that they were here for him- who knew or cared about him in this city?- but he hoped that, whatever the reason they were here, that they killed people. A lot of people. After all the torture and the screams he had endured, and heard others enduring, it was no more than these monsters deserved.  

He pulled on his chains and struggled to his feet, and heard a violent commotion outside. He recognised the voices of some of the guards....then he heard them scream, and die. He had got his wish, or it semed.

More voices, new ones he didn't recognise; even stranger some sounded like children. Then he heard a new sound, one that just didn't make sense. It came from the cell next door, the one on the left. It sounded like a splash.


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## Stunna (Feb 1, 2011)

masamune1 said:


> Mask slumped his back against the wall in shock, and turned to look as Fox again. He was barely alive, with blood and broken bones evident, and with Draygons' reputation Mask feared he had endured the wrath of the Butcher himself. And he was dying- somehow, Mask knew that too.
> 
> But selfish a thought as it was, Mask- or Myles Dorian- had a knot in his stomach that told him Fox was still the lucky one. He had an ominous feeling that his own impending nightmare was going to be far, far worse.



"Hey... Fox." Mask called out to Fox, as he lied on the floor. He didn't respond. "Fox... don't tell me you're..."

"Dead? No... but I'm afraid I'm not far from it." Fox confirmed. Mask slumped his head in relief. "But you know what's funny?" He began again. "After this beating I've taken... the person I still hate the most..." He began coughing up blood. "...Is you..."

"Fox..." Mask uttered.

"Ironic, ain't it. Dying here, in the same cell as he." Fox chuckled to himself.

"Fox... I won't die here. And neither will you. I swear it with my _life."_ Mask vowed. He'd never been more determined about something in his life. Fox could almost feel it, and it almost moved him to tears, for reasons he couldn't comprehend. But he shook it off.

"You're a fool, Myles. A damn fool."


----------



## Emperor Joker (Feb 1, 2011)

*The Rookery, Rapture*

Osiris sat on a bench watching the birds fly overhead. On occasions one of them would reach the domed ceiling of the city and it would screech and wheel away. 

Birdhouses and trees littered the area, a pathway winded around the massive area. couples walked the area also, lost in each others presence...this was a popular location afterall. 

There was a thud next to him and Osiris looked around and stared into the eyes of a large falcon. He blinked his eyes and so did the falcon. He turned his head slightly smiling...and the falcon did the same. He turned straightened his head, and the falcon clicked his beak, and flew off again.

Osiris sighed. "It must be so simple being you Horus," he said wistfully. "You never were the same after the Apocolypse. and now you spend all day with the birds and eat roadkill...such a terrible state our Pantheon is in these days." _Most of us aren't even in this realm anymore...Sobek's planning on leaving soon himself_ he thought to himself. _I'm too weak to leave, The Reaper took to much of my power, when we fought._

He sprang up as a man appeared beside suddenly, but settled back down when he saw it was Paradox. "What is it you need?"

Paradox did not answer at first, instead he stared up at where Horus flew. "We need to have a chat..."

_________________________________________________________________
*Draygon's Fortress*

Regginald "Spike" Inda sprinted down the hall with a group of four others toting thier automatic rifles. Resounding crashes and booms could be heard from nearby and each one rattled the walls. As they ran another impact came shaking a picture from the wall. It fell to the ground, it's glass shattering.

Arriving in the room they stopped cold. Bodies littered the floor and may were jumbled up in massive mounds. Anthing resembling furniture had been hacked to pieces or blown apart. Blood dripped from the wall and the cieling and stuck to the floor...it was everywhere.

His eyes then turned to figure in the center of the room. Dressed in deep purplish armor, it stared across at them it's face obscured by the face plate. It sood at least ten feet tall, and carried in it's hand a large blackened bastard sword. It started to move towars them, and broke out in a sprint, each step causing the floor to crack and giving off large resounding booms.

"Fire!" he screamed, lifting his weapon. A steady stream of bullets, hit the armored figure, and ricocheted and rebounded off. one of his companions went down as the rate of fire rebounded off and struck him. 

The armored figure reach them and took out his three companions with one sweep of the massive sword. It then turned towards him and swung at him. _So fast_ he thought to himself as the sword moved at such a pseed he couldn't dodge. The last thing he noticed as the sword bit into him was it wasn't entirely solid, but something made entirely out of shadow.

_________________________________________________________________

The figure stepped back from the carnage, and the armor began to contort and shift, before disappearing all together. Enigma looked across the room at his handy work. "Got a little out of control there...not my style to leave this much of a mess behind." he muttered to himself as the darkness took him once more and he moved away.


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## Platinum (Feb 2, 2011)

*The Haunted Wastelands- In The Graveyard of Swords*

A thousand of the Black Swarms finest and The King in Black himself gathered in the Graveyard of Swords to be witness to this grand event. All in procession were focused single-mindlessly on a peculiar stone staircase that led to nowhere in the exact center of this graveyard. Walking slowly in between his men and studying them with scrutinizing glances the King in Black did one final inspection of his men. Once satisfied he waved at them and instructed them to kneel which they all did immediately.

He walked each step purposefully and in no time at all he had ascended to the top where he paused and waited....

A large orb appeared which slowly grew larger as time passed, eventually encompassing thousands of feet, it stopped it's growth once it touch the stairs. If one looked closely at this black orb you would be able to make out countless specks of light, each one a galaxy or quasar. One might think it was a map of existence itself but that would be partially untrue. For each light was just a place in which he had wandered once before, he had many places to go before his eternal wandering was complete. Once the mysteries of this universe were known to him, he would move onto another as he always did.

Finally out of the nigh absolute darkness a figure appeared, clothed in tattered yellow robes many in the swarm likened his movement to that of a wraith. His eyes shone bright, brighter than any stars in the sky. All in the swarm had to temporarily turn their eyes away from the man. All except the King in Black who stood unmoving. Once the glare of his eyes had faded enough to allow proper sight again the swarm turned their heads back to the two.

"Welcome back my friend" The King in Black spoke, his voice full of joy at seeing a face he never expected to see again on this world. He extended his hand in greeting.

The King in Yellow extended his hand as well and the two shook. He glanced over at the men of The Black Swarm and remarked to his friend "I see you have been rather busy yourself.... Good we have much to plan before this meeting of the Kings."



*Paraidso- In a secret bunker under Paradise Falls*

The Director had elected to examine this latest class of soldiers himself. They were the finest to date, more psychically powerful than any class before them. The implants in their bodies which increased their reaction times, strength, and endurance among other things were the finest that Paradiso science could offer at the moment.

Still it wasn't enough, it never was enough. The average member of the Black Swarm was still more than a match for the top ten soldiers of this class. But these results were pleasant to say the least, their research into bio-modification had gone of better than any of Paradiso's scientists could have imagined. Soon they would have the strongest army in the world. Soon they would be able to begin the mass training of troops.

"Men" The Director began, each of the 500 soldiers immediately snapped to attention. "You are being sent on a mission of the utmost importance to our city. In the North in the ruins of a pre apocalyptic city lies a gold mine of experimentally pre war tech. Alongside a relic of great power that can not and will not fall into the hands of the enemy. You will all be leaving this city immediately on a mission to retrieve all that you find of value. Be warned you can expect multiple factions to be vying for this treasure including The Obsidian Guard and possibly Neo Genesis troops." 

He let those words dwell in the air before he continued, "But worry not for you are not being sent to your deaths. In fact I leave you in quite capable hands." He gestured to a man in the corner on his right, a man no one noticed before. His face was unknown to all that looked upon it, but one thing stood out amongst all his other features... and that was the great hunger in his eyes. "You will be lead by none other than the newest Paradiso Archangel himself."


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## Platinum (Feb 2, 2011)

*Draygon's Fortress
*

Aquarius touched the cold metal with his hands and let his power flow through it and almost immediately could feel it weakening. Not even steel could withstand the power of liquefaction. "The rescue team has arrived" Aquarius spoke as the door melted away. He took a quick glance at them, they all looked pretty beat to hell, but that was to be expected. "It looks like none of you are in any position to help us fight our way out... but don't worry me and Scorpio are more than enough to keep you guys alive until we can rendezvous with Archon, Chachamaru and Enigma. Just hang back and watch us work". He turned to address Scorpio "Tend to them, I'll call out to you if I find anyone else."

While Scorpio freed them Aquarius checked the other cells. He started with the one directly across from them. Once again he focused power into his palms. Once the liquid steel was pooling at his feet he looked inside the cell. It's only occupant was a man who was chained to the wall, apparently his name was Luke and he had been locked up for quite some time. "Get him down" he motioned at Scorpio and made a cutting motion with his left hand. "I'm going to see who else I can find".

Most of them were empty and as he had a sinking feeling that the final people he was supposed to find might have been moved in anticipation of their raid. 


He left them there while he proceeded to check the final few cells. At last he got to the final one and hopefully this one contained the final people he was looking for. He focused the energy into his hands and got to work...


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## Stunna (Feb 3, 2011)

"What the... Who the heck are you?" Mask weakly inquired as a stranger entered the cell. He didn't seem like an enemy.

Fox was too weak to even acknowledge the stranger's arrival.

OOC: Sorry for the short post, just not sure how your character would respond, ect.


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## masamune1 (Feb 3, 2011)

"...ow....Ow...OW!", Luke shouted-  though not too loudly- as the woman burned through the chains. She used her bare hands- it seemed like her sweat was acid.

The chains fell to the ground, and Luke massaged his wrists. 

The alarms stopped, and normal lighting returned. Either the guards at the alarm station had been tricked....or they were dead.

"Can you walk?", the woman asked. It didn't seem like the time to be asking names.

He looked down at his feet and took a couple of small, painful steps. "Yeah", he decided. "I think so".

"Good", she said. "Lets go".

He stepped out from the dark, cold concrete cell into the dark, cold, concrete hall, but though the scenery hadn't changed much he felt, for the first time, a sense of relief. It was the first time he'd been outside that prison of his own free will, with no guards in sight. 

Well, not counting the bodies he glanced when he turned right and looked up the hallway, anyway. His rescuers, he reflected with a sense of unnerve that surprised the free man, were a frightening pair, to be able to slaughter Draygon's men with such ease.

He turned to his left and saw three men. The first looked like a rock star with wild coloured hair, and Luke suddenly wondered- not for the first time- if all this wasn't just some bad, bizarre dream. The second was holding the third too his feet. All three had clearly been beaten, but the third guy had blood on his lips and looked like hell, barely awake too. He might be in trouble. 

The woman brushed past him and went inside their cell. Luke heard the voices of kids again inside the cell, and moved in to get a look.

Inside their was a young boy with a distant, shocked look on his face; and an even younger girl, who was crying badly. They were standing over another girl, this one maybe 18 or so, who seemed to be unconcscious. Or dead.

"You", the woman said. "Give me a hand".

After a moment computing those orders, Luke went inside and helped the woman carry the girl to her feet. Suddenly, the woman shifted the weight over to him. "You, carry", she said. "I'm going to keep you all alive".

Luke wasn't too happy about that- it reminded him he didn't have his powers-but he didn't bother arguing. "Who is she?", he asked.

The woman paused and gave him a strange look, almost like shame. Then Luke realised: she didn't know.   

"Holly", the little girl sniffed out. "She's our sister".

Luke and the woman looked down at the girl. She had stopped crying, though she still looked sad. Luke caught a glance of the boy- her brother- looking down at her with wide eyes. He guessed that the kid was surprised that she answered....and he didn't. 

There was a pause, then the woman said "Come on, lets go", and Luke carried the older girl out on his shoulder. He and the second guy looked at each other when he came out, bonded in their burdens. The rock star guy was staring at the wall, for some unfathomable reason. 

Luke turned his head to see the kids hug, then come out together holding hands. Both looked braver. The woman stood guard at the crossroads- across from the wall between his cell and the other was a long path leading into a stretch of darkness, probably an entrance to these dungeons. The woman watched, alert, for trouble coming from that way or down the hall. 

On the other side, the man who liquified his cell door came out from another further down, with a scrawny looking black haired guy he guessed was about the same age as Holly. They were carrying between them another one about the same age, this one with fiery red hair.

He looked worse than all of them.

"No", the little girl sobbed, and ran up to them as the two men gently lay the third down against the wall. Her brother stayed where he was, but he looked shaken by the man's sorry appearance as well. Luke assumed he just didn't want to part from his older sister.

"Fox", the girl whimpered, kneeling down in front of him. "Wake up. Please wake up", she said, shoving him.

Fox groggily opened up a bruised eye; he only managed the one. He gave her a weak smile. "Hey......Rachel", he said. Luke saw him start to move his arm, but give up. It looked broken. 

Rachel put her hands to her mouth, and cried again.

"I'm glad.....You're still safe.....", Fox muttered, then closed his eye and slumped his head.

He was dead.

The scrawny guy collapsed against the other wall and buried his hands in his hair. He was taking it badly too.

The group of kid, cripples and soldiers lowered their heads in shame and silence, over the crys of a little girl. He didn't know the dead man, and neither, he guessed, did his rescuers, but they all felt a common bond in the damp dark of this evil place as he left them. 

All except the rock star, who still stared at the wall, detached from the rest.

"We're surrounded", he said.

Everyone raised their head and looked to him, save for the young girl and the scrawny man who were still lost in grief. Luke wondered how the hell this guy was supposed to know that.

But he was right.

"Aquarius!", the woman said, looking down the hall to the other rescuer. Aquarius turned around to face the men stepping out of the shadows, five fierce looking warriors armed with axes and swords. 

"Scorpio", he replied without taking his eyes off of them. The woman turned around and stepped back, and six more of them appeared on her end out of nowhere.

"Looks like I've caught a big one", a cruel voice spoke out from the third way. 

His footsteps echoed through the dungeon halls, and he came out of the darkness. Tall, shirtless, a body of scars and arcane tattoos, a heavy, suffocating presence emanating from him. The most fearsome crime lord in the city, and the owner of this hellish prison.

Draygon, the Butcher.


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## Platinum (Feb 3, 2011)

*Draygon's Fortress*

"Everyone stay behind me" Scorpio removed two of her throwing daggers from her cloak and skidded them across the floor to the group of recently freed prisoners. "If any of them get through, or if anything happens to Aquarius or me... I expect one of you to take up those daggers and defend the others." 

She drew two other knifes from her cloak, these ones were special... ornate handles with crafted from the finest metals around. Metals that allowed her to channel her poisons through them. Each emblazoned with a gold scorpion these were proof that she was the avatar of Scorpio. She assumed her fighting stance and took a momentary glance over at Aquarius.

Aquarius brought his staff to bare and assumed a defensive stance. "So this is the butcher of Pandemonium", Aquarius thought to himself. He was a pretty intimidating guy he had to admit. Body covered in scars and exotic tattoos, carried himself well to boot. He reminded Aquarius of an eastern wasteland warlord that he killed not too long ago on a mission for The Administration. Nothing he couldn't handle though.... usually.

These were special circumstances. The odds were not on his side, having to fend off this man and his cronies while protecting a group of battered prisoners. He would have to hope he and Scorpio were enough until the others caught up. Slowly and discretely he began collecting water from the air around him and focusing it on the ends of his staff. He would need every trick in his play book to come out on top.

"Draygon" he yelled, and the man's eyes connected with his. "Your crimes against the people of this city are unforgivable. As the Avatars of Aquarius and Scorpio we will no longer tolerate your existence. Butcher your life is forfeit, you die tonight."

Draygon's reply was a harsh and unnerving laugh.

Aquarius was never one for speeches but his words were the truth. The Wastelands would never rise from the ashes as long as people like him were around. Together he and Scorpio would protect these people and kill all who stood in their path, or they would die trying.

And now the real battle began...


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## Emperor Joker (Feb 4, 2011)

Chachamaru and Archon stumbled into a dimly lit room, which had a rank smell coming from it. Cages and torture racks lined wall to thier left, while on the right was line of large kennels. Blood, both fresh and old made the floor sticky to walk on. In the middle of the room was a large pit, that due to the poor lighting they couldn't see into. However loud animistic snores came from it.

Stepping into the room however Archon grew alert...something was not right. "Something feel off here...There's somebody here we can't see."

A high pitched giggle came from the far corner and the lights sprang up, revealing a tall and utterly skinny man, sitting on a wooden stool. He was grinning at them and surrounding him were a pack of monsterous rottweilers. Saliva dripped from thier snarling mouths as they pulled against the large metal leashes that were secured around them. 

"Very astute and aware of your surroundings aren't you little boy?" said the man and he giggled again. Dressed in a pathwork tunic that incorpated every color imaginable, his Grinning face stared across at them. He had ritualistic tattoes running across the top of his bald head, but below the eyes was clown makeup. "Such a disapointment...now my lovely puppies will have to work for their meal...Master Draygon ever so loves to have the puppies fed fresh meat after all."

"Who are you?" asked Chachamaru carefully.

"Me?" asked the odd looking man his eyes wide in mock surprise. "Why I am Puckermelon of course. I am master Draygon's beast and monster tamer," he said happily. "I should ask your names, but it won't matter, not when you'll be in my babies stomach's for long...I do wish you were bit fatter though. both of you together will hardly even fill up one of my babies."

"We'll see about that," said Chachamaru charging forward.

"Ooh Spunky..." said Puckermelon his eyes flashing. "I hate spunky, it get gives the puppies indigestion!" He stamped his foot in fury, and let go of the leashes and the monsterous dogs bounded forward. They were quicker than Chachamaru or Archon would have though and one collided with Chachamaru at break neck speed and sent her flying back through the doorway.

"Get them babies! Get Them, rip them to shreds for Daddy!"


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## Platinum (Feb 4, 2011)

*Draygon's Fortress*

In unison two of Draygon's men charged Aquarius and two charged Scorpio, the others hanging back to strike at the opportune moment. A moment Aquarius and Scorpio were determined not to give them. They stood firm waiting for them to get close, for moving forward now would be fatal to the group they fought so hard to rescue. Draygon's men would devour them in their current state. There was already one death they could of prevented, their wouldn't be anymore tonight.

The first man swung his axe in a wide horizontal arc aiming for Scorpio's head. With finely honed reflexes she ducked under the swing and lunged forward before the man could react. In one fluid motion she plunged her right knife into the man's sternum and pulled it out. Turning her body 180 degrees she caught the downward strike of the second man's sword with her right knife in a reverse grip. Using her position to her advantage she plunged her left blade into the man's back. Seeing him with her peripheral vision Scorpio moved her right blade up just in time to parry the blade of a third man. She knocked him off his feet and moved back into her defensive position.

Aquarius easily dodged the first sword swing by moving to his right. He swung his staff in a downward arc sweeping the man off his feet. He turned his staff to the vertical position and brought one of the ends crashing down into the man's throat, crushing it. He then brought the staff up to parry three wild blows of the axe from the second man. Once he saw weakness Aquarius capitalized knocking his axe out of his hands and crushing his skull. Seeing a third man rushing towards him he pointed one end of the staff at him, much like one aiming a gun. Focusing all the water on that end into a single point he blasted it outward. The blast went right through the man's throat, severing his jugular. He fell to the floor in a heap. Five down.

The third and fourth of Draygon's men were no problem for Scorpio. The third man fell to a wound in the neck, and the fourth was a killed by a combination of acidic mist blown into his face and a knife in the heart while he was blinded. But the final two were proving to be more of a problem. They coordinated their attacks to keep her off balance, and she couldn't rush forward to attack one without risking the chance of the other breaking through and attacking their group. She just needed the right window of opportunity.

With a jab to the stomach with his staff and a right hook he sent the fourth sprawling into the wall. Dodging the axe swing of the final henchmen he grabbed his face and began liquefying until he was sure the man was dead. A rather gruesome death, but it was necessary he had gotten rid of all the men on his end.

"You shouldn't have turned your back on me" he heard a sinister voice say. Before he could react he could feel the cold iron of the butcher's weapon cut through his body.... only to splash out harmlessly on the other side. Self liquefaction had many benefits and now he had Draygon right where he wanted him. Capitalizing on the butcher's momentary confusion, Aquarius unleashed a furious barrage of jabs and swings of his staff targeting the man's vital areas. Knocking him back he finished his attack by directing the remaining water pooled around his staff into a burst right into Draygon's stomach, piercing nothing vital, but hopefully it would slow the man down. 

But that was the least of his concerns. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man he sent sprawling slowly get up and retrieve his weapon before shuffling toward the group of recently freed prisoners, his eyes burning with bloodlust. He was supposed to be dead or knocked out damn it, how the hell did he recover so fast?

Before he could move to stop the man Draygon was on him, fiercer than ever before. He was struggling to keep up... but it should be the other way around, he dealt him more than enough damage that his movements should have been dulled at least a bit. There was something odd about him for sure some power he had within that wasn't apparent at first. "Fuck don't tell me... this guy grows stronger the longer he fights!", Aquarius thought to himself. This was not good. Not good at all. He wondered how much longer he could hold out by himself, this day had taken a toll on all of them. Fatigue was slowing his and Scorpio's movements. They had no chance to take down Draygon in a protracted battle by themselves. At least not without some help from two special orbs...

Scorpio had finished off one of the final two but had her blades locked with the final henchmen. She was slowly gaining the upperhand, but time was of the essence. Neither was in position to stop the man who was menacingly approaching the battered group...


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## Platinum (Feb 5, 2011)

*Draygon's Fortress*


The man with the odd colored hair calmly picked up the two daggers Scorpio left on the floor. Batting aside the man's weary and disorientated swing with the dagger in his left had he proceeded to plunge the other in the man's chest. He watched the man slowly slump to the floor as the final sparks of life left him.

Scorpio saw the final henchman momentarily glance over to his dying comrade, this was the moment she needed. She disarmed the man and slashed his throat. With the cronies dead she rushed to help Aquarius.

Draygon's counterattack was relentless. All Aquarius could do was block each fierce swing. Then suddenly the butcher was knocked back by a fierce kick. "Took you long enough" Aquarius spoke in between pants, a faint smile on his lips. Scorpio returned the smile and returned to her fighting stance.

Together they were able to push the fight the butcher to a standstill, though they were caught in a futile situation. The blows they landed on him were doing little damage and he was just getting stronger and stronger. They needed to think of a way to end this quickly, obviously help was not arriving any time soon...

Aquarius swung his staff in a wide arc to generate some space between them and then rushed in and hit Draygon with jabs to the stomach and neck. They didn't seem to phase him much if at all as the butcher sent him flying with a punch. He landed hard on the concrete, his breath knocked out of his body.

Scorpio wasn't faring much better. Draygon was easily her superior in strength, with a fierce series of attacks he broke her guard and knocked her to the floor. Draygon raised his weapon high and begun it's downward arc. 

The Butcher had gone too long in this battle without draining blood. But Aquarius was determined to not let anyone die. Summoning up his reserve energy he ran, faster than he ever had before and arrived just in time to block the attack with his staff.

With surprising quickness the butcher turned his blade and swung it at Aquarius' torso. He liquefied his body... but not fast enough. The blade cut him deep and sent him crashing into the wall on the opposite side. Scorpio capitalized on the moment and knocked Draygon off his feet with a leg sweep and fell back to create some distance between him.

The wound was pretty bad, Aquarius liquefied his body in order to stop the bleeding. As long as he was in this state he was fine, but he wouldn't be able to keep it up forever. He had no other options, he had to end this fight now. He reached into his cloak and pulled out his orb. Slowly with his hand trembling he prepared to smash the orb against the wall.

Scorpio looked on with horrified eyes at what he was planning to do. "Aquarius, you can't! Not here you risk all their lives."

Suddenly a loud crash came from the shadowed hallway. All turned to see what it came from. Slowly coming into view was one of their allies. A man who they knew as Enigma. "Took you long enough" Aquarius spoke weakly before putting the orb back into his cloak. Scorpio seeing Draygon's attention was fully on Enigma ran to Aquarius' side. 

"You took quite a hit", Scorpio said as she helped him to his feet. Aquarius was leaning heavily on his staff. "I don't have anything to stop the bleeding, can you still fight?"

"It takes more than a single wound to keep me down. And as long as I keep my body liquefied the wound won't bleed. I'll be fine, i'm not out of this yet."

Aquarius and Scorpio returned to defensive stances and waited to see what Enigma would do...


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## Endless Mike (Feb 5, 2011)

Chachamaru immediately jumped in front of the attacking beasts to hold them off, but they tackled her to the ground with unexpected, supernatural strength. Meanwhile, Archon charged the man controlling them, firing a telekinetic blast, which was somehow parried by the beast tamer.

The two moved in for a closer confrontation, trading telekinetically - enhanced blows. Archon was surprised that this decrepit old man could match him like this. Eventually, Archon managed to get a good shot in, knocking the man back against the wall. He easily recovered though, and prepared another attack.

"You don't seem to care that much that your friend is dead," the beast master mocked. "I'm sure she's been torn into bloody chunks by now."

Archon laughed, knowing how impossible that was. As if on cue, Chachamaru, who had pushed off the hellhounds, jumped in and attempted to strike their master from behind. However, he somehow managed to dodge, as if anticipating her strike.

"What?" He looked at her, her clothes torn and ragged, but otherwise okay. "No blood?" He then noticed the exposed metal scar on her elbow. Before he had time to comment on this, the dogs attacked again, their fierceness seemingly redoubled, as she tried her best to hold them off.

The skinny man turned back to Archon. "Let's see what's in that head of yours," he said sinisterly.

Suddenly Archon felt a mild headache, and a familiar voice spoke to him.

"This man is attempting a psychic probe into your subconscious," Magister said. "I can hold him off for now, but be careful." Archon nodded, firing a blast of psychic energy at the man, who dodged out of the way with preternatural timing. Chachamaru was still doing her best to hold off the canine creatures, but they seemed to be empowered by some strange mystical energy, and with many of her weapons exhausted, she was losing ground.

Archon groaned as the psychic probe intensified, but still managed to deflect an attack with a telekinetic shield.

"This guy... who is he?" He thought, as they continued desperately fighting.


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## Emperor Joker (Feb 8, 2011)

Enigma strode into the room, keeping his eyes on Draygon. The darkness from the hallway followed, and an intense aura of cold came with it. "Stay back," he said to Aquarius and Scorpio. "He's mine now."

"Knew it would be you Knight..." said Draygon from across the room "I can finally put you back in the ground where you belong. This time i'll make certain you stay dead. I'll feed you to the dogs, like your wife and spawn...or perhaps I should mount your corpse on my wall." As Draygon said this, he licked his lips and a maniacal glint was in his monsterous eyes, as he started forward.

"We'll see about that." said Enigma sourely and the darkness behind him began to contort and shape itself. Out of the darkness, came two beings, almost entirely faceless except for fang rimmed mouths. They were genderless entirely and wore no armor. In thier hands they each carried a pair of dueling knives. Both of the shadow spawn darted forward and then off to the sides, as the darkness contorted again as Enigma shaped it into a blast and hurled it. The two spawn came in at Draygon in a pincer attack, as Draygon backhanded the blast out of the way. The first spawn slized into his right arm, but the other was grabbed by it's head and smashed into the ground, where it dissolved entirely. A couple sweeps of his sword was enough to corner the second spawn and destroy it.

Darkness blotted out all light entirely, and Enigma appeared behind him with a broad sword in hand. With one swing of his sword, he decapitated the massive men, spraying blood across the floor. The head rolled, but the body still stood upright for some peculiar reason. 

Enigma stood there and huffed and breathed heavily...He was surprised honestly...this was too easy. 

The body lurched and the flat side of Draygon's blade hit him flat in the chest and sent him flying. Landing in a crouch not far away, he looked up to see the body reaching down and grabbing the head. Sticking it to it's neck, he placed it facing Enigma, and the skin began to heal.

_Knew it was too easy_ thought Enigma. _It would figure he'd get some upgrades as well._

"Praise be to Khorne!" screamed Draygon the Butcher. "For he has made me his most faithful servant in this realm Immortal! For this gift I shall now offer all of you to him as sacrifices!" 

_Great...just great._ Thought Enigma as Draygon charged straight at him.


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## masamune1 (Feb 9, 2011)

A symphony of imagination and death played out before his eyes. Man, woman and rock star stabbbed, poisoned, shot and even liquified the monstrous guards he had grown to hate; his evil giant jailer suffered ridiculous abuse at the hands of his rescuers yet seemed to only get stronger, and then out of the darkness his hero- the Phantom ofthe Slums- sent two creatures of shadow into the fight before lobbing off the head of the Butcher. Who promptly put it back on.

And yet, Luke could only stand there, powerless; gaping in horror and awe. 

Weakened from days of torture and mistreatment, handicapped by these damned runic symbols, and responsible for the unconscious young girl he carried under his arm, the  Avatar of Gaia was in no fit position to do anything but stand and watch. 

The Butcher grinned his maniacal smile and ran straight for the Phantom, who simply said to the group without turning, "Get out of here." He clashed with the evil creature and engulfed them both in elemental blackness, which then dississipated into nothingness. Both fighters had dissappeared. 

After a momet of silence, the man Aquarius looked at the others and said, "You heard the man. Lets move it."

The man holding the dying fellow turned back to them and said, "We can't just leave him! Look at that guy! Enigma does'nt stand a chance!"

"Neither do we", Scorpio harshly replied. "Aquarius is wounded. That guy you're holding? He's even worse. We're in no condition to fight. Finn, we need to move now. We'll be lucky if we make it out alive."

"But what about him?", Finn said, gesturing with his free arm to where the Phantom once stood. "And what about the Archon and Chachamaru? Where are they?" He turned to the rock star, and said, "Hen! Are they here?"

Hen stared into space for a few moments, then said, "Yes, I've got them. They're that way", and he gestured north, or south, or whatever direction in this place, "the other side of the fortress. But.....", he said omniously, "they are in trouble....._Big_ trouble."

"We're not leaving them", Finn said angrily. "I'm not leaving Chachamaru behind".

"There are more guards on the way", Hen bleakly continued. "But I think.....I think I've found a path. Back that way", and he motioned to behind Aquarius and Scorpio. "Only a few men in that direction. We can get to them then. They are'nt far from the way out anyway."

Aquarius sighed, then said, "Alright. I guess we have no choice. Lets move."

Scorpio moved over to the guy slumped down against the wall. She nudged him with her foot, then asked. "You. Whats your name?"

The guy turned away from his dead friend and stared at the wall, as if the question was only just reaching him. "Myl....", then, strangely, he lowered his eyes to the ground, and gave a small smile. "Mask.", he said, then looked up to stare Scorpio in the eye. "My name is Mask."

Scorpio stared back for a moment, then said, "Well, Mask, do you know how to fight?"

"Nope.", he replied bluntly and with no shame.

"Well", she said, pulling out one last dagger, "You're the only one here who looks enough fit to, so you're going to have to learn", and she gave it to him. She then crossed over to the little girl, and helped her to her feet. She whispered something in her ear, then turned back to Mask, and said, "You're in charge of these two", reffering to the kids. "You'll be keeping them safe".

Mask looked at the kids, and they looked back. None of them seemed entirely confident about the arrangement. But after a moment, Mask slowly raised himself to his feet, and put the dagger in his belt. "Guess I have no choice", he said. 

Scorpio looked back at him again. She sensed, as Luke did, that these three knew something about each other that they were'nt sharing, but there was'nt any time for that. Aquarius, leaning on his staff, shouted out, "Everyone ready?"

Some nodded. Some didn't.

"Then lets go", and they moved.

____________________________________________________

The guard at the gates of the Fortress moved briskly, and angrily, at the man walking up to the place. Most people were'nt stupid enough to try this on the best of days, and he was in no mood to tolerate it in the middle of an attack. The guy would get one chance, if he was lucky, before this big spear met his stomach. He pointed it at the man with one hand, then said, "You! Get out of here! Beat it!", he shouted.

The hobo simply grabbed the spear, pulled the guard in, and gently shoved his palm into his face, pushing him to the ground as he died from the touch of death. The Baron did not stop, and carried on towards the Fortress gates.


----------



## Platinum (Feb 9, 2011)

*Rapture, The Mamba's Den
*

In Rapture under the popular establishment known to many as The Mamba's Den, lied a vast subterranean temple. Home to snakes and serpents of all kinds it was also the main dwelling place of the former celestial god Ophiuchus. Most who would gaze upon this fallen god would think he was a broken and dispirited man. But they would be mistaken, because true to his nature the god of snakes was always scheming. Always planning his next move.

Appearing before Ophiuchus, fresh off his discussion with Osiris, was Paradox the lord of time. Ignoring the serpents that slithered and coiled about his feet Paradox's attention was focused solely on Ophiuchus. "It has been found Ophiuchus. The artifact you have been hunting for so long. In the ruins of a pre apocalyptic city out in the frozen wastes is where it lies."

Ophiuchus couldn't hide the smile on his face as he straightened out his body and stood up to meet Paradox's eyes. The dim lighting obscured most of the god's features. But one thing was not obscured, his eyes. He had the eyes of a serpent, they appeared to see right through a man. Gleaming with a dull hunger, few could stand to meet his gaze for an extending period of time. Coiled around his neck was a large black python. It was sleeping for now... but it's muscles were tense, the python could attack at a moment's notice sleeping or not. "And I assume their powers that be are already mobilizing, preparing to war over these findings."

"Of course they are" Paradox's reply was curt. "The leaders of the cities are constantly looking to extend their power, their influence. You can expect that they will be sending people of exceptional power to claim it as their own."

"All according to plan. As they fight with one another they will be too busy to recognize the snake that has slithered into their camp. And by then it will be too late, the prize will be mine." he began to laugh but his laughter quickly degenerated into a fit of coughs. "I am still weakened.... but it matters not. I have a man perfectly suited to this task."

Out of the shadows appeared a mysterious man. "What do you command of me my master?" The Avatar of Ophiuchus inquired.


*The Wastelands*

"Do you understand. You are to head north immediately, we have reason to believe that their is an artifact of great importance buried there in the ruins of a city. We cannot let it fall into the wrong hands, you are to retrieve this artifact and leave after. Take no unnecessary risks. Do you understand my Avatar?" The Celestial God Pisces had finished speaking and waited for an answer.

Drawing his cloak tighter around him the avatar nodded to signify his understanding. "Don't worry the icy wastes of the north is practically a second home to me. Besides it's been a while since I have had an opponent worthy of my skills. Perhaps i'll find one there."

"No unnecessary risks" the god repeated.

"I know. I won't fail you can be certain of that." 

Communication between the two ceased. "Things are finally getting interesting", the avatar of Pisces thought to himself. His belongings already packed he set off for the north without delay.


----------



## masamune1 (Feb 10, 2011)

The group moved briskly, but carefully, through the dark dungeon halls of the the Butcher's Fortress. Scorpio took the lead, followed by Hen, then came Luke and the other guy, both carrying their unconscious charges; behind them was Mask with the children in tow;, and lastly Aquarius, guarding the rear. 

According to Hen, there was some strange elements lining the walls in some parts of the Fortress, including the one they had moved to. His X-ray vision was'nt working so well, and he could'nt see the people they were running to, this Chacha-wazzists and Archion, until the left it. Needless to say, he also would'nt be able to spot an ambush.  

With that in mind, Scorpio quickly held out a hand as they neared a crossroads, and gestured for the rest of them to wait. She went ahead alone, to make sure the coast was clear. 

_("shut up")_, muttered a voice near the front.

"Huh?", Luke asked.

Hen turned around with an embarrased look on his face, and seemed then shook his head and said, "Nothing.", then turned back around but not before glancing at the girl in Luke's arms, then over at Mask and the kids.

Luke turned around to the other guy, who shrugged his shoulders. This Hen guy was just weird, it seemed. 

"Wait, what? Where?", Hen suddenly said out loud.

Everyone turned their heads up to stare at him, wide eyed. Luke could'nt see Aquarius, but he could feel his angry gaze piercing through him, mad at the sudden un-stealthiness of their stealthy escape.

"What the hell are you doing? Be queit!", the other guy loudly whispered. 

Hen turned around and put out both hands, and started to back off. "Finn, guys...wait here", he said, then ran off round a corner. 

Finn looked at Luke, who could do nothing but stare back. There was a bit of a noise coming from Hen's direction, a door openign and junk being rummaged through. 

A few seconds later, he re-emerged armed with a guitar, literally armed as Luke could see attached to the instrument shuriken and a chainsaw, old blood stainns on both. What the hell was this guy?

Scorpio came runing back from up the shadowy halls, then stopped as she neared the group. "I heard a noise. What happened?", she asked.

Hen strummed the strings of his death-guitar, and with the music out breathed a sigh of relief. He slumped his back against the wall, closed his eyes and said "Thank you, ghost friend. Thank you."

Hen, oblivious to the stares of these refugees trying to escape from this layer of hell, tilted his head back and smiled, eyes staring at the ceiling. 

After a brief moment of that, Scorpio marched up to him and gave him a hard smack on the back of the head, and no sooner had he scramed "Ow!" than ha she grabbed him and shoved him up aganst the concrete wal with one hand. She raised a finger to his face, and gave him a stare that could have sent all the murderous thugs in this building running for the wastes. "Don't...._ever...._do that again. Understand?"

Hen gave three or four nods before the second was up, and Scorpio reluctantly let him go. She turned back to the rest of them, and said, "Its clear. Lets go." 

The assorted bunch of misfits continued their journey out of the depths of this unholy place, yet all now warier of the mad rocker guiding them along the way. None of them were sure now if Draygons men would kill him, or if they would beat them to it.


----------



## Platinum (Feb 13, 2011)

*New Jericho- Location Unknown*

Wearing a coat of gore and emotionless metal the notorious serial killer known to all in New Jericho as Red Eye had never been closer to his goal. A journey of vengeance, to kill the man who slew his brother all those years ago in New Jericho's first civil war. Red Eye knew deep down that all his years of fighting monsters had made him a monster himself. He didn't care though, revenge was all that mattered to him now, all that drove him forward. 

The cybernetic implants ate away at him, but to be honest there was never really much there in the first place. Long before he discarded most of his flesh and bone he had discarded all his connections to his past life and his empathy, empathy made one weak after all. He spent years fighting in the arena in New Jericho, perfecting his dual blade style. Seeking out the strongest opponents he could find only to watch the life slowly drain from their eyes as their blood pooled around them. In the arena you were never supposed to go for a killing blow on any opponent, but no one ever had the courage to remind Red Eye of this fact.

After his arena days were over Red Eye terrorized the streets of New Jericho, killing hundreds in his desperate search for information. Information that he had finally found. The man who was the cause of all of his misfortune lay just beyond this one door. He had finally found the damn hideout where they were staying at, they always moved around sneaky bastards. But today their luck ran out. With a motion of his two blades he sliced the door in four pieces and stepped inside to confront his most hated enemy.

Sitting in the middle of a mostly empty room on a throne of marble was the leader of The Jeweled Fist, the man known as Diamond. On his left, his face buried in a worn book, was Emerald who was the second in command. "Looks like we have a guest", Emerald spoke nonchalantly, not even bothering to look up at the man covered in gore. 

To Diamond's right was another man who was looking at Red Eye with a look of profound amusement. The first thing one noticed about this man was his blue streaked hair, which he had dyed for effect. He wore a grey jacket on top of a patterned dark blue shirt with black pants. Across his neck was a long scarf, the same color as his hair highlights. "Want me to kills this guy?", the man known as Sapphire inquired of his boss.

"No I do believe our friend here has come for me", Diamond replied as he stood up. "Though I do wish he would of showered first", Sapphire and Emerald snickered. 

"I have come to drain the blood from your body you piece of shit" Red Eye could barely keep the anger welling up inside him from boiling out then and there.

"Ah another man lost to bloodlust and anger who has a vendetta against me", Diamond sighed. "So tell me which of your beloved did I kill?"

"My fucking Brother you piece of shit! Nine years ago you killed my fucking brother, and now I will return the favor."

"I remember now, your face did strike me as familiar, well.... the non metal parts did. James was a good man, it's unfortunate he chose the wrong side."

"Don't speak his name!", Red Eye roared.

"I doubt he would be very pleased with his beloved brother now.", Diamond continued ignoring the man's yell. He pointed an accusing finger at Red Eye. "Just look at you. Disgusting, absolutely sickening. You are a mockery of everything human. One side covered in soulless implants and metal, and the other draped in the blood of 30 people, none of it yours. It is truly sad that one can be a stone cold killer like you and have no idea of the significance of blood. Blood is life, blood is what bonds us together. It makes us brothers and sisters, yet you are revel in wearing it like a coat of paint. I will show you the.... power of blood."

Diamond pulled out a jewel encrusted dagger and slid it across the palm of his left hand. He watched with a half grin as the red trails suspended in mid air slowly coiled about each other and started transforming into the desired shape. "Blood is life", Diamond repeated softly. His half grin had transformed into a maniacal smile.

"You are.... a blood mage", Red Eye slowly spoke, fear rapidly growing in his eyes. All thoughts of vengeance left him, replaced by thoughts of cowardice. This man was a true monster, he was nothing but a pale imitation before him.

He turned to flee but felt the tendons in his legs being severed. He collapsed in a heap and turned his eyes to gaze upon the monster once more. "Give The Coachman my regards", was all the man had to say to Red Eye. The last thing Red Eye saw in this world was a large tendril of blood on direct course for his forehead...

The Next Day the citizens of New Jericho were greeted by a gruesome sight. The body of the dreaded serial killer Red Eye had been nailed to the wall of one of the 2nd district's most popular clubs. Though few were able to recognize him as such at first, for his body had been flayed and drained of all blood. His head caved in by something unknown. The only identifiable trait that assured the people it was indeed Red Eye was the broken mechanical eye that hung from the shattered remains of his skull. Some wept for joy, and praised the name of whoever this mysterious saint was who ended the life of this notorious killer. Others lamented that they would never be able to kill Red Eye themselves and avenge whichever loved one that he had killed in his mad quest. Others still pondered who could be strong enough to kill this man. 

Few would ever learn the truth. For Diamond was not one to voice his deeds out loud, he let his works speak for themselves.


----------



## Emperor Joker (Feb 15, 2011)

A shockwave struck the ground, as Enigma and Draygon clashed, sending rubble in the now demolished chamber flying. The chamber had once been a entertainment center, and electronics lay scattered and broken throught the room. A large screen Tv lay shattered in one corner where something had been kicked through it.

The floor thundered as Enigma and Draygon moved. Enigma's armored form bearing down on his most hated enemy. Draygon laughin as he batted away every strike and attack that Enigma sent at him. 

Enigma rushed forward only for the floor to collapse out from underneath him, Causing him and Draygon to drop through.  The chamber they fell into was a massive torture chamber with a variety of spiked tools. 

"Give up, and let me kill you Knight!" screamed Draygon "You can't do anything to me...All your attempt will amount to nothing. You're measly attempts to prevent my ascension were for nothing! This is my city now!"

Enigma breathed heavily, and fatigue was starting to set in for him. Draygon's words confused him however _What is he alking about...does he even know the reason i'm here...His city...Even Magear wouldn't do something like that would he._

*It would certainly appear that way my avatar...I'd advise you to retreat for now.*

_Stay out of this Erebus...i'm ending this tonight._

*I told you this a few days ago Knight...you are not ready for this fight and you have a ways to go....besides I have something for you to do.*

Suddenly he was no longer there, but now he was outside the fortress, where the darkness shifted around him...

_________________________________________________________________

Draygon watched with fury as Knight suddenly blinked out of existance. He threw back his head and roared with rage, causing the room to shake.

"So Knight, you've run away...we'll see about that...I'll follow you til the ends of earth. You'll never be rid of me...never."

_________________________________________________________________

Enigma simmered with rage, as he glared at the shifting darkness. "You had no place interfering in my fight." he said.

"Did I not?" replied the shifting darkness "You could not win my avatar...so I interfered yes. If I had left you there, you would have died for the sake of your vengeance."

"Then you should have left me."

"But then, you wouldn't be able to go to the north, and acquire something that would help you in your quest." 

"What are you talking about?"

"There's a convergence happening up north, and in the middle of it all is an artifact, that will help my agenda..and yours too I think. I'm sending you up there to acquire it...you and your companions that is." Erebus paused for a moment before saying. "It looks like you'll have to find them again...i'll help with that."

Enigma steamed as he suddenly vanished again. _I'll be back Draygon, i'll be back._


----------



## masamune1 (Feb 16, 2011)

_"Watch out!"_, Hen shouted as a wall ahead of them exploded. As the group cleared their eyes and throats of dirt and dust they saw the source of the violence. One of Draygon's guards had been smashed through it, and was now lying dead on the ground. 

The team recognised him from his Chaotic assortment of scars and tattoos and brutish, muscular physique. It was'nt from his face, because that was in the mouth of the monstrous creature that had taken him through the wall, and was now sitting atop him, devouring him.

The monster looked like the biggest dog Luke had ever seen. The furless beast had pointed ears, a long snout and looked like it wore its skin inside-out, bloody veins visibly pumping across its demonic form. Its eyes, the blackest things he had ever seen, appeared disinterested in them, for the horrible thing was too preoccuppied with its meal.

Beyond the dog and up the corridor was an opening, and Luke knew in his heart it opened up into the main hall and the way out of this nightmarish place. But this ragtag bunch of misfits, tired and broken and beaten from torture and war, would have to get past this demon to get to it. 

As if reading his mind, the evil dog stopped snacking on the face of the pitiful guard- and Luke, this time, found himself pitying him- and turned its head to face the group. It did not snarl, it did not growl, it just stared at them with empty pupils, the gore that used to be a grown mans features still dangling from its mouth. 

Nobody moved. They all wanted to run, but they didn't dare turn their back on the thing. Still less did they want to provoke it, or incite it to a chase. They only started backing off, slowly, when the abominable canine climed off the dead mans stomach and started walking towards them, just as slowly, but with an air of sadism and menace, and not the supernatural fear it seemed to excite in the rest of them.

The dog stopped, but continued to look at them. Once again, they didn't move.

"In here", a voice from behind came, and Luke dared a glance at Mask who had found a door they could escape through, but quickly turned back to the dog. It still stood there, watching. Waiting. 

"Slowly....slowly", said Scorpio next to him. "Get inside. We'll go last", referring to herself and Aquarius,  who had stayed back while the others went inside. Luke nodded, still kept watching the beast, and strategically manouvered himself and the girl in his arm through the doorway, into a small space with a long staircase, climbing downwards into the darkness.

Suddenly, a ferocious "bark" tore through the tension, and Luke heard the heavy paws of the monster pouncing towards the doorway. _"Go!"_, shouted Aquarius as he forced his partner through the door with his long staff, and slammed it shut hard. The closed door was rocked by a force that Luke guessed was the dog hurling against it, then he heard a whack that might have been Aquarius smashing it with his stick. He heard Aquarius run off in an unknown direction, and through the opaque wood and stone the creature, enraged at this desperate effort to survive, Luke heard giving chase. 

"Idiot", Scorpio scoffed. "He better not get himself killed over this." 

Luke was more than a little shocked to hear such a _laissez_ attitude to her partners' reckless bravery; only later would he learn that these two dealt with dangerous stuff like this on a semi-regular basis. She wasn't concerned because, well, they did this stuff all the time.  

Scary people.

"Come on. Lets get out of here", Scorpio said, and the team went down the stairs.

 ________________________________________________

The skinny man lay flat on the ground in the bleak and grim laybrinth that was Draygons' dog pen, eyes rolled in the back of his head, his mind fried beyond repair. He had tried to engage Archon in telepathic battle. 

He lost.

And, in the final moments of the skinny mans' thoughts, Archon realised that they had lost too. It seemed that these dogs- which, it transpired, were only part of a much larger pack, of about three dozen or more- were mutated by the energies of an alien dark god named Khorne, and that their primal, murderous fury could only be controlled by a skilled telepath like himself. 

Fighting Archon had meant struggling to control those monsters, which is why he lost. 

And now, there was nobody to control them. Which is why Archon and Chachamaru had left him back there a few minutes ago, and were now running for their lives before the Fortress was swarming with mutant demon dogs, killing friend and foe alike.

One of the beasts popped out of a doorway behind them and gave chase as the pair rushed through the hallways. Archon turned round fast and blasted it with telekinesis, sending it flying back down the corridor and slamming into a distant wall. It quickly recovered and it, along with two new ones, continued the hunt, so Archon stopped and unleashed another, this one at the ceiling. It came crashing down, and a ton of rubble and stone now seperated them from terrible trio. It would stop them....but not for long.

Archon turned back round to Chachamru. Sparks still fizzled out of her elbow where the rest of her right arm should have been- that had been lost when one of the things chewed right through it. Other parts of her skin were peeling off on her face and body, revealing scratched metal underneath. He wondered if she felt pain, or if she was bothered by the brutality.

At that moment he mentally sensed exactly what he wanted to, and his heart leapt that they might soon be leaving this rotten place. "Come on!", he told Chachamaru, and they ran off round a corner.

Archon navigated them through the maze of doors and stairs and decorative skulls, until shortly ahead of them a door opened up and Scorpio exited. She didn't look particularly glad to see them, but Archon knew that she was just as happy as they were; her stoic exterior couldn't hide relief from a psychic.   

Before she had a chance to open her mouth, Archon stopped her and said, "No talking. Lets just get out of here." She shrugged, and stood back to let the rest of the team out. First out was Hen, hugging the most evil guitar on the planet close to his chest. He had a strange aura about him, like he was haunted by some ghostly presence. Then came Finn and a badly wounded Ed, and Finn looked in horror at Chachamaru and the extensive damage she had sustained. 

"Don't worry about it", she said. "Its cosmetic".

After that came the strangers. A young man in faded arcane tattoos carried a young woman, and the kids by another young man armed with one of Scorpios daggers, looking sullen. There was no sign of Aquarius, but Archon already knew where he was. Enigma had vanished, but he was alive. Whatever else this place was, it was loaded with psychic energies, and Archons telepathic abilities had grown stronger as a result, especially after fighting that dog keeper. 

But those energies were dark and dangerous too, and that more than anything was why he wanted to leave. It spoke to a dark bloodlust in the back of his mind, tempted and played with fears and furies inside of him that he never knew existed. Chaos whispered evil things in his head. He wanted to escape, he _needed_ to escape. 

"Aquarius is up ahead", he told Scorpio to allay her hidden concerns. "We've got to go. _Now."_


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## masamune1 (Feb 16, 2011)

Aquarius had leapt off the balcony from the corridor and landed right in the centre of the main hall. A short corridor to a huge wooden door lay in front of him, while beneath the balcony behind him was another, darker tunnel back into the depths of the Fortress. Two wide staircases with blood red carpets curved down from either side of that balcony to the ground floor, and three or four doors and other exits scattered the walls on either side. 

Aquarius was a soldier; he was trained to take all this in even as he fought for his life, and his fast-thinking mind even found the time to marvel at how much this place resembled Castle Dracula while the dog of Khorne bounded off the balcony itself and landed on all fours just ahead of him.

Aquarius had liquified his body to deal with his injuries, but that had started to wear off. The demon bitch had managed to sink her teeth into his shoulder in the lifetime that the two of them had been battling, and although Laker had managed to batter her off with his staff the wound now bled blood as well as water. The soldier of Paradise fell to one knee and kept his eyes locked on the monster, which got to her feet and began pacing round the hall, cautiously, menancingly. 

Out of the black hell that was under the balcony rushed his injured friends, who had managed to find Archon and a terrible mutilated Chachamaru. But hot on their heels a pack more of these hellhounds gave chase, and Archon batted them off with psychic attacks. More came down the stairs and out of the doorways followed by heavily, heavily armoured men, perhaps as wary of the animals as they were the intruders, armed to the teeth with knives, swords, maces and guns. 

The group closed in together as they were encircled by monsters figurative and realm. Scorpio and Mask held out poisoned daggers, Hen readied his lethal guitar, and Luke and Finn squeezed in around the tired, wounded, would-be saviour in the middle as clear liquid trickled out from him onto the floor. He silently cursed himself for falling behind in his training, remebering the days when in the Zodiac he was said to rival Pisces in power. He'd spent too long fighting for men; he'd forgotten how hard it was to battle monsters. 

Men and dogs snarled and sneered at the doomed, failed heroes they surrounded. The room seemed to spin for Laker as he appraised the grimness of the situation, exhuasted and battered and surrounded outnumbered by a dozen. He felt the cold fingers of the Reaper tugging the strings of his heart, and damned the bravery of the fools around him who still defied their inevitable fate. 

As the toll of this battle finally caught on him, Aquarius sank his head to his chest, and closed his eyes to await the end.

.........Nothing happened.

Aquarius looked up, and struggled to his feet using the staff to carry the weight on his limp and finished body. The horde of Chaos was still gathered round them, their bloodthirst tangible and heavy in the haunted air. But they did not strike. They did not strike....because they were waiting for orders.

_Step, step, step,_ came the sounds from out the dark. Another corridor. He walked out calmly, in control, the master of this castle and their death. No smile crept upon the lips of Draygons' evil face, but the smug attitude of the victor was something he could not hide. The men, and even the berserker hounds, held back obediently in his presence.

"The coward runs, and the heroes die", the Butcher announced to the dead men and women. "Your friend the Phantom has abandoned you; he didn't even have the courage to avenge his own family. I'll give you one last chance-tell me where he lives. I will punish him for betraying you....and I'll make it quick for you."

At last, the smile showed itself. He raised his arms wide, and concluded his ultimatum. "So tell me, Heroes. Whats it going to be?" 

And for the first time in his life, Aquarius contemplated treachery.

He was sorely tempted to accept that offer, a quick and easy death might be prefferable to the horrors he knew this man would put them through. 

"Fuck off", said Rachel, the little girl. 

"Go to Hell", said her brother. "Kiss my ass", said Finn. "Ram your head up Khornes, you piece of shit", said Scorpio, his partner. 

Everyone in the group kept up their guard, none wavered in the face of the forces of the Blood God. All stood defiant against his servant, whose smugness and smile had now well and truly vanished. 

Aquarius found himself smiling at them all, even as he had to fall back on his knee. "_Idiots_", he thought to himself. "_My lovable band of idiots_". 

"Idiots", said Draygon the Butcher with growing anger in his voice. "You band of fucking idiots. _Tear them to pieces!"_, he shouted at his battalion of horrors.

And at that very moment, the wooden doors out of the hellish place burst wide open and a man flew over everybodys head. He dissapeared midway, falling apart, and only bloody skeletal pieces of the guard rained on the floor.

__________________________________________

All eyes turned upon the doorway to the man now standind in the exit; many with fear, Draygons' with fury. 

The serious figure walked into the main hall and returned every stare, not showing the slightest hint that he was intimidated. He eyed the dogs, who crept back, growiling; he eyed the men, who crept back, scared and confused. And he eyed the master of the castle, who did not creep back at all. He just stood his ground, and returned his stare. 

And then he looked at the sorry band of heroes in the middle of the room. And to them this hobo said, "I apologise for my lateness, _mes amis."_ This place was harder to find than I thought."

The misfits simply started dumbfounded at the filthy hobo. Except Hen, who said "You! You bastard! What did you do to me!?"

"I can honestly say that I do not know, _monseiur_ Lurker. But whatever it was, I apologise."

"What do you want?", said a voice off to the side.

Chricton- or the Baron, to be more correct- responded to Draygon's inquiry with a stare. The Butcher remained unnerved. "These fine sirs and madames are friends of mine. I am here to see them home."

"I am the Avatar of the Blood God, you filthy _Loa._ You cannot challenge me, or come into my domain."

"We are not here to challenge you, oh Grim One. And we shall leave. But they are coming with us. It was a service requested of us," and at this the Baron smiled, "by Lord Erebus."

Draygon scowled and his eyes narrowed, but he did nothing. The Baron raised his hand out to the heroes, and said melodramatically (or, given the circimstances, not): "Come with me if you want to live."

They didn't need to be asked twice. Darting their eyes around the room, watching all enemies, Archon, Scorpio, Mask and Chachamaru backed off, and Luke and Finn and the others they were protecting quickly scuttled over to safety with the god of Death. Archon started to help Aquarius up, but he brushed him off gently. He forced himself to walk. 

The dogs, followed by the guards, followed by Draygon, stalked after the band as they made their slow escape. "Thank you, Samedi", Aquarius said to his rescuer.

"Its La Croix, unfortunately", the Baron said, with sadness, then turned to face the monsters. "And on that topic, may I ask, do you know where the Mayor is? We have a bit of a bit of business to sort out with him, but he seems to have vanished." He then said more sternly, "Where is he?"

The guards and the dogs halted mere feet away from Baron La Croix and the quarry he stood between. Draygon marched ahead to the front of the group. "The Mayor? Haven't you read the news? Magear has gone." And he gave one last smile. "_I'm_ the Mayor of Pandemonium now."  

Aquarius and the others back at that aghast. They couldn't believe that he was serious. What the hell was Magear thinking? Or had Draygon killed him?

Chricton gave a sudden shiver, then wide eyes and a mad grin appeared on his face. "HA! HA HA! Thats wonderful!", said the wicked Baron Kriminel. "Looks like you boys are going to have to look after me all by yourselves!" 

Some of Draygon's men backed off at this sudden change of tone and persona. Draygon looked back at them darkly- it looked like he had found who he was going to take all of this out on. Chrichton spasmed again and La Croix seized back control. "_Not yet,"_ he whispered. _"Not yet."_ And he looked back up at Draygon.

"My apologies, _monsieur_. We didn't intend for you to meet him", reffering to Kriminel, no doubt. "Yet", he added, ominously.

Draygon simply replied, "Do you really think I'm going to just let you all walk out of here?"

"Of course not, _monsieur_", replied Baron La Croix. "But then again.....who ever said anything about walking?"

And at that moment, an ancient, primordial darkness leaked out from the floors and walls. It crept quickly up the legs of La Croix and the heroes, and enveloped them in a great bubble. _"No!"_, Aquarius heard Draygon shout, but he was too late. The dark bubble contracted, and Erebus carried the group off away from the Fortress to safety.


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## masamune1 (Feb 16, 2011)

*Pandemonium-Epilogue*

*The Black Desert*

Thunder and lightning boomed and crackled in the dark, cloudy sky. The night before, the Heaven had opened, and now they raged with a fury as the sky wept an ocean into life. A fearsome rain storm hundreds, thousands of miles in diameter, spread itself across the long-dead wastes, and the dark magics that birthed it promised to make it last for however many months or years it took to bring that body of water back to life.

On the ground, beneath the shallow, icy puddles and streams that now tirelessly worked on the ressurection, geysers the height of mountains poured out from deep black chasms, the highest of all from the resting place of the King in Blue, whose sacrifice made this all possible.

Deeper still, in black holes into which no mortal would ever hope to peer, evil stirred. Soulless, foul, now woken from their slumber. The water crept over their ancient bodies, and nursed them back to life. They felt Him in its touch, and they understood the Hour had come.

The Great Leviathan called out to his children.

_____________________________________

*Pandemonium Times*

_*Mayor Magear Steps Down*

After nearly a decade of tireless public service, William Magear, founder and first Lord Mayor of our great city, has retired, citing terminal illness. As reported in this paper, Mayor Magear has re-located to the city of New Genesis "to remove himself from the pressures of public life", and in hopes of focusing fully on his health. We, The Pandemoinium Times, wish him a full and speedy recovery.

William Magear has named one of our most emninent public citizens, his old ally Draygon, as his successor as Lord Mayor (see page 4). Mayor Draygon was unavailable for a statement, but a spokesperson promised he intends to focus on a tougher stance on crime and public disruption, in particular in apprehending the criminals responsible for the series of violent incidents that have befallen the city in recent days (see page 6), such as the hijacking of the airship Gibraltar from the Mad Science Guild and the subsequent attack on the Bowery which killed hundreds of innocent civilians and prominent public servants, and unleashing of the dark god Set and allying with his murderous cult. 

The perpetrators are reportedly allied to the notorious Phantom of the Slums but are mainly composed of Outsiders from the Wastes and beyond. We urge citizens to be vigilant against these public enemies and to report any Outsiders to the authorities. We must remain on guard against such diabolical foreign influences that seek only to spread chaos in.....  

--------------------------------------------------------------

*"Prophet" of Ikelos Found Dead*

A body found last night has been identified as that of the self-proclaimed  "Prophet" of the so-called "Lord of Dreams", Ikelos. He was found in the ruins of the Bowery, with officials claiming it appears someone pushed him off of one of the buildings.....
_


_______________________________________________________


*1 Day Later*

Luke had gotten used to the fact that his hero Enigma, the Phantom of the Slums, was not a guy that interested in comfort, or used to guests. His clocktower hideout was not meant to house nearly a dozen people, never mind several that had been beaten and tortured, not to mention two kids and a hobo with two personalities and three gods. Creature comforts, like beds and couches, obviously weren't a priority for those on undead vengeance sprees either. 

It was almost a relief that they were being driven out of town, now that it was being run by a mad(er) man who had framed them for pretty much every bad thing that had happened in the city over the past week. Which had been a lot, even though everything was about to get a whole lot worse. 

He looked around at this disparate bunch of losers, and he couldn't help but feel at home. It had been almost a year since he had been chosen by Gaia herself to be her Avatar in this world, and he had done nothing useful with the gift since then, had no idea _what_ to do. Now, he had found his people. The Avatars of Erebus, Eros and the Zodiac; superhumans with amazing powers; a robot from another dimension; and three gods of Death living in a hobo. Add in the kids, and you were left with one big, happy, utterly bizarre family. 

The arcane tattoos that had prohibited his powers had now totally faded away. Apparently Balthazar, the bastard mage who did it to him, had been murdered by Magear himself for some twisted reason the night before he was rescued, and with that the magic sealing away Luke's powers had died with him. It had made Luke angry when he learnt that, because it meant they might have been working when he was busted out of Draygons' Fortress, meaning he could have helped them fight instead of feeling so damn powerless and weak. 

But they were back, and if he wasn't stuck in this tower for his own safety he would be using them with reckless abandon in celebration. But it was too dangerous, not with half the city after them and the other too terrified of the new Mayor to help. 

The _Loa_, versed as they were in the ways of life and death, managed to help Ed, pretty Holly who thanked him for looking after her, and the rest of them recover with some healing magic they knew. They weren't a hundred percent, but the broken bones, the beatings, and Ed's internal injuries had all been fixed up. Chachamaru was a different story; she would have to wait until they got to New Jericho, so along the way she'd have to make due with one arm and all the damage she had taken over the madness of the last week. But she seemed to take it in her stride. 

New Jericho...Thats where Aquarius and his group were going. He'd received orders the Zodiac that he was needed there, and Luke wished that _his_ goddess was so forthcoming with him. Apparently a civil war was brewing, and he had gotten a little unnerved when he was told that Paradiso was involved. He never said why. 

Finn (whose name he had finally learnt) wanted to stay and find some orphan children that had been kidnapped, but Enigma had done some "digging" (meaning he took out his frustrations on some of Draygons' goons), and he had learnt they had already been sold off to some slavers from the Wastes, who were now on their way to New Jericho too. Chachamaru could get repaired there so thats where they were going as well.

Ed had talked with Aquarius about the King in Red- it was quite a surprise to Luke to hear that Magear was that legendary figure, or claimed to be- and they agreed he would go to NJ with him, to see if they could meet the King in Grey, of all things, and get some answers. Mask, who despite Eds' protests knew nothing about a guy called Father Gregory or anything about Ed's kidnapped sister- apparently there might be _another_ group of Masked Bandits running around-, agreed to go there as well, for the same reasons of finding stuff out about the King in Red and this "Oneiroi" group. The Clarkes, who had trouble surving in the slums at the best of times, were going because being public enemies was just too much bother, and apparently the kids wanted to stick with Mask.

Which left Luke, Hen, Jessie and Archon going with Enigma up North. Aquarius had also been notified that a great treasure trove of tech and artifacts had been uncovered in the frozens wastes, and Erebus wanted to find one something in particular up there and was sending Enigma. What exactly that something _was_ he hadn't bothered explaining, but seemingly it might be something that Enigma might be interested in. Given that the only thing that could possibly do that would be something to help him kill Draygon, and since he had no choice in the matter, Enigma acquisted. 
Chrichton was moving on to Rapture for his own errand.


Jessie, some girl who was waiting for them when they arrived in the clocktower- apparently the Barons took her there before saving them- was only going because she had some history with Hen and Enigma, which she found out made her a target for Draygons' goons, who nearly got her too before the hobo showed up. There was some other guy- well, a mutant, anyway- they used to be with too, but seemingly they had split up, though Luke wasn't clear on whether that was before or after a bunch of armed men after that guy had shown up pointing guns at them. Like the rest, then, she just had no where else to go. 

Archon was going North to help find a way to beat Draygon and his new god; apparently he was quite spooked by the Fortress and thought this Khorne was going to prove to be a really, major threat in the future.  Hen was....less clear, but apparently he just refused to go to New Jericho. Luke caught him arguing with himself once- which made him wonder if _he_ should go to New Jericho, rather than with this crazy guy- and it sounded like what he _really_ was worried about was being around that Mask guy, and the Clarke family. 

At least, thats what it seemed like now. When he was arguing with his invisible friend it sounded like Hen was saying thats why they _should_ go, but the other guy had apparently "forgiven him"- whoever "he" was- and trusted him to look after the family. Or something like that. It made no sense to him, but when Hen caught him he told him not to worry about it, just not to tell Mask or the Clarkes. 

And Luke decided that, well, all things considered, a guy talking to his imaginary friend was probably the _least_ insane thing happening around this place, so he agreed. The others went on in blissful ignorance.

Luke was going just because, well, he thought if he was going to be a hero, he might as well take pointers from _his_ hero, who happened to be the Phantom. He had a score to settle with Draygon too, not to mention that, though he was a city boy, if he wanted to practice his powers getting out into the wide open world was probably better than going to a mining city, given the nature of his abilities. He had hoped he might get a sign from _his_ patron god on the matter, but it seemed Gaia was sastified with his reasoning, if she had an opinion on the issue at all, and remained silent as always.

A bulk of shadow climbed in from the roof through the window. Enigma had been keeping watch and, Luke suspected, probably wanted some alone time to think and brood, as all great vengeful Dark Knights do. He looked around at the roomful of demigods and miscreants, perhaps appreciating that this might be the last time many of them saw each other again. Night was falling; it was time to move out.

"Everybody ready?", asked the Phantom of the Slums.

"Not quite yet", said a brand new voice.

All eyes turned in shock and terror at the intruder on the other side of the room. Sitting on a box, he had appeared out of nowhere, a smiling figure covered in furs. The others, or some of them, seemed to recognise him.

"What do you want?", Enigma asked.

"Why my dear Mr Knight, you offend me. Surely you haven't forgotten our little arrangement?"

Enigma scoffed. "We don't have time for your games, Coyote. I don't care what errand you want us to run. Erebus has sent me up North, and from what I hear I'm already days behind. You want me? Take it up with him."  

"Ah, but Enigma, Erebus has already taken it up with _me."_, the trickster god replied mischievously. "I'm actually here on his request. There are some details to your assignment that only Rapture can tell you, and you will need supplies and other things. You might even have time to fulfill your end of our bargain, though I might settle for simply....showing it to you."

Everybody looked at each other. Enigma finally said, "This better not be a game, Trickster. My story has been sad enough without you messing around with me."

Coyote rose from his box to his feet, then said to that, "Oh, my dearest Knight. All of you, even. I promise you all- your story, it hasn't even started yet".

Luke looked around- not everyone was happy with that prediciton.

"Well then, gentlemen. And lady", Coyote said, gesturing to Jessie. "Shall we be on our way?" He clapped, and the next thing Luke knew, he, Enigma, Hen, Archon and Jessie, as well as Dr Chrichton it seemed, found themselves standing in the city of Rapture.


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## Stunna (Feb 16, 2011)

Mask sat, his head lying in his arms. Cyrus walked over to him and sat down at his side.

"What's wrong with you." He asked, almost as if he didn't really care.

For a moment, Mask didn't reply. "I...'ve been thinking a lot about what's occurred. I have to find Magear. I have to get to New Jericho. And I have to get stronger..." Mask lifted up his head. "I'll be back soon. I need to collect some things."


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## Platinum (Feb 16, 2011)

The injuries he sustained were severe and as a result of blood loss and fatigue Aquarius collapsed shortly after arriving. He found himself in the Celestial Temple of his god, his consciousness transported there after his collapse. His god gave him a curious stare "Well that was... unexpected."

"I'm sorry" he spoke with his head staring at the floor to avoid his god's stare. "I'm sorry...".

"Sorry for what my avatar?"

"I failed you. I failed everyone... I couldn't stop Draygon, I couldn't stop his damn hounds. If it wasn't for that strange hobo we all would of died in The Butchers Den."

"I see things differently my Avatar", The Waterbearer walked slowly towards him. "You saved those imprisoned by the butcher. You saved Scorpio's life protecting her from Draygon, and you saved their lives again by luring the dog away from them with no concern at all about your own life. You might of had a moment of weakness, but everyone does my avatar. I am proud of you."

Aquarius laughed "That's the first time in a while that you have praised me."

"I give credit where credit is due" the god replied curtly.

"May I ask you a question?"

"Of course you may", the god replied.

"My powers... even with the training I did recently. They aren't up to the level they once were... are they?"

"No they are not."

"And why is that?", he asked meekly. "My powers should be stronger than ever, but if anything I am weaker then I was a year ago."

"Yes they should be. And why do you think that is not the case my avatar?"

"Because I have become complacent.... and I have been negligent of my duties as an avatar."

" Yes those are all true. But that is not the main reason. The main reason is, that you still don't completely trust me my avatar. Our relationship is still damaged, and until it has been mended you will never be able to achieve a fraction of your full potential. In your battle with Draygon you never once drew upon the celestial rivers, instead you only used the water around you. You have to have faith in me my avatar. I will provide for you."

"You are completely right", Aquarius conceded. "My weakened power made me a liability. I am surprised Scorpio didn't lambast me over this."

"She would never maliciously harm you. She truly cares for you underneath her stoic personality you know."

Aquarius said nothing to this.

"I need to get stronger... I can never let something like this happen again, no one will bail us out next time. It will be up to met to protect everyone from harm. Will you help me please my god? I will place my full trust in you, can you help me train? I need to be ready for you next assignment."

"I have been waiting for this day for a long time my avatar. Of course I will help you, every night we will train. Your power will be stronger than ever before by the time you arrive in New Jericho."

"New Jericho? Why are you sending me to New Jericho?" Aquarius inquired.

"There is a civil war brewing in New Jericho, and Paradiso is somehow involved. Capricorn, Libra, and Cancer are already there but they will not be enough. You and whoever in your group that choose to go with you will head out immediately. There is also a situation in the frozen wastes, artifacts of great power and highly advanced technology reside in a ruined city. That is where the remainder of your group will inevitably end up. Pisces is already heading there. Tell those who go North to seek him out. He will be able to lend them a hand."

"Like Pisces will help anyone but himself", Aquarius scoffed. "Though given the choice between him and Cancer... "

"You will put aside your animosity towards Cancer for this mission I assume", his god gave him a stern look.

"Of course. Besides I get along well with Libra and Capricorn. We will have no problems", he flashed a sincere smile.

"That is all I have to say to you for the moment. Your training starts tomorrow."

And with that Aquarius returned to the material world.
*
-------------------------------*

His wounds had been healed for the most part. He still had nagging pains where the dog bit him and where Draygon's metal cut him but those would be gone soon enough. 

The teams had been decided. Aquarius would take Finn, Chachamaru, Ed, Mask, and The Clarke children to New Jericho with him while Enigma would be taking the rest of them with him up North. He told Enigma to seek out Pisces if he needed help, though Aquarius doubted he would. The only person who was being suspiciously quiet about where they were going was Scorpio.

When no one was looking Aquarius sneaked out. No one was suspicious of him, even with his tattered and blood stained robes which he thought odd. Maybe in Pandemonium this was a common sight but if they were to travel they would need proper attire. He bought everyone a fresh change of clothes. Partly out of necessity and partly as a gift to them all.

With the time for them all to be going their separate ways Aquarius approached Scorpio in private. "Scorpio you have not mentioned who you are going with..."

"I am not going with either group.... I have been given an assignment with Sagittarius and Virgo, I leave Pandemonium tonight."

"I... see.", Aquarius could not hide the disappointment in his voice. "So this is where we say goodbye then."

"For now", Scorpio said clearly as sad as Aquarius was at their separation.

"We will meet again though", Aquarius said in a futile attempt to cheer himself and her up. He moved closer to her.

Scorpio ran forward and embraced him. "I won't forgive you if we don't. Please keep everyone safe."

"Don't worry I will protect everyone in this group of mine. And once I get to New Jericho I will protect Libra, Capricorn, and Cancer as well."

"Well... no one will mind that much if you choose not to protect Cancer."

The two of them laughed. And after a few seconds of silence the two of them turned around and began to walk solemnly back.

With the sun about to set Aquarius and his group set out for New Jericho and Engima set off as well. Scorpio was already long gone by then.

And with this their stay in the city of Pandemonium was at an end. The city was left in the hands of the butcher. Their failure in killing him would leave many suffering under Draygon's rule. But they all vowed to make his rule of Pandemonium be a short one.


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## Endless Mike (Feb 16, 2011)

*The Desert, some 20 kilometers from Pandemonium*

As the group slowly walked through the desert, Finn glanced at Chachamaru, who was walking ahead of the rest of them. She had used the clothes Aquarius had bought her to cover up most of her injuries, including using a sun hat to shadow part of her face. He had seen her using her laser vision to weld some of her worse punctures closed. Even though he knew that she didn't really feel pain, it still pained him to see her like that. She had also expressed a desire to find a place to repair herself, but that would apparently have to wait until they reached New Jericho.

Speaking of the city, Finn had never heard of it before. Of course it had only arisen after the Apocalypse and Finn had been living in an isolated hut in the jungle for most of that time, so it wasn't all that surprising. Still, he wondered how far away it was. He had gotten a lot more exercise over the past week or so than he had in years, so the long walk wasn't quite as tiresome for him as the trip to Pandemonium had been, but still his legs ached.

As if reading his mind, the man named Mask said "There has _got_ to be a better way to travel."

"We didn't have enough money between us to buy a vehicle, there's no helping it." Aquarius said. "Just think of it as training for your stamina."

"We could have just stolen a car," Mask continued to complain.

"Only the rich citizens and the people who now work for Draygon had cars," Ed replied. "It would have been risky to try to take one, and even if we succeeded they could probably have used it to track and follow us, and we're in no position to take them on now."

Mask sighed, still upset. "Are we even going in the right direction?"

"Yes," Chachamaru answered. "I managed to download a map of this continent from a computer terminal back in Pandemonium. Just follow me and we should get there in no more than 2 days and 2 nights at our current pace."

"Well if the robot says so, it has to be true," Mask quipped sarcastically. Chachamaru glared at him.

"Will you guys settle down? You're wasting your energy by talking," Aquarius attempted to mediate the dispute.

"As long as the ambient magic levels remain above 1/5624th of their current level, I can talk all I want while expending only negligible amounts of energy," She said, in a bit of a mischievous tone.

Aquarius rolled his eyes. "Well unless you have anything useful to say, don't," he answered. She dropped the subject, looking back from him to the horizon in front of her.

"Can we rest for a while? I'm tired," the young girl Rachel said.

"No, we can't," said her older brother. "We're still not far from Pandemonium - Draygon's men might find us."

"But I'm so tired!" She cried.

"I can carry you," Chachamaru offered. The girl quickly accepted the help and climbed on the gynoid's back.

"I call next turn," Finn said. "My legs are killing me!" Chachamaru rolled her eyes.

*Unknown Time and Space*

The King in Yellow stood in the center of a swirling vortex, containing images of stars, planets, galaxies, and cosmic phenomena unknown to mankind. A melodic but neutral voice rang out, the gender of its owner impossible to determine from its tone.

"Are you clear on your role?"

"Yes," the king replied, speaking to his invisible companion. "Ikelos will fail in further corrupting this reality. I will see to that."


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## masamune1 (Feb 16, 2011)

A man with short, black hair in a faded green toga watched as the events played out in his pool. He saw the heroes escape from Draygon's prison, recover and head out on their respective journeys; he saw the Jeweled Fist, and stared into the treacherous heart of its manipulative leader; he saw the Obsidian Guard, the Archangel force, the avatars of Pisces and Ophiculus and others march towards a collision in the North.

And he saw the King in Yellow promise his doom to the void, before returning to the King in Black and discuss the historical forthcoming meeting. 

He saw all this in his pool, and he smiled. How little they all understood; their destinies dangled by strings held in his hand. From the moment he escaped, however brief his freedom was, it was too late. He had achieved, and continued to achieve, more than they could possibly comprehend.

Father Time moaned in pain on the rack behind him, inches, feet, yards or miles away. 

"Shaddup", Ikelos said.


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## Stunna (Feb 16, 2011)

Mask arrived at the Masked Bandit hideout. He looked around, as if checking for someone to be there. He continued to walk towards the entrance when he stopped and looked down. It was the spot where Fox had prepared to kill him. Ironic.

He continued into the hideout and made his way towards his room. Once in there, he changed clothes, packed others, and entered his room of masks. Something was amiss. Some masks were amiss, to be more precise. Mask ignored this, but committed it to memory.

He made his way around the room, grabbing any he would need, replacing ones missed, and grabbing new ones. He went to grab a mask of love, control, and one of illusion, but found that they were all gone. Along with his clothes, he couldn't fit many masks in his bag. 

He threw on a leather jacket over his red hoodie, and began walking out. Before exiting, he stopped, opened a drawer, and grabbed a katana blade. He wasn't trained on using one, but you can never be too safe. He put it through a belt loop on his black skinny jeans, and started leaving again. He stopped again.

He walked over to his mirror, and stared at his mask. He removed it, brushing aside his black bangs.

"I'll go with another kind."

He grabbed a bandanna and cut two holes in it, wrapping it around his face so as to partially cover it.

"An improvement."

He finally left. He wouldn't return.


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## Platinum (Feb 17, 2011)

*The Desert*

"Guys. We do have a bit of a problem." Mask started. "We didn't bring enough food to last the entire trip." 

"We will just have to go without then." Ed replied.

"You can't expect them to walk on an empty stomach", Mask gestured to the kids.

"You don't honestly expected me to lead you all into the wastes with nothing to eat did you?", Aquarius pointed his staff at Mask. "Don't worry. There is a hidden Paradiso supply cache not to far from here. We can stock up there."

"Is it really a wise idea to steal from them?", Finn interjected. "We already have plenty of enemies, no need to create new ones."

"Where did you get the idea that we were going to steal from them?", Aquarius inquired. "As a member of The Administration I am entitled to use the caches whenever I need to."

"You never told us you were a member of The Administration", Mask said.

"I didn't? Must of slipped my mind I suppose. Well anyways the cache is right there", he pointed to an inconspicuous rock formation. "Give me a few minutes." He returned with a pack full of high quality food. "Well that will be more than enough to hold us over until we reach New Jericho. Let's just walk for a little while longer."

After Aquarius had thought they created sufficient distance between themselves and any potential pursuers he motioned for the group to stop. "One of you make a fire. I'll start preparing our dinner."

Aquarius wasn't the best cook in the wastes but he did know a thing or two about creating a good meal. It was nothing extravagant but the soup had the most pleasant aroma. They ate it with some bread they had brought with them. The group sat around the fire and ate in silence. Aquarius tried to create a more friendly atmosphere. 

"So... does anyone have any stories to tell? That's usually what people do around the fire.", no one spoke up. "Okay fine i'll entertain you guys tonight. I'll tell you some stories about my journeys as an avatar. Hope i'm not too boring." Aquarius smiled and began telling his tale.

"... so there we were in The Eastern Wastes. The plan was simple, Leo would lead the celestial forces into battle against their army of deranged cultists, while Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus, and I would sneak into the Palace of Shifting Sands to find and kill the three desert warlords before they could summon their desert spirit. The plan was going off without a hitch and even with our forces outnumbered 4 to 1 Leo was demolishing them. Our efforts were equally fruitful, Scorpio was able to silently dispatch the palace guards and get us inside the palace without being noticed. But then... everything went to hell", Aquarius smiled and then continued his story.

"The Warlords started their ritual early you see. Right when the four of us arrived to confront them they released their little desert spirit and sicked it on us. Pisces being Pisces he wanted us all to stay back while he fought the spirit on his own. He also wanted us to leave the Warlords for him as well, told us to concentrate on killing the hordes of cultists that were now bursting into the throne room. But we weren't going to let Pisces get all the glory you see. We quickly dispatched the fodder and we each took down a warlord before Pisces had defeated their little god. He was pretty pissed when he saw what we did.", Aquarius laughed, losing himself in nostalgia. 

"Well in conclusion, the warlords were defeated, their god destroyed, and their troops routed. And with their demise the eastern wastelands were a little more stable. And that's the end of my tale." Aquarius glanced at the faces of his group members. "Well it's about time for us to go to sleep. I'll take the first watch." He drew some water out of the atmosphere and used it to extinguish the fire.

Everyone began to settle in for a night's sleep. Once Aquarius was sure he it was only him and Chachamaru awake he began the ritual to establish a mental link with his god. "I am ready to begin my training."


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## Emperor Joker (Feb 17, 2011)

_Omega's Log

It astounds me sometimes, on how easy it is for some people to live a double life. Perhaps it should not bother me so much, since I am one of those people. Afterall who would suspect the stoop shouldered and balding Gregory Blackwater, would also be the feared black ops agent, Agent Omega. Most certainly only the headmaster has a clue or an inkling of what my true purpose and source of income is in Paridiso. My students think of me as slightly eccentric and sometimes creepy, the mothers see me as a lonely middle aged man, who needs to find himself a woman...and the fathers look at me with indifference or sometimes even judgine me, to see if i had the chops to be a drinking buddy. None of them suspect me, of being the Administrations killer...none at all. 

I thoght this as I looked across the street at my target a a rather unassuming man by the name Jack Tantras. He'd been playing the Information broker game  for quite some time according to the records i've dug up on him. He had been a drifter since the apocolypse, setting up shop in every city, that he had been able to get a foot hold in.

Sadly now his game was up, he had come to Paridiso under the guise of an aspiring furniture craftsman as his front. Perhaps he should have made his front a reality. Perhaps if he had done that, the Administration would not have selected him for termination. Tantras had found out too much, and now he must disappear.

As my target walked I checked my assumed form one more time, to make sure everything matched up correctly. Shapeshifting like costumed disquise is an art, and it has to be done with perfection, otherwise, everything will fall apart. For ny obersation of the target I had veered into that of an elderly woman. Stopped with age and wearing glasses for supposes near sightedness, my hair snow white in color.

Mr. Tantras, turned down an alleyway and I followed not far behind. We were only a few blocks away from his house, as I recalled so he was making a shourt cut home. This meant now was the best time to bring him down for interrogation

Tantrus had stopped in the middle of the alley, and was rooting around in a garbage bin. 

"Can I help you with something young man," I spoke to him.

Tantrus jerked as he heard my altered voice, and then wihout turning around "Eh no ma'am Ya see, I just dropped something here this morning is all and i'm looking for it."

In other words he's looking for the data disk he had dropped on the way to a meeting this morning...he wasn't getting it back. I stepped up behind him and raised my cane and slammed it down onto his head. Mr. Tantrus let out a gasp and slumped to the ground unconcious. 

I picked him up after this and started to carry him away..._

_________________________________________________________________

Two hours later Agent Omega walked away from the burning wreck that was Jack's Tantrus's apartment. He had extracted the information he needed from the man, and had made sure to make it seem like the man's death would be an accident rather than a simple gunshot to the head. the massive burn wounds should cover up the would itself, he had also removed the bullet just in case.

In case murder was suspected though, he had carefully placed clues indicating a rival of Tantrus was involed. 

This however did not matter. He would meet with The Administrations representitive and hand over the information he had gathered. Seems Tantrus had gotten ahold of some of Paridiso's security secrets and had sold it off. Who he sold it too he wasn't able to find out. It would be up to the next Agent to figure that out. 

When he met up with his contact, he'd get his advance for the mission in the north...

The next morning Omega walked past Peter, before veering into the shape of a large vulture and flew away for his next mission


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## masamune1 (Feb 17, 2011)

*In The Beginning*

_"In the beginning, there was formless Chaos. Then God said `Let their be Light`, and then...well, you know the rest. 

Out of Primordial Chaos God made Dark and Light; he made Night and Day; The Sky, The Seas and The Earth; Time, and Space; Passion and the Sun; he made Life, and he made Death.

But Chaos is unpredictable. Out of these, and of these, were born the Elder Gods: Nyx and Erebus; Herema and Aether; Gaea and Pontus; Eros, Chronos, Thanatos and the rest. Out of random chance and Chaos these mighty beings entered Creation. And as passed the aeons the Elders made way for the new gods, letting them carve up God's world and their own being between themselves while they fell back from the world." 

Once upon these times, Nyx, Lady of the Night, and husband of Erebus, Elder of Darkness, found her mate consorting with Hemera, Goddess of the Day and the Light. Blinded by jealous fury, Nyx fled the Heavens to Earth, and in revenge lay with a Man. Normal, ordinary, fallen mortal Man.

And so, within the span of nine moons, a boy babe, Ikelos, was born into the world.

And he was born as a man. A normal, ordinary, dull man.

Erebus, at last, after the passing of a whole year, came down to Earth to reconcile with his spouse. And Nyx, spoilt, weak, gullible Nyx, forgave him his crime, and returned to her husband and home, leaving the boy to the care of humanity. 

As he grew to maturity with a plain father and absent mother, Ikelos found that he was not so ordinary. For when he slept, he awoke; he made dreams his playthings, turned slumber into adventure. The land of Morpheus was putty in his hands, for he could manipulate it, bend it and shape it to his will. He could do this with his own, and he could do this with others. He peered into the heads of his peers, uncovered their longings and desires, their hidden secrets, their true dreams. 

And as time went on, he found he could make them real. 

Yet Ikelos lived in a time impoverished of wonder. The Golden Age of Heroes- of Perseus, Heracles, Achilles-  had passed not long before. His mothers greatest neglect to birth an extrordinary boy on the cusp of a dull and ordinary age.  

But Ikelos still dreamt, and still made dreams come true, now dreams bigger and bolder than any man thought possible. At last he dreamt he was a god, ascended from mere demigod, and as was the way of his life up to then this dream, too, finally came true. 

Ikelos has dreamt his way to Deity. He marveled at the wonders of the Celestial Realms, he eclipsed his brother Morpheus as Lord of Dreams and Nightmares, and yet he looked back down from Heaven onto Earth. And then gods, in terror, saw that he saw.

The gods were lazy.

The gods were lazy, so they did nothing. They let magic slip from the world, stole from man wonder and miracles, and let him be damned and doomed to dullness and mediocrity, damned and doomed to ordinariness. 

But the gods were jealous too, and liked not sharing power with this rebellious upstart.

But this rebelliopus upstart was strong, and growing ever stronger. He blurred the line between dream and normality, and he dared to wish that all dreams may be true. 

And the gods were afraid.

So the gods turned on him, struck him down in his infant divinity. Lord and lesser, Elder and young, Ascendant and abstract all turned on Ikelos, and sealed him away in the great beyond, locked out of Creation.

And Nyx, his mother, stood back and watched.

Yet still his power grew. And so a hundred hundred locks, traps, and enchantments were added to this oubliette, seperating it from the infinite worlds, and preventing intrusion. And in this otherdimensional dungeon, a world without time or space, where a second could be a day and an inch be a mile, they raised eight great pillars, as big and as small as none could imagine, to robb him of his mothers last and only gift- to rob him of sleep, and to rob him of dreams. 

But as ages and aeons waxed and waned, even the instruments of the gods must fail. The pillars cracked, a window creaked open, and I, Ikelos, peered back into the world. 

And as I saw the state of disrepair of my home, the state of wonder bled dead as the gods allowed magic and mystery to evaporate from the world, my heart broke in two. 

And so I broke the world in two.

And beyond the tyranny of ordinary time, I set events in motion. I spoke to my followers, I blessed my disciple, I whispered again into the world of slumber and sleep. I spun my web throughout the worlds, I made Time, itself, a prisoner with none the wiser, and I dared the gods to act again. A new age of Heroes would be born.

And through those Heroes, I shall make myself free.

Then I shall flex my muscles and begin anew. Am I'm beyond any deity. I have surpassed any Lord. The Elders themselves shall quake at my wrath. And I will destroy this phony world of dead un-Wonder. I will drown reality under an ocean of dreams. Creation, and all worlds in it, I shall remake and make good. Formless Chaos shall be Formed again.

I shall be..... the new God. And all will worship my infinite wonders, and all will be glad.
_


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## Emperor Joker (Feb 18, 2011)

*Pestilence*

*The Dungeons of the King of Fools*

Pestilence awoke to three things, an empty stomach, a feeling of weakness and a sharp pain in his side. As he came to he found himself staring into the face of a stubby humanoid with yellow skin, a pinched face and big black eyes. It was a hobgoblin, and he was jabbing him with the hilt of his short sword. 

Pestilence jerked back in surprise, and the hobgoblin jabbered at him in his own gutteral language.

"Don't mind Gothmog, young Horseman," said Thursday behind him. "He's here to help."

"Help how?" said Pestilence 

"To give you a way out, remember the tunnels underneath this city are controlled by the hobgoblins...it just happens that some of them owe me a favor."

"But why not use that favor to get out yourself?"

"Because I am not ready yet...I will escape when it's my time too...and I won't need help," said Thursday smiling, his eyes twinkling. "Go with Gothmog, he'll lead you out."

Gothmog, poked him in the side again and led him to the door. Looking outside he noticed that both of the guards had been knocked unconcious. the hobgoblin jabbered at him again and pointed to the opening in the wall at the end of the hallway. There was now a hole and a stone ctaircase leading down into the earth itself.

Gothmog jabbered at him again and pointed with his sword at the staircase, and Pestilence followed him. As they descended Pestilence caught glimpses of great stone architechture, through gaps in the staircase. Onetime it looked like they were going to exit into a massive entrence hall, the ceiling crafted from diamond, and magnificent stone statues lining the walkway, hundreds of other hobgoblins rushing about. but Gothmog, immediantly steered him onto another stone staircase, jabbering wildly. 

"Can you not speak to me in a language I understand?" Pestilence asked him a few minutes later.

Gothmog glared at him for a moment, before saying in a low growl. "Your tongue offends me, but if you insist I will speak it. I will have to wash my mouth out afterwords of course, to cleanse myself of your putrid language." he paused. "Now come, human, we will start making our ascent soon."

So Pestilence still followed the hobgoblin further, before starting to take another staircase upword. On his way he passed the entrence to what looked like a temple. "Do not linger," said Gothmog. "The acolytes of Blight do not appreciate live company."

A few hours later, Pestilence found the ground opening up, and he found himself on the outskirts of the town called Jester's Gambit. The town was one of several under the control of the King of Fools, and it was once a bustling mining town that went by Fortune. That was before The King of Fools took over however. Now it was known primarily for it's slave trade and prostitution.

At this moment though, it was the dark of the night, and other than the guard patrols he doubted he was going to find too many people this far out. He jumped slightly as he heard a faint rumbling, and turned to see Gothmog dissapearing below ground, as it began to shift began into place. 

"Be safe human, don't get yourself captured again. Because we're not going to help you again after this..."

Pestilence almost thought he was smiling wickedly when he said this, but couldn't be sure. sighing he turned back towards the city and began to plot his next course of action. He'd have to be more careful this time, and quite so foolhardy.

_________________________________________________________________

Not to far away The Lord of Disease watched the young boy with intent. Blight's motives weren't clear, but his interest in Pestilence could only be a bad thing. 

Blight made a few clicked noises, and a moment later he was gone entirely.


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## masamune1 (Feb 18, 2011)

*The Guild of the Magi- Part 1*

*The Myst*

*The Citadel*

Zabulon stared out the window into the sky while his right hand absent-mindedly played with the blue signet ring in his fingers. An observer, like the young Acolyte behind him, might wrack his brain mad wondering what thoughts the Arch Mage must be pondering over, a century of knowledge and wisdom churning through the intricate machine that was his mind working through a mental process not fit for mere mortals to fathom.  

It might have surprised them to know he was merely admiring the view.

"So", he addressed the young trainee, who jumped sharply to attention out of his own musings on the matter, "he is truly dead, then?"

"Yes, master", he said with a low bow. "I collected his body myself, and the Necromancers have examined."

"Hmm", said His Most High Excellency Zabulon the Great, who went back to his sightseeing.

An eternity passed for the young practioner of their ancient art, before Zabulon gave him respite. "Very well, then. Go back to your duties".

The Acolyte was quick to give a deep bow, then scuttled out the room and closed the door.

Zabulon watched him leave, turned back to his window, then looked closely at the ring in his hand. 

So, this Balthazar was dead. He had been vaguely aware of the man, purely due to his proximity to far grander events than his lowly status entitled. He was a senior Mage, but that was named far more impressively than it deserved. 

Especially as he was a mage of The Ruin, the garbage heap of Creation. 

Zabulon, 150 years old and counting, was too young to recall the pre-Apocalyptic world that had stood as an equal to its brethern across the multiverse, ignorant though it was of its existence. For so long as he had lived, Ruin it was named and Ruin it embodied, a broken planet of dead oceans, fallen gods, and dystopic cities, trapped in the blackness of a dying universe.

A greater contrast with the Myst could not be found. Here, on the world far below the floating citadel, was every natural wonder stolen from that desolate place. Lush landscape permeated everywhere: rich, enchanted forests; imposing, snowtopped mountain ranges; bountiful seas; industrious cities; Life, teeming in every direction. And though civilization may be described, in the cultures of other worlds, as Medieval, it was a fantastical kind of the type found only in their most fanciful stories. 

Magic, Miracles, Wonder, Life- this was the nature of existence on the Myst. T'was a vast tapestry and a source of pride for the native gods- the mighty gods, still assured in their dominion and reigning from the Heavens, not chased out by usurpers, aliens and doom and squeezed into a contemptible city. If one walked on the ground down in the world far below, one would feel rich grass beneath his feet, clean air in his lungs, and a realm of astonishing beauty in his eyes. 

It was as far from that desolate Hell as any could imagine. Senior mage....Zabulon felt his stomach begin to turn. This Balthazar was a gangster, like nearly all the wizards and magi travelling that wretched place, the cursed city of Pandemonium. The Guild was open to all worlds where magics were played, but the class and training was not equally shared out. In a land that was but a myriad of different wastes, the Guild could be little more than a club, a loose confederation of cliques and groups with only the bare minimum of real organization. 

Worthless toads like Balthazar even dared to whore themselves out as mercenaries and servants to whatver power broker paid the right price- in his case, he even found himself an employee of a foul creaure called Draygon the Butcher, a vicious crime figure and now a cultist- some say the Avatar- of that otherworldly fiend the Blood God Khorne. 

His death was not great loss. He would need, of course, to be replaced, but that was not Zabulons' responsibility, and that world was possitively swarming with magi who claimed membership of their illustrious fraternity- incompetent, barely trained magi with only an ounce of potential, but magi notheless. A Mage of quality, if one could be found on that horrible dead realm, would not be wasted on it and would swiftly be rescued from the scrapheap and taken to here, or any other reality where the Guild and its training was better organized and established. 

The Ruin.....it was about to demote itself further and become The Dead. The drums of war were sounding on its horizons; men and deity would soon be tearing themselves further apart in the name of whatver hopeless cause or life they deluded themselves matter in that foul, unclean world. And that said nothing of the greater catastrophes set in store for its future, the culmination of that Armageddon begun in a by-gone age by the most powerful child ever spawned on its earth.

Lord Ikelos, indeed, was a wrathful god to follow.

Balthazar would not be missed by Zabulon or any other, but the Arch Mage was loath to leave this blue ring in The Ruin. It was, after all, quite expensive.


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## Platinum (Feb 18, 2011)

"First draw water out of The Celestial Realm and into your palm", the astral projection of his god spoke to him.

He let his mind wander. He imagined the boundless rivers and became one with it. He felt it's every ebb and flow, the spirit of the water itself, the spirit of his god. Never before had he been able to achieve such synchronization. In his palm a sphere of water was slowly becoming larger and larger. "In time drawing water out of the celestial rivers will become second nature to you. But for now concentrate on making the sphere even bigger."

He did as instructed, the sphere was now larger than his entire hand. "See those rocks", the ghostly hand of his god pointed to a small rock formation about 100 meters away. "Destroy them."

"I don't think this amount of water will be sufficiency", Aquarius spoke as he took a glance at his palm.

"No it will not. You will need more water to accomplish that. Pick up your staff now." The small sphere of water splashed onto the ground and was quickly devoured by the thirsty sand. He walked over to his pack and retrieved his staff as instructed.

"Now I want you to draw more water out from the rivers. Not just a little water though, a large amount. A vast amount. Draw out as much as you can my avatar."

Once again he drew water, the power of his staff helped him maintain control of the gallons of water that were now pouring out. He held the swirling mass of liquid a few meters above his head.

"Now you will shape the water", The Waterbearer spoke. "You will form it into a sphere, but this time you will form the sphere around your body. Encase yourself in the water my avatar, and begin to manipulate it's flow. Slowly at first, but over time move it faster and faster. These torrential waters will be your shield my avatar."

At first he had a hard time manipulating the water into a cohesive sphere but he quickly got the hang of it. He began slowly manipulating the speed of the water, within no time it was rushing along at backbreaking speeds.

"Excellent, most excellent", Aquarius could hear his god say through their mental link. "You got the water up to a sufficient speed. We can move onto the next stage next."

"Which would be what?", Aquarius inquired.

"I will teach you how to make your shield act as your sword. In this form you can make an attack on an opponent in any direction instantly by shooting water jets out from any point on the sphere. It is ideal for when you are heavily outnumbered and surrounded on all sides. But this form has some drawbacks..." without any warning The God punched through the sphere with his astral hand, collapsing it. Aquarius looked at his god with a puzzled look on his face.

"If you lose your focus, even for a split second the sphere is likely to collapse. On top of this you will have to multitask. You must focus on hitting your target accurately while keeping the water flowing around you. On top of this you will also have to simultaneously draw an amount of water equal to what you just lost. It might take you a few days to be able to perform these tasks simultaneously..."

"I'll do it before the end of the night", Aquarius replied already drawing out more water for another sphere. His god smiled in reply.

His first attempt was fruitless, the jets were wildly inaccurate, each missing the rock formation and crashing violently into the sand. The sphere collapsed almost instantly after. He was about to check to insure he didn't wake anyone up, but his god assured him that he was dampening the noise of each impact with his power. They wouldn't hear a thing.

His next few attempts were failures as well, but as the hours melted away his shots became more and more accurate and he was now able to keep the sphere intact.

"I've got the hang of this now", Aquarius spoke confidently. He fired another burst, the water shot forth like a barrage of missiles and hit the formation square on. When the dust settled it was no more.

"You are making remarkable progress", his god conceded, then a smile flashed on his face. "But let's see how good you are at hitting moving targets.", the god gestured at the 10 armed men slowly approaching him. 

"Probably The Butcher's men", Aquarius scoffed. "You would think he would know better than to send such a paltry group against us." 

He fired another round of bursts. The ten men fell to the ground in a heap. Each riddled with holes courtesy of Aquarius.

"And that's all for tonight.", and with that his god vanished.

Aquarius disposed of the bodies, insuring that no one else would know that they were visited last night. He liquefied their remains and buried them in a small trench. None had anything of value to loot.

Returning to the camp he moved to wake up Mask to take the next watch just as the sun rose over the horizon. Aquarius laughed to himself. "The hours just melted by didn't they? Well no use waking him now, they will all be rising in bit anyways."

Strangely Aquarius didn't feel that tired. In fact, he had never felt more awake in his life. He decided to return to his training. He had made an unbelievable amount of progress in one day to be sure, but he could always make more, and he would.


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## masamune1 (Feb 18, 2011)

*The Guild of the Magi- Part 2*

*The Council of Nine*

Zabulon took his place at the grand round table with the other Arch Magi. The Council of Nine sat in session, ready to discuss the business of the day. 

7 men, 2 women, the most accomplished sorcerors in the Guild, famed and revered for their great talent, wealth of wisdom, and towering achievements across so many worlds. 

Zabulon, Edric, X'in Chung Liang, Marco, Stanos, Darien, Rathathel, and the ladies Jaelle and Adele. In The Myst each commanded the priviledges of Royalty, long-winded titles describing how Excellent they all were in addition to the various _nom de guerres_, such "the Great", that they had acquired over their illustrious careers.

Between them, these nine wizards and witches wielded enough magical and political power that they could be considered a _de facto_ World Government, though to the relief of the various kingdoms and republics littered across The Myst such purely temporal affairs held little interest for them. To be sure, no ruler with sense would hesitate to grovel at their feet should- or, to be more correct, when- an Arch Mage of the Council clicked their fingers; and, if the world were faced with some great event or cataclysmic catastrophe, it would look to the Council and Guild for leadership.

But these were non-issues for the men and women sitting as this table. Matters of state would be a tedious bore to those whose concerns transcended otherworldly planes and dimensions, to say nothing of the headache it would cause when so much time already was preoccupied with running an organization that operated across several realities.

His Most Majestic Sire The Arch Mage Iago the Wise, to give one of his shorter names, began the proceedings. "So, Ladies and Gentlemen, what orders of business do we have to attend to?"

Jaelle, the Jasmine Spectre, rose to answer the question: "My brethern", she began, for the Guild taught that all members should be considered as family, and went on about some trivial matter concerning a dispute between the Houses.

The Guild of the Magi was organised by groups of eight Houses, which were little more than clubs with their own traditions and, more importantly, some of their own unique spells and arts. Balthazar belonged to High House Azure hence his sigil- they were colour-coded for your convenience. Next was High House Crimson, then High House Mauve, High House Tawny, High House Emerald, High House Obsidian, High House Hazel, and High House Crystal.

Colour coded, but these were Magi, so blue, red, purple, gold, green, black and brown had to be spiced up to sound more magic. Crystal was originally white, but they couldn't find a good synonym. The "High" in High House reffered only to size and age, which is why nobodies like Balthazar could get in. The were generally open to anyone of the minimal merit. 

There were other, smaller Houses- and these would take you to shades of colour most men had never heard of- with more exclusive membership, but mattered little. Whatever extra bonuses any House- High or Low- offered members, they were principally a matter of internal organization. The Guild ranked from Novice, to Adept, to Senior (Balthazar), on to Low Mage, Mid Mage, High Mage and finally Arch Mage, but at any level the magi were expected to study mostly on their own. Whatever secret magics each House had, they had nothing of the value of hard work and learning, and truth be told few were much more than elaborate parlour tricks. 

The Guild had no monopoly on competent or powerful magi. Many mighty sorcerors had never had association with it. What was offered was guidance and camaraderie; it was not an Academy (it _had_ Academies, but that was another matter).  

Jaelle finished and the table discussed, then the others took their turns raising issues just as trivial. Camaraderie.....Guidance.....This is what they had come to. None of them particularly enjoyed these meetings, but they smiled their way through them so they could tell whichever Adept or Senior Mage pestered them to raise it that they had, then they could get back to their own matters. 

On their own they were scholars, warlcoks and kingmakers. Outside this chamber an Arch Mage might be searching for immortality or deciding the fate of a nation, as hobbies. They might even, as Zabulon was in places, be regarded as gods to more primitive peoples. Nobody wanted to be here, because nothing of importance happened.

Nothing, except today.

"Well, if thats everything", Iago concluded, but Zabulon stopped him.

"One more matter", he said, raising his hand as everyone was leaving.

The others looked at him, then got back in their seats. It wasn't like him to speak at these things- the Guild members knew better than to bring him questions or concerns.

"I think its about time", Zabulon continued, "that we discuss the situatuion in The Ruin."

A puzzled look from some. Evidently they did not follow such things. But X'in, Stanos, Darien and Adele, they seemed to show recognition.

Iago, the head, did not. "Situation?", he asked. "What situation is that?"

Zabulon stared at Iago from the opposite end of the table, then rose and threw the sigil ring into the centre. It bounced once, rolled a bit, then came to a stop.

He sat back down. "The situation is that war is brewing, my esteemed brethern", he explained to the confused faces. "The cities of New Jericho and Paradiso are about to clash, while the city of Rahab has gathered a massive force and is preparing to march on the world. Rahab is named for its patron god, the Great Leviathan. The demon has recently re-ascended his old status as the Lord of Darkness, Storms and Chaos in that realm, as well as Lord of the Seas sometime earlier. He has even, somehow, managed to conjure up an entire ocean to make that title matter again. And the city of Pandemonium has a new Mayor, a monster named Draygon, who it seems is the Avatar of Khorne, who has found himself in that world and now seeks to dominate it. The Heavens and the Earth are about to shake that world anew.

"That ring," he went on, motioning to the sigil, "belonged to one of our senior members in that world, a mage named Balthazar. He died, because he was caught up in all of this. He was present at Rahab's Ascendedncy, and shortly after he was murdered."

Much to his un-surprise, the ignorant in the group still didn't get it. "Well", Iago replied, "that does sound terrible, Zabulon, but I don't understand what that has to do with us. I mean", and he made a small laugh, "its not like we are responsible for every mage in the Guild, and if this...this Balthazar wad caught up in all that.....well, no disrepect to our kin in The Ruin, but they do have certain reputation, and they live in a dangerous world. 

"Nor do I see why we should care about any wars there. Even if gods are involved, what does that matter? Gods war all the time, everywhere. Whats so special about this?"

X'in Chung Liang explained to the Arch Mage, "Because there have been rumours that these wars, and these dark gods, are being backed by other forces. Forces that operate across dimensions as we do. The King in Yellow, even, he has returned to The Ruin. And the Guild of Science, it seems, might be a part of things."

Mutterings and fear met the last two points. The King in Yellow, it was well known, _never_ visited the same place twice, so something must have compelled him to do so. And the Guild of Science were their rivals, an imitation of their ancient order led by a psychopathic lunatic named Josef Fleming. They had a presence in The Ruin, to be sure, and there it was known only by its nickname, The Guild of Mad Science. But if they were actually _involved_ in this, if they had moved on from experimentation to starting wars and abetting gods....well, that changed things dramatically.

Iago and the other uninformed Council members found this rather.... unsettling. 

"We were going to wait", X'in Chung carried on, and gave Zabulon a dark glare, "and investigate the matter further. We did not want to trouble this Council with innuendo until these rumours were proven."

"I am sorry to inform my colleague, then, that they _have_ been proven."

Everyone raised their eyes in shock at this.

Zabulon placed both hands on the table, and behind his gloomy face he smiled. "I have been in contact with another group that traverses reality. A trustworthy group, and you know how loath I am to be reckless with trust. They have been following these events _very_ closely, and can confirm our worst fears. 

"There is conspiracy afoot, my oldest friends. Within The Ruin, fate and the gods have selected champions to fight in their name, and all signs suggest that these champions are pawns of these unknown evils playing with our fates. Do not be fooled into thinking this starts and ends in The Ruin- our Enemy has stretched his tentacles into every world, every organization. He may even have penetrated our own eminent order, and we have long known how vulnerable we are to that threat."

Here he referred to numerous precendents, as members of the Guild often had additional allegiances and, in some cases, those allegiances had sought to corrupt the Guild to its own ends, sometimes very sinister ones. All had met with varying degrees of failure, but never had they been faced with something on this scale, for if what Zabulon said was true they were dealing with an interdimensional conspiracy, involving their olded enemy the Science Guild, that was able to make puppets out of gods. It was a new kind of danger.

"This conspiracy seeks nothing less than domination over every reality, and my trusted friends have shown me the proof- the conspirators have the means to achieve that goal. Those champions in that desolate world are critical to their plans- somehow, some way, they are involved- and they are expected to soon begin traversing the realms. 

"We cannot stop them. We dare not risk trying until we know the end game, lest we make things worse. But I propose an alliance, a meeting with these allys of mine, to lead to a more formal collaboration between the Guild, or at least the Council, and those who have warned us of this encroaching menace. Let them show us what they know, share with you what they have shared with me, and I assure you, brethern, you will not hesitate for a second in saying "yes.""

A mixture of fear, confusion, and suspicion swept over the room. It was Edric, famed for his Boldness, who finally asked the question.

"And who are these allys of yours, Zabulon."

"They are known", Zabulon said, "as the _Oneiroi."_


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## Endless Mike (Feb 18, 2011)

As the new day dawned, the group slowly stirred to wakefulness. After eating a short breakfast of leftovers from the food stash they had discovered yesterday, they packed up their belongings and set out again.

Several hours after they had left their champ, Chachamaru walked next to Aquarius and whispered to him.

"I see you were busy last night."

"I was training. It's none of your business."

"We were attacked. You defeated the enemies, but that is still something the others should have known about."

Aquarius muttered something. This girl was troublesome. Come to think of it, who was she, really? He knew she was Finn's companion, and he had also heard something about her being from another universe, as hard as that was to believe. Speaking of Finn, he heard the man's voice, which interrupted his present thoughts:

"Hold on, everyone," he said, stopping and holding his hands to his temples in concentration.

The others stopped and looked at him.

"What is it?" Ed asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think I _feel_ something," he said, closing his eyes as he concentrated further.

"Enemies?" Chachamaru asked. "I'm not detecting anything."

"No, it doesn't have any hostile intent. I'm sensing an animal mind, with predatory instincts, but it seems to be rather relaxed right now. It's nearby - well, relatively. Maybe a few km away."

"Your powers have improved," Ed noted.

Mask was not impressed, however.

"So there's some animal a ways away from here. So what?"

Finn smiled. "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when I call it over here."

The others decided to give him a chance, and waited. About half a minute later, Chachamaru noticed something in the sky.

"I see. Brilliant," she said, smirking. The others were confused as their eyesight was not as sharp as hers and they could not spot the creature yet, but soon a small dot resolved itself above the horizon, and it was soon apparent that it was a bird.

Mask was still unimpressed, until he noticed that the bird was growing bigger and bigger as it got closer. When it arrived, it cast a shadow over all of them - it was enormous, with a wingspan of at least 50 meters.

Finn called it down, and it landed gently next to them.

"We've got a new ride," he said boastfully.

"With this, it should only take 6 or so more hours before reaching New Jericho," Chachamaru said, impressed.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Cyrus asked. "I'm a bit nervous about climbing up on top of that thing."

Finn laughed. "I have a way with animals. Trust me, it's fine." They all climbed on top of Finn's new pet, and held on tight as it took off, heading for New Jericho.


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## masamune1 (Feb 18, 2011)

*The Guild of the Magi- Part 3*

*The Meeting in the Night*

Zabulon returned to his large- yet deceivingly modest- quarters and left the other Council members to lull things over. 

They would not simply agree to his proposal, of course- only a very short-sighted man could believe that. There would be days, even weeks, of wranglings and debate, questions about the veracity of his proof and of the trustworthiness of the Oneiroi, a group none of them had ever heard of before. And he, Zabulon, doubtless would have to explain why, if he felt things were so serious, he had not raised these matters earlier. These discussions would, no doubt, continue long after they had had their meeting with them.

But have it they would, of that he was certain. While none of the Council, he well knew, were particularly fond of him, Zabulon knew well enough that he commanded their respect, and none truly doubted the sincerity of his passionate pleas, perhaps arrogantly because none of them believed the wool could be pulled so easily over their eyes.

And yet, here they were.

Zabulon smiled and returned to his favourite window. The Citadel, a grand thing, sat perched at the end of a great cliff jagging out from the side near the top of a tall, lonely mountain,. Far from any range, this mountain stood  solitary over a vast open plain so that when one looked down, past the clouds floating beneath, one had the sense of looking upon the entire world. It wasn't true, of course,- though the Guild had many tools and other means to do just that when they so chose, tools to spy upon anyone on this reality, and some others- but the effect was such that one just couldn't care. This was as close as one could get to looking down from Heaven.

Zabulon's quarters were perched at the edge of the citadel and it gave him one of the more perfect views to the world below. This time he swung the large windows open and let the cool evening breeze swim over him, the light of a large full moon illuminate him. From here, a childish fantasty though it was, he was Lord of all things, and he liked it. 

"And if someone pushed you, what then?", said a voice from behind.

Zabulon his eyes and turned around to greet the figure. So stealthily did he come, Zabulon took a moment to wonder why he didn't frighten him into falling, never mind being pushed. But then he realised that the reason for that was rather brilliantly simple- the man had not wanted him to, and so he hadn't.

Zabulon closed the windows and went over to his guest, or perhaps his intruder. A long black cloak covered dark black skin; the eyes were a unique, piercing crystal in colour, but his other features, mouth and chin aside, were hidden by the curved and elaborate black, and gold-encrusted, domino mask that hid the top half of his face. 

Zabulon gave The Moon a short, courteous bow. "Welcome to my humble abode, Chosen of Ikelos. You honour me with your presence."

The Moon gave a short, unconvinced "Hm", and turned around to look over his home. Aside from the entrance and bathroom his quarters had no doors, each room separated only by wide open space and the odd, single long step. It gave it a welcoming, homely feeling though it also meant no guest had much chance to escape Zabulons' field of vision. At the front was the lounge and next to that a large kitchen, and a rare wall seperated that from the bedroom they were now standing in, connected to the bathroom en suite. Beyond the bedroom was a modest, though surprisingly deep, library and study, which the wealth of magical knowledge Zabulon had acquired over his many decades. Wood and stone provided the framework for most of the Citadel and, thus, so too did it for his modest little home. Furniture was luxurious, but sparse. The  Arch Mage lived well, but with an eye for simplicity.

"What do you have to report?", asked The Moon, still staring at his home with his back turned to the wizard. 

"I have addressed the Council in the matters concerning The Ruin. They have been made aware of the conflicts brewing in that world, and they have now all been informed, if vaguely, of its wider implications, which were supported by others who heard the rumours of the King in Yellow and involvement of the Science Guild. They now know of the Oneiroi, and I proposed a meeting with you, or your representative if you so wish."

"And?", he asked. He started exploring the house.

"They are undecided. But they will come around. I am sure of it."

"Very good, then", he said. But he still paid Zabulon no mind. The sorceror was curious- The Moon studied over his possessions like a child. He ran his hand over the leather seat; he played with the globe and other devices; he knelt down to the fish tank, entranced, and even tapped the glass to get a reaction from the occupants.

The most powerful mortal in this or any world, and he was totally absorbed in all this banality.

How wonderously fascinating. 

The Moon stood up from his kneeling, and stared at the fish a moment longer. Finally he looked up and turned around, to catch Zabulon staring at him.

A deathly silence, and then: "I never really had a home."

Zabulon nodded, slightly. He didn't know what to say to that. 

The Moon walked up to him, then brushed past him to the window. He opened them up, leant his hands on the sill, and poked out his body to the wider Myst.

He had closed his eyes- or he probably had, at any rate- and Zabulon suddenly felt a wave of _deja vu,_ as he realised that here, now, he was in the same position as the young Acolyte from earlier that morning, staring in awe at a man of incomprehensible wisdom and power, making wild, probably dead wrong, guesses on his thoughts. Perhaps, like Zabulon, The Moon was thinking of nothing at all. 

Suddenly the _deja vu_ was ended, as The Moon did something Zabulon never dared- he climbed onto the windowplace, and stood on the sill, perched on the edge of the night and oblivion.

"I guess", he said, once again without turning round, "we are all playing out our parts".

And with that, he leapt. Off of the Citadel, into the dark.


----------



## Stunna (Feb 18, 2011)

"You know," Mask began, "I'm not a big fan of flying!"

"Me either!" Holly shouted, Rachel tucked under her arm. Cyrus didn't seem to mind.


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## Emperor Joker (Feb 19, 2011)

*Famine*

*The Western Wastes*

The town burned, as the savage horde tore through it, and atop a nearby hill, a woman watched with a smile on her face. The townsfolk should have bowed to her, they should have submitted to her power. She was an harsh looking womans with fiery red eyes and white hair. her high cheekbones and sharp amazonian features made her a sight to behold. The people in this town would now burn, just like all others who got in her way. 

Famine was done with waiting for the Silent One to turn back towards creation. She had waited for too long, how many incarnations had jst sat back doing what was expected? How many abided by his rule to never ascend? She no longer cared, because she knew The Silent One didn't care. She and her people would sweep across this world like an orgy of blood, carnage and sex...all would fall.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and she turned to find the helmeted form of her second in command Dupree. Behind him came a a woman that might once have been beautiful beyond belief. but now bound in chain, her head shaved, and brusies running everywhere on her body, she no longer had the beauty that once set her apart...the beauty that had once made her a god. Dressed in a potato sack, the woman glared at Famine, her eyes seething with hatred.

"My lady, the bitch tried to take her life again," said Dupree. "It seems she has yet to learn her lesson."

"Indeed," whispered Famine seductivly to the captain. "Why do you resist so much Aphrodite, why must you continue to struggle, when you know it's worthless? There's nobody coming for you, because your worthless now. all the power you had is mine now...all mine. Just like you are mine...or should I say your body is." Walking up to the fallen goddess, she cupped her face in her hands. "Must I give your body to the men again. Perhaps I should give it to the animals this time, as it seems simple humiliation is not enough for you."

Aphrodite mumbled something, her eyes blazing with fury. "What was that  my dear." said Famine smiling. "Perhaps you should speak up...oh wait you can't because I cut out your tongue...poor thing you should have done what I wanted, and just submitted to me." 

Famine turned to Dupree again. "Take her and give her to everyone in the camp, once they return from destroying the village. Let them use her, and then have them keep using her until her mind is broken." 

"Yes, mistress." he said and began to haul of the the former goddess. He, however stopped when Famine's voice called out to him again.

"Oh and Captain, when you're done with that, meet me in the command tent...we have some...plans to discuss."

Dupree grinned and repeated "Yes mistress, as you command." and jerked Aphrodite down the hill. A few moments later a hard slap rang out folowed by a gasp. 

Famine smiled to herself, and turned east. This is where she wished to go next, she'd sned her horde crashing straight into the so called civilized world of the seven cities, and swallow them whole...


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## Platinum (Feb 19, 2011)

*Three Days Ago*

*New Jericho's 2nd District- The King in Gray's Manor*

Today was the end of an era. It was the last day of The King in Gray's. Tonight he left the city he loved so dear behind and would set off for the Haunted Wastes where the meeting was to take place. The meeting would not be for several weeks but he would be taking a few detours along the way. He deeply regretted leaving New Jericho when it needed him most but he had no choice. The fate of more than one city was at stake now.

As expected The King in Gray had appointed his most trusted adviser Victor Van Buren to rule in his stead. Later in the day there would be a modest ceremony to make the transfer of power official. The citizenry was still shocked by the announcement of his sudden departure and as expected it only increased the tension amongst the various factions vying for power.

The King had not planned on taking any visitors that day, he rarely took visitors at all to be honest, but he could not refuse The Lord of Time.

Paradox appeared surrounded by the eldritch green hue that always heralded his arrival. With his piercing eyes he studied the King in Gray. To those that did not know his title The King in Gray was a rather unassuming man. Dressed in an immaculate gray business suit, to the undiscerning eye he looked like your typical New Jericho white-collar worker. His features were as worn and weathered as the very mountains themselves. 

The only thing that truly stood out about the man were the eight rings he wore, one on each finger, each adorned in arcane symbols and precious gems. Unlike most men he did not wear these rings for vanity's sake. Instead these rings were symbols of his allegiances, his allegiance to the kings, his allegiance to New Jericho and much more.

"Are you still feeling guilt over the death of your friend The King in Blue?", Paradox inquired. "You have to learn to leave these things in the past and focus on the future."

"Easy for the lord of time to say", The King in Gray snapped. "If I had not refused to help him... he might still be alive, of course I feel guilty."

"His death was an unavoidable certainty of time and space."

"You are the only one who thinks in that mindset Paradox.", The King spoke. "But I doubt you have come all this way to New Jericho to give me a lecture on time. So what are you here for?"

"I am here to speak to more than just you. As you know New Jericho is fast becoming a tangled web of intrigue. Your departure from this city will have repercussions far beyond what you can imagine."

"Such as?"

"The Obsidian Throne will be claimed by someone."

"I assumed as much. Can you tell me who in particular will claim it?"

"I am not able to divulge that information to you at this point in time. But I can tell you who will be competing for it."

"That will be sufficient.", The King in Gray remarked.

"I spoke to several gods in Rapture. Poseidon and Ares in particular seemed very interested in acquiring the power of The Obsidian Throne."

"As to expected.", The King in Gray replied. "Poseidon is still as consumed as ever with his little vendetta against The Leviathan I see. And what about Ophiuchus? I would assume he would make a play for the throne as well."

"He has his eyes on the artifact up north. And he is no position to challenge the myriad of gods that are set on taking the power as their own."

"Who else is seeking the throne?"

"Eros might make a move on the throne. Oh and some other lesser gods will make a play for the throne for sure. But they aren't that important in the grand scheme of things. The two others competing for the throne will interest you far more. You very own Champion for one."

"He would make a fine Lord of The Mountains.", The King remarked.

"Indeed he would. And last but certainly not least, is Diamond."

"You are kidding right? Diamond.... that can't be. We destroyed The Jeweled Fist years ago. I killed Diamond myself...".

"Well I can assure you he is very much alive as is The Jeweled Fist. They will be one of the major factions in this up coming civil war."

"This is not good.", The King in Gray couldn't believe it. This Civil War was going to be far worse than he ever imagined. The King in Gray opened one his desk drawers and retrieved a faded envelope. He reached for a piece of paper and quickly jotted down a small message and then sealed the envelope with wax. "Paradox could I ask you to please give this to The King in Black. I am calling in the favor that he owes me."

"I am not a damn Courier", Paradox snarled. "I got far more important things to worry about than delivering the mail."

"Is that a worried expression I see on your face Paradox?", The King in Gray had to stifle a laugh. He had never seen Paradox worried about anything before. 

"If you must know. Lately their have been some rather.... odd fluctuations in time."

"Well that is worrying," The King in Gray replied. He massaged his temples with his fingertips, "And what do your two servants have to say about these fluctuations."

"I have already consulted with Cause and Effect on this matter. They have confirmed my worse fears. Several events have occurred that have had an affect on our timeline, yet they have no discernible cause. Someone is messing with time and I can't confirm who it is. Not yet at least. I'll find the culprit soon enough and make things right."

"I will speak of this with the kings Paradox. Perhaps we can aid you in some way."

"Your help would of course be welcomed. I'll deliver your letter after I am done in New Jericho as a token of my appreciation."

"Thank you my friend. May I offer you a drink?"

"Some other time," Paradox replied with a smile. "I must be going now." A second later and The King in Gray was alone once more.


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## masamune1 (Feb 19, 2011)

dimhaku said:


> Rakes head suddenly snapped up. Tiste Andii were gifted by Mother Dark with a supernatural sixth sense. Something was going wrong in the Eastern Wastelands, of that he had no doubt. Of course, he couldnt pinpoint the exact cause for the disturbance, but it was definitely there.
> 
> These lands arent safe anymore. I have to move. Rake wasted no time in packing up everything he owned. Due to his curse, he owned a little bit less each and every day. Just yesterday, his flashlight had crumbled to dust and left him relying on the light of the moon during the night. Packing things up now took no longer than thirty seconds.
> 
> ...



_........Am I dead?_

He could not be sure if his eyes were opened or closed. Blackness, infinite darkness, dominated everywhere. If they were open, that was all there was to see. There were no sounds, no smells either, nor anything in the air to taste or feel.

Only the blackness was his company. And so he wondered if he was truly dead, and had come back, at last, to the bosom of Mother Dark.

Or maybe this was Nothing. A dreaded Nothing after Death. 

Alone...._truly,_ alone. Not alone, wandering the Wastes eternally. Not alone, knowing that there were other creatures out there- strange, small, alien creatures, the humans and other things-, creatures to be known of and avoided.

Here, there was nothing to avoid. Here, Nothing was the only companion.

Perhaps.....perhaps this was for the best. Here, no-one could be hurt by him. Or maybe was his punishment- if so, it fitted. 

*"No, Child of Darkness."*

_What? Who said that? Where?_

*"Can you not speak? Use your tongue! Or have you gone too long without using it?"*

He had, in fact, forgotten the last time he had spoken to someone. But Tiste Andii do not forget how to act.

"Who....who are you?"

*"I am, what you might call, Father Dark."*

Father Dark? What was the meaning of this?

*"Mother Dark does not exist in this world, young alien. I am Erebus. I am her counterpart. Here, I am the Dark."*

This world....He was reffering to the past. The Tiste Andii had came here from another place....and before that, another still. They were wanderers, travelling through the Warrens. Warrens- the one thing the Tiste Andii had forgotten how to use.

*"You are far from any Warren, young one",* Erebus continued. *"They did not forget- Warrens do not exist in this place. You're tribe were cut off from the rest of your race, thrown beyond any world they knew, adn they arrived here, in a world without Warrens."*

Rake listen to this maddening revelation. No Warrens? It explained so much.....but cut off even from them? What cruel world was this? How could fate rob his species like that....or was this Erebus truthful? 

The poison of the sandtiger still ran through his veins. Delerium...Yes. Thats what this was.

*"I am no delusion, imupdent one. And I shall prove it. I shall save you life. The poison will no longer course through your system. You will recover....And you will learn to master your gift."*

Master? Gift? _This is no gift! it is a curse!,_ he thought loudly in his head. _I do not want to master it- I want to be rid of it!_

*"You will master it.....and you will do so quickly. Days, even. For I have no time to wait on anything else. I have a task for you, and you will fulfill it. You will become my servant."*

Rake let the command linger for a moment, then said out to this fever: "And why should I serve you?"

*Because",* Erebus replied, *"If you serve me.....you will find your way home. You will rejoin your Tiste Andii brethern."*

_Home....?

Tiste Andii....Was it possible?_

Rake turned over a thousand possibilities in his head. A lifetime, if he had it, must have past before he asked his question.

"What must I do?"

*The Eastern Wastes- 1 Week Ago*

Rake groggily awoke from his slumber and slowly got to his knees. He looked over at the sandtiger- it was still there. Body, head, and no trace of a neck.

He reached an arm, painfully, over his shoulder and traced a finger over the wound on his back. Only a scar. A long, thin scar, as if the deep poisonous  wound had healed up years ago. But it could only have been hours.

And he should be dead. Erebus, it seemed, had kept his end of the bargain.

Rake sighed deeply, and after an age resolved himself. He could not are to wander these wretched Wastes again, forever, whatever the risk he posed to himself and others. He had been offered a purpose, something he had never had before, but the only thing now that stood between him and an eternity of lonelines and despair. Or, as was the custom amongst many old and tired of his race, death.

He was too young to die.

"Very well then, `Father` Dark", Rake whispered to the night wind. "I will accept your terms."

Rake rose to his feet, gathered his meager belongings, and, recovered as he was, set out on his mission. He had no map, no compass, but he was Tiste Andii; Mother Dark had blessed him with the sense. He knew, instinctively, what direction to go in. He knew where he was going.

He was going....to meet some humans.


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## Platinum (Feb 20, 2011)

*Elsewhere in New Jericho*

"You've been cleaning all day", Cancer groaned as he sat down in one of the black leather recliners in the villa's living room. "You should be doing more productive things with your time."

"Not everyone can stand living like a slob like you can Cancer", Libra scoffed. "Besides we will be having company tomorrow."

"Why are trying so hard to impress Aquarius in the first place? I doubt he really gives a shit about cleanliness."

"Not just Aquarius. He is bringing people with him remember."

"Oh yeah forgot about his little posse."

"And I would like to make a good first impression", Libra replied.

"Why are we going all out to welcome their asses in the first place? They failed their mission spectacularly, Aquarius and Scorpio almost got themselves killed, they failed to stop Draygon, and even worse he is now the Mayor of Pandemonium. Their failure doomed that entire city."

"There was nothing they could do to stop him."

"I would of found a way to stop him", Cancer mumbled. "But let's not get into that. Where the hell is Capricorn anyways? I haven't seen him in hours."

"Your guess is as good as mine", Libra spoke.

As if one cue Capricorn entered through the door carrying several large bags full of groceries. "I thought we could have a feast to welcome Aquarius and his friends to New Jericho.", Capricorn said with a smile.

"Excellent idea", Libra replied. "We will cook them something splendid tomorrow."

Cancer groaned again. He got up from the recliner and reached for his coat. "I'm going out.", he left without saying anything else.


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## masamune1 (Feb 21, 2011)

*The Seven Kings: The King in Red*

From the crucible, 
called the end of days
the dark prince wanders the endless wastes. 
From whence and where this stranger came, 
no man alive or dead can say.

Earl of chaos, and lies, darkness and change,
Of magic, intrigue, wealth and taste.
From whence, and where, has this Lord come?
Ageless, immortal,
secret ruler of the world.

Like Legion, he has many names,
Like Prospero, damned are all he saves.
In this age of mankinds fall,
The Red Death holds dominion o're all.

This Devil, cold, unkind and cruel
This Beast, this Dragon, this Lord of Misrule
Whats fated those hexed, trapped under his thumb?
Dystopia! Ruin! Pandemonium!

Run, thy child! For he is here!
And sure, with him, the Hour is near!
Flee from this doom, worse than the dead,
This foul, evil thing,

This King in Red.


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## Platinum (Feb 22, 2011)

The Wastelands

Aquarius was never one for flying, especially on a giant weird looking bird, but he was a flexible individual and decided to just roll with it. Even if he would regret the training time that he would miss out on their priority was reaching New Jericho as fast as possible. He took the chance to catch a few hours sleep.

Waking up a few hours later, Aquarius noticed the sun was close to setting. Glancing over at the large mountain looming in the distance he was able to judge their distance from New Jericho. "That's far enough", Aquarius spoke to Finn. "Set us down here."

"Are you sure?", Finn as hesitantly. "We are still quite far from the city. Why not just fly the entire way there?"

"For one, flying in on a giant bird will alert the entire city to our presence.", Aquarius replied. "And two if we go any farther on this thing we risk activating New Jericho's aerial defense systems."

"Aerial defense systems?", Ed asked.

"Yes. New Jericho has quite the impressive web of defenses. We would be shot down before we could even get close to the city. Not to mention the swarms of Obsidian Guardsmen that would inevitably follow."

"Okay okay. I'll bring it down."

With night fast approaching their wasn't any point in walking much further. They decided to pitch camp. Their was no rush, they would arrive in New Jericho in the mid afternoon at this pace.

Aquarius cooked the dinner again. Everyone else was still reluctant to share a story so Aquarius told them about another one of his journeys. This one concerned his travels to the Western Wastelands two years ago. It was supposed to be a simple mission, he Scorpio and Libra were chasing a small band of rogue mercenaries. The goal was to capture one of them alive whom Libra would interrogate and subsequently find the location of their group's stronghold. 

Well they found it alright, though not the way they intended. Trapped on all sides they had to battle hold out until Pisces and Cancer arrived with reinforcements. The three of them were bloodied up pretty badly, each having to spend several days recovering in the aftermath of the battle, but they were able to keep each other alive and that was all that mattered in the end.

His story concluded it was time for everyone to go to sleep. Well except for him and the robot of course. But while everyone was settling in for a night's sleep Mask approaches Aquarius silently as to not disturb anyone.

"You need something?", Aquarius asked Mask as he turned around to face him.

"I heard from Chachamaru that you were training last night."

"I was. And what of it?"

"Nothing... I was just wondering if you would mind if I joined you."

Aquarius laughed. "Oh that's it? Sure you can join me tonight, that is if you don't mind training with an avatar and his god."

"Your god is going to be with us?" Mask inquired.

"That isn't a problem with you is it?", Aquarius replied.

"No. It's not"

"Excellent. Perhaps he might even be able to teach you a trick or two. Now give me a minute to prepare and we will begin."


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## masamune1 (Feb 23, 2011)

In the dimly lit hall of the great circular temple, The Prophet bent his knee before his god.

"How do you feel, my Avatar?", The Great Leviathan asked.

The Prophet did not raise his head. "Stronger.....Greater. I feel powerful. Power like I've never known."

Rahab nodded his great reptilian head. "Rise", he said, gesturing with one hand.

The Prophet rose, though still he lowered his head. He stood humble in the presence of Rahab. The Prophet was a giant of a man, but even in his humanoid form the newly-crowned Lord of Darkness still towered over him. Were there any other present to witness this meeting, they would feel like dwarves. 

"This is your birthright, and mine", Rahab continued. "You are now the mightiest of mortals, my sharpest sword. The time has come for you to be wielded, and I shall wield you, and this city, against the entirety of the world."

"I am ready, my master", the Prophet replied. And he could not resist squeezing his hand, testing his strength.

As the former Lord of Darkness, Storms and Chaos, his god had been able to pass on remants of those powers to the Prophet. He had always possessed these powers.

But not like this. This was new. This was a whole new level of potency. And he had trained for years for it. He quickly adapted to it. 

Yet still....He was still taken aback by just _how much_ power he now held.
It surprised him....and it excited him.

"No-one can stand against you now. You now eclipse the mightiest warriors in this land. The Champion, the Archangels...They shall all fall beneath your sword. Just as the gods shall fall beneath mine."

" Yes, my master."

A silence fell between them, then his god said, "I have a task for you first."

The Prophets head finally jerked upward, slightly, and he saw the feet of his Lords terrifying form.

"The Horsewoman of Famine has shirked her duties. She has ascended, has stolen the power of Aphrodite. She now marches across the Wastes, and has eyed the Seven Cities. She.....competes with you."

The Prophet smiled inwardly. "She shall be good practice, my master."

"Spare her, and the bitch-god. I have use for them both, as will you."

The Prophet remained silent in acknowledgement. 

"As to her forces, if they do not turn, kill them. Kill them all."


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## Platinum (Feb 24, 2011)

"You know the old maxim, control Fortune's Pass and you control New Jericho." Professor David Hawthorne spoke. He turned around to address the students of his Early New Jericho History class and then turned to draw a basic diagram on the chalkboard.

"The only major road in or out of New Jericho runs through the pass, that right there should tell you the immense tactical importance of the area." The Professor went on with his lecture.

"It was here all those years ago that one of the most important battles in New Jericho's first civil war took place. A significant portion of the rebel's army led by a mysterious man named Diamond, the leader of an even more mysterious faction known as The Jeweled Fist, squaring off against The King in Gray himself and those who were loyal to him. Of course you know how the story goes from there, The King in Gray was tragically delayed and was rendered unable to arrive in time to lead his army into battle..."


*9 Years Ago*

*The Battle of Fortune's Pass

In the final days of what would be known as The First New Jericho Wars*


Slowly the King in Gray took his solemn procession through the battlefield. His suit stained by the blood of his fallen soldiers as he walked amongst the corpses of tens of thousands of men. Nothing more than a feast for the vultures now. 

Devastation, utter devastation. Not a soul remained alive, except for the King in Gray, at least that is what he thought at first. Until he saw one other man standing amidst the havoc. His brown rebel uniform was stained with blood and his face was contorted into a hideous smile.

"Diamond!", The King in Gray roared, "What did you do?"

Diamond's laugh was borderline hysterical, "So you finally realized that none of these men died a natural death? A little slow on the uptake aren't you? I would expect a king to be a little more observant."

"What did you do?" he repeated, anger burning in his eyes.

"Just look at the ground below you", was all that Diamond replied as he snapped his fingers.

The King in Gray looked and saw for the first time various arcane letters etched into the ground extending as far as the eye can see, a ritual circle, with Diamond at it's epicenter.

"A ritual sacrifice.... you sacrificed your entire army in a dark ritual?"

"Not my army, yours", his devilish smile grew even larger. "The vast majority of my army is on it's way right now to flank your remaining forces. The King in Blue's army will fall and with it New Jericho will be mine."

"I have seen plenty of soldiers in your uniform lying amongst the dead", The King in Gray spoke, still in shock at what he was hearing. Such evil was almost unheard of, especially such evil coming from a mortal.

"Of course. I had to leave some of my men here as bait, or your army would of never charged into my trap.", Diamond spoke nonchalantly. 

"You're a monster."

"I prefer to see it as a smart tactical maneuver. 20,000 of my worst soldiers in exchange for 100,000 of your finest, any general would gladly take that exchange. Besides it's not like their deaths were for nothing, their sacrifice has given me the final piece I needed to guarantee our victory.", Diamond reach into the breast pocked of his uniform and pulled out a small, almost translucent, crimson orb and displayed it proudly to the King in Gray.

"A bloodstone..."

"As you know a bloodstone requires a large sacrifice to produce, and the more people sacrificed the stronger the stone is. With the life forces of 120,000 men powering this little stone I am unstoppable."

"Do you honestly think that will be enough to stop me?", The King in Gray replied. "Then you are a deluded fool Diamond." Suddenly large tendrils of blood erupted all around him, some shooting up thousands of feet in the air. He was surrounded.

"Once I am done with you I will acquire the power of The Obsidian Throne. The power that comes with the title of Lord of The Mountains in tandem with the power of the bloodstone will make me truly unstoppable. Any last words?"

The King in Gray did not speak.

"Perish"

Instantly The King in Gray disappeared as the tendrils came crashing into him. 

Though once the attack was over he was still standing. The King in Gray hadn't moved a step and was perfectly unharmed.

"Impossible", Diamond shrieked. 

"This will be the last time you underestimate one of the kings" he replied. 

As fast as a lightning flash The King in Gray closed the gap between the two. Grabbing Diamond by the throat he threw him several hundred feet, sending him crashing into the side of Prospector's Pass. Picking up a spear from one of his fallen warriors he threw it, skewering Diamond and holding him firmly in place.

"You haven't won." Diamond moaned. The spear had pierced his heart causing him to violently cough up blood. The only thing keeping him alive was his magical prowess. 

"For your crimes against the people of New Jericho and for your crimes against your own soldiers I, The King in Gray, sentence you to death." 

One by one he removed the rings from Diamond's hands. Each one was an artifact of great power, each one amplifying his power in different ways. They were  the main source of his strength. The more he lost the more he struggled to keep himself alive. He felt his power waning until finally the King in Gray removed the final ring from his hand. Yet against all odds Diamond still clung to life.

"It will take more than that to kill me", Diamond wheezed, his eyes blazing with hatred towards the man.

"True, but this should be sufficient", The King in Gray drew his sword from its scabbard and with one clean movement slashed the man's jugular. He watched until he was sure Diamond was dead. 

The King in Gray had just one thing left to do. Retrieving the bloodstone from Diamond's dead hand's, he placed it on the ground and shattered it. Such terrible items should never be allowed to exist in this world.

With his duty done he set off to meet the King in Blue's army and inform him of what happened...

*------------*

"And you know how the rest goes." Professor Hawthorne spoke to his students. "The final battle was fierce but once news of their leaders death reached the rebels their moral plummeted and they were easily routed. And with that battle peace finally came to New Jericho."

And with that the professor's lecture was over.


----------



## Emperor Joker (Mar 1, 2011)

Enigma stared across at the landscape and sounds of Rapture. The city was not what he expected, even from the second hand knowledge he had heard from his time in Pandemonium had not prepared him from the world's fourth largest city...perhaps he should have worn some shades.

Neon flashing lights flashed from everywhere, accompanied by blaring music. Coyote had apparently teleported them into the middle of the city's hub for nightclubs. At least he hoped what this was. He just hoped none of his companions were prone to seizures. 

Overhead was the real spectacle however as a massive raised highway ran across the city. The highway had no supports, and the cars he could see had no wheels. Even further, he could see the domed in top of the city itself, and flying around it were large winged creatures. 

From where they stood, he could also see a massive stage, at the end of the street, where two large horned was . humanoids were playing guitars in some sort of Heavy metal musical duel. 

"Well...this is different." he said to himself. 

"A bit too bright though." said Crichton beside him, shielding his eyes. 

"That's an understatement...it's killing my eyes." said Archon. 

"You know guys..." muttered Jessie who was looking behind Enigma. "I hate to distract you from the blinding lights...but we've got company."

"Really metallic company," said Hen, who was standing with Luke blinking rapidly.

Enigma turned and his eyes widened at the towering metallic construct that now lumbered torward them. It was a greyish in color with black and white in places like it's shoulder blades and knee pads, on it's chest was a large golden star. For some odd reason it had a metallic handlebar mustache on it's flat face. As it approached he could see it's eyes sweeping over them. 

"Don't panic..." said Coyote, leaning up against a statue "He's just a constable, here to get you registered."

"Registered...what do you mean?" asked Luke.

"Rapture has to keep track of those that enter and exit the city dear boy...It might seem like a hastle, but it has it's perks."

The Constable finally reached them, and it's massive 15 foot frame glared down at them. "Step for...d for S...n, if y..u Pl..e," it said, it's voice barely audible, and quite scratchy. Apparently the machine noticed this however, and a annoyed buzz emanated from it. The thing's chest hissed for a moment as it burst open, revealing a annoyed looking black man inside. He scowled down at them, from the control panel of the robot. it's many monitors and parts blinking rapidly. 

"Damned speakers are on the fritz again. The Guild's repair unit needs better fucking management, this is the third time this has happened this month. Now as I was saying step forward so this piece of junk can scan you. One at a time, if you don't mind."

Enigma shrugged, and stepped forward first, as he did a small orb like object shot out from the inside, and stopped infront of him. A moment later a small eye in the front opened up an a large red line scanned up in down several times. "Scan complete...next please." it said in a crisp feminine voice.

The scan went about this several more times with each person, until it finished with a buzz and went back to the man inside the mech. "Give me a moment, i've got to get the data sorted, then we'll be set..."

_________________________________________________________________

*The Guild of Mad Science: Rapture Branch*

Electricity raced through Benson's body, as the the archway short circuited and exploded. He was thrown back against the wall and he could hear two people swearing with fury. He tried to get up with a moan, but he only sagged back down.

"Damn it all," snarled a balding man in a wheel chair "That's the third energy source we've tried...and it still fails, even when using the power the city has to offer as a stabilizer."

"We'll be needing something pre-apocolypse is my guess. That's if we actually want this portal of yours off the ground Gramps." Said a petite teenaged girl, dressed in faded overalls. She had a backwards ballcap on her head, which her dyed green hair was tucked up under. 

"Perhaps, but that kind of tech is rare, we'll be lucky to find it." he paused. "Have some respect for your elders Molly, call me grandpa, not gramps...not old man either."

"Maybe i'll do that when you can stop calling me bye mom's name old geezer. Say it with me, my name's SAM!"

Benson moaned again from where he lay. "Oh get up Benson, 10'000 volts is child's play," said Dr. Turtleheart. "Why when I was your age, I was struck by lightning on a daily basis...now that's some hard shit right there."

Benson just moaned in return and began to retch. "You know Gramps," said Sam. "You should really stop talking out of your ass."

_________________________________________________________________

"All right, got everything sorted out..." Said the officer. "Though it appears that two of you legally dead...i'll send these to Dr. Ambrose so he can fix those for you Mr. Knight and Mr. Crichton..."

"pardon me officer, but I'm curious," said Coyote walking over, and out of the orner of his eye Enigma saw the statue sigh in relief somehow. "But I wish to inquire about where Ares is today."

the constable eyed him for a moment, before smiling "Ah I see it's that kind of visit. Last I heard he was down at Mephistopholes'...he might still be there, since he had a fight with his uncle a couple days ago."

"A perfect time for a "visit" then." said Coyote, before flicking a coin at the man "I thank you for your service...and if anyone asks?"

"I haven't heard anything Mr. Coyote." said the man, as the chest plate started to close, and he began to walk off.

"That's a good boy..." muttered Coyote, only to jerk his head to the side as he noticed Hen walking towards the street where a taxi was parked. "What is he doing!"

"He said something about getting us a ride." said Jessie in confusion. 

"It's just a taxi cab isn't it?" asked Enigma.

"_That_ is not a taxi!" said Coyote hastily as he started walking. "Not every car in this city is actually a car. some of them are just things in disguise waiting for a meal."

Well that's comforting thought Enigma. It's wonderful to know that cars will eat me here if i'm not careful. 

Hen had already reached the car, and Enigma could actually hear the snarling now. "Lurker get away! It's a trap!" he yelled." Hen turned around in surprise just as entire side of the car burst open and tentacles latched onto the hapless man. 

Only for the car to explode in a riddle of bullets. Another taxi this one Red and yellow with a silver sign saying *Bonejangles Taxi Service* was printed on the sides dropped from the sky. It sprayed the fake one with twin bursts of machine gun fire that came from it's headlights. a moment later a rocket erupted from the grill at the front and impacted the monster spraying gore everywhere.

Hen scrambled back towards the group as the new cab parked beside them. One of the windows rolled down...to reveal a skelton in a black's chauffeurs outfit looking angrily at them.

"Bad enough that I've got to compete with those bastard Djinn's horning in on my territory..." it said with a archaeic New York accent. "But here I am passing by and I see you mooks trying to catch a ride from one of those damn Fakesters...It almost makes me feel insulted."

"Oh calm down Benny," sighed Coyote. "They're new, they'll learn...besides you'll forget about it soon anyways, since we're going to still need a ride..."


----------



## Platinum (Mar 1, 2011)

*New Jericho*

"Did Cancer return yet?", Capricorn asked Libra.

"He's been gone all night.", Libra stated matter-of-factly. She was focusing half of her attention to Capricorn and the other half on the breakfast she was preparing. "I'm making omelets if you want one." she added.

"No thanks Libra. I'll be fine with a cup of coffee."

"I brewed a fresh pot, it's on the counter."

"Excellent." Capricorn yawned as he poured himself a cup. "So what's your plan of action today Libra?"

"Nothing much.", she reached for a few bottles on the spice rack. "Just a few hours of research. We will hammer out a more concrete plan tonight when Aquarius shows up."

"He should arrive in New Jericho during the afternoon. I have a small meeting to attend first and then i'll meet up with him."

"Where are you meeting up with him anyways?", Libra inquired. 

"... that is an excellent question."

"You don't have an arranged meeting spot?"

Capricorn's reply was an embarrassed smile. "Don't worry, i'll be able to find him."

"How? New Jericho is an extremely large city."

"Don't worry I have a knack for finding people."

"I hope so", she sighed. "Do you think I should wait for Cancer to return before leaving the villa?", Libra asked changing the topic. "I don't think that idiot grabbed his keys before he left."

"No you don't have to worry about him. He won't be back until later on anyways."

Capricorn took a moment to glance at his watch. "It appears that I am running late. Don't worry Libra i'll return in several hours with Aquarius and company in tow." He set his empty coffee mug on the counter and grabbed his set of keys.

"Goodbye then." Libra replied. 

Without another word Capricorn stepped out of the villa and set off for his meeting.


----------



## Endless Mike (Mar 2, 2011)

As the sun rose, the group packed up their bags and set off for New Jericho, the mountain the city was built upon looming above them like a threatening claw.

After about an hour of walking, they reached the front gate. It was guarded by at least a dozen uniformed soldiers carrying automatic weapons.

"Identify yourselves!" One of the soldiers shouted, pointing his gun at the travelers.

"We're just visitors," Aquarius answered. "You don't need to worry about us."

"Sorry," the guard responded, clicking the safety off of his weapon. "These are troubled times for New Jericho, there are a lot of factions seeking to spread civil unrest and subvert the government. I'm going to need to see your identification."

Finn stepped forward, carefully looking over the group of guards.

"You don't need to see our identification," he said, calmly yet authoritatively.

"O-of course, we don't need to see it," the head guard said after a short pause.

"Let us in," Finn commanded.

"Yes, right away," the guard said, as he then spoke into a device on his wrist, telling someone to open the gate. The massive door parted, allowing them in.

"Stop ripping off Star Wars!" Ed said, somewhat jokingly, as they prepared to enter.

"Star what?" Finn replied.

Once they entered the city and the gate had closed behind them, they looked around and were amazed by the sights. Most of the buildings were built on the slopes of the mountain, designed in odd shapes and structures to support themselves in such a position. There were roads containing automatic transit pods, and all sorts of strange aircraft sailing over the tops of the buildings. There was a vast assortment of people, from dignified - looking men wearing business suits that would not have been out of place before the Apocalypse to mutated creatures that exceeded 12 feet in height and sometimes had extra limbs. Everyone seemed to be going about their business without noticing the new arrivals.

"Okay, what do we do now?" Mask asked.

"My contact should be meeting us later today," Aquarius responded. "Let's split up so you guys can do whatever you want to do and then we can all meet back here at around 4 PM. Stay alert for danger, don't go looking for trouble, and stay with someone strong to protect you."

At that point, Chachamaru noticed something.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back," she said, as she ran off to intercept a man in a nearby crowd.

"Excuse me ma'am, can I help you?" The man asked as she approached him.

"Yes, I couldn't help but noticing your prosthetic arm," she said, gesturing at the robotic limb attached to the man's elbow.

"What about it?" He asked, somewhat annoyed.

"I was just wondering where you got it," she said.

"Antonio's place, zone 5. Best robotics in New Jericho, I hear he even does military contracts," the man said, seeming now less annoyed and more proud and he held up and performed a grasping motion with his metal hand. "You just better be rich like me, Antonio's stuff is expensive."

After thanking the man, Chachamaru returned to the group.

"Hmm," Finn said, upon hearing the news. "I suppose I could persuade this Antonio to fix you for free."

Chachamaru slapped him lightly. "What have I told you about that?" She said sternly.

"Fine, fine," he said. "But we don't have that much money."

"I'm sure we can work something out," the gynoid said. "It would at least be a good idea to first pay a visit to this place to see if he has what we need."

"One step at a time then? Fine with me," Finn said, as the two of them set out.

Via asking various inhabitants of the city, they soon discovered that New Jericho was divided into "altitude zones". Zone 0 was at the peak of the mountain, Zone 1 was slightly lower, and so on. They were currently in Zone 7. Taking a free public transport pod, they arrived in Zone 5 and, after asking around, learned the address of Antonio's shop.

"Well, this is it," Finn said, as they entered the building.


----------



## Platinum (Mar 4, 2011)

*Elsewhere in New Jericho*

"So tell me have they arrived in the city yet" Diamond asked his second in command in between brush strokes. He was at work painting his newest portrait. Painting was Diamond's preferred way to spend his free time and truth be told he was quite good at it.

"They arrived around an hour ago", Emerald replied. "Diamond I still don't get why you are giving so much attention to this group of people. Besides the avatar of Aquarius their is nothing remarkable about them at first glance. Just three men, a female android, and a group of children."

"I am interested because much his fellow three avatars already in the city they are an unknown variable."

"If you are worried so much let me get rid of them.", Sapphire spoke up. "After all if they are a threat to the operation they must be eliminated."

"In time Sapphire, in time. It would be foolish to throw away potential pawns when they can be of some use to us. For now we will observe and let Ruby ascertain the details of their mission here."

"Very well then.", Emerald replied. 

"You two may go now this meeting is over.", Diamond motioned to the door. "I want to finish painting in silence.

Emerald and Sapphire did as instructed.


----------



## Endless Mike (Mar 5, 2011)

At first the inside of the shop looked like nothing remarkable - it didn't even look professional. Piles of what could best be described as "junk" littered the floor, tables, and shelves on the walls. Much of it was recognizable as pieces of cybernetic limbs, often trailing wires, motors, and other such detritus.

"Are you sure we've got the right place?" Finn asked, looking around. There was no one else there to greet them.

"This is the correct address, but all of this equipment is low grade," Chachamaru said as she observed the debris littering the room. "Certainly not up to par with the arm that man had."

"Huh, I wonder if-" Finn was cut off as a door in the back of the room opened, and a grizzled - looking old man wearing an oddly shaped hat and goggles rushed in.

"Oh, customers!" He said excitedly. "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, but I was in the middle of-" Before he could finish the sentence, a loud explosion accompanied by an electrical buzzing noise shook the room.

"Excuse me one second," he said, rushing back the way he had come.

Finn and Chachamaru looked at each other in bewilderment. After a minute or so, the man returned, his hair and face now carrying visible scorch marks.

"Sorry, sorry, just a little overload, you know how these things are," he said dismissively as he brushed some ash off of his coat. "Now what can I do for you?"

"Um, are you Antonio? We heard that you were the city's best cybernetics retailer," Finn asked, although he was very unsure about this man.

"Haha, yes, yes I am!" The man said, his tone of voice changing to one of pride. "Antonio Savaglio, at your service," he said, walking out from behind the cluttered counter to shake Finn's hand.

"Your grip is weak, sir! Have you come to fix that? I have over a hundred models of prosthetic hands that you will definitely not be disappointed with!"

"Um, no," Finn said, a bit taken aback by this man's brashness. "It's actually my friend who needs your help," he gestured at Chachamaru.

"Oh, well," he said, walking over and visually examining her. "Come in the back with me."

They both followed him into another room, this one surprisingly large but just as messy as the entrance. However, Chachamaru noted that the parts here were of much higher quality.

"Now let's see what we can do for you, miss. If you would take off your coat?"

She did as instructed, revealing her missing right arm and various other scratches and slashes which exposed the metal and circuitry under her skin.

"A fully prosthetic body? You must have been in a horrible accident to need that, miss!" Antonio said, pulling his goggles off as he examined the stub of her arm. "It also looks like you've been through more danger recently. Are these - bite marks?" He asked, incredulous.

"So can you help her?" Finn asked.

"Hold on, hold on," the elderly man said. "First I need to figure out what kind of components she already has so I can find what will be compatible. Step under the scanner, miss," he said, gesturing towards a large nearby machine.

"Are you sure-" Chachamaru began.

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe," Antonio replied. The gynoid stepped onto the platform and the mechanic typed a series of commands on a keyboard. The machine whirred and green glow illuminated Chachamaru.

"Huh, this can't be right..." Antonio muttered, staring at the results of the scan on a small computer monitor.

"Is there a problem?" Finn asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, this damn thing is just on the fritz again," the mechanic said, walking over and pounding his fist on the scanning device a few times. He went back to the computer terminal and kept punching more commands into the keyboard, looking more frustrated as the results came up.

"It's not detecting an organic brain in there!" He said, confused. "Hell, according to the readouts there's no organic tissue whatsoever!"

Chachamaru and Finn both chuckled nervously.

"What's more," Antonio continued, "this technology is completely different from anything I've ever seen before. "It's certainly wasn't built by me or any of my competitors. Doesn't look like it's from the Guild either... huh, and what is with this power source? It makes no sense." He disengaged the scanner and walked over to Chachamaru.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"It's a long story," she responded.

"Listen," began Finn, passively applying a bit of his power. "We just want to know if you can help. When you fix her body, we're going to need some serious power and weapons, because we face danger on a regular basis, as you've already guessed."

"Sounds like you're looking for military - grade cybernetics," Antonio said. "That's going to cost you."

"How much?" Chachamaru asked.

"Well, like I said, I've never seen anything like you before," there was a tone of fascination and admiration in his voice, "but for a rough estimate? $6,000,000.00 minimum".

Finn's jaw dropped. "Si-six m-million?" He asked incredulously. "We can't afford that!"

"Well maybe we could work something out," Antonio said, a devious smile spreading across his aged face. He walked back over to his computer terminal, spinning the monitor around so Finn and Chachamaru could see the scan of her body. "Let me patent this data and we'll call it even."

"I don't know..." Finn began, but he was quickly cut off by his companion.

"Done," she said, shaking the mechanic's hand.

"Chachamaru! Are you sure about this?" The empath asked. She walked him to the edge of the room and whispered in his ear.

"He won't be able to replicate my power source or my mind that easily, and my other systems aren't that remarkable for this world. Besides, it's the only way I can see to complete this deal," she said. Finn seemed to accept that logic.

Several hours later, Chachamaru had been fully repaired, with all of her exterior damage completely gone and a new arm outwardly indistinguishable from her old one.

"You wanted power, you've got power," Antonio said, proud of his work. "I used the most advanced military equipment money can buy, and tweaked some of your preexisting weapon systems. I think you'll notice a marked increase in combat performance. Just one thing, though." His tone changed to a whisper. "Don't let the New Jericho government find out I gave military technology to civilians. I could get in trouble for that."

Finn reassured him that he wouldn't, and the two left the building to rendezvous with Aquarius.


----------



## Platinum (Mar 8, 2011)

"Hey buddy.", The bartender of The Black Forest pub spoke as he lightly shook the unconscious patron. "You need to leave."

Cancer awoke with a start, his startled eyes racing around the room to take in his surroundings and then relaxing as he realization settled in.

"You passed out a few hours back.", The bartender explained. "It's morning now so I need you out of the bar. I need to close up."

"Guess I overdid it a bit", Cancer braced himself against the counter and slowly stood upright. It was obvious to him and the bartender that his movements were still impaired. "Sorry about that."

"Happens all the time", the bartender smiled. "Now do you need any help or will you be fine on your own?"

"He won't be alone", a feminine voice echoed. It belonged to a redheaded woman of average height who appeared suddenly before the two men. "If he will accept my company."

"And who are you?", Cancer asked the woman. He rubbed his temples in a worthless attempt to assuage the pains of his developing migraine.

"You can say that I am one of your many admirers. You may call me Ramona.", she took his arm in hers and smiled.

*
Hours later
*
--------------------

"Remember not to be late", Aquarius spoke to Mask and Ed as he departed from the library. The two nodded their understanding.

When Finn and Chachamaru went on their own Aquarius helped show the others around the city for a bit. Being newcomers to New Jericho he couldn't just leave them to explore on their own as they would almost assuredly get lost in their aimless wandering. So he agreed to help the two in their quest.

Upon learning that the King in Gray was no longer in the city of New Jericho, Ed asked Aquarius to point him in the direction of a library in order to discover more about the Kings. 

Aquarius had several hours left before the group was to meet up again and he felt it prudent to spend that time searching for Capricorn. He lied when telling them that he had an arranged meeting spot. Aquarius meant to set one up before leaving Pandemonium but it was one of the small details that he forgot about in their rush to leave the city. It didn't matter. Aquarius had a good idea of where to find him.

Walking the winding roads of New Jericho for 30 minutes Aquarius finally arrived at his destination, a small cafe. Aquarius had vague recollections of it being Capricorn's favorite place to eat when they were last in New Jericho together 4 years ago and as expected there was Capricorn, absentmindedly staring at that days newspaper, a cup of coffee laid untouched on his right.

"I knew I would find you here.", Aquarius spoke as he approached.

"And how did you know that?", Capricorn inquired.

"You are nothing if not predictable Capricorn." he spoke with a smile.

Capricorn rose from his chair and shook Aquarius' hand. "Welcome back to New Jericho Aquarius. It's nice to see your face again."

"It's nice to see yours as well old friend.", Aquarius replied. "Back in Pandemonium I never thought I was going to be seeing any of your ever again."

"Some messy business to be sure, nothing you could of done to change any of it. But enough of this depressing talk, may I order you a drink.", Capricorn motioned to the menus on his table. 

"No thanks", Aquarius replied. "I'm in no mood for coffee at the moment."

"Very well. Then may I ask you to walk with me for a bit? I have several things I need to discuss with you."

"I don't see why not. We still have some time left before I must meet up with the rest of my group."

"We are in agreement then.", Capricorn pulled out his wallet and left a small collection of bills on the table. "Then let us not hesitate a moment longer."


----------



## Platinum (Mar 15, 2011)

Walking down the open air markets of New Jericho's trading center Capricorn stopped to eye the contents of a peculiar curio stand. His eyes eventually fell upon a rather bizarre silver ring. Capricorn handed the man a small handful of bills and slipped the ring in his pocket.

"Are you done browsing the stands yet?", Aquarius inquired clearly desiring to be elsewhere. "I thought you wished to discuss something with me?"

"I do. Just needed to get an errand out of the way."

"It's fine. But can we go somewhere a little more... private to discuss things.", Aquarius glanced around at the large group of people cluttering the marketplace. "If it's important I don't want any eavesdroppers."

"Of course. Just follow me."

Upon arriving at a secluded alleyway and upon making sure their were no eavesdroppers Capricorn spoke " This place should be sufficient... Just promise me beforehand that you won't get upset at what I have to say. I mean no offense to you but I have to ask for formalities sake."

"Great", Aquarius groaned. "But I know you have your reasons, so ask away Capricorn. I promise not to be offended by your words."

"Tell me. When was the last time you had contact with a member of The Administration?"

Aquarius glanced away for a moment trying to gather his thoughts "I spoke with The Director a while back in Paradiso. He told me he wouldn't need me for some time and to go visit The Celestial Realms. I haven't spoken to any from Paradiso since. Why do you ask?"

"We know for a fact that Paradiso has a vested interest in the outcome of this potential civil war. Seeing as how you have ties to the administration..."

"You think I am a double agent out to sabotage you?", Aquarius spoke with thinly veiled venom.

"Not at all Aquarius. I have never doubted your loyalty to our group. I just wanted to know if you had any idea of their goals in this city or if you could arrange a meeting with any Paradiso officials so I can speak with them personally."

"Don't know. Since this is probably an off the record mission they would probably be using a different safehouse than usual."

"If you have any information at all please tell me Aquarius. I'm not opposed in particular to Paradiso and it's goals, but those soldiers crossed the line and they need to answer for what they did."

"What are you talking about", Aquarius replied obviously confused. "As far as I am aware, Paradiso has done nothing except work in the shadows and I don't see how that is crossing the line by any means."

"A group of Paradiso soldiers tried to assassinate Libra and damn near succeeded.", Capricorn replied coldly with anger in his eyes.

"I... was not told of this.", which was all Aquarius could muster. The shock was evident on his face.

"Anyways according to my watch we would have to depart right now if you want to be on time for your meeting. We can discuss this grim business in further detail later on."

"Of course. Let me lead the way.", Aquarius tried to focus on other things than the news he just learned. He would discuss the situation with Libra but for now it was best to just focus on the here and now. No need to spoil their reunion with such a grim topic, Aquarius would wait until the time is right.

It would take them about 20 minutes to arrive at their arranged meeting spot. He just hoped that everyone would be there on time.


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## Wesker (Mar 19, 2011)

Tzeentch watched the young psyker from afar. He had first gained interest in the boy when monitoring his groups progress against Khorne's champion. While the young man fought the probing of another powerful psychic Tzeentch used the distraction to probe into his mind. And there he found something hidden deep within, something that could make him useful, something........dark. The god of change rushed with the excitement at the prospect of having this man, this Archon as his servant. However Tzeentch would have to be patient, the boy was strong willed and this psychic alien called Magister was old and perceptive. 

No matter , the Lord of Change had his own plans to go against those other schemers. Unknown to all the other factions who had plans for the ruins in the north was that there was an artifact there that could prove useful against Khorn as well as provide the leverage needed to turn Archon. The boy was already itching to destroy Khorne, the experience in Draygon's fortress had not left him unscathed, and so the Artifact was the perfect bait. 

Tzeentch chuckled to himself, it was amazing how often the most valorous and stalwart of men had the blackest depths in their souls.


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## Platinum (Mar 20, 2011)

*The Musings of a Mad Man Part 1*

Laying in a pool of blood and gore the body of former scholar Joseph Waters was a mess. All indications pointed to a rather messy end for the scholar, which was confirmed by the investigator's second sight. The power of second sight was both a gift and a curse, but he had long since learned to live with the horrors that he saw daily. 

He was able to piece the circumstances of the man's death together. It seemed the good scholar turned to necromancy and black magic in his final years of life, something easily proven by the vast amount of illegal magic paraphernalia lying around his studio apartment, not to mention the large magic circle in the middle of his living room. A summoning circle, used to summon demons and bind them to the will of the summoner. No doubt the man wished to use them for less than savory purposes.

Gazing at the circle the man was able to discern the smallest flaw in the magic formula which compromised the integrity of the circle, allowing the demons to turn on their would be master and tear him to bits. After studying the circle further, the man went around the apartment taking note of what he saw and what would need to be confiscated from the man's apartment. 

Eying the body of the dead scholar further something caught the investigator's attention. Grasped tightly in the dead man's hands was a worn leather book. The investigator pried it from his grip and flipped the book open. His eyes darted from line to line and he began to read.

-----

Collected in this book is the extent of my knowledge of the esoteric and the bizarre. As such I fully expect this book to be never read by another human or to be decried as the utmost heresy and scattered to the four winds. On the off chance that neither of these scenarios occur I have written what I know in the hopes that someone will act upon it.

We are the unfortunate few cursed to live in what is commonly referred to as "The Ruin" by those outside the confines of our universe, and truly I could not think of a more fitting moniker to describe this most pitiful realm. Here mortals and gods alike squabble over the putrid remains of a shattered world like vultures. To comprehend the full scope of the struggles in the ruin we must examine all sides.

Written below are the prophecies and revelations of a madman. Take them for what you will........


-----------
*
The 9 Lords of The Old Ones*

Before the age where man first walked the earth, before the first Elder God arose, before the first universe was birthed their existed incomprehensible creatures of power most vast. To us feeble, pathetic mortals they are madness incarnate, for their consciousness is so far above our own that we can not even begin to comprehend their thoughts and actions. In our tongue we call them The Old Ones. Make no mistake about it the Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. They walk not on the places we know but between, tranquil and primal, by us unseen (unless they want to make themselves known), for they are formless.

Nine are the lords of the Old Ones, eight who are as brothers and sisters, and a ninth who is to them as the son of a father’s brother, and who stands apart although he is one with them. The names of others of their race are whispered in the deep caverns, but they have not the same family blood. Among the nine are those better known and those obscure, for not all the Old Ones interest themselves equally in the affairs of this shattered realm. Their names are Azathoth, Dagon, Nyarlathotep, Yig, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, The Yellow King, Eldritch G, and the ninth who stands apart, Cthulhu.

*Yig*

In the hearts of man a special place of loathing has always been reserved for the serpent. But why? Why is the creature who has always been regarded as the wisest of living things, and deathless, for it renews itself through the shedding of it’s skin, be feared and reviled? Know it is because man fears the serpent’s wisdom and know that the wisdom of the serpent is the wisdom of Yig, most wise of the lords of the Old Ones.

In the dimness of time Yig apporached the ancestors of man and offered his wisdom to them in return for loyalty and worship; but our ancestors feared this knowledge and rejected this knowledge and rejected Yig.

The truth is that the serpent is not native to our world, but was carried here from beyond the stars by Yig for reasons only the god himself knows. Know that this is why the snake obeys the call of the flute, for the music of the flute is the song of Azathoth.

It is known that the shape of the serpent is the shape of this god, his true shape, for when Yig has dealings with mortals he wears the guise of a normal man.

*Yog-Sothoth*

Yog-Sothoth is the key and Yog-Sothoth is the gate. His face is the face of the heavens themselves and by knowing and studying the movements of the spheres, you can know the thoughts of Him Who Lies Beyond. He exists not in any tangible way, for his true body has been locked outside of creation, instead he exists in the bizarre and impossible angles of universe and can only be perceived as a shimmering array of ever changing colors.

Yog-Sothoth holds the key to his gates. One who is wise in the arcane arts can access these gates and gaze upon Yog-Sothoth’s face of flashing spheres of light, all overlapping and turning within one another. This light is the gate, and the key, and the way and if one so desires these gates can be used to travel throughout the cosmos and possibly to other realms if one is so inclined.......


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## Platinum (Mar 23, 2011)

*Musings of a Mad Man part 2*

*Cthulhu:
*
Great and mighty Cthulhu is ever a warrior god and of all the Old Ones he is quite possibly the most terrible, for it is his delight to slay and lay waste to all he sees. His lust for battle has taken him across the heavens through the various realms. In one such realm he conquered a most pristine and beautiful planet, driving it's inhabitants below the ocean. Cthulhu stayed on this planet for some time, though eventually with the changing of the stars the land became uninhabitable for him. Seeking refuge in the great city of R'lyeh, Cthulhu and his ilk dreamt, waiting for the time when the stars would align and he could walk once more in the world of the living. Cthulhu's mind never ceased functioning though, as he spoke to his mortal follower's in his horrid dreams.

What Cthulhu did not anticipate was that his city of R'lyeh would be sunk to the bottom of the seas by The King in Yellow, for reasons unknown. The waters of the deep served to sever his mental link to his followers and in time he was all but forgotten on the land where he once ruled. Only a select few still answer the call of Cthulhu. Those who remember their rightful lord.

But remember what has sunk can also rise. In the spanning of eons R'lyeh has risen from the depths before and will rise again. Awaiting one who will break the seal and free the residents of the sunken city so they can rule over the land that is rightly theirs once more. Until then Cthulhu waits, dead but dreaming.
*
G:*

Perhaps the most enigmatic of the old ones The Sleepless One?s nature is a mystery even to those who would give him worship. He know?s not the dreams that his brothers and sisters know, in fact the very concept of dreams and sleep are as foreign of an idea to him as he is to us pf flesh and blood. As a result he forbids the acts of sleeping and dreaming among those of his flock, who know nothing of rest until they make The Reaper?s acquaintance.

Unlike most Old Ones The Sleepless One holds his cultists to moral standards the others consider frivolous. His ideal rolemodel is that of the quintessential gentleman and G deals with deviation from this standard harshly. A notable trait of this god is his stern fast commitment to fulfill any agreement, no matter how frivolous. Thus it is possible to bargain information from this god, if you so dare, with certainty that he will honor the agreement. Beware though as G often plays for higher stakes than most are willing to bet with.

Among his quaint agenda is the widespread proliferation of items such as tea and other caffeinated objects that deprive sleep and keep the mind lucid. 

-----------------------


His initial evaluation of the deceased scholar as just another trifling dark mage might have been a bit premature the investigator concluded. Only one immersed deep in the dark arts would have a book such like this, which meant it was prudent that he go over the residence with a finer eye.

"Sir their is quite a large crowd gathering outside", one of the investigator's assistant's spoke as he rushed through the door, he drew in rasped breaths in between his words. "Rumor's have already started circulating and the citizenry are obviously quite curious about a Dark Mage here in Paradiso."

"I imagine this will be quite the gossip topic for the next few days.", the investigator mused. "But my recent discoveries are most worrisome...", he dwelled on that word for a second or two. 

"I want this apartment complex evacuated and the area quarantined, this man was not you average mage and it is quite possible that he could of left several magical traps to be activated upon his demise. Until I can rule that out no one is to be allowed within 500 yards of this building."

"I understand sir", the assistant rushed out as quickly as he came to make the Archangel's orders known.

"I will not tolerate this blasphemy in my city", The Archangel spoke aloud to no one in particular and without delay he returned to his investigation.


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## Platinum (Mar 30, 2011)

"Fuck, i'm going to be late for my meeting", the man cursed as he walked down the winding roads of New Jericho. He couldn't believe he slept in today, of all days to screw up.

Lady Luck had forsaken him. The man would just have to hope that his employer was the understanding type, which he rather doubted. A sinking feeling began to come over him as the grim realization of a lost contract began to seem a near certainty. 

He was never proud of his occupation, of being a mercenary, but it paid good and that was all that mattered to him. Besides, he was good at it, no one in New Jericho was a better swordsmen than him. His true passion though was gambling, he loved to gamble on everything. From betting on himself in the arena, to betting on card games, horse races or something as simple as coin flips, he loved it all. Which is why he needed this contract, he needed the money to support his rather expensive habit. 

Standing in the streets of New Jericho he stopped and flipped a coin. It landed on heads and the man couldn't help but smile to himself. "Looks like my luck might be turning. From here on out it's smooth sailing." This change of luck appeared to be rather fortuitous and helped to lift his spirits. The mercenary continued his absent minded half walk, half sprint to his meeting area but in his carelessness he accidentally bumped into two men. 

"Sorry about that", one of the men said to him flashing a smile as he helped the mercenary up to his feet. The guy looked like a real professional, adorned in a dark gray business suit with a white fedora hat on top of his head, eyes hinting at great intelligence. His hands were covered in various rings which sank into his pockets to retrieve a golden pocket watch. The man looked at the time, "Best we make haste, or we are going to be late for your meeting." 

"I know, it's not too far away though.", the other man spoke. Now this guy appeared to be the exact opposite of his friend. Wearing sea blue robes, his first impression was that the man was a water mage of some type, but the large staff the man had indicated otherwise. It wasn't a magic staff, it was definitely a combat staff. He was a warrior for sure, the way he carried himself proved that. But there was also something mystical about him, he possessed a powerful aura about him, something his companion did not have, or at least didn't let on, probably the latter the suited man seemed like one who held his cards close to the vest. He concluded the blue robed man was probably a mage/warrior hybrid. The warrior mage turned to address the mercenary and gave a curt nod. "Sorry about that. We will try to be more careful next time."

"No it was my fault. I was careless, and like you I am late for an important meeting... even later now. Oh great. I gotta go!", in a flash the mercenary disappeared into the large crowd."

"Strange guy", Aquarius spoke to Capricorn. "But dangerous as well. I would suggest we be careful around him if our fates intertwine again. He reeks of a mercenary. And a good one at that."

"A keen observation.", Capricorn concluded. "One that I agree with fully, though he seems to be a decent guy to me."

"Perhaps, but this doesn't matter right now. We don't want to be late for our meeting either. It's best if we pick up the pace."

"Agreed. Lead the way Aquarius".


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## Emperor Joker (Mar 31, 2011)

*Rapture, Platform 49*

The red brick building towered above all others, in it's vicinity. It stood Nine stories tall, and was lit with red strobe lights to set the mood. Nine stories, each one representing each circle of hell...each level of damnation. It was the finest nightclub and den of sin to be found in all of Rapture...all it required to enter was your immortal soul. 

Run by the Archduke Lestibournes Von Sarken, and his cadre of demons, the danger of entering such a place was well knows. But it was well worth it, after all how many other nightlcubs out there were run by the former ruler of the First Circle of Hell itself.

Outside the club, and down the street was the Mad Bomber's Warehouse (Low-low-LOW prices it read on the sign). Beside it in an alleyway was a Gray Man, who watched Mephistopheles' with interest. Soon his quarry would show themselves and soon he would remove thier taint from the timeline...and thus the Balance would be restored.

The Gray Man known as Shackle, jolted forward as something smashed into him...and then he was gone completely.

Stepping out into the light was a decrepit old hag, bent over and wizened with age and leaning heavily on a walking staff. "Now dear we can't have you lurking around when Coyote and his boys show up," she said breezily.

_________________________________________________________________

Benny swerved to the right as something large hit the roof of the cab. "What the hell was that?" said Hen in confusion.

"A body I think," said Enigma looking through the back window as a corpse fell off the top of the car.

"More where that came from probably," said Benny grimly. "The city's been cranky this last week and the weather's been stranger than usual." He paused as several more thuds were heard, before becoming a steady stream of bodies visable through every window. "Told you. we'll be getting zombies thrown in soon I bet." 

Something hit the hood of the car and Jessie reeled back as the rotting face of a zombie pressed it's face against the window.

"Benny!" it screamed. "Let me in! The storm picked me at my place and I need to get back!"

"Fuck off Darryl!" said Benny angrily reaching down to grab at a lever. "Last time I gave you a ride you stole my earnings and wrecked my cab." A moment later the hodd of the car lurched and the zombie was thrown off. "Damn leecher, there's nothing worse than somebody who doesn't pay."

Enigma grimaced despite himself, and looked at his companions to see the same expressions on all their faces....none of them had money, and this was not going to end well.

_________________________________________________________________

*Meanwhile...*

Dr. Ambrose drank his morning coffee as he rooted through the new arrivals. "So it looks like Coyote's back in town...wonder how long he'll stay." He paused "Who the hell is this one. Victor Knight...where have I heard that name before..." 

A image flashed through his mind from eight years ago, when he operated out of a base in the Western Wastes. an image of a man standing atop a pyramid of bodies and staring directly at him. 

Dr. Ambrose spit out his coffee in a stream and coughed while fumbling for the button on his intercomm. "Roland," he said hastily.

"Yes sir?"

"Cancel my appointments today if you would...and if anybody comes looking for me...tell them i'm not here."

"Another mental breakdown sir?"

"Just do it please." he said bending down and going under his desk to hide.

_________________________________________________________________

"*Welcome to Mephistopheles' come on in, and I promise you'll have a Hell of a time! HAHAHA* the video screen on the front of the building said as they stood out front.

"Gentlemen" said Coyote smiling widely. "Behold your battleground for the evening apparently. inside you'll find the man I sent you after."

Enigma looked at the enormous brick building in front of them for a moment., and then started looking up and down the street. up to the Mad Bomber's Warehouse, and then to the edge of the platform where Benny was parked, glaring at them.

"So...," said the voice of La Croix from Crichton. "We're going after Ares? Am i correct in that my friend."

"Coyote nodded, and Enigma grinned. "Good....been needing to work out my issues, and Ares will make a fantastic punching bag."

"Hold up, We're talking  about the god of war here..." said Jessie. "Shouldn't we be careful here."

"We shall...so long as we hit him hard and fast." said Enigma. "Though i'd advise some of use to stay outside incase he makes a run for it."

"Who do you advise exactly?" she said testily.

"Basically me, you and Archon will go in after him. Hen will stay outside with Luke, while Crichton will go around back and cover that if he goes that way. Ares is foremost a brawler, and has no energy attacks or elemental attacks that i'm aware of. If we can keep him on the defensive we should be fine."

________________________________________________________________

Archduke Lestibournes Von Sarken , scowled sullenly out through his blinds of his office. His catlike eyes stared out at the leather clad man sitting at the bar of the nightclub. The man was shaved bald and had small squinty eyes, and doing his best to be annoying slovenly pig.  The annoying man or should he say god was Ares, and if it hadn't been for that hag Granny Zerrcha, and that damnable Coyote he would flayed the former Lord of War alive yesterday.

But no apparently killing the Pest of War would be bad thing...somehow he doubted that. He had the feeling that Poseidon would thank him if he killed his stupid brainless nephew. 

Then again supposedly accordig to Mael and Coyote, the brainless oaf was needed elsewhere...but why not just tell him that. "Oh yes, because the bastard won't leave!" he said, his mouth contorting into a toothy snarl. 

A moment later he heard a commotion and glancing out, he found he wasn't surprised that Ares had accosted a couple of young Succubi and was backing them into a wall both of the woman looking at him in fear as he groped at them.

"Security kindly remind the oaf, not to rape the other paying patrons please... If you can knock him over the head a few times, see if you can reconnect the brain he never uses."

"We would boss, but somebody else is about to beat us to him," 

"Who?" he snarled. "I don't see anybo..." he stopped as wave of force and a blast of darkness struck Ares from both sides lifting him up into the air. A moment later a large statue came trumping through and a smashed him through the cieling.

"Was that the statue we had as a ornament out front?"


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## Platinum (Apr 1, 2011)

Arriving approximately twenty minutes late, Aquarius could see the slightly annoyed and impatient looks on the faces of everyone. 

"Took you long enough", Mask spoke. He was cradling a small stack of worn leather books in his arms.

"We were delayed.", Aquarius shrugged. "Any ways this is my friend I was telling you about."

The man in the gray suit spoke, "It is a pleasure to meet you all.", he tipped his hat and performed a slight bow. "I am known as Capricorn, avatar and humble servant of the celestial goat and I will be your guide through the winding streets of New Jericho for today."

Capricorn took a moment to exchange pleasantries with the group. He studied each member intently and at last he came upon Finn's companion Chachamaru.

"Interesting, very interesting. Never seen another one like you before. Not lacking in fire power either, but if I am not mistaken it would appear that several of those modifications are illegal, best if you wouldn't let any Obsidian Guardsmen get a good look at her."

Aquarius shot Finn a glare.

"How did you know that?"

"It's my job to know these things", Capricorn replied. "Though what I am more curious about is how you paid for these upgrades. From what Aquarius told me about your escape from Pandemonium I doubt you had sufficient money on your person to pay for even a fraction of those upgrades."

"Well... um...", Finn began but Capricorn cut him off. "Forget I said anything, it's not my place to ask. Now lets get a move on, we cooked a great meal for you guys and it would be tragic if it turned cold before you could eat it."

Leading the way Capricorn and the rest of the group began the walk to the villa.


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## Gig (Apr 3, 2011)

*The Summoning*
Rydria took special precaution, as she turned to the next page her eyes taking in every detail as she read the dark tome which would bring about her salvation for 7 years they had hunted her kind to near extinction upon this ruined world, she had countless times escaped the inquisitors sent by there hated foes hundreds of times she was forced to watched from the shadows as her brothers and sisters where Interrogated and when there methods for extracting information failed watched as they where executed on the spot for supposed heresy. 

Soon this would all change, for she now possessed the tome, the most holy Libri Suscitatio, to her people the secrets it protected with in its ancient pages, where sacred beyond compare the secrets bound within the tome where said to have been scribed there Eons ago by there Sleepless Lord long before the rise of the first of Elder God. 

Slowly closing the Libri Suscitatio being careful to not damage its sacred pages, Rydria smiled she was almost ready for months now she had studied the tome in secret, absorbing all of its secrets into her very mind, soon, so very soon she would be ready to summon him the instrument of her wrath the tool of her peoples revenge, soon so very soon The Sleepless One would rise once more.


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## Platinum (Apr 4, 2011)

Nervously the mercenary stepped past the two bodyguards and entered the room where he would meet his employer... or at least that's what he thought. He could see that was clearly not the case as he entered the featureless concrete room, the only light coming from a single bulb glowing lazily from the ceiling. The man in the gray suit waiting for him was not his employer but that was all the mercenary could tell since the gray suited man's features were obscured by shadows.

"You look disappointed", the gray suited man spot matter-of-factly. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"Well... it's just usually my employers always elect to meet me in person before they give me a contract."

"Mr. Van Buren doesn't have the time to meet and greet every filthy sell sword.", the man said dismissively.

"It's funny I didn't even know the government of New Jericho hired mercenaries.", he replied with a nervous laugh.

"We usually don't but these are trying times for us all.", the gray suited man passed the mercenary a plain folder filled with paper. "You will find everything you need in that folder. Goodbye now."

"That's it?"

"Yes that is all. We will contact you if their are any changes to the plan.... Joshua."

The mercenary did not like how the man pronounce his name, their was something... off about it. Joshua couldn't help feeling that he would not enjoy this job very much at all. 

But hey, a checks a check right?


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## Platinum (Apr 7, 2011)

Footstep by footstep Pisces walked through the frozen wastes of the north. He had been traveling for days and still had many days left before he would reach his destination. 

Pisces didn't mind, he never did. The cold wastes were home for him. The stinging winds bothered him not and neither did the fierce blizzard that obscured his view.

Being away from all except the frigid snow gave Pisces time to reflect on everything and he could not recall a bleaker time than this. Failure in Pandemonium, failure in their recent campaigns, failure everywhere. Which is why Pisces refused to let himself fail in this mission. Pisces was tired of failure, it was time for them to start achieving victories rather than squandering them. His fellow avatars were unreliable but he had faith in himself and his ability to succeed no matter the task.

Not to say Pisces hated his fellow avatars, the exact opposite is true, but to say he wasn't disappointed in them would be a lie. They could be so much more, their group could be so much more, he just wished they could see that. 

If only the twins weren't so aloof and interested more in their duty as avatars than their pointless travels. If only Capricorn was more assertive instead of being content to follow and waste the gift of his brilliant mind. If only Cancer wasn't so hot headed and took the time to think tactically. If only Aquarius... no he didn't even want to think about him. Aquarius was perhaps the one he was most disappointed in.

Aquarius possessed such great natural talents, Pisces had rarely seen someone who could move with such great skill and grace as Aquarius could. He was a natural soldier and had the potential to be Pisces equal, no his superior, but instead he wasted it. 

And that was unforgivable in Pisces' eyes. He just couldn't understand it. Then again he could hardly understand anything about Aquarius. The man was steadfast in his refusal to discuss anything relating to his past and would cringe if anyone ever used his real name to address him. Almost as if he was determined to leave his past life behind him. 

In time Aquarius became more open but even after their group came to know each other well Aquarius would refuse to train with his fellow avatars, preferring to be off on his own. He wouldn't refuse a sparring match though, and was quite proud of his ability to defeat everyone except Pisces. Even then he was cold and distant, the only people he would ever speak to at any length were Libra, Capricorn, Aries, and Scorpio. The only time he would ever liven up was on the battlefield, which seemed to be the only place he could truly be happy. 

But one day he just changed. His personality changed and Aquarius became a lot like the person he is today but his drive just about disappeared. He was perfectly content to go drinking with Scorpio or go to the library with Libra and Aries instead of training like he used to. If anything his skills got worse during this time. Pisces wondered if it was the girls that changed him. It was no big secret in their inner circle that all three of them were attracted to Aquarius, but that wasn't fair to them. Besides Aquarius was oblivious to their attraction, or at least he pretended to be oblivious about it as he never acknowledged any of their advances. 

And then one day he changed again, he disappeared and reappeared some weeks later as a member of the administration in tandem with being an avatar of the Zodiac. He was maddeningly erratic.

Their was only one other person in the zodiac that was driven the way Pisces was, or at least their was one other person in the zodiac. He still couldn't believe that his friend Ophiuchus could fall alongside his god. That betrayal still stung Pisces and he had made it his goal to bring him down. 

But Pisces put these thoughts aside and kept walking, until all of a sudden he shouted "You can come out now. What do you want with me and why have you been following me for the last several hours?"

"Rather attentive aren't ya", a voice cackled and slowly through the shroud of the blizzard a score of furry shapes appeared. "We want your blood of course." Their snow white fur made it almost impossible to discern how large each of the snow wolfs was but Pisces could tell they were larger than your standard wolf for sure.

"Hexenwolfs. I didn't know your kind existed this far north.", Pisces replied coolly. "Though I would advise you that it is not wise to pick a fight with the avatar of the fish."

Pisces with no other words rushed out to meet the wolf pack that now encircled him.


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## KizaruTachio (Apr 9, 2011)

*Stuart Tàiyáng*

A man wrapped in a tattered  and Straw hat comes across a Bandit Camp in the wasteland not to far from New Jericho, But it just so happens he appears at the wrong time. When he gets there he is witness to the violent beating of any elderly man trying to protect two children.


"Take that and that and you old shit this is what you get for messing with the Ryu Zanzo gang." A heavily built bandit says, he was equipped with a machete.    

"HAHAHA I love it when we can fuck people up like this HAHAHAHA. I wonder how much those little kids will sell for" a Bandit with 2 butcher knifes yells.


"Both of your shut up you think Lord Zanzo will be happy were taking so long with this ? He'll have our heads for being late"  said the Bandit with a hockey mask and a axe

One of the kids tries to stop the kicking of their beloved grandfather by holding on the the leg of the Bandit with the machete. But to no avail the Bandit with the machete pushes him off. "You little shit I'll teach you to respect your elders" He raises his machete and tries to bring it down but his hand is stuck in the air. "What the shit ?!" He turns around and sees a man in tattered robes and a straw hat grabbing his arm with only his index finger and thumb.

"Would you mind leaving these folk alone, wayward vagabond ? I'd rather not have this go any further than this" The other two bandits look at each other as though they don't remember seeing the man  get so close. While the Bandit with the machete takes a a enraged swing at the tattered traveler with his free fist "ARRGH!   TAKE TH-" But before he could finish he the traveler already grabbed his arm and put his foot in the Bandit's ribs effectively pulling the Bandit's arm out of the socket. He buckled down in pain as the traveler followed up with a fierce knee to the face and a  kick sending him crashing through a old beat up van.

Don't worry he's not dead he won't be able to threaten people anymore though. I assume you two want to regain his honor. He assumed the Snake style stance ready to face the other two. The try your best !


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## KizaruTachio (Apr 9, 2011)

Well don't stand there mince this bastard up !!
Orders the Bandit with the hockey mask. 

The Bandit with the butcher knifes keeps hacking at the traveler. He easily avoids the swings in the same motion as a snake. "Your movements are much too predictable your not nearly fast enough" The traveler kicks the Bandit in the shin like a Cobra striking an Ox's leg and follows up with an open palm to the Bandit's chest crushing his trachea he begins to fall down and the traveler brings down a elbow to finish the job. The bandit comes crashing down to the ground. 

The Bandit with the hockey mask trembles in fear and grabs one of the children in a last ditch effort  and puts the in a choke with his axe to her neck "What now you cocky bastard one move and I'll cut this kids neck wide open can you live with that on you conscious !" He says with a dirty grin.
*
"Please don't let  me die mister !" * the child cries, tears running down her cheek.


"Don,t worry it will all be over in a second" the traveler says with a warm closed eye grin

The traveler hold his two pebbles firmly and uses Shén de dà jiàn to imbued them with chi  increasing their kinetic energy.

He throws them  in with one hand, one at the Bandits eye the other at his hand. Both piercing their targets. The bandit drops the axe in pain and tries to hold his bloody eye hole with his bloody hand but the traveler follows up with a fierce flying kick  he screams as he sends the bandit flying and crushing most of his skull.

He looks down at the two children and their grandpa that was almost dead from the beating 

"I don't have much, this is the last of my medicine and water but the medicine should stop the bleeding and dull the pain and be sure to see that your grand father drinks the water ."

He begins to walk off into the sunset towards New Jericho as one of the children yell out for him *"Hey mister! what's your name !" *

He calmly tipped his hat and said "I am but a green horned monk." and disappeared   beneath the sun.


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## Platinum (Apr 15, 2011)

As far as dinners go it was a rather pleasant one. The food was delicious and plentiful, and everyone got along well with each other, well everyone except Cancer and Aquarius.  The unspoken tension between the two was an omnipresent cloud above everyone's heads.

After dinner Capricorn and Libra began directing everyone into the living room where they passed around several folders filled with a small collection of documents, upon which were various notes scribbled hastily in the margins. 

"That is the summation of all we have learned so far", Capricorn spoke and then gave a small sigh. "But I am afraid that for the most part it is incomplete."

"But what we can tell you for certain", Libra added, "Is that things are about to get much much worse. We can't hope to stop this from occurring but we can do our best to bring it to a swift end." 

"And to do that we need to know more about the various factions at the heart of this madness. So over the next few days I will need you three", Capricorn motioned to Libra, Cancer, and Aquarius "To do some investigating and try to dig up some information."

"And what will you be doing while we are out there?", Cancer inquired.

"I am getting information through my own channels but it will take some time."

Cancer gave a derisive laugh. "Please tell me you aren't talking about that senile old god that you have been visiting for the past few weeks."

"Yes he will be a source of information alongside the various other people I have made part of my information network."

"I'm telling you Capricorn you are never going to learn shit from him."

"If Capricorn believes he can get information out of him, then he will", Aquarius replied. "It will just be one of many things you were wrong about Cancer."

"Oh is that so?", Cancer replied

"That's enough out of both of you.", Libra spoke. "We have our jobs and we will do them."

"uh...", Finn spoke up. "Do you guys need me or Chachamaru or anyone else to do anything? We would be more than willing to help."

"That won't be necessary", Capricorn spoke cooly. "This is a mission for us avatars only at the moment. We wouldn't want to risk any of you. If you want to help I would suggest you train and get stronger. That way when things truly get nasty you will all be ready."

Capricorn took a look at the clock and then yawned. "Wow time sure went by fast today. Well i'm heading off to bed and I suggest the rest of you do the same. We will have quite a day ahead of us tomorrow."

And without further words Capricorn set off for his room and the rest followed suit.

Aquarius though had no intentions of going to bed just yet. He waited until he was sure no one was awake and quietly exited the villa. He hated lying to Capricorn, well technically he didn't lie. It was more like a half truth. He didn't know where Paradiso soldiers would be staying but he sure knew where he could find some.

Under the New Jericho moon Aquarius walked to the one place in the city where he knew soldiers of the city of paradise always flocked too...


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## Endless Mike (Apr 16, 2011)

"Train and get stronger?" Finn said to no one in particular. "How exactly do you train the kind of powers I have?"

"You could try training your general combat skills instead," The man known only as Mask suggested.

"Um, no offense, but I'm not exactly a fighter," Finn replied. "Even if I learned to use martial arts or a weapon or whatever, it's not like I could exactly contribute much compared to the kind of powers you guys have."

"Maybe not, but you should at least know how to defend yourself without relying on your power all of the time," Ed added. "At least it could allow you to buy a few seconds in dangerous situations and give your power more time to work."

"That's a good point," Chachamaru said. "If you like, we can train together. I've been wanting to try out some of my new upgrades anyway."

"Sounds good," said Finn, looking towards Mask and Ed. "Will you guys be joining us?"

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do," Edward replied, but Mask politely declined and walked off somewhere alone.

The three walked out to a large field several hundred meters away from the avatars' residence. The whole area was pretty much deserted, with only a few old, abandoned buildings around - perfect for training.

"So what now?" Finn asked, not used to this kind of thing.

"Hand - to - hand would be best to start with," Chachamaru replied. She took up a fighting stance. "Try to land a hit on me."

Finn balked. "Are you kidding? There's no way I'm fast enough to-"

"Relax," she said. "I'll go easy on you."

With renewed courage, Finn launched a few clumsy blows at the gynoid, who gracefully avoided each one. After a minute or so, Finn collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"I thought...*gasp* you were going to... *pant* go easy... on me," he said, barely getting up on his knees.

"I was," she replied. "It's just that, well... you're not very good at this."

Finn scowled at her and she barely managed to suppress a chuckle.

"Your stance is all wrong," a voice rang out from behind Finn. He turned around to see Ed, putting down his gun and other equipment.

"You're also wasting your energy with too many unnecessary movements."

"You know martial arts?" Finn asked.

"Yes, I've had some training," Ed replied. "Let me show you."

He walked over to Chachamaru. "Try to dodge my attacks, using the same level of speed and agility you used against him."

"Okay," she said, and they began. At first Ed had no more success than Finn did, but looking closer, Finn could see his movements were fluent, trained, and much more graceful than his own. Finally, after about 30 seconds, Chachamaru fell for a feint to the right and Ed managed to tag her on her left shoulder.

"Impressive," she said.

"Thanks," he replied, and began to show Finn some basic stances and principles. Chachamaru sat down on a nearby rock and watched them for a while. Finn was getting the hang of it, but he was still far from Edward's level.

After almost an hour, she stood up.

"You guys done yet?" She asked.

"Pretty much, he's learned a lot in such a short time. We can continue this sometime later."

"Good," she said, "because I've wanted to test something but we're going to have to leave immediately afterwards."

"Why?" Finn inquired.

"Well I'm not detecting anybody in the immediate area, but someone will probably notice this and we don't want to be here when they investigate."

"Notice what?" Ed asked, his curiosity peaked.

Chachamaru smiled and transformed her arm into a strange - looking cannon.

"This," she said, as she pointed it at a large abandoned warehouse about a kilometer distant. A bright flash of light and an electric whine rang out as a solid white beam erupted from the cannon, utterly demolishing the warehouse and continuing on, uninterrupted into the night sky.

"Wow...." was all Ed managed to get out.

"Pretty nice, huh?" She said, transforming her arm back. "Continuous beam plasma cannon, multi - kilometer range, peak output 900 gigawatts. Not quite on the level of my old artifact, but not too shabby."

Finn knew what she had meant now. Someone was bound to notice the ray of white light emanating from this abandoned field, and they didn't want to get themselves involved in any unnecessary trouble. The three quickly returned to the villa, Ed promising to continue Finn's martial arts training later.


----------



## KizaruTachio (Apr 20, 2011)

*Stuart T?iy?ng*


Stuart had finally made his way to New Jericho , such a journey would have made a man Dehydrated or Starved but he was able to manage his life-force due to his chi. He was browsing around the 5th district looking for a place to eat something. He saw a small noodle cart owner and bought some food. It was obviously old and was noticeably rancid but as a monk it was taboo to waste food he ate it without question. He sat down in a nerby bench listened to the conversations. 

"Hey man you hear about the tourney ? I hear the winner gets some of crazy prize"

"Are you an idiot the guys competing in that tourney are monsters ! You'd get killed in a second"

"Well it would be worth it for that prize hmpf !" 

Stuart thought to himself (Could the prize be some sort of technology , maybe I can get back home ?) "Excuse me young fellows where is this so called tournament ?

The man excited about the Tournament told him the directions while laughing "Are you sure you wanna do this ? You look scrawny as hell." Stuart laughed and said "Appearances are not always what they appear , thank you for the help. Stuart made his way towards the tournament.


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## masamune1 (Apr 26, 2011)

From that second forward Clearwater began planning his revenge for the humiliation he suffered that day. Aquarius was a traitor to Paradiso in his eyes and would be dealt with as such. Him and all his friends....

"Maybe not all of them, Captain", a new voice replied to his thoughts.

Clearwater turned round with a start, and looked at the man in white sitting at the table closest to the bar....a table he was sure a moment before had been unnoccupied, though the person seemed to be halfway through his beverage.

"Who are you you? How did you get in here?", Clearwater demanded. He knew the identity of every Paradiso agent in New Jericho, whether or not they were under his command. He prided himself on that fact. This man was not an agent; he should not have known the passwords. He should not have been able to get away with looking at the door, never mind getting passed it.

"I would think who I am is obvious", the man said, gesturig to his white suit and black tie. "I am who you serve. I am the King in White."

Clearwater stared hard at this man for a moment, then looked to the rest of the bar. None of them paid any mind; why? Even if they were ignoring this stranger, how could they not notice Laker making that scene and....?

"I wanted a private conversation, just you and me.", replied, once again reading his thoughts. "These people see us.....but they don't see us. We may as well be part of the furniture."

Clearwater turned back to look at the man, eyes narrowing. "You are a Mage", he said, making his distrust evident.

"I am your King", the Man in White replied.

"The King in White left our city. The Director is in charge."

He smiled, thinly. "That, indeed, is what they say". And with his right foot, he gently pushed the other chair out, inviting one of the most dangerous and influential spies in two cities to sit with him.

Cautiously, slowly, Clearwater sat down.   

The so-called King in White lowered his eyes, and took a long, deep drink from his full frothing glass, the one half empty a moment before. The Captain of the Paradiso team inside New Jericho waited an eternity for the impostor to finish his infinite brew, not time enough to sift through all the doubts and suspicions and wisely paranoid thoughts rummaging through his head.

When the "King" finally finished, he put down his glass, and kept his eyes on the table. More seconds passed, both men letting the silence hang between them.

"Captain Mason Bridges. 36 years old, 6 months and 12 days. Formerly a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, but serving as a Mercenary for Blackwater in Africa at the time of the Armageddon. Recruited to the Adminstration two years after Paradiso's founding at equaivalent to his old rank. Had risen to Captain on merit 3 years later, and shortly thereafter assigned with heading the task force in New Jericho. Responsible for numerous Black operations, including the assassination of Richard Landau, a Senior Official of New Jericho in charge of Foreign Affairs.

"Codename: Clearwater."

The Captain stared back at the man with widened eyes; he had just recounted his career in the Adminstration, as if he was reading from one of the cities most top-secret files. He even knew about the assassination, something they had managed to pin on labour radicals and even the best New Jericho spooks were convinced of that. Information like that could be deadly, could threaten conflict and would surely get Clearwater killed.

So how did _this man_ know it?

"The Director may be running the city in my absence, Captain Mason", the man replied, "but make no mistake- The King in White rules Paradiso. And he knows all that happens in his city.

"And," he continued, "he knows every service done for it".

Clearwater let this appeal to his vanity go to one side for a moment. The King in White...he could not yet believe it. The man was....informed, but that and his magic did not make him one of the Seven Kings. He had access to highly sensitive, classified information, which meant one of two things. Either he was a highly ranked individual, privy to such things; or, the city of Paradiso had been inflitrated at the highest echelons, treason and perhaps even enemies sitting in their midst.

The latter was too horrible to contemplate....and too ridculous. Nobody infiltrated Paradiso. Nobody.

But then....

"If you are the King in White", Clearwater finally said, deciding to play this game for the moment, "....what can I do for you?"

The King in Whites eyes lowered, and a look of...sadness?...came over his face. "That one, Laker", he said, gesturing to the door with his head, "the one who just..._humiliated_ you", and at that the Captain twitched.

"What about him", he asked, with a bit of a sneer.

"I'm afraid your suspicions about him are correct. He has been compromised. They all have, him and his friends."

"Is that so?". Clearwater wouldn't deny it- he liked where this was going. But he was not going to be made a fool out of, not while there was a chance this man could still be an enemy.

"It is a matter of Celestial importance. Think of this", he said, raising one long finger, "Ten years have passed since the entire world was obliterated, and in that time seven cities- seven fresh, brand new cities, as grand as any in the old world, grander even- were not only founded, but have prospered. In the space of a single decade we have made leaps and bounds that took our species...centuries, millenia...to achieve first time round. And we have made technological advances greater than even in the old days. In the midst of all this chaos, with magic and wild beasts and gods and demons running around to boot."

Mason Bridges....didn't quite understand. Yes, these were impressive achievements, but people were'nt starting from scratch. They were building from experience, from memories and lifetimes before the Apocalypse. Sure, this magic and mayhem made things more difficult...but then, survival is the great motivator. He himself knew that as well as anybody. People came together _because_ it was so dangerous.

Sure, even given all that, they were making great time, but still...And what did this have to do with.....

"Time is disjointed."

Eh?

"The Zodiac Pantheon is beholden to Chronos, Father Time. What they do not know, what none of the gods seem to know, even, is that he has been taken. I left to investigate the Armageddon, Captain Mason Bridges, and I found the source. A mad god was awoken from his slumber, and he is not yet done with our world, ours or the others. 

"Aquarius, Laker...His god is now a pawn. He and his allies take orders from the Zodiac, but the Zodiac take orders from Chronos, and Chronos is now in the thrall of the most powerful and dangerous force in all of Creation. They may not even know it yet, but they are here to stop you. 

This god, Ikelos, he has seeped his tentacles into the world, and he thrives on chaos. He is addicted to catastrophe. You are here to help us bring order to the world, so that New Jericho can be brought under our protection, our aegis. They are here because Ikelos wants to stop you."

Clearwater took all of this in, barely following these revelations. "Why are you telling me this? Why not them? Why not let them know what has happened to their gods?"

That sad look fell over him again. "It is too late for them, I fear. I thought that Laker could be saved, so I had him kept under our employ. But Aquarius took him back, and Aquarius is controlled by Ikelos. Its worse when they are working together, because then his influence is stronger. The only one in the city who might have a chance, then, is Cancer, and only because he is so headstrong."

"And he doesn't like Laker because he's convinced he's a Paradiso spy, trying to bring them down.", Clearwater finsihed. His network was second to none, and he kept a close eye on these Avatars.

"Exactly", the King in White said in sorrow.

Clearwater put his elbows on the table, and closed his eyes. A million million questions raced through his head, but if this man was who he said he was, then there was one that he was itching to ask.

"Tell me Laker's name", Clearwater inquired. "His real name."

The King in White did.

Clearwater nodded, and sat back, pondering, chin to his chest. "I want everything on him. On all of them. Files, records, rumours. I can't leave anything to chance."

"You will have it." He hesitated, and then said, "I assume yo are under no illusions, then, about what needs to be done?"

Clearwater smiled. "Where Laker was concerned, I never was."

"The boy will be your inside man. You _will_ need his help. Consider that an order. But don't tell him the truth about his god, not yet. He won't believe you, and its too dangerous to trust him with it."

Clearwater scoffed to himself. He didn't want to rely on that hotheaded brat, and if he did making up a story seemed like it would just comlicate things.

"Where is he now?", the Captain asked, not sure if even the King in White knew the answer.

"Well", he replied, standing up and taking once last drink, "as it happens...."

A ruckus erupted at the door, and as Clearwater got up he had to dive to avoid the guard flying across the room, blazing on fire, and smashing into the wall on the other side.

He turned around. The King in White was gone, and the most stupid idiot Clearwater ever laid eyes on suddenly waltzed into the bar, so smug and so assured that he had not just started a fight with a bar full of people who were more than capable of ripping his head off.

"Hello, boys," Cancer announced himself to all the professional killers. "I've got a few questions for ya."


----------



## Platinum (Apr 26, 2011)

*In an Unknown Location, New Jericho*

With a few deft brush strokes, his latest painting was complete. Diamond took a few eager steps back to take in the full extent of his work. 

The scene on exhibit was a rather.... unique take on New Jericho's possible future. Pictured were several citizens of New Jericho, the desperation and pure fear portrayed perfectly on their faces, being devoured and consumed by vengeful spirits from the past. And their deaths were by no means pleasant. Some were flayed alive, watching helplessly as the shades feasted on them. Greedy hands shoving entrails into hungry mouths, a hunger which no amount of blood could ever sate. Others, mostly women and children were raped savagely by these shades. A long and torturous affair, that only ended when the shades had satisfied their lust. Only then were these shattered and broken bodies offered a coup de grace. Amongst the rubble of fallen buildings even more bodies lay in various states of decay, all united under the same monstrous blood red sky.

This was a horrid painting, offensive on every level imaginable. It was vulgar, it was savage. "It's beautiful", Diamond remarked approvingly. Truly he had never been prouder of anything he produced. 

"Are you done with you painting", Ruby inquired, tapping the floor with her foot to display her impatience. "Because I would like to give my report so I can leave."

"Dear Ruby no need to rush.", Diamond spoke cheerfully. Walking away from his painting he grabbed a chair and sat down in it. He crossed his legs and looked upon Ruby inquisitively. "Tell me about Cancer."

"Well you see Cancer is a class of disease in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth.", Ruby replied Dryly.

Diamond laughed. "Cute Ruby. But the longer you joke the longer you will be here giving me a report."

"He's just as our contacts said", Ruby spoke cutting to the chase. "Headstrong, quick to anger, hotblooded.... cute.", she giggled, her face blushing just slightly.

"Oh great the man eater has found another victim.", Sapphire groaned from off in the distance. He was absentmindedly twirling a knife between his fingers. "I almost feel sorry for him."

"Shut your damn mouth Sapphire before I shut it for you."

"And you say this Cancer is quick to anger.", Sapphire proded. "When you are nothing more than a loose cannon yourself.

"That's enough.", Diamond remarked coldly, and both Sapphire and Ruby swallowed their words in response. "Tell me Ruby would you say this.... Cancer has great talent or potential within him?"

"I would. It's mostly raw now but in the right hands...."

"In the right hands it could be molded and take form yes?", Diamond finished her sentence for her. "The others are far too set in their ways. Aquarius, Capricorn, Libra, all are for the most part unchangeable and their friends, the ones with power at least, are likewise unchangeable. But Cancer.... I got a feeling Cancer is the wildcard in this entire game of ours and while we can not be the ones that mold him we can guide him along a path that would be beneficial to us and beneficial to our agenda. I entrust this great responsibility to you Ruby."

"Of course you do", Ruby sighed. "Not like we can expect Sapphire to get any work done around here."

Diamond waved his hand. "You are dismissed Ruby.", she nodded and promptly left.

"Things are going rather nicely.", Diamond spoke to no one in peculiar. Getting a fresh canvas he returned to painting. Time to paint an even superior piece. Progress was what he strived for, what every man strived for. Soon, it would be time to move.

Soon the city would be his.


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## masamune1 (Apr 26, 2011)

*Five Minutes Ago*

"Hello there", said a voice to his left. 

Cancer jumped back with a start. The man did nothing; just leant on the edge, looking down, exactly what Cancer had been doing. 

The stranger had appeared out of nowhere, but that was impossible. No-one could sneak up on him like that, especially not here, in this empty place. 

"Who are you?", Cancer demanded, staying firm on alert. 

The man wore strange regalia, all in black, styled like a Victorian gentleman. He did not turn around. "I would have thought you had been told about me, young man. I am the King in Red."

_The King in Red...._

The man gave a small laugh. "Don't try it, Avatar of Cancer. You may be good, but you are not _that_ good."

Cancer held his ground. The King in Red might have sensed that he was about to attack, but that was only more reason to not let his guard down. 

"What do you want?", Cancer asked firmly.

Magear straightened himself, but did not turn around. "I was thinking....I could gouge out your eyes; cut off your arms and legs, tongue and lips, your ears, your nose; smash your teeth in, and close the wounds with searing hot flame. You'll live, but you won't be able to see, speak, hear, walk, hold, smell or do anything on your own again. For the remainder of your hellish life, you will be left in total silence and darkness, and if anybody finds you you'll never know for certain if they are friends or strangers. Or enemies. A living nightmare, that death alone can save you from, though you will never be able to ask anyone to do it, or snuff your life out yourself."

The Red King at last turned to face the young, small, powerless mortal and regarded with amusement the courage in his stance and the terror in his eyes. Cancer was prepared to die, or suffer if he must, but what crushed him was the sheer hopeless horror of it all, face to face with this godlike evil.

"Or we could talk. You're choice."

Cancer blinked, and the man in black laughed. "I suppose you've been informed of my sinister reputation", he said, turning back to his sightseeing. 

After forever had passed, and the King in Red had not made a move, Cancer at last noticed his frantic heartbeat and heavy breathing. With sheer force of will, he brought both down to something like normality, then without lowering his guard moved back to his edge, next to this wicked thing.

He dared a glance back down to where the former Mayor was looking, but his eyes darted back to him again just as quickly. "What do you want?", Cancer asked again.

"Well, Alex", he said, and Cancer damned something to Hell that he knew his name, "I think the question is....what do _you_ want?"

Magear faced him now, his left hand resting on the short wall. "You going to ask me to sell you my soul?", Cancer sneered back.

"No. I don't buy souls. People can damn themselves fine enough."

"I'm not telling you anything".

"What are you doing here?"

Cancer said nothing.

Magear laughed. "I want you to ask yourself....why don't you trust me?"

"I've heard all about you. You let Set be unleashed on your city, then handed the keys over to a psychopath. You kidnapped that guy Ed's sister, then had him and the rest of that gang locked up in a dungeon. You steal the souls of gods, and ran Pandemonium like a crime infested hell hole. Why _should_ I trust you?"

"All good reasons", Magear replied. "Except.....how do you know any of that?"

That caught him off guard a bit. "Aquarius told us. He sent the message ahead."

"He told you? And how does he know?"

".....He was there."

"Yes.....but I don't recall meeting him. Did he say otherwise?"

This wasn't going well. "His friends saw it."

"You don't know his friends. Hell, _he_ doesn't know his friends. How many days has he known them again?" 

_Enough of this._ "I trust him", Cancer said.

"You don't trust him", The Devil replied.

"I don't _like_ him. I trust him."

"Then I ask again- Why are you here?"

Cancer scowled, and looked away.

Magear laughed again- that short, annoying laugh, and once more turned back to the edge of the roof. "You don't trust him, Alexander. You know better than to trust him. You saw him go in there, into that bar", and he pointed down, down towards the Green Moon. "And you know as well as I do. That tavern is filled with Paradiso people. Laker's people. The people who tried to kill Libra."

Cancer lowered himself into a hunch in shame. Yes, it was true. Aqaurius was talking to Paradiso soldiers, and Cancer knew because he tailed him there, sticking to the rooftops to avoid detection. 

But it meant nothing. Of _course_ he was in there! Aquarius was on a misson; he should take advantage of every contact, no matter who that was. Cancer would do the same (not that he _had_ many contacts, but still....)

Laker _(No! Aquarius!)_ emerged.....and Capricorn was waiting for him. Cancer hadn't noticed, but was relieved. Capricorn knew where Aquarius was, which meant there was nothing to worry about. He wouldn't be so careless if he was trying to keep it a secret .

"Yes, thats the spirit, keep the faith!", Magear said, appearing behind him putting both hands on his shoulders. "I'm sure Laker is telling his friend _everything_- the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth! I'm sure he's telling him all about his", and he leant in closer, and whispered, "secret mission."

_Secret....mission?_ "What secret mission", Cancer asked weakly, then snapped back to reality. "No! Don't touch me! Get off! Get away!"

He did, but raised his hands in innocence. "I'm only speaking your mind for you", he insisted.

Cancer glared angrily back, but couldn't resist looking back down, worried. Aquarius....Laker....Yes, he could be lying. Thats what they teach you in the Adminstration, isn't it? How to be a good liar?

_He's done something to you. Stop listening!_

"Alex", he said, sadness creeping into his voice, "I would be a liar if I said I was an honest man. But think about it! I spent a decade building Pandemonium up from scratch! It might not have been...._perfect...._but do you really believe I would just throw all that away to some lunatic?"

_I don't know *what* you'd do. I know Laker....Aquarius. I was stupid to follow him._

"Draygon stole my city from me. He is an agent of Paradiso."

_Shut up!_

"Those newcomers helped him. You can't trust them."

_No! Stop! Get out of my head!_ 

".....I think he might be a spy."

_...................._

The King slowly walked back towards him. He gestured to the edge......the inviting edge.....

"The answers are down there", he said, and Cancer looked down to the Green Moon tavern. 

"You know what you have to do", the King commanded, then stoof back and watched.

Cancer glared down at the Green Moon. He had forgotten he was 
not alone.

The tavern....

Paradiso.....

Aquarius......

_I'll find out for myself.

I'll beat it out of them!_

And with that, he leapt.


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## Emperor Joker (Jun 1, 2011)

*The Western Wastes*
*4:24 AM
Three Weeks from Rahab*

The creature looked down the hill at the encampment below, the vermin and filth that composed his body writhing and buzzing with fury. In the dark of the night, the only movement was from the sentries doing their rounds. They mattered not to the creature. They were mere fleas to it, and it would crush them under heel if need be. 

It's prey's trail had lead here, and it was here somewhere. the prey that had it?s sire so desired...the prey that it's sire had made it for. It was a hunter, a tracker, a killer. A abomination to this reality, it was made from it's sire very being, like all it's brethren in this reality. It was a spawn of the World Eater's true form, a child of the Vermin King...the Worm Lord. It was the Hunter of Blight and it had one mission...and one alone. Food for the originator, more for Blight Prime to feast on. To find beings of power and of the Pantheon to devour. 

The Blight Hunter shuddered for a moment, and it realized it's host was struggling to assert control again. The girl that Blight First Born had chosen in the south had a unusually strong will for a mortal . It was perhaps too strong, and the creature might soon have to find another host entirely. Perhaps it would find one in the camp below?perhaps the Horsewoman who commanded this army could be a suitable host?or one of her Lieutenants.

The Hunter of Blight shuddered with anticipation, and began to stride forward?down into the warcamp of Famine, the now newly ascended goddess of love and lust.


If the creature had looked behind it then it would have noticed a small man standing there grinning. Dressed in a  purple collared shirt, Bright red leather pants that hugged his legs tightly and a yellow fedora, he was a sight to behold. The man grinned after the creature and looked down into the camp?before pulling several pulsing black rocks from it?s pocket.

?So, the game is afoot,? he said in a squeaky voice

The Herald of High House Chaos grinned wickedly before slowly fading away

_________________________________________________________________

Aphrodite jerked awake as somebody continued to prod her, with what felt like fingers coated with slime. Slowly raising her head to look at the figure he noticed the lack of any of her ?Guards? as Famine would have called them. 

?Do not worry mother,? said the figure of a well built blonde man in font of her who was untying her bonds. As he talked he pronounced his T?s as Z?s?like almost a faint buzzing noise. ?I have taken care of your captors in the immediate area,? the man smiled a toothy grin.

Aphrodite sat there stunned?how could he be here?Phobos was supposed to be dead. ?How?? she asked ?How are you alive.?

?That explanation can wait till later mother,? the buzzing sound he made for T?s was becoming more distinct and as Aphrodite became more awake she noticed there was something off about his skin?almost like slime. ?Won?t you take my hand mother?leave with me Mother you can be with all of us again?Harmonia so wishes to see you?Take my hand Mother.?

Harmonia?but Harmonia was gone, Aphrodite thought to herself , taken by some terrible entity?who was this man. ?Phobos? grinned at her and offered her hand, and despite herself she felt herself reaching back.

Contact??Phobos?? grin changed and in it?s place was a wide fanged grin that spread from ear to ear. ?Come be with us Mother, come be with all of us.? It screamed in a horrible growling voice,..and Aphrodite felt herself screaming as well in terror. Suddenly ?Phobos? veered and in it?s place was a monster composed of vermin, and for a second she saw something else. A great barren plain, and on it stretched a massive fat work with thousands of mouths, and from inside those mouths came voices. 

?Come be with us! In Blight Prime we are legion! We are your brothers and sisters Aphrodite! We are your husband! Your father! Your sons and daughters! In Blight Prime we are many!? 

and then it was gone, she was back with the other creature that had taken her son?s face.

Aphrodite screamed again as the monster?s grip tightened on hers, and it?s maw opened wide as it tried to bend down and swallow her. ?Be with them your children, and empower the originator Goddess? Suddenly the creature stopped and then exploded, in a gorey mess. Worms and human flesh flew everywhere and on the ground writhed a clump of scarlet worms. The creature?s scream erupted in Aphrodite?s mind and she saw the red clump try and crawl her way before another blast disintegrated it. 

Standing in the tent opening was Famine, looking tired and stressed. For the first time  Aphrodite could hear screaming from outside, screams of pain, screams of terror and screams of rage. Behind Famine bootsteps sounded and one of her Lieutenants shifted into view.

?Whatever?s came over the men, mistress, appears to be not going away?they continue to froth at the mouth and some monstrous violent urge has come over all of them.? 

?I care not for our outbreak of Rabies?Commander Yang?I care more for how an Outsider wormed it?s way into our camp without being noticed.? Famine said testily. ?Our sensors should have gone off the moment, the creature entered the camp itself?but somehow it snuck in and infected our men, and made it?s way here??

Suddenly Famine zoned out as a look of surprise came over her and she collapsed to the ground with a gasp.

________________________________________________________________

What Famine saw was entirely different that Aphrodite, the moment Yang came in she saw something else as well. A short little man was staring at her from behind the flap, and he was fondling a pile of glistening black rocks. 

The man looked at her and smiled, before putting his free hand to his mouth in a silencing gesture. Then picking up a rock between his thumb and finger, he looked at it and then back at her, and smiled again. With a single gesture, he flicked the rock at her and in it embedded itself all the way in her chest. As she fell to the ground, words sounded in her mind, words as loud as thunder and like the word of God himself.

Famine of the Apocalypse; You have the ability to upset the natural Order?Welcome to High House Chaos!

_________________________________________________________________

Up on the ridge again, The Herald watched a half hour later, as the forces of Famine began to pull out and break camp. He grinned at this, for after all who wanted to be there when anOutsider came back?especially if it was a offspring of the World Eater. He noticed that they were leaving inflicted behind, perhaps under the assumption that the monster would take them instead.

Such a pitiful delusion. 

The Herald then turned his direction to the East where far away lay the city of Rahab, another grin spread across his face.

?Tell me Prophet, do you think you and your God can upset the natural order?? he giggled again and was gone.


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## Emperor Joker (Jun 12, 2011)

*Outside Mephistopheles'*

"Watch the sides he said, can't have you be up front he said." Hen Lurker muttered as he stalked up and down the alleyway beside the enormous nightclub. "If I had my guitar and my pills i'd show him...who put The Phantom in chagre huh..."

Lurker stopped for a moment as the hairs on the back of his neck, stood up. He turned slowly and found himself face to face with a elderly crone, who stared at him with a toothless smile. There was something about the crone's eyes...the constant twinkling in the inky blackness...almost like stars. 

The crone looked at him and cackled softly. "So, you want to do more do you you hmm?" she picked up her walking staff and poked him sharply in the chest with it. "Well then Granny says, so be it." she cackled again. 

"Your eyes are you power and your desire burns like fire. so let the two become one and same...Let's see what a taste of your potential can accomplish boy!"

The crone jabbed him straight in the forehead with her staff and he stumbled back. "The hell do you think your doing, that fucking hurt!" He yelled, but the crone was gone, and in her place was Luke, looking at him in confusion.

"Where'd the old hag go...she was right here?"

Luke looked at him, and then around at his surroundings. "There's nobody here but us friend...you sure you weren't hallucinating."

Hen reply was cut short as a section of the second floor wall burst open and a massive burst of wind rushed out. Hen screamed in alarm but he couldn't ignore the sharp burning feeling in the back of his eyes.

Meanwhile back in her original position, Granny Zerrcha cackled to herself. "Never let it be said, that my kind never intervene, boy...hohohoho"

_________________________________________________________________

*The Casino of the Gods*

Mael stared down at the piece of paper, that had appeared in his hands a few moments before. It had appeared in a burst of flame, leaving no room for doubt to where it had come from. He picked it up and began to unfold it, looking at the words scrawled in red ink there...and smiled

*It has Begun

Von Sarken*

_________________________________________________________________

Enigma shook his head, as the wind storm rushed out the room, the strong aphrodisiac smell not quite going with it. The moment He and Archon had entered this floor, they had been buffeted and assailed by the strange winds,that assaulted their minds and senses. The floor had been decorated with an assortment of mats and pillows and in the corners were beds. As they had fought Ares, Enigma had caught sight of several steps fleeing down the stairs.

Now Enigma smiled, at Ares and then jerked his head at the hole in the wall. ?You missed I believe.?

?Says you! I just wanted a clear view of the two weaklings I?m going to be using as toothpicks soon,? he screamed lifting the massive battle axe in his hands. 

Enigma just sneered at him, as he eyed Archon moving behind the god ?As you say, but it appears you?ve fallen on hard times?perhaps The Tiger bit off more than you could afford.?

?You think I?ve fallen so low I?m going to let some low rent shadow dancer talk trash to me!? Ares roared as he charged swinging the axe. As he reached Enigma dispersed himself and came up behind a mace in his hand and clubbed in the back of the head. The blow forced him backwards, where Archon sent him flying into the air with a pulse. 

As Ares came down however the axe in his hand disappeared and was replaced by a hammer. As he struck he thundered the hammer home, causing massive shockwaves across the floor, causing both Enigma and Archon to lose their footing. Enigma was thus caught off guard by hammer blow that struck him the stomach, as well as the hand that grabbed onto his forehead.

?You think I?m some weakling don?t you boy,? snarled Ares in his face ?You think just because I haven?t left this city, since I lost my title, that I can?t hold my own in a fight? You think that because I?ve fallen on hard times I couldn?t rip you limb from limb??

?Let me put it this way,? Enigma said a mad grin on his face. ?I fought Set, not to long ago?I was outgunned sure, but I fought him?and you know what? You?ve got nothing on him. If you expect me to be frightened of a fallen war god, you?ve got another thing coming??

Enigma dispersed again, and in his wake came a massive wave of blackness. All warmth fled the room and in it?s place was a bone chilling cold. ?You said I was just a low rent Shadow Dancer I believe?let?s test that shall we? his voice came from every direction

The room swirled around Ares, and as it did blades flew out of the darkness in every direction, and they struck and what didn?t he parried and batted away.  The barrage lasted for a full minute until he ducked what appeared to be razor bladed cloak. A moment later a monstrous wrecking ball materialized, thundering into Ares, that sent him flying back towards the staircase, where a massive blast of dark energy sent upwards to the next level.

The darkness receded and Enigma rematerialized and went to help Archon up. ?Damn, Ran out of time?? he muttered. ?Can you fight on?? he asked Archon.

His companion nodded, and they sprinted towards the staircase and began to follow Ares up.


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## masamune1 (Jun 13, 2011)

*The Spectre of Death- Part 1*

A thick mist had descended on the City of Prophets on a dark and starless night, accentuating the paranormal atmosphere that was always permeating the ghost town. The few thousand inhabitants of Nevi'im never feared to venture outwith their homes in such chilling conditions, whence they came as they did from time to time. There was a broad consensus that though the city was more likely than not to be haunted by any number of phantoms, spooks, and unseen apparations, but after years of repopulating the emptied polis, most agreed that whilst these spirits may not wish them well, they had shown few intentions of wishing them ill.

And if they did, so again most agreed, staying indoors would offer little protection.

Segregated from her sisters by the waters of the Last Sea, Nevi'im proved an enchatment to the survivors of the Old World. Untouched by the fires and raging hells of the great disaster that befell the globe, Nevi'im was a strange and arcane place whose buildings harkened back to a long bygone age, structures from hundreds, others thousands, of years before, though none knew the real name of this ancient civility. Though the horrors of the Apocalypse seem to have past this antediluvian by, no trace of the native habitants had ever been found- corpses neither, if death indeed were their fate.

Nevi'im took its place as the 6th of the 7 Cities when it was uncovered some years before by travellers from what was left of civilization, who happened by chance or fate to scholars and teachers. Fate, for though the peoples of this unknown city were long since vanished, what was found by these explorers was a treasure trove of archeaology, a modern day Athens filled with libraries, museums, temples and other constructions that spoke an alien tongue. No book, no history, had talked of the strange gods, new fauna, unknown script that was uncovered there. The ghost city of Nevi'im had materialised as if from another world.

As the remnant of the wretched planet made their factioned attempts to rebuild their devastated world, Nevi'im offered the chance to both men of learning and men of faith to isolate themselves from the new troubles and spend their humbled mortality in learning and peace. A merchant life sprung as the priests and scholars and students started to settle in this old and new city, and thus Nevi'im became both a refuge from the wars and the violence of the world of the Wastelands and the Seven Cities, and a frontier town on the age of time. The size and scale alone told of a place that once homed millions of natives; now, a few thousand newcomers had begun their meagre contribution to its long forgotten life.

In short, Nevi'im was a mystery, and a growing number of detectives now made it their home, joined by the shepherds of flocks old and new, and as time moved on a wretched hive of crooks and thieves- otherwise known as vendors and traders. And civility begun anew.

The vast harbour that harkened to an old antiquity was the only bridge to the real world, and like most harbours it served as the frontline in the ancient battle between sight and fog. Homes, crates, warehouses and anchored ships were drowning in the thick mist that had swept over the city that night, and though fear of spirits was not reason enough to send most of the living to their beds, blindness and the late hour sufficied. 

Standing on the wharf on this dark and misty night, leaning on a crate, the phantom shape of Peter Stromore smoked a pipe. The unpolicied docks of this ghostly hour in this ghostly city haunted, no doubt, by any number of ghosts bore witness to his bad habit, but he enjoyed the smell of tobacco married to the music of a calm wave. He was a sailor, though he had not sailed for some weeks and occupied his time and made some money helping in the loading and unloading of goods that came to and from. He finished late, spent some time with drink and games, and now took stock of the dark and gloom while he smoked before returning to his bed.

Before this night, he had never seen a ghost.

Peter Stromore, alone in the wisp, emptied his pipe and readied to leave as the ship entered port. It made its approach with stealth and the fog hid its arrival, but it could not escape the notice of one so close by. A large wooden ship it was, its mast and sails just visible in the night, though no docking crew greeted it. The ungodly hour it chose to come in was enough to pique a lonely smokers interest, and the minutes of inactivity that past served only to feed suspicion.

No ladder or bridge fell out, but out of the fog on the berth a blue light made its presence known, fighting valiantly against the haze and the night. Seven shapes manifested as it got closer, and Stormore began to see that it was babe, a glowing blue babe.

It was a babe, and it was held by death.

The child rested in the arms of a hag, thin and decrepit, with a long thin crack clear on her skull, with skin white as chalk. A short hooded....creature, skeletal as she, marched at the head of the group, and led five more figures who seemed more human.

Peter Stromore stood, mouth agape, as this host of death, this group of spectres, made their way towards the wharf and closer to him. 

At last the small creature- or large, for he could see it was a large squirrel, a hideous undead squirrel, of all forms the demon had chosen to take- came to halt before him. It raised its head slightly, stared into him with hollow eyes from under a ragged hood, and let the moment hang between them.

Finally it raised its hand, adorned with a single, large, ridiculous ring, and tapped Peters head. 

The next morning he woke, and the dock was abuzz with activity and life. The spectres were gone.


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