Cern Maximum Power Unrefined Vector Force Cern/Infinity Penguin member is offline
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Re: Parallels - The Cursed Era « Result #1 on Dec 21, 2009, 4:56pm »
SouthEast prided herself on her efficiency. After locating the world's admin lounge, she immediately teleported there, and as North fended off any glitch demons, she headed for the central forum archiver. She could trust that at least the Ztrbnhmes would have kept recording everything, especially since Cern was always so insistent on regular posts. Within ten minutes, she had read through all seventy-six archived pages, and was fully up-to-date on the situation.
"North, we're heading to magic town." She called out over her shoulder as she placed the board back into the central forum.
Once at Magic Town, the pair of them proceeded to the field where the well had been located, but as expected, it had been destroyed in the battle. A few miles of earth, however, was no real problem, and within six minutes they had breached the roof of the cavern that contained Sarbenzatio city.
SouthEast used a combination of radar and the direction supplied in the poem by Mocha Berry to find the castle, and since the door had already been opened, she entered without problem, paying no heed to the mannequins that followed her and her butler.
Unauthorised entry prohibited while challenge is in progress.
"...What is this?" SouthEast looked around for the origin of the voice, before the mannequins suddenly attacked. The admin didn't even need to give a command for her butler to step in and defend her while she summoned a number of thick reference books. ".....Very interesting. Who could possibly have set up such high-level golems here?" She wondered aloud as she initiated the counter-spell, and the mannequins collapsed. Now that she was at the fork, there was the issue of which admin to secure first.
"...I am personally more concerned about Blazi, milady." "True."
Cern Maximum Power Unrefined Vector Force Cern/Infinity Penguin member is offline
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Re: Parallels - The Cursed Era « Result #2 on Dec 21, 2009, 4:37pm »
~~~~~~~~~~
Arca Crater
The air grew impatient. It was pretty much all ocean now; the buildings and homes that were once here existed in this world no longer, and even the mournful silence had been obliterated by the uncaringly gentle sound of the waves. Amidst the silence, something was starting. The air twisted inwards and folded out onto itself, and a gap split open in the rules of space-time.
The crackle of energy was drowned out by the splash of metal hitting water, of a titanic ship finding its port not on land, but in this timeframe, as the ocean liner was dropped into the sea.
"We have arrived, milady." On the deck, a large metal door swung open for the ship's captian to step out, quickly followed by the first mate. They were the only two people on the entire vessel.
"The location is the continent of Arca. The date is one year in the future - a Cursed Era." "So it's come to this, huh." SouthEast Nvjaglko looked out into the sea, slightly nervous without letting it show. Cern and Blazi were taking too long to return. Far too long. Chaos and Nightmare had recommended that she check up on what was happening, and so after preparing the proper reference material and writing up a conjectured plan, here she was, in a hostile timezone in an unfamiliar place.
The safety of admins took priority over the state of the world, so her aim was to secure the admins Blazi Krakatoa and Cern Ztrbnhme.
"North, prepare the utility scanner." "Right away, Milady."
Cern Maximum Power Unrefined Vector Force Cern/Infinity Penguin member is offline
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Re: Parallels - The Cursed Era « Result #3 on Dec 21, 2009, 4:23pm »
"I guess I can't fool a god." Dygo sighed as he appeared behind her. "I won't fight you. I've just got a few questions."
"Alright, fine. Easy enough."
"If you really are on our side... why did you run away when Zelox attacked my house?"
"Because I hadn't figured out what was going on yet, I was really confused, didn't realize you and Zelox were enemies, or that he was about to blow up your house, and it was Peng's idea so I'll yell at him for you."
"I think it was pretty obvious that he was going to blow it up." Dygo narrowed his eyes, "Considerin' he was yellin' about it from the rooftop. Sure, I survived and all, but unlike Shadow and Darkness, the servants in my house aren't robots, you know."
"Well I figured he was joking because Zelox is a very un-serious person and I hadn't realized you guys were enemies!" She said, "And when we fix the world, they'll all get revived, too. So yeah."
"Joking? He'd already blown Spanner's hand off!" Dygo snapped back.
"Well obviously I hadn't thought about that!" She shouted, "Look, I gave you my reasons, and whether you like them or not, that's why and you got an answer, and it doesn't even matter because it's just going to be fixed when we fix the rest of the world!"
"...So you're a 'big picture' type of person, huh? No matter what happens or what you have to do along the way, it's forgivable if it turns out okay at the end?"
"Only in situations like this when everything we do along the way means nothing and ends up not even happening."
"I've been wondering about that myself..." He had calmed down a bit. "Can you explain what you mean by that? Just what is this world an' how's it related to the 'real' one?"
"I only half-get this, but as far as I know this is some whacked-up, distorted future of the real world, but the future isn't really supposed to be like this. Hence Cursed Era. And to fix it -- this is the part I'm especially unsure of -- I'm pretty sure that we have to find the source of it, get rid of it, and then everything gets fixed and the future's all better. Yaaaay."
"Hmmm... it's all a bit vague, but I suppose I've got no choice but to accept it." Dygo looked away. "With Arca and everythin' in it blown up, there's not much left for me in this world anyway." He pulled out some paper and scribbled something down on it before passing it to her. "Once you meet the other group, give this to Spanner. Don't read it." Next, Dygo pulled out a knife. Before Blazi could do anything, he'd darted around behind her and gabbed both her arms. He pressed the knife handle into her hand and closed her fingers around it, before forcing her wrist to his throat. "Sorry about this. It's a pride thing." He jerked Blazi's arm to the right, dragging the knife in her hand across his throat. "...Don't worry bout me. I'll be dead before you know it." He smiled as he staggered backwards and fell over.
Cern Maximum Power Unrefined Vector Force Cern/Infinity Penguin member is offline
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Re: The Justice of the Mercenaries « Result #4 on Dec 21, 2009, 3:44pm »
At Friedrich's orders, the group split apart and ran into the depths of the town, sharp on the lookout for any signs of people.
~~~~~~
"Anyone here?" Eddie yelled as he kicked down a door that was absolutely covered in woodlice. "In here!"
He followed the voice into the kitchen, ignoring the crunches of insect shells underfoot, and found his way barred by an indescribable fluttering black mist. Filling the entire corner of the living room, packed like jellyfish into an ocean, was a swarm of mosquitos, each wingspan as large as a human's forearm. They were clamouring for space in the air, trying to pack into the next room, resulting in effectively a wall of the bloodthirsty creatures, flapping their wings madly.
"Area Shredder." Without mercy, his sword cut through the air, slicing each insect apart as he moved forward, creating a thick carpet of writhing black body parts on the floor as they fell. It wasn't long before he was identified as a threat, but he never let any of their stingers get close to him. Behind the cloud of insects was a small family of three, protected by their father's barrier. "Thank you." The man breathed a sigh of relief as it faded. "Friedrich Goth said you'd know where the shelters are." "Yes, right this way..."
~~~~~~
Ummm... Sunny... are you s-sure we'll b-be okay?
"Oh, come on! Bug pokemon are weak against rock and flying-type attacks, right? We'll be unbeatable!"
B-b-but Sunny, flying attacks are d-different from air magic, and b-b-bug types are s-strong against ground-type moves, which is c-closer to earth m-magic...
Cern Maximum Power Unrefined Vector Force Cern/Infinity Penguin member is offline
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Re: The Justice of the Mercenaries « Result #5 on Dec 18, 2009, 9:46am »
The group immediately ran back into the town, and a few of them couldn't help but let out a gasp. The scene before them was just like something out of a twisted science-fiction movie. Hundreds of insects of every sort were terrorising the entire village. Giant beetles were smashing through walls, swarms of ants that could tear off a human hand with one bite covered the streets, and lice as big as rats tunneled out of the ground by the bucketload. "Kerri, watch out!" Before she could figure out what was going on, there was an intense fluttering in front of her, like a huge rustling cloak, and Eddie had pushed her away to cut it in half. "Heh... the big ones aren't actually so bad, since they're bigger targets." What lay wriggling on the ground were two halves of a giant moth, its legs still scrambling like deranged tendrils, and its wings beating against the ground ruthlessly like wet cloth. "Okay, I used to hate birds, now I hate just about everything with wings." Zelox stepped on the giant wing and twisted his leg, tearing it off the still half-living insect. "Eeew, don't step on it!" Sunny backed away.
(Meta note: Zelox was originally going to say: "...but now I respect them a bit more cause they eat bugs like these." but that was a bit too sensible for him.)
"We have no time to be standing around!" Friedrich yelled. "Everyone split up and get the villagers to safety! There are a few underground bunkers scattered across town; take them there!" "Got it!" They all nodded. "Right, and I'll go beat down that Harper guy!" Zelox nodded as well, but Friedrich grabbed the back of his shirt. "Zelox, he can wait till we secure the villagers!" "Wouldn't beating their boss be a much more permanent solution? No telling how many of these pests he can call down!" "Don't be so irresponsible, we have no idea how long it would take to beat him! We need to save the villagers first!" "I thought all the people living here were decentish fighters anyway?" "...Well, that's true, but we can't take that chance!" Friedrich remained firm even as his argument faltered. "It is my duty as the protector of this village to put its citizens' safety as top priority!" "Then go do it, then! Aren't you wasting time talking to me?" "I want your help! Didn't you say you were going to work with me to protect the village?!" "I said I'd work with you to defeat mercenaries, and that's what we're doing! I'm fighting him while the rest of you are taking care of all the collateral damage!" "Collateral damage?! People's lives are at stake!" "People die all the time!" "....!" Friedrich fell silent as he realised that there was no use arguing, Instead, he turned around to instruct everyone else, regaining his composure. "Come on, everyone else! There's no time to waste! Let the theif run to his gallows!"
Cern Maximum Power Unrefined Vector Force Cern/Infinity Penguin member is offline
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Re: The Justice of the Mercenaries « Result #6 on Dec 12, 2009, 9:53am »
"...AAAAAGGGGHH!" The tombstone burst apart into rubble as Seth Harper rose again, his figure crippled and twisted, hunched over like a wretched creature, and his whole body completely crawling with thousands of frantic insects, except for his glaring eyes, creating the slightly surreal image of a demonic shadow rising from the ground.
"This isn't faaaiiirrr, you know? So many of you against me at once. How about I take you on one at a time?"
The insects on his face scurried away as he grinned, and the whites of his eyes and teeth contrasting with his crawling insect-clad body made him look like some sort of nightmarish black yeti.
"Let's start with Mr. Awesome, shall we?"
And suddenly, they heard them. All around town, an array of screams, shouts, breaking glass, splintering wood, chaos.
"I've just taken about half the citizens hostage." He explained, "If you don't believe me, see for yourself. Because I'll be waiting at the other end of town for whoever wants to fight me."
He flashed them one last grin before his whole form exploded into a fountain of flies that escaped into the air, beetles and cockroaches that scuttled away in all directions across the ground, and maggots that dug their way into the earth.
Cern Maximum Power Unrefined Vector Force Cern/Infinity Penguin member is offline
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Re: The Justice of the Mercenaries « Result #7 on Dec 12, 2009, 9:34am »
"...Something tells me it can't have been that simple." Sunny looked around. "It does feel like there's something we missed..." Eddie admitted.
And then they realised. All the scattered insects which Eddie had escaped death in the fight gathered up again, grouping together into a growing black mass until Seth's form was restored. "I told you, it's not that easy to kill me." He grinned. "I'm the Lord of the Flies, after all. Just destroying most of me isn't gonna cut it." "Yeah, well!" Zelox yelled back, slightly disappointed that his finishing blow didn't really work, "It's not that easy to kill us, either! Cause we're awesome!" "No problem. I can kill awesome people, too." "...What?! How the heck do you manage that?" "Cause I'm more awesome!" "No way! You can't be more awesome than me! It's against the law!" "The law?" Eddie raised an eyebrow. "The law of the universe!" "...Just shut up and smash him already like you always do."
However, Zelox's usual straightforward burning punch of determination was parried by a large, shiny black shell that had grown over the mercenary's arm. "Anything insects can do, their king can do better, after all." "Not that impressive, seeing as insects are pretty pathetic to begin with." A gigantic stone tombstone seemed to have appeared out of thin air and crushed Seth Harper flat. "...You know, I still can't figure out for sure what the heck your ability is." Zelox looked warily at Friedrich. "Keep trying, Mr Morphis."
Cern Maximum Power Unrefined Vector Force Cern/Infinity Penguin member is offline
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Re: The Justice of the Mercenaries « Result #8 on Dec 1, 2009, 4:42pm »
"Eddie, Friedeggs, cover for me! I'm going for his head!" Zelox declared. "How do you expect a swordsman to fight off hundreds of tiny insects?!" "That's why you're with me!" Zelox grabbed Eddie's arm and yanked them both through the fog of insects, turning himself to steel to escape their stings.
Eddie was not so fortunate. Too occupied with thoughts of 'get this idiot off me', he allowed an insect to bite him on the leg.
"...!!!" He immediately collapsed and grabbed his heel, screaming. That hurt. That bite really, really hurt. It really, really, really hurt. It felt like someone had gouged a hole the size of a golfball in his skin with a rusty fork, yanked out any trailing sinews by hand, and then forcibly rubbed salt in before filling it with vinegar. Maybe plus an iron nail or two as well. "A-a-a-a-a..." He couldn't get the words out. This hurt even more than getting hit by a truck. His mind was flashing white. "Ffffff---" Yanking the insect off him, he crushed it in his hand before forcing himself to stand, supporting himself on his good leg.
"Oi, Slowpoke! Hurry up!" Zelox yelled. "I'm gonna kill you after this!" Eddie yelled back, bringing himself back to his senses and sending magic to his leg to stop the pain.
"Whoah, you're up." Seth applauded. "Hardly anyone can get up after one of those stings." "My new hate for you just surpassed the pain of the sting." Eddie grimaced through clenched teeth. Kicking off with his good leg, he leapt completely over the cloud of insects and landed next to the mercenary, sending his sword clean through his stomach in a single sweep.
"...Do you really think you can hurt me with something like that?" Seth didn't even bother dodging, because even though the sword went right through him, he wasn't even scratched. "I'm made of insects. Like living sand. Cut me and everything just moves back into place." "..." Eddie didn't reply.
"It's not nice to pick on the weak, you know." Zelox, having somehow found his way through the mass of insects which were now being taken care of by Friedrich, stepped up next to him. "I'm gonna beat you, cause I know your weakness." Both his arms were set aflame. "Don't tell him you know his weakness, you idiot." Eddie sighed. Zelox swung his fist at Seth with a literally blazing speed, but Seth had ducked down even faster, moving to Zelox's side and grabbing his throat with such an intense strength that the thief was too startled to escape.
"Did you know most insects can lift something like ten times their weight?" The mercenary smirked as he tightened the pressure. Zelox tried to turn into fire and escape, but it wasn't working. ...The bugs in his hand! They're eating my magic!
"Looks like the person with the second-highest bounty's the first one to go." Seth laughed, but before he could do anything, Eddie had literally cut in, a giant butcher's knife in hand, and severed the mercenary's arm. "Looks like you've got something to fear from blades after all." The swordsman grinned. Not bad. He'd used a blade that was larger than the width of his arm, so when he cut through it, his arm became completely seperate from the rest of his body and couldn't rejoin. The clamp on Zelox's neck fell apart into a mass of confused insects that the thief hastily tore off with his hands.
"Right! Sunny, hydrogen! Lots of it!" "Gotcha!"
Feeling the density in the air around him change, Eddie held his breath as he continued fighting, and made sure Seth couldn't move out of the area. Any time one of his limbs gave a hint at regrowing, Eddie cleaved it away once again, and crunched the resulting insects underfoot.
"Eddie, go!" He heard the thief's voice and quickly withdrew.
"EAT THIS!" Zelox flicked out a tiny ember from his fingers, causing the whole area around Seth to explode in an intense burst of fire that completely incinerated him.
"Yes! It worked this time!" Zelox pumped his fist.
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Re: The Justice of the Mercenaries « Result #9 on Dec 1, 2009, 3:54pm »
The name probably gave it away, but soon Zelox realised just what that black mass on his arm was. It wasn't a 'mass', per se, but more of an entity made up of hundreds of smaller masses. Yes, if you looked closely when it moved, you could see them. Tiny, six-legged creatures with shining black shells, cluttering and scuttling over each other, biting at Zelox's arm with ravenous fangs.
"FFFFF---!" Zelox immediately pulled his arm backwards and set it aflame, completely burning off any living thing within half a foot of it.
"What's wrong? Scared of insects?" Seth laughed at the thief, evidently amused. "You just caught me by surprise, that's all." Zelox replied. "I'll beat you, just you wait. Nobody challenges Zelox Eduardo Morphis, master thief extraordinnaire, and gets away with it!" "..." A bemused smirk appeared on Seth's face. "Ahh, so it's you with the bounty, eh?" "You bet it is!" "I thought you'd be tougher." "Why you-!" "Shush, Zelox." Friedrich held them back as he talked. "Seth Harper, do you realise that attacking this village would be making an enemy of me, Friedrich Goth, and thus the whole Mercenaries' alliance?" "I won't get scared off that easily." Seth waved off the threat. "I came here to kill, and that's what I'm gonna do." He raised his arms into the air, and they dissolved into a dark, shimmering cloud, almost like black glitter, except for the sharp buzzing sound that it emitted. "So... let's start killing." The cloud exploded outwards, releasing upon the group a vicious swarm of black beetles, each one the size of a large grape. "Keep your bugs to yourself!" Sunny swung her arm, and a gust of wind blew them away. "Stand back. You won't be able to keep them at bay forever." Friedrich stepped in front of Sunny and snapped his fingers. He was suddenly surrounded with what looked like hundreds of tiny steel toothpicks, suspended in the air, before they too darted out and impaled every single on of the insects right through their cores.
There was a small silence as everyone watched the insects fall out of the air like heavy rain. "It's not really fair with so many of you against me." Seth made a face. "I don't think people like you deserve fair treatment." "It was just a comment. Who said I was complaining?" The mercenary grinned again as his arms, which had regrown in a second, dissolved once again into an army of insects.
Cern Maximum Power Unrefined Vector Force Cern/Infinity Penguin member is offline
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Re: The Proud and Noble House of the Dark « Result #10 on Nov 26, 2009, 3:53pm »
The first course was salmon confit. Delicately arranged on the plate, along with caviar, two different sauces in curved lines around the side of the plate, and five leaves of fresh lettuce, it was probably the most expensive thing the party had eaten in months. It was up for debate as to how many of them could enjoy the meal. There were those like Shade, who ignored everything and ate in peace, but most of them could feel the tense atmosphere tying them all down to their seats. There might as well have been a large, ominously ticking clock somewhere - it was the only thing missing from the picture.
Celeste was constantly watching Shadow, who ate with blunt and abrupt cuts of the fork. It was like there was a poisonous inevitability around the table - a silver cloud of needles and hot mercury that was held back by a single thread, which upon snapping would send the whole thing splicing into the table like a released elastic band stretched far beyond its limits. However, this thread held as the cloud polished itself, and before they knew it, the group was eating the main course, a fire-roasted steak, and was trying desperately to pretend nothing was happening as they waited for something to happen.
The minutes of dinner dropped out of the sky, and it was time for dessert. Seb brought in the chocolate lava cake, a small condensed cloud of fluffy patisse filled with oozing molten dark fudge, with a side scoop of light vanilla ice cream. They were eating the last course, and the whole time, none of them had said a word.
Perhaps actually nothing had been planned after all. Soon, the cake was finished, their plates had been taken away, and in a moment they would be able to excuse themselves and "Well, Shadow." Celeste smiled. "You were awfully quiet tonight."
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