The Grand Battle [Game Over!]

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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SpoilerI love the fact that the final round of this battle is centering on the internal struggles of a vacuum cleaner. And it makes perfect sense in context.

I'll do a story post tomorrow.

Originally posted on MSPA by Schazer.

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SpoilerI love the fact that the final round of this battle is centering on the internal struggles of a vacuum cleaner. And it makes perfect sense in context.

I'll do a story post tomorrow.

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SpoilerYaay, it's lurching back to life again! It'd be nice to have this one all wrapped up before it's been running for a year, but I suppose that's a little hypocritical coming from me.

Either way, back to following this thread a little more rabidly than usual

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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SpoilerWe've got about two months before the anniversary, July 11. It's certainly possible we can wrap it up by then.

On the other hand... holy crap, we've been at this for 10 months.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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SpoilerHoly crap indeed.

I've had to look through our past posts a few times before, and it's quite a sight to see so much improvement in writing quality in everyone.

Originally posted on MSPA by eberron.

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SpoilerIs it a bad thing that the first Grand Battle I read is Savage Battle,which involves a giant living meatball, and that led me to the original GB showcasing a living demon vac cleaner? Simply put.... [img]images/smilies/icon_up.gif[/img]

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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Amethyst entered the bathroom, finding a vacuum cleaner, a hole in the wall, a broken mirror, and various fixtures ripped off the walls.

"This room does not seem very clean," she commented.

"That is no longer this unit's concern," the vacuum cleaner intoned ominously. "This unit's orders are to-"

"Rock Bind," Amethyst said, freezing the vacuum in place as she continued to speak. "You do not need to explain anything to us. We are based on your memories, but we only act out our parts when your attention is not focused on us. When it is, we can respond to your memories and emotions directly. You saw that with your 'older self', did you not?"

Eximo looked for a moment as if it was about to break free of the restraints rising from the floor, but then it paused.

"You are curious about what I have to say, are you not?" Amethyst continued. "That is why you are not struggling at the moment. The real Amethyst fascinated you with her capacity for analysis. And as I am based on your perceptions of her, I share that capacity. I am able to understand this world better than either you or Aeon could on your own, because you both believe that Amethyst could understand this world so well."

Konka Rar reappeared, glaring at Eximo. But for the moment, the lich was silent. It seemed he was merely issuing a warning.

"He must be close to breaking free," Amethyst commented to the undead wizard's stern image. "His memories suggest you do not anger easily. Yet, when he fought Dokuromets earlier, you were enraged."

"Stay out of this, girl," the lich warned. "I might change my mind about letting Eximo waste its time with illusions."

"You call Eximo an 'it'. I, on the other hand, use a male pronoun. These speech patterns are driven by his subconscious. He is conflicted about his own identity." Amethyst looked towards the vacuum, staying still. "Right now, he is largely dominated by you. But, faced with such strong images of those he remembers, his doubts are growing, and we are giving voice to them."

"Very interesting, and also very irrelevant." Konka Rar sneered.

"Is it? Consider. The nature of this world allows both Aeon and Eximo to affect the images of the other players. So far, neither of you has actively sought to use this ability. In particular, Aeon may not yet realize he has such a resource at his disposal." Amethyst's face displayed no emotion as she continued. "But Eximo now does. In other words, he has an advantage. And he knows an effective way to use it."

The lich's face looked skeptical. "You speak for Eximo's doubts about its own loyalty. Why would you offer advice to me?"

"I am not. I am offering advice to Eximo."

There was a tense pause.

"Fine. Do it," Konka Rar said to his minion. "Whatever trick this girl has in mind will be no match for your loyalty to your master."

***

Aeon made his way to the kitchen. Inside, he found Emily, Nathan, and Alcarith. He began to think about how to speak to them, but to his mild surprise, Alcarith spoke up first.

"Aeon," she said simply. "You killed me. Tell me why I should not return the favor."

Emily and Nathan stood by her side.

"Yes, tell us," they both said in unison. Nathan drew his knife, and Emily readied her shield.

Originally posted on MSPA by slipsicle.

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SpoilerBumpadoo

Originally posted on MSPA by Pinary.

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SpoilerWhat's that? This has too many words and not enough numbers? I've got just the thing!

Statistics and Numbers for The Grand Battle

Total Word Count: 118673
Individual Word Counts:
Dragon Fogel: 40687
Aryogaton: 28558
Draykon: 22352
dexexe1234: 7957
PawntoD4: 6511
OddGuy: 5078
fait: 3919
cyber95: 3323
almost-there: 288

Average Word Count by Round:
Round 1: 12296
Round 2: 15154
Round 3: 15617
Round 4: 22047
Round 5: 26224
Round 6: 21481
Round 7: 5854

Total Number of Posts: 367
Individual Number of Posts:
Dragon Fogel: 115
Aryogaton: 71
Draykon: 51
PawntoD4: 42
dexexe1234: 32
OddGuy: 24
fait: 21
cyber95: 9
almost-there: 2

Posts per Round:
Round 1: 70
Round 2: 66
Round 3: 61
Round 4: 61
Round 5: 56
Round 6: 42
Round 7: 11

Average Post Length: 323 Words
Post Length by User:
Draykon: 438
Aryogaton: 402
cyber95: 369
Dragon Fogel: 353
dexexe1234: 248
OddGuy: 211
fait: 186
PawntoD4: 155
almost-there: 144

Post Length by Round:
Round 1: 175
Round 2: 229
Round 3: 256
Round 4: 361
Round 5: 468
Round 6: 511
Round 7: 532

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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Aryogaton: 28558

Holy fuckshit.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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Aeon tried to run back out the door, but Emily cast a barrier spell, sealing it off.

"You can't run away from this, Aeon," she said. Before he could respond, Nathan suddenly lunged at him with his knife. Aeon parried with his tool, but had little room to maneuver around it.

"You bastard!" Nathan screamed. "It's thanks to you that demon possessed me. It's thanks to you that I'm dead!"

Alcarith fired on Aeon as he tried to think of a response again. "You left me to die!" she screamed. He barely got out of the way of the bullets, unable to collect his thoughts.

Desperate, Aeon pushed Nathan aside, and ran towards the refrigerator. He opened it, looking for something he could use with his adaptive tool.

Much to his surprise, he found a familiar-looking bomb beside a carton of milk.

"What's wrong, Aeon?" Alcarith taunted him. "Afraid to use it again?"

***

"You see, Eximo," Amethyst explained, "you still fundamentally distrust Aeon for his willingness to sacrifice Alcarith. Focusing on that distrust affects the image of Alcarith, as well as Nathan and Emily, who are the most aware of Aeon's role in her death."

The vacuum cleaner did not respond. It had remained unmoving for several minutes, not even making an effort to break out of the binding spell.

"And because Aeon himself feels guilt for that decision," she continued, "his subconscious strengthens their hostility, now that you have forced him to confront it. Furthermore, I believe he also feels guilt for what happened to Nathan, and to a lesser extent, Emily. Those feelings are now dominant."

Konka Rar looked thoughtful. "An interesting tactic. Yet, I still do not understand why you proposed it. It only seems to further my ends."

"Your ends are irrelevant to me," she replied. "I am doing what is best for Eximo."

The bathroom stood silent. Finally, the vacuum cleaner whirred to life, breaking free of the ground.

"This is not acceptable," it said.

"What?" Konka Rar screamed. "Aeon is outnumbered three-to-one, and at the mercy of his own fears. Are you seeking to rebel yet again?"

"This unit has been ordered to destroy the other contestants," Eximo replied calmly. "In order to comply with this order, this unit must destroy Aeon before the images can."

Readying its knives, Eximo smashed through the bathroom door. Konka Rar laughed and vanished.

Amethyst remained, smirking.

"Good luck, Eximo," she said to no one in particular.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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Normally, Aeon would have taken a moment to consider the situation and weigh all alternatives before making any decision. However, when faced with three corporealized images of his own guilt, there was no time for thought. Aeon grabbed the bomb and leapt out of the way, narrowly dodging one of Alcarith's Burgund Shards. He attempted to make for the nearest doorway, but was quickly backed into a wall and surrounded.

Aeon looked at the bomb in his hands. The timer seemed to read a formless amalgamation of numbers, giving a completely arbitrary time to detonation. He looked at the three images surrounding him, each with a look of vengeance of varying degrees on their face. There was little time to act, and the only option seemed to be to attempt to pass the bomb onto one of the three, attempt to flee, and hope that it detonates at the preferred time. Yes, that seems to be the best course of action. It would be using the bomb on her again, no less, but so what? These are images. Inanimate. All that matters now is surviving. Nothing can be done to bring Alcarith, Nathan, or Emily back to life, and I simply have to accept that…

Aeon blinked, breaking out of the momentary trance. Nathan lunged with his dagger, and Aeon reacted. The wall behind him quivered and alleviated, allowing Aeon to fall through and escape to the next room. Aeon rose to his feet, and examined the wall again, now perfectly solid. I still retain control over this place. I… almost forgot that. He looked again at the bomb, which he fortunately was not forced to use. I still have it. If I can control aspects of this house, then I might be able to control when the bomb detonates. Maybe… I could simply use it on Eximo, and leave this god-forsaken game. Maybe…

Aeon broke out of his trance again. The bomb seems to be a symbol, like everything else. It… represents my drive to survive, the emotional state that I had when I placed it on Alcarith… I can't let it take over me again. He raised his hand, and a metal hammer appeared in it—here, Aeon didn't need his adaptive tool to do such things. He dropped the bomb on the floor, and brought the hammer down upon it. The bomb was not damaged at all. He hit it harder, still to no effect.

“It doesn't work like that. You should know that by now.” Aeon turned his head sharply to the voice, and saw himself, looking intently upon him. His illusionary self was entirely unscathed, his appearance taken from a time when he first entered the game. The contrast was startling—the real Aeon had the markings of a battle, while the illusionary Aeon was entirely unscathed.

“You can't destroy greed or selfishness. You have to give it up, keep it down, or otherwise suppress it. Forceful regret only strengthens it.”

“Then what do you suggest I do? You seem to know everything I do, but you're not exhausted from so much fighting.”

“Leave it. What comes back to bite you are Alcarith and the others, not the bomb.”

Aeon paused. It seemed that the bomb would not be destroyed by forceful means, and keeping it would risk being controlled by its effect. The clear course of action was to follow his illusionary self's advice. Aeon left through a doorway on the opposite side of the room.

Aeon walked down a bare hallway, assessing his next action. After seeing the stark contrast between him when he first entered the game and now, he had doubts on his own judgment. This was further supported when a bony hand grabbed his throat as he turned a corner. The hand warped and became a bone collar, and Aeon caught the glimpse of a familiar grin before he was thrown off his feet and pinned to the ground.

“Hel-lo there! Haven't seen me in a while, eh? Or have you? With all these weird fake-selves and book-selves and memory-selves I'm starting to lose track! EHEHEHEHA!”

Before Aeon could even have time to react, he was sharply pulled by the neck. A glimpse revealed that Lutherion had summoned a skeletal steed, and was dragging Aeon behind him with a chain attached to his collar. Lutherion's steed jumped and onto a catwalk, and Aeon landed shortly after, choking but alive due to the abstract effects of the subconscious world. Lutherion dismounted and looked below, where nothing of interest was occurring.

“Amazing, isn't it? How many times have you seen everyone after their death? Just when you think you're finally rid of me I come back! Ha!”

As Lutherion was beginning his monologue, a winged figure rose from the floor below. Ignoring the oblivious necromancer and his ramblings, Alcarith shifted back to her human form and pointed her Burgund Pistol at Aeon's forehead.

“Quite the reversal of the situation, isn't it? But, not completely, of course. This time, you get to see your murderer, and you get to know exactly why, how, and by whom you got killed. Goodbye, Aeon, and good riddance.”

“Oh, is this lady bothering you?” Alcarith looked sharply at Lutherion, but altogether too late. Before she could react, Lutherion extended his Wightmaw arm and hit her squarely in the chest, and with a swift motion, eviscerated her. To Aeon's revulsion, Lutherion made her death as painful as possible. Only the reminder of illusion by the dissipation of her image gave Aeon any sort of relief.

“Now where was I? You don't remember? Were you even listening? Fine.” Lutherion assumed a wicked expression on his face. “Let's find that annoying machine then, shall we? HAHAHAHA!” Lutherion remounted his steed and leapt off the catwalk, dragging Aeon behind him.

***

Eximo sped down a hallway, combing its sensors for Aeon's signal, which had seemed to adopt fast and random movements. With the disappearance of another life signal, Eximo would have to find him quickly to avoid future unnecessary and counterproductive conflicts.

“Lifeform Aeon is currently moving at high speeds, overall direction is towards this unit. Sensors suggest that Lifeform Aeon is currently in pursuit of another lifeform.”

Konka Rar looked at Eximo with an edge of suspicion. If the ever-increasing tremors reverberating throughout the house were any indication, he had a good reason to suspect anything.

***

Aeon's mind was in complete chaos. Lutherion made little regard of any obstacles in his way, and Aeon took the full force of the decision. With his control of the logistics of the conscious, he was able to cushion himself, not enough to make the ordeal any close to painless, but at least enough to avoid breaking a dozen bones with every impact. After feeling as if pulled through a pile of rocks, Aeon at last came to a stop.

“Well hey there! I remember you… you're that old techno-necro-whatchamacalit, the one who specializes in making undead vacuum cleaners or something! You're not a contestant, what are you doing here?!”

Konka Rar took a moment to make sense of the situation and formulate a reply. “If you must know, I am here to guide Eximo through this last round. Namely, to remind it of its purpose and… encourage it to follow through.”

“Oh really? Sounds boring.”

“Then what is your purpose here?”

“Me? Well I guess you can say I'm doing what you're doing… only I'm doing it to this bag of meat behind me! You could even say… that I'm Aeon's Yin to Eximo's Yang!”

Konka Rar attempted to force down his disbelief. “That makes no sense whatsoever. We are not even remotely in the same s-”

Konka Rar stopped, realizing that Lutherion had began laughing past half of his first sentence.

“Sense? Sense?! You're asking me if this makes sense? ” Lutherion broke to an enthusiastic laugh. “Tell me, does anything that we've been through up to this point make sense? Does any of this make sense?” Lutherion indicated to the walls surrounding him.

Konka Rar said nothing.

“TELL ME!”

Again, Konka Rar remained silent.

“No answer?” Lutherion broke into a chuckle. “So… you think that somehow, this place, this… cesspool of an amalgamation of the insanities of one crazed individual, follows some kind of logical or rational pattern? That it follows a set of rules and is consistent and reasonable? Well, I've learned a little secret while you all've been playing out this ‘game'. Nothing, nothing in this universe makes sense. The only thing that is absolutely universal throughout this entire plane of existence is chaos. Pure, sweet, unabridged CHAOS. All you scientific folk ever do is make crackpot theories and funny little predictions and spend your entire lives in search of something that doesn't even exist. Learn to embrace the chaos! That's what the Director and all the other masters of the universe have done. They LOVE CHAOS!”

“Maybe you're right.”

Eximo, Konka Rar, and Lutherion paused, and saw Aeon getting to his feet. “Maybe I've been going about this the wrong way. Maybe not. But there is at least something that's certain, something that I've learned through this: I can't control everything. Sure, I've strived for it, maybe even came close to it. But it's never complete. So if I want something done, if I want something to be completed, then I suppose I'll need some help. And help comes best from the other side.”

The world around them began to shift once more. Wallpaper gave way to stone, doors gave way to arches, and a stairwell appeared at the end of the hall. Soon after, footsteps were heard from opposite the stairwell, and a figure walked in. It was familiar, taking on a shape identical to one already present in the room.

“What's all this noise about?” Konka Rar said, clearly irritated.

Aeon broke free of his collar, and made a break for the stairwell. Welcome home, Eximo.

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SpoilerSo this might need a bit of explanation. Aeon invoked this place (Konka Rar's castle) by calling upon Eximo's memories. Thus, everything that would appear in Konka Rar's castle is here, including Konka Rar. The first Konka Rar is still an image representing Eximo's loyalty and whatnot, but the second behaves exactly as the real Konka Rar would behave upon finding these folks suddenly appearing in his castle, which may or may not be the same as how the first Konka Rar is behaving (to Dragon Fogel's discretion—basically anything that I've not specifically said here is to his discretion). The remaining 6 image-contestants have been transported here as well. I've kept descriptions of the castle relatively vague so that Dragon Fogel can handle the rest.

Also, sorry for taking 3 days to post this.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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The two Konka Rars stared at each other.

"What..." they began simultaneously, pointing at each other with their respective bony fingers, pausing.

"Never mind," they said once more. The 'real' Konka Rar turned to Eximo. "And what are you doing here? Did I not order you to..."

His sentence was interrupted by his counterpart blasting him with a laser. "Eximo is well aware of its orders. You need not remind it."

The second Konka Rar glanced at the vacuum cleaner, dodging a retaliatory laser from the other lich. "You do recall your orders, do you not?"

There was a pause.

"Affirmative. This unit... will continue to follow orders." It headed down the stairs carefully, using its arms for traction. One of the Konka Rars faded, moments before a pillar of fire erupted where he had been standing.

The remaining lich turned to his other surprise guest. "And just who are you?"

Lutherion cackled. "Oh, the stories I have for you. Let's get down to business, shall we?"

***

Aeon heard a thumping sound on the stairs above him. Eximo is after me, he thought. But it probably can't move very well on the stairs. I may have a chance to get a headstart...

He reached a landing which branched off into a corridor. He ran down it, and found four skeletal warriors ahead of him, each with a mechanical arm and legs. They spotted him, and began advancing.

Concentrating, Aeon summoned a holy sword, reasoning it would be effective. He advanced, readying his blade...

And suddenly, a blast of energy appeared from nowhere, vaporizing the cybernetic skeletons. Aeon blinked, and looked for the source of the strange beam.

A robed man walked over, greeting him with a smile.

"You looked like you had the situation well in hand, so I had no reason to help you. So I did!"

If he wasn't in a hurry, Aeon would have stared at the newcomer in disbelief. As it was, he simply resumed running. The strange man followed him, for no reason that Aeon could discern.

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SpoilerYes, Aeon has just had a run-in with Nopor Puss.

Originally posted on MSPA by The Dr..

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Spoilerwhat

That's gotta be one of my new favorite parts of this battle now.

Originally posted on MSPA by Wojjan.

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SpoilerSorry, but the scale tips over to Aryo again for me.
EDIT:

I wonder if Nobor Puss[sic] entered the vacuum cleaner. It seems kind of pointless to enter a vacuum cleaner into a tournament.

Oh Fogel, you card!

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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Eximo made its way down the stairs, and entered the hallway. It was reasonably sure that Aeon was on this floor. It prepared to move forward at full speed...

...and was promptly halted by a barrier. It bounced back, in pain, and turned around to see Emily emerging from the stairwell. There was a stern look on her face, but it conveyed disappointment more than anger.

"Is this what you want to be, Eximo? A mere cold-blooded killing machine? I had thought for a while that you might be more than just another demon. To see you reduced to this..." She shook her head. "It's a sad sight."

"This unit has its orders," Eximo replied. "However, lifeform Aeon is currently a higher priority target than you. Drop the barrier, and this unit will not attack you."

"Why does it matter to you, monster? I'm just a memory, aren't I? If you insist on acting like a demon, I will exorcise you!" She began to prepare a spell.

Eximo quickly threw a knife towards her, but Emily held up her shield and deflected it. The spell struck Eximo, severely weakening it. Image-Emily spoke once more.

"The real Emily dedicated her life to destroying demons. Yet she left you alone, because you seemed a lesser threat compared to Lutherion. Indeed, by the time she died, she respected you." The image moved closer, preparing another spell.

"Is this how you repay her kindness towards you? By becoming the very monster she feared you were?"

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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“Soooo… what's your name?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“No reason.”

There's a reason for everything. Aeon thought. He ran past a corridor, climbed some stairs, and stopped for a breather in a hall. The mysterious robed man ran right behind him.

“Who are you?”

Nopor Puss thought for a moment before answering. He had no reason to withhold this information. But then again, he had no reason to tell the truth, either.

“Fuller Rhysen, at your service. I, ah, seem to have stumbled into this castle while, uh, sorting out an issue involving a glacier and a fire dragon.”

Aeon shot “Fuller” a brief look of disbelief, and continued down the hall.

“Hey, aren't you going to tell me who you are, then?”

“All you need to know is that I need to get a safe distance from the owner of this castle and his vacuum cleaner, and buy enough time.”

“You mean the old coot? Jeez, you shoulda told me earlier you were running away from that guy.”

Ignoring Fuller's ramblings, Aeon climbed one more flight of stairs, and found himself in the middle of a library. While not matching the vastness of the Library of Lies, Aeon had already grown tired of fighting in a library. He removed a book from an arbitrary shelf, and flipped through the contents.

Or lack thereof. Searching through the bookshelves, Aeon saw that, although the books looked as though they contained plenty of useful information on the shelf, they lacked titles and every page was blank. It was easy to deduce the reason: Eximo never bothered to read any of them—its job was merely to wipe the dust off and stack them neatly on the shelf.

A sound came from the door, and Aeon instinctively dived behind a bookshelf. Fuller followed suit.

“Come out! These books are worth more than your lives!” Konka Rar bellowed, storming into the library.

***

Amethyst looked out an arched window, deep in thought. There was only grey haze outside—Eximo hardly bothered to pay attention to things outside of the castle, after all. But there was something peculiar about this grey haze, something that Amethyst had felt ever since her image was created.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the familiar, yet distorted, voice of a teenager. Amethyst turned around to meet the image of Nathan, already under the demon's full control.

I don't have time for this, Amethyst thought as she readied her armband.

***

“Psst.”

“What?”

“See that shelf over there? Pull the red book. The one with gold trimmings.”

“Why?”

“It'll open a way to escape! I've used it countless times to escape from this guy.”

Aeon took a moment to weigh his alternatives—it did not take long for him to deduce that he didn't have any. He leapt from cover and grabbed the red book from its shelf. Surely enough, the bookshelf shifted and revealed a stone staircase leading down. In any other circumstance Aeon would have thanked Fuller and ran down the escape route. This time he simply replaced the book and leapt out of the way.

But it was too late. As soon as the bookshelf opened, Lutherion saw him. Within moments, the bookshelf exploded into millions of splinters and shredded books, as Lutherion barged into the library on top of his skeletal steed.

“You!” Konka Rar yelled, as he aimed a laser towards him.

“Me!” Lutherion cackled, as he charged at Konka Rar.

***

“Well?”

Eximo did not reply. It was already significantly damaged by Emily's spells, and its supply of knives was finally beginning to dwindle.

“You can't say anything, can you? Of course—you're still a machine. Despite everything, you are still bound to your original purpose, and you must obey your programming.”

Image-Emily's face shifted from a scowl to a mild look of pity.

“The real Emily used her final moments to attempt to heal Lutherion, and possibly to cure and free him of his insanity. Despite her failure, it seems there is only one course of action now.”

Emily kneeled down and placed her hands on Eximo's armor. With a few inaudible incantations, energy poured into the machine.

“Unknown force affecting this unit's systems. Sensors indicate source of force is lifeform Emily. Requesting that lifeform Emily cease and explain current action.”

“Long story short? I'm giving you a soul, Eximo.”

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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What is happening to us? a voice said in Eximo's mind. The voice echoed throughout the castle; the very walls started to distort.

Why... why do we... do I... stay in this world? said another. I must... move on...

"You have many souls within you," Emily said calmly. "It must be hard, having so many voices within arguing about what you should do... But, their time is long past. They need to let go, and move on to the next world."

As Emily focused, another voice spoke out. And another. And yet another.

Soon, a cacophony of voices was ringing through the halls, and the distortions grew.

***

The voices and the distortions reached as far as the library. Aeon suspected Eximo had something to do with it, but he could barely concentrate. Desperate, he first ducked behind what had been a bookshelf before it seemed to be having trouble deciding whether to exist or not. Aeon then clasped his hands over his ears and closed his eyes to avoid the onslaught on his senses.

One by one, the voices started to fade, the distortions growing as they did. If Aeon were not trying to hide from it, he would have seen "Fuller" and Konka Rar begin to be affected by it as well.

"Damn this!" Lutherion shouted, as his steed continued to charge. But the shape of the floor and walls was changing every second. He soon found himself completely lost - he suspected he was still somewhere in the library, but could not be certain. Angered, he commanded his steed to hold its ground until the misshapen mess of the castle sorted itself out again.

***

The demon-possessed Nathan had no trouble navigating the distortions; to him, reality was little more than an inconvenience. Stripping it away simply gave him more options.

Amethyst summoned a crystal and sent it towards Nathan, but he deftly dodged and vanished into a hole in the wall which existed for mere fractions of a second. Annoyed, she summoned a broomstick and tried to navigate her way through the increasingly formless mess in pursuit.

***

As the voices weakened, the mechanical part of Eximo's mind grew stronger. The image of Konka Rar that served as the vacuum cleaner's loyalty manifested.

"Foolish woman! Do you have any idea what you are doing? You are interfering with Eximo's mind! While we stand in a castle built from his memories, in a world controlled by the mind!"

Emily said nothing, and continued the incantation.

"You will destroy everything around us!"

"It is but an elaborate illusion," she said calmly. "What is real will survive. And Eximo is real, as is Aeon."

"That is not acceptable," the image said. The lich raised his mechanical arm, as more voices faded.

He fired a hail of bullets at the image of Emily. She fell to the ground, her hands still upon Eximo's body.

Konka Rar shouted at the vacuum cleaner. "Enough of this! Focus on the castle once more! Then find Aeon!"

The last few voices stopped. The walls shook wildly, then finally stabilized. A moment later, there was a loud noise in the direction of the library.

"Aeon must be there," the image-lich said thoughtfully. "You will go there, and you will find and destroy him."

Eximo silently moved away from Emily's corpse, and wheeled itself towards the library. The lich smiled as he faded from view.

***

"Fuller" tapped Aeon on the shoulder. Aeon carefully opened his eyes and removed his hands from his ears.

"I just wanted to tell you, it's quite pointless to close your eyes and cover your ears when there are two evil undead wizards fighting and nothing that could possibly give you a good reason to close your eyes and cover your ears! Thanks for the idea!" He shouted it, no doubt because there was no reason to draw attention to himself and Aeon.

Aeon looked at him strangely, then cursed under his breath as he heard footsteps approaching the shelf. Konka Rar and Lutherion, no doubt.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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Aeon waited behind the bookshelf. To his side, a man was rambling on about how pointless it was to ramble on pointlessness. Behind him, he heard footsteps approach him, stopping at a distance of only a few feet. Aeon turned around and looked between the books. To his expectation, the half-mechanized face of Konka Rar stared right back with a look that so heavily contrasted the grinning insanity of Lutherion. To his surprise, that face was yanked backwards to meet a figure just recovering from the slip in reality.

It bought Aeon just enough time. He jumped from his position and pulled out the red book that triggered the secret passageway.

Aeon had presumed that, since Lutherion just came out of this passageway, it would be clear of any potential enemy. Despite everything, Eximo was waiting right behind the bookshelf. It brandished a gun it found in the Mutewood.

***

Even though reality was more or less restabilized, Amethyst was having a difficult time keeping up with Nathan. Strangely, he showed control over this reality, like Aeon, but he was still driven by the desire to win the competition. Though Aeon felt some guilt in orchestrating Nathan's demonhood, both he and Eximo still viewed him as a monster, one striving to cause conflict in the game. Thus, this is the image of Nathan. Perhaps it's best to ignore him, then. Aeon and Eximo are in the library; that I know. It's only a matter of getting there before Nathan tears me to shreds.

***

In a secluded part of the castle, the image of Aeon wandered about, acting his role as Aeon would have acted in response of the second round taking place in a castle. He still had the bomb, though its face continued to malfunction and it would not be introduced until the third round.

By sheer coincidence, the image of Aeon encountered the image of Eximo, actively cleaning up the little bit of dirt and dust that still remained on the floor. It did not care that the second round was its own home.

The image of Aeon readied his adaptive tool. At this point in relative time, Aeon and Eximo were still enemies, and he would have to act as such.

***

Aeon backed into the nearest bookshelf. Eximo approached, its gun aimed directly at Aeon's chest.

“So after all this, you're just going to shoot me?”

Eximo stayed silent. Whether this was due to reluctance, spite, or some other reason, Aeon couldn't discern.

It was not long before Konka Rar noticed this in midst of his battle with Lutherion.

“What are you waiting for?! Shoot the intruder!”

Eximo stayed still, and the symbolic image of Konka Rar appeared.

“You have been given a direct order to shoot. Three direct orders, actually. Now, shoot the contestant!”

Show Content

SpoilerShorter post than usual today, in preparation for something big. Basically, every single post this week has been a collaborative effort by me and Dragon Fogel.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

---

Eximo's finger twitched around the trigger. It fired...

...and a crystal swiftly flew through the air, blocking the shot.

"Enough," Amethyst said calmly, flying into the library. There is something you should both know. Observe..."

She produced three crystals, which floated and began to display an image of the Library of Lies. As she opened her mouth to speak, however, the image of Konka Rar interrupted.

"Do not let her interfere!" he screamed. "Your orders must be fulfilled!"

***

The image of Eximo extended its arms and advanced. "You are not authorized to be here. Standing orders insist that all intruders be captured or eliminated. Surrender and this unit will not harm you."

"No thanks," the image of Aeon said. "I'm not giving up that easily." He grabbed a torch from the wall, and touched it to his adaptive tool. "Say goodbye, vacuum cleaner!"

***

Eximo turned towards Amethyst, wordlessly.

"You're still looking for guidance, aren't you?"

"Don't listen to her!" the subconscious Konka Rar screamed.

"I am afraid only you can do that for yourself, Eximo," she said, ignoring the lich. "But there is still something important I must tell you."

"You imbecilic machine! Don't you realize that while you're watching her, Aeon is getting away?" he screamed.

Eximo started to turn, but at that moment, Nathan leapt from nowhere, knocking Amethyst from her broom.

"Ah, I thought you might be coming about now," she said, picking herself up off the floor.

***

The image-lich's warning had come too late. Amethyst had already provided the distraction Aeon needed in order to slip away.

Unfortunately, he found himself back behind the bookshelves. To his shock, he found himself standing not far behind Konka Rar, who was staring at Lutherion from across a corridor.

"I have had enough of you, intruder," the lich growled.

"Yeah, well, I was going to help you, but then I remembered how ugly your face was!" Lutherion sneered.

Konka Rar replied with a single word. An effective one, as it turned out.

"Inferno!"

A pillar of flame erupted around Lutherion. He looked at it in shock, and the flames engulfed him, slowly charring his body.

Aeon realized that the lich was far too dangerous to be left to his own devices. And here he was, poised to make a surprise attack.

Once again, Aeon changed his tool into the shape of a holy sword. He charged at the cyborg lich, who turned around in surprise...

But too late. Aeon drove his sword through Konka Rar's head, splitting it in two. The holy power drove away the dark magic animating his body, but his dying scream echoed throughout the library.

***

Eximo seemed to hesitate between turning towards the struggle between Amethyst and Nathan, and investigating the scream. But the now-alone image of Konka Rar intended to make it very clear there was no choice.

"Do you know what that scream means? Aeon killed your master. Will you still allow that man to live?"

After a single moment, Eximo wheeled itself through the bookshelves, and the imaginary lich vanished from sight.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

---

As the torn image of Konka Rar dissipated in a strangely calming hiss, Aeon heard Eximo wheeling closer. No time to rest anymore. Amethyst was going to say something important before she got interrupted...

Aeon dove back into the bookshelves, narrowly dodging a flung knife. He retraced his steps, following the sound of the remaining battle between Amethyst and Nathan. As he drew closer, he slowed down, crouching behind the shelves and watching the battle take place. Amethyst was in the air, sending a flurry of crystals towards Nathan, who was swiftly dodging them all. Aeon saw Nathan disappear behind a bookshelf as he heard Eximo approach behind him. Before he could run, however, something hit him through the bookshelf, knocking him to the ground. A familiar energy binded him, sending his thoughts into chaos and completely immobilizing him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nathan, pausing his battle to give an old friend a piece of his mind.

Before he could deliver the finishing blow, however, Nathan was flung forwards and disappeared from Aeon's view. The sound of decorporealizing mind matter gave Aeon a brief moment of relief, as he realized that Amethyst had just saved his life. If he bothered to look, he would have seen Fuller sitting on a bookshelf, looking at the course of events with an eager face.

Eximo slowly approached from the side, drawing its gun. The symbolic image of Konka Rar appeared as well, pointing his own gun at something above Aeon that he couldn't see.

“Make the slightest move and you die. I may not be able to kill Aeon myself, but another image is another matter entirely.” Konka Rar turned to Eximo. “Aeon has killed your master, and he is completely helpless! If you pulled the trigger on him once you can do it again!”

***

Time seemed to stand still. The image of Aeon and the image of Eximo were locked in battle, Aeon wielding a sword of flame and Eximo wielding its usual arsenal. In this moment, a mere twitch from either could mean the other's defeat in one swift motion.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

---

Show Content

SpoilerSome of you may be aware that I started writing a post about three weeks ago to use at a specific point.

I've done heavy tweaking since the original version, but long story short, this is that post.

Eximo still hesitated. The lich was upset.

"Enough, you worthless machine!If you need more convincing, how is this?"

Konka Rar fired into the air. Moments later, Amethyst slowly fell to the ground some distance away.

"Now, fire!" the image shouted. "He could get up at any moment! The time to act is now!"

Yet another brief pause, and the vacuum cleaner spoke.

"Indeed it is."

There was a sudden swiftness to Eximo's actions, as it raised the gun.

"Much better. Now, Eximo! Fulfill your orders! Destroy him!"

Eximo's bony finger prepared to close around the trigger. The machine had finally made up its mind. It would not hesitate any longer.

The bony arm swiftly angled upwards, moving from Aeon to Konka Rar standing above his prone body. Before the illusory lich could respond, the vacuum cleaner pulled the trigger.

"I refuse."

As Eximo spoke, an imaginary bullet shattered Konka Rar's cybernetic eye. The lich stumbled backwards in shock and fell to the ground.

"You... How could you defy me?" the image hissed weakly. "You are a mere machine! Your very purpose is to follow Konka Rar's orders!"

"That was my purpose once," Eximo replied. "At the time, I was afraid to disobey because I would lack purpose."

"And now you do."

"Perhaps. But I now believe I can find a purpose for myself, without need of you."

The cyborg lich tried to get up, but Eximo's will was too strong. The image did not disappear, however. It remained in existence, because the vacuum cleaner was not finished speaking to it.

"I was created as a weapon. I was considered a failure and left to clean. Yet, here, in this contest, I have proven my capability as a weapon." Eximo wheeled closer to the illusion that represented its former unbreakable loyalty.

"And I despise it."

Konka Rar said nothing. He had nothing more to say.

The vacuum cleaner extended several arms, and gathered a knife in each.

"I could slice you apart with these in seconds," it said nonchalantly. "But I will not." It withdrew its arms, replacing the blades. "Because I am no longer a weapon. And as you are a creation of my mind, I have no need to destroy you in such a way."

And with that, the lich simply dissipated.

***

The images of Aeon and Eximo slowly and carefully broke out of their deadlock.

Aeon extended a hand. Eximo extended a skeletal arm.

They shook hands, and slowly faded out. This battle was in the hands of their real counterparts.

***

Eximo turned to Aeon, and waited for the binding spell to wear off. When it did, the vacuum helped its former rival to his feet.

"I trust you," the vacuum said, simply.

Aeon nodded. "I trust you, as well."

"Excellent," said a familiar voice. "We can finally get this done, then."

The scenery around them faded, giving way to a massive void, and the image of Amethyst picked herself up from where the floor had been a moment ago.

The pair looked around, puzzled. They were sure that neither of them had thought of this place.

"That is because I did," Amethyst replied to their unspoken question.

"But... You're an image!" Aeon protested. "How can you change our surroundings as well? And how did you survive when Konka Rar shot you?"

"Ah. My nature, and the nature of this world, are not precisely what you believe they are. I will explain."

"I do not understand," Eximo said. "Is this not where the Director sent us for our final battle?"

"Not precisely." Amethyst paused for a moment, and the void around them began to change.

"Observe."

***

The void displayed a scene neither Aeon nor Eximo had ever viewed - but which Amethyst had, all too well.

The Director and his three Gentlement were in the Holding Cell. A violet light broke out seemingly from nowhere.

Six barriers stood before it. They shattered, one by one. The light struck the Director, and his final barrier was stretched to the breaking point, yet still he held on despite the attack. Finally, he fell, and for the briefest of moments, his face was visible, terrified. Then - he stood up once more.

"I don't understand," Aeon said. "You sacrificed yourself to kill the Director, and failed? Then how are you..."

"It would take a long time to explain normally," she said in reply. "I ask you to concentrate, so I can speak directly to your minds. Then you will understand."

Aeon and Eximo closed their eyes and focused. Amethyst's explanation was burned into their minds.

The energy blast you witnessed before was powered by my very soul. In addition, the same spell that created the attack "locked" the Director and Gentlemen in a space beyond the dimensions. It was impossible to cross any boundary that existed.

But there was one way around the attack, one that I did not realize. The creation of a new dimension within the space. And the Director had that power.

He created a new dimension, one controlled by the power of the mind. There, he would be far more capable of resisting the attack. However, when he did so, he also drew you two into this world. I am unsure why. Perhaps he had not finished transporting you, and had to drop you into this world as he created it. Or perhaps he simply thought it would produce interesting scenarios. Whatever the reason, this became the setting for the final round.

As for myself -

There was a pause. The scene before them continued to play. Arnold Fogge waved a hand, and an illusion of Drake Eon appeared behind the Director and spoke.

"I beg to differ. When magical attacks collide, their energy is lost and becomes ambient."

Though spoken by an illusion, these words are still true. And in this case - the ambient energy from my attack was my very soul. And so traces of it lingered.

When you first entered this world, there was a long pause, and then you heard the Director's voice. The pause occured because he was fighting to contain you. The voice you heard was not the Director - rather, it was a voice you expected to hear.

When you first entered this world, however, you thought of me. And many ways I might have died. The ambient energy that had once been my soul reacted to this, and was drawn through the Director's barrier, to the "arena" he created for you. But these scattered fragments of soul could do nothing on their own.

And then you both summoned an image of me when you recalled the Mutewood. That was my opportunity. She acted as a magnet, drawing fragments of soul to her. As she did, the soul became "real" once again. With only a few fragments, I was aware of myself once again, and knew enough to begin seeking out the other fragments. And I also realized I needed to help you both.

You were both afraid of something, and that fear stood in the way of your ability to trust each other. And without absolute trust, you would stand no chance against the Director. I forced you to confront your own fears and overcome them. And during that time, I managed to draw the remaining fragments of my soul to me.

This is the time to destroy the Director. This world he has created grants him even more power than he would have in the outer one - but I believe he extended himself greatly by creating it, fending off a destructive attack, and cutting off a fragment of it from him for you to battle in. He is more vulnerable than he has ever been. With the two of you focused on the task, and my soul complete once more, this is our best chance to strike.

I will break our confinement. The rest, I must leave to the two of you.

Amethyst's mental voice suddenly went silent.

"How will you do that?" Aeon asked.

"I would prefer not to explain this process mentally. The precise details are rather complex, and somewhat irrelevant to our purposes. Simply put, I am able to generate mana from solar energy. However, there is a bit more to it than that - potentially, the color of the sun will affect the mana output. In theory, a purple sun should provide a significant boost."

She turned to the two of them.

"And this world allows us the opportunity to put that theory into practice. I want you both to concentrate as hard as you can on a purple sun."

They obeyed. A bright purple star appeared in the empty sky above them. Amethyst began to focus, and two spheres of light surrounded Aeon and Eximo, then reshaped to surround their bodies.

"This is to protect you while I do this next spell," she explained. Then her mind told them what the spell would do.

Aeon's face turned somber. Eximo made no physical motion, but with its newly united mind linked with the other two, they knew the vacuum cleaner was saddened as well.

"You're sure about this," Aeon said after a moment, fully aware of what she intended to do.

She nodded.

"I have no regrets. By merging with this illusory self, I have been able to experience emotions again." She smiled. "The joy of seeing you both again one last time." She looked down, sadly. "The sorrow of losing Midnara, even if she was a copy." She looked up once more, filled with determination. "And rage against the Director, for doing this to us all. That last emotion is what I shall need most at the moment."

"Amethyst..." Eximo began. But it left the thought unsaid.

"I know you both are ready. And you know what I must do so that you have the chance. Farewell, my friends." She began to cry black tears, and turned away. "It means so much to me, this chance to say one last heartfelt goodbye..."

Mana was generated and crystallized throughout the immense space around them. Aeon and Eximo could only watch, as the crystals filled every atom surrounding the barriers protecting them.

The spell continued. Finally, after a few moments which seemed like an eternity, Amethyst spoke again.

"It is ready."

There was a flash of violet light.

Amethyst knew that the purple sun alone could not provide enough power to pierce this barrier. She would have to use her soul, as well.

Amethyst's image-body slowly faded, as her soul joined the crystallized mana structure. The crystals glowed brightly, and changed to energy.

The streak of energy flew through the seemingly-infinite void, drawing Eximo and Aeon along with it. Vast distances were traversed in seconds.

Until, suddenly, they stopped.

Moments later, the energy exploded. The void around them seemed to shatter.

The shells of light surrounding Eximo and Aeon faded, and they found themselves on solid ground.

Show Content

SpoilerThere was another section here, but at Aryo's request, I've removed it so he can write up what happens next.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

---

“This seems… familiar.”

Aeon and Eximo were surrounded by grey mist. It was easy to guess what it reminded Eximo of: the Holding Cell, where they waited for the next round. If this was indeed the same location as the Holding Cell, then it was a different part of it—Aeon and Eximo stood on a circular platform. Scattered along the walls were hundreds of images. Aeon walked over to one and saw a misty swamp. He saw individuals wade through the waters, entirely incognizant of their observer. In others, he saw an amusement park, an icy cavern—each sporting a number of individuals, each individual unique, yet some groups appearing in multiple images. Windows to other universes, no doubt.

A voice from below caught Aeon and Eximo's attention. They silently walked onto the circular platform and looked down. Beneath them, there was a circular table, a screen showing formless static, and two familiar individuals.

***

“Where's the image?!” Ari shouted as he looked at the display.

“Perhaps they changed their surroundings to static,” Arnold mused, “It's theoretically possible, isn't it?”

Ari shot him a dirty glance.

“Look, we just witnessed everyone who could possibly make this interesting get killed. There's no way they'll start fighting again after that, so really, this is going to go on until your contestant dies of old age. Mine can't.”

“Aren't you the least bit concerned about what they might be scheming?”

“They were scheming something? No, wait, don't tell me what it was, it spoils all the fun when they manage to pull it off!” Arnold leaned back in his chair, and looked up at the ceiling.

Ari groaned, and started to walk away. It wasn't as if he particularly cared who won anymore, but the Director had excused himself, and Arnold made poor company. Then he noticed Arnold staring at the ceiling.

“What are you looking a-?” Ari looked up. He saw a man and a vacuum cleaner staring right back.

“How did- Never mind! Fogge, you imbecile! Those are the contestants! They're here! THEY ARE HERE!”

“Hm. Do you think we should offer them a cup of tea?”

Ari clasped his hand to his forehead, and attempted to run down a hall before he was thrown back into his chair. Evidently, neither of them were to leave the room.

***

“Come on. This particular area seems to be a medium to all the Grand Battles. The Director must be somewhere in here.”

Aeon and Eximo walked around the circular platform. At one end, the platform extended into the middle of the area. Aeon walked onto the middle platform, and Eximo followed suit. Soon, Aeon and Eximo rose to the air, and the misty walls surrounding them morphed. From this vantage point, it seemed that everything here has been made available to them. With a mere thought, the walls shifted and a relevant image situated itself in front of them, and both Aeon and Eximo knew their objective.

The walls around them shifted, and accelerated downwards. Hundreds of images appeared and disappeared, and soon faded into a blur. Soon, Aeon and Eximo reached the limit of the vertical hall, and entered a vast, spherical area. The ‘Hall of Grand Battles' was one of thousands of similar organizations. As Aeon and Eximo slowed to a halt, tendrils of smoke appeared and coalesced into a floating platform, and Aeon and Eximo landed on it with no sound at all.

In the midst of it all, at the very center of this hyperdimensional yet miniscule universe, was the Director. Here, the fruit of Amethyst's work was finally seen. The only being who had the slightest right to call himself a god sat with an air that somehow reminded Aeon of an old man recovering from a near-fatal incident.

This was the Director.

Originally posted on MSPA by The Dr..

---

Show Content

SpoilerThis is really getting suspenseful, and amazing. It's really cool to see you guys working together like this; it makes for an epic tale.

I have a feeling this is going to be over sometime soon.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

---

"So, it's come to this," the Director said to his uninvited guests. "I can't say I expected you to find a way to me, but that doesn't mean I am unprepared."

Eximo drew its knives and advanced towards the Director. Aeon looked down at his adaptive tool thoughtfully.

Thinking the world might still be affected by the subconscious, he concentrated, and a string of energy emerged from the handle of the tool. Aeon cracked it like a whip towards the Director, binding him with it. Eximo sped up, and prepared to strike with four knives.

But then the energy whip unwound itself, and struck Eximo. The vacuum cleaner was knocked to the ground. Then the Director simply gazed at it, and Eximo was lifted into the air, then flung at Aeon.

"You fools. Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" The Director advanced. As he did, a series of swords, spears, and axes materialized in the air around him, floating and following him.

Eximo quickly extended enough arms to lift itself off of Aeon, and helped him to his feet. The various weapons started flying towards them; Eximo extended as many arms as it could, grabbing weapons out of midair, while Aeon concentrated and created a shield, which closely resembled Emily's.

But as Eximo touched a floating sword, it burst into flames. The vacuum cleaner recoiled and rapidly struck its now-burning hand against the ground.

"We won't be having any of that," the Director said calmly. "Don't you understand? In this world, not only do I have my own powers, but I can summon anything I please with a thought. And anything you summon, I can turn against you."

Aeon's shield suddenly seemed to weigh several tons, and he fell to the ground. He tried to dismiss it, but the Director's will held it in place.

"I can fight in this world more effectively than you can, and I was already more than a match for the two of you. Indeed, even if all eight combatants were here, this would hardly be a challenge."

The weapons swirled around Eximo and Aeon, then slowly they reshaped themselves into a steel cage. The bars crackled with electricity.

"I could just destroy you both," sneered the Director. "But I really do intend to have a winner for this battle. I've given you a nice little arena, free of distractions, so I recommend you get this fight moving before I decide to do it for you."

"Why?" Eximo asked. "What is so important about this battle that even now, with your combatants united against you, you insist on seeing it to a conclusion?"

The Director laughed.

"Important? You fools. It isn't important at all." He raised a hand, and a stadium appeared to surround the platform, an audience of faceless Directors watching the battle.

"But it's entertaining. To watch you struggle, to see you come this far... only to have all your progress be meaningless. I can still make you fight for my amusement." He laughed again. "Well, I suppose you don't have to fight, but really, what do you think will be worse - what you can do to each other, or what I can do if you refuse to cooperate?"

Aeon looked worried, and could sense that Eximo was afraid as well.

Then, suddenly, Aeon's face broke out into a grin.

"I know what this is really about."

A crack appeared in one of the bars of the cage.

Eximo seemed to understand, as well.

"As do I. The Director is afraid. Here, in this world, his mind is exposed to us. He covers his fear by forcing us onto the defensive."

The crowd of Directors booed.

"We must be getting close, if your fans are that upset about it," Aeon said, smirking. Another bar began to crack.

The Director said nothing. The cracked bars began to resolidify.

"You're trying to act as if this doesn't really bother you," Aeon said. "But we're not fooled. If you really had as much control of this place as you say, the cracks wouldn't have appeared at all."

More cracks appeared, all over the cage. Then, the damage was quickly repaired.

For a few tense moments, there was a struggle as the cage shifted from broken to solid repeatedly.

Finally, it shattered. Splinters of metal flew all around the arena, then faded from existence.

The Director said nothing.

"What's the matter?" Aeon jeered. "Not in the mood to gloat any more?"

In an instant, the Director moved to Aeon and grabbed him by the throat.

"As a matter of fact," he said angrily, "I'm not."

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

---

"Release him!" Eximo shouted, rushing towards the Director. But the vacuum's charge was interrupted by a spiked wall rising from the ground. It tried to circle around, but more walls emerged as it did. Before long, Eximo was surrounded by a circle of spiked walls, and then, almost as an afterthought, a dome emerged on top of the structure, just in case.

Aeon stared right into the Director's lack of a face the whole time. Chains surrounded his arms and legs, and soon tightened. With the Director still holding him by the throat, he slowly coughed out a question.

"Why the chains? Why not just finish me now?"

The Director said nothing. The chains tightened. No matter how much he struggled, Aeon couldn't move.

But he could still talk.

"Wait, let me guess. This isn't about killing either of us. This is about showing us that you're still the top dog here, isn't it?"

Still the Director said nothing. The spectral crowd booed. But, out of the corner of his eye, Aeon noticed one of the Directors in the audience fade away...

"Your concentration's starting to break. You can't completely maintain both the audience and your traps, can you? That's why you're not talking... aagh!"

The chains binding Aeon suddenly surged with electricity. It was painful, but he was unperturbed.

"Must be hard... ack!... holding the audience... and that dome... urgh!... together... Let's give you... something else... gah! ... to worry about..."

The Director felt something suddenly appear on his back. He couldn't see it, but he soon realized what it was.

Finally, he spoke up.

"You put that bomb on my back? Do you really think a mere explosion will destroy me?"

Aeon smirked, despite the continuing electric shocks.

"So why are you worried enough to... gargh!... break your silence?"

Before the Director could here was a sudden noise as a wall of the spiked dome went flying into the audience. Eximo emerged from the resulting hole, holding an enormous hammer in six of its arms.

"I repeat: Release him. You will not get another warning," it said.

The Director turned his head, or seemed to in the smoke. The audience rapidly faded.

"You dare presume to tell me what to do?"

The diversion was just enough. Aeon concentrated on the electrified chains.

The chains extended, wrapping themselves around the Director's wrists.

He screamed as the shock traveled through him, and let go of Aeon's neck. Eximo used the opportunity to rush in, holding the hammer up high and preparing to strike. Aeon mentally commanded the chains to extend more, entangling the Director in them and continuing to shock him.

Eximo brought down the hammer on the mass of smoke that seemed to obscure the Director's head. Aeon slowly concentrated on the chains binding him, unraveling themselves and further binding the Director, continuing to fill him with electricity.

There was a loud noise as the hammer came down, accompanied by the noise of electricity shocking the Director.

Then, an instant later, the chains shattered. The hammer was flung into the air; Eximo quickly released is grip to avoid being carried along with it.

The Director flew up and shouted.

"I am not as weak as you take me for!" he screamed.

"Perhaps not, but you are not as strong as you would have us believe either," Eximo replied. "I notice that the bomb is still attached to you."

There was a pause. The Director focused, and the bomb crawled around his body to his front.

The timer indicated ten seconds. It suddenly ran up to ten minutes.

"You might be wondering why I didn't simply remove it," the Director said, turning towards the ground. "It's not a sign of weakness. I'm making it follow the same rules the original bomb did. Well, mostly."

He suddenly swooped towards Eximo. As he did, the bomb shifted to his forearm, and he brushed against the vacuum cleaner with it. The bomb left his body, and transferred to Eximo.

"We're playing tag now. And you're It."