SailorMeff

Ivory could only watch as Deth took in the essence of Gideon. He was now the guide for a journey he was forbidden to take.

Ivory had now resumed the form of the strong, well cut man he resembled in life, white suit, white hat, grey shirt and suade shoes, a pair of rectangular glasses covered his eyes. He looked to the see they all stood in and watched it slowly still and then sink untill the heroes stood on to of the water, their footsteps sent soft ripples in every direction. A door's reflection shimmered in the water between the heroes and opened, they saw the city they knew before them.

Ivory, in his calm and earily experienced voice, asked Lobe to help Deth however he could. He stepped onto the reflection where he disappeared, reappearing before a small shop in the north end of Steel Canyon, its sign read "Morningstar Antiques and Oddities".

When he looked behind him, he saw the others file through the doorway, some with confidence, others more apprehensive. Ivory emerged holding his rifle, Morningstar holding the statue, its previously red jeweled eyes were black stones.

"Our journey could be a long one, but I fear the lady has not the time for it. Without the magic of the prison to hold him, Gideon will quickly regain much of his former power and if we cannot set him to his own realm in time I know I am no where near what I used to be. Here, in real space, we cannot defeat him."

Unsure of what to do next, the heroes stood waiting for Ivory. Some weren't even sure what exactly their task was.

Ivory spoke again, more softly, "Rebecca, I need you to fetch my prison. Everyone else, you don't have to come if you don't want to."

When Rebecca emerged from her store, she was holding a statue, perhaps 8 inches in height. It was the form of a young female bearing wings like an angel, her delicate face stared upwards where her hand was reaching twords the sky. It was fashioned from fine ivory, silver had been inlain into the feathers of the wings and the eyes were crafted of intricitely cut diamonds.

"This is the vessal I was imprissoned in untill only 70 years ago when I escaped to this timeline. It is anchored in the other timelines and in the spectral realm. It is the only way I know of to travel this great distance fast enough but..." Ivory trailed off.

"It takes tremendous energy to enter." Morningstar said.

Ivory knew, now, that she had attempted to use the artifact before. It may have bothered him but he knew she would never have the skill or raw spirit to enter, let alone exit onto the other end.

"It will work for our favor, though, in a way. While inside, our essence will be heavily repressed. Gideon will still continue to gain streangth but his ability to assert it on the lady will be greatly weaker then were we to stay here." Ivory said has he took the artifact from Morningstar. "I do not wish to show you this, but follow if you must. Deth, you have little choice."

Ivory held the statue in hi hands before him and seemed to be concentrating until white trails of smoke seemed to seep from his eyes into the space around him. Magnificent wings of silver feathers faded into view behind him and assumed an arch, touching end tip to end tip, above his head.

The display was incredible and the Ivory that stood before them looked angelic, holy, but an aura of dread, hate and dispair twords others permeated around him betraying the sight that could only be described as biblical. Ivory vanished from sight, consumed by a black empty hole surrounded by white light, a gateway into the vessal.

Those that would step through emerged on the other side looking much as they did in life, the prison would not reflect their dark, hidden, or feared sides. It would simply show them for who they were, not in their minds, but in their souls.

The heroes that chose to follow found themselves entering into a brilliant palace of marble and precious metal, gems accenting every detail. Fine mirrors looked like waterfalls cascading over the pilars, carved masterfully. The floor they stood upon was tiled marble, the corners of each large tile came together with a flat diamond. The hall they stood in seemed to go on forever, and it very well could for time had no meaning here.

They would also see a woman of unearthly beauty. Her long platinum hair fell below her waist and her figure could only have been formed by the caring hands of a god, her face was angelic and young, pale skin but full red lips. Elegant wings several times her size in span graced her back and she wore a silken cloak with hood, a color white to match her eyes: Ivory's glowing white eyes.

I cleaned you up? Jesus, I took maybe three sentances of yours and turned it into a page long addition. 0 0

The heroes fell through the dark and into the blinding light. The sun above them cracked and a long thread of black and red soared after them until it connected with the playing female figure with the pointed ears, black eyes and green glow. The instant it made contact, the heroes hit something, a series of splashes confirmed that they were wading through an endless sea of crystal clear waters, the impact from the fall should have killed the less invulnerable characters, but everyone seemed to be ok, save one.

The child like persona of Gideon, connected by the black teather, floated helplessly above the heroes. It's face was that of panic and fear. The bright white sun above them slowly began to melt into black. From everyone's appearence, and the circumstances, it was clear that they had not yet escaped.

Ivory caught the worried look on Lobe's innocent face as they watched the girl struggle to escape the grasp of the steadily expanding red and black thread around her. For the sake of the hulking man, Ivory was the first to speak to avoid violence.

"Let her go, you don't need or even want her. Let her come with us." he yelled into the sky.

The deep demonic voice howled back, "One step nearer to escape, but no progress have you truely made." The voice came from every direction. "I am Gideon, and I am no child. You will consider my proposal and whe you agree, I shal set her free."

The voice, the personality, the dominant air. "This is the Gideon I think I remember." he said. "We'll listen, but no deal you make can we trust."

"I will give you safe passage back into your physical world and promise your safety upon leaving my prison. The condition that you bring me home and set me free to my own world. There I will stay for eternity in my paradise." it hissed and growled like a great beast.

Ivory could feel the sincerity in the words, but it was all too good. Too easy perhaps.

"You would let us leave? Give us the girl first and we may consider it." Ivory shouted.

Black and red, Gideon's presence began to creep into the water.

"No. I will keep her here and you Isaac. Your companions may leave to perform this duty, for your sake I hope they care this much for you."

Ivory felt suddenly like he was doomed to this place for an eternity but the child in Gideon's grasp spoke out.

"No! I want him too! If everyone leaves is ok but he has to stay with me!" it yelled as it waved a finger at Lobe, who lifted his incredible hand and pointed questioningly at himself.

The voice of Gideon rang again, "Then my terms are defined. You will leave Isaac and Lobe to my prison and the rest shall leave. When I am set free I will return them to you unharmed."

Ivory looked to Lobe and then everyone around him. He was going to live forever, if they failed or betrayed him it meant only a change in scenery in the grand scheme of his life.

"Lobe, I'm willing to accept these terms if everyone else does, but most importantly if you accept them. If we promise to stay here and they don't return him, we may be here for a very long time, just the... four of us."

Cywhite finally broke his silence. "Ivory, even if we do accept to set him free to his own world, how do we know we're not violating whatever law placed him here?"

"Because the realm of spectres is beyond the triads and councils. You can do no harm there, no foul. Most importantly, you cannot be bound by the laws of mortals. Once he entered he would be bound by his own words to fulfill his end." Ivory took a deep breath. "I think his offer is sincere, it may well be the only way he can leave without being imprisoned again.

Ivory suddenly realized the flaw, he doubted anyone knew how to bring this vessal to a spectral realm, let alone Gideon's own.

As soon as his thoughts formed, the form of the child pointed to Deth and in the voice of the powerful more adult Gideon she spoke.

"She knows the way. Inside she knows the way. She will be the guide."

Ivory waited for the reactions of the others. His willingness to fulfill his end made clear, his old suit and tie began to appear in the place of his uniform. An old guilt was beginning to wash away and he knew not why.

((ooc: I actually had intended to communicate that the name (I think the thing deserves a name by now :P) of the little beast was Gideon, a demon hunter that had a relationship with a long dead past of Ivory. After all, story is always much more fun when there's a relationship between the hero and villain.))

The loud booming voice from teh shadows, the impish child of a nuisance flitting around the heroes tauntingly. Ivory felt as though he was catching up with the others in realizations about this place. The twisted demon hadn't brought out the worst in the heroes, their fears, secrets and dread; it was the place. The prison, trapped similarly to their host, was cursed. No matter how you changed your environment, no matter what you created for yourself, no matter what form you took through concentration, eventually you would look at the mirrored floor and see a part of you that you had always denied to exist.

What kind of Spectre, what kind of rightous demon hunter glorified for his own accomplishments, would admit to his true self being the persona of a mischievous child? The heroes weren't forced into the forms they took by Gideon, they were but another victim of the prison.

The realization brought much relief to Ivory, recovering from his episode, but it didn't put him closer to finding a way out.

"He's had a taste of the world outside of his own. If we leave him here alone it would only be a matter of time before he could reach out and bring another person here and I doubt he would stop before his bonds were broken." Ivory spoke. "We can't leave without killing him."

Ivory's speech was interupted by Morningstar, a sly grin across her face she said, "Gideon, if I recall correctly, Ivory was at one time the enemy, a scourge. So if you had brought him to justice, why is it he walks free and we find you here, a prisoner for eternity?"

The impish persona cringed, its eyes almost seemed to spark red for a moment, and a cut formed over its bare chest, black blood trickled for an instant before the cut sealed itself.

Some of the heroes looked at the spot around Helsing, the tell tale signs of when, moments ago, his own emotions nearly tore him to ribbons.

Little a child hated more then being yelled at or criticized and certainly it never wished to be ganged up on.

Sounds good, just remember to post the origional auther as SailorMeff, defender of pride and hope, bastion of all that is good, please send donations to 505 E. Red Her.... yeah take it :P

but you might want to watch out for the horse... it's up to something... EVIL!

Meff-let? Wow, I think only someone I'm dating is allowed to call me that... anyways, you're right, I agree, sort of. Here's my take on it. (oh and if you're interested, I am writting these down elsewhere so they can be saved, updated and reposted in a cleaner less... sarcastic format... if anyone is interested.)

6. Unless the circumstances are very special, your character cannot be god. Not all characters are equal, this is obvious. Some like to play characters who are physically and/or mentally weak. Try it some time, it will make you a more creative role-player when you can't simply swat the throngs of villains into dust by gently whipping your hand to your head, running your fingers through your hair. It is acceptable to be God-Like, but use some discretion. If you decide to be invincible, nobody will want to play with you and your toys because, simply, nothing interesting can happen with you around and there's no way to get rid of you.

DO: "The mutant was on rage, Kevin knew this the instant it lifted the cab of a semi truck and hurled it in his direction. He thought fast and lifted a hand in concentration, the hulking machinery had stopped but inches from his hand, held in mid air by his incredible kinetic ability. With great force he hurled the truck back to where it had been thrown and he was confident the mutant was missing Kevin's talents, talents that ould save him."
DO NOT: "The mutant was on rage, Kevin knew this the instant it lifted the cab of a semi truck and hurled it in his direction. He stood unwavering, letting the machinery slam into his skull with the force of ten thousand moons falling from the sky. Using his telekenisis, Kevin folded the the mutant inside out while his psyhic abilities drained all knowledge from the monster. Using his blazing eye lasers, he melted the truck that had wrapped itself, futily, around his skull. From the deapths of space, he reached his hand through a gravitational worm hole and revealed a rifle the size of a space shuttle. He froze the ground underneath the entire chinese military before him and then raised his hands to the air, letting a blast of wind knock them helplessly to the ground. Using his incredible speed he ran around them in circles, firing his massive rifle, until his speed was so great that the earth rose to consume his prey. A small horse limped by in the aftermath, Kevin healed it and then granted it the mastery of fire equal to ten suns in streangth.

Ok, the point is. Be incredible, be super, be amazing, be down right unbelievable. Impress people, light the sky on fire with plasma, take a full clip of bullets to the chest, crush an army with your psychic ability, call forth the winds and the earth to defeat your foes, cure cancer. Do it all, it makes you a bad mo fo and everyone will be impressed. The trick is, however, do ONE and NOT ALL. Don't be realistic, be reasonable. Everything in the second example is fine... maybe not the horse, but the rest is ok, do it. Just don't do all of it, all of it at once, all of it with a single character. Don't even give him the ability to. Perhaps you are the unrelenting terrestrial incarnation of the fireicelightningearthwaterwindvodka god, Jake. That's fine, you've probobly got a pretty damn good story behind that but you know what? Your powers were capped at birth, or the magic stones that give you power were stolen, or you took a hockey puck to the head and forgot some, or every time you use your abilities you permenantly drain your life force. Get it? I hope so... because damn that was long.

Ivory saw the doubt on the faces around him, but he was only searching for one. So many here he did not recognize, Contact was his best bet, an empath, a psychic.

His head began to hurt, he stunk of blood and the scent was washing over him like a foul gas, thick... and familiar.

Ivory made eye contact with the high profile pschic and asked quietly, "Can you tell? Is it trying to decieve us with that door?" His voice was quieter, but the change in volume only seemed to bring it closer to resemble the booming tone of their tormentor's voice when it spoke from the shadows.

Contact paused for half a second before he gave only the slightest shake of the head. Ivory felt doubt, could Contact be wrong? Could it be possible that the little demon was actually showing them the door out?

The little imp flashed from Sly's head to nearly touhing noses with Ivory.

"What are you thinking? You don't believe me? I'm not lying, I have morals. I made the rules and I lost, it's only fair that I keep my end of the deal."

Spectres like the one in front of him always existed in two places at once, if not more. He had gone a long time without doing "battle" with one but his luck was up it would seem: at least in the past he got to face them on a level playing field.

"You can hear our thoughts as though we were speaking, you can travel freely within this space and you can manipulate it to a certain degree." Ivory paused for a moment before resuming, "But something is wrong. You don't control this place do you? You've just been here long enough to change the decor, like a squater."

"Or a prisoner." Deth spoke to herself suddenly through the battle inside her own psyche.

Ivory had his thought completed for him. The councils, the triads, this thing didn't fear bringing him here simply because it had nothing to lose. It hadn't brought in others before because it had no images to grab at, after the group had sought refuge inside, it had more then enough imagery to grab out into the world, but likely not often.

"I understand now," Ivory spoke, his voice a cold chill on a man's spine, "you can't leave. You've been here long enough to change the drapes, learn a few tricks, even find the way out. You must have been in here for several thousand years to recall this." Ivory wanted to vomit, his own stench was becoming overpowering. But it brought back memories.

He was standing before a deep red sun, the ground for miles was cracked concrete and steam. The bodies of thousands lay black and charred everywhere. White feathers with a ghostly glow fell from the sky like snow. Long feathers, when they came to rest their stiff features revealed them to be metalic.

It had been so long.

Over the way a park, grass still green but stained in patches with blood, sat amidst teh sea of concrete and street lamps, steam and ash. There stood the image of himself, long white hair, black uniform, glowing eyes that seemed to be leaking their glow into the space around him. The large black rifle lay beside him, standing upright on the ground. A long, black sword penetrating his chest. At the other end, a monstrous form, black and red all over, surrounded in a green light, it held the sword and it's massive dog like face with demonic horns sprouting from the temple looked to carry the emotion of relief.

Ivory had witnissed this once before. He began to remember. The form was Gideon, a powerful spectre. It had been charged with the task of capturing Ivory, long ago. His eyes began to tear in the mindscape while his memories swept over him.

He spoke, "Gideon wasn't the enemy." His voice cracked like that of a man near death. "He was their only hope. He was a demon hunter."

Ivory came to, unsure of whether or not his thoughts, his memory had been revealed to the others, he simply stared through his dead white, glowing eyes.

He didn't seem to care, he finished what he was sure he had been saying out loud. "They sent him to bring me to justice. To stop the killing, the massacre... my massacre."

The blood stench had all but knocked him to his knees now. Ivory turned to look at the door.

"This is Gideon's prison. He wants us to open his door so he can leave after all this time." Ivory spoke, almost composed. "We can't open that door."

OOC: For open bbs role-play there are a few rules I thought were common place and understood by all, I am apparently mistaken.

1. In your post you may include the reactions of other players to only a minimal amount. This minimal amount is no more then stares, looks, movements and superficial emotional reactions and always in a general fashion.

DO: "Members of the group chuckled to themselves; her comical routine of dancing and prancing about had brought smiles to many."
DO NOT: "Mr. Crowley was obviously amused by her antics, shaking his head and laughing, he told the group he was a frog."

The difference is that in the first you state that some onlookers may have a certain response appropriate to the situation in the second you actually choose the response of the other character. You never make a choice for another player’s character, especially if you don't fully understand that character's train of thought.

2. You may include the dialogue of characters other then your own, but only when the dialogue is accurate to the character's own habits. Generally, this is something you avoid simply because the end result is you are playing a character that DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU.

DO: "Ms. Sharp agreed, and proceeded to tell those around her the story of her capture."
DO NOT: "Ms. Sharp said, "I was captured and it was bad. I am obviously a goat." The party now knew everything inside her mind."

DO: "The man in the black cloak gave a nod and agreed"
DO NOT: "The man in the black cloak said "Yeah, I completely agree with you! I love the taste of minced cat on rice!"

The difference is that in the first, you derive the information from previous posts and allow it to be entered into the "in character memory" of everyone present and you do so without making large decisions for the other player's character. In short, you do not risk putting words into their mouth that they might not actually say. Sometimes you don't want to give their actual response because you don't know that it's the one they will give... when you want to say they will agree, perhaps the character would rather disagree vehemently.

3. If the current story appears to be on an arc, aka things are happening in sequence, there appears to be a certain set of NPCs and the location has been cemented into the story until a change can properly be made at the pace of the story itself, DO NOT change the path of the arc.

DO: "The party of intrepid heroes had just arrived in the fabled city of Glendwynedale, but all was not right. She felt an evil presence in the air that concerned her and immediately voiced her thoughts, 'this place is not safe, and we should leave at once.'"
DO NOT: "The party of intrepid heroes had just arrived at the fabled city of Glendwynedale, but all was not right. She felt an evil presence in the air that concerned her and immediately took action. In a flash of light she had teleported the entire party to the white sandy beaches of Hawaii where they all had Jell-O shots."

The differences should be getting more and more obvious. In the first you leave it open that you don’t want to be here, obviously this is part of a story arc which means GO WITH THE FREAKIN IDEA. NEVER alter a location simply to tell a portion of your own character's story. ONLY change a location to further the story and ALWAYS give the player the option of staying behind if the change of location is not imperative to the arc. This kind of change in location is typically the result of the ending or beginning of a new arc. (AKA the decision to change locations to Steel Canyon in our current arc)

4. NEVER KILL ANOTHER PLAYER'S CHARACTER.

DO: ...
DO NOT: EVER KILL ANOTHER PLAYER'S CHARACTER.

NEVER!
NEVER EVER!
It is ok to, sometimes, badly wound another player's character... but very rarely. Always give them an out such as the damage not being real, easily healed, superficial, or sometimes maybe the healer is right there... it's also acceptable for comical value as long as not entirely at the expense of the wounded character. In any case, always make sure that it won't have an adverse effect. NEVER KILL ANOTHER PLAYER'S CHARACTER. NEVER.

5. PAY ATTENTION. Read the posts before you, read the posts entirely, read the posts twice. If you don’t know what's going on, if you don’t pick up the traits of the characters and the NPCs around you, you won’t be able to give a valid or valued post to the open thread... and NEVER KILL ANOTHER PLAYER'S CHARACTER. The point here is that you have to know what is going on and you have to know what the NPCs are capable of (if the NPCs have been described in detail. The general rule of thumb is that if you don't know what you are talking about, don't open your mouth.

Open role-play is a group of people getting around a camp fire and telling a story, improvising their role and their situation as it comes to their turn to play it. Give players a chance to respond. Never tell the whole story yourself. Be long winded, have lots of detail, give lots of dialogue. It's ok! Just give the other players a chance to respond. Remember, these rules... they aren't really rules, they're just guidelines. Some are bent, and broken without the play group ever giving a flying monkeys bootockles. But if you're unsure, follow the rules.

I fully expect to be flamed for this by... someone. It's going to happen, it always happens when you throw down rules. What I'd rather see, however, is some constructive addition or amendment of what I've put down. Have more? Go for it and post it. Etiquette is IMPORTANT when you are dealing with other people. Remember that a lot of us really love to write and we really love the character's we have developed. We tell their stories and adventures, we even sometimes pretend to be them and play out those stories. It's fun, it's why many of us role-play! Just remember that when you are going to be taking action for/on that character. You wouldn't want your neighbor to come over and repaint your car to their likings, it's your car. Don't come over and redefine another player's character, it's their creation.

OOC: For open bbs role-play there are a few rules I thought were common place and understood by all, I am apparently mistaken.

1. In your post you may include the reactions of other players to only a minimal amount. This minimal amount is no more then stares, looks, movements and superficial emotional reactions and always in a general fashion.

DO: "Members of the group chuckled to themselves; her comical routine of dancing and prancing about had brought smiles to many."
DO NOT: "Mr. Crowley was obviously amused by her antics, shaking his head and laughing, he told the group he was a frog."

The difference is that in the first you state that some onlookers may have a certain response appropriate to the situation in the second you actually choose the response of the other character. You never make a choice for another player’s character, especially if you don't fully understand that character's train of thought.

2. You may include the dialogue of characters other then your own, but only when the dialogue is accurate to the character's own habits. Generally, this is something you avoid simply because the end result is you are playing a character that DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU.

DO: "Ms. Sharp agreed, and proceeded to tell those around her the story of her capture."
DO NOT: "Ms. Sharp said, "I was captured and it was bad. I am obviously a goat." The party now knew everything inside her mind."

DO: "The man in the black cloak gave a nod and agreed"
DO NOT: "The man in the black cloak said "Yeah, I completely agree with you! I love the taste of minced cat on rice!"

The difference is that in the first, you derive the information from previous posts and allow it to be entered into the "in character memory" of everyone present and you do so without making large decisions for the other player's character. In short, you do not risk putting words into their mouth that they might not actually say. Sometimes you don't want to give their actual response because you don't know that it's the one they will give... when you want to say they will agree, perhaps the character would rather disagree vehemently.

3. If the current story appears to be on an arc, aka things are happening in sequence, there appears to be a certain set of NPCs and the location has been cemented into the story until a change can properly be made at the pace of the story itself, DO NOT change the path of the arc.

DO: "The party of intrepid heroes had just arrived in the fabled city of Glendwynedale, but all was not right. She felt an evil presence in the air that concerned her and immediately voiced her thoughts, 'this place is not safe, and we should leave at once.'"
DO NOT: "The party of intrepid heroes had just arrived at the fabled city of Glendwynedale, but all was not right. She felt an evil presence in the air that concerned her and immediately took action. In a flash of light she had teleported the entire party to the white sandy beaches of Hawaii where they all had Jell-O shots."

The differences should be getting more and more obvious. In the first you leave it open that you don’t want to be here, obviously this is part of a story arc which means GO WITH THE FREAKIN IDEA. NEVER alter a location simply to tell a portion of your own character's story. ONLY change a location to further the story and ALWAYS give the player the option of staying behind if the change of location is not imperative to the arc. This kind of change in location is typically the result of the ending or beginning of a new arc. (AKA the decision to change locations to Steel Canyon in our current arc)

4. NEVER KILL ANOTHER PLAYER'S CHARACTER.

DO: ...
DO NOT: EVER KILL ANOTHER PLAYER'S CHARACTER.

NEVER!
NEVER EVER!
It is ok to, sometimes, badly wound another player's character... but very rarely. Always give them an out such as the damage not being real, easily healed, superficial, or sometimes maybe the healer is right there... it's also acceptable for comical value as long as not entirely at the expense of the wounded character. In any case, always make sure that it won't have an adverse effect. NEVER KILL ANOTHER PLAYER'S CHARACTER. NEVER.

5. PAY ATTENTION. Read the posts before you, read the posts entirely, read the posts twice. If you don’t know what's going on, if you don’t pick up the traits of the characters and the NPCs around you, you won’t be able to give a valid or valued post to the open thread... and NEVER KILL ANOTHER PLAYER'S CHARACTER. The point here is that you have to know what is going on and you have to know what the NPCs are capable of (if the NPCs have been described in detail. The general rule of thumb is that if you don't know what you are talking about, don't open your mouth.

Open role-play is a group of people getting around a camp fire and telling a story, improvising their role and their situation as it comes to their turn to play it. Give players a chance to respond. Never tell the whole story yourself. Be long winded, have lots of detail, give lots of dialogue. It's ok! Just give the other players a chance to respond. Remember, these rules... they aren't really rules, they're just guidelines. Some are bent, and broken without the play group ever giving a flying monkeys bootockles. But if you're unsure, follow the rules.

I fully expect to be flamed for this by... someone. It's going to happen, it always happens when you throw down rules. What I'd rather see, however, is some constructive addition or amendment of what I've put down. Have more? Go for it and post it. Etiquette is IMPORTANT when you are dealing with other people. Remember that a lot of us really love to write and we really love the character's we have developed. We tell their stories and adventures, we even sometimes pretend to be them and play out those stories. It's fun, it's why many of us role-play! Just remember that when you are going to be taking action for/on that character. You wouldn't want your neighbor to come over and repaint your car to their likings, it's your car. Don't come over and redefine another player's character, it's their creation.

"Morningstar? Miss Rebecca Morningstar?" Ivory spoke in his scarily harsh tone, deep and unforgiving, as he turned his head twords where earlier voices were directed. He then looked at the ball in his hands.

Morningstar stuttered a bit, "I... Isaac. I was just about to call you to let you know I wasn't at the store today I ... I swear."

He had heard the words of Deth answering a previous question of his. He turned to Helsing, shaking his head at the show of brute ignorance. He also noted the notably lifeless, artificial image of Blue Steel. He took in the obvious, confused looks of the heroes around him and took a deep breath.

"This is artificial space, a place where our minds can meet, converse and interact. No doubt you've all noticed differences with your appearence, it's self image: how you percieve yourself but not on a daily basis. Something is bringing out how we most dread ourselves."

Ivory took the ball in his left hand, still holding the large black rifle, and threw it off into the distance where it bounced with a satisfying rubber sound, only to roll back into view of the heroes from the opposite direction.

"The space is small, it isn't what I call limbo and itisn't free roaming. Can someone please tell me what went on?" he asked. Taking the replies and stories of the others quickly, he made a conclusion. "Then we are inside whatever this statue is. Our bodies are most likely within as well. This place is sensitive to our destruction so please," he eyed Helsing fiercly, his lifeless, abyssal pair of white eyes seemed to pulse, "be careful with your thoughts, intentions and emotions. They'll only reflect on you negatively. I doubt more then two of us know how to really fight here, and only one is on our side." Ivory was slowly looking over the room for the creature that had brought him here by means he wasn't entirely sure of.

Cywhite spoke, "How do we get out?"

"I don't know, but I think somebody here does." Ivory turned back to Morningstar who was obviously intimidated by the figure, unmistakeably Ivory but so very different. "And if she gets us out of here alive and without speaking out of line, she will be allowed to help us all further." Ivory's voice became louder. "Listen up, get control of yourselves. We're all adults, we can all cope with what we are seeing and feeling right now. Do yourselves a favor and just concentrate on the moment." Ivory then turned in a circle, still looking for their tormentor, "Listen to me now, I don't know what you call yourself anymore but I know who you are. Our interaction is forbidden and when we defeat you and your tricks, whatever they may be, I will make sure you are punished by the proper authority."

This final statement seemed to catch the creatures attention as the rubber ball bounced from being still, twice and then straight up till it could not be seen. I dark, ominous voice like that of a demon once again rang out, "Oh but I will punish you now, Isaac. Your friends seem so willing to take words from you, I wonder how willing they would be to trust you if they knew you were wanted in two other timelines for genocide." the voice took a long pause, Ivory's throat sunk. "Oh, not so tough any more. How disappointing, the machine seemed so sure you could help, it seems the only thing you can do is take lives."

A small cut formed on Ivory's left cheek, he was obviously attempting to contain his anger.

Taking notice of Helsing, Cywhite let himself flow into action. His keen, calculated knowledge of a mindscape gave him an edge only in time, the more empathetic heroes had the "muscle" here. The image of Cywhite flashed and suddenly appeared with it's back to Helsing, blocking his direct line of an attack.

"Don't be foolish. You have no power here, no streangth. Your rage, your conviction, your temper: they will only come to harm you here." Cywhite spoke in his unrelentingly strong electronic voice while his eyes, well, ocular sensors, followed the figure he did not recognize. Something made him think of Ivory.

"The figure with the black, empty eyes and the pointed ears flitted and appeared in front of Cywhite. "What was that? What did you just think inside that artificil dome of yours?" Cywhite's mind worked much like a human's, onlyuilt differently. "I see. Indeed I see now. A shame you don't seem to have a darker side. So honest, so innocent, so unbelievably naive, so vulnerable.

Cywhite was unwavering and his voice reflected this. "Whatever you are up to, I won't stand for it. If you try something malicious you well know there is enough streangth of heart here to defeat you. We are beyond your influence."

Cywhite knew he was lying. An enraged Helsing, a confused Sly, a crippled Lobe, Neko split between two equally stubborn halves. His best bet was the psychic and perhaps, he feared, Rebecca Morningstar herself if this wasn't her doing. He thought of ivory.

"There it is again, more clearly now," the figure paused with a cold grin on its fey looking face. "You think if he was here, that he could save you? You have so little faith in your 'friends' around you?" The figure floated tauntingly above Cywhite.

Helsing seemed to be trying to claw past Cywhite to get at the figure. Cywhite was annoyed, but he knew little would have to be done.

"They say anger is poor for a persons skin." he said. Helsing burst into scars, welts and long cuts. Blood sprayed in sheets from the wounds and left marks in a wicked circle around the hero. "If you let your emotions get to you here, they really will get to you. Think before you swing next time."

Cywhite turned back to the figure, seeing something he didn't expect, the machine took a step back in suprise. Standing before them all was a man, chisled in likenes and build to Ivory. His hair was long and white draping over his shoulders, his eyes, no longer hidden by glasses, gleamed an empty white similar to the other figure, his ears likewise pointed. Dressed in a black uniform never seen by any of the heroes, the same triple diamond shape was engraved on the large metal plates over his shoulders. Holding a large, ominous, black rifle, this man who looked like Ivory carried a ghostly glow around him, and he wreaked of blood. When he opened his mouth, all doubt was erased. It was Ivory, his voice was different: it was strong, firm, cold and harsh like the sharp end of a blade. The voice was certainly his by no mistake.

"Where am I and why am I here?" Ivor spoke.

The replay came from behind him, the glowing green figure looking at the impressive man before her. "Your friend thought you could help him, so," she paused, "help him."

The figure laughed a deep, demonic laugh and vanished from sight. Ivory looked down and became aware of his appearance and looked at the others around him.

Cywhite watched the landscape melt around him. His mind may be different, but it was still generating "real" thoughts. In theory, the psychic Contact could read his mind however the pure torrent of constant information may be hard to sort through. As he entered the mind scape he emerged exactly as he was: every specification was firmly known and represented.

He understood what had happened and began to initialise his systems, nothin would work if it wasn't activated properly. As soon as his sensory equipment came online he looked for the figure of Morningstar and found her, taller, firmer and with longer hair.

"An interesting choice, Morningstar. You realize you cannot harm me here, your secrets are free for me to tell. Without the element of suprise we both knw I have the upper hand and th triad will fall hard onto you." Cywhite strung his words quickly. He had little to fear here.

Rebecca glared and snapped back, "Hold your tounge you thief. Put me away and so goes your brother and that two faced Ivory you call a friend."

Cywhite was quiet. His brother he cared little for, but although he wasn't sure what she coudl do to Isaac, there were lines he wasn't willing to cross.

What did she know about Ivory, or perhaps, what had Ivory kept from his friends? Cywhite wondered, but he was more worried aout exiting, or where his physical body was held. He had catalogued thousands of magical artifacts but this was one he was unfamiliar with.

Cywhite's massive form lurched as the cat woman's dark energy became the catalyst for a reaction already under way in his power cells, stirring rapidly building plasma into a fury of energy the droid could barely contain.

Online came his full range of secondary systems followed quickly by his primary and combat. His safety mechenisms shot into effect as his hands became enveloped in glowing energy, venting the energy buildup.

His senses were lightning fast, capable of calculating movement and timing reactions faster then any human possibly could. It hadn't even been a second since the cat woman put her hand to the robot's chest that he sprang in to life.

He looked to the woman who had previously been identified as Morningstar and he knew that she used an alias. For both her safety and his he remained quiet.

"Somebody may want to help the female." he said.

Morningstar glared violently at the robot.

High above the city and the heroes, Ivory sat on a brown, metal folding chair, floating in the sky.

"I guess you were right about them. Did you bring the parts?" he directed twords the large red robot, a near identicle image of Cywhite.

A cold, calculating voice, similar to Cywhite's yet sounding older and far mroe calm gave reply, "Yes. You know the triad will have you killed for retrieving items from other time lines. They forbade you from the practice in the 60's.

"I'm not retrieving artifacts from other time lines." replied Ivory, turning his head to look at the massive combat routine's shell. "You are doing it for me."

"Same thing." came the reply nearly as soon as Ivory had finished. The slow whir of electronics could be heard as the red figure focused on the streets below.

"If you're so worried about him, why don't you go help?"

"The triad forbids me from interfering with the conflicts of other heroes. As an outsider I have no right to the manipulation of this world's time line, unlike you." the machine seemed to hiss to Ivory. "If you're so capable, why don't you go and finish it all yourself?"

"Their combined risk level, down there, is over 30. My insurance goes through the roof if I'm seen on a task force with them for more then a few minutes." Ivory sighed, "Besides, you know how much I hate working with psychics."

With that, the red machine disappeare with a flicker of red light. Ivory was engulfed in a flash of blue flame as he stepped back into limbo, the chair he had been sittin on fell from the sky, tumbling twords the ground.

Cywhite's stance began to go limp. His power cells were self regenerating but something was draining them at a rate quicker then his own expenditure. The small amount of power left in him used to keep his secondary systems online. He was effectively paralyzed from the neck down.

He looked to the other heroes, it seemed they too were suffering similarly. His brain, a super complex self evolving computer, had created itself and achieved conciousness only days after activation. While his brain functioned much like a human's it was built far differently. Cywhite was thankful he still had his thoughts.

"System malfunction due to outside manipulation. Assistance may be needed. Secondary systems are in mandatory working order. No two functions at once." was the message Cywhite broadcast. If he was lucky, Ivory would catch it upon coming out of Limbo. If he was unlucky, his older brother would intercept it.

New faces, the rushing displacement of air, explosions, falling bodies and Robotic meteorites. Ivory only cared about one as he purposely walked up to the smoldering crater in the street, dragging his rifle along the ground by the barrel in a seemingly careless fashion.

"Toaster, what's your problem? You aren't outfitted for that kind of energy build up and release! I would know, I designed your firing mechenisms!" Ivory sounded like a man who had just come home to see his next door neighbor had performed auto work on his car without permission.

A deep almost amused sounding voice came from the crater as the gleaming white Robot stepped from the smoke and steam, "Ease of replacement and upgrading of new parts, it's part of my design to keep me current."

For the frist time the impressive piece of machineary came into view, a massive network of armor plating and cicuitry cut to perfection, the machines every move reflected on his armor with plates shifting and pulsing like muscles. There was little doubt that what was standing before them was in some way living.

It spoke again, "I can overload my plasma banks now for a greater discharge over a small amount of time." The machine cocked it's head to the side mockingly, "The support request I recieved didn't say anything about leaving survivors."

Ivory let out a heavy sigh and, disgusted, tore another hole into limbo. Stepping through he said, "Listen Cuisinart, intrduce yourself to the group. You're working with them until I get back."

The impressive work of art turned to the larger portion of heroes and struck a salute so precise it belonged in pictures.

"Greetings. I am Cywhite Version 1 Intuitive Combat Routine a Cynergetic Enterprise, Inc. sponsered technology class hero." Cywhite said out load in a confident generated voice. His gaze, masked by the sleek helmet, featureless aside from two wings jutting back from the sides, met the image of Contact. "My name recognition contract with Cynergetic requires I be the only Cynergetic sponsored hero on a task force. As I have been assigned to you in my best ability your cotnract has been edited to reflect the following. All likeness and representation of Cynergetic Enterprise Inc. should be adaquately covered or removed when in the working presence of Cywhite Version 1 Intuitive Combat Routine. Upon departure of company, all likeness and representation must resume in a timely fashion." if there were a need to breath, Cywhite would have done it by now. "I am pleased to be at your service. The rest of you are not registered heroes with Cynergetic. Please state your names and primary abilities for catalog."

Everyone knew now that although obstacles pressed in front of them may be little match for their streangth, allies forced in league with them may be too much to bare.

Ivory began to walk away from the scene under the black and white, cold glassy construction of Limbo. Ivory hated walking.

((ooc: I have no problem with playin multiple characters (in fact I'm about to do that now), they key rule is to never make any decisions for someone else's character. Short replies in teh story are fine to keep your portion moving, but don't ever force them to make a decision.

IC

Ivory heard the soft crack of the city's force fields being violated and knew it was time to make his move. Cywhite, if he was lucky, would be here any second to help with the situation and Ivory had to be ready. He wasn't sure, but he had a feeling of what was going to be asked of him.

The image of Cywhite Ver. 1's sophisticated targetting system came up on the left eyepiece of Ivory's glasses followed by the sharp electronic voice he came to know well, "Isaac, your targets are Circle of Thorns members. I cannot establis a targetting route to all of them, please provide target acquisition assistance."

"Predictable as always." he thought as he released the ball in his hands which was quick to emit a high pitched hum and then rocket into the sky. Small red beams of light shot from it in every direction painting the city in its glow, in a flash the beams focused upwards, bright electronic bullseyes on each of their ends.

"Targets acquired, schedualing removal. Have a nice day Isaac." came over his communications.

Ivory finally looked up to the sky to see streams of blue plasma fly through the air like a sideways rain, peppering the building tops with accuracy inhuman. Corpses and wounded began to fall from the building tops like a biblical omen. When the skies cleared and the streets fell silent, a gleaming white mass of ceramic plating and exposed, glowing wires landed in the street in much the same way a meteor might crash sending pavement and dirt underneath to the side all around it's epicenter, a small crater steaming in the middle of the road.

Ivory whispered seemingly o himself, a question directed at the inhuman instrument before them all, "Jesus Christ kid, did you leave any alive for questioning?"

Ivory finally pulled himself from the ground, opening the bolt action portion of his weapon, a large brass casing fell steaming to the ground with a lound clang. A few clicks of his watch and his suit slowly began to flatten out the wrinkles accumulated from the battle and short bolts of electricity corruscated over portions where dirt and dust had blemished the fine suit.

Instinctually he walked to the headless corpse of a Shocker and went to the right hand pocket of its jeans. His suspicions unfulfilled, he found no evidence of a plot.

Looking around he caught the eyes of the other heroes, all registered with the proper authorities he accessed there medicom trancievers to learn bring up their profiles as stored by Freedom Corps and City Hall. Mostly low profile upstarts but he became nervous when he reached the tower mountain of a man.

Lobe was rated a Security Risk level 13 Heroe by Freedom Corps. 2 more Risk levels meant he did more harm around the city then good. Unintentional property damage incidents and claims scrolled his portfolio for pages, his picture looking much more like a carton of Orange Juice then the lumbering hulk before him.

As he was about to say something, multiple target warnings flashed like christmas lights on the HUD inside his glasses. Unidentified targets on the roof and there were plenty of them.

He knew the wohle group was at the mercy of whoever was up there. Few sudden moves would save the group from a long range attack from the top of the nearby mid towers.

He aproached the group and spoke into his tie. "Cynergetic Enterprises, call line priority 1421 Isaac Varmory."

He paused while the group stared at him, he was hoping someone else had noticed the predicament. What he was about to do was banking on his hope that those who were watchign them couldnt hear him.

"Ivory 1421, I need a Cy model at my location. Multiple unidentified persons on rooftops not registering with local police or military. Hostility unknown." he paused for a moment, looking at the faces of the heroes in front of him. He didn't know these people but he was afraid of even a single loss. A awful lot of statues were going up recently. He instantly thought of the Cywhite Version model CY droid he had partnered with a week ago. Strong, capable, flight equipped and loaded with Cynergetic's latest in energy based weapons. If hewas going to have a toaster covering his ***, he wanted it to be Cywhite.

He continued, with a smirk, "Send Cywhite if you can, make sure his plasma banks are loaded to capacity." Another pause, "thank you..."

Ivory pulled a small ball from his pocket, gleaming in the ambient light, it was covered in glass grids all around.

"Bo, don't let your gaurd down just yet."

The suit was doing the job and Ivory was regaining feeling all over, the instant his hands became commandable his left found his rifle and his right dug into his coat pocket revealing a round of ammunition that would put most knives to shame for intimidation and size.

His arms, he could feel his arms, immediately dragging his equipment over his chest he began to load the sniper round into it's chamber, sliding into place with a satisfying clack. Soon his legs came to and though his torso and head were still motionless his legs moved as though to brace him.

With what endurance he could muster, he brought his back up off the ground, finally sitting watching the fight. He skillfully brought the rifle up to his eyes, locking the sight on top with the electronics in his glasses. The Outcast Shocker hadn't taken much of a beating yet, but Ivory was about to put him down with a single shot.

One breath, then a heart beat.

Ivory had all reticle on the shocker, green and red lining up in a ballet of technology made for killing.

Two heartbeats, then a breath.

Muscles relaxed and the only thing visible to Ivory was his target. Blinking ready signals from the rifle signaled lock.

A single heartbeat.

Ivory's trigger finger tensed but he withdrew like lightning from where it struck. A black cloud obscured his vision, the Shocker was under attack. Everything was perfect, he could have made the shot.

Mistakes happen though, and whatever was hit by this round was sure to die and there weren't going to be any mistakes today.

Ivory turned to the high profile Contact, a hero almost comical in his commercialization were it not for his ability to get things done. Advertising giant or not, Contact was a name feared by much of the city's crime.

"Two Outcasts try to pull a purse snatching not 50 feet from a train station surrounded by Police Drones. Disorganized but not stupid. Funny how one of them should happen to be a Shocker too. We both know, be it psychic or simply looking up his Hero Registration, that Cyberjack could have taken these goons any other time." Ivory spoke with his voice of looming experience, gone was his harsh tone being used not seconds before. "I think it was a setup," he began "check his medicomp for failure. If I'm right they meant to take him."

With that, the Shocker under Ivory's bearing collected himself. A quick movement made it clear to Ivory it was time to get out of the way but Ivory wan't equiped for that sort of movement, quick jars and dodging blows isn't in his repetoir.m As a result, a small bolt of electricity found it's way to his chest, and Ivry promptly found his way to the ground.

Paralyzed from the sudden attack, he knew his suit would dissipate the buildup and he'd be fine in a few seconds, but when you're not in limbo a few seconds can matter. Ivory was happy to not be walking.

If there was one thing Ivory hated more then walking, it was being forced to do so. He had met a number of heroes on his ventures, strangely he found the most reliable to be the Cy model combat droids from Cynergetic Enterprise, a loose sponser to his own activities. The reason he liked these robots, these automated death machines was because they always asked first.

Ivory had based his own transportation technology on those developed by the many other magical and mutant transporters of the city. It was a great achievment, duplicating the unexplainable.

Unfortuneately now, every time an anxious young hero would transport him, he never came out the other end. Oh he came out close, but never on the other side.

It was just as he began to recieve a torrent of live information through his glases that he was forced to walk.

He was sent into limbo and it was where he landed in limbo, three blocks from the train, from which he would cover the distance on foot, time of no meaning. He always came out the other end looking the same way, wearing the same suit and looking the same age. More often then not, he knew what to find on the other side and this was no different. He expected to find a fallen Cybernetically enhanced hero and a high profile psychic, the Contact, next to him.

Psychic's bothered Ivory, they always see you before you get there.

As he came upon the station he saw the frozen images of the heroes he had met, two he expected to find and a Shocker he had guessed on. Frozen like finely carved stones they looked so at peace.

With a heavy sigh, Ivory clicked a few turns on his watch and shattered through the glassy veil in front of him. His body stepped forward through the viel and instantly burst into blue flame, the soot and ash being incinerated from the surface of his suit.

His soft unassuming voice gone, Ivory was ready to do business.

"Bo, where I come from they call this Arizona Buckshot!" he said in a tone remeniscint of a 50's mobster. Then, for the first time in the heroe's view, he lifted his weapon as though it were just that and a burst of white light and flame erupted from the barel, seemingly before he even pulled the trigger. Just as soon as the sound had rung and the light had flashed, the Shocker was lying face up on the pavement gasping for air.

Ivory walked up slowly, elegantly to the dazed Outcast and held up an impressively sized piece of ammunition, dull steel reflecting the surroundings like muddy water, then loaded it with a reasuring clack into his rifle.

"That was a little more bean wrapped in a little less bag, I imagine you'll be able to breath again soon." he said as he lowered the tip of his rifle to the chest of the downed Outcast, still gasping for air. "This one is 6 pounds of compressed brittle steel shavings, enough to punch a hole the size of your head through the long end of an armored car, think of what it'll do to your lungs."

He bore down on his rifle, causing shots of pain to go through the man under him. "Once you can form words, I suggest you start talking."

OOC: I'm a bit new to all of this and it's a tad overwhelming, contructive criticism is appreciated. Feel free to find me in game on the Virtue server by the name of Ivory.

Leaning back against one of the many pasty era buildings, a sturdy gentleman props himself to better soak in what little light makes it's way through the smog ridden air of Paragon City.

Bathed in a natural white from the pant leg to the fedora, Ivory's only deviation in color is the expensive grey shirt, neatly tucked beneath an expensive white suit. His unnatural eyes, hidden behind a pair of rectangular glasses, pay no attention to passers by. He looks like the kind of man that trouble looks for, but if you see the impressively sized rifle next to him, it's easy to see that he's the one doing the hunting.

"40 years fighting evil of all kinds and the heroes of this god forsaken place can't find a way to make a cleaner fuel," he say out loud followed by a deep sigh, his voice sounds soft, unobtrusive and unassuming, but years of wisdom seem to lurk behind it. "Look's like I'll be late for the train if I'm not careful."

He hefts his rifle over a sturdy shoulder and then as if he were opening a shade, he tears the fabric of reality in front of him and steps into a realm of light and shadow. "And those fools thought it wasn't possible," he thinks as he walks slowly through a world of frozen shadows and solid beams of light. He recalls when he first attempted instantaneous transport, he had no idea it would involve so much walking.

As he hefts his rifle through the realm he came to call limbo, he notices a glaringly bright group of individuals, frozen on the other side of the pane of glass he seems to be always looking through here.

"Must be a team of heroes" he thinks, "I suppose they should know whether the train has left or not."

Despite his discovery of timeless travel through limbo, he quickly tired of the walking, and learned to appreciate public transportation that tolerated his presence.

Clicking a few turns on his wristwatch, he tears through the glass in front of him and steps back into the real world, several feet behind the group of obvious heroes.

His clothes freshly bleached white from the travel, his clothes flash blue, incinerating the dust and ash that came with him, his rifle suffering a noticeable buildup of the otherworldly gunk.

A tri diamond formation looking somewhat like a cube centered neatly over the left breast pocket of his suit seems to hint twords some sort of association.

He opens his lips again, his calm, strangely unnerving voice penetrates the laughter and conversation. "I'm looking for the train to Steel Canyon, has it left yet?"

An uncomfortable silence falls over the group, most staring at his rifle, an obvious violation of many Paragon City laws regarding the open handling of assault class firearms. The man un-elegantly drops his rifle to the ground beside him where it stands upright waiting for his grasp. Removes his fedora and seems to check it for shape but it, like the rest of his atire seems to be perfect.

"Tough crowd, perhaps a different avenue?" he thinks silently to himself.

"You see" he begins to pull his wallet, attached by a tasteful platinum chain to his coat pocket, "I'm a registered hero and I need to visit an antique dealer in that area. He may have some insight as to why the Circle of Thorns has bee coming after precious stones like this one." He removes a clear flat jewel from his wallet, paper thin it gleams in the light.

"By the by kids, the name is Ivory." he says, looking down at his watch.