[WAR] Role Play: Terminus

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

((OOC: This turned out to be an extremely short post. Also, as Geneva doesn't exist, I'll instead state that effectively the same event was made at the 'Zone' areas of sinnoh, specifically the Resort Zone.))

Yarvick "The Raticate" Xelsez
Team Aqua
Pacifidlog Town, Hoenn, en-Route to Sandgem Town, Sinnoh
Affected RPers: N/A

Oceanus got to Pacifidlog town in just a handful of minutes, what with Mirage Island being so close. Oceanus knew to come in covertly and without much attention, but it was easier than anticipated to pass; apparently they had launched half of their marine defense from here in some incredibly dumb maneuver to kill Aqua, which actually just made them stronger in the long run if the two shiny new ships were any indication of it whatsoever. The local law enforcement and military were either standing their ground, thinking of negotiation with Aqua, or just getting as many people on boats leaving Hoenn as possible.

He had been told to come legally. No stowing away or anything. He compensated for the need to pay by nicking some rich guy's wallet and taking out about 300 dollars, then putting it back in to avoid suspicion. It was supposed to be a fast cruise to Sandgem Town, but he decided, why not luxury while he was at it? As long as it was fast, it wouldn't kill him, it would still take the same time, and of course, as long as he paid in cash, it was legal, right?

Getting the ticket was a forgettable moment. His excuse of winning a small sum of money from a scratch-off and his forged civvie papers and passport were enough to get aboard a nice, quick ship to Sandgem, the S.S. Brazen. It was a civilian ship, it was relatively small, and it cut through incredibly rough waves like a hot knife through butter. Pokemon-proofed (to prevent those many casualties from stuff like Jellicient, Tentacruel, the like) and with a light military guard due to the 'Aqua Catastrophe' (Oh, that one tickled his heartstrings), it was unlikely he'd get visitors in his small little cabin. He also got a complimentary, brand-new jacket for being the 1,000,001st person to buy a boat ticket there (the 1,000,00th person, the father for a group, got premium tickets for free). A rare flourish of good luck for a man who seemed to only get bad luck. Of course, it was possible that someone would recognize him for being the owner of Deoxys, for some unfailable reason...

...Who was he kidding? Even if it was cocky, Yarvick would NEVER be found or even suspected his identity was so secure. He was a lowly, dirty street rat, not at all capable of reigning in the likes of Deoxys, and his face was never known outside of his eye color-and ANYONE could have his eye color. He paid to get on the ship legally, with legal tender (that he illegally took), and he was doing this in a completely legitimate fashion. Admist all the chaos and destruction and panic, who would pay remote attention to a lowly street rat? Not even the paranoid conspiracy theorists believed the lowly street rat could be responsible for anything.

It was just the way he liked it.

Yarvick had to admit though, Aqua was making a considerable turnaround from what he was initially believing. As Tiantus had said, any doubts in his mind that Aqua were actually going to succeed were now in question, at least-the military scattered, the government in no small manner of disarray after a pair of political assassinations (one being the President, the second his direct runner-up in the line of succession), and a new a**kicking dictator on the rise starting to reach out to Hoenn military leaders, asking to pull resources and join up with the man who ripped Goldenrod a whole new one. Suddenly his job security seemed more secure; now his job wouldn't evaporate into thin air because of a lack of proper employers.

Of course, knowing his luck, some region-probably Johto or Orre-would probably whip out a nuke, screw Resort Conventions, and punch the region's ticket to hell.

But, that wasn't really on his mind. What was on his mind was his dad. The question was only a minor one, until now. Why all the specific routes and the secrecy and the seeming paranoia? What was that important? Yarvick didn't need much to gather that it may have been related to why his Mother was equally determined to keep all information away from Yarvick, but no simple paranoid conspiracy theorist could inspire THAT much worry. Something was wrong about this in a manner he had no idea about.

He'd find out what all the fuss was about when they met. Hopefully.

Yarvick also kind of wanted to plan out what he'd hit on the way there, because no trip without a heist was a worthwhile one. He didn't get very far, though. He hadn't returned to Sinnoh in a long time, he needed planning time for a specific job that typically took a good while (at it's shortest, half of a day), and no particular targets came to mind. He would have immediately thought of Rowan's Lab, but he knew where he got Rhea from, what happened there, and he would not be fooled into thinking better security had NOT been installed since that incident.

He almost totally forgot: That incident at the Labs. In a typical burst of bad luck, Yarvick was caught stealing Rhea from Rowan by an Assistant coming out of the doorway without any warning at all. Sandgem police may have forgotten, but Rowan probably wouldn't have. Yarvick would make SPECIAL note to keep the HELL away from the professor, his assistants, and any other associates of the Rowan Pokemon Laboratories as much as humanly possible. It may have been possible they forgot as well, but Rowan was a stubborn old man with a great ability when it came to Pokemon Battling and a mind of great potential. There was no way HE (or the assistant that saw him) forgot about THAT.

The return trip home would be a little harder than anticipated, but it was only one small speed bump. Avoiding it was not a massive problem, and he could only see the rest of the journey going smoothly. Sinnoh was a continent currently not at war with anyone; what kind of problems could he cross?

[Neo Emolga]

Noah "Neo Cottontails" Ashfield
AMS Pure Anarchy Mirage Island, Hoenn
Affected RPers: Lord Celebi[/mention

I had overheard from one of the grunts that Raidon was back in town, but he was acting different and stressed out. I figured it was probably better to just give him some space for now. But according to the grunt, he had acquired Celebi, but not before the little green fairy had mindfucked him, showing him crap from alternate dimensions and universes. Yeah, I think my brain would probably be turned to mush if that happened to me.

"He mentioned Diabora," Frank Bueller told me. "It's... unsettling, considering the only ones that knew about Diabora before were you, Yarvick, and Lando along with the rest of his team. As far as I'm convinced, no one informed Raidon about him."

"Diabora is just an annoying bastard," I told Bueller, shrugging. "I don't see where the threat is. The only thing the guy actually knows how to do is just annoy and taunt people."

"Hate to say it, but considering what I overheard from Raidon himself, Diabora isn't just some prankster or some prick like that," Bueller replied. "He's a bona-fide mass-murderer that's out of control. You'd better talk to him yourself. Tell him that you, Yarvick, and Lando are already well-aware of Diabora's presence here."

Not exactly what I was looking forward to, but I figured it was now or never. This was definitely not something to delay another further. If we were looking to give this son of a bitch a long dirt nap, we needed to come up with some kind of idea on how to do that.

I figured I'd join Raidon in the Navigations Room. Raidon didn't know about all the other details, and I had a feeling he had seen something that we probably should start preparing for. I was all for kicking Diabora's sorry ass into paste, but the best way to do that was to know more about what we were dealing with.

I had headed into the War Room through the hatch. What I saw wasn't what I had expected to see, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out. Raidon had used the Ancient Burst Heart to fuse with Celebi. I was a little taken back at the sight, not sure what to make of it. What exactly what Raidon intending to do in that form?

"Boss, are you...?" I started asking.

But the answer was soon obvious. Diabora wasn't just some jackass playing around with humans or Burst Hearts and getting a laugh out of it. No, it sounded like something far worse, especially considering it was making Raidon react... strangely.

But from what it looked like, Raidon had another idea in mind when it came to the Ancient Burst Hearts and Diabora. He wasn't going to just sever the link between the two.

He was going to use the Ancient Burst Heart against Diabora himself...

---

Janine "Angel" Price
AMS Deathwing Laboratory Wing, Mirage Island, Hoenn
Affected RPers: N/A

What I held in my hands... was the key to ultra fun and exciting times for everyone!

I figured out the precise amount of FES to administer to turn a Mega Chimera into an Ultra Chimera! It was roughly about a half gallon of the stuff. So yeah, it was a pretty big needle, but oh, whoever got the chance to use this would be in Chimera heaven! Most of these grunts couldn't imagine how big, huge, and powerful an Ultra Chimera could really be! I mean sure, I did all the calculations, but it would be no where near as cool as seeing the real thing in action!

Normally, I'd give Raidon the chance to try it first since hey, he was the big cheese after all, but he hadn't even tried Chimera mutagens yet. Guess I couldn't blame him with him being a busy guy all the time, but man, it kind of felt like cooking a nice, porterhouse steak for Raidon only to find out he decided to become a vegan.

I decided to call up Kaede on the phone, considering she was busy working on something bleh that probably wasn't even nearly as exciting. Yeah, probably some killjoy thing like nutrition pills that would eliminate the need to eat actually something great and tasty. Anyway, she eventually picked up the phone and I gave her the great news.

"Hey Kaede, guess what?" I asked her with a smile. "It's Ultra Chimera time! Turns out all we needed was just a half-gallon dosage! Took a little balancing trial and error, but hey, it wasn't so bad! There was no trick or gimmick needed, just a little extra FES to kick Ultra Evolution into gear!"

"Hooray..." Kaede replied sarcastically. "We're doomed."

Man, with that kind of attitude, she was going to got a special Chimera surprise right in her sleep. Ha, ha, I could just picture that! Kaede, all snuggled up and cozy in her pajamas, trying to get her beauty sleep, suddenly wakes up screaming as she's turning into a big, goofy Pokémon! Hey, maybe I'd go with Lopunny/Aromatisse/Sylveon on her! But darn, then she'd definitely know it was me! That might evolve into a big "jab the other person with an awful Chimera mutagen" game and... hey, you know what, that actually sounded like fun!

"Aww, come on, don't be like that," I told her. "Look, trust me, it's going to work out fine! And if it doesn't, then fine, I owe you a pizza."

"Wha- a pizza!?" She asked, sounding totally baffled. "That's your idea of reparation?"

"Fine, geez, if you wanted Cinna-sticks too, I'll get them," I just laughed. "But hey, I know it's going to work out anyway. Anyway, if it would make you happy, I'll have someone dependable try it out. Trust me, you won't need to worry about a thing."

"Every time you say I don't need to worry about a thing, somehow I feel like I should trust you even less," Kaede moaned.

Yeah, someone really needed their naptime.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Yarvick "The Raticate" Xelsez
Team Aqua
International Waters, En-Route to Sandgem Town, Sinnoh.
Affected RPers: N/A

"What?!" Said a voice outside the cabin, just loud enough to penetrate into the room.

Yarvick, awoken from his slumber and ever the curious one, moved out to look. It had turned to night at this point, the nearly-full moon prominent in the sky and glistening stars above, forming a cloak that was the visible galaxy. Yarvick was only wearing pants at this point, and his gear was on his other pieces of clothes, aside from some Reversal Vaccines-useless to him right now. Not that he had any intent of barging in and making a conflict imminent. He looked out the porthole and saw two men; shrouded by Darkness, he could only make out that one of them was HUGE, and another more reasonably built, and was now nervous judging from posture, as the big man looked down upon him.

"I assure you-there was nothing we could do about preventing the capture. Ours was only a singular scout without a weapon or combat-ready Pokemon, versus a man with a mastery of swordsmanship and a Legend as his ally," The average one said. "In any case...The majority of the fight did not occur in Ilex Forest. Celebi and Makoto vanished to else ware, presumably the time-stream itself, to carry out combat in peace. The Scout could do nothing to intervene."

THAT got Yarvick interested. He listened in as much as possible.

"...Tell the scout that next time he is not to come without a weapon. We could have assassinated Makoto and taken Celebi while it was in the Poke Ball if he was armed with so much as a pistol," The large man said, still stern. "This is a colossal setback, Month Helgus, a colossal setback...Months of hunting down the Chronarch, and we're upstaged by a man who just happened to visit just that day, after demolishing Goldenrod no less...A man now taking over Hoenn as well, worryingly. It was perhaps our only shot at obtaining the Chronarch and making the Altar, unless of course, Dialga decides to show himself to us. Make sure to express this to THAT scout in perfectly clear terms," He added.

"Yes, sir," 'Month' Helgus said.

"Is there any more intelligence that needs to come to my attention?" The big man said.

"No, sir, but I have made sure scouts are keeping track of Aqua's next moves, specifically Makoto's. We are aware that Raidon Makoto has bodyguards at this juncture, but not much else," Helgus said. "They can be re-positioned to other goals if you need them, sir, as always."

"Excellent. Keep them on Raidon and the rest of Aqua. I do not feel I need to be saying this, but if any plans to attack Sinnoh are made, especially those directed at the Coalition, alert us immediately," the big man said.

"Yes, Sir, Year Velvetine" Helgus said.

"That is all. Dis...Actually, no. I have one more thing." 'Year' Velvetine said, having moved away from the man a few paces, away from Yarvick's cabin, and finally becoming illuminated. The man was heavily scarred, with a massive slash mark coming from the back of his head to the front, and he had quite clearly shaved the whole head of platinum-blonde hair to nigh-nonexistence. He wore some kind of leather military jacket, fitting for extreme cold. He couldn't be older than thirty. In his hands was, quite visibly, a gilded pocketwatch, and on his hips, aside from his belt of Pokemon, was a singular, sheathed sword. It was NOT curved in any manner, it was straight as an arrow, and it was a one-handed weapon, but Yarvick could not begin to guess what, exactly, the sword was. He was not an expert on swords.

"What is it, sir?" Helgus asked, not moving.

Velvetine turned around, revealing the scar had went all the way around his head in a mighty slash that narrowly missed his right eye. His face was stern, and seemed to be as old and experienced as possible, for a man who could not have left his prime. He had no facial hair and a rather recessed nose, which made his frown and furrowed, protruding brow very prominent. "I did not go up to Mount Coronet with the intent to see almost everyone under my command dead. I did not go up to Mount Coronet just to come back with a massive scar, a few broken toenails, and my friends, soldiers and kindred spirits dead because of a spurt of madness on part of my superior. And I did not come back down and create our Coalition to see it fail. If you believe that there could be a point where we could assassinate Makoto and secure Celebi, alert me immediately, and tell your scouts to do likewise-and act on it if at all possible. Dialga is thus far proving to be a wild goose chase at best, but now Celebi is in a fixed position, within Makoto's grasp. This could still be it. We could make the Altar of Guiding Fate with just a few well-timed bullets to the skull. Do you understand how important it is?"

"Yes sir, I understand completely," Helgus said. "The Altar is absolutely critical...It's everything. I've put my life on the line for this, sir, I can't bear to see the Clockwork Coalition fall at this stage," He added.

The Clockwork Coalition...The Altar of Guiding Fate...Yarvick couldn't have claimed to know what those were. They were definitely in Sinnoh, though, and they definitely weren't friendly. He'd tell Raidon all the juicy details when he got back.

"Excellent, Helgus. That is all for now." Velvetine said, turning around again and leaving. Helgus walked off the other way, and Yarvick made good note to get back into bed as he passed.

The Clockwork Coalition could be some trouble, Yarvick figured, but hey, it was not as-if he was going to be looking for them anyways. He was just going on a trip to meet his 'dad,' and he'd already planned for whatever could go wrong there. There were clearly a few small speed bumps ahead, but as long as Yarvick was cautious, he'd be fine. He would not be intentionally attracting attention to himself anyways, so there should be no reason that he'd have an abnormally tough time of things...Right?

[Lord Celebi]

Raidon Makoto
War Room, AMS Deathwing, Mirage Island
Hoenn
Affected RPers: @Neo Emolga
==MEGA CELEBI BURST MODE==

The first thing Raidon Makoto noticed was that his body felt tingly. Celebi disappeared into a bolt of light and enveloped his body. The light invaded his very pores, creating a new skin around his body not unlike an exoskeleton. Muscular green armor covered his body, whilst green, rootlike claws with highlighted red tips covered his hands and feet. His face became a pale green as a head piece extended back from his head and curled its way around to his feet. Once his consciousness merged with that of Celebi's, the whole of time and space appeared before him. Suddenly, Celebi's ravings made sense. The multiverse could be cracked like a nut and the feelings that Celebi had grafted onto him earlier stuck out like a sore thumb.

Makoto floated into the air and crossed his legs, beginning a deep chronal meditation. As he began to do so, Noah Ashfield climbed down the metal ladder into the war room and joined the Tyrus Hale and company around the large table. "Boss, are you...?" he began.

In an effort to expend as little energy as possible, Makoto looked Ashfield and merely extended a single finger, beaming the entirety of the last four hours of his life into Ashfield's mind. The mind meld would give Ashfield a complete understanding of what Makoto intended to do.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the nascent tachyons--the time particles--in the room. They were not at all of place, and in no danger of causing a paradox. They were particles in the place Arceus intended them to be at at the time it saw fit. Calmed by this observation, the Mega Celebi Burst began to project what was going on inside of his mind to the minds of the other four in the room. I'll be damn sure to give them a show.

Raidon Makoto, sans Celebi Burst armor, and Celebi floated together in the nothingness of Makoto's mind. The two could read each other's thoughts explicitly. Initially, Makoto hoped to transmit what he felt to Celebi and hopefully force it to have a taste of its own medicine. However, once the dread lord of the Deathwing accessed the Eternal Chronarch's mind, millions of years of its personal history flooded his thoughts. Raidon Makoto went into Celebi's mind seeking revenge and instead found understanding. Celebi was brash--it was hoping to avert the future it feared for itself by ruining Raidon Makoto. It couldn't see itself at the dictator's side several billion years from now and wanted to nip it in the bud before he could. While his personal stake in the matter cried out foul play, Makoto's higher level reasoning understood Celebi's rationale.

And Celebi... despite Makoto's best efforts, experienced firsthand the terror that it put Makoto through. The Chronarch screamed in the same way Makoto did, watching a being that it loved with all its heard gored by Diabora. Feeling sympathy for the creature, Makoto put his astral arm around the projection of the onion fairy and patted it on the back. "It's okay."

Celebi's emotions were too much for the link though. A deep, growling laughter could be heard in the background as the mental link Makoto established amongst the five people in the room became taut, pulling the three Captains and Tyrus Hale into the dread lord and the Chronarch's shared mind. Astral projections of Hale, Reynolds, Lando, and Ashfield all appeared surrounding Makoto and Celebi.

"I wasn't expecting this," Makoto defended himself.

<Oh, but I was,> the growl bellowed, revealing itself from the shadows. A gaunt, black figure stepped before Makoto. Its cable like sinews threaded through a chilling exoskeleton, terminating in claws longer than Makoto's arm dripping in blood. The creature was topped with a helmet-like face and a smile enough to drive weaker men crazy plastered on top. It was Diabora. <I have gathered the three pieces that could possibly stop me, all in one convenient basket. Raidon Makoto, the seed of Zhu-Quiao... Noah Ashfield, the seed of Qinglong... and Celebi, the seed of Xuanwu.> Diabora started to laugh before it lashed out at Makoto's astral projection, hoping to slice Makoto into several pieces. The dread lord parried with his own swords.

"Let's teach you to put all your eggs into one basket," Makoto declared, smiling defiantly at the destroyer.

[bronislav84]

Karai "Kar" Horoshi
Hellcat chopper, in transit from Ruins of The Under in Orre to Mirage Island in Hoenn
Affected RPers: @Lord Celebi, @Neo Emolga, and (Indirectly) @Grassy_Aggron

We flew in silence for a while, all of us reflecting on what we've been through. I was driving the chopper, while the others fought each other for training. Amelia was sleeping.

One, we recruited three Hebijo dropouts, successfully finishing their training.
Two, we successfully shut down all regions' sans Hoenn's access to Burst Hearts on the black market, and those bases were ordered to cease all operations then liquidate their remaining stock.
Three, we secured a contract for a Burst Heart expert to work for Aqua.
Four, we effectively obtained Groudon for Aqua, which could lead to finding Kyogre. I'd have to remember to ask Amelia exactly how she happened to have Groudon in the first place, though.
Five, I obtained an Ancient Burst Heart.

A really great turnout for this Op. Extremely great. I was sure the boss would be proud of us. Dan had sent our report ahead to HQ, to be forwarded to relevant people in charge, and that we were returning for debriefing. It was known I didn't stay around too long between missions. Well, not usually. Amelia finally broke the silence, waking up.

"I miss talking to my Master." She said rather curtly and bluntly.

"Oh? Well he hasn't said a thing to me since the ABH exchanged hands. Is he usually this silent?" I inquired of her, not turning away from the controls.

Amanda sat down in the co-pilot's seat, while Amelia walked up behind me to watch the clouds stream by. We were moving slower than normal due to carrying the cube with her lab equipment in it. "Why no, he's usually talkative. Maybe he's afraid of you?...........No, he wouldn't be afraid of you. He doesn't always talk to me, just sometimes."

"I see." I said as we flew over a small ship. It looked really run down and actually had holes in it, making me wonder how it kept afloat. No armaments, just a harpoon gun. I looked away as I suddenly had an idea. "Maybe if I use the ABH to burst?"

She shrugged, though I could only see it out of the corner of my eye. "It couldn't hurt. Try it. Maybe then the Voice of the Heart will talk to you."

"Amanda, take the controls." I requested of her, then when she did I walked over to the back of the chopper. No telling what would happen when I used this thing.

Pulling out Beauty the Gardevoir's Ball I summoned her out. She knew exactly what I was planning, being Psychic, and while she was hesitant she too was interested in how it would feel to burst using an ABH. "Just to be doubly sure, I will burst with the Psychic member of my Pokémon party." I turned to Beauty. "You ready? I have no idea how this will be different from using a normal BH, so I have to be sure."

<Uhmm.......yes. Let's do it.> She said as I pulled the ABH from my bosom and held it up to join with her. Without warning, Amelia ran over and put her hand on my shoulder. What was she planning?

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see if anything went wrong and hoping it didn't. When it was over I felt taller, like I was wearing high heels. I almost fell over but managed to keep my balance. I opened my eyes and looked down at myself. Something was obstructing my vision slightly. My hair had moved down my face and turned green with some locks moving over my eyes, while I had claws on my hands. Or maybe they were just really long fingernails. I honestly couldn't tell. Also felt like my ears had lengthened, since I could actually see Gardevoir ears out of the corner of my eyes they were so long now. I still had my body shape, but I also had white skin. Was it skin, though? The front spike Gardevoir had on their chest had turned into two and was wrapped around the front of my figure like a skimpy bikini bra with what felt like another in the back as part of my spine. I looked further down and saw I had a wide round dress attached to my body, and parting it I saw why I felt taller. I was actually wearing heels, kinda, though they were part of my feet in this form. I was also wearing some really tiny and skimpy green underwear more fitting for the beach than anything else, but it also felt like part of me and not actually underwear. And then it finally dawned on me. I felt almost naked, literally. This wasn't armor! It was actually what I had become, though it wasn't really that immodest. What the heck kind of twisted Mega-Gardevoir-human-hybrid did I become, though? Okay.........that would take some getting used to.

I was about to de-burst due to still not hearing a peep from the one Amelia referred to as the Voice of the Heart, when I felt like I was yanked by the neck by an invisible force. Struggling to breathe and trying not to pass out, I was moved across what looked like space as stars passed by. Still gasping for air I was dropped to my knees in blackness and drew in sweet oxygen as I looked around and stood up. Amelia was with me with her hand still on my shoulder, though she too was gasping for air. She must have somehow guessed this would happen, whatever this was. Then I looked down at myself and saw I'd lost my burst form and Beauty was psychic-floating nearby instead, also gasping for air, though I still had my weapons. Amelia stood up and looked around as well.

There were five other people in the 'room', the really high ranking members of the team, and was that Celebi? If they saw us, they didn't give notice. The boss spoke first. "I wasn't expecting this."

<Oh, but I was.> A loud and gruff voice spoke from the shadows as it stepped out, seemingly from nowhere. An extremely thin and lean black figure stepped before the boss. It's cable-like tendons threaded through a chilling exoskeleton, ending in claws longer than the boss' arm, and was that blood at the end? The creature was topped with a helmet-like face and had on a wicked smile. I only had seconds to analyze it as I ran over to join whatever this congregation was. WHAT. THE. HECK. WAS. I. LOOKING. AT? For that matter, where were we?

"MASTER!" Yelled Amelia, completely unafraid or surprised as she moved to hug the monster but I grabbed her arm and stopped her. Did she just call that Master? What the what? For a moment I twisted my face into an expression of confusion, then disgust, then I just sighed.

<I have gathered the three pieces that could possibly stop me, all in one convenient basket. Raidon Makoto, the seed of Zhu-Quiao... Noah Ashfield, the seed of Qinglong... and Celebi, the seed of Xuanwu.> The monster started to laugh as it tried to slash at the boss but was stopped by his katanas. It then turned toward us for a second. Curse Amelia for giving me away! <Ah, and the one who defeated my disciple to obtain her Ancient Burst Heart. The wildcard.> It turned back to the others. <Everybody's here. Delicious.>

"Let's teach you to put all your eggs into one basket." boss declared, smiling defiantly at the thing.

"Yes, let's." I clicked my claws open ready to attack if I had to, and nodded to the boss that I was ready. Confused as all heck, but ready. "Hope I'm not late to the party, boys?"

[Neo Emolga]

Noah "Neo" Ashfield
AMS Deathwing Mirage Island, Hoenn
Affected RPers: @Lord Celebi, @bronislav84

This was on a totally different messed-up level.

Raidon was totally covered from head to toe in pale green armor while his fingertips were replaced with red claws that reminded me of roots. I hadn't even seen Celebi yet, and here Raidon was Mega Bursting with him. And then, I could only wonder what was going through Raidon's mind when you suddenly opened up the doors of time and infinite possibilities in one bang like that.

I swore, his brain must have felt overcharged.

He began to float, and then he pointed his finger, and suddenly, everything Raidon had seen was rushed into my own head like a tidal wave. Alternate dimensions, alternate version of Raidon, his master Lordran and the fight he was forced to have with him, the slaughter of Diabora, and then... Raidon's wife, a total scramble of what was and what could have happened. Raidon's fight with Celebi wasn't just a battle, it was a god-forsaken brain-rape.

I felt like I was ready to shit bricks after having that sequence of images surged into my head.

"W-what the... hell was...?" I muttered, totally taken back.

I felt like I wanted to throw up, and while I was mentally exhausted, my body couldn't understand what had been holding me back. Raidon and Celebi were literally fighting a war of minds against each other, and until it was resolved, I knew this mind-rape wasn't going to get any easier.

Just breathe and don't puke.

Diabora wasn't just some prick. He was a mastermind of massacres and merciless slaughter. That bastard had power overwhelming and he was just toying with us only for as long as he was entertained by humans and Pokémon killing each other. The whole planet was nothing more than a god-forsaken jester's court to him and we were just the fools running around pointing guns at each other like this was just some theatrical performance. As soon as it got boring, we were all beyond dead. He could just char-broil everyone and everything at any given moment.

I barely recovered from that mind-screw until I realized Raidon was projecting the images in his mind into the room like a hologram. Thoughts and visions were thrown into chaos throughout the room, and I couldn't watch it fast enough until it was gone. What I saw next was retribution, Celebi being forced to experience the same rift of hell that it had put Raidon through, but before it could forever traumatize the fairy, Makoto consoled it, patting it on the back with a simple "it's okay."

And as if it couldn't even before more of a mind-rape for us, it only got worse. The growling laughter of Diabora echoed maniacally throughout the room, and while Finch and Tiantus were unfamiliar with it, Lando and myself knew that bastard all too well. There was no mistaking that. We were suddenly pulled into Celebi's and Raidon's shared mind.

The first thing I realized was I wasn't in that black bunny form anymore. Felt a little strange to regain my bearing as a human once again, but it wasn't that unfamiliar. As Lando would put it, there were a hell of a lot less tails, fur, and hair to go around. Almost made me feel more mobile. But something else was bothering me.

"I wasn't expecting this," Raidon spoke, taking a defensive position.

<Oh, but I was,> Diabora growled.

I then saw what Diabora looked like in full form. He was a huge, black and gaunt figure covered with a exoskeleton and four-foot long claws totally splattered in blood. Meanwhile, his face was just a dark and hideous helmet with a toothy grin that could shred souls apart.

"MASTER!"

I had turned to see some pale-skinned, blond-haired woman in a lab coat and Karai had showed up, thought I wasn't sure how. I didn't know who that other blond was, but she was suddenly enthralled by Diabora, fearless and almost mesmerized by him before Karai had pulled her away. Karai seemed to be a mix of disgusted and embarrassed almost.

<I have gathered the three pieces that could possibly stop me, all in one convenient basket. Raidon Makoto, the seed of Zhu-Quiao... Noah Ashfield, the seed of Qinglong... and Celebi, the seed of Xuanwu.>

And then he turned toward Karai. I could tell she was a little pissed that lab rat had just totally given her away. I didn't know who that dumb blond was, but I figured I'd just refer to her as Blonde Zombie.

<Ah, and the one who defeated my disciple to obtain her Ancient Burst Heart. The wildcard.>

It just seemed like no matter what we tried to do, he seemed to be one step ahead. It was as if he wasn't even fazed at the fact Team Aqua was one of the big players here in this world war. Potentially, we could end it and screw with his plans.

<Everybody's here. Delicious.>

He laughed at he attacked Raidon in his astral projection form, but Raidon was faster and quickly parried Diabora's attack with his dual katanas.

"Let's teach you to put all your eggs into one basket," Raidon grinned with a sneer, standing defiantly in front of Diabora.

"Yeah, let's," Karai readied her razor-edged claws. "Hope I'm not late to the party, boys?"

"Far from it," I told her. "Let's shove this assclown's face up his own asshole so no one has to see it ever again."

Still, there was something else that Diabora mentioned that was strange to me.

What the devil did Diabora mean that I was the seed of Qinglong?

And Zhu-Quiao... Xuanwu? What the hell were those? Was there something I was missing? It all seemed hazy for a moment, but there were scraps of ideas... dreams... I wasn't sure what they were but I figured it was an aftereffect of that mind-flay that had been done on me. Considering the aspect of Mega Celebi and all the cross-dimensions it had intersected, I wasn't surprised.

<...>

Who... or what was Qinglong? For a minute, I began to think I could sense the presence of this Qinglong that Diabora was talking about, but it seemed so distance that I couldn't tell if it was just a stupid part of my imagination or if in fact there was something else out there and there was more to this than I thought there was.

<Inhale sweet death.> Diabora laughed, floating higher into the air. <You entertain me with your bravado, your hope, and your dreams. And I give you Xoven and Saxiv, the spillers of intestines, the devourers of hearts, the prime nightmares!>

As if summoned through two black holes, Xoven had emerged from the left dark portal while Saxiv emerged from the one on the right.

Xoven was a forty foot tall black, armor-plated hydra with eleven draconic heads that had teeth dripping with what could only be described as shadow blood. Meanwhile, a massive, butt-ugly face was grafted into his chest, as if this bastard needed yet another mouth to eat with. The tail also had more spikes on it than a god-forsaken cactus from Hell.

"FEAST OF FLESH, FEAST OF FLESH!" The eleven heads in chanted in a deranged giddiness.

And Saxiv was some kind of unknown blob of boiling black goo, but it kept trying to create the image of a hundred eyeless faces, all moaning in agony. It looked big enough to cover a whole building, and I didn't want to guess what the hell it did to whatever edible thing it smothered.

<NOW ENTERTAIN ME, YOU FOOLS!> Diabora shrieked with laughter.

I was totally unarmed. No rocket launcher, no ninja black bunny powers, not a damn thing. Damn, all I had was just the regular Burst Heart. Didn't even know how or why I held onto it for this long, but it was better than nothing at this point.

I decided to Burst with Snuff the Dragonite. Wasn't sure how far I'd get with this, but it was better than nothing. With a rapid flash of light, I had melded with Snuff, but something went screwy with it. It was like the whole logic behind using a Burst Heart went wrong and I ended up with a totally strange outcome. I didn't just Burst with Snuff, I somehow had become him entirely. And unlike the previous times I had done this, our minds didn't meld together. I was just totally a Dragonite now.

The Burst Heart was also gone. The hell, did that mean I was stuck like this!?

There really wasn't any time to think about it. Saxiv the big, black blob of death, slithered toward me, and I had the option of trying to sit there in a stupor to figure it out and get slowly digested by this greasy bastard goo or actually fight this enormous sack of crap and worry about the details later. I immediately took flight, and despite Dragonite's pudgy gut and heavy body, the wings were actually still effective. I took the air, but again, something seemed weird about flying in this astral world. Everything was so dreamlike where the logic of everything made little sense.

I launched a Dragonbreath attack at Saxiv, at least for starters. I was too high up for him to attack, but I was sure he would home some kind of method to attack me out of the skies. For some reason, the Dragonbreath attack came out much stronger and intense than how it should have been. It stunned Savix for a few moments, but come a few seconds later, it didn't look like it had done much to stop him.

Somehow, I was going to need to figure what was really going on here.

---

Janine "Angel" Price
AMS Deathwing Laboratory Wing, Mirage Island, Hoenn
Affected RPers: N/A

Kaede just didn't understand. Typical.

I was going to try to find Noah and have him test out the big FES syringe to become an Ultra Chimera, but he just didn't seem to be around. I was also told he was having a chat with Raidon, so maybe it would probably be better to either wait for come up with something else. As much as I'd love to try it out myself, I was too tempted to use it on the fluffy angel bunny form, which might very well just become a giant cloud with bunny ears if I actually went ahead with that. Ha, ha, and one little wind puff might have me floating away like a balloon! Might be a good idea to think of something a little different.

"Okay, let's just agree on something for once," I told Kaede. "I know what you're thinking, that fluffy bunny form of mine isn't going to work. I realize that, but I'd like somebody to test this out. Noah's not around and I thought he'd be the perfect guy to try it."

"Go for something a little more mild," Kaede told me, thinking this conversation was probably already on the dumb side. "Eight Pokémon rolled into one... yeah, of course that's going to be a train-wreck if you evolve that. Stick with three or four if you're really insistent on using this thing on yourself."

I suppose that was a good point. Now, what would go well with-?

"And for once, do something without a bloody Lopunny in it," Kaede snarled at me.

"And why not!?" I asked, totally baffled. "They're cool and cute!"

"I'm tired as all hell of them," Kaede told me in a grouchy kind of way. "I certainly don't want to see you as one giant-sized with other nonsense going on. I know where that would be going. Come up with something... I dunno, sane for once."

Boy, and she wondered why I'd rather make this stuff in my own personal lab. Still, no Lopunny. Eh, I guess I could try to some up with something else, but it took the fun and the thrill out of it. It was quick to easily come up blank though.

"Not a clue," I shrugged.

"Try Dragonite/Vaporeon/Noivern," Kaede suggested. "I think a water dragon with bigger wings would be pretty cool!"

Pft, come now, that wasn't even close to what I had before. But it got me thinking... maybe if I let Kaede try that form, she'd support my Chimera projects and wouldn't be so naggy about it!

"Hmm, I think you're onto something, but Kaede, you should have the honors of that!" I told her, acting like I was excited to see that too. "Listen, you try out the form, and I'll administer the syringes! It'll be a piece of cake, and I'm sure you'd evolve into a really cool water dragon! Let's totally do this!"

"You really think so?" Kaede asked, looking pretty interested now. "Oh wow... okay, yeah, let's do it! We'll use one of the outlying islands as a testing area."

Oh man, this was going to be priceless. I finally talked her into not only becoming a Chimera, but for going Ultra Chimera as well! This was going to rock!

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

((OOC: OH EM THE GEES, THE SHORTNESS!))

Yarvick "The Raticate" Xelsez
Team Aqua
Sandgem Town, Sinnoh, en-route to Floroma Town, Sinnoh.
Affected RPers: N/A

Yarvick dreamed of him dancing with Hyperion (who kept changing from Deoxys to Alakazam and back) and Barnabus on a Goldenrod city rooftop to the tune of Mud's laughter while the massive gatling gun of the JND Maddening Dash just kept tearing the city apart around them, forcing the AMS Deathknight to ram into itself. Somehow. Raidon appeared as an Electivire burst to slash poor Barnabus to bits, but Hyperion and Yarvick just kept dancing even as they had to awkwardly step over Makoto to do so, who seemed highly preoccupied with stabbing poor Barnabus to ever-smaller pieces. Janine then decided to come out of a door in the sky, floating down and latching onto Yarvick's back in her mutated Loppuny form (which quickly shifted to her crazy angelic bunny form) and lifting Yarvick away from the rooftop, Hyperion levitating up as well, the duo continuing their dance in midair, all the while Giovanni escaped in the harbor below, hiding in a Swampert and being towed away by a mine. Yarvick, looking at the reflective surface of the water below, also just so happened to be Celebi.

When he woke up, he had to admit, that was a really weird dream. After assuring himself that he was not, in fact, the Eternal Chronarch and forest guardian, he got himself dressed.

"...Ladies and Gentlemen, we have arrived at Sandgem Town, Sinnoh..."

Yarvick didn't bother listening to the rest, which was just a retelling of it in the native Sinnoh Language. He just got dressed fully and hit the beaches. He had some food for breakfast he could eat on the route, but he wanted to be far away from this town before he even bothered with breakfast. He had a good night's sleep and he didn't feel tired yet-he'd better expend that energy now, to leave this place before Professor Rowan decided to show his face.

"...As I was saying, killing that a**hole will not be the end of it," Said someone, a young woman. It was just loud and just close enough that Yarvick couldn't help but overhear it, coming from a small group walking more briskly than he was.

"So? We can fix that issue in a heartbeat, you know it," Said another, a young man. The group couldn't be older than 20, now that he looked at them.

"No! He will expect that and plan for it accordingly," The woman said. "I think this problem requires..."

Utter gibberish going on there...In any case, Yarvick walked out of earshot at that point, the group heading west, presumably to Lake Verity or Twinleaf Town, while he went north, to Jubilee City.

Snap! Yarvick turned his head around towards the source. He thought it was just a stick breaking, and he was right. Of course, who stepped on it turned out to be prudent-it was an average sized man in all regards, with black hair and a clean-shaven head.

"Is something the matter?" The man said.

Yarvick's eyeballs practically shot out of their sockets in sheer surprise. This man was definitely Month Helgus from before. Following him...Maybe. There was no reason to suspect he was an Aqua affiliate, much less one who had Deoxys.

"No, no, not at all. You just stepped on a stick, very loudly..." Yarvick responded.

"Ah..." He said, turning around and heading west as well.

"Like you were going that way to begin with..." Yarvick thought. If he was about to turn west right then legitimately, then Grumpig would grow wings and prep for takeoff. He kept going north, now more brisk than he was before, but still at a walking pace, and still avoiding the laboratory like it was a massive blob monster.

[Grassy_Aggron]

(Short post, but I'm just trying to get to a destination XD)

Claressa Nissa
Gateon Port/Orre/En Route to Kalos
Affected RPers: @bronislav84 (indirectly)
Insert witty line here.

The JND Maddening Dash sidled up nice and gently to a dock, just in time for a few officers to approach. It was mandatory to check papers and see if everything panned out, and thankfully for Claressa, Captain Brooke had all of his papers and registration in order. While his crew set about gathering supplies, he hopped off, determined to go and refill his own private drink collection. It wasn’t everyday he visited Orre, and likely was searching for something vintage. Claressa, on the other hand, got up to stretch her legs and figure out what was going on. Circus followed, plodding along after her and taking in the sights and smells.

As they walked, a small tremor rocked the ground. People immediately scrambled out of buildings, the port unusually busy as for once humanity heeded the warning that staying inside a building was a bad idea. In the distance a long stream of fire shot forth, then another, each gradually losing strength as they watched. Just what is…going on there? Should I investigate? She felt her feline companion tugging on her jacket, eyeing her steadily and with a face that seemed to scream it was a bad idea.

Truth was, he was right. This didn’t involve her, and with her heart, she couldn’t risk running into trouble. Still, she had to wonder exactly had caused it. As if to answer her question but raise many more, a helicopter flew overhead, carrying what appeared to be a black box. The markings were irregular from what she could see, and her medical training allowed her to recognize them as burn patterns. That matches the fire, at least.

She shrugged, sighing. There wasn’t anything she could do, and the two Legendaries were waiting. Turning around she boarded the ship once more, just in time for another spasm of her heart to send ripples of pain through her body. Her hearing dulled and black edged around her vision, and in that moment, the spaces between time, between seconds, she heard them call to her once more, faintly and distantly. She was on the edge of death thanks to her heart, it seemed, but perhaps getting closer to Kalos was allowing them easier access to her head. Or, you know, she was almost ready to kick the bucket. That could be it too.

<You must hurry, Claressa. He is stirring.>

<Yes, yes, find us! Your intuition is correct. There is no time to waste. Celebi is already confronting him with several others. His strength…>

<They may win this battle, or they may not. But the war with him will be far from over in both results. There is much tragedy to happen…>

<The curtain has lifted but the cast is not yet fully revealed… Will you join them or watch from the audience?>

<Hurry, for the show must go on.>

She opened her eyes and watched as Captain Brooke came back with a box of booze, but upon noting her pale face, even he was tempted to ask if she was okay. “Turn the ship on and leave. We need to get to Kalos as soon as possible. Something… Something very bad is happening to the world… Please hurry. I can’t even tell if my heart will last long enough for me to be around for that doomsday.” Noting her serious tone, he didn’t hesitate to turn around and yell at his crew to get ready to leave.

Soon enough the JND Maddening Dash was puttering its way towards Kalos once more, and to where she knew there would be an inevitable clash with two titans.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Yarvick "The Raticate" Xelsez
Team Aqua
Jubilee City, en-route to Floroma Town, Sinnoh.
Affected RPers: N/A

Jubilee City. It was easy to get there from, well, anywhere, though the walk between Sandgem town was particularly easy, and it wouldn't take a long walk to get to Floroma Town from there either. Most of the walking would, in fact, be done in the city itself, as he happened to stumble in on Rush Hour, which was never pleasant. At least he got his breakfast before heading here, though.

The city always had gossip going around, and Yarvick's ears were wide open since his run-in with Month Helgus (though he probably didn't know Yarvick's involvement, in hindsight). He picked up quite a bit of info about the going-ons of the region, and as it turned out, a few years away and things really DO change...

"Did you hear about those odd energy spikes up in Mount Coronet? Experts say that it was unlike anything previously recorded...That mountain always was weird, of course, but this time it was far different," Some woman said.

"Maybe Legends were up there? There were always those old rumors on Legends being up there, always those old myths and tales...Maybe they got up there for some reason?" Another woman responded.

"Legends on Mount Coronet? June, if Legends were up there we would never know, they're smart enough to hide themselves..." Some man said. "Considering that one of the rumors say that it's Arceus up there...He could easily get away with that nonsense and nobody would bat an eye. No, I think it's something more mundane..."

...So, there was some kind of thing going on atop Mount Coronet. Maybe Legend-Related. Maybe not.

"...You've heard about the right state of Hoenn, haven't ya? Those 'Aqua' terrorists, the ones that destroyed Goldenrod, are actually officially taking over the bloody place, establishing a dictatorship!" Said a young man. "The gallstones it must take! And yet they're doing it!"

"Yeah, yeah, the way I see it they ain't gonna last forever, son." Said an older man, probably his father. "They're going up against the Hoenn government, they've been in power ever since those d**m bust hearts came into the picture. They ain't gonna be around for long..."

"Father, I've seen the footage from Goldenrod...They've got some kind of mutant aboard, and quite a few of the refugees are saying that is definitely NOT a burst form, but some wholly new configuration...And they've got one of those Ancient Burst Hearts! And Deoxys, father, Deoxys!" The son said.

"Look, son-wait, Deoxys?...And one of those Ancient Bust Hearts that everyone's gettin' paranoid over?...It sounds like sheer rumor, but...Hrm...This may be more pressing than I thought...But it's not like we can just go up to the chairman and request that he does something about it, they're not attacking Sinnoh..."

Yarvick had to suppress a smile with that one. The idiots had no idea the guy with Deoxys was walking right by them...Granted, they really weren't idiots for not knowing. He wasn't exactly trying to be found out here. But, the sound of all that paranoia was just lovely...Of course, the fact the other regions were bracing for it would make direct conquest all the harder...Hrm.

"...I understand it's all complicated on paper, but in practice, it's just pulling a few strings and letting the rest handle itself." Said a woman.

No, wait. That was unmistakably the woman he heard of before. He looked around for the source, but he never even bothered to look towards the group that made the sounds before, so in the crowded city of Jubilee city it was nigh-impossible. Yarvick could gather it came from northwest of his position...But weren't they heading west from Sandgem?

"Yes, but WHY aren't we just doing it directly?!" Said the young man from before, almost certainly annoyed. Now that he focused in on them more, he could tell the young man had to be from Southern Unova. The accent was distinct enough to be noticeable even without familiarity.

"Again, if we did it directly, he'd have a contingency for it. That, and if our volunteer did it, the dumba** would simply not try his hardest to stop it until it was too late. It's not about just doing him, it's about, how do I put this..." The woman paused. She had to be native to Sinnoh.

"The expectations for our 'volunteer' are far lower than if we were to attempt it. As such, he will expend less effort and make himself vulnerable, on the incorrect assumption our volunteer is essentially nothing when the volunteer is, in fact, our trump card." Said a new man, also probably a native to the region.

"OK...Hrm...OK, yeah, that actually makes sense. But, who are we going to-?"

The Unovan man's question, as far as Yarvick knew it, went unfinished, as he was bumped into quite rudely by someone from behind, making him lose concentration on it. "Up, my bad, sorry!" He said, holding out his hand.

Yarvick accepted the helping hand and got to his feet. The man in front of him was only an inch taller than him and several pounds heavier, with a red-dyed mohawk and a long-sleeved T-shirt for 'YYings of the YYild,' a famous Kalosian heavy metal band, and some plain torn jeans. Despite the casual clothing, an old-styled Pocketwatch was hanging from his pants pocket, a feature which caught Yarvick's eye nigh-instantly. "Are you OK?" He said.

"Yes, I'm OK, thanks for the hand." Yarvick said, trying not to look like the pocketwatch was really on his mind. The man walked off without much more of a word, heading east, towards Route 203 and Oreburgh City. Yarvick kept north.

Was he legitimately being followed, or was the pocketwatch just a massive coincidence? And what was with that group?

...He just kept walking.

"I saw one the other day, Greg, I'm honest here!" Said some other young man. He sounded like a trainer.

"Kevin, I've heard a lot of rumors about the 'Shadow' Pokemon before this, and I'm having a hard time believing you on that much. I thought Cipher didn't make it beyond Orre before that Mike dude kicked their a**es?" Another young man said, probably Greg.

"That's true, Greg. But, screw the rumors, that doesn't mean that Shadow Pokemon can't still be running about," Kevin exclaimed. "And I really REALLY did see one, gosh."

"...You have a point there...What did it look like?" Greg asked, a bit more inquisitive now.

"It looked like a regular Pokemon, but...I don't know how to describe it, there was this dark aura around it. I didn't go and battle it and it was only a freaking Starly, Tesla could have taken care of it, but...It was really creepy. You'd have to have been there, man. It was just...Seriously creepy."

"...K-man, now I'm starting to doubt you on that much...I mean, come on, you're saying there's no difference except a 'dark aura,' and that kind of implies you're Aura sensitive. Didn't you check that yourself?" Greg said.

"Yeah, but-"

"My point exactly. Not buying it." Greg said.

Proof that people still spout bulls**t every now and then. Shadows in Sinnoh...Cipher's crazy secrets died with the faction, and they were pretty famous for being the only major criminal organization that ever used them. It wasn't like Shadows were made of baloney, it was just impossible to create Shadow Pokemon naturally, so it also implied there was another underground faction making Shadows about in Sinnoh. Yarvick knew two things about Shadows; their creation was not a quick-and-easy process you could do overnight without serious amounts of resources, and they were not exactly the most practical things in the world due to their knack of violent impulses in battle. Orre was pretty bad in all regards, but Sinnoh had a well-renowned police force and the Gym Leaders were tough cookies to break. It would take a REALLY clever hiding spot to not get noticed.

[Lord Celebi]

Raidon Makoto
Corporeally: War Room, AMS Deathwing, Mirage Island, Hoenn
Spiritually: The Black Lodge
Affected RPers: @Neo Emolga and @bronislav84

As Diabora menaced the dread lord of the Deathwing, another Aqua appeared: Karai Horoshi. She said, readying herself: "Hope I'm not late to the party, boys?"

Makoto was momentarily confused. How the hell did you get here? Oh well, that's a question for another time. He briefly turned his head to reply to Karai and said, "This is a party? Then where the hell is the beer?" In the brief moment that Makoto had lost focus on Diabora, the destroyer struck sending Makoto spinning. He crashed into a conveniently placed keg about fifteen feet behind him. A keg? What the hell? Licking the spilled alcoholic drink from his hands, he realized where it came from. "Oooooooh," he cooed and smiled.

The destroyer wasted no time in taking advantage of Makoto losing ground. It waved its hands like magic wands and summoned two abominations from the shadows. One was an eleven-headed abomination and the other was a gelatinous mess that looked like something Tyrus Hale had begrudgingly snaked out of the Deathwing's drains. Diabora floated into the air and announced his minions names. <Inhale sweet death.You entertain me with your bravado, your hope, and your dreams. And I give you Xoven and Saxiv, the spillers of intestines, the devourers of hearts, the prime nightmares!> With another wave of its hands, the two creatures' were surrounded with human-sized creatures. They almost looked like zombies to the dictator, however the flesh was not nearly as defined as that of the archetypical zombie. These beings' blackened flesh had melted and dried and melted once again, hugging its skeletal system like burnt plastic. No details were visible anywhere on their body other than the shape of their skulls.

Makoto instantly recognized these things from one of Celebi's visions. "Diablos!" he yelled.

<NOW ENTERTAIN ME, YOU FOOLS!> Diabora let out a thick, lyrical laughter that echoed throughout the plane of existence they fought in. The sound was so sharp, Makoto could feel it stinging at the back of his eyeballs. Finch Reynolds and Reg Lando were hard at work fighting the Diablos that were swarming them. Hale wasn't as fortunate. He found himself surrounded on all sides by the creatures. Never one for combat, the scientist responded naturally to this situation by cowering in fear.

Raidon Makoto charged through the horde of Diablos, slicing them into several pieces to fight his way to his best friend. When he got there, he imagined a handgun in Hale's hands. "Help me, Tiantus!"

Hale looked down at the gun and instantly got it. Smiling, he transformed the dinky handgun into a gigantic Gatling gun with only his imagination. Feeling much more confident in himself, he revved the chain and started to fire madly into the masses, "Not so fucking frightening now, are you, Diabora?" he taunted. It almost brought a tear to Makoto's eye to see Hale kicking so much ass.

<Raidon... Makoto...> a voice said in his head. It was faint, almost as if Makoto was trying to hear a sound underwater. He tried focusing on it, but couldn't find it again. This is going to nag at my like an itch I just can't scratch... he thought. Looking up, he noticed that he had a clear shot at Diabora. He took off running, jumping upwards into the air, throwing himself at the destroyer. The dread lord of the Deathwing struck at Diabora, bisecting him vertically. Just as quickly as Makoto inflicted the damage, the destroyer healed himself, looking exactly the same as before the commander had hit him.

<It's going to take more than that to end me,> it declared, sending a plume of fire from his mouth towards the dictator. Makoto dodged, but not without brushing his arm against the inferno. The flames' effects licked at his skin, even after he had put the fire out.

Gritting his teeth and swearing under his breath, Makoto began to focus on the memories Celebi had implanted in his head. Not just of his wife--Shairii Woldrac--but of all the parallel versions of himself that had to fight this creature. As he concentrated, he tried to find some way to defeat the destroyer. While focusing, parallel versions of himself populated the dreamscape without the dictator even realizing it. First there was a purple skinned version of himself, then one with a Lambda on his back, and another with a disgusting looking claw implant on his right arm. The parallel versions became crazier and crazier, as versions of himself that were partial or entirely cybernetic started to surround Diabora, all grimacing at the prospect of sticking it to the arrogant cunt.

Celebi floated down next to Makoto, just above his shoulder. Something about it just felt right to both parties. <I think that they're all thinking what you're thinking,> he told Makoto. The dread lord of the Deathwing smiled, and swooped down to attack Diabora, slicing him horizontally. Seeing him as the vanguard, a thousand different versions of Raidon Makoto descended upon the creature, all throwing everything they could at it. One version turned himself into a three-headed dragon. Another adopted a giant rusted suit of armor. But the one that stood out most to him was a giant, red bird with four wings. The bird, who had once been the purple-skinned Makoto, delivered the final blow, crushing Diabora's body with a flaming talon. At once, all the Makotos named the attack, shouting, "INFINITE ZEPHYR GALE!" Makoto acknowledged it was cheesy, but it felt so damn cool.

The destroyer lied in pile of pieces as the parallel versions of Raidon Makoto faded. Confident he had extracted his vengeance, he smirked and sheathed his blades. Much to the dread lord's chagrin, the destroyer reformed himself like the onslaught had never happened.

---

The Interloper
Tower of Pain, Janzek Islands
Kazmar*
Affected RPers: All

(OOC: *Kazmar is the planet that is Maridia's outer neighbor. It is a waterworld with only a few patches of land)

The Tower of Pain erupted out of the Kazmar seas, a single, solitary, rocky tube that extended from the seafloor to the heavens. Stairs were carved into the cliff face, spiraling their way from the top of the prison down to the seafloor. Dotting the Tower were five-by-five depressions into the wall, covered in iron bars, each containing a single prisoner. The Interloped descended the staircase until he approached the cell he was looking for. Inside, an old man sat cross-legged, in a state was somewhere between dream and reality.

"I don't get many visitors," the old man said, his voice hoarse from the length of time since he had last spoken to anyone, even himself. The Interloped imagined it had been centuries since the old wizard had said a word.

"You're Diabora's creator?" The Interloper asked. The old man tried to get a good look at the Interloper's face, but was unable to even see him, save a outline. The setting sun made it entirely impossible for the old man to make out the identity of the Interloper.

Regardless, the old man pantomimed a bow, "I am Alvaj-Xoc, creator of Diabora and subduer of the Psychic Wars. How can I be of service?" The Interloper smiled and thought, No matter where I go, this man is the creator of Diabora... Created in last ditch effort to put an end to the thousands of years of fighting between Arceus and Yog-Sothoth, the Elder God of Chaos.

"Tsk tsk tsk, how is it that a man as important as yourself wound up in Arceus' private prison? One would think that the person that ended the very Psychic Wars himself would have himself a special place in Heaven," The Interloper teased.

"I rebelled," Alvaj-Xoc replied. The Interloper remained silent in an effort to get more information out of the wizard. "I still had the powers that Arceus had loaned me and those that I had stolen from Yog-Sothoth--the unholy forces I used to craft Diabora--after the end of the Psychic Wars." This rang true to the Interloper. Arceus' last ditch effort to end the Psychic Wars was to loan part of its power to the greatest Nasmar wizard, Alvaj-Xoc, whom had also stolen power from Yog-Sothoth himself. Combining the forces, Alvaj-Xoc created Diabora, a powerful berserker soldier that Arceus used to corner the Elder Gods in an unused realm--Kihara. Once they were there, Arceus locked them up there and threw away the key. "After we had sealed Diabora, I fancied myself a god... I thought I could run the universe better than Arceus... Arceus punished me, locking me in here."

"Hell not good enough for you?" The Interloper asked, lighting a cigar.

"Are you kidding? What I did was so bad, even Hell doesn't want me. If I were to die, my soul would go straight to Kihara--the realm of madness. To the Elder Gods, I am still Public Enemy No. 1. I cannot even fathom the pain that they would put my soul through were I to end up there," Alvaj-Xoc explained. He sighed. "And that's why I've been using the last of my power to prolong my life. I've been here 20,000 years, and I hope to have enough power to delay my death to just past the heat death of the entire universe. Then my soul can rest peacefully in Oblivion."

The Interloper had to laugh. "So this is what has become of the great Alvaj-Xoc?" He blew smoke into the wizard's face. Alvaj-Xoc was unaffected. "I'm sorry to do this to you, but I'm going to need to take that power from you."

Alvaj-Xoc laughed condescendingly. "Good luck. This prison was meant to keep you out just as much it was meant to keep me in." The wizard blinked. In an instant, the Interloper was no longer outside the iron bars but instead inside, sharing the cell with Alvaj-Xoc. In a single motion, the Interloper shoved his sharp claws through the wizard's stomach and drained the condemned man's power. The wizard tried to scream, but his withered husk turned to dust instantly.

The Interloper warped himself outside the cell once again and flicked his cigar butt to where Alvaj-Xoc once laid. May you rest painfully in Kihara.

NICODEMUS CHESS HAS JOINED THE BRAWL.