Chevaleresse Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 The tank rolls up to the town, and Alexandria parks it outside before lowering the drawbridge, allowing its passengers to get out - including a Cid that was rather too stunned to silence to say much until this point. A group of people, led by Leon, exits the town, gazing up in awe at the massive vehicle. "I, um, found some more strays for you. I see you uh, found your own thing." Leon, Gary, Dimitri, Nyahiro, Ritsu, Soryn, Tesla, Victoria and Ashley are in! "More of them?" Cid - the blonde man with the cigarette from earlier - walks out of the vehicle just in time to respond to Leon. "Where the hell are all of these bastards coming from?" "Who knows? Almost wish we could hold onto them, though; we need more fighters here." "Yup, Heartless are a massive pain in the ass, but whatever. I've got an idea after seeing this thing; remember the plan for tossing 'em out of here? I figure we can just chop the engines off and mount 'em on this tank." At this, Leon looks at the man dubiously. "Look, all we gotta do is hook the boosters up to the engines this thing already has. Magic and all that happy bullshit will do the rest." "Whatever works. Alright, you guys, go say hello or whatever, I don't actually care. Cid will be back shortly with his crew." Cid hops down and follows the brown-haired man into the town. There isn't much time before someone else makes an appearance, however. The sound of labored, but deliberate and heavy footfalls of metal-clod feet are clearly audible, as a massive figure - easily over eight feet tall, walks out from the canyons. His - it looks male, anyway - body is covered in a battered suit of steel plate, with medium-length, ragged hair slicked with sweat and blood. The armor is rusted, and covered in a mix of what looks like it was actual red stripes of paint and dried blood. He leaves a trail of it behind, though less than you'd think given his most startling feature: a veritable armory of weapons jammed into his flesh, to the point where it seems that there is no logical way that he should be capable of breathing, let alone walking about, even if his gait is one of someone who is clearly wounded. He stalks up to the party, golden eyes glowering out at the party silently. Anyone who stared at him for too long could have sworn that, for the briefest moment, he looked exactly like them, except in a state that looked like they were in the midst of dying violently from whatever would have done them in in their native worlds; The Hellfire Knight, for example, who'd gone outside when they stopped with the rest of the group, saw herself, armor torn to pieces, venting plasma that scorched her flesh as her Favor ran out. She gasped slightly in startlement, blasting those listening with static, and shook her head - when she looked again, he was back to being the impaled warrior that had walked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonRage Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) "Hm." Something in Alexandria's forehead flashes briefly as she gazes down at Gwaedu. "No signs of malfunctions or abuse that I can detect. Whatever has rendered her silent is not physical in nature. I would suggest talking to her. Even if she doesn't respond, I am certain she is listening. A good anti-virus program might not be a bad idea either, if you have one compatible with her OS. I am not saying I think she has picked up some malicious code, but a little preventative maintenance never hurt anyone, and my physical scans wouldn't pick up a software problem." Upon exiting the vehicle and viewing the battered knight, Alexandria sees her blue box, the core of her being, cracked and shattered. Behind her broken frame, the town, then the continent, then the planet, the entire galaxy, and finally the universe itself are consumed in fire and darkness as a profoundly disturbing sound rises over the crackling flames, four voices cackling gleefully from a single throat. Edited January 23, 2017 by Zoe_Walker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Kyle exits with everyone else to see the townsfolk. The he sees the walking murder case. He looks around to the others before turning back and seeing... himself, shot dead. The blood on the front of his shirt implying he was shot through the back. Understandably he backs away from the giant's path. Less, or perhaps equally understandably, he pulls out a grenade and starts to pull the pin. It's pretty obvious he's intending to throw it if someone doesn't stop him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powder Miner Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) Isobel walked out with everyone else, briefly marvelling at the strange canyons of this world once again, and then turned to see the warrior. Her visage very quickly turned to one of some level of fear as she looked at the giant, bloody, wreck of a warrior, as is only natural. God, what happened? What was this? How does this happen to someone?! And then when her concern and fear morphed into staring too long, she let out a terrified shriek and turned away her sight as quickly as she could-- --floating, exploding as the low pressure of a station breach takes its toll, shot full of holes by a Syndicate operative, disemboweled by a bloody, glowing sword, or perhaps atomized by the blast of a nuke. Perhaps poisoned, gasping on the floor as hallucinations dance before her eyes, or burned into a screaming crisp as plasma fire rages across the station, grabbed by a man in blue robes and turned into dust and a skeleton instantly, or vomiting over and over as her body twisted and changed from radiation-- And she was broken from her reverie by: "Yeah, I gotta say, it's a real trip to see Stabby here turn into this tiny little smashed pAI card then turn back into an eight-foot-tall pincushion. This guy friendly?" Edited January 23, 2017 by Powder Miner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonRage Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 An automated alarm shakes Alexandria out of her vision. KYLE ALERT! KYLE ALERT! Before her processor catches up to her sensors, she's already clamped a hand around his and the grenade, crushing them into immobility without actually breaking them. The ancient android takes a second to figure out what she's seeing, and she slaps Kyle across the face. "Stop throwing grenades around your allies for no slagging reason! Give me that!" Maintaining a firm grip on his forearm, she pulls the grenade away from him and crushes it like a soda can. "What part of friendly fire do you not understand? That thing gives you trojans through visual contact, and you want to redline it? Are you insane, or just suicidal?" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinwolf Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) Before the tank stopped: "H-Hikari Takino." Hikari responds, bowing quickly. She didn't want to be impolite. "Nice to meet you." "Ivory." says the ethereal figure besides her. Post-stoppage: Hikari had ran out... and stops in her tracks. She saw... quite a few things in the knight. She saw herself ran through by four different spears. Chopped to bits by axes. Slashed by swords. Electrocuted by lightning, cut to ribbons by razor winds, burnt to cinder by fire. All painful and possible deaths within Idolaspheres, and ones she'd kept herself and allies from suffering. Poisoned, bleeding out. Decapitated. No... she should have prevented this... it was her job. Then just herself. Not a physical death, but a death of her soul. Standing there. With grey-tinged skin, tendrils of black where the veins would be creeping up her face, violet eyes. Laughing in an echoed voice that did not belong to her. A black aura around her. Her friends... she'd failed. They'd all failed. To stop the evil Mirages. They were all possessed and the rest of the world would be too and it was her fault and- A ghostly hand. "Hikari. Be calm." Hikari sucked in a breath and the still horrifying, but not paralyzingly so impaled knight stood. Hikari couldn't see Ivory's expression behind her mask. But the way she gripped her spear told her Ivory had seen something too. ----------------------------------------------------------------- One of the newbies (well, new to the situation, if not the sort of life being in it will lead too) had waved when the party exited the tank. Victoria had been hoping they had some answers. She'd pursued a Witch into a labyrinth, and now she was here. She'd never seen a Witch that could so accurately recreate people, so she was forced to believe it was reality. And then the knight. Decapitation was the least horrifying of her deaths. Eaten dead. Eaten alive. Stretched apart, stabbed, gutted, turned into a monster, slashed to pieces, swiss cheese with bullet-shaped holes, choked to death... intellectually she knew these mostly wouldn't work. Not while the damn hunk of rock was intact. She still couldn't seperate herself from humanity in that way. She saw the gem shattered too but it hardly effected her. She took in a breath. That was all it took - years in the Labyrinths had told her how to know what was real and what was fake, at least sometimes. Edited January 23, 2017 by Twinwolf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endlessblaze Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Argent walked out and noticed the guy. He saw himself impaled on a holy spear....then a glimpse of him pushing his holy power to hard and killing himself. He's a little freaked out. But tries not to show it. "uhhhh hi" (uh are you seeing this?) (I see what you see...and also my own death. It's very strange to see two illusions laying over themselves like that) luckily it dosent last long....but the impaled figure is still creepy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 The massive figure fixes Kyle with a withering glare before turning his head to face the center of the party once again, slowly, almost as if it caused the being pain. "Do you know why you are here?" The voice was deep, extremely so, but not so deep as to sound inhuman; the ragged, gravelly tone wasn't the sort one heard out of demons and monsters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Henderics Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) Mar sees himself, bloddied and bruised, full of bullet holes and Sparking with an electrical Status ailment of some kind. HIs Arms are missing, He cares not. Mar backs up in shock. Edited January 23, 2017 by Hal Henderics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amoris Verienium Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) Kenta who is holding a list (that he has now folded into one of those fortune folder thingies) walks up and glances at the towering warrior (he'd been hanging out in the back of the crowd). For a breif moment he thinks he's tripping on some form of acid or that his eyes are playing tricks on him because his roommate stands above him a dagger dripping in blood. It's no suprise to him that he has seen his death or some twisted version of it. "Trippy. Can you do anything else?" He asks nonchelantly as he does one of the folds labled ginger. His mind playing the image of his death trying to find a form of reasoning in it. Edited January 23, 2017 by Amoris Verienium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endlessblaze Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Argent shifts uncomfortably "not particularly no...something about monsters?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) Edmond had exited the castle first when it halted, and was not surprised by the appearance of yet more people. We'll have a veritable army here... He was contemplating whether to forego introductions once more, or to spend the time, when one more figure appeared. It took a moment to process what he saw. A man...wait...he's been stabbed! Edmond took a step forward, but then caught himself. There's no way he could be alive with that many impalements. It must be some sort of magic? He averted his eyes momentarily, avoiding the gruesome spectacle, but he soon found his eyes inexorably drawn to the bloody figure. His slowly lifted his face once more to gaze upon the living corpse. He gasped, and then choked, for the man was no longer there. In his place was...Edmond himself. A copy, identical in every natural feature: short, coarse brown hair, the same green eyes, a slightly crooked mouth, and the standard Gliesian combat uniform. There was but one considerable discrepancy; he was dying. He had a contorted grimace on his face; the normally lively green eyes had lost their life, and spoke only of fear. His hair was matted over his face, slick with sweat, and he covered his chest and stomach with clenched fists. He stumbled, groaning, towards Edmond. He was not attacking, but fleeing--fleeing from something unseen, yet terrifying beyond all rational thought. Death... That was it. There were three holes of medium size through his torso, slightly singed around the edges, but still leaking blood through the mirror-Edmond's clenched fingers. As Edmond stared in horrified fascination, there was a small squelch as a fourth projectile shot through the figure accompanied by a sickening sound of his arm being torn off and falling limply in the ground, where it lay oozing. He could see nothing except the figure, but somehow he could tell that his comrades were dead or dying, subject to the same pain and fear that he was. He could feel the pain of leaving behind all those he loved, and for a moment, he had trouble distinguishing between himself and the imposter. The figure in front of him stumbled towards him as the life vanished completely from it's eyes. Aghhh. Wha...I can't die yet...not...not now? He stumbled backwards his nose stinging with the acrid smell of burning flesh, and in doing so, the figure returned to his previous form. That existential dread still hung like a cloud over him, and he felt for all the world as though he himself were dying at that very moment. He had known, when he joined the corps that death was the most likely option for him. He knew that he was fighting for those who meant something to him, and he had told himself that he was willing to die for them. But there was nothing that had truly prepared him for the abject horror of the life fleeing from his own eyes. Would anyone be prepared for that? There are those who are willing to die for their cause...and those who would live in unending pain for their cause... Edmond had always considered himself a selfless person, and even considered himself to be somewhat brave. He had considered the some of his best character traits....but I'm not. I'm not brave, not selfless...I should not be here. I am not fit to do this. He stood a moment, breathing raggedly. When the tall figure posed his question though, a faint spark illuminated the somber thoughts that rushed through Edmond's consciousness. Wait. I came...I was brought here for a reason. Someone...or something, called me here, summoned me. They made a choice, and had a reason for it. I was chosen out of a possibly infinite number of people. They chose me. Why? Edmond could not say, but that single thought sustained him, and he tried to shake off the misery. He could go on. "Somewhat. We've been summoned from many places to fight...something. I don't know more", he spoke quietly; still shaken, but not broken. Edmond attempted to steady himself, looking directly at the gore-coated figure. Edited January 23, 2017 by Strider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amoris Verienium Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 " Save the world, Kick some ass?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 "No offense, but if it didn't want a fight it shouldn't be showing up looking OBVIOUSLY EVIL! Seriously, I was looking at a giant impaled with a bunch of weapons, then I see myself shot in the fucking back. Somehow I'M the unreasonable one for trying to get rid of it? Y'all need to gitchur fuckin' processors check if you're thinkin' that attacking isn't the best option here!" Kyle's not very much interested in the giant now given his teammate's insistence on removing his method of self defense and then having the gall to smack him for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonRage Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) "Right now, to keep this idiot from killing things that don't need killing. Like us. And himself," Alexandria attempts to slap Kyle again. While he manages to dodge, the kick he lays into her armored 'dress' probably hurt him worse than her hand would have. "In the larger sense, I have my suspicions. Assuming that someone has gathered us here for reasons other than their own entertainment, logically they must have some task we are expected to perform. Considering the incredibly diverse capabilities and backgrounds of the assembled individuals, that task must be quite difficult. There are too many of us for a raid or fetch quest, and not enough to defeat an army of any potency. If I had to guess, an incursion of the Nameless Ones has gotten out of hand, or the Cystari found a way to breach the boundaries that separate the worlds. The Nameless are statistically more likely, as it is theorized that they can appear on any world they wish. But considering my luck it's probably the Cystari, because those things are a lot tougher to fight." Edited January 23, 2017 by Zoe_Walker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustytengo Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Bridgett fallowed everyone out of the castle to be greeted by more people brought to them by Leon. But that wasn't all after a few moments after the villagers and whatnot left the area a large man clad in armor approached the group loudly. Looking the way of the man Bridgett saw a bright flash and then all was dark as she fell to the ground fainting from what ever vision she saw as Mornings Arrow called out to her "My Lady My Lady". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrorious Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) Gary looked toward the magnificent castle in awe. one minute it wasn't there, the next it was. it had more detail than he had ever seen in such large build... in fact, he had never seen anything that big able to be self-propelled. almost more fascinating were the other... mobs?... around him, as well as the things exiting the enormous moving structure. they were not like anything Gary had seen before, though, they seemed like a more detailed version of another person... one of them caught his eye a bit more than the others... a being only about 0.75 blocks taller than he was, but covered in armor.... and the weapons... sticking out of him like they did out of Gary after a fight with a skeleton spawner in which the spawner won. suddenly, a view of Gary's death, a fall into the void in the end, flashed before his eyes; causing him to flinch. the mobs, or people or whatever they were, started to speak... surprisingly, Gary could understand the language... it was not often that mobs in the various worlds Gary had gone to made sounds he could understand... and never had they spoke, just made odd sounds like animals or things of the undead... these mobs were truly interesting... they were sentient all by themselves! no simple behavior behind them like everything else he had seen! even the Villagers from his overworld were only able to speak a few key phrases before starting repeating themselves, but these mobs were talking to one another intelligently. they appeared to have had similar glimpses of their own deaths based on their reactions to the mysterious mob, and they even were socializing... a few even fighting! this couldn't be the world he awoke in 5 days ago... "He-Hello?!" Gary called to the mobs before him. "Wh-What is this place?" Edited January 23, 2017 by Astrorious Fixed meta things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Kyle drops to the ground when the robot goes to slap him again. While it does leave him awkwardly dangling for a moment it's much better than suffering the indignity of being harmed for trying to defend himself by someone who was supposed to be his ally. To make his displeasure with his treatment known he helpfully kicks the robot in the knee. Well, it's more of a stomp really, but still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalkerkain Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Soryn Éclaire - Town At the very sight of the wounded man, Soryn hissed, his fangs baring wide, his pupils dilating and turning red. He leapt back in fear, as what lay before him, was no one other than himself. Pierced through and through, with lances of light. His hair stood on ends, his nails extended into pointed blades, his mind racing in vehement denial. Even if he knew this was some form of mind manipulation, anything capable of doing so was dangerous beyond imagination. His eyes never let up from the imagery. Unknowingly, he had blinked at some point in time, and in that instant, the vision was over. It was nothing more than a wounded man. Nothing more... Sweat ran down his brow, as his labored breathing slowly steadied itself. "Hallucination? Mind Control? Premonition?" Soryn's mind raced, as it ran through the possibilities. No matter how he tried to rationalize it, he couldn't find a proper explanation. In his hundreds of years of life (or undeath), he had not experienced such fear. And then, the man spoke. Magna Sigyl - Outside the castle The castle slowly came to a halt, as did Magna's conversation with Snow. It seemed wherever the castle was being directed, they had reached their destination. Originally, she had wanted to continue talking with Snow, but the commotion outside was simply too chaotic to ignore. With her curiosity getting the better of her, she walked outside to see what was going on. At first, she didn't know what everyone was freaking out about, until her eyes fell upon the wounded... man? S-skeleton... undoubtedly... it was herself. Next to her, appeared to be a... human? Staring at the person, her feet went cold. Her mind was in a state of confusion. What she saw before her eyes, was Magna's soul being dragged out of her. What human was capable of such a feat? Her head ached, the more she stared at the human. She seemed so familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on it. She wanted to study her assailant's face longer, but the vision proved to be too much, as Magna's mind temporarily shut off it's reception in defense. She wasn't aware of it doing so, but it was a fail-safe in case a reaper should have gone AWOL. Something she was never informed of, when she became a reaper. It was a temporary lapse of unconsciousness, but Magna soon woke up to the sound of the man's voice. It asked a question, but she was still too addled to process it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powder Miner Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) LOTUS' tone starts off jokingly enough. "Haha, are you one of those mysterious half-existing beings that pops in and out and questions motivations and shatters lights and stuff? Not my first rodeo with those." There's a pause for a while, before LOTUS speaks again, his half-electronic voice a long sigh. "But no, I haven't got the slightest idea. Noone clued me in, though apparently I hear there's something going on with monsters, or something like that. Low information, cut off from the uplink, I'm stuck in a veritable void of data here. I hate it, too. You about to clue me in, Stabby? Not going to lie, if you're not here to violently murder me or Low, I'd enjoy that greatly." There's a long silence from Isobel, still very shaken by the very gruesome vision she'd been shown, before she speaks up herself. "I-- I-- I don't know. I don't have any idea why I'd suddenly end up so far from home. Bluespace? Something like that? I don't know... oh God..." Isobel than awkwardly fell silent, and hugged herself, still legitimately terrified by the visions of her death. Edited January 23, 2017 by Powder Miner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntSys Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) The castle stopped moving as soon as Halley asked Kenta. The others were already on the move, so she couldn't stay to find out what was exactly in the bag. It's not like this is the last time she saw the castle, right? She left the castle through the drawbridge, and followed the group to the town. She would've greeted the newcomers, but a horrifying figure stood before her. It was a Reploid cleanly sliced in half from the waist, suspended in place. The cut seemed to be made by a beam sword. Upon closer look, she saw herself, the expressions on the face reeks of agony and shock. Killed in a duel? Caught during an escape? "Ha... I've prepared for this for my entire life! You can't scare me from reaching my goal, to be a full-fledged Maverick Hunter!" She recovered from the brief shock, and yelled at the figure. The figure's form changed into a bloody giant, and asked the party. "Why? To form the greatest anti-heartless team there is, of course!" She bluffed an answer out of nowhere. Man, we could call it Team Heartful! Edited January 23, 2017 by IntSys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Henderics Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Mar, as always, makes the reasonable answer. "I don't know well enough to tell you. Are you here to enlighten us?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonRage Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) "Oh, no you don't. You are not wiggling out of this one," Alexandria yanks on Kyle's arm, attempting to drag him to his feet, "You have proven resistant to being treated as a responsible and intelligent adult, so allow me to lay it out for you, you glitch-minded, team-killing, ungrateful imbecile! Since we have arrived here you have done nothing save endanger the lives of people who have been consistently friendly towards yourself, solicited aid for your own personal projects as though we are your personal legion of automaton slaves with no promise of recompense, or even acknowledgement that our lives have meaning to you beyond the services we might provide, and you repeatedly attempt to get yourself crippled or killed!" She raises her hand quickly, producing a shockwave of air, before catching herself and visibly slowing down the next slap to humiliate rather than damage. "When I slap you, you shall take it and like it!" Edited January 23, 2017 by Zoe_Walker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeonVermillion Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Leon exit the castle just like everyone else. His vision began blurring as he sees something. What the hell is this...? In his vision Leon walk closely to a corpse stabbed with his own sabers on the back. That's- That's me! What the hell happen here! He saw someone he's mostly afraid of, laughing maniacally, as she killed someone No. no. No. no. Nononono!!! This can't be happening! I-I-!" He just saw his biggest nightmare. Not his death, as he feels indifferent with it, the death of his loved one is something he's afraid of. The vision then just stopped. Leon is breathing heavily after what he just saw. What was that...? What the hell does the vision trying to tell me?! Is it... is it how it would happen or... Now, Leon is trying to pull himself together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 For Kyle was just glaring as he took the second slap as he had to. But something about that last sentence really pissed him off. If Alexandria had very precise sensors in her hands she would notice one of her "Hostage's" finish clenching. "I'd rather lose my hands." He wouldn't of course. And the threat was only that, a threat. It'd hurt like a bitch to have his hands greanaded but at least it'd prove his point that no, his grenades never had a chance of hurting anyone but him. And everyone knows that explosives don't actually blow off body parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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