Build

The mask gave a mental shrug that was felt all the way through it's mindscape. "So be it. I will return you to your original stren--"

"Oy! Holdd onn now masky-poo!" There was a loud whistle that could have shattered glass as Bang pulled through the demonic carnival astride a mini-miniature train. "We barely have enough power to cause a small town to go insanee. Why should we helpp this punk? We should just let him feed on the small fries around here till he thinkss he has power."

"No Bang. You know the code. If he swears in the old language he cannot go back on his word. I will give him power. He will hold his side of the bargain," The mask rumbled. "Do you accept?"

Bang was muttering under his breath about inconsiderate, inanimate objects and power trips.

-------------------------

Dee stopped his fidgetting with the mechman and looked at the readouts on the screen. 30% is all its at? Great looks like I'm gonna be baby sitting for awhile.

In the cafeteria Caleb had been silent ever since the crystal cat had come through on Bladewing's shoulder. He had alot to think about. If Dax was back that could mean trouble. . .and were Dax showed up that psychopath did also, and that would be trouble.

He flexed his arm, "What do you think Wolffe? Can we trust any of these newcomers? Or should we stick to the old guys?"

Scarlet Eye had entered the mask. . .no biggie right? Wrong. As a Chaos elemental he had the ability to affect the mask's mental realm in anyway he pleased, with the mask's approval that is. The mask, on the other hand, had a mind of it's own and wasn't pleased that someone had decided to interfere in it's takeover of the only human capable of using it's power.

The mask's side of the mental scape was made of nothing but blinding white light, there was no up or down, left or right. Bang's side looked like something out of Walt Disney's worst nightmare, a demonic Disney World so to speak.

A voice seemed to ring from everywhere and nowhere, "Why are you here youngling? Do you seek to return to me? Do you wish for my power? Do you want to see the future, or the past? Do you want to be taller? I can do all these and more. I ask only that you do not interfere with my allocation of this human."


-------------------------------

Dax looked around, Bang had stopped his usual skip jump crap and began to shake uncontrollably. "You think that's gonna be a problem, swordsman?" Dax asked as he sat on his haunches looking at Bladewing.

((Devs can see you when you're sleeping and know when youre awake. Looks like you had one playing a stalker or one with some form of Dev invisibility in your mission))

OOC:

Yeah I know what you mean Dev. That's why I have been limiting my chars powers. Yeah Bang is a "God" and Dax is the lord of the Shard, but right now Bang isn't even half powered compared to when he is in the other threads and Dax has no control over the Shard while he isn't in it.

Bang's power will be even further limited after the battle, so no worries there. Dax will stay in cat form for all if not most of this RP so and while in that he is nowhere near his humanoid strength.

The psychotic Bang suddenly appeared before the chaos elemental. He gently lay a hand on the creatures left shoulder.
"Itt appearss we gott off on the wrongg foot child. Let me show you where you came from and maybe you can understand a little better how weak I currently am."

He ran one thumb over the elementals single eye. All of a sudden images that seemed to take an eternity and no time at all seemed to pass through his mind. The gods of the old court arguing. The jester joking. The very small form of Rularuu kneeling before all of them. The chaos god drinking from the All Father's glass.

The Jester tricking the other gods into giving their power over to the human world, either by taking avatars or becoming eathereal powers. Then the Jester getting bored and deciding to realease his power on the world. He took his mask off and dropped it into the human world. More shining lights than could be counted flew from his face, each one a Chaos Elemental, and each one a bundle of fun.

Bang smile as he removed his hand and struck at the elemental with the dagger clasped in his other hand.

Dude. . .shoulda put that on the blaster boards.

Forgotten Zone

The mask hungrily lapped up the chaos energy that was blasted at it. Then the mask melted. What you expected something more? Too bad. The melted metal pooled on the ground. Then the pool began to travel up the jester's leg.

The mask ended up on his face, masking all of his facial features. The mask was only at a quarter of its original power when the chaos crystal struck him between the eyes. With a flash, the ragged homeless man was gone. In his place stood a figure that gave Joan of Arc nightmares, and made the good King Arthur tremble in his sleep.

His clothing had changed to royal purple and black jester's pants, shirt, boots, and hat. He gave a very deep bow to the elemental, his face first touching the ground and then being absorbed into it.

The concrete sidewalk gave a slurping noise as he straightened. "OY! Little elemental, wee now havee a little more equal terms," Bang said as he merrily skipped from one foot to the other.

Then all at once the chaos energy that Scarlet Eye had been so greedily drinking seemed to abruptly cease then multiply by a thousand. "It's tooo badd kiddo, wee could have been friendss in anotherr. . .actually I probably stilll wouldd have endedd up killing you," The jester said as the residual psychic energy in the air seemed to coalesce into a single point and be fired at the elemental.

------------------------------------

The crystal cat leapt off of Bladewing's back after the saurian threw the chaos crystal. The cat performed a few aerial manuevers before all four of its paws landed on the ground. The crystal cloud that always hovered around him separated and formed a type of reflective pipe between the two combatants that would help control their energy.

"I suggest you vacate.You are dealing with three overlords. I am Dax of the Shard. He is Bang, new god of chaos. And my finely scaled friend over there can destroy entire star systems," The cat said. Luckily the elemental didn't know any of the major weaknesses that could cripple any of them.

The crystalline cat began to glow with a radiance that was bright enough to hurt the eyes. It stood on all fours in the middle of Bladewing's back. The crystal cloud that always hovered around him seemed to become thicker the nearer they got to the psychic vortex.

"Don't worry about Bang. He may be pure Chaos, but he has never forcibly went out of his way to harm those who seek to help him. . .unless you count the Venesuela incident. No one ever counts that though," the cat joked lightly, some of his old humor had returned at the aspect of battle.


-------------------------------

King's Row/Forgotten Zone

Clown took no notice of those who fell around him. The chaos energies that were being absorbed into the mask were already causing him to change, it became evident as a very large dead rat fell into his mouth and was promptly swallowed whole.

The mask began to glow with a malevolent sheen from his belt. All at once Clown's entire demeanor changed, "OY! Poppet, youu pickedd the wrong placee to decide to release thatt!"

Yeah that's right the one that Dax and Bladewing are searching so hard for is a senile homeless man. Yep surprises never cease.

((Currently the mask is clipped to his belt, not hanging from his face. He has yet to reach that point.))

The crystal cat gave an all too human shrug, "It looks as if the base is well taken care of. I believe I shall travel with you, should bring back some old memories."

The cat had looked around the cafeteria as they passed through, the look on Caleb's face was priceless when he had seen the green crystal. Yes he recognized it, and he knew the power the cat contained--it scared the hell out of him.

--------------------------

Kings Row/Forgotten Zone

Clowns head rotated even more. He could feel it. The power that was his lifes blood. . .but it was weaker by a thousand times than his mask. He could feel the man. For it was a man through all intents and purposes no matter how greatly he had been warped by the power of the Chaos energies.

A wry smile cracked his lips and his mask glowed even brighter. You see, the mask had a thirst for the energy that could disrupt anything and everythin. And as the man got closer he would feel his chaotic power being siphoned, eaten by the mask.

Before long Clown would have enough power to transform, even partway would be enough to take out one of the large monsters that roamed freely in Paragon. If his mask ever recieved enough power to put him at fifty percent of his strength he would become what he once was.


And if his mask became fully energized everyone would know, no matter what their ability of sensing ethereal things. A skip and a Bang would be all it would take.

"Caleb will know. The guy always knows. And yeah I know that crystal, it's effects are greater on me than on a human. So keep it a good distance away from me," The crystal cat thought at 'Wing, his origin cluster glowed faintly.


-----------------------------------

Forgotten Zone/Kings Row

The man named Clown's head snapped around at such a speed and angle that any normal persons neck would have been broken.

He let out a coarse laugh, his mask had began to glow a faint silver in color, "Well chaps, looks like I may bee gettinn a little boosty boost!"

Bastion Cafeteria

The ethereal Arran motioned his arm, the crates began flowing out of the door. "Well men, since it appears my assistance is no longer needed, I believe I will take my leave and begin going through the supplies that Master Bladewing brought us. But we still have concerns over both food and purification tablets."

Arran motioned again and began a slow, leisurely float out of the room.

------------------------

Bastion Crypt

Dee reviewed the readouts his monitor was displaying about the current metabolic situation of Marty. Twnety percent of the drugs had already been detoxed out of the scrappers body. It wouldn't have even proggressed that far if it hadn't been for the fighter's healing factor amplifying the neutrinos being filtered into his body.

Dee was almost tired of having to keep a tank on reserve for the knuckle head.

------------------------------

Bladewing's Base

The cat hopped off the raised stone pedistal he had been setting on. He lazily walked around the meditation pool to the waiting saurian in that way cats had that always seemed like they were doing it because they knew it would annoy you.

"The Court had a falling out 'Wing. Jonas figured out how to become a conduit for all the Dark Worlds power. To do this he needed all of our compliance. We went along because we trusted him, our mistake. He used Kaega's immortality and Arget as a focal point. He used me to amplify and contain the energy. He used Build to create a device that would keep the portal open. He used Bang to offset the order the other people had brought with his Chaos power. And with that he defeated us all." The crystal cat said as he stared deeply into the sword weilder's eyes.

"No, I don't know where Bang has gone. Rest assured he will still be alive even after all of this time. I believe I would like to see this hero base, I know there is still one out there, there always is. I would ask of you one thing though, do not let them know that I am any more than a strange cat. A familiar if you will. It would be alot easier for both of us that way," The cat said as it gave a leap and came to rest on the sword weilder's shoulder.

Dax shrugged, his crystal body not making a sound. He felt the mental tug of the Scarlet Eye and shrugged it off, impossible for any normal thing to do but the crystal was nowhere near what people would call normal. He had afterall lived with an actual Chaos God for the better part of a century before he had went to sleep.

Dax's humanoid crystal form shifted and changed, the excess crystal 'flesh' slothed off and formed a cloud around him as he turned into a very familiar form he had used many times in the past. He went down on all fours and his body took of the shape of a glowing green house cat. A diamond shaped patch of brilliantly energized crystal appeared on his forehead.

The cat took a long leap from his main floating crystal to several smaller ones. The cat seemed to smile as he simply dissapeared.


-----------------------------

Bladewing's Base

A cat suddenly appeared across from the dark saurian sitting on it's haunches. It seemed to lazily scratch behind an ear as it addressed the master of this realm.

"Good evening 'Wing. Been awhile hasn't it? Don't really have a perception of time anymore. Last I heard Kaega and the others were battling in another dimension. Are there any defenders of the Code left or are all the greats gone?" The cat said as he stopped scratching.

--------------------------

Bastion

Dee flopped the unconscious form of Marty into a rejuvenation/detox tank. He closed the lid and began to pump the glowing green liquid into the pod.

He shrugged a little as he went back to work on dissassembling the Mech Man.

----------------------------

King's Row?/Forgotten Zone

The gangs were all gone. So were the people. Arachnos couldn't find a good use for this section of Paragon and had closed the borders to it. The only thing left were the homeless and the forgotten. Oh and we can't forget the Lost, they considered this an ample breeding ground.

A man wearing a tattered shirt and once purple and black jesters pants stumbled from an alleyway. Behind him lay the corpses of a Lost group that thought he would be easy pickings, each had a nice shiny dagger sticking from their throats. He continued up the street mumbling about his lost hat.

At his belt hung a silver mask which seemed to have an eternally smiling face on it. His white scraggly hair was very visible as his british accent carried up the street to a group of the Degected.

"Hey Clown. Come join us around the fire. You look like you are having one of your more coherent days friend," said a man that was standing around a burning barrel, his overcoat had turned brown and was frayed at the edges. He had been a proffessor at a nearby university till everything had went south.

"Yeah Mick, I hate the days when I can think. It always hurts the most," The man they called Clown said in his unmistakably Brittish accent.

He joined the others at the fire. No one asked him any questions about his past, they knew he wouldn't answer and that he would probably leave. Considering that he was one of the last people left that helped them they all knew that if it weren't for him they would all be Lost.

The three DWC members acted at once in tandem. Kaega took a defensive stance, his swords bloodlust could not only be used as a weapon but also as a shield. Bang happily basked in the energy thinking that it might kill him, since he had never died before this seemed like a good way to kill boredom.

Dax turned his crystals to intercept and channel the energy barring down on him. He used the energy to enhance his energy shield and energize his punches. At the same time he increased his density. (Think of him now as being able to us Total Focus x Knockout blow and Invincibility x Energy Armor. Yeah I know I'm a bad guy mixing powers like that.)

The psychic scream not only had reached other continents. It had reached a place outside of this world once called the Shadow Shard. Rularuu was gone, and so were all of his other selves. They had finally been defeated and the Shard needed a new lord to over see it.

All most all of the floating islands were heavily veined, or had completely become glowing green crystal. As the shockwave tore through this world, the crystal vibrated. A consciousness that had long slept was awakened and a small part of the crystal fields began flowing together. The origin cluster separated itself from the others and summoned a body it hadn't had to use in over twenty years.

This body was the reason that neither heroes nor villains were welcome in the Shard. Since it had been so rudely awakened from it's sleep of growth, it was angry very angry.

Dax looked up at the glowing light green sky and smiled in such away that even the hardest of men would have shuddered. He had forgotten how much fun it was to not be omnipotent in his own world.

A look crossed his face, something that said he either had remembered something long forgotten or he had realized something he had never thought of. He could feel the energy of the only person other than DWC members that could fight on equal standing with him. Who knows, maybe the saurian could feel that he had awakened after such along time.

"'Wing. . ."

Caleb walked through the portal carrying two very large, ver heavy crates. He set the crates on the ground and nodded to the spectral Arran.

"We got some new play things for you and Dee, try not to break them," Caleb said with a shrug as he set one of the large crates onto one of the tables, which gave a stressed groan.

Arran shrugged as he motioned at the crates, levitating them out of Bladewings control and toward the open door, "I'll take those from here my dark saurian friend."

Caleb flopped down in a seat at the table adjacent to the two otherworlders, "I see you've already started fitting in. From the looks on Target and E's faces you've already been aquainted. No worries, we don't harm people in Bastion unless provoked."

Arran was staring at the runes Blade had placed on Caleb's body. He waved his insubstantial hands through the air and the martial artist's limiter suit appeared with a flash, "I think you'll be more comfortable in this."

He tossed the suit across to the scrapper. The suit moved like quicksilver over the scrapper's body, canceling the effects of his immense amount of chakra and erasing the runes. "Thanks Ar. How's Marty? He hurt anyone?"

"No Dee and I got in within enough time to save everyone the trouble of fighting him. He should be in a rejuvination tank now," The ghost said as he levitated in small circles above the table at which Energon and Target sat.

Caleb popped his knuckles and went to make a cup of coffee, "The bottle of pills he took is laying on the floor over there. Analyse it if you can."

Arran waved an arm and the bottle joined the levitating crates.

By this point Marty was laying on the ground, gibbering incoherently as small energy waves eminated from his extremities. He kept muttering under his breath about "kill bodies blood." All of this was being recorded by the bases security devices.

The footage was rerouted to the bowls of the base, to an area referred to as the Crypt. The Crypt was the area in the base where all of the salvaged parts and new defences were created and stored. Two men moved about in the gloom, One was a giant the other an insubstantial ghost.

"So Arran? Think we should go help Marty. I mean the guy is a dick but we still need to help so the base doesn't get anymore damaged than it already is," The giant said as he twisted a bolt in the side of a disabled Mech-man.

"Well Dee, it's your call. Youre my muscle after all," Arran said as he floated over Arran's shoulder.

"Yeah well. . .fine dude lets do it," Dee said as he ran his hand through his curly black hair in a nervous habit.

----------------------------------

The pair walked into the cafeteria. Arran floated over the crazed scrapper. He ran his hands through Marty's upper body, he used this as his method of examination.

"Well Dee, looks like a drug overdose. Power manipulators, nasty stuff man. We need to get him to the infirmory, drop him in a stasis tank till the effects wear off," The ghost said as he turned his head in a full 360degree turn to look at the giant.

"All right. Let's get this over with fast," Dee said as he brought a fist down on the side of Marty's head in a super strength powered punch. He rubbed a hand down his grease stained white t-shirt.

He picked the scrapper's limp form off the ground and nodded to Wolffe as he walked out of the door. Arran was left floating in the air, he turned and floated to levitate beside Wolffe.

"So you must be our new visitors. If it hasn't been expressed already, welcome to Bastion. So how has your welcoming gone?" Arran said as he picked at a bit of invisible fluff that was literaly invisible.

((Arran has a light blue aura surrounding his body. He is roughly 5'8" when he touches the ground and is wavers in the air. He is clothed in medievil armor except for his head, he has a hawk like face.))

Caleb nodded toward the dark saurian then said to Marty, "Take care bud. You don't need anymore blood on your hands."

Caleb, bare foot and blue jeaned, walked through the portal after his friend. He couldn't help but to hope that Marty would be okay in mind and body. The other's in the room seemed more than able to hold the crazed scrapper till the martial artist returned.

Bang gleefully began whistling a quick jig as he danced in place with a skeleton. Who knows where the skeleton came from, Bang had a tendency of having odd things in his hands.

"OY! You with the snazzy accent. Ever heard this before," The jester kicked the bottom out from under the skeleton leaving only the skull. He held the skull out infront of his body, "Alas poor Ulrich, I knew him well."

Bang flipped the skull through the air at a group of whisps were it detonated with the force of an anti-tank round. Kaega just shook his head, the jester was always a hoot to have around, but some of his antics were down right confusing.

Kaega flipped Arget over his shoulder and into the back of someone's head. "OY! Getyer ever lovin sharp-painfull-sword-of-destruction outa me bleedin skull, you neva know I may needsit one day."

Kaega used Bang's back as a spring board, he pulled the sword out halfway through the flip, and leveled a wave of bloodlust at a group of dazed Rularuu. Who knew where Dax had gone.

"I got no idea 'Wing. I've never seen him react like that before. Psychic attack? Mind control? Bad Coffee? Who knows man," Caleb said nonchalantly.

He had changed over the years since he had last seen Bladewing. He had changed from an inexperienced youth to a world class martial artist on par with most of the all time greats. The only thing he lacked was control and experience.

As Marty had leapt at Bladewing the incorporeal chakra in the air damn near solidified around Caleb's right fist. One wrong move by his friend and he wouldn't hesitate to knock him senseless.

Marty stroked his chin for a few seconds, "Oh yeah, sorry man. I got a really short attention span and having large amounts of caffeine in my system doesn't really help, but it's fun."

Marty struggled for a few seconds with a couple of pills in his pocket. He pulled them out and popped them into his mouth, crunching them loudly. "See villains are evil because. . .well they're evil. They want conformity, wanton destruction, and death to their enemies. We want to live in peace."

"DAX! Stairway to heaven! Bang, Dennis Leary. GO!" Kaega shouted ordering the other two into battle formations.

Dax's crystal form separated forming floating crystal stairs all the way to the battle area. Bang leapt into the air and immediately appeared into the middle of the group of Rularuu.

The gathered soldiers turned with unidentifiable looks on their faces, "OY KAY KIDDOS!" The assembled soldiers roughly formed lines. "ARE YOU READY KIDS? Life's gonna suck when you grow up, when you grow up, when you grow up.
You're gonna have ta mow the lawn, wash the dishes, make your bed, you're gonna have to go to school until you're seventeen!"

Some soldiers had began gibbering and foaming at the mouth. Some had immediately killed themselves. . .but the worst? And those who couldn't end it fast enough began dancing. . .line dancing.

"'Wing, Hittem now!" Kaega shouted as he crested the rise.

Caleb shrugged, "Sorry 'Wing that was my dad. He didn't exactly get better after mom died," Looking around he realized that he had left his limiter suit behind in his room, "Sorry guys, forgot to put my suit back on. If 'Wing can keep siphoning you shouldn't have anything to worry about."

Caleb fingered a scar that was faintly noticeable under his chin, kinda looked like he had been kicked with a studded boot in the past, as he continued, "The DWC is gone man. Dax became a type of omnipotent crystal, he is kinda the owner of the shard now. Jonas went crazy and had to be put down. Bang was depowered and the last time I saw him he was wandering around Bloody Bay muttering about his lost hat. Kaega, Build, and the rest just dissappeared. Other than that everything is fine."

Marty was fingering the top of the pill bottle as he listened to Caleb's story. Back in the day's when they were little they had often had the chance to be around the older members of the Dark World Court. That was before Caleb's father started his own group and left that life behind.

Marty felt the top of the bottle come off in his pocket. He was earnestly thinking about taking one of the caffeine pills, he was just too lazy to get the pills out of his pocket.

Marty quickly palmed the dagger he had pulled, "Who? Wha?. . .Caleb went to bed."

After a few quick seconds of thought Marty looked into the sword weilder's face, "You said something about supplies?"

------------------------------

Caleb's Room

The oversized punching bag swung back and forth on its chain, the creaking rebounding off the sound proofed walls along with the heavy thud of his fists. He was quickly trying to get rid of the excess chakra his body made on its own.

He quickly hit the floor and did a spinning kick commonl used in Capoiera. He spun off the floor and did a double knee thrust into the top of the bag as he quickly changed from Capoeira to Muay Tai. The walls still seemed to be doing their weird swelling thing from the chakra that flooded the room.

He hit the floor, the bag swinging with force toward his face, and began concentrating on his right fist. The air began to circulate around his closed fist. A quarter of a second before the bag would have hit him in the face, he solidly punched dead center releasing the controlled energy. The bag exploded with a lound bang, sand and weights spilled across the floor.

He picked up his white towel from the corner of his bed, whiping the sweat from his face. That's when he felt the disturbance in the air. He recognized this energy Bladewing.

Without stopping to think about putting his limiter suit on he opened his room's door and ran down the hallway toward the cafeteria. Cracks spread along the wall with every step he took.

He ran through the entry way of the caf wearing nothing but a ragged pair of tight blue jeans. He stopped when he saw the prescence of the energy, "Howdy 'Wing. Never thought I'd see you again after that last battle we went through."

((Good luck at the wedding Blood, don't get so drunk that you screw up your speach. . .trust me on that one, it ain't a pretty sight.))

Build stepped out of the train into the cold (well cold to the others, his fur kept him comfortably warm). He didn't much care if the others left behind him. He walked after those who had departed the train before him. "I hope it gets interesting soon."