Sae and Ryuji began their assault as well, firing a mixture of bullets and ice shards.
All three attacks, however, were deflected by the being.
He backed up and quickly chanted an incantation.
The world went black, and each person was standing alone, facing a shadow of themselves.
The shadows didn't speak, but it was clear from the first attack that they could fight.
The Magus simply let his shadow shatter his icy form. Now the robed figure once again, he flung potions of holy fire at the Hellfrost.
He knew their weakness.
OOC: Shadow demon? At Akihabara? It dead yet?
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
(OOC: No, I need to send a PM to Essex first. Actually the SHADOW demon is dead, the other one isn't.)
Allen was quite suprised to see the pictures on the walls. There was a Murok, an Itikil, even a Necrian.
And this gave him the first clue to the mystery of who controlled all this. The demons themselves were created by human belief in them, everyone knew this. The Rikti had exterminated both the gods and demons on their world by slaughtering all who believed in them. Allen's race had chosen a smiliar, if somewhat more...acceptable method.
However, at one point in time, they had had their demons. And the picture on the wall made it clear that whatever force controlled this had to be at least six thousand years old, since that was the last time the demons had surfaced.
Allen didn't even flinch as the being attacked. The demonic fire caused nothing in Allen's powersuit except for the poison-green glow around it to intensify for a moment. He just kept thinking.
Indeed, this being looked very much like an Itikil. Was it a posessed, and perhaps mutated, member of the mantis-like people? Shades were known to mutate whatever they posessed to turn it into a more efficient killer, so perhaps human demons could too. Allen decided to call it a Servant for now.
Then Allen's shadow appeared. The General smiled as it attempted a cutter beam attack, throwing up a reflection field and sending the beam careening out of the bubble of darkness he had been placed in, carving a nasty black scar into the wall.
As the shadow now formed its left arm into a blade, Allen simply blocked it with his own, then grabbed its arm and threw it to the ground, snapping the arm he held into a ninety-degree angle.
"Fool." he said to no-one in particular, but if the Servant could hear him, it knew who was meant...
((Ok, junction point. Is the shadow his personified dark side or just magic given form?))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
(OOC: They're projections of yourself, physically the same but having no complex brain or soul.)
Sae was infuriated by the clone, and cut her down in moments. The shadow dissipated, but the field would not until all the shadows were dead.
Chihaya had a certain level of difficulty, since hers just activated a shield and stood their, wasting time. She finally beat it by using its own energy as a weapon, using Soul Siphon.
Ryuji froze his clone solid.
Chiyoko didn't see a clone. The being could not possible create a shadow of her. She grinned at that thought.
"...I know myself a lot better than you may realize."
With this, Allen flung his shadow about before it could counter him holding its arm, feeling the need to embed a solid light grenade in it as he did so.
The solid white light virtually vaporized the shadow, and as the detoination pushed outward, it quickly collided with the darkness Allen had been encased in, stressing it to the breaking point...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
With the last shadow vanquished (OOC: for the sake of argument we'll say Chihaya was the last) the world of shadow vanished, and they were again facing the being.
"Curses..." he uttered.
"Fire," was all Sae said.
"Don't gotta tell me twice." Allen grinned, raising the gun-arm with the firing mode set on vortex cannon.
The sonic attack burst from the barrel, rippling the air and shattering anything that would just above the human threshold of pain. After all, Allen didn't want to harm his allies.
However, hurting Servant wasn't the point of this idea - the sonic waves bounding off everything made the air a completely ineffective conductor for the words of power that conjured up magical spells...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
Chiyoko walked up to Sae and whispered in her ear.
Sae nodded and drew her guns. She took aim and emptied her clips...
into the orb.
"Damn damn DAMN!" the being screamed, charging once more for the team. Without his magic, however, Ryuji was able to turn him into an ice block with minimal resistance.
In front of them, the orb began to crack...
"That orb must break for the next step to take place," Chiyoko stated.
"Wait." The mage uttered as they passed the demon in ice.
The Thornsman lightly tapped it with a hand of mist, laying the palm with the emblem of Thorns on it.
They could hear the demon scream on the inside, and suddenly, in a flash of energy, the ice fell to pieces, the demon a small smoking pile on the ground.
The mage smiled under his hood.
After another volley of ordnance, the orb cracked, and shattered. A bright flash of light emanated from the center, it resembled a star.
Chiyoko stepped forward and held her hand up to the light, and it began to stabilize for a moment.
Suddenly, there was another flash.
The auditorium was gone, and all around them were flower covered fields. Chiyoko turned around to face the group.
"This...is...my world," she said, reaching for the blindfold around her eyes. She removed the blindfold and dropped it. Her eyes were purest blue, gazing upon them imparted a feeling of peace. Then she began to change.
A round crest, almost like a halo or a god's crest from Chinese religions, formed behind her head. Her hair became affixed with gold hairpins adorned with rare gems. Her robed became even more elaborate than before. Finally six large wings came out of her back, allowed her to ascend several feet in the air.
"As I was saying..." she continued. Oddly, she didn't speak in just one language, "This, is my world. I was torn from here many years ago by the one responsible for this invasion. I am not human, nor am I demon or god. Throughout eternity, most religions have recognized one omniscent entity, and his or her messengers. Some serve as his or her voice, I serve as the One's eyes into the mortal time stream. The being behind this attack is masking itself, the only being in this plane of existence that knows where it is, is myself. Of course, it knew this, and assaulted my realm, casting me upon the Earth while he prepared his attack. Now," she chuckled slightly, "is the time for questions. You may ask whatever you wish, except 'what is the meaning of life'. That's not my department."
This was quite a suprise. And finding the creation of a superintelligence here gave this whole invasion, as well as its ringleader, whom Allen had decided to refer to as 6K for now, an entirely new scope. Not only that, it also gave him a list of the usual unusual suspects.
But the main point was that 6K obviously thought VERY highly of itself, bordering on invincibility. If it cast something that could pinpoint it to Terra, only to invade that same world later, it either had enough power at its disposal to overcome the construct, or it had a vastly overdeveloped superiority complex.
Allen really hoped it was the second.
As he looked about the flower-covered fields, he had to slide another filter over his visor. It was bright, and there was light everywhere - and light was something that was very annoying to him in large quantities.
But did he have a question that needed answering...?
No, not really. Things were meant to be found out, that was the fun of life. But then again, Allen had a friend who really had no idea what he was or where he came from. If he could bring him the answer, his friend might finally know where he belonged.
No, he couldn't ask that. Even It had denied an answer, and when It did something, there was a reason - and usually a damned GOOD reason.
"I'm good." he therefore answered with a smile...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
The mage remained silent, a grimace on the face in the shadow.
Sae and Ryuji were, surprisingly, the only ones who actually had questions.
"I have...a few questions," Sae said.
"Go ahead," 'Chiyoko' said calmly, serenely.
"First...what's your real name?"
"Names are fleeting, mortals and beings of the finite spectrum assign names to things to help them remember it. I don't have a real name, but I have developed a fondness for the name I was given when I arrived on Earth," Chiyoko answered.
"Second...how old are you really?"
"Well...I suppose answering this question should give a little more insight into what you're facing. Time is but one dimension. Just like you are not restricted to walk in one of four directions like a two dimensional object is, I am not restricted nor bound by the concept of time. All beings like myself began at the very beginning and end, and thus are incapable of living or dying in our natural state. That said, I do not have an age, and the being you fight does not either. Though, both of us became restricted to our three dimensional forms seventeen years ago."
"My last question..." Sae began.
Chiyoko held up a hand, "Let Ryuji ask next, and then I have to explain your mission. Before the next step, I will answer your question," Chiyoko said.
On cue, Ryuji stepped forward. His question would baffle everyone in the room except himself and Chiyoko.
"Will I ever die?" he asked.
"The One desires you alive, Ryuji, you have a long road ahead of you, with many obstacles, but you will have peace," she said.
"Now, my role in this battle is over. With my presence returned to my own realm, once you leave here it will return to eternal space and I will be able to reveal the location of the being," she explained, "Before then, I give you this."
A great sphere of light formed in her hand and flowed into each member of the group.
"The effects will not be apparent until you leave this place, which you may now through this portal," she waved her hand and a red shrine gate burst from the ground, the ensuing battle in Ginza visible through the archway.
"Go now, and restore our universe to what it should be," she said.
Each member of the group stepped through the portal, Sae stayed a moment longer however.
"The answer is 'yes', Sae," Chiyoko smiled warmly, "Now go, our friends await."
With that, Sae stepped through the portal into Tokyo...
(OOC: Any changes you planned take effect when you arrive in Ginza again through the portal.)
((This post brought to you by the letters G and M. D: ))
Toshio smirked as he brought the demon down hard into the gravel.
"<All right, bucko...Time to go down for your nap!>"
Suddenly, it lunged at him, snapping with its cruel jaws, and catching the man firmly on the shoulder. Toshio snarled and tried to shake the demon off, but it still bit deeply into him.
Suddenly, he began to roar with an otherworldy pain.
"<Get... OFF ....ME!!">
Flinging the demon off and to the ground, Toshio huddled on the ground, holding his head. Something was happening to the man - but there was no time for that. The demon was disoriented...and there was a clear shot...
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
One of the overzealous bunglers, not realizing what had just happened took aim and fired his mecha's cannon at the beast, searing its head off.
As the other pilots congratulated the firer of the last shot, Laserblade seperated from the rest and approached the downed former Tsoo. All sorts of sensors scanned the man's form but could find nothing wrong. After seeing all the negative reports, Jay keyed up the loud speaker.
"<Hey, Toshio. It's me, Laserblade. Are you alright?"
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"Ggh..."
Toshio's body shuddered. Something was happening to him, and he shook all over. He could feel the bite wound affecting him, and electricity crackled over him madly.
"<Stay...back!>" He turned, lashing his hand drunkenly back towards Laserblade. The man in the mecha noted a red glow coming from his eyes.
That soon wasn't the most noticeable change.
The sound of tearing flesh and cloth filled the area and blood stained the ground as two huge, demonic wings burst from Toshio's back. The man grunted in pain, and darkened smoke seemed to coalesce around him.
"<What the...hell is...h-happening!?>" he muttered to himself, suddenly exhausted. He could feel the wild, foreign energy latent within him...but the waters seemed to have calmed. For now.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
With a loud *THUD* the world around the crawler and troops within the portal faded, and they fell a few feet into the midst of the ensuing battle.
The rapid change in environment played havoc with ZERO and the crawler's advance sensors for about two seconds, given the world around them had just suddenly and unexpectedly poofed.
Other than that, they seemed fine.
Sae, Allen, Chihaya, Chiyoko, Ryuji, and the mage were nowhere to be seen though.
This, of course, created a general sense of worry amongst everyone present. The troops worried for their leader, and ZERO and Eichiro worried about their friends.
(OOC: We were just dropped smack dab in the middle of the ensuing battle. To them we weren't gone longer than five minutes.)
Chihaya was the first through the portal.
No longer was she in her standard red and white miko uniform, rather she was wearing something similar to what Chiyoko had been wearing prior to entering the portal.
"\Foo, finally back on Earth! That was a trip,\" she said, mostly to herself.
Noticing the ensuing battle, she reached for her baton...
It wasn't there! She looked all through her robes for it, her precious baton! It wasn't there!
Sad, she sat down and heard a *clank* from behind her. Looking up, she saw that she had...a staff?
She held it in her hands, and felt its power. One end, the top end, looked like a sun, and even spun slowly with some mystical force. Various jewels decorated the staff, and it felt especially strong. The other end was pointed, like a spear.
To add to her surprise, she found she knew improved versions of her previous spells! How she noticed that, however, was a mystery.
Ryuji followed. When he landed, he looked basically the same.
He certainly felt different, though. He felt a greater grasp over his ice powers, he'd no longer be restricted to walls and darts.
The portal crackled and the Mage appeared. There was one major difference about him.
The mist trails from his eyes and footsteps were far thicker, nearly a fog.
He raised his hand up and without even attempting it raised a skeletal construct. The creature had a seal emblazoned on a shredded pieces of cloth it wore around its arm.
The mage smiled under his hood.
(OOC: FYI I'm having Sae go last...obviously since she was the last to leave...and because I have something...special in mind)
(OOC: Ack! this was about to fall off the page...anyone out there? ;_
The Hellfrost batted a bolt of demonfire out of its way and formed icy bulbs in each of its four hands, letting freezing beams fly.