-Mordachai arrived a little behind his bretheren. Some would tease him about getting old (he had, after all, ben born around the fall of the Roman Empire, but who was keeping track), but the truth was he hadn't been in a hurry to get here. Few in the city knew of him, and he had hoped to keep it that way. Fate had decided it was not to be, it seemed. As he entered the room, the scene was complete chaos. The monstrosity outside the room was nothing compared with the thing he now faced. The Council known as Requiem was alot different from the last time they had meet. Course, so was Mordachai. Requiem paid him no more heed than he paid any of the other combatants. Maybe less, since Requiem was starting to lose this battle, though not without great cost from the assembled heroes. He crossed first over to Bloodfang's body, impaled upon the wall, and pulled him free. "Clarisa" he mind-linked "Quinn can be summoned now." No one knew that Quinn was his distant ancestor. History had recorded Mordachai's death at the end of the crusades, even the history kept at M.A.G.I. read so. It had been relativly simple to lay low, change his name, and start over again. It hadn't been the first, nor the last, time he had to do so. Quinn thought his power came from the fangs that had been imbeded into the armor. Those were just for show. A minor phantasm had made them seem to more than they were. The armor itself was the key. It was vampiric in its own right, and if worn long enough, or in the right circumstances, would transform its wearer into a vampire also. As was the case with Quinn. Destiny had caught up with him in the end. Now all that remained was to see how his mind had been effected by his death. Some never fuly recovered from it.
-He then turned his attention to the machines. Quinn had the right idea. If Requiem was forced into the machine, he should provide enough life force for the others to 'hack' the cure from the system. Or he might barter it in exchange for his life. Either way, all they had to do was get him into the machine, and keep him there. Riiiiight.
-Mordachai addressed the combatants, shouting above the din of battle "FORCE HIM INTO THE MACHINE! AND HOLD HIM THERE! ITS OUR ONLY CHANCE!". When Mordachai wanted to be heard, no one could ignore him. He then waded into the melee. Striding directly up to Requiem, he locked his arms around his torso, ignoring the flailing tentacles, and lifted him up. "Greetings old friend" he whispered to Requiem "you've gone to far this time, and the Reaper is here for his due". Requiem's eyes locked with his, and recognition dawned in them, as did something else. Fear. Mordachai could see the fear in Requiem's eyes, and smiled. Requiem attacked Mordachai with all his might, but couldn't break his hold. Slowly, Mordachai started to work his way towards the machine, dragging the increasingly frantic Requiem with him....
Wolfe Gunner hesitated for a moment, then grabbed hold of the hilt of the Sword. He closed his eyes, waiting for the rush of pain. It never came.
Wolfe Gunner sighed, thinking hard. He had the heart of a wolf, the same heart that beated in the accursed animal that killed his parents.
"NOOO!" Wolfe Gunner turned to see a new vampire toss Requiem into the machine, the energy immediately beginning to be drained from him. Requiem had been holding one of the other Hero's in his tentacles, but dropped the Hero when he was tossed into the machine.
"NO! I... WON'T... BE... DEFEATED LIKE THIS!" Requiem shouted. Using all of his strength, Requiem unleashed a negative energy backlash, destroying the machine he was in. He quickly regained most of his strength, though some of his power had been absorbed by the machine before he was able to free himself.
Requiem looked at the new vampires, then to Wolfe Gunner, then to the Hero that he had been holding in his tentacle. Wolfe Gunner made a quick glance around the room; aside from the vampire, most of the Heroes in the room (including himself) were at the end of their rope in terms of power. Wolfe Gunner tightened his grip on his sword.
Requiem got to his feet, stretching out, but keeping his eye on the vampires. "Well, I must say that was pretty crafty of you, Mordachi." Something was wrong; Requiem was smiling. "With the power that machine absorbed, you bought everyone who had been converted into Sleeper Agents about 30 minutes. However..." Requiem chuckled. "The machine is destroyed now; which means you can't add any more power to it, even if you offered yourself. So, in half an hour..." Requiem laughed maniacally. "...all those people will die." Wolfe Gunner gritted his teeth as Requiem assumed a fighting stance, a black aura once again surrounding his body. "Of course, you can still save them... if you manage to get the password from me. You really don't have any choice; there's no other way to get power to all my Sleeper Agents, and even the BEST hacker wouldn't be able to get the password in half an hour." Requiem smiled once more, making a motion with his hands for the vampire to attack him. "Let's finish this."
Supplemental Galactic Protectorate Fanfic
OOC: Someone send me a pm when this little saga/episode is over, sos that I can join.
Fox had thrown a knife at the tentical holding Grey Shrike, but requiens whole body had moved and the knife hit the wall. Happy for a moment that he hadn't made himself the center of attention for Requiem and then silently cursing himself for thinking like that. But the machine was gone and thier was no way to stop the sleepers now. He wasn't going to accept that as reality right now, he muttered something about torpedos and charged Requiem. He throw the first knife blade into a tentacle heading for the new hero, it recoiled but quickly went back for it's origanal target, he throw another blade followed quickly by two more he pulled out. He was getting the next to ready when a tentacle clubbed him from behind. He been so intent on protecting the other hero that he was taken completely by surpise. He scrambled to his feet as the second tentacle nearly crushed him. He rolled and stabbed his knife all the way through it till his hand touched the it and he pulled it back. His hand was realy burning, "Son of a biARGGH!" the acid like substance had melted through the back of his shirt and was starting to burn his back. Fox tried to ignore the pain and keep fighting. This is not how I had invisioned this going. He got up and preparedto keep going, he throw another knife at a wounded tentacle, he was getting ready to jump over it when it streaked towards Wolfe Gunner, Fox throw a knife at it and...
(Up to who ever posts next.)
(OOC: send me a PM, too.)
[B]The Once and Future Official Minister of Awesome[/B]
[I]And don't you forget it.[/I]
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Mordachai looked...perturbed. He hadn't counted on Requiem destroying the machine like that. He should have, since Requiem was smart enough to expect such a move, but he had overlooked the possiblity. Such a rookie mistake. Maybe his age was finally catching up to him. So they were left with two options: defeat Requiem, and hope he gave the password, or activate the second machine and kill all the sleepers. Actually there was a third option. He and his kind could turn all the sleepers into vampires, which had cured Clarisa, but he didn't want that responsibility. He was sure none of the other clan leaders did either. But it did give him an idea. What if he bit requiem, not enough to turn him into a vampire, but enough for Mordachai to dominate his will, and force the password from him. Would the other heroes stand by and let him do it? Probably not. He hadn't met a hero yet that would stand by and watch one of his kind feed. No, they would have to play Requiem's game. And if Mordachai was going to play, he wanted his deck stacked. Time to call in a favor or two. He slid into the closet at the back of the room, and up into the ductwork. By the scent traces, this was how Bloodfang had gotten here earlier. Clever boy.
"Countess, there is a gentleman on line one for you"
"Well? Does this gentleman have a name?"
"He says his name is Mordachai, and that he is an old frie..."
"I'll take it Marie."
"Yes Countess, the best team of hackers you've got. With protection. Unless you want to rely on the 'heroes' of the city for that. This plague from the Council has affected even your empire, and it will be a huge PR blitz if your peole can save the day, when the Heroes couldn't. The way is mostly clear, expect token resistance, since the heroes have moped up most of the base already. Yes, I would love to come over for dinner. Friday at say 10pm? That would be grand. I will see you then. No, no need to send a car. I will meet you in the usual place. Thank you dear. Now I owe you".
Mordachai finished his call. Well, that was that. After this business was over, he would be moving on again. Maybe he could stage another climatic death? No, not this time. This time he would simply have to vanish. He had been longing to return to Europe for some time. Maybe move on to Russia. Something new, low key, where he didn't have to be as involved. New name too. Maybe it was time for Alexi Isarian to walk this world again....
The rest of the vampires started to withdraw. More and more heroes were arriving, and the two groups didn't mingle well in large numbers. Stealthily, the left the way they arrived, taken thier fallen with them. Some could be re-raised, others had earned thier eternal slumber. Some, those that were truly ancient, had crumbled to dust at thier release. Others, like Bloodfang, simply looked asleep, as thier bodies awaited the rituals to re-awaken them. But thier part in this was thru. Thier numbers were decreased, but not decimated. before the Hospitals were rebuit, the vampires of the city would be prowling the streets at night, taking retribution on those who preyed upon the innocent, and extracting bloody vengance on any Council they found.
With Requiem temporarily distracted, Rock-hopper snuck around behind him. The chance to further weaken his foe presented itself. With an underhand swing, his stone mallet connected with the back of Requiem's knee. Buckling under the force, the Nictus collapsed hard to his knees. Without sparing a second, Rock-hopper grabbed a tentacle in each hand, and wrapped them around his arms. Steam hissed as the negative energy began eating away slowly at the ice covering the penguin's arms. Bracing his legs against Requiem's back, Rock-Hopper began to pull on the tentacles with all his strength.
Requiem screamed in agony, as if the dark tendrils were a part of his own flesh. The grotesque sound of cartilage snapping could be heard by all. Finally, the tentacles surrendered with a loud pop. Two oozing wounds were left behind on Requiem's back, and the tentacle holding Shrike fell lifeless to the the ground as it was violently disconnected from its host. The other two tentacles were flailing in the air wildly. Rock-hopper recovered quickly and grabbed these tentacles similarly. He pulled these to their limit and spoke:
"Now, you're gonna tell us what we wanna know, or you'll lose these, too. Got it?"
My story arcs: #2370- Noah Reborn, #18672- The Clockwork War, #31490- Easy Money
Sartre once said, "Hell is other people." What does that make an MMO?
Requiem looked at Rock-Hoppe for a moment with utter rage, then began to chuckle. His chuckle became maniacal laughter as he jumped back, the tentacles on his back releasing BY THEMSELVES. The tentacles sent out a wave of negative energy that would damage whoever was holding them before disappearing.
"Fool!" Requiem said. "Nictus and Kheldians are not so different; watch!"
With a yell, Requiem's body changed once more. He grew in height, his head reaching the cieling as his body became more muscular, dark armor covering his entire body. His head altered until it no longer resembled a human's, his red eyes shrunk back into his head, glowing like two red beads as his head, too, was covered in dark armor. He let out a roar as his transformation ended.
"I will kill you all!" Requiem yelled, his voice barely human. "But even if I am unsuccessful in THIS form..." Requiem let out an etereal chuckle. "I WILL be successful with my FINAL FORM!"
Requiem raised his huge leg and then crashed it down onto the floor, causing negative energy waves to damage all those who were on the ground at the time.
"You can't stop the Council!" Requiem yelled to the Heroes in his inhuman voice.
The "Council's Ultimate Plot" Saga: Requiem's Second Form, Goliath Requiem!!!
Supplemental Galactic Protectorate Fanfic
Blood Wolffe got up slowly wincing with pain. The others had held Requiem's attention long enough for his body to heal most of itself.
When Requiem changed into the giant armored tank of a creature Blood Wolffe grinned at him. He knew that Requiem was slowly getting desperate, if he had to change forms than he thought he was losing.
He sent a blast of energy at Requiem but only part of the blast went between his massive plates of armor, the rest simply skipped off. His blasts werent going to break the armor.
I have to shoot between the plates!? This is going to take alot of aiming.
Then he had an idea. Charging a small ball of energy in his hands he waited until it was hard to hold on to. He fired it at Requiem and it hit a plate on his chest. It fizzled for a moment and exploded in a bright blue flash. The armor didnt even look burnt.
"Damn, missed." Blood Wolffe said through his teeth.
Again.
He charged another ball in his hands until the energy sealed inside the ball was ready to burst out, if it did it would certainly take off Blood Wolffe's arms. He concentrated on the exposed flesh between the plates and fired. Requiem saw the blue ball hurdling towards him but it was too late. It hit squarely between the two plates. It fizzled in his chest and started to whistle then escalated into a screaming shreak before it exploded in another bright blue flash, causing the two plates to pop out a little, loosening from the flesh. Requiem let out a scream at the explosion inside him, but pain wasnt Blood Wolffe's intention. His intention was to get the plates off of Requiem so he could be easier to take down.
"Hack the flesh! Rip his armor off!" Blood Wolffe yelled to the other heroes.
Blood Wolffe began to charge another ball up with energy.
-Trooper Evans was in a pickle. He was a loyal soldier, but he was heart-sick at what was going on. Things had been better before the schism. The leaders of the 5th column would never have stooped this low. Hospitals, kids, indescriminate killing and terror. They 5th didnt opperate like that ((or so he believes-ooc)). But this monster...Requiem...he had currupted everything , and now the Council was just another criminal organization...one of many in the city. So he sat and watched. The heroes had made good headway...fighting thier way in from multiple angles. Some were no better than the leaders of the Council...the vampires that clawed thier way up from the sub-levels. He shuddered at the memory of seeing one of his fellow squadmates being torn apart by one of those beasts. He alone had made it back to the command area, and took up his current position. He had a clear view of most of what was happening. Requiem was hurting, as another small explosion dislogged more of his armored plates, but wasnt defeated. Evans watched as the monster picked up one of the heroes around him and hurled him into the one causing the explosions. Evens knew that, given enough time, the heroes would win. More were entering the base every minute. Problem was, every minute, more people were dying, for no reason. What good was it to be rulers of the city if everyone was dead? He looked down at the rifle craddled in his lap. He wasnt even sure what it was called...something new, to be used against 'keldians'?...whatever those were. He had picked it up oin the way here, after he ran out of ammo for his own rifle. He pondered a bit more, watched a shodowy figure leave the far maintenance closet, then came to a decision. This was not his beloved 5th. He was no longer a soldier for the Column. He brought the rifle up, his training taking over...slow breaths...gently squeeze the trigger...and nailed Requiem square in the face. Before anyone could react, he squeezed again...and again. The rifle was emitting a warning tone...and the stock was getting hot. He ignored both. He knew that if let up for even a moment, Requiem would kill him. He fired again, and again, and ag...BOOM..the power supply went critical. What was left of trooper Evans slid down the opposite wall.
-Mordachai was in the process of slipping away when the first few shots hit Requiem. Requiem let out a scream that was agony and terror all in one, and hit the floor, holding his face. Two more shots hit him in the upper torso, blasting right thru his protections...then there was an explosion from the upper left observatory. Mordachai knew the fight had just swung, heavily, in thier favor. Even as some of the other heroes turned to see what the explosion had been, the ones that had been fighting Requiem closed in on the monster. "Guess I hadn't needed to call in that favor after all" thought Mordachai. He also advanced on the still prone form of Requiem...waiting for some new trick. No one moved. "Well, this is silly" he said, and reached doen and rolled Requiem over. He looked normal again, and was laying on top of the two other Council that he had absorbed earlier. All three were out cold. Now all that was left to do was to wake him, after making sure he was securly bound, and extract the anti-dote/ cure from him. Mordachai turned to the penguinoid. "Rockhopper, I leave him in your custody. He wouldn't live long in the care of my kin...and we may need him alive if he isn't entirelly truthful at first". With that, he turned and left, ignoring the questions and calls that followed after him. He was gone after turning the next corner.
((OOC-seemed like this was dying...too armageddonish...so figured was time to conclude. Yall wrap up the loose ends.))
((Thanks Gordon, I havent had much time to focus on this one as I am concentrating on my other project which is a pretty big one. I will respond to this one again when it is good timing for Blood Wolffe to step back in. I have a back up plan too in case of no response.))
((Wow, this Thread died quickly. I blame myself; I created a situation with no end in mind (I had hoped someone else would come up with an interesting conclusion, but TAGordon2's ending is fine). I'll fix up the loose ends now, and (maybe) start the beginning of the next Saga. I'll seperate this Post into two sections; the first section finishing up this Saga, then another section offering a (possible) beginning to the next Saga. I realize that Open RP's require the full participation of everyone involved, which is why I'm making the second part of this Post a "test" to see if you're willing to go with it. It remains true to the ideal of this Thread, but some of you may have other plans about what to do. And since I've already "headed" one Saga, anyone else who has a better idea than what I give in the second section of this Post is more than welcome to offer it. I think that the idea of "killing or not killing" offers many different plots for this Open RP to follow, so if someone else comes up with a more interesting plot than what I offer for the next Saga, go ahead and Post it; I'm more than willing to follow along with someone else's idea 
))
Wolfe Gunner sighed as he watched the Freedom Phalanx clear out what was left of the Council base. Once Requiem had been knocked unconcious, it was easy for Lieutenant Hawk of the Super Group "Final Justice" to pick the password from his head. With the Sleeper Agents back to normal, the city was beginning to return to normal... although, the lives that were lost in the incident were not so easily salvaged.
Wolfe Gunner looked over to see Statesman talking to Captain Eagle of the Super Group "Final Justice". As it turns out, Captain Eagle and Statesman had been pretty close during the Ritki War. Using his keen wolf hearing, Wolfe Gunner could hear the conversation clearly; Requiem's body was nowhere to be found.
"Heh." Wolfe Gunner chuckled to himself. "After all that, Requiem still escapes." Wolfe Gunner was a bit taken aback by his own lower voice, and reality caught up to him. He had been in his Wolf form too long during the battle; this form was his new body, at least until he could find a way to seperate his wolves from his body once more.
Wolfe Gunner turned his inhuman eyes up to the night sky. It was a full moon. He chuckled once more; even that morning, he would have despised himself, cursed the world for this fate. He would have done everything he could have to rid himself of the curse and be done with wolves once and for all.
Wolfe Gunner closed his eyes, his head still facing the night sky. He had changed alot in the course of a day; and, though he wished to return to his previous form, it wasn't because he couldn't stand his current body; it was because he knew that his best friends needed their own bodies. They had to live their own lives, after all.
-----
(And now, the "experimental" opening to [possibly] the next Saga)
Joe stepped back from the sign of Paragon City, eyeing his work. He then got back into his running car and pulled back onto the highway. He adjusted the car's mirror and watched as the dark city in front of him became ever closer to his reach.
"Ah, Paragon City..." Joe smiled inwardly, chuckling slightly. "The City of Hope, the City of Heroes, the shining example of what every other city should aspire to." He narrowed his eyes, already seeing signs of the previous carnage that had befallen the city. He smiled. "Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such wealth has been brought to ruin!"
Joe turned on his radio, music beginning to play on the station. "Let the fun begin." He mused to himself. The radio began playing the old song, "(Sittin on the) Dock in the Bay" by Otis Redding. Joe began to whistle the tune to himself as the car sped towards Paragon City.
Behind him, the sign that once said "Welcome to Paragon City" had been altered. "Paragon City" had been crossed out, replaced with the word "Babylon"
((If any of you have seen the Justice League Epsiode "Eclipse", you probably have a much better understanding of what I'm talking about for this "opening". The episode "Eclipse" was basically ripped off from a famous movie starring Denzel Washington (I'm not sure how many of you have seen it, but watch the movie, then watch the "Eclipse" episodes, and just TRY and say that Justice League didn't COMPLETELY rip off the movie (which was made much ealier). That's basically the type of plot I'm trying here, but like I said, if anyone else has any ideas, I'd be more than willing to take someone else's idea over mine 
))
Supplemental Galactic Protectorate Fanfic
"SH-T" Shrike grated within his helmet as he saw his gleaming bullet leave a trail which blew through Requiem's midsection. "One more chance..."
Davis took the other bullet and started to load it into the chamber, when suddenly a black tentacle extended almost across the room towards him from Requiem's back, wrapping around Davis' body.
The pain was excruciating. The fluid surrounding the tentacle made a hissing noise as it first corroded his suit and then began on his skin...his bullet had fallen to the ground beside him.
"Fox", Shrike wheezed as he struggled to keep from passing out, "help..me."