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GBCE · 02-01-2010, 10:55 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Korbz.

"Our stories? Why does it matter to you? If this plan of yours doesn't work, we're all going to get slaughtered anyway. Sure, knowing our stories could be good if you're going to pass them on, but I doubt that a goat-man would do that. Though I can tell you about my race." He came out of the snowman which melted instantly. "I'm a Humanoid, we look sort of like humans, but we lack certain defining traits, like fingers and toes. We're also all wizards with different elements, and I chose ice. It's really fun to use for things like this." He formed a snowball and held it in the air, and floated some fruits over to it. "Now I crush them..." The fruit began compressing, until it exploded, mostly in John's face. "We use this method to make snacks. They're called flavor balls." He chewed on it. "Oh, yeah, we can make things float too."

GBCE · 02-02-2010, 09:59 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by Kaitostrike.

Wait,why didn't it get cut?I know I hit it...Alex wasn't able to continue this train of thought for long before he was interrupted.The glove slammed into him again,and he was knocked back through the wall into the Starbuck's.
So this guy pretends to be calm and friendly,but meanwhile attacks the others with his gloves.Clever.Alex slashed at the glove again,although it left no mark.
The glove lunged at him again,but Alex was able to dodge and strike again.He began to think of some witty one-liner.
"I may not be able to cut you,but everything burns!"Not very witty,but it works.Before it could recover from the last blow,the glove was covered in a blanket of fire.Hah!The stupid thing is...it's not burning.It leapt at Alex again,but Alex was able to block it.
"As much fun as this is,i've had enough."

GBCE · 02-03-2010, 08:13 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by Weldar.

Alex gave the glove one last mighty blow and shot a few blasts of fire at it for good measure, he then quickly melted the ice covering the hole and left through the exit John had patched up earlier. Not that he needed to bother the glove had no intention of following. The blow had sent the glove flying out of the building through the same hole it had entered, it now sat in the middle of the road, barely conscious. The right glove hovered above, watching disapprovingly. It had caught sight of the fight with Alex on it's way back to report to Steven but had chosen not to get involved. After some time the left glove flew up and joined the right. The right gave the left a disdainful look before flying off to find Steven. The left followed a short way behind still looking a little worse for wear.

Steven listened attentively to John's, quite brief, description of himself and his race. He didn't say a whole lot but it does confirm he comes from a different world of some sort, although I guess that was kind of obvious. What I really want to hear about is Jacob's and Blitz's home.Unfortunately neither of them seemed to be willing to speak up just yet. Well I guess it's my go then.
"Okay, I'll go next. I'm just a plain old human. I come from a fairly boring world, none of us have magic or special powers or anything, the best we have is our technology. I guess some of the stuff is pretty amazing in it's own right but there's nothing really outstanding. From the looks of things I'd say we're a slightly less advanced version of the people who lived here in this bubble. The thing is I didn't spend all my life in that world. There's these interdimesional gate thingys, they're kinda like naturally occurring, at lest I think they're naturally occurring, tears in the fabric of the universe, maybe. Anyway these gates lead to a crossroads of sorts which contains gate the billions of other universes, in fact there very well could be gates to all of them. After an unfortunate run in with a secretive and powerful individual in my home world I ended up totally lost in this crossroads. I spent the next couple of years wandering through them. I saw a lot of interesting places during my wandering, now that I think of it a lot of them would make great arenas for this battle we're supposed to be fighting. And I picked up some interesting things during these travels." Right on cue the gloves flew back down to Steven, quite the coincidence that timing. "These come from a god, at least I think it was a god. It seemed to be creating the world there so I guess that makes it a god." Steven glanced at the gloves. The right gloves shared what it had seen but the left glove was looking a little battered and wasn't saying anything and the right glove almost seemed to be glowering angrily at it. Curious
"Anyway with all that said and done I've got some information to report. It seems the Wolf and the other beast, Sen have both gathered together in the park."
" I know I saw it" said Vex
"What?" exclaimed Steven, slightly bewildered.
He followed the Satyr's gaze upwards and saw the distant figures of Wolf and Sen gathered in the small park (although by now it was more of a forest) above them (or was that below them?).
"Ah" said Steven, a little disheartened that his information wasn't so big. "Still the two of them seem to be guarding the tree they planted, Sen in particular seemed very protective of it. Since we're not going that way they shouldn't be too much of a problem for us this round." However as Steven glanced up again he couldn't help but notice the forest was spreading fast. It looks look keeping out of it might get to be a problem if we stay much longer.

GBCE · 02-03-2010, 01:26 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by redskap.

Blitz woke from the daze he was in. His response to Jacob before had been that of an automaton; if Vexmagog hadn't stepped in, Blitz (or Father) might have realized what Jacob had been asking, and things might have taken a turn for the worse.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case. Unfortunately, Vex was asking for their stories; their history. Father had been very set on not letting anyone know that they were sharing the same body. If he told the satyr and the others the truth, Father would be furious. He would kill Blitz, or worse, start killing others. He had to think of something to explain everything, and it had to sound halfway reasonable.

"You want...my story?" Blitz twitched nervously. "I...well, at least I can explain what that man said about me. My father...he's dead. He's with me all the time, in my h...my heart." <Almost said my head! Stupid, stupid!> "About me being asleep...I don't know what he meant by that. Sometimes...sometimes I have nightmares. Bad ones...there's screaming, and blood, and the smell of burning...He could have been talking about that." <Okay, getting a little too close to Father, here...> "And my eye? It just does that sometimes. It's been like that ever since I was struck by lightning." He raised his bandaged hand and shot a few sparks into the air. "That accident also caused this. I don't know how or why, but when it ruined my body, it left me a gift."

Okay. Good. Not the best explanation, and not the most truthful one, but hopefully they'll buy it. Blitz looked up at the rapidly growing greenery up on the ceiling(?) of the sphere they were in. That creature from before... Father mused. It seems as though it will be more difficult for us than the others. Plants generally handle electricity better than most. Blitz twitched violently, his father's mood affecting his body. But we can take care of that. No matter what it is or who it is, pump enough juice into it and it's not going to survive. Blitz could almost see the cruel smile on Father's lips. In fact, it was so clear that it began to surface on his own face. He covered his mouth and forced himself into a coughing fit.

"S-sorry...something got stuck." He cleared his throat and looked around nervously. "So...are we going?" He pointed up at Sen's forest. "You guys have already noticed, obviously, but that thing seems to be spreading pretty fast." <And I'd like to get a move on before anyone asks any more questions...>

Not The Author · 02-03-2010, 06:31 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.

"What, afraid of trees now? Although..." Jacob stared up into his now-empty cup. "...It's probably a good idea to get a move on. So!" The cup flew haphazardly over his shoulder. "I believe a demonstration is in order."

"Quantum Magic." Jacob thrust his blade forcibly into the ground. The intensity of his jab wasn't just for effect, of course; asphalt is notoriously difficult to penetrate. But it was mostly for effect. "'Quantum' is the modern term for it, and probably something of a misnomer." He cracked his knuckles. This, as with the sword, was an entirely superfluous gesture - one of many Jacob was likely to make over the next several sentences. "Regardless, it's the magic of messing with time and space." Shoulders: rolled. "And no, before you ask, I can't stop time outright." Neck: rotated. "But I can slow it down, speed it up, and so forth." Back: arched.

"As to the matter of space..." Jacob retrieved his sword, and began walking in the direction of the pylon. "I can alter gravity, change inertia..." Stopping, he raised his weapon, blade glowing red-violet with latent magical force. "And, perhaps most importantly..." He brought his sword up over his shoulder, edge resting lightly upon his shoulder. "...I can do this."

The sword came down in an arc, sending up a shower of sparks where it grazed the road. Jacob was staring off into space, but the space into which he stared was no longer the same. Before him was what once might have been a beach - there was a pair of deck chairs, a colorful umbrella, and a table with an empty glass bottle sitting atop it. Sand stretched out before them, and there was the typical oceanic detritus associated with tidelines some ways away. It might have been idyllic, if not for the distinct lack of sea.

Jacob straightened himself, brushed some nonexistant dust from his collar, and stepped through his tunnel. "Well, come on! I haven't got all day."

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GBCE · 02-03-2010, 08:27 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.

Vexmagog listened to each contestant's description of themselves and mentally filed away the details he was unaware of.

John swift's entire race is composed of beings with supernatural powers under specific domains? That's very interesting. Perhaps the gods of his world bred with the mortals so much there were no pure mortal beings left. Kind of him to provide a demonstration of his abilities, strange though the particular application may be. So, creates and manipulates ice, and can move things without touching them. Enjoys icy snacks. Distrustful and impulsive. Not human.

"I am sorrowful that you do not trust me yet. I assure you, John Swift, your tale will be carried on, one way or another."

Steven spoke up next, and Vexmagog listened aptly to learn about his unknown new companion. He refers to himself as plain and old. He does not look particularly aged, but I am not sure what qualifies as old among humans. Surely not more than 300.

Steven began to speak about the "tears in the fabric of the universe," and Vexmagog's ears perked up. His description of the "crossroads" did not match the view he had of the separations between universes when he had been forced into Magog's realm all those years ago, but it was too vague to know for sure.

The gloves flew back to him and he began to describe them. More than I want to know where the gloves were before he had them, I want to know where they were just now. They seem to be interacting with one another, relaying information. They seem to have character of their own. I could almost say that one of them is upset with the other. Strange. But yes, Steven. On a journey to find his home. Quiet, possibly secretive. Gloves are separate entities, one creates, the other destroys. Odd how he didn't say much about that.

"Anyway with all that said and done I've got some information to report. It seems the Wolf and the other beast, Sen have both gathered together in the park."

"I know," Vexmagog replied. "I saw it." He looked up at the clearing he had seen before. The cause of the disruptions in the ground was becoming increasingly apparent. A large tree was growing out of the park, and many others were sprouting. They were beginning to infringe on the concrete and asphalt around them, tearing their way through them. Vexmagog watched this unfold with concern.

"Still, the two of them seem to be guarding the tree they planted. Sen in particular seemed very protective of it. Since we're not going that way they shouldn't be too much of a problem for us this round."

So Wolf is assisting Sen? That could mean so many things, I don't even know where to begin.

"Well, Steven Taylor, our task has taken more of a sense of urgency, but continues with heightened hope. You have made me even more assured that we will find a means of escape. You say these crossroads connect to many universes. I feel certain that this must be one of them. Perhaps the humans I encountered had used technology to ensure they always found the right path, and the ones from your world had not yet learned to. If the humans who made this place are more advanced than the ones from your world, they likely had this technology as well."

Blitz, who had been walking in a sort of daze throughout all this, spoke up suddenly, as if waking from a reverie.

"You want...my story? I...well, at least I can explain what that man said about me. My father...he's dead. He's with me all the time, in my h...my heart." Vexmagog was thrown by the way he said this. Something had changed in Blitz, he was sure of it. "About me being asleep...I don't know what he meant by that. Sometimes...sometimes I have nightmares. Bad ones...there's screaming, and blood, and the smell of burning...He could have been talking about that." Not good. It's possible he's under the control of something else when he's asleep. If humans having abilities is an anomaly, he must be well-known for his ability in some regard if he was found to be in this contest. He must have some combat experience. His eyes widened as a thought struck him. What if was not under his own control earlier? His behavior has changed, radically. He doesn't seem to be aware of it. "And my eye? It just does that sometimes. It's been like that ever since I was struck by lightning. That accident also caused this." He raised his arm and repeated the action he had performed before, shooting meager sparks into the air. "I don't know how or why, but when it ruined my body, it left me a gift."

Secretive. Possibly more than one personality. Electrical powers. If his dreams are indicative of his other personality's demeanor, then I must be extremely wary. He instinctively scratched at his right arm, around his shoulder where the scars started. And so, I suppose, should he.

Blitz began to have a coughing fit and spouted an apology and an urging to proceed. Vexmagog was inclined to agree, but before he could, Jacob stopped the group outright. I suppose it is his turn.

He threw his cup over his shoulder, and indicated that he was prepared for a demonstration. He moved with purpose in a manner indicating he was going to demonstrate along their current heading. Vexmagog moved himself from his position at the front of the group quietly.

"Quantum Magic. 'Quantum' is the modern term for it, and probably something of a misnomer. Regardless, it's the magic of messing with time and space. And no, before you ask, I can't stop time outright. But I can slow it down, speed it up, and so forth. As to the matter of space... I can alter gravity, change inertia... And, perhaps most importantly... I can do this."

Vexmagog took note of the excessive theatricality with which the man performed his actions with amusement. He seems very willing to demonstrate his abilities, but has yet to mention how he came to possess them. He saw, then, the hole that had been ripped in the very air itself, which Jacob proceeded to step through. He noted that the hue of the sand in the hole matched that of the sand surrounding the pylon above them, and looked up to see another Jacob, far away, just a tiny speck, in the sand in the distance.

John Swift was the first to stride through the hole as if it weren't anything unexpected. "Awesome. Fantastic. I won't have to listen to you guys talking for nearly as long."

Vexmagog followed them through and looked up. The pylon stretched up to the artificial sun and made it seem more distant and oppressive through perspective. The base appeared to be in the basin of what used to be an artificial body of water, with four long, columned bridges stretching from where the shoreline must have been to four entrances equidistant along the pylon's perimeter, high up from what was now the ground. The bridge had collapsed on the side with the hole, leaving a pile of rubble leading up a shallow mound to that side's entryway. As he was closer to it than the ends of any of the other bridges, he began walking towards it.

Blitz followed behind him, but the others made a beeline for the nearest bridge. As they approached the pile, Blitz spoke up. "Uh wh.. how are you going to get up there?"

Vexmagog looked back at him quizzically. "I'm going to climb this pile of stones," he replied simply.

Blitz looked at the pile, and then back at Vexmagog. "Pile of...? Oh. Um. That's really steep. I don't think I can climb that. I'm going to go with the others." He ran off after them and Vexmagog had a sinking feeling in his gut at being separated. These humans can run pretty fast for having such short legs. Apparently they can't climb very well, though. I'm sure all the entrances meet up at the same place in the center. I'll just meet them there, I guess.

He grasped a protruding piece of stone with one foot-hand and deftly pushed himself off the sandy ground to grab a piece of bent rebar above. With nimble swiftness gained from his physiology and navigation of a mountainous world, he ascended the pile, hand over foot, until it reached what any human climber would have considered the top. Vexmagog, however, leapt from his perch, snagged the jagged edge of a broken remnant of the bridge in midair, and used the momentum to swing forward and grab the top of a column with his feet. He hung there, green cape dangling below, and pulled himself up to the last piece of stubborn concrete clinging to the side of the pylon right by the door.

Looking to his right, he saw that the other four had only barely begun to cross the other bridge. Looking behind him, he experienced momentary vertigo.

The ground gave way to an endless, glittering expanse of blackness, a hundred yards across. Far, far, far below, inexorably swirling bands of green and white gas proceeded at steady tempo around the surface of an immense and foreign world. Their gaps revealed a marred, red surface, dotted by right-angled patches of green and blue and silver, and divided by deep scars of luminous crimson. The whole thing was encircled by an immense and shimmering ring of bluish dust, which Vexmagog realized must extend behind this station's position in space. Vexmagog was entranced by the enormity and beauty of it and stood nearly breathless, an infinitesimally tiny ex-god on his infinitesimally tiny sliver of jagged rock, attached to an infinitesimally tiny towering pylon attached to an infinitesimally tiny space colony. Vexmagog's entire universe was smaller than the distances he realized he must be perceiving at this moment, and he then knew that his home was lacking for it. He had seen this sky before. He knew what those stars twinkling above represented, but it had not hit home until this moment exactly how they compared to him. Each of those sand-grains of shimmering light scattered across the all-encompassing cosmic blackness was vaster than a thousand times the grandest distance Vexmagog had ever conceived of.

In short, he felt very, very small, and he stood there feeling very, very small for quite some time.

He turned back to check on his companions' progress. They are almost across the bridge. At their current rate of travel, it must have taken them quite a while. I must have been standing here for... oh no. He turned to face his prior intended heading. The door, once a utilitarian steel rectangle inset into the building, had shattered into uncountable steel shards radiating from a central point, and circling, writhing, grinding in a circle. The concrete composing this section of the wall was continually shifting. Faces of Vexmagog and all of the other contestants formed from concrete nothingness and were dragged into the door frame to be shredded by the points of steel. He watched as revulsion as a copy of his own face hit the grindstone and contorted into an expression of pure pain as its flesh and bone were rent from one another. As he watched, the blood began to pour down from them, instantly forming a warm, stinking crimson river that trickled down the side of the pylon.

He thought he heard one of the others say something, but he could not make it out. He felt their stares on him without looking. But also, he knew that it wouldn't hurt him. Not physically, at least. And he knew, somehow, that he had to stay calm through this.

He knew that, vast as these uncountable worlds are, Magog had been a threat to all of them.

He balled up his hands into fists and stepped through the door. Its steel teeth opened wide for him, and slammed shut behind. He knew without looking that it was smiling.

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Not The Author · 02-04-2010, 10:05 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.

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<Something is seriously wrong with that Blitz kid.>
Jacob glanced down at the pile of rubble which had once been called a bridge, and towards which Vex and the Cripple were now headed. <Perhaps no more so than the rest of us, but still. I don't trust him.> His head swiveled automatically towards the sound of approaching footfalls. <And you, Frosty, don't trust any of us, it seems.> Jacob slowed, letting the cryomancer catch up.

"Man, I hate walking." Jacob immediately knew the course their conversation was likely to take. "That's because you've never truly walked, have you?" He swept out his arms, taking in the scenery, and quietly cursing his poor luck that John had chosen to walk on the left. "What does that mean?" <Precisely, nothing. But you don't actually care.> Jacob pulled out his pocketwatch, relatively certain of the request to follow. "...Anyway, I was wondering why you couldn't just do that... hole... thing..." He could practically feel the fingerless arm gesturing towards where a tear in space had been some time before. "Tunnel." John took a bite from from his flavor ball. "Yeaw. Vfat. Why camfta jush-" Jacob took a moment from inspecting his timepiece to glare at the cryomancer, pointedly flicking a colorful fragment of ice from his sleeve. John seemed to get the message, and hurriedly swallowed. "Why can'tcha just make a tunnel over there?"

The Universe hand would not run. It wasn't a matter of the watch being broken; the watch had been engineered specifically never to break for any reason. It'd even saved him from a bullet or two, before he'd gotten the armor. Yet however he twisted or prodded the knobs, Jacob could not get the blasted thing to work. It wasn't a 'hand' per-se, so much as a microscopic pointer that circled the perimeter of the watch. The glass face of the watch had a small circular magnifying glass built in, and could be spun to view different times around the watch, primarily the Universe hand. But the hand in question, which typically showed some semblance of motion, and should definitely have been farther along if there'd been time enough for a race to develop stellar travel, was stuck at the equivalent of Noon. Or was it Midnight? Jacob didn't actually know how that particular facet of his watch worked, merely that it did. Or rather, had.

"It's not that simple," he lied. "I suppose I could ask you a similar question: Why didn't you simply create a bridge of ice earlier, instead of coming out all this way?" John started to speak, but was cut off. "Ah, but we're here at a bridge from before we arrived, so what does it matter what might have happened? Come on, you've not too much farther to... walk... now."

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GBCE · 02-04-2010, 10:51 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Korbz.

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GBCE · 02-05-2010, 02:16 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by Korbz.

"Fine, yeah, whatever....I hate walking." Jacob audibly sighed at this, but continued walking. I guess I'll start thinking again or something, gives me something better to do. This guy is wearing armor over clothes, which looks silly, goat man is somewhere up near rocks, the wolf and green thing are near the really big tree, and fire-mage-mcstupidpants is nowhere to be found. Oh, and the glove guy, he's near me, and Mr. Asleep but not really is back there with goat man. Wait. Waitwaitwaitwait. Didn't the hairball say we would die if we didn't do something or another? I wonder what it's like to die. Die rhymes with lie. Lie rhymes with die, which you roll. Die rhymes with lie and lie rhymes with die and die rhymes with lie and..and...Ow.

GBCE · 02-05-2010, 04:03 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Drakenforge.

Wolf whimpered as he backed away from the main tree. What had he done wrong now? I'm always getting into trouble. First the taillesses, than my pack, and now this'.
He padded away quickly, deciding to spend some time away from the pack Sen had formed with the bark-skin. This proved slightly more difficult than he would have liked due to the near endless amount of grassland that was spreading throughout the streets. Shops, apartments, and even whole business complexes were falling to the unstoppable force of Sen's sick nature. Wolf roamed across the roads, attempting to outrun the progress of the green plants. He remembered the smell of taillesses, and even though the blood-danger smell was there too, he decided to check with the taillesses. Only, he found out, the taillesses were no longer there. A strange shape hovered in the air, and was getting smaller. Wolf padded towards it carefully and sniffed. No smells. But, he saw a different are through it that was behind it. This baffled Wolf's simple brain, so he decided to ignore what instinct told him and leapt through just as it closed.

He landed softly in a strange feeling dirt. His paws seeped into the soft mixture and he was startled. He tried to keep his paws out of the unknown ground, but looked stupid as all four kept plunging into it. Eventually he learned that it was pointless, as the dirt offered no harm. It felt odd to have it brush through his fur between his claws, but it wasn't bad, he decided. He sniffed the air expertly. The taillesses had been here very recently. He gazed upwards, and spotted the pelt-tailless hide from his view into a strange looming object. The nature of this object excaped Wolf, but he never thought hard enough about what the taillesses built to care. More scents came from a further distance away and a big ledge that ended into the strange place that the horned-one went into.
Wolf decided to pad along at a brisk pace behind them. He kept gazing to each side and taking in the alien sights. Everything was indeed so strange.

GBCE · 02-06-2010, 12:18 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by redskap.

Blitz trailed behind, watching Jacob speak with the ice mage...John, that was it. He looked like some sort of snowman. A gentle smile graced his lips. <He seems so innocent...> The smile faded as he felt Father's presence. Yes. He will be easy to trick. It's the others you need to worry about, boy. The suit and the goat are already suspicious of you. I've seen it in their eyes. I've heard it in their words. Get closer to them. Make them your allies. Otherwise...

An image of blood, blindingly bright, splashing against a pure white wall. Blitz grimaced, and inwardly submitted. <Even though they don't deserve to die...I don't want to die either. I have to do what Father asks.>

Blitz steeled himself and quick-stepped up to where Jacob and John were talking and walking. Jacob didn't acknowledge his presence, but Blitz felt that the man knew he was there. John, however, looked right around at Blitz. There was something around his mouth; he must have been eating something colorful earlier.

"Hey, it's you, the...um...the guy." John looked away for a moment, trying to remember the guy's name. "Blitz, right? You're the sleeping-but-not-really-sleeping guy, I remember that part." He looked closely at his face as they kept walking (or waddling, as John's case happened to be), noticing the bags under Blitz's eyes. "You look like you need some actual sleep, though. Why are you so tired?"

Blitz looked at John, wondering how he should answer. He noted that Jacob's gaze had fallen on him. Apparently, he too was interested in the cause of Blitz's insomnia. Father's presence was at the back of his mind; he couldn't mess this up. "N...Nightmares. I have bad nightmares. Sometimes they're so bad I can't go back to sleep." God, the excuse sounded lame even to him. He saw Jacob give a subtle scoff. Apparently he wasn't convinced. John seemed understanding enough, though.

"Oh, nightmares can be bad. I've had some of those before." Blitz watched him waddle, waiting for him to elaborate, but he said nothing more. <I guess that's about as much as I told him. I should have expected that.>

Jacob stopped abruptly and broke the awkward silence. "We're here." And he was right; they had finally made it to the door. There were other doors, he knew (Vex had taken one of those alternate paths), but he couldn't see them from his current position. He supposed it didn't matter, as long as this door was unlocked.

"So...I guess we should go in?"

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GBCE · 02-06-2010, 04:02 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.

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GBCE · 02-06-2010, 04:11 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by redskap.

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GBCE · 02-06-2010, 05:01 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by Korbz.

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GBCE · 02-06-2010, 05:52 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by Weldar.

After a brief lull the opposing forces resumed their march throughout the battlefield. Eventually they reached each other. The twisting wires clashed, coiling around trying simultaneously to slip past the enemy and hold them back, locked in a stalemate.

Steven walked a short distance behind the rest of the group in silence, lost in though once again. Vex's comment about the gates had caused him to realize something, people never seemed to known about them. As far as he knew the only other person who had ever been through one was Elephanzor. It wasn't that he'd never seen other people in the crossroads, they were large and the chances of coming across another wanderer like himself were slim to none. No it was the fact that in all these different worlds people never seemed to know about the gates, perhaps there were other like Elephanzor who knew of them and kept their secrets for themselves but they were never a widely known phenomenon. Steven looked further up the bridge at the others, he'd fallen a fair way behind, the three of them seemed to be talking about something but he couldn't quite make it out. Steven's thought turned to his "allies", none of them had really given much in the way of descriptions of themselves, or at least not as much as he had.They don't seem to trust each other enough yet, so should I trust them? Still some of the information they gave was useful. Jacob's knowledge of quantum magic seems to indicate a different world to mine, or at the very least a different time period. Blitz's story is a little strange but it's probably the one that has the best chance of fitting in at home... Steven walked in silence for a while longer then suddenly let out a small chuckle. This contest's got "mages" for fire, ice, lightning time and space and I think Vex is some sort of illusionist... maybe. That means I'm the only humanoid without and special magic. Steven glanced down at his gloves. Ah but of course I'm the conjurer, kind of. Steven looked back ahead again, the other contestants had almost reached the pylon, he was about the speed up to catch up to them when a jerk from the right glove caused to subconsciously look behind him. Further down the bridge was Wolf padding along behind him. Steven's hand jumped to the sword he'd created but stopped halfway there. That thing isn't a normal wolf, after all it probably wouldn't be here if it was, and that guy at the start of the battle did specifically say it wasn't a wolf, or something like that.How did it get here, hadn't it been down in the park with Sen before? Still it had apparently been friendly to Sen before, that's good, perhaps it would be friendly here to. Still I'm pretty different to Sen. Wolf had noticed Steven by now but there was still a large gap between them. Plenty of time to react if this doesn't go well, hopefully.
"Hmm uh, hi" stuttered Steven anxiously to the beast.

Not The Author · 02-06-2010, 04:40 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.

"So...I guess we should go in?"

"No."

Jacob spun around. "We're going to scale the Pylon."
Blitz and John looked at each other, then looked back at Jacob.

"What?"
"What?"

Jacob pointed at the cryomancer. "Mr. Swift, get to work on making grappling-hooks and nails. I'm sure your ice is sturdy enough to hold our wieght." Without waiting for a response, he began walking back down the pier. "Blitz, you're with me. We're going to need a lot of seaweed for rope and YES OF COURSE we're going to use the door!" <Palm, meet Face. Face, Palm.> Jacob strode past them and threw up his arm, clearly annoyed. "What is it with people and doors and no one wanting to <font size="4">go in them I swear this happens all the time why can't they just..."

Then he noticed the keypad.

It was a standard four-digit security lock, and required an identification card to access. <Too bad Maggie isn't here... Well, we make do with what we have.> Jacob glanced over his shoulder. "Blitz?"</font> His blind eye seemed to flicker for a moment. "Wh-what?" Jacob gestured at the keypad. "Come over here and make yourself useful, will you?" He stood aside as the cripple made his way to the door. Blitz looked at the lock, then back at Jacob, clearly unsure of what he should be doing. "Ugh. It's an electronic lock. Do I have to spell this out for you?" Jacob massaged the bridge of his nose. "So... I guess I just..." Blitz raised his unbound hand to the lock, sparks flying between the two. The door hissed for a moment, and began to grind upward. It was about halfway open when Blitz twitched violently, sending a rather large burst of energy into the lock. Smoke came up from the shattered mechanism, and the door shuddered to a halt.

"...Eh, close enough." Shrugging, Jacob ducked under the door, and into a spacious, mostly empty room.

Large, circular, dilapidated, and totally uninteresting. There were but three things within the Pylon that were of any interest at all, and one of them was Vex. He seemed a tad forlorn, though Jacob couldn't place why. The satyr idly scratched at his posessed arm as he exited one of the several elevators lining one wall; the room's second item of interest. Jacob ignored these for the moment - he was most intrigued by the third object, which had somehow escaped Vex's notice. Perhaps it was that it was leaning against the wall near which Vex had entered; perhaps the ex-god simply didn't recognize it for what it was.

The object in question was a dark metal sphere, about three or four feet in diameter. A pair of limp, segmented tubes hung loosely from it, placed opposite each other. The sphere had been cut open about a quarter of the way to one end, and a second sphere rested snugly within. Opposite the 'open' end, there was a hemispherical protrusion about a foot wide, sporting three small indents in a triangular pattern.

Jacob hoped it would still function after all these years, and quickly made his way over to the inactive automaton.

GBCE · 02-07-2010, 03:33 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Kaitostrike.

Alex sat down,feeling rather tired.Today just isn't my day.It seems that all the fighting so far has involved me.Oh well,they're heading towards the place in the center,or something;I don't really know what it is.But something should happen,and if I have any luck,one of them should end up dead...So I'll just...take a short nap...
He sneaked into an alley,and lied down.I might follow them later if I need to.

GBCE · 02-07-2010, 10:56 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Drakenforge.

As Wolf quick pace led him across the artificial bridge, he realised one of the tailless' was walking at a slower pace than the others, soon leading them a short distance away from the rest of the pack. A few reasons brushed past Wolf's mind. Perhaps he is the lowest of the pack, and is making a statemant about his position. 'No', wolf amended 'they do not work like my kind. Our ways are not that similar'
The tailless stopped abruptly and turned to face Wolf. Wolf, too, stopped. Curious that the person had managed to notice his quiet presence, when usually thier kind are so bad at noticing their surroundings. then, the tailless spoke in his yip-yap language.

"Hmm, uh, hi"

Wolf's ears twitched as the greeting was spoken. Does the tailess know I understand?
Wolf's yellow eyes gazed at the person. It could tell of the creature's uncertainty, and realised that Wolf was probably, to him, rather an odd sight. He noticed the flying-paws-that-come-off covering the tailless' paws, and remembered that one had noticed him. Wolf thought quickly. Should he keep his gift of speech secret? However, communication between these races would be easy as they speak the same language. A pack was formed between them though, and Wolf had pledged his loyalty to Sen. He regretted that he had upset the leader, and make a promise to himself to find some way to appease the being whenever he found out how. Wolf chose his response carefully.

"Woof" He replied.

Ah, Steven thought. Of course it can't speak. It looks like a wolf at least, so maybe it doesn't speak our language.

Wait.

"D-did you just actually say that?" He asked, bemused.

And here I thought tailless' were all dumb.

"Yup. Sorry, couldn't help myself." Wolf said with frightening ease. Frightening to himself, at least.

"Woah" Steven said aloud, taken aback slightly.
His mind turned back to his thoughts on the explanation of 'not-wolf', but no answers were found. So he decided to do the most logical, and diplomatic, thing.

"The, er, the people at the beginning, they said you weren't a wolf, uh, so to speak. Do you know why?" He asked, rather unsure if he wanted to know.

Wolf was unsure how to express his answer. The pack had left him. It was what they branded him as. To be a wolf and yet not a wolf.

"Complicated", Wolf replied solemnly. "My pack, they banished me. I don't know the details of what caused me to speak this language, but whatever did, it changed me. Inside, I think. I speak tailless, and that scared them."

The person seemed to feel a little sympathy for Wolf. He could see it in the way his round face moved. Wolf surmised that this tailless was not the destructive, hunting stealer like the one's he knew of, and as long as there was only one to talk to, he could at least feel comfortable.

Now that he understood, Steven couldn't help but resond with a simple "Wha?" When the wolf called him a tailless.
Sure, humans don't have tails, but that is a very strange way to name a race, he thought to himself.

"Well, uh, You can call me Steven, then. What should I call you then?"

Name. Wolf had a name, but his tounge couldn't express it. It required the body of a wolf and the mind of a wolf to express or understand it. To a human, it wouldn't mean anything.

"Your kind calls my kind as wolf, yes? A simple name like that shoudl do, I think. Yes. I am Wolf. And yet," he laughed, "I am not-wolf. A paradox, yes?"
Wolf strolled past the human and said, "We should keep up. The others of your kind might think you mad to be seen talking to an animal like myself. But, since I prefer silence, let's keep the knowledge of my knowledge of this language a secret. For now, at least"

GBCE · 02-08-2010, 01:07 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.

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GBCE · 02-08-2010, 06:15 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by Weldar.

"Hmm, uh, hi" Why did I even say that, it's a wolf it's not like it going to understand or say anything ba..
"Woof"
Whaa, did it just talk! Wait no it just said woof, stupid. Why would it speak it's a wolf, well not really but.. ah whatever. Anyway it doesn't see.... Wait. It said woof?!
"D-did you just actually say that?"
"Yup. Sorry, couldn't help myself."
So it can speak, but how? Well I guess it is not a wolf but.... yeah I have no idea what that even means. Guess there's only one way to find out
"The, er, the people at the beginning, they said you weren't a wolf, uh, so to speak. Do you know why?"
The wolf hesitated before answering. "Complicated." Steven wasn't expecting much more of an answer but then the beast continued. "My pack, they banished me. I don't know the details of what caused me to speak this language, but whatever did, it changed me. Inside, I think. I speak tailless, and that scared them."
"Wha?" Tailless? Still Steven couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic. I can kind of relate to that, but I can only imagine how much worse it would be to be forced out of your home by your friends rather than your enemies.
"Well, uh, You can call me Steven, then. What should I call you then?"

"Your kind calls my kind as wolf, yes? A simple name like that should do, I think. Yes. I am Wolf. And yet," he laughed, "I am not-wolf. A paradox, yes?"
Wolf strolled past the human and said, "We should keep up. The others of your kind might think you mad to be seen talking to an animal like myself. But, since I prefer silence, let's keep the knowledge of my knowledge of this language a secret. For now, at least"
It seems no one is willing to trust everyone with information about themselves and their abilities yet. Hell even I was being really vague about the gloves and wasn't really intending to originally.
"Yeah okay. I guess if i really have to tell you something I can make up some sort of excuse about the gloves. Talking to animals kinda fits in with a god power right?"
Wolf didn't reply he'd already padded off ahead to the door. Steven went off jogging after him and managed to catch up right as Wolf slipped under the doorway. Steven of course had to slow down a little and duck under.

Meanwhile on the other side of the universe bubble. The world tree forest was spreading fast. Many of the trees were fairly tall now but below the ground things were getting a little crowded. Their roots were growing quite deep but just now they had come up against some resistance, they had reached the wall of the bubble. The roots pressed hard but the wall held steady, or so it seemed. If someone happened to be passing close by out in space they might have noticed a small crack appear, just under the park.

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**Schazer** · 02-08-2010, 06:24 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by Schazer.

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GBCE · 02-08-2010, 08:40 AM

Originally posted on MSPA by Drakenforge.

Baphomet Wrote:

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SpoilerI suddenly realize that I have a very important question to pose to Wolf.

Does he think in English or in wolf language? I would guess it is the latter, and the terms like tailless and paws and such are artifacts from whatever translation process is going on in his head, but I'd like to know for sure before I run with that.

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GBCE · 02-08-2010, 04:36 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.

Vexmagog was happy to see a small divider keeping the view of this entrance from the other entrances. A small wall with a logo on it made of metal, sitting atop some words Vexmagog could not currently read. A reception desk sat in front of the wall, currently unoccupied. At least they won't see the door as soon as they come in.

He rounded the corner, curious as to what means humans would use to ascend tall structures like this, given their apparent ineptitude at climbing. He inspected, briefly, what he considered to be some unusual metallic statuary.

Further inspection of the area yielded a row of doors with two small buttons next to them, inscribed with isosceles triangles. The top button's triangle was a vertical mirror of the bottom's.

Heiroglyphics, indicating up and down. Interesting. Down leads outside, does it not? Then I have already found the escape pods! He excitedly pressed the lower button, and the nearest door opened with a friendly chime, revealing a tiny, brightly lit room with brushed steel walls. A computerized voice spouted forth a stream of what seemed to Vexmagog to be gibberish.

He stepped inside and felt the walls with his left hand. A small room? What purpose does this serve? Is the escape pod a room, itself?

With another chime, the doors closed. Upon turning, Vexmagog saw a panel of buttons in a small grid, each inscribed with a character. The rows of buttons near the top were adjacent to metallic nubs with holes in them. The second button on the bottom row was inscribed with a vertical line and was lit up. Vexmagog pressed it, and waited for a moment.

Nothing happened, so he tried the first button in the row. He felt, momentarily, as though the floor were dropping out from beneath him, and Vexmagog braced himself against the wall. The feeling quickly disappeared, however, and was soon replaced by the sensation that the floor were rising up into his feet. This, too, passed, and the door opened with another chime, dimming the button with the vertical line and illuminating the one he had just pressed.

That was fast, he thought, inspecting his changed surroundings. He saw a darkly-lit concrete room with exposed pipes along the ceiling and large, bulky chunks of machinery, humming quietly. He noted with interest the row of copper coils in a ring shape, lined up and proceeding into a tunnel on each adjacent wall.

There is as much dust here as there was above. With the short travel time, I don't think this is the escape pod at all, but rather a mobile room that dropped me down into a lower section of this place. Stepping out and inspecting the wall his door opened in seemed to confirm his theory, as he saw another button with an upwards arrow.

With a sigh, he pressed it and returned to the room. The button I pressed lit up when it took me to this floor. The button next to it was already lit. These buttons must indicate which room it takes you to, and I can judge from the inertia I felt that I went down before. Then, the upper buttons must take you up.

He pressed one of the buttons in the rows adjacent to the nubs, but was met only with more computerized gibberish. Frustration began to set in again, and Vexmagog felt a tendril of purple burn through one of the scabs that had only just begun to peel off. Maybe one of the people who can understand this language will have better luck with it than I. He pressed the button that was lit initially, felt the inertial changes take place in reverse, and, following a chime and opened door, he stepped back out into the room he started in. The door closed behind him just as Jacob, Blitz, and John rounded the corner.

Jacob's eyes widened when he saw the metallic statuary, and he hurried over to it. Vexmagog hastily uttered a greeting. "Ah Meki, Jacob, Blitz, John. Getaro po Steven?"

They all turned and stared at him quizzically. Vexmagog embarassedly ruffled the fur on his forehead, upon realizing he had failed to translate. "Excuse me. What I meant to say..." He trailed off upon seeing not only Steven, but Wolf enter. "...Ah! I was asking where Steven went, but I see that question is now answered. And Wolf!"

Upon connecting with Wolf's mind, he found a different language than the one the others spoke, but something unusual about it. The language only covers a small subset of ideas, like an animal's might. But, there are other ideas here, other concepts this simple language can't cover. Very strange.

He does not speak english, then? And, again, not a tone my vocal cords can reproduce. Fortuitous that he seems to be following Steven without any hint of hostility, despite their language barrier.

The others turned, and observed the entrance of the two with mixed reactions. Vexmagog took a small step forward and settled down onto one knee, bringing his considerable stature more in line with Wolf's as a sign of peace. "Welcome," he said aloud, more for the benefit of the others than for Wolf. He altered the sound as it entered Wolf's ears, imitating the growls and barks he found in his mind. "This tailless would welcome you into our pack, if you would accept. We all wish to return to our home territory, and would be honored if you would help us."

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Not The Author · 02-08-2010, 06:10 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.

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<And here I keep thinking it's a miracle we all speak the same language...>
Jacob set his sword against the wall, kneeling beside the robot. It was an old model, and the metal had worn down and warped in places. Despite these apparent blemishes, it seemed to be fairly well built, and probably would have lasted several more decades of... whatever it did before everyone left, anyway.

Something about that thought kept bothering him, but again he brushed it aside. He'd deal with it the next time it came up. The robot was his main concern right now. Jacob rolled the thing onto its back. It was fairly heavy, but that wasn't particularly suprising; it was a robot, after all.

He was greeted by the sight of absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. <Hmph. You'd think they'd put an access panel somewhere on the... Wait.> He peered closer, brushing away what little dust had somehow gotten underneath the machine. Sure enough, there was a thin, barely visible square scratch that enclosed a sizable portion of the robot's backside. Jacob, seing no other method of opening it, placed his hand on the center of the square and pushed.

Nothing happened.

GBCE · 02-09-2010, 12:08 PM

Originally posted on MSPA by Kaitostrike.

Something stirred the young fighter,which broke the spell of sleep.He got up;looked around,but could not see anything.How long have I been asleep?I know it hasn't been that long.As he exited the alleyway,he noticed something was different;very different.The plant that the small beast Sen had planted began as a sapling,but had now grown to be a large towering tree,encompassing quite a bit of land.
"Oh wow.Just wow.Good God,just how long have I been asleep?"He began to think strategy;as much as a 15-year old boy could,anyway.He thought through just what he had done in staying behind.Sure,I'm safe from them for now,but if they stay aligned with each other;then when it comes to the later rounds,I will be the first one killed...If I get to the later rounds...
His heart sped up,he began to sweat.He felt an unknown feeling;one he had never encountered before.What If I don't make it out of here?No,no.I will.I have to.He looked around,making sure no one was around.He began to feel paranoid,blasting at random objects because they moved,or if they didn't.His pulse quickened more so,and his once cool composure melted into paranoia and...
The feeling was fear.

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