Iwaku: Azazel

[Karsikan the Berzerker]

"Agreed, staying here does nothing" Karsikan followed his strange new companions, eyes scanning his surrounding behind the glowing blue lenses of his helmet.
"Perhaps there, I can find a way to locate my Battle-Brothers, Then we can start a real war."

Summary: GMK follows Endry and Co.

 

[Stacisaur]

Tumbling forward went the little body of Knives, rolling in the leaves from the floor of the forest to slow down her momentum. Laying on her back, her eyes suddenly blinked open, taking view of the dull sky above. What had just happened? She had lost all her senses for a short amount of time, and now she was on the ground. What gives, man? Peering around her, something felt wrong. Something gave her the creeps, made her muscles twinge and shiver beneath her pale skin. Whimpering for no reason she was aware of yet, the girl raised up to her knees, only to find her eyes laying over on the limp body of her new friend. Instant frowny face, followed by the scurrying motion on her hands and legs, she hurried over to the side of Vay. Pushing at his arm, she called out his name quietly. Nothing. Louder then! Nothing still. A sniffle flared her nostrils, once, twice, three times. This was not good.. She felt alone. And yet..

Whipping her head from side to side, curled up low close to the comrade, her bright hazel eyes scanned the area again. She really wished she had a better memory than she was use to.. It wasn't helping very much at the moment to not recall what had recently occurred. Oh, but she did notice something.. er.. things. Staring ahead now, the sight of oddly shaped, vulgar looking creatures gave her hungry eyes. They looked gross. She didn't like gross things. Flailing arms towards the beings, her brows furrowed, giving her best mean face.
"Go away, you big stupid trolls! GO 'WAAAY. Go!"
This was not working. They didn't go away. Drat. Closing her eyes, Knives felt it happening before she even realized she was doing it. In a flash of green light, she was gone. Or, it seemed like she was gone. Rather, she was just in her natural form. Floating above Vay with her wings beating against the air, the pixie was the size of a thumb, finding this would increase her chances of evasion and survival. Landing over on the body below, her little legs worked her over to the sleeve of the now giant top adorning Vay's torso. Grabbing onto the fabric from the outside, she turned it up to curl it around her like a blanket, whimpering softly still. At least like this, she did feel safer. Wishing within her head that Vay would wake up soon, she was patient. She had to be in times like this.

{Knives woke up, turned into a pixie thingy, and is hiding on top of Vay's sleeve.}
​

 

[Radames]

The man who owned the hovering craft did not immediately respond to Rameses. He seemed uncertain of what to do, as if he wasn't really used to interacting directly with other people. When he showed his wide grin, full of tiny, perfectly white pearl-like teeth, it was unnerving. Rameses wasn't sure why this simple expression disturbed him so, but there was no denying the unshakable sense that there was something unusual about this man beyond just the way he acted. Then again, all of the people Rameses had encountered since coming to this world were fairly unusual, to say the least. Perhaps the rules of behavior and social interaction in this place were just different from what he was used to. If that were the case, he supposed the apparent strangeness exhibited by the inhabitants of Iwaku was nothing to be too alarmed at. Still, it would probably be a while before he truly got used to it.

"I'm not a stranger. I'm just like you." Rameses was a bit puzzled by that statement. It didn't seem to make any sense to him, no matter how much he tried to look at it from the other man's perspective. The man was definitely acting strangely, there was now no denying it. Rameses began to reconsider whether it had been wise to ask for directions from someone in this town. The entire place had felt wrong from the start, but then again, there was nowhere else he knew to go, and no one else that seemed able to help him.

Steeling his resolve, he nodded, accepting the strange man's offer for a ride. He had called the vehicle a "sky chariot", which seemed like an apt name judging from what he had seen it do so far. Approaching the craft, he climbed inside the opened hatch and crawled into the space behind the driver's seat. It was a tight fit for him, but he was assuming the sky chariot would take them to the next settlement fairly quickly, so hopefully he would not have to endure a long ride.

"Very well. Let's be on our way, if you're ready."





Summary: Rameses accepts Asmodeus' offer for a ride and hops in the hover car

 

[Asmodeus]

Southern Cross - The Town of Anton​

​

"...as he reach’d the Mountains of Mashu,
Where ev’ry day they keep watch o’er the Sun-god's rising and setting,
Unto the Zenith of Heaven uprear’d are their summits, and downwards
Deep unto Hell reach their breasts: and there at their portals stand sentry
Scorpion-men, awful in terror, their very glance Death: and tremendous,
Shaking the hills, their magnificence; they are the Wardens of Shamash,
Both at his rising and setting. No sooner did Gilgamish see them
Than from alarm and dismay was his countenance stricken with pallor..."​

It was very hard to tell the story whilst pretending to be a toned Egyptian man. But he did his best. Asmodeus waved his hand back and forth in the cockpit, trying to be as Egyptian as possible. His voice was sore from making it extra deep.

His passenger wasn't saying anything. But Azazel was a very good storyteller. He had to be. He was the king of Iwaku after all.

Hmm.... a dark passenger...

...

Anyway...

He steered with his other hand, the hovercar skipping over the sand dunes beyond the town. He kept below the regulated aerial speed limit, of course, and within the designated territories. It made sense to be a toned Egyptian man out here. He should have thought of it sooner.

Asmodeus looked at the batteries he had bought. They were a pointless now. Japan was so yesterday.

He would kill the girl, and spend more time with the Egyptian man. That's what Azazel did. Each case was unique. They shouldn't overlap. The newspapers would get confused. And one had to think about the crime scenes these days.

"...Senseless, he grovell’d before them.
Then unto his wife spake the Scorpion:
'Lo, he that cometh to us—’tis the flesh of the gods is his body.'
Then to the Scorpion-man answer'd his wife: "Two parts of him god-like,
Only a third of him hu..."​

He stopped mid-speech and peered through the cockpit window.

Smoke.

Black smoke.

Coming over the next dune.

Fire.

Lots of fire.

Over the next dune.

A shack.

A shack on fire.

Black smoke from lots of fire from a shack over the next du-

"RAAAAAAAAAGH!"​

Asmodeus screamed suddenly - a mad feral scream that flecked the canopy window with spittle. He turned the joystick, banking into a plumetting dive before Radames could question him.

"YAAAAAAAAAGH!"​

He swooped towards his burning shack, cutting through the smoke, whipping up sand and debris with his engines.

There was a young girl running away across the sand.

"BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"​

His voice broke and became a shredded squeal. He punched a button on the side of the cockpit and the canopy window lifted. The air came howling in. His other hand pulled a pistol from a seat holster.

The toned Egyptian man would have to keep quiet. It was killing time.

Asmodeus piloted the hovercar with one hand whilst firing with the other, sending bullets thudding into the ground around Zen as she fled.

[SUMMARY: Asmodeus returns to find his shack on fire. He forgets about Radames and opens the window and starts shooting at Zen.]

 

[Blind Hemingway]

The West - Noob Forest, at the Edge of Insanity​

​

Thomas didn't like waiting. If this forest was indeed full of noobs, it meant that there would be more bound to come. His daughter then chirped. There was something else in the woods. Though, they couldn't tell if it was a friendly or not. He would wait until she came back with a report.

He sat down next to a tree. His peasant clothing were drab enough to help him blend in with his surroundings slightly. Thomas felt snow flakes starting to fall from the heavens. This meant one thing, they were closer to the lands formerly known as Insanity than he thought.

Feeling around for a cigarette with his left hand, he finally pulled one out from his liner pocket. His hand was shaking. While he wasn't old, the years of physical labor in the field had done its toll. The cold was revealing this weakness. He wanted to groan but kept silent. Feeling around once again for his lighter, kept his right hand on his pistol.

At last, he was able to light his first smoke of the day....

Meanwhile

The noobs were running around haphazardly. Something was driving them crazy. Their master knew that much. Sighing, she put her hands into her warm fur lined pockets. Things hadn't been the same for her for years. She used to be the protector of this forest. The only thing that prevented either Nerf Castle or Iwaku from going to war with each other. It wasn't the best gig around, but at least it made her feel important.

This woman's name was Raven. She was in love with one of the Knights of Iwaku, the heroic Reikei. With the coming of Azazel, all the knights were rounded up and locked away. Raven would do anything to free her beloved. Though deep down she was also hoping to get on this new king's good side. While Gabe was in power, she would often be at war with him.

This new guy seemed to have a much better sense of justice...

Maybe she would finally be granted her wish....

"We'll find them!" The noobs kept chanting. Normally, they weren't this attentive. Ever since they had sacked the village in order to weed out the Insanity resistance, they had been acting up. "We find them!"

Of course, she had no way of knowing that one of her pets had been slain by Eros.

Annoyed, Raven yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you fools??!!?"

 

[Jack Shade]

Eastern Kingdom, Nerf City


Panic and mayhem, the wild abandon of those who didn't want to be caught. Ah, but he'd planned for this one. A few of the knights dragged the fighters over to him, cuffing them with Confluence cuffs, the very best in power dampening technology. Between the two, Jack chose the one who had been on the top the most consistently...fellow was a showman, and a powerful one at that.

"Have him escorted to the castle, and get him something a bit more presentable to wear...my dinners have a dress code, after all." The knights nodded once, a sort of mechanical solemnity marking their movements as they dragged XC away from the ring and out a small exit. Jack sighed, putting a hand atop the pommel of his sword. No show today, the knights were far too eager to please and had robbed him of a chance to showcase his abilities. It was disappointing, really...how could he expect to command the respect of his subjects if he was always denied an opportunity to show off a little?

Popular polls in the Nerf Chronicle showed Jack down a whopping 33% in the popular assessment of his reign. While it had no bearing on his rule at all, he allowed the newspaper to take those kinds of liberties to let the people think they were cared for, even heard. In reality, there were far too many voices already clamoring in the Court of Lords to make any difference at all.

But lately the people had seen him as an 'absent' monarch.

Perhaps his planning HAD taken a rather hefty toll on his public appearances, but certainly Jack hadn't any intention of letting that fact encourage the kind of lawlessness pit fighting offered....or at least, did not encourage it past the point where he had found suitable candidates for indentured Knighthood.

"Jovian," he snapped, turning quickly and ascending the staircase, "Be a dear and make sure anyone phasing through walls or using short term teleportation gets a citation for unauthorized use of Reality Bending...or Soul Arts, or whatever...and tag on resisting arrest as well. No shame in being harsh this time around, so long as we send them a strong message, we'll have done our job well."

He glanced up at the masses pressing up against the doors and past the guards into the shop beyond. "As for me..." His fingers twisted, catching each other and spinning in strange and arcane gestures. "It's time for me to make an impression." The power rose within him, flowing out and through the ground ahead of him. The masses could hear the soft sigh of noise, like the yawn of a bell, before the ground split in front of them and a roaring enclosure of interlocking jagged bones rose to tower above. Jack hummed as he worked, spinning the jagged bones to enclose the entire crowd, allowing the guards to shift back into position around it, making a note for anyone that showed overt powers for detaining.

"Citizens, citizens," He said, a warm smile on his face as he tried to speak over their clamoring panic, "Please, take it down a notch." The people began to quiet, looking on the Prince with a mix of suppressed awe, fear, and even anger...this was the first time in a long time anyone had seen him outside the castle. "You only have yourselves to blame for this."

He glanced through the crowd, appraising them individually, almost like window shopping. Pacing around the circle, he finally pointed at Was, holding it there imperiously and frowning, churning through the memories available to him. "You..." Jack said, tracing a line of inquiry along his chin, "You...are invited to dinner." Twisting his fingers once, a small section of the bones opened to allow the greeter through, Quickly closing behind him.

"Sir!" a guard saluted beside him, urgently, trembling with excited energy.

"Can't you see I'm selecting a dinner audience?" Jack asked, annoyed, turning to the soldier, "What is it?"

"A Class B Reality Bender has entered-"

"Yes, yes, I know...West quadrant, has Torsty attended to it yet?"

"Err...no, sir...on both accounts. Entrance over the Lake of Iwaku and Torsty cannot be found."

Jack sighed, pressing a hand to his furrowing forehead. "Ah...fantastic, two guests for dinner and no one to invite them...well...hmm...send a delegation to both then, be especially welcoming. I need to prepare for my guests."

"Yessir!" he chirped, and dashed away...eager to please, always eager to please. Jack Shade sighed, throwing up his hands and turning to Was, holding out a hand and giving an inviting smile.

"Sorry about that, busy day in my Kingdom...you understand, right?" He laughed, grabbing Was's hand and shaking once, firmly, before turning back to the Knights. "Site them all for attending an illegal gambling event and attempting to escape due process by the law...fine those that can pay and the rest...well, document them and deliver their names to me...we'll find them something to do to repay their crimes."

Turning back to Was, Jack rolled his eyes and shrugged, pushing past the knights and back toward the castle. "As for you, guest," he said to Was, indicating he should follow, "It is advisably polite to introduce yourself to your host...oh! And I almost forgot...do you have any special dietary needs?"


Summary: Jack detains the audience, invites Was to dinner, sends delegations out to meet Myrn and Orion, inviting them both back to the castle, and sends XC and Jovian back to the castle to be prepared for dinner. XC will be receiving new clothes. Sorry for the wait, everyone.

 

[LadyHarpy]

The West- The Forest

Harpy had been following the people quietly for the shortest amount of time until she had gotten distracted by some rather pretty leaves. After playing with them for a bit she turned to find she had lost the very people she had planned to speak too, darn her short attention span! Without much of a choice the bird like woman started to wander off once more in a random direction, this time on foot as flying had grown dull and bone chilling as harsh winds blew high above the ground. She walked through the forest at her own pace, playing with the leaves that she had collected along the way.

If she had been paying attention to the world around her she might have noticed the small group of balding little creatures with their large teeth, looking at her with both a mixture of hunger and curiosity. She continued to whistle and hurry on her way as the noobs followed, not seeing them until it was too late. Harpy let out a loud screech as she felt a sharp bit on her wing, the appendage shooting out and sending the offending creature into a tree as she turned to see the aggressor. At first she could only blink as the rest of the small group wailed and ran over to the fellow friend, the noob on the ground dead with an obviously dented skull. What a way to go...

The strange little creatures all turned and glared at her, letting out strange noises as the bird woman slowly started to back away slowly...

Five minutes later...

"Oh crap, Oh crap, Oh crap!!" The bird woman said as she scurried along the forest floor, the noobs right on her tail as they yelled and screeched their anger. There was no way she was going to get out of this one easily. She had originally though she could take them on if one fell so quickly but it seemed the buggers were stronger in numbers, leaving her no choice to but to flee. She was running so hard that she didn't even know where she was really going. She also noticed loud noises only seemed to bring more, making her strongest attack useless. As she was running she noticed that the orange colors were turning to white. She must have been running into a snowy region. The small distraction of the snow caused her to fall though and the bird woman went tumbling through a set of bushes, right past a smoking man who was leaning against a tree.

She didn't know he was there though, her face was buried in the snow and dirt until she pulled it up, coughing up a few rocks in the process.

 

[XC]

When Jahrakal woke up, he found himself lying on a crude cot. He tried to move, but the wave of soreness that hit him prompted a groan from him before his body crashed back down on the sofa. He felt as if every inch of his own body had been subjected to twenty four hours of massage from a transexual jacked up on steroids with bad eyesight. After that, Jahrakal just shut his eyes to stare at the ceiling, taking deep breaths to try and chase the pain away from his body. He could feel it working, and while he let it work its magic, he recollected what had happened during the brief but intense brawl that had taken place inside the arena. Jack Shade raided. He tried to escape. Fought. Hit over the head.

Captured.

Oh.

Now that was a dumb thing to have done. To go ahead and get himself captured. He remembered the first major hit - a baton to the back of his head. Once he staggered they swarmed him like starved piranhas to a piece of fat pork. Thinking over whatever he could remember of the situation then over and over again, Jahrakal ruled that he would have been captured, either way. It was either he fought off the soldiers, then got swarmed by the more powerful knights. Not to mention Jack Shade. Jahrakal might not look the age, but he was old enough to remember the times when Jack Shade wasn't such a passive ruler.

Finally able to get up, Jahrakal looked around his modest cell. It was made of plain metal, but he knew for sure there was Confluence energy at work there. He knew that he was as strong as your average human here. Maybe one at peak physique but that was all.

The next thing that caught his attention was the set of clothes hung up and well ironed in the corner, along with the note. Agonizing moments passed before he picked up the note and read it. Dinner? He guessed that he had no choice but to go. He was held captive by Jack Shade, after all.

And he was hungry. A growl that sounded like a roar of an enraged bear made sure of that.

"And the clothes are nice .." Jahrakal whistled as he twisted his waist, striking a few posts in his new clothes.

He was ready.

Summary: Got ready for dinner.

 

[Cosmic Orion]

Eastern Kingdom: Lake of Iwaku​

Reflecting on his new appearance, the strange Surfer still stood there at the lake tugging on each of his fleshy ears before moving onto his nose. None of it came from vanity at all but rather sheer curiosity. Both moved as though they were held in place by a substance more malleable than bones. Then again that made the assumption this extraterrestrial had a skeletal structure composed of mineralized osseous tissue. From the looks of things his human exterior actually served more as a sort of defensive camouflage shell. Until experiencing physical damage he would not know the durability of this exterior that was so alien to him. Although a poor choice came in the decision to poke one of his crystal blue eyes that each held a subtle twinkle of cosmic energy. Orion quickly realized those were now sensitive and made a note to find some way to shield them. Just how extensively had the 'shell' actually altered him? Perhaps even the color of the blood in his veins had changed. . . assuming he had blood to begin with. But what interested him most was jut how strange his dangly bits looked now and started to bat them around out of sheer curiosity.

Eventually the delegation party Jack sent out came across this odd spectacle in their transport vehicle.

Composed of around five men, they approached what none of them likely realized had come straight from outer space. Two looked the type to shop in a big and tall store while the rest were around Orion's own height. All of them watched the alien probe himself before announcing themselves with a collective throat clear. Dealing with a man completely in the buff was certainly an interesting close encounter of the third kind. All he had on was a necklace with strange teeth! Loose blond hair shifts as the Sentient Star turns his head to lock a pair of faintly gleaming blue eyes on the lot of them. Weapons kept in sheath and holster stayed that way as per Jack's standing order to behave especially welcoming. First impressions always counted for so much after all!

"Welcome to the Eastern Kingdom traveler! In recognition of your visit, Prince Jack Shade has invited you to dinner at Castle Peridox. Please come with us."

Arching an eyebrow at those who were strangers to the stranger, one hand hung limply down by his side with a surfboard keychain hung casually on the partially curled thumb. Blond hair ruffled when the fingers of his other hand ran through the golden locks so that they were kept out of the way. Shoulders rotated with the rudimentary movement of stretching the firm muscles sculpted from whatever tissue made up the muscles of a Sentient Star who failed in replying to the welcome wagon right away. Cracking his neck came next, with each successive pop going off with the rapid fire of a machine gun. Finally the fingers were flexed on both hands as the guards started to wonder if he had even heard them in the first place.

"Yeah sure brah. You dudes look solid enough. I'm so frickin' hungry, I'm gonna need to don the apron when we get to your house."

For a moment or two the delegation members stared at one another in confusion. Some of his words had made sense to them while others went entirely over their heads. Lost on them entirely was the surfer lingo of this off-worlder. But they stayed on their best behavior in welcoming him nonetheless to the point of even offering him smiles. A smile that gave off a single twinkle came in reply before a pair of bare-feet belonging to the same dude started heading over to them in a rather relaxed stride.

But they couldn't just bring a nude man through the streets of Nerf City!

Orion took a few moments before catching onto the fact that this was one of those worlds that did not feel clothing was so optional. Even if he had been wearing clothes. . . they would have just burned off while entering the atmosphere anyway. The fact that those belonging to Jack's delegation wore clothing sort of gave it away. Nervous laughter left his mouth before casually sliding his hands down to cover up dangly parts. Honestly, Orion could have cared less one way or another but he wanted to respect the will of others and not make them feel uncomfortable any longer. A polite discussion of hushed whispers erupted among the group of men on how to solve the whole naked surfer situation.

Luckily they had brought quite a few extra materials with them in case the new arrival had been in need of immediate medical attention. After all the delegation knew that the arrival at the lake had crashed at an incredible speed. Expecting wounded came only natural. Grabbing some supplies out of the transport vehicle, a makeshift outfit was thrown together for the strange Surfer lacking pants. Now they started to really show some creativity in the realm of fashion. In the end he ended up with a coffee cup containing his dangly bits on the condition he did not add any creamer. Plus a non-stick medical bandage was wrapped around his head to keep the untamed blond hair from getting in the way of those peculiar blue eyes.

Now the delegation started to head back to Castle Peridox with their honored dinner guest.

Eastern Kingdom: Nerf City​

Down the main street of Nerf City the surfer walked with Prince Jack's delegation accompanying him every step of the way. Would any of them even recognize him? Unlikely. But they would never forget his face now as Orion strode down the street with nothing more than a Not all that long ago he had been a streak of light across the sky over their city. More than likely none of them would even realize that a star walked among them. Whispers about the shooting star from earlier still found their way through the crowd until spotting the newcomer. Perhaps once upon a time they might have wished upon him without even realizing it. No one could confirm such a whimsical reason for coming to Iwaku though. Even if it had felt destiny itself brought him straight toward the planet. All he could hope for now was that the planet had a beach somewhere with some decent waves. NPCs watched him for both his lack of clothing and the sole reason that his accompaniment by a special delegation which only their Prince could grant. Women blushed at the sight of his toned muscles while men laughed at the coffee cup. Orion merely shot off friendly smiles toward all those who watched him with interest and took nothing personally.

He had nothing to be ashamed of after all.

"Guess I should grab some loot and gear up."

Piece by piece as they walked down the marketplace street, Orion assembled himself a more socially acceptable outfit after entering a clothing store. Of course the delegates covered the costs of these random articles of clothing that their guest picked out. First came the white long-sleeved dress shirt which lacked any sort of buttons but had an ocean blue collar. It hung just low enough to cover his backside from any potentially prying eyes. Shortly thereafter came a pair of baggy black shorts that he had to enter a changing room to put on, emerging with them a few moments later and handing the coffee cup over to one of the delegates. Just then a set of ear-muff sized headphones caught his eye due to the intricate designs on them which was both otherworldly and yet oceanic as well.

"Dude! Those things are totally righteous!"

Now relatively dressed, the delegation led him toward Jack's castle for dinner.


Summary

Spoiler

Delegates sent by Jack Shade find a nude Orion 'examining' his 'strange' new body and give him a coffee cup to keep decent with until reaching a clothing store in Nerf City. After grabbing some duds, Orion is lead to the castle.

 

[Radames]

As they rode along, zipping rapidly over the desert terrain below, the pilot of the craft recounted a sort of story. Although it was not one that Rameses recognized, the way it was being recited and the sense of epic importance conveyed through the speakers words made it enjoyable. It sounded somewhat like the litanies to the gods he had once read aloud as a priest. Although those days had long since passed, Rameses found himself listening intently to the tale, the tiny cockpit steeped in an air of reverance and mystery that made him feel as if he was once again within the interior of a great temple.

The tale continued for some time, but he did not mind in the slightest. At the very least, it made their journey more interesting than it would have been if the two men had merely sat there in silence the entire time. The man piloting the craft did not seem to care for general conversation, and Rameses felt much the same. As he listened, his eyelids gradually dropped lower and lower until his eyes were almost closed. With the sunlight streaming into the cockpit all but blocked out, he could almost smell the burning incense and imagine himself reading from a scroll in the darkened recesses of the Temple of Ra...

Suddenly, the pilot began screaming. Rameses was so startled from the sound that he tried to jump up. Unfortunately in that cramped space there wasn't much headroom, and so his head bounced off the glass covering the cockpit, the impact throwing him back to his seat. As his head began pounding painfully, he looked out of the cockpit to see what had alarmed the pilot, who was still shrieking at the top of his lungs.

At first, all he could see was thick black smoke rising up from the horizon, but as they drew closer to the source of the blaze and then began circling it, Rameses could see that it was a shack much like those back in town. Just then, the pilot's voice reached a pitch one would think impossible for a grown man. The strange man opened the cockpit, bringing fierce winds ripping inside to buffet Rameses from what seemed like everywhere at once. The pilot then took out a metal object and aimed it down towards the ground before it subsequently seemed to explode in his hand. Although the noise of the gunshot was muffled somewhat by the fierce winds, there was no mistaking that it was meant to cause damage of some sort. The question on Rameses' mind, though, was to who.

Looking down to where the crazed pilot appeared to be aiming, Rameses spotted the small shape of a young girl running across the sand. Was the other man trying to kill her? It certainly looked that way. Rameses was unsure exactly what was happening. His mind was reeling from everything that had transpired in the past minute or so, and his head still hurt from the bump it had received, but even though his mind was considerably muddled, his first instinct was to prevent the pilot of the hovercraft from killing the girl.

Rameses quickly grabbed for the firearm, but only managed to get a grip on the maniacal stranger's wrist. Rameses tried to wrest the man's arm into a safe position where he could not fire at either Rameses' or the girl, but it was proving difficult. The man was resisting with a strength belied by his frame, and the gun was still going off by the second. The stranger's gaze turned from the girl to Rameses, and the bestial glare the man leveled at him made chills run down his spine. The sounds he was making now were barely human, and his teeth were bared menacingly. With a sudden jerk of his arm, he brought the gun crashing into the side of Rameses' head, throwing him off.

Rather then falling back into his seat, the upper half of Rameses' body was pitched over the side of the hover car, leaving him dangling outside the cockpit. Now all he could see was a rapidly shifting pattern of blue sky and yellow sand as he was tossed around by the turbulence. As the hover car continued to zoom above the desert, the steering having been completely forgotten, Rameses' could feel himself slowly slipping out of the cockpit all together. He flailed with his arms, trying to find some handhold to pull himself back in, but it was no use. The hover car lurched once, dropping down lower above the smoking shack, and Rameses was sent tumbling through the air.

Spiraling head over heels repeatedly, his vision blurring together and a feeling of dread welling up in his stomach, the last thing Rameses felt was his body colliding into the sands with a bone-jarring thump. The pounding in his head became unbearable for a split instant, and then everything was black





Summary: Rameses' tries to stop Asmodeus from shooting at Melody and gets thrown out of the hover car. He blacks out after the fall.

 

[Zen]

A bullet entered and shattered Melody's collar bone. Small bone fragments littered the area. She instantly slammed into the dunes, feeling the sand sting her eyes. Her blood fed the parched land - she could almost hear the dunes aaahing in relief.

This was it. This was death. Her grave was going to made here on top of this sand dune. Then again, this mad man would probably drag her body off and do horrible things to it. Probably skin it and try to wear it like he wore her hat. That thought made her fist clench in the sand... And slowly her fist loosened. What was the point? Why fight it any longer? She should just lie here like a good victim.

A murderer taken out by another nastier murderer. It seemed fitting enough. She wondered if this was how her family felt...

And then she heard another voice. A scuffle it sounded like. It was a short fight, and then the unfamiliar voice stopped talking. He must have been killed.

There went her hope, snuffed out before any progression towards life could be made. Melody didn't care... She would lay there, sobbing into the sand until the bullet entered her skull. Let her die, and let this demon die with her.

 

[Asmodeus]

Southern Cross - The Town of Anton​

​

He got the girl, right in the collarbone.

"RAGH HAH HAH HAH HAH!"​

The toned Egyptian man tried to steal his gun.

"RAAAAGH!"​

He struck the toned Egyptian man and sent him tumbling from the cockpit.

"MWHA HAH HAH HAH!"​

He turned back and shot the girl in the head.

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"​

He saw the burning shack coming straight towards him.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!"​

The hover car crashed through a world of wood and fire, its metal buckling and twisting. The top level was demolished and the car struck a foundation pillar, upending and sending its pilot hurtling through the air. Then its fuel line ruptured and the explosion sent fire scooping into the basement, causing a chain reaction with the boiler. Everything erupted in a pillar, the inferno sending a mushroom of smoke into the air.

"Uuurgh..."​

He landed in the sand, his body splayed between the face-down Zen and the face-up Radames. Man, woman and monster - three casualties blackened and bleeding in the desert sun.

This was no way for Azazel to die.

[SUMMARY: Asmodeus crashes]

 

[Kitti]

The intruder has been beaten soundly over the head before he could even react. The fluid motions were merciless and efficient and it was only afterwards that she noticed a small girly thing near him. It didn't look at though they'd been a threat after all, and Eros had knocked one unconscious with the butt of her gun anyway. Perhaps, she thought dismissively, they should think before they went running toward someone. Not everyone could be heroes with their bleeding hearts. This sentiment was mirrored in her opinions toward the little boy that had approached them as well. When would people learn to just stay away and tread with caution? Nothing could get close to them, because she wouldn't let it. That would mean risking her life and that of her father.

Father.

With the n00bs swarming the area, it was all too dangerous for them to stay here. She hoped that Thomas had found everything that he needed because they had to get going before things turned sour for them. She didn't say anything to the girl, just turned her back sharply and tore through the trees to where she'd last heard Thomas and his chirp. He had not been at such a lofty vantage point and he might not even know yet that the place was absolutely infested.

Darting through the grass and snapping twigs beneath her feet, Eros inhaled as deeply as she could in her flight. She chirped in warning to Thomas as she headed toward him, alerting him to her presence and that it was indeed her. The n00bs had caught sight of her already. Had it just been the n00bs, everything would have been fine. Unbeknownst to her, they had a leader with them and they were heading toward them with as much haste as they could muster, guiding Raven to where Eros was telling Thomas of the situation.

The pair was preparing to depart when they heard the arrival of the n00bs. She had not yet spotted them, too busy shouting at her pets to have noticed yet, but they heard her loud and clear not thirty feet away through the trees. Eros spun, lifting her gun. They hadn't expected this to be easy, she thought sourly, but a real flesh and blood? Most unlucky day in a long time.
​

​

 

[Fel of the Eternal Forest]

[DASH=Yellow]

[BG=Blood Red]Chapter Two: Beginning Oaths



And so it was that Endry and his company met. Or, at least some of them. We'll leave the other two for background purposes. Weary, they were unsure just how far they would get in their quest for freedom. For a fact, they really did not have a plan, trusting blind faith. In Endry's case however, trust went to the Author – the omnipresent voice in the back of his head. He didn't know the future, but he knew the now. The now was 'play it by ear.' That was how he gained his three newest companions, two spacemen and a man-child from another reality. What was it that brought these seven together?


We join them a little farther on:[/BG]

[/DASH]

Endry and Company; somewhere outside Razilian City

Insofar they had been on the road five, blisteringly cold days. Endry was sure that the Grandmaster could have run ahead if he knew where to go, but for the rest of them, the snow had drug a four day journey to at least six. For a seasoned warrior, like indeed most of them were, it wasn't such a chore. Sure, the weather slowed them down, but there was not a single complaint in camp.



They had one skirmish with a group of Razbots. Four in total, they were easily extinguished with heavy fire from the experienced futuretech fighters Karsikan and captain Nic. It had almost seemed like the automatons couldn't learn from their mistakes. Perhaps they had incomplete artificial intelligence? Endry didn't know, did not understand machines. On that note, it was fortunate Endry and Kestrel didn't have to waste their energy on a lost cause. Their swords weren't anything special and probably couldn't penetrate the chassis.


Now, on this fifth day:


Endry smelled it. Something cooking, it smelled of beef and garlic. That was good – he was tired of eating rabbits and the occasional squirrel. Field rations were terrible. Then it struck him, if the Grandmaster had hearing amplifiers, did he have smell amplifiers?

Kestrel's eyes had glazed, she smelled it too. This was one of their shared awareness things, and not so much that Endry had seen her eyes, he knew how she felt. Sometimes it sucked being from an alternate reality, meeting your lesbian female clone and then suddenly sharing emotions with her. It was Goddamn weird.

“Please tell me everyone else smells that too. It smells delicious. Probably getting close, don't you think?”

The first reply was Collie, simply stating that the group-who hardly talked at all-talked too much.

 

[Asmodeus]

Meanwhile, in the capital...

"My lord, we have found him."

Azazel, ruler of Iwaku, descended the marble steps beyond his throne. Sunlight streamed through the high windows of the Tower and caught upon the fine red robes and ivory feathers of his form. The world seemed to shake with his every step, as if he were turning the wheel of the Cycle itself.

"Where?" spoke Azazel's voice, the melody of water in crystal caves.

"In the desert," replied the royal guard. "Near the town of Anton. There was a crash. They pulled him from the fires."

The angel passed beside a long, towering bookshelf, where leather-bound volumes held the sum of his work to date. Azazel had been cataloguing Iwaku - detailed biological surveys, plant tallies, geometric data, chemical analyses, financial audits and a population census. It was part of his obsession - his need to assume total knowledge and thereby total prediction of all things within the Cycle.

"I want him brought to the Tower immediately."

The guard snapped to an even sharper state of attention, his entire body quivering as the angel towered over him. "There were two others with him, Sir. A warrior and a young girl. They were injured in..."

"Kill them. I do not care about his friends." The angel's golden eyes narrowed. "Just bring me the traitor. Bring me Chopsticks."

"Sir?"

"Sir?"

"..."

"SIR?!!"

Asmodeus opened his eyes. There was a nurse standing over him, patting him lightly on the cheek. A cat tail was swaying behind her head. "You were having a nightmare," she explained, then adjusted his pillow.

Asmodeus stared at his legs, which were covered in plaster casts and suspended on little cords at the end of the bed. He couldn't move them.

"Wh...?"​

​

​

"You're at St Reikei's Hospital, in Mullman City." The nurse moved around the bed, tucking in his covers and checking the bio-monitors. There was a framed painting of Palonis on the wall, posing in princely attire with his arms folded. His painted eyes scowled down at Asmodeus.

He put on a mock voice.

"Will I... lose... my legs?"​

​

​

"No, silly. They're only broken in five places. We had to use a Markovian helicopter to get you out of that desert. The house and car are a complete write-off, I'm afraid. Good thing you had sand to land on."

He clutched her arm, weakly, as she passed, trying not to shudder at the feel of cat fur beneath her sleeve. He then tried his best to cry a little.

"My friends.... the toned Egyptian man.... and the little Japanese girl...?"​

​

​

"Radames has got concussion, but they're discharging him now. Melody is still in surgery. They think there's a piece of debris in her neck. They're trying to operate."

Radames and Melody, eh? Namesy names are name-like. Click click click.

"We didn't get your name, though?"

Hmm? Oh, right...

Asmodeus smiled, a little too wide, like a mental patient tucked up in a straight-jacket of bedsheets.

"Raines. Lester Raines."​

​

​

He was going to enjoy this. The room was very pretty. Just what Azazel deserved. The ruler of Iwaku should have the best of beds, after all.

"Some officers from the Iwaku PD will be up shortly," said the nurse as she poured him a fresh cup of water. "You just rest yourself, okay?"

Asmodeus held the smile, his whole head trembling with the exertion. The Neko Nurse raised an eyebrow then turned and left the room.

Asmodeus's face dropped back to its dead expression immediately. He glanced around, while trying to wiggle his toes.

There was a wheelchair in the corner.

Aha!

[SUMMARY: Asmodeus wakes up in hospital in the main city of Southern Cross. Radames and Melody are also in the hospital somewhere. Police will be coming to question Asmodeus shortly.]

 

[Zen]

Melody awoke groggy and dizzy. Her breathing was labored, like she couldn't draw in enough air. She was looking at the ceiling but a dark and beautiful face seemed to be plastered over the surface. It was her demon. She looked away, observing the rest of her room. A blood bag was slowly emptying into her body; it read Type O. A small wheelchair rested in the corner, along with a chair and a small table. A soft sigh escaped Melody's lips as she nestled further into the soft sheets of her hospital bed. As her eyes closed she remembered the rescue. She remembered uttering her name to a woman who looked like her mother and seeing the murderer and stranger being hauled off to different areas of the hospital. After that though... She couldn't remember a thing.

Her eyes opened again, fixed onto the ceiling. It was a rare moment for her to see the demon's face. Feminine with a dangerous twinkle in her eye, the creature could be considered an incubus. Almost reading Melody's thoughts, the thing grinned down at the child.

"I've seduced plenty of men in my days," the demon said, its sultry voice echoing through the walls of the room. Melody faintly wondered if anyone else could hear their conversation.

"Of course not, why would I do a stupid thing like that?" it snapped.

"Leave me alone" groaned Melody.

"Oh of course, just thought you'd like to know what happened to your body." The child couldn't mistake the menace in the demon's voice.

Melody moaned in reply, closing her eyes.

"Well, they patched up that ugly mess on your head. Gave you a stitch or two, nothing too serious. They operated on your broken collarbone, straightened it out and everything. The mending will take some time. They also found a bone fragment in your neck and unfortunately it did some damage to your spinal chord. Doctor said you will have respiratory problems and you will also experience pain in your shoulders and neck from time to time."

"I won't die though... Right?"

"Oh no, but if I were you, I'd get out of here as soon as you can. They're running you through the system and might find something about your mother and father in their records."

Her eyes shot open and Melody sat bolt right on the bed. Immediately her head swam. She took two deep breaths, grabbing onto the railings of her bed.

"You were moved from the intensive care unit not too long ago. Should be very few people watching our room at the moment."

She nodded, ripping the IV out of her arm. Blood leaked slowly onto the tile floor, contrasting sharply with the white of the room. Her head wasn't swimming so much now - thank god for the blood transfusion. Melody dragged herself out of the bed, stumbled towards the door and waited for a large group of people to pass.

[Melody is out of surgery, and is currently trying to find a way to escape.]

 

[Captain Nic]

"When you're in a land uncharted and untamed, always assume that no one wants you to stay." Nic was quite ambivalent to the matter of trusting the pleasant smell of food to guide the entire group to a stopover. It almost smells too good to resist, and something entered Nic's mind as he silently beggared the opinions of the others: a lesson from Ancient Earth.

There was once a man named Ulysses, who was on a voyage back towards his homeland after a great victory. During his travels, he and his crew encountered many things, both wondrous and monstrous in equal measure. Among them was a group of vile seductresses, called sirens in popular Terran culture, who led those foolish enough to listen to their alluring music towards their demise. Such was Nic's cautiousness towards the matter, that he felt that the current situation has a good chance of being no different from this old tale.

He would not go forward, not until the others force him to turn.

___________________________

Would you like to know more?

Nic apparently doesn't like the smell of whatever's cooking.

World-building insight

Notice the mention of 'Ulysses' instead of 'Odysseus.' Teknikans love that dead language.

 

[Karsikan the Berzerker]

Five Finger Death Punch - Remember Everything

Karsikan was still asleep, or at least in the half sleep a Space Marine enters. He smelled his mother's cooking, a memory so old he forgot it was even there. His sister was still alive, and then that one came back.

"Why....." he mumbles his sleep becoming more disturbed

The last time he saw her, she was being devoured by Tyrannids, he was a Lieutenant in the guard and still human at the time, he sprinted towards her at full force, but was too late to stop the Tyrranid Warrior from consuming her. Her death was avenged, mercilessly, but her terrified screams still echoed in his mind, haunting him for years even as he Trained as a Black Templar.

Then the second memory hit, the sound of his sisters screams joined countless others as he returned to Raxes III. It was his first Command as a Grandmaster of the Grey Knights and everything on this world had gone wrong in a manner of days. The Forces of chaos ran rampant in the streets, slaughtering and destroying everything in their path, centuries of being an Astartes had desensitized him, he felt nothing for the humans who died around him, and cared only about his mission. Until on that day he Swore he could hear his sister screaming, every bone and sinew and his body screamed at him to investigate, but duty stayed his hand.

"Stop....." he begs for this vision to end.

Before Extraction he saw the girl, she looked exactly like his sister, her clothes had been burnt off and she was running through the streets ablaze and screaming while Traitor Legion followed her laughing like a pack of scavengers, before anyone could have reacted he was upon them. Abandoning his blade in a mad fury, he crushed half of them with his bare hands before his squad mates could catch up. Hours later he ordered the planet's destruction. That was the first world he'd destroyed, it never got easier.


He awoke sitting bolt upright, a cold sweat dripping from his brow and the smell of his mother's cooking in his nose.
"We should leave."

Summary:
The smell brings back long forgotten memories that haunt Karsikan's dreams.