The Grand Battle [Game Over!]

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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The Director's screen turned to static.

An image replaced his view of the library. It was a face, shrouded in shadows, surrounded by viewscreens.

"What is the meaning of this, Monitor?" he yelled. "You are interrupting my view of the battle."

The Monitor's silhouette barely moved as he spoke.

"I wish to speak to you about discipline. I have detected an anomaly in my contest's current battlefield, and I calculate an 85% possibility that one of your Gentlemen is responsible."

The Director sneered. "You wish to speak to me about interference? I understand one of your own contestants is a spy."

"That is simply a necessary precaution," said the Monitor, unfazed. "Based on the current status of your battle, I calculate only a 58% chance that you are not killed before it concludes. Furthermore, that number could drop as low as 17% depending on what occurs in your library."

The Director's face grew serious. The Monitor did not throw numbers around lightly. "Then you had better allow me to watch what is going on there, rather than obstructing my view."

"As you wish. I have my own battle to manage, after all. I simply ask that you see to the punishment of the Gentleman who has decided to interfere."

The view returned to the library. But Drake's words had already been spoken.

***

"You have a goal that extends beyond this battle," Eximo said, sounding thoughtful.

"I might. It hardly concerns you, machine. Of course, I suspect I'm not the only one. Ari and Arnold both seem to have plenty to hide, even from us." He grinned.

Eximo noticed two lifeforms pass nearby on the scanner. It ignored them. "Is there something you wish to ask of this unit?"

Drake laughed. "There might just be."

***

Amethyst grew worried. There was no sun in this library, so she would have to preserve mana. But Arnold was not making that easy.

She would have to find some way to escape the battle. This direct intervention had made it clearer than ever that they were close. She couldn't waste time and mana here, but what other choice was there?

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SpoilerI'm kind of dumping things on Draykon here, I realize. There just aren't a lot of obvious things to do right now.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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SpoilerFuck, man. You react like lightning.

Originally posted on MSPA by Draykon.

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"So, I take it there is a book in this library which you personally do not desire me to read?"
Arnold slowed his attack, but still the sword assaulted Amethyst.
"And just how do you reason that? I am merely attempting to weaken you so that my contestant can kill you himself."
"Consider this then."

Amethyst stopped and floated in midair. Arnold's sword still circled her, but he didn't want to stab her just yet.

"As far as we are concerned, the demon lord was a 9th contestant, who appeared halfway through the battle. Therefore it is possible for contestants to conceal themselves until midway. Likewise, you have been directly attacking me. The most logical explanation is that you are a 10th contestant. As someone who could render me weakened, you are a higher priority target than myself."
Arnold grinned, and his sword landed back in his hand.
"So you would turn my own vacuum cleaner against me? What if I just explained to him the real situation?"
"It is not your vacuum cleaner. In addition, Eximo would consider me a more reliable source of information than an unidentified entity such as yourself."
"So what? He trusts you more than me?"
"Exactly."

***

"There's a book in this library." Drake said to the machine.
"Sensory data confirms this. There are in fact, several million books in this library. Possibly more." Eximo replied, the closest to sarcasm he could manage.
"Right, but there's a certain one. I have no idea what it's called, what it looks like, or where it is. But I have a couple theories based on what we've seen of these things before."
"Please elaborate. What are 'these things?'"
"Can't say I'm afraid, the distraction gambit only works so long before it becomes improbable. But I've got a feeling the book I'm looking for is the only thing in this library that isn't filthy."

"The cleansing has been reduced in priority. As a result, filth scanners are not functioning at full power. Locating a single clean point in this location would be impossible without reprioritization."

"Makes sense, makes sense. Tell me, have I ever lied to you Eximo?"

"This unit cannot confirm this. However, none of unit Drake's statements thus far have directly conflicted with any known facts."

"So you'd call me a reliable source then? Good. No matter what your current top priority orders are, it would be beneficial to them to find this book. Got that?"

Eximo stopped. "Please explain the previous statement."

"I don't have to if I don't want to. And you don't have to question it if you don't want to. It's something to do isn't it? Go search."

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SpoilerWhat with Master of the World, and The Key to the City, I'm starting to think there may be more of these fancy world controller things. That which I've observed:
The Lybrarian in Mutewood.
Once the bomb in Freefall got itself 'destroyed,' the arena was re-merged with its old world, and effectively destroyed. So the bomb could be thought of as some kind of world controller.
Killville didn't have anything obvious.
Pop-Up Land had Master of the World. (The pop-up-book)
And Battleopolis had the Key to the City.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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SpoilerMaybe the werewolf was actually the controller in Killville. We never really got a chance to explain specifically why it was there.

This also suggests that we could have escaped in the first round, when Aeon reversed the link with the Lybrarian, but we didn't have enough knowledge at the time to realize that.

Also, I'm still going to aim for a post at least every two days, just so you both know. However, if I see a post from both of you on one day, I'll probably post too.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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SpoilerDammit, I don't have that kind of time to update that fast.

I guess I'm going to have to make longer updates to compensate for that.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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SpoilerIt won't matter for a little while, since Aeon's pretty free to do what he wants right now.

"That is an interesting hypothesis. Perhaps I should test it."

Arnold disappeared as suddenly as he had come. Amethyst was relieved she had a chance to search now, but concerned at what the Gentleman might be planning.

***

Eximo seemed, reluctantly, to accept Drake's information at face value.

"Based on data provided, this unit has concluded that searching for the book is a priority. This unit will proceed to do so," it said. There seemed to be a cautious tone to its voice.

"Good, good. Do enjoy yourself." Drake excused himself as Eximo sped off in search of the book. Now that matter was taken care of, he wanted to investigate what the other Gentlemen were up to.

Had he continued to follow Eximo, he would have soon found out part of his answer.

Amethyst stood in front of the vacuum cleaner.

Eximo pulled out two knives.

"This unit has orders to kill you," it said.

"I should warn you before you do that," Amethyst interrupted, "that new contestants have joined the game. I believe there are three of them."

Eximo paused.

"Information noted."

"In fact, anyone unfamiliar you have encountered is likely a new contestant. Any information they may have given you is highly suspect, as they are seeking to win this contest, and are clearly willing to mislead you."

"This is plausible," Eximo noted.

"And their capabilities are unknown. They are potentially far more dangerous than myself or Aeon."

"This unit cannot deny that possibility."

"I hope you appreciate the information," she said, smiling.

Eximo checked its scanners. "Lifeform identifying itself as Drake is still visible. Investigating now." It turned back the way it had come.

When it was gone, "Amethyst" laughed. Arnold removed his disguise and moved some books on a nearby shelf.

"I can't make this too easy for you, Eximo. That just wouldn't be as much fun."

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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Drake heard the vacuum cleaner approaching him. It had not been built for stealth.

He called out to it before it arrived. There were only two reasons he could think of that the machine might come back looking for him, and for one of them he would prefer to keep his distance.

"Do you have a question for me?"

"Affirmative," came the reply. "This unit has been informed that you are a contestant in this game. Can you demonstrate otherwise?"

Drake groaned. One of the others must have decided to cause trouble for him.

"And may I ask who informed you of this?"

"Lifeform Amethyst. This unit was given an argument that you were a higher priority target than her, and thus she has been left alone." The vacuum came into view, four arms wielding knives at the ready.

Drake looked at Eximo thoughtfully.

"Yet you offer me a chance to prove I am not a contestant. How interesting. It is as if you are still hesitant to attack, despite the orders."

Eximo advanced slowly.

"Or perhaps, you are trying to avoid a victory. If you are destroyed, you will not be able to carry out your orders, and will not have to try to destroy Amethyst or Aeon. Could this be the case, I wonder?"

Eximo simply advanced, slightly faster, saying nothing.

"Or do you suspect, as I do, that it was not truly Amethyst who told you we were contestants? It could be a Gentleman, like myself, using an illusion to deceive you."

Eximo stopped.

"Ah. I've established doubt, eh? Well, I could have some fun with you, but I really must be going. And do remember what I said about that book. Farewell."

He left swiftly, as Eximo pondered his words.

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SpoilerIncidentally, I think I may have figured out Draykon's plan for getting around the kill order while I was figuring out where I wanted to go with this.

Originally posted on MSPA by Draykon.

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It was quiet. Dishearteningly so. Amethyst ran her finger through a random shelf. Biographies, all of them, presumably of people from all throughout the multiverse. Draiban Vokelda, Ivan Embrake, Nopor Puss- this one had a drawing of a paper-mache giraffe on the cover- she paid the names little mind. Rather, what caught her attention was a book that seemed significantly larger than the others. When she pulled it off the shelf, it seemed more colorful too.

It was a children's book, a collection of childish stories. Someone had considered this a biography? She was about to open it, when a white gloved hand yanked it from her grasp.

"Sorry, it'd be better for you if you didn't read that." Drake casually said, eyeing the book himself.

"Better for you you mean?"

"More or less. But it's better for you if things go well for me. Besides, aren't you too old for things like this?"

"I've been somewhat morally challenged ever since my transformation. I could use a refresher on right and wrong."
Drake giggled slightly, before jumping up to the top of a shelf, and running off with the book.

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SpoilerKindof a short post here, but I'm making it in English class, so I'm a little short on time. May make another one later today, or may not.

Originally posted on MSPA by cyber95.

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SpoilerThat Nopor Puss biography doesn't actually have any information on him. Because, y'know, it'd be pointless to have a biography not have any information on the subject.

Originally posted on MSPA by The Dr..

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SpoilerThat Nopor Puss biography doesn't actually have any information on him. Because, y'know, it'd be pointless to have a biography not have any information on the subject.

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SpoilerSee, this is one of the many reasons the MSPA community loves you.

Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.

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SpoilerWoah hey what the fuck am I doing here

Oh that's right I just finished reading The Grand Battle



Alright, only technically finished, I guess.

Whatever.

Spoiler:

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SpoilerEximo wins.












cleans up the competition

Originally posted on MSPA by bobthepen.

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SpoilerTo be honest, I still think that, based off his earlier entries, Draykon has a good chance at winning this. Not to mention the quality of Aryogaton's posts have improved greatly last round as well. While I love Eximo as a character, Dragon Fogel's posts seem a tad choppy. This could be because he deals mostly with dialogue, and there hasn't been much room for descriptive detail in this round. IMO, this is still anyone's game.

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SpoilerWhat I would really like is to see what the characters are actually reading. I mean, "biography" or "storybook" is a fine description for a casual glance, but if someone is studying a book they've found, why not post a passage or two from it to add to the ambiance of the library?

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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SpoilerYeah, one thing about trying to write every day or every two days is that I start to get sloppier if I don't have a particularly good idea.

That said, the main reason I'm doing it isn't so I win, it's so the plot keeps moving along.

Also, I think my best writing comes when I'm backed into a corner and have to find a way out of it. So I guess I'll start moving in that direction.

Eximo sat still for nearly a minute.

"Current information insufficient to determine whether lifeforms other than Amethyst or Aeon are contestants," it concluded, somewhat sadly. "Destruction of other lifeforms therefore becomes lower priority until further information can be gathered."

It paused.

"Current location is a library," it noted to itself. "Libraries store information. Information in this library may clarify entrant status of other lifeforms."

It pulled the nearest book off a shelf. The cover showed an image of a Moebius strip, and bore the title "THE PUZZLING BOOK OF RIDDLES".

The very first puzzle seemed surprisingly relevant. It asked, "There are six lifeforms in this library. Three of them are known to be contestants. Can you use the clues to find out if any of the other three, the Gentleman, are also in the contest?"

Eximo's mind, much as it had developed since the contest began, was still too simple to regard this as anything other than a coincidence. The vacuum read on for the clues.

"Clue 1: The Gentlemen who are contestants will always lie.
Clue 2: The Gentlemen who are not contestants will always tell the truth.
Clue 3: Drake says that Arnold is a contestant and Ari is not.
Clue 4: Arnold says that Ari and Drake are contestants.
Clue 5: Ari says that all three are contestants.

Who is a contestant?"

Eximo pondered the puzzle.

"Insufficient information."

The next sentence of the book read "Why do you say that?"

"This unit cannot currently verify any of the claims made in this passage."

"See page 158 for solution," read the next line.

Eximo put the book away in its storage compartment. "This unit does not yet have enough data to consider Page 158 a reliable source. This unit will continue looking."

It decided to go back to searching for the book Drake had pointed it towards. Somehow, it felt this would aid it in clarifying its orders.

Several minutes later, Aeon heard a familiar hum nearby.

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SpoilerI'm going to start a fight soon.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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SpoilerUh. I spent the last hour or two doing this *cough*. I was planning to do something here too.

“Y'know what intrigues me? Turn left.”

Aeon made a left, ignoring the Gentleman's drivel.

“I wonder. Why is it that you have not asked me who I am? Turn right.”

Aeon stopped and turned around, leaning on the bookshelf behind him. Ari mimicked his gesture, albeit not sarcastically.

“Is it what you expected me to do?” Aeon said.

Ari gave a slight chuckle. “Of course. You're just too unpredictable. Let's continue, shall we?” the Gentleman started to walk forward.

Aeon, seeing the situation useless, followed. This time, the Gentleman led the way.

“If you want to know, but just don't feel like asking, I am one of the Gentlemen. We're the ones who chose you and the other contestants for this battle.” He made a right, and continued to talk.

Aeon paid it no attention. Rather, the most significant thing on his mind was a faint, familiar drone. He looked ahead, as Ari made a left. Aeon stopped walking, and moments later, Ari came back from the turn with a look of curiosity.

“You don't wish to follow me anymore?” Ari said simply. “I would've expected you to just waltz off while I wasn't looking.”

“You expected that?”

This time, Ari was not as amused. “You wanted to see Amethyst did you not?” Aeon shrugged. “I… suppose we will be going our separate ways, then.” The Gentleman began walking the direction he intended to go.

“There is one thing. All I ask for is that… silver dough that you found.”

Ari froze, and dig through his suit. He produced the object and tossed it to Aeon. “Well you certainly have a strange way of asking what you want.” The term “silver dough” is recognizable but meaningless. Thus, he got what he wanted without giving away any further information.

Aeon caught it, and turned around. The men began to walk in opposite directions. The plan worked out perfectly.

***

In envisioning travel between the higher dimensions, an analogy may be used. Consider a perfectly-flat snow sheet, the kind made by undisturbed and continuous snowfall—I am sure you have seen this before.

As Aeon walked, the hum of a vacuum decreased, and eventually became completely inaudible.

You, as an individual who can pass above and around the snow sheet, can be considered to be a being of the higher dimensions. The flat sheet, then, represents the undisturbed matter of the lower dimensions.

He continued to walk until he came to another circular array of shelves, and a circular table in the middle.

If, say, you were to somehow disturb this fine sheet, whether by simply running your finger through it or lying down to make a snow-angel, then you have pushed the sheet into a higher dimension.

He sat down, and examined the debilitated quicksilver.

If you somehow regret this decision, then you may perhaps gather up bundles of snow and pack it into the hole you just made. However, regardless of how much you attempt to reestablish the perfect flat sheet, the task is impossible. You will find that the disturbed snow now occupies the same dimension as you.

He took his adaptive tool, and laid the two shapeshifting objects on the desk.

Thus, the analogy is explained. An object from Flatland, if pulled into the third dimension, permanently adopts the three-dimensional configuration. Although its two-dimensional shape may be preserved, it cannot return perfectly into Flatland, as doing so would crush its new properties.

He rolled the dull object into a ball, and pressed it into the base of his adaptive tool's handle.

We may perhaps place the Flatland object back into its own world with reasonable approximation, but we cannot return it to its perfect two-dimensional status. It now can, and always will be able to, extend into the higher dimensions.

Soon, a bead appeared on the adaptive tool, and it slowly grew.

Originally posted on MSPA by Draykon.

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SpoilerWait, was that an actual excerpt from Flatland?

Also, answer to Fogel's riddle: None of them are really 'gentlemen,' they're all assholes.

Atop a peculiarly high bookshelf, two gentlemen sat observing.
"It's getting hard to follow who's responsible for what." Arnold commented, as Drake skimmed through the colorful book he'd confiscated from Amethyst.
"In that sense everyone's doing everything, so don't worry about it."
"No matter how you break it down Drake, you can't deny the active sequence of events before you."
Drake responded with a simple "Can and am." as he stared down a certain page, decided what he was looking for wasn't there, and flipped ahead.
"What is the significance of that book anyway?"
"I'm trying to decipher a pattern. This was sitting in a biography section. Either someone has no sense of organization, or there's something special about this book."
"Or perhaps it actually is a biography?"
Arnold rudely yanked the book from Drake's hand, and flipped through it. Seconds later, he lay it open in front of Drake, and pointed at a certain page.

But the king wasn't fooled by the knight's trickery, and saw through the straw dragon's head. But still, he felt sorry for the knight, who despite his all his failures, had always tried his best.

"So never give up and at least you'll get people's sympathy? Big whoop!" Drake remarked, looking off in the distance, uninterested."

Arnold sighed, and stood up. "It's a book that has bastardized the contestant's histories as Aesop-esque fables."
Now Drake was interested, as he flipped through the book, eager to find a family-friendly rendition of Lutherion.
"At any rate, I'd hold on to that if I were you. It could get us out of a battle with the vacuum."
"Eximo's doing exactly what I want it to right now. But I guess you're right... Hey! What the hell?!"
He shouted, as he realized Lutherion had been omitted from the book entirely.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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"He's not in there?" Arnold asked, his smile looking even more sly than usual.
"Not at all! I was hoping for a good laugh at seeing what they said, but it's like they didn't even try." Drake grumbled. "How boring."
"Well. Why don't we fix that?" As Arnold spoke, the book seemed to grow an extra page. Drake flipped to it and watched the words write themselves.

The lord of the dead was finally defeated, his army scattered. Yet at what cost? Many had given their lives in the struggle to end his, and the hero who dealt the final blow had risked his very soul for the chance.

Drake turned to Arnold. He was probably giving him a dirty look, but the mask obscured it. "How, exactly, are you doing that?"
"I'm sure you have a guess," he replied, still smiling.
"I'm pretty sure it has something to do with illusions," Drake muttered, laying his fingers on the new page. "But that doesn't explain how you added a new page to the book!"
"Now, now. I can't give away all my secrets. Where's the fun in that? But now I'd like to try something else."
Before Drake could respond, another paragraph appeared on the new page.

The lord of the dead was not truly gone, though all believed he was. He would one day, soon, return to haunt those who had opposed him and yet lived. He would make them die at his hands, and he would follow them no matter which world they escaped to.

"I see what you're trying to do, but how can it possibly..." Drake paused, and looked below.
A figure with a familiar arm had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was Lutherion... and yet, it wasn't. It seemed almost like a parody of him. His missing eye was covered by an eyepatch, and he wore a simple crown upon his head. All the things that made him horrifying had been softened, made almost cartoonish.
"Okay, that doesn't even make sense!" Drake exclaimed, trying not to shout too loud - he didn't need to draw the contestants' attention. "The book tells about fairy tale representations of the real contestants. If changing its content actually changed anything, wouldn't it bring the real Lutherion here?"
Arnold simply smiled. "You're thinking too hard about it, my good man. Just enjoy the show."
Drake grumbled. "Look, if you must do something like this, why Lutherion? I won't deny he's entertaining, but we really should be able to come up with something new."
"Oh, all right."
The last paragraph changed slightly.

The evil clown swore revenge...

The figure below them changed form to a clown with a murderous grin. It laughed wickedly.
Drake shook his head. "That's even worse! Look, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it properly. I'll tell you what to write."
"Taking dictation was never my strong suit, but I suppose we can try." Arnold grabbed the book and held a hand to the last page as if he were gripping a pen. It was clearly just for show. "Go right ahead."

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SpoilerI'm mostly just mucking around with this post, but feel free to use the idea more generally - reading certain books will change the "reality" of the library. Basically, you could read a book and it would summon someone, something, or someplace from the book... or have even weirder effects, like a physics book that, when read, actually changes the physical laws of the library to match what the book says.

Arnold's just playing around with one particular book right now - he can mess with the content of the books in the library, as if dealing with the "lies" they already have wasn't going to be confusing enough. Feel free to have him start a conversation with you while you're reading, but he's probably not going to mess with the reality-altering beyond whatever Drake decides to do here.

...and, I think I just inadvertently took us back to Mutewood's Lybrarian. Does he have something to do with this place?

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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SpoilerI've come to the conclusion that this round will be more interesting if we coordinate on the Gentlemen's plans, so we can be a lot less vague about what they're doing when we interact with another player's Gentleman.

I've PMed Aryogaton and Draykon to this effect, along with what I have planned at the moment for Arnold.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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Drake's tone of voice took a turn for the dramatic. He was enjoying this, it seemed.

"The great spider-beast awoke. It sensed prey nearby. It decided to catch them in its webs and save them for its dinner."

Arnold dutifully 'wrote' the words. The clown was replaced with a gigantic spider, which began crawling around the library.

"Giant spiders seem a bit overused. Are you sure that's what you want?" he asked, sounding more curious than displeased.

"For reasons which I need not divulge to you, I would prefer this round be extended," Drake replied, annoyed. "The spider will capture them without killing them - at least, not until it gets hungry. Any other sort of beast runs the risk of a premature end to the round."

"I certainly can't argue with that. I have things I'd like to do before the round ends as well." Arnold smiled as he closed the book. "Not that you'd be interested in what those things are."

"Does my interest or lack thereof have any actual bearing on whether you will tell me?" Drake asked, skeptically.

"None whatsoever. See you later." He vanished, or at least appeared to. It was difficult to tell with Arnold whether he was actually warping space or simply concealing himself with an illusion.

Drake muttered something under his breath, hoping Arnold was still around to hear it, and then disappeared himself. Meanwhile, the spider-beast slowly crawled towards Amethyst.

***

This is troubling. The contestants are not fighting, even with the machine's orders to kill. I would prefer to continue observing all three, but there is far too much risk if they remain in this library.

Ari followed the droning noise.

There is certainly enough knowledge here to permit their escape, even if it is concealed under layers of lies and illusion. Then I would be out three specimens. If one perishes, even my own selection, I stand a better chance of extending the final round to gather data.

Finally, Ari caught sight of Eximo.

"Greetings," he said, deliberately allowing himself to be heard.

Eximo turned around to face him.

"What business does the unidentified lifeform have with this unit?" it asked.

Ari feigned a look of concern.

"Aeon has decided you are far too much of a threat under your new orders. He is already devising a plan to kill you. I can lead you to him if you would like."

There was a pause.

"That is... acceptable," Eximo said, hesitantly.

"Very well, then. Follow me." He turned around, and smirked.

Excellent. Not only will this serve my immediate purpose, but this battle should prove quite interesting, regardless of the result.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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Eximo followed the strange Gentleman.

"Query. Lifeform Drake claimed to have chosen Lifeform Amethyst for this competition. Unidentified lifeform appears to be of a similar nature. Which contestant have you chosen?"

Ari considered lying to the machine. But then he realized it would give a far more interesting response if he told it the truth. He gave in to his curiosity.

"Aeon."

Eximo paused, trying to process this.

"If Aeon is your contestant, why inform this unit of his plans?"

"An interesting question, isn't it? But does it really matter? You've been ordered to kill him, and if he's actively trying to kill you, that makes him a higher priority target. And it's not as if I could lead you into a trap that easily - you've got that life scanner, you can see for yourself that we're headed for a life form."

"This unit's analysis of the situation matches your own. The recommended course of action is to follow you."

Ari thought he detected a small amount of doubt in the vacuum cleaner's response. The machine fascinated him; nevertheless, he hoped Aeon would prove capable of winning the battle. He still had ways of observing the final round even if the Director banished him for his contestant's loss, but they would be less convenient.

It occurred to him that the machine might, in its reluctance to follow orders, hold back in some way. While that would be good for Aeon's chances, such a battle would not produce nearly as much interesting data. He would have to do something about that.

"By the way," he said, calmly, "you may have noticed that Aeon is willing to fight very hard for his survival."

Eximo did not respond.

"And the next round will be the final one. The Director will want to put on quite the show. Who knows what he'll throw at them?"

Eximo was still silent.

"If it comes down to it, Aeon would probably kill the girl if he felt it was his only chance of survival. What do you think?"

Eximo finally responded, although its voice carried a hint of reluctance still.

"Unidentified lifeform's hypothesis is consistent with this unit's knowledge of Lifeform Aeon."

"I thought you might agree," Ari said, smirking. "Well, he's just over there. I think you can handle the rest."

Eximo extended four arms, armed them all with knives, and sped off towards Aeon's position.

Originally posted on MSPA by Draykon.

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...The principles of soulshift can be applied to the 'youkai' in order to...
"Already read it." came an annoyed voice, as he tossed the book haphazardly over his shoulder.

...The inconsistant nature of truth in the Dome particularly manifested when...
"Read it." the voice complained again, adding another book to the steadily growing pile behind him.

...It is unreasonable to attempt to manipulate the second shadow of a substance which casts none...
"Read it!" another book was added to the pile.

...The excess mana generated serves a vital purpose in order to...
Drake did a double take at the most recent one, and realizing it was in fact a copy of the first book, gave a shout of "FUCKING READ IT!" tossed it on the pile, and screamed in frustration.

***

The eerie noises of the library were slowly becoming more and more disturbing. Even if the sheer atmosphere had difficutly piercing Amethyst's apathetic perception, the fact that another sound had seemingly come from nowhere was peculiar, inspiring if nothing else the logical suggestion that something had entered the library.

It was distant, though whether this made it better by suggesting the unknown entity was distant, or made it worse by shrouding its nature in darkness was a subject for debate.

Amethyst's pale fingers flipped through some foreign atlas, as she carefully listened, hoping to prepare for anything.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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"Lifeform Aeon."

Aeon turned. He knew that voice well.

"Eximo. You killed Nathan."

"This unit does not deny that. This unit's orders are to destroy the other contestants, and Lifeform Nathan was killed by this unit following its orders."

"Now you're here for me, right?" He raised his tool, preparing for battle.

"That is correct. This unit must destroy you to fulfill Konka Rar's orders." Eximo advanced, brandishing its knives.

"Yeah, well, good luck with that." Aeon jumped back, waiting for Eximo to make another move. "I don't intend to die here, and I certainly don't intend to be killed by a vacuum cleaner."

"Then it appears this unit's objectives conflict with yours." Eximo flung two knives towards Aeon, then grabbed two more from its storage compartment, continuing its advance.

***

"Useless, useless!" Drake shouted as he tossed another book aside.

"Do you even know what you're looking for?" Arnold asked, appearing as suddenly as he had vanished.

"Shut up!" Drake growled back. "Have you just been following me this whole time?"

"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't." He smiled enigmatically. "Or maybe I've been watching Ari cause trouble for both of us."

"You mean he's gotten a fight started?"

Arnold nodded. "Aeon and Eximo are fighting as we speak."

"Well, go and break it up! I'm busy here!"

"Now, if I keep having to break up fights, how am I ever going to have time to find what I'm looking for? It's better for both of us if we take turns."

Drake groaned. "Fine. I'll take care of it. But if another fight breaks out, you deal with it."

"Quite reasonable." He began poring through the books as Drake walked off. "I'll pick up from where you left off. Don't worry, I'll show you any books I find interesting."

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

---

Aeon stepped to the side, dodging one flying knife and catching another with his adaptive tool, now turned into something with some resemblance to a tennis racquet. He took the knife, flung it back at the vacuum cleaner, which deflected it with another knife with little effort.

“This fight is unnecessary” Aeon said, narrowly dodging another knife.

“Irrelevant. This unit will obey its orders regardless of such circumstances.”

Aeon caught another knife with his racquet-esque weapon, but failed to dodge another knife, which hit him squarely in the arm. It bounced off, leaving a smaller wound than expected—silver knifes are not known for their particular sharpness.

“You realize… that this setting provides us with the opportunity to leave the game? You can go back to Konka Rar, or whatever his name was.”

Eximo did not show any sign of thought to the statement. “Although such an opportunity is beneficial to this unit, allowing it to happen would cause this unit to disobey direct orders.”

Eximo flung four knives at once, and Aeon ducked under the table. He heard the machine move to the side, trying to flank him. He stepped, head down, in the other direction, until the two switched places. Aeon took the opportunity and broke into a run towards the only exit, now that Eximo was no longer in the way.

Aeon banked a left, right, and stopped at a particularly long shelf. He concentrated on an arbitrary book, grabbed a moving ladder before it even came to a halt, and held on to it as he made his escape.

Midway through, Aeon remembered something. Damnit. I forgot the book and her quicksilver.

***

Ari stepped from behind the bookshelf, and confronted Eximo.

“Lifeform Aeon has escaped. This is unfortunate. Requesting unknown lifeform guide this unit towards lifeform Aeon.”

“One would think that you'd be able to at least try to stop him, but I suppose you can't teach a machine new tricks. Follow me.” Eximo followed.

Well that ended sooner than I expected. But, at least he was distracted long enough to get this back. Shouldn't've let him have it in the first place. He looked at the semi-lustrous object in his hand. Who would've thought the world of now revolved around something so innocent?

***

Aeon stepped from the ladder, somewhat satisfied at his distance from Eximo. He figured that he was in a particularly obscure part of the library—the silence and dust penetrated more than before. He began to walk arbitrarily, cursing himself for forgetting the two objects that could have freed him from this nightmare. Not paying attention to his surroundings, he stopped at a dead end.

Under normal circumstances Aeon would have turned around and chose a different path, but the particular shelf that dominated the dead-end wall piqued his interest. It was much more elaborately carved than the others, and was evidently made of newer wood. In fact, unlike the rest of the shelves, the varnish was still intact, and it was not particularly covered in dust. Combined with the trend of more dust in the surrounding shelves, this was a peculiarity.

The bottom half of the shelf was somewhat similar to the others, being packed with books of many shapes, sizes, and colors. However, the rest of the bookshelf was solid wood carved in exquisite patterns. This half housed nine slots, eight arranged upright and horizontal, and the ninth flat and above the others. All but one of the eight upright slots was empty, and had a fairly plain book in it. The ninth was covered by what looked like a drawer door, its knob replaced with an incredibly elaborate lock that Aeon knew spanned many dimensions.

Aeon stepped forward and removed the last book in the row of eight. It was plain, had no title, and its front cover was nearly indistinguishable from its back. Flipping through the pages, Aeon saw that it was completely empty, save for the first page, which had an empty list. It had one line at the top, and eight numbered lines accompanied with a small square beside it.

Finding the book useless, Aeon replaced it in the same slot it was in before, hoping he did not place it upside-down. He then turned his attention to the shelf of books beneath the slots. He arbitrarily chose and removed a book, and examined it. It was green in color, with elaborate light green trimmings. The title, which made no sense to Aeon, was Pon DeFor. He flipped through it, and saw that it was a biography.

Aeon replaced the green book and took another, this time violet with light pink trimmings. The title was Drake Eon. Again, Aeon saw that it was a biography of a person he did not know, and replaced it. The third book, a red one, at first seemed to be like the others. However, the title immediately caught Aeon's attention: Ari _____. The last name was scratched out. He began to frantically flip through the pages, but was soon interrupted when the book seemingly flew into the air, closed itself, and replaced itself back in the shelf. Aeon caught a glimpse of a disembodied hand of light holding the spine of the book, before it disappeared.

“Well shit man, you really love to read, don't you?” Aeon stood and turned, and saw Ari standing passively. “Sometimes there are just things you're not supposed to see.”

Aeon attempted to pay attention to Ari's words, but could not help but think about the content of the shelf. If these books are biographies of the Gentlemen, then the Director could be in there. Then again, the Director wouldn't leave his own book out in the open like that.

“It's a marvel, these books. They're not just tomes of information; they're connected to the very fabric of this universe itself.” Ari began to walk towards shelf, and Aeon stepped to the side.

There were many more than eight books in there, so there must be many more than eight Gentlemen. Maybe there are more games like this?

Ari stopped at the shelf, and removed the blank book in the slot. He began flipping through it, despite its lack of content. At last, he closed the book, and it vanished.

“Then again, it's not like you know anything about that.”

I need to get this guy away from me, so I can study these in peace.

“Or… do you? You seem to have read quite a bit in that cheater's guide you had back there.”

But there's no way he's going to leave me here by myself.

“Okay, okay. You don't want to listen, so I'm not going to talk. By the way, the vacuum cleaner is on his way here.”

As if on cue, the whir of machinery began to be heard, and was clearly getting closer. Aeon silently cursed to himself as he ran past Ari and out of the dead end, intent on keeping as much distance from the machine as possible.

Have fun, Ari thought as he vanished into the higher dimensions.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

---

As Eximo pursued Aeon, it passed by the shelf of biographies. Drake appeared in front of it.

"Hello again. My, what an interesting selection of books we have here. Are you sure you don't want to read one?"

"This unit is pursuing Lifeform Aeon in order to fulfill Konka Rar's orders," it responded. "If you are going to interfere, this unit will be forced to eliminate you as an obstruction, one way or another."

Drake ignored the warning, and took out a book from the shelf. "Arnold Fogge," he said to himself. "Now this might tell me something interesting." He opened it, Eximo watching him curiously.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked the vacuum.

"This unit is observing you for signs that you might interfere with this unit's orders."

Drake shrugged. "Observe away." He looked at the first page of the book.

You know I'm not going to make it that easy for you, Drake.

He sighed. No, of course not. More words appeared on the page.

You won't keep it busy for long just by reading. It's already decided you're probably not going to interfere; if I were you, I'd keep an eye on it.

Drake looked; Eximo was, in fact, speeding off past him at that moment.

"You're very annoying to work with, Arnold," he muttered, running after the vacuum cleaner.

Why thank you.

***

Aeon grabbed onto a ladder. He wasn't sure if the vacuum cleaner would be able to use them as well, but they were his best chance for now. Maybe Amethyst would have an idea of what to do, if he could find her...

***

"Lifeform Aeon appears to be moving at an unusually high speed," Eximo said suddenly.

"He's probably moving much faster than you. Maybe you should try a different approach," Drake said. Perhaps he could play the machine's game to manipulate it.

"Explain." The vacuum stopped, but it sounded cautious.

"That shelf where I ran into you? He was there not long before. I think he was quite interested in the selection of books."

Eximo paused for a moment and turned towards the Gentleman. "Relevance of this information?"

"If he thinks it's safe, he'll go back there. You can lure him into a trap."

Eximo paused for a moment, then resumed pursuit. "This unit has no guarantee of the reliability of your information. Furthermore, Lifeform Aeon has indicated he knows of a method of escape. Lifeform Aeon, if left unhindered, may escape this world. This unit's orders cannot permit that."

Drake opened the book as Eximo sped out of sight.

We definitely can't allow him, or any of them to escape. That's going to make the Director recall us, and we still have work to do here.

"I don't think this machine of yours is going to be very cooperative."

Not at the moment. I'll find Aeon and try to work from that side of the problem.

"Good. Then I can get back to reading."

I found a few books you might like to look at when you do. Hold on to this one so I can keep you informed.

"As informed as you want me to be, you mean."

Well, that goes without saying.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

---

Eximo checked its lifeform detector. The signal that seemed to be Aeon's moved some distance away.

"You're not going to catch him at this rate," Ari commented, suddenly appearing. "Perhaps I can assist?"

"Unnecessary," Eximo replied. "Lifeform Aeon is limited by his own stamina. This unit is not. A prolonged chase favors this unit."

A scowl formed on Ari's face. This would not do. The players could not be allowed to take their time and scour the library - for that matter, neither could the other Gentlemen. Yet it seemed the vacuum cleaner was still inclined towards patience, even with its orders to kill. How frustrating.

"He's quite resourceful. If you allow him time to think, he could set up a trap for you."

Eximo continued moving forward. It did not respond for some time.

"If the unidentified lifeform..."

"Ari," he interrupted. "My name is Ari."

"Apologies. If Lifeform Ari is truly concerned with this unit's well-being, Lifeform Ari can deal with potential traps. If Lifeform Ari is not concerned with this unit's well-being, then this unit sees no reason to accept assistance from Lifeform Ari."

Ari groaned. How could such a simpleminded machine become paranoid?

Wait. Aeon had offered it a means of escape. When it was confronting him directly, it had to refuse... But it clearly desired to return home, despite orders.

What if it was intentionally following this fruitless pursuit strategy, hoping to give Aeon time to do whatever he was planning?

"By the way, Aeon cannot complete his escape plan," Ari said. "He has lost an item critical for its success." He made no mention, of course, of where that item had ended up.

Eximo said nothing in response. Did it genuinely suspect Ari of sabotaging the plan? Ari rejected the thought almost immediately - the machine was not nearly that intelligent. It had made surprising moves before, true, but it was still naive in fundamental ways.

Finally, it spoke.

"Lifeform Aeon's escape plan is only relevant to this unit to the extent that it prevents this unit from obeying orders."

"I see," Ari replied, coldly. Was this machine trying to... outwit him? The concept seemed ridiculous, and yet...

He put the thought out of his mind, and concentrated on the matter at hand. It seemed he would have to be more indirect in his methods.

"Well then. I'll just leave you to it. I'm sure you'll put up a good fight when you catch up to him." Ari disappeared, as Eximo continued on its way.

Originally posted on MSPA by Draykon.

---

"Look! No one at school is wearing the original uniform, and there's no way the principal would go out of his way just to target us!"
Amethyst was a little skeptical of the latter statement, there were plenty of times when it seemed the entire school got a kick out of just annoying the two girls.
"I understand, but I'm concerned that we would be approached after the changes. I'm unsure of how to say this, but I'd rather not 'deal' with any of those morons more than necessary."
Midnara had a funny look on her face, both understanding and confused at the same time.
"We'll just dye them black or something then. Anything but that horrid Beige color is great!"
"I'd rather not be forced to tolerate the whispers of 'those two are going goth.'"
Of course, black clothes by no means made a gothic attire, and even then there as nothing truly WRONG with the style, but that wouldn't stop the others at school from jumping on the chance to have something new to annoy her with.

The two had a long drawn out debate over what color to dye their uniforms, before finally settling on the most neutral color they could think of: gray.

Ultimately however, the mere process of dying their clothing destroyed Amethyst's social strategy of "Letting those jerkasses run out of stuff to make fun of," by simply not doing anything at school, and the two had to deal with the special circle of hell known as "middle school."

***

What is it you have to lose?

_______________________
What are you fighting for?

_______________________
What would happen if you died?

_______________________

For all the book's thickness, only the first two pages had print. That it covered an excerpt from her own life, Amethyst hardly found surprising at this point.

A pencil lay on a nearby table. Deciding to 'play along,' she lifted it up, and began to write in the margins, deciding to document her thoughts more thoroughly than the size of the blank spots suggested.

-Even when I was 'normal,' I was driven to shun myself from my peers. They were judgmental and cruel, and I found I could never face their scorn. There was but one person whom I enjoyed the company of, and who enjoyed my company.

-One could argue, that she's the only reason I continued as long as I did. The one person whom I for a time considered 'worth anything.'

-But I can't help her anymore. Even I were to escape, even if I were to win the Battle, I would probably not be returned to my home. Even by now, she is probably...

She didn't finish writing, instead she turned her attention back towards the spaces.

In the first space, with confidence.
Midnara
In the second space, still certain.
Midnara
And the third space, with the same confidence, but perhaps with some degree of sadness
Nothing

A small clicking noise came from the back of the book, and Amethyst turned the page. Now covered with bright red ink- though only a few words were written in a large font.

30% F

"You felt nothing!"

With that same ink, was a crude doodle of the girl with black pigtails being impaled by a skeletal arm.

"You don't care about her! You just jumped right into combat after you saw her killed!"

Drake's voice came from atop a nearby bookshelf, his mask of comedy swapped out for one of tragedy.

"You were never fighting for her! You were fighting for those fleeting memories of your past! 'What my old self would say" right? Just abuse the word 'fuck' and you'll be just like your old self right? I've seen people go into denial after the Magician Youkai transformation, but you're just trying too hard!"

Amethyst stood still, calm as ever "I take it you are one of the Gentlemen then?"

Drake took a single step forward, and ended up inches from Amethyst's face. He snatched the sunglasses Jerry had given her, and tossed them to the side. "It's dark in here. There's no logic behind wearing these. But I guess you were trying to be 'normal' weren't you? Well I got news for ya. Normal people are assholes. Everyone back on Embrake was an asshole. Nathan gave into a demon- sounds like an ass move to me. And everytime you've tried to be 'normal,' you've done something pretty definitively asshole-ish."

He paused for a moment, taking a couple steps back.

"Also a giant spider is coming here to eat you. I'd go curl up in a corner and wait for me to finish reading so I can take care of that for ya if I were you."

Saying nothing else, he jumped back up to the bookshelves, and ran off.