@Savato@thewizardguy@Flamelord@Pirouette@Absolis

A brave speaker welcomed the representatives and, despite his fear, broached the matters at hand. Mithias stood inhumanly motionless near Keith as he both listened to Malden Arus and simultaneously screened the other attendees for any signs of malicious intent. A whiny and annoying voice grated agasint his mature focus like a toddler upset about something insignificant. Eto was running her mouth.

"... I'm just going to assume this'll be another Satsuki reign, huh?"

The Conquerers did their best to ignore her, when suddenly Eto, chair and all were flung backwards as if they alone had felt the force of an unseen and unheard explosion directly in front of them. The little, green-haired half-ghoul smacked gracelessly against one of the pavillion pillars on her way out, leaving a dent and a splatter of blood and brain as the chair shattered into bits and flew out over the ocean with her smashed up body. From a pavilion hovering 6 miles over the water, Eto would probably regain consciousness just as her plummeting body reached terminal velocity, a speed fast enough to smash into the ocean surface as if it were concrete, certain to obliterate her body into a thousand bloody bits. It had been a powerful telekinetic attack, a blitz assassination, and the Dark Outliers would now be out another member before anyone could react. Mithias' lip curled slightly in a smile.

Except none of that actually happened. None of it, except for Mithias' smile. Sometimes, it was a good thing that no one could read his mind. He'd ignore Eto out of respect for his allies, for now.

Mithias glanced obscurely at Kaldor. He had studied up on his enemies, and he knew this one was far too powerful to fuck with. He would have to be dealt with by one such as Unicron, but defeating him was indeed possible. The Outliers had some powerful members, but the Imperium was the greater enemy, for both factions. For they had already taken over much more of the universe, their part of the multiverse, than either the Alliance or the Outliers had. What was this one, tiny planet caught in the flux of inter-universal travel to them? Just another world to subjugate and genocide and add as part of their ever-growing horde of faith-blind freaks. If teh Outliers weren't complete fools, they would join forces with the Alliance to stop them. But... we would see how this played out today.

Mithias took his seat beside Keith.

@Nightknight
Zoom-ins clearly showed the leader of the small army to be a strange robotic-looking figure with a skull for a head. Perhaps a primitive version of automated soldiers? It didn't matter, it was merely another inferior weapon, a vestige of a realm far beyond it's expiration date, struggling to survive the natural advance of time. Viral's clawed fingers dashed over the controls, as the laser primed and focused. It seemed their charge wasn't slowing, and the lead figure even seemed to be attempting an attack of some sort. Energy readings showed it was the same strange force that many so-called mages wielded on this world, a force Viral had yet to master. But a pale imitation of the true power wielded by Lord Genome. There was a flash of light, and.....

........

Was it a defensive tactic? Did this primitive believe that by turning themselves to stone, they could survive a direct impact from Enki's annihilation laser? It was certainly a.... unique ability, but Viral merely sighed, resigning himself to the destruction of this army of fools. Then, of course, once more the wand flashed. Perhaps it was curiosity that stayed Viral's hand, or perhaps it was the absolute knowledge that he could not be defeated. Confidence before the fall, and all that. But Viral merely watched as a wave of electromagnetic energy washed over the small army, and ineffectively slid past the giant Gunman. The lead tank slowly slowed to a crawl, as Viral watched railguns and lasers deactivate, inferior technology wiped out by an inferior countermeasure. A small hovertank near the back simply dropped to the ground, most of it's systems instantly wiped out. At this point Viral could easily have wiped out their army, with nearly half of their weapons systems wiped out by what appeared to be a misfire from their commander. A true testament to incompetence.

With a crack like thunder, the laser shot out and sliced across the landscape, trailing a vast wave of explosions in it's wake. The horizon lit up, and it seemed like the sky itself had been lit on fire. There was no doubt to any watching that the attack could have wiped out the small Alliance force, had it been aimed at them. However, that would be pointless to Viral. All those who would live to be impressed with the annihilation already feared him plenty, and he needed new men after all. The mech stepped forward, bringing Mortanius' tank to a stop by resting a foot on it. He leaned down, checking whether the granite figure was, in fact, still alive. After confirming that, while not really alive, it was at least 'active', he spoke out. "I have chosen to show mercy to you and your men. You live now because I chose to allow it. You have tested your powers against mine, and been proven a failure. I win."

The mech stood, and this time addressed the army, as opposed to the commander. "Your leader is toppled, your weapons disabled. Your lives are mine to give or take, and yet I show mercy. But this will be your only chance. Those who wish to follow a crippled fool to hell's gates are free to challenge me once more, and I will annihilate you without pause. Those who wish to live, however, should abandon the constraints of your petty mortal faction, and join the Viral Army. When I burn this world in Lord Genome's name, you should know what side you're on." With those words, Viral turned back to the city. It appeared his forces were having more trouble than he had anticipated. Perhaps some small force had managed to rally together and oppose his armies, or a high-powered individual had attacked his men. It didn't matter. If you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself.

The mech strut forward, an icon of death and destruction. All would worship at it's feet, and fall before it's blades. This was Enki, one of the greatest Gunmen in the Spiral Empire's armies. And there was nothing that would stop him.

@Gentlemanvaultboy
As the demon fired his blue fire breath repeatedly from above, the snake creature merely hissed, slicing through them with it's blades. The ornate scimitars appeared to leave a blue shimmering trail as they moved, and dispersed the fireballs as they sliced through them in a manner no normal blade would cause. Of course, even fancy swords couldn't save it from the omnipresent force of gravity, and as the floor cracked beneath it's immense weight it was plunged down to the lower level with a high-pitched shriek. The mercenaries soon followed, although one leaped off the edge of the roof while activating some glider-like contraption. It seemed unlikely he would be a continual threat, as he dodged and weaved down towards the safety of anywhere-but-here. However, despite the effect of Firebrand's attack, it appeared the fight was not quite over.

The snake creature reared it's ugly head from the debris, although it now sported a gash above it's right eye. It screeched loudly, no doubt saying even more unfathomable things in it's unfathomable tongue. It then switched from curses to actual curses, as it drew a strange sigil in the air with one of it's many fingers. While the tentacles had long dissipated into magical energy, this new attack was far less tangible. A strange sense of dread would take hold of Firebrand, as he felt an odd pain in his gut. Whatever this creature was doing, it wasn't going to be good for his health, and it would be a lot harder to avoid than some tendrils. The creature grinned as it's other hand worked yet another magic, gesturing more wildly and disparately as strands of dark magic wove around it's fingers. Even as Firebrand would consider how to deal with the curse that now clamped it's cold hand on his heart, he would notice the mercenaries he had just moments before killed rising a new, undead slaves to the one who had brought them here. From the very start they had been but tools, and even in death they would be granted no reprieve.

Whether Firebrand realised it or not, this was no average soldier he faced. While many of those in Viral's army were mere goons, this was a Yuan'Ti Abomination, a High Priest of the Serpent Gods. A master of ancient and dark magics, this creature would form a dangerous adversary if faced alone, calling upon a thousand curses and incantations even as it wielded relics of the ancient Yuan'Ti Empire. It's motives and origins were perhaps a mystery, but it was clear the creature would not leave until the demon had been eliminated.

Mortainius

Mortainius was in an humiliating position. Thanks to is own incompetency, his army was now motionless and outgunned. On top of that his Rainbow Rod was temporarily out of commission, leaving him helpless before the mech. Even Mortainius knew the folly in trying to take down something that massive and fast with mere infantry. Alas, Mortainius had to play the card he hoped he never had to play.

Mortainius told one of the tank operators to raise a white flag and another to put the megaphone up to his face. "All minions, stand down! Drop your weapons! We are surrendering!" He then spoke to the mech. "I, the Magnificent Major Mortainius, one of the greatest military tacticians in the Alliance of Conquerors, recognize your superior strength! I am bestowing upon you a high honor! I will cease all hostilities in exchange for the lives of my minions! We are now your prisoners, and we ask for your mercy oh strong one!"

Mortainius told one of his men to offer the Rainbow Rod, as it is customary for a commanding officer to surrender their weapon as well to the enemy officer, as the sealing deal for the surrender. The fate of Mortainius and his comrades were now in the enemies' hands...

Firebrand face cycled from gritted teeth to grin and back again as he watched the snake creature cut down his magic like it was noting, collapse along with the entire roof, then emerge relatively unscathed. Then he watched as the creature waved its arms and he gripped his chest as he felt ice water flow into the core of his being.

The red arremer flew over to him, exhausted from having to avoid the tendrils that had suddenly vanished. He opened his mouth, maybe to offer some praise, but Firebrand cut him off. "It's done something to me." He breathed, options playing out in his head. They could have flown away before, but that option was off the table now. There was no way to tell what this curse would do or whether it had any specific range. Killing the caster might not even stop it, but that was the best option now. He had to respect the creature, enforcing the confrontation like that.

He could go under again, but he had no idea how many drops it would take to kill it. Could he even survive long enough to try that? Even if he tried, would the creature let him? It hadn't bothered repositioning even though it was clearly capable of doing so, and that meant it was confident it could stop him if he tried again. The first time had only worked because it had been a surprise. Besides which, the supports would become stronger as they went down. It would take much too long.

He definitely couldn't fight from up here either. With those weapons it could just block his fire until whatever dark magic he'd been injected with had done its work. This needed to be finished quickly, in a manner that it wouldn't be able to cut down with its weapons. That meant going head to head. He couldn't help smiling at that. He could feel the old fire burning in his veins.

It only took him an instant to come up with a new plan of attack. "Split up and circle." He said, reaching into the neckline of his armor and pulling out a claw shaped talisman that he let clink against his chest. He could feel the effect instantly, a fire building in his chest that was almost enough to shrug ff that dreadful chill. "Do as I do until I move in Keep away from those corpses." His subordinate demon nodded and the pair split off, circling the building like vultures after a fresh carcass. Then Firebrand began spitting Busters again, raining fire at the snake creature and onto its zombie slaves. The Busters were noticeable bigger, glowing with an as yet unseen intensity, and the force of their impact had seemingly doubled. They made the fireballs the red arremer was spitting down on the group seem piddly in comparison.

Then Firebrand swooped down, letting gravity build his speed as he fired a constant barrage of Busters at the snake. He had to keep it using those swords. He desperately needed it to think with swords. His wings beat at the air as he leveled off, pushing him forward faster and faster toward it. He raised up his arm, claws gleaming in the sun, as he continued his reckless, desperate charge.

Then at the last possible moment, just when it seemed the two were about to clash, he gave his wings one last beat that threw him up and backwards out of the creatures sword range. He started down at it for what seemed to him like an eternity, then made a choking noise as something formed in his stomach and made its way up his throat. His neck bulged, his cheeks glowed white hot, then he opened his mouth and upchucked a huge glob of molten lava at the creature.

((Colab post with Wiz, again.))
"One more step, and we're all dead." These were words no one would ever want to hear, especially on space station 13, a very volatile place where the insane, evil, and generally malevolent forces of the universe tend to pick on. The station had endured meteors, monsters, a cthulhulian horror, and an outbreak of the common cold. However, what Martin Robinson held in his hands, an EMP grenade, while standing next to the singularity holding device, would be the worst of it all. Martin had been accused of turning Scarred-Hide, a lizardman security officer, into a monkey using a dna-scrambler. An offence that was normally met with getting beaten to death by security, but Martin had managed to keep them at bay using SCIENCE! And a lot of explosives.
As such, he had managed to blast his way to the singularity containment area, and here, he was making his final stand. He knew he would die, but he if was going to, he'd take every asshole on this station with him. "I REGRET NOTHING!" Martin yells, before pulling the pin on the emp grenade. In a flash, the singularity was released....and suddenly, along with Martin, and the rest of the station, vanished, leaving every other living being, save for the slimes in xenobiology, floating in space.

"...Shit." Head of security said, before the pressure difference of the vast emptiness of space killed all living beings, save for someone who had been turned into a space carp, a sort of space fairing shark. They simply flew off, to start a new life nibbling on space ships.
Martin, now flung though space and time, would find himself on a new planet. With a space station lacking power, and no food, he knew he'd have to venture out into...wherever the hell he had just landed.

The city itself looked much like what he knew Earth cities had once looked like. Busy asphalt streets, tall grey buildings, and cars everywhere. But even more unsettling than this sudden leap into a long-forgotten past, was the complete lack of people. It appeared that the entire place had been emptied out, and only the plants that now encroached on man's domain showed any signs of life. Furthermore, with the power out, there was no way to figure out his actual location, or whether this place was even real to begin with.

Nearby, standing out from the grey rows of broken-down buildings and crashed vehicles, was a large glass dome that stuck out over the rest. There used to be a large sign with some kind of name on it above this dome, but the words had been faded away into an unintelligible mess by the sands of time. The place looked slightly more home-y than the rest of this desolate place, however, as it appeared to be the only place with the lights still on. It might also contain answers as to where (or when) he was.

"....Well, either I am in my own personal hell, or God's got a sense of humor..." Robinson says, before quickly moving thoughout the station, grabbing whatever useful supplies he could. Some body armor, very basic riot gear. good for stopping knives, and broken bottles, but little else. He also grabbed some knives, and a few bottles of alchohol from the bar, knowing that booze could make for a good weapon. Finally, he grabbed a jar, and headed to Xenobiology, and he placed in said jar, a small grey slime. Slimes were harmless, normally, until they got hungry. In which case, they became extremely dangerous, especially adult slimes, who could devour a human whole. But this slime, was a baby slime. Small, and pretty harmless. Along with the slime, he grabbed a monkey cube, a thing which, once given water, would form into a fully functioning, living, monkey. Perfect slime food.
Now geared up, Martin ventured out, with a backpack full of knives, a slime, and a monkey cube. He head towards the dome, a knife in hand, and a gleam of a mad man in his eyes.

The facility was strange indeed. There was a large chainlink fence to dissuade intruders, although it didn't provide much of an obstacle. The guard post implied that there would have been more significant resistance, had this place not been empty. The inside was a spotless clean series of white laboratories, each locked behind a metal door. There also appeared to be a few observation areas. Frustratingly, each of these facilities was locked away from him, requiring some form of keycard and iris scan to open. While it might be possible to find a keycard within the facility, finding one of the original staff seemed to become less likely by the moment.

Robinson was a tad annoyed. Had the station still had full power, he could create a large enough cyborg to rip those doors off of the hinges. The best he could do now wa-

Wait a moment....he had an idea. A wonderfully twisted idea, but it relied on one thing. Looking around for any computers that were within his reach, not behind locked doors, he tried to search for pictures of the staff. "Maybe, with a picture, and a keycard, I could open those doors..." He mutters. It was worth a shot at least, and was far from his last resort, but this would require the least amount of effort. Which was good, as he was tired from almost ceasing to exist. Which this plan failed, as while in the space station, pictures were taken with advanced enough cameras that any scanner could be fooled, it appears these people used far more primative tech. "...Darn you, and your shitty cameras. Darn you." He growls, agitated. Taking a moment, he got another idea. He looked around for a source of water, something like a sink, or even a old water bottle. He didn't need much, he just needed some.

Finding a water cooler, the kind most of the office workers on the station talked around, due to some old time earthen tradition, Robinson smirked as he pulled the monkey cube from his backpack, and watered it, a fully grown monkey appearing underneath the stream of water. He then, almost imedtiately, uncorked the baby slime, and ploped it onto the Monkey, which began to scream as the slime devoured it. After a few moments, the Monkey had vanished into the slime, who had more than trippled in size.

"Hey there, you..." Robinson began, sweating. Slimes were known to attack humanoids, rarely, and without a propper weapon, he might be its next meal. However, they were also known to listen to those that fed them, so he had a 50/50 chance of this working. "You want more food? There's some monkeys behind those doors..." He says, pointing to some of the metal doors that barred his progress. The slime, hearing about more food, rolled towards the doors, and began trying to eat them, it's acidic body (hopefully) breaking apart the doors given a few minutes. After half an hour, the slime manages to finish though one door, it's heavy armor taking it a while to devour. Sated with this metallic meal, the slime wanders over to the water cooler, and begins to eat that, thirsty.

Martin now was able to enter into one of these labs, and notices a number of strange machines, and data banks. "Hmm...not quite what I had in mind, but this will do..." He starts, as he explores the lab, looking over the machines, trying to figure out what they did, and also hooking himself up to the databanks, via his robotic implants. What this did was allow him to surf the data from the comfort of his own mind, as he looked over the machines. Being a cyborg has some perks, after all. "All this, for a toy train?" He asks aloud, confused. Why so much effort put into this? Was this toy train some sort of artifiact? Did they get it from the Wizard's Union? Did this place have a Wizard's Union? So many questions, and a lot of answers, just not to the questions Martin was truly asking.

Keeping all of the measurements saved in his memory, Martin begins to make a theory. "I need to preform some reasearch..." He states, heading back to the station. "Lots of research..."

---

Keith would only smirk as he heard the Goa'ulds ridiculous demands. Half the planet, and the solar system. Looking at his own paper though, their demands were only slightly better. Though, technically they were much better, as everyone would see and hear when he got around to making their demands. Which, seemed to be now, as it was his turn. Pulling himself up with assistance from Agonious' shoulder, Keith would grab his paper, and open up a small device. Setting the device on top of the paper, a projection of the paper would be in full view. And, perhaps some would think it merely a joke.

Up at the top, in robotic letters, would be Unicrons demands. Everyone would see these clearly. His demands being, unconditional surrender, the deaths of those who oppose him, and a healthy dose of planets to appease his rage. However, the other thing that would be incredibly noticeable, would be how all of his demands were crossed out. Below those, in what the Outliners would recognize as Cyano's handwriting, would be her demands, which Keith would read aloud to the rest of the group, word for word.

"The alliance of conquerors, and conablum labs demands, in the order they are numbered. 1. Ignore Captain Planet. 2. A branch of Conablum labs in all territories owned by the other factions, that number being a minimum of one branch per 500,000 residents. 3. An open technology treaty. All technology is to be shared freely, for research purposes. And 4. At least one chain restaurant from the universe dubbed Arcadia-2 brought here, and expanded into Arcadia-1. One exactly, no more, and no less."

Flipping the page over, Keith would glance over to the Goa'uld. They certainly wouldn't like this part. To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure how Cyano of all people had come up with it, though he was certain it was because she had somehow planned it out to work into her favor. Though, how she would do that was beyond him. Quite a bit of what she planned was beyond him, honestly. Regardless, he would begin reading from the other side.

"Exempting the singular chain restaurant, Conablum Labs suggests that Arcadia-2 be left untouched, aside from observation from afar. In short, Arcadia-2 will only be open to research teams specifically made to blend in with the inhabitants. No changes are to be made, no attempts to control it, and no attempts to influence it. The research teams will leave as little an impact as they can. I'm sure no one cares to argue this. After all, we should focus on where we are now, shouldn't we."

Finished reading, Keith would sit down. For the most part, the alliances demands were... well, their demands were insane. But, Conablum labs demands would be... uncharacteristically lax. Not that Keith would question it. He was certain Cyano knew exactly what she was doing.

---

@Savato@Pirouette@Wraithblade6@thewizardguy@Flamelord

---

Both the Speaker and Eto rose an eyebrow at the idea that Terminals bore less relevance than Aracadia itself. The only reason they could travel through universes and end up in such a predicament were because of these very cursed items. The Outliners saw them as a number one priority, though they wouldn't insist much on it as it seemed unwise to orient their enemies' attention to what they truly seek. They did have ideas on how to limit it, however most would quickly be veto'd by every faction involved. As such, they couldn't really limit the usage without reverting Arcadia into turmoil once more. Eto would throw a wave of dismissal and simply let that one go by. They could focus on the Terminals by themselves.

Though with the issue of Terminals being left aside, only one other subject of interest would be invoked in which someone like the Speaker would be more qualified to discuss while Eto continued with her destabilization tactics. Heck most of the attention would be centered around this maddened King that led a group of vicious cannibals for over a decade.

"Scaaaarrrrrrryyyyyyy!~"

She chimed while laughing at Qeresh's attempts at intimidating Eto. She frequently had herself bifurcated and shredded, it wasn't a bunch of archaic-looking talking dongs that would make her bite her tongue. Nonetheless, she seemed to remain rather playful toward the Goa'Uld, unlike the Conqueror where she'd be completely liberal on the taunts.

The half-ghoul was raise her small hand before waving it to gather the members' attention.

"I vote for the Goa'uld to have half of Arcadia~ I'm sure my associates would agree!"

They didn't say anything, but now it seemed Ba'al's empire had some sort of legitimate backing from the Outliners all of a sudden. It wasn't a bad idea actually, give the not-so relevant group most of the land while competing with the stronger forces, and quickly the battlefield is trimmed of excess fat. It wasn't guaranteed this would lead to anything, but it wasn't like the Outliners were losing anything.

When the subject of space was mentioned, the Speaker would take over, considering ADVENT was the best qualified to address this.

"We recommend limiting progress within this cosmos. While we can surely discuss the fleets occupying the Orbit, the Dark Outliners suggest we temporarily suspend any intergalactic approaches. At least until certain threats can be collectively ruled out."

A more sound mind that resonated well with the Outliner agenda. One not to tamper with what they had not at least tested thoroughly by fear of what could come out of such an extreme unknown. For now they could stay content with the airspace attributed to their territories which also translated to their space in orbit. The Outliners did not care, however as they had appropriated themselves a monopoly in the skies until now, despite Nova's destruction of their first 'mock fleet'. They were going to negotiate portions to keep observation capabilities to a maximum.

Then came Keith's turn to talk, and finally would they have a piece of the conquerors' mind. Eto would be the first, of course, to giggle at the requests made by the grand leader. The Speaker wouldn't far behind with a short chuckle while Tatara remained stoic as always. But Eto would seem to find the more 'reasonable requests' even more amusing. Her laughter was obnoxious, combined with an eerie echo emitted by her retracted Kagune.

"Wow ... You really are something. REALLY. What the fuck is this? Conablum labs? The subpar squad ADVENT asserted in a few hours and doesn't hold a candle to even these obsolete fossils?"

She referred to the Goa'uld while dissing Conablum labs to the fullest. She felt it laughable that an underling organization that straight from her grasp some how asserted itself as the sole representation of the Conquerors. What did they have that was new? This strange guy who grinned at her? She'd throw a wink back at him for good measure.

"500.000 residents? I find that a bit exc-..."

"Hah! You're deluded, Cyano. You're not getting any of those parasites anywhere. We'll side with any group who votes to exterminate any attempt of the sort."

Eto said firmly, clearly a bit annoyed that they were being taken for fools when serious propositions were being given.

"That will not happen. That is final."

Tatara spoke up, as the third point was announced. There was nothing else to say, as no one else would contest in the Outliners. They would NOT share their research, not when they were accustomed to the ways of Conablum labs.

The point of Arcadia-2 was being made. A dull stare formed on Eto's visage.

"Arcadia-2? You do know the Outliners have the only working prototype, right? Speaking of which, we can discuss its usa- ... Huh? ... Alright then. It seems you people will be in for a treat."

As she was about to tackle the Arcadia-2 issue, she'd respond to the message she'd receive through her ear phone. With such an eerie announcement, she'd grin as the world was going to witness something rather rare.

---

Within the Outliners' mothership, Oswald stood as the undisputed captain, with only the shadowy and mysterious figure sitting triumphantly behind him as the sole authority to his madness. A simple gesture was given to the man, one that would cause all the being in the control room to stand and glance in awe toward the supposed leader of the Outliners. They were going to enter Arcadia and pay a visit to this meeting. Whether the opposing parties would agree to it or not.

Bolts of peculiar lightning would form in the skies of Arcadia, about ten kilometers from the negotiation tables. Clouds amassed together to formed what seemed to be a 'super-tornado', one beyond any natural sized tornado storm that could be found on such a planet. The wind was merciless and the Oceans were chaotic. The mad weather would even make its way to Canada for our friend in Winnipeg to relish.

Eventually, from the eye of the storm, a massive portal would take form, one much large than any Terminal could ever produce. It would be only a minute later that a country-large ship would make its entry into Arcadia. A Temple Ship, albeit far different from the design used by the Ethereal Aliens. It it was giant and could easily lay was to multiple infrastructures by simply running over them. But it stayed still, posing absolutely no threat whatsoever.

When the portal would close, every participant in the room would notice that a new ship had boarded the Outliner docks. And it seemed to hold quite a few lifeforms, two of which were far different from the readings even entities like the head Ethereal or Cyano would give off. They were particularly strange, as if they belonged to an entirely different and incomprehensible dimension.

One of these figures would start to approach the meeting table while the second slowly followed through. Most of the members gathered would be able to see Oswald Mandus making his entry, being one of these two 'otherworldly' entities. The other would slowly making out of the ship, their footsteps louder than the thunder storms caused by the entrance of the mothership. The suspense was big for those who long anticipated the reveal of the Outliners' leader. Attempt at cheating with cameras and such would be immediately dismissed by the bizarre energy emitted by that dark entity.

Even Eto wasn't entirely sure as to what their leader would actually make an appearance. Perhaps it was time all the leaders were to be known? Or was it to push this meetings purpose and importance to a whole new level? In any case, one thing was for sure, the Outliners were fully aware that such a grandiose appearance would warrant the attention of all the grand leaders, no matter how busy they would be.

@Absolis@Savato@Wraithblade6@Flamelord
It appeared that Malden's statements in regard to territory ownership had been completely ignored, as the Alliance representative made their own list of demands known. It appeared everyone had come with demands. Sighing, Maldus resigned himself to them. Eto was ignored completely, as her pointless blabbering served only to distract from real issues. "While I am certain that some limited level of technological trade can be established, I severely doubt any would agree to such a... comprehensive agreement. Perhaps a less extreme version could be applied, and individual items of scientific knowledge be shared and exchanged for one another. As for your requirement for... embassies..." he used the more familiar term, attempting to steer the conversation away from the ludicrous extremes stated by the Alliance without offending them "I'm certain that such an agreement would be beneficial for all. But instead of an installation in populated areas, such an embassy should be placed in the capital of the respective factions. The Imperium would be most interested in-"

Whatever the Imperium was interested in would have to wait, as Eto received the mystery signal, and the equally mysterious storm clouds began to appear outside. Malden turned and stared, interrupted mid-sentence, as the truly immense ship slowly emerged from an equally titanic portal in the sky. This was a ship the scale of which even the Imperium could not equally match, despite their overall fondness for ridiculously oversized weaponry. Perhaps only the personal vessels of the Primarchs, or the Rock, the modified asteroid which served as the mobile base of the Dark Angels, could approach it. But perhaps even more stunning was the fact that the Envisioning One, the mysterious leader of the Dark Outliners, was moments from making his own appearance. Of course, wonder soon gave place to dread, as Maldus felt a sudden wave of heat wrap around him from behind.

There stood Kaldor Draigo, Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights, Military Commander of the New Imperium. He glared at the ship in the distance, as his eyes were wreathed in divine flame. The size of the ship did not impress him, neither did the presence of the Envisioning One. Such petty things had lost their charm hundreds of years ago. For all he saw was a breach of the rules he had put into place. If this was not a direct attempt at a military coup, then this was a show of blatant disrespect not for him, but for the Imperium of Man, and the words of the Emperor himself. This was a blasphemy that could not be allowed, and could not be forgiven. It appeared the Outliners had pursued their hubris too far, and believed themselves to be above the laws and rules applied by other factions.

There was no tangible sign, aside from the flickering flames in his eyes, that Kaldor had called upon his full power. But anyone in the room could sense the difference, feel it in every bone in their body. His Presence was like that of a titan, an almost tangible force that filled the room, pressing against the minds and hearts of those present, a force that would strike terror into the hearts of lesser men and nearly sent Maldus crying to the floor. To bring such immense forces to bear during a peaceful meet, to purposefully and arrogantly brush aside the limitations to their forces.... this was an act of war. And if it had not been such a powerful and dangerous faction, if there had not been a smidgen of common sense holding back his zealous fury, he would have gladly torn them to shreds on the spot, and brought their leader to it's knees (assuming it HAD knees).

"You have violated the laws of this meet, and disrespected the terms and conditions applied by the Emperor of Man." Slowly, the knight drew his sword. Titansword was a massive blade, a Nemesis pattern Force Sword, one of the most lethal weapons produced by the Imperium. It would slice through forcefields and superheavy armour with the same ease, augmented both by it's particle-annihilated field, and the focused psionic energy running across it's edge like white flame. "In this time of peace you show your true colours as xenos filth. If it is your intention to start a war, then I will gladly strike the first blow. But if you wish to maintain the peace you have come so close to shattering, then step back into your ship, or I will be forced to show you the physical form of the Emperor's law."

Perhaps, the present Outliner forces would be able to defeat Kaldor Draigo. If the other factions worked with them, they would most certainly be able to slay him. But from his stance alone it was clear that he would take an army to merely challenge, let alone best. There was a reason the Imperium had sent but a single warrior. They had needed but one, for he was an army in and of himself. Of course, those factions present would have only a limited time to react. For Kaldor was not the only force that had been triggered by the arrival of the enigmatic Outliner leader.

-----------------------------------------------------

The sleeper opened his eyes. A million upon a million tiny mechanisms, tiny thoughts, flowed through the electromagnetic and telepathic spectrum, a field of information crossing the world in a billionth of a second. A fracture in space and time, a discharge of energy of noticeable proportions. A traveller had come once more through the hazy veil, and one who had been noticed. The sleeper stood, the motion meaningless to the being, as were all such concepts of form. But the time was ascertained. The commands were writ in stone, granted to it by a being beyond even it's comprehension. A plan was unfolding of a magnitude even it was only partially capable of realizing, but it knew it's part, it knew the role it would play. And it would play it, for that was it's calling, it's destiny. It was the reason for it's existence, for all the meaningless and pointless struggles of life before the master. And the end of them all. It appeared the pieces were in place, and the stage was set. It was time to play.

All who lived on the world at the time might notice it, might feel it. Many would not be aware that they had noticed anything at all, discarding the strange tingling discomfort as a mere figment of their imaginations. Others would know that they had indeed noticed something, but wouldn't be able to comprehend what it was. A change, certainly, but one beyond their capability for comprehension. A shift in the taste of the air, in the feel of the sunlight, a shift in the basic logic that defined reality as they knew it. A break in the logical continuity from which all of creation and knowledge derived, an exception to the most basic rule. A moment lost in time and space, emerging from an endless rest. The beginning of the end, the end of the beginning, the primal knowledge in all that exists and all that may exist that the vessel they inhabited had been tilted, touched. Like the tiny figure inside a snowglobe attempting to understand the finger that had prodded the walls it was bound by, tilting it's world ever so slightly.

Once before this world had been cleansed, the filth rinsed off so that it might ring anew. But new dirt had accumulated, creeping from every twisted corridor of the multiversal infestation to set up nest in this once pristine sanctuary. And thus once more the sleeper was called to duty, the duty it had always felt but never truly known. Once more it would set out, and all would know the true meaning of despair. Once more, it would cleanse this world of the filth that was life, and it would prove it's worth to oblivion.

----------------------------------------

@Supertinyking
Alarms blared as red lights flashed, the droning sound awakening the tired scientist. Readings went wild as a computer in a locked room exploded violently, showering the sensitive equipment around it with sparks and tiny fragments of superheated debris. A bank of supercomputers ran a thousand calculations and hit a thousand logical errors, as the very lighting began to fritz. A strange purple glow surrounded the outermost labs, as information cycled through various stages of nonexistence. The bell was ringing, but none knew for whom it rang. And Robertson would be left with more questions than ever, as slowly the turmoil died down, and once more reality returned to it's natural state... mostly.

@thewizardguy@Savato@Absolis

The sheer force of the mental facepalm that slammed into Mithias' brain upon hearing Cyano's demands stunned him. After a moment of blatently standing beside his assigned seat with his teeth clenched in a frown, Mithias just... sat the fuck down in his chair beside Keith, speechless.

Eto went off again, but by this point Mithias wasn't listening. These people... were morons. Here they were, some 3 or 4 factions, all inhabiting a world that was a wonder to all existance, a rare hub of interdimensional travel, a gem of godlike power among endless universes that could end up in any one of their grasps. Such potential was astonishing and terrifying. To control Arcadia and its rifts would be to have access to thousands upon thousands of worlds. And yet, these leaders were arguing over destroying inter-world travel and giving up all claim to Arcadia in exchange for legalized freedom of information and research. Yet rigth in front of them was a proven conquerer of galaxies, the Imperium of Man! ...who's record of conquest was terrifyingly long, and yet both the Alliance of Conquerers and the Dark Outliers failed to realize the need to stop them. There was no way the God Emperor was going to let Arcadia's portals be closed, nor would there be any labs or any research done by a faction that didn't bow to him. Both factions would be screwed in the end. It was the Imperium that had organized this meeting. They were the ones pulling all the strings and would play out this game until it reached the conclusion they desired. Baal, Cyano, Eto, Keith, the mysterious Envisioning One... they were all being played, and Mithias was the only one that saw it.

The Imperium. It turned the vampire's stomach. How alike it was to the church of his own time, his human life. Blind faith and sycophancy repulsed him even moreso than Christian holy symbols. Such power always fed to corruption, giving the rich and powerful full reign to walk on the bodies of the poor and consider themselves righteous and important. Mithias seethed with a hunger that came from his soul, a hatred and rage that had fueled his wrath as he had torn into the white sheets of the priests and Papal knights with his newly undead claws. Blood never tasted so delicious as it had when drawn in vengeance, in true righteousness... Mithias unconsciously raked the air with his right hand into a fist as he remembered in detail his fledgling rampage in 1307.

As the bickering commenced, Mithias glared at Kaldor from accross the table, catching his gaze in his own reflective eyes. It didn't take mind reading for the space knight to realize he was being judged... "I know what you're up to, even if they don't," was all Mithias' look said. In fact, Kaldor would reaize he couldn't read this being's mind at all, that some significant degree of psychic force was shutting him out. Should he dare probe its strength?

And suddenly, there were other matters to attend to. A massive ship had appeared, a giant dick in the face of justice and respect. The ship could hold more than an army, and did. Mithias shot up from his chair, suspecting treachery as he made quick to identify the ship to the best of his ability. Grabbing his swords at the same time as Drago, he bared his teeth and prepared for a fight. He was a bodyguard afterall.

A palpable aura radiated from Kaldor, causing Mithias to shore-up his mental shield, but it caused him no harm. The Imperial rep simultaneously conveyed his innocence as he accused the Outliers for the threatening ship's intrusion. "This is indeed an act of war!" Mithias agreed and also turned on the Outliers for their betrayal. Oh, how he had been looking for an excuse to throw Eto fro the pavillion all day...

Ba'al expressed no confusion as people misinterpreted what he said to their own whims, especially when it related to the Goa'uld aspirations in outer space. While he would, in time, like to claim the rest of the solar system, there had been no actual attempt to do so. But that was alright by him if that was what they expected from him. The more they dismissed him, the worse it would be for them when the time came to strike.

So he was not surprised as the Imperium objected, indicating that they would talk about space later and offering him all of Asia. Which was impressive, especially for the regard they seemed to hold him in. "I will consider it," he replied before the Imperium turned to talking with the remnants of the Alliance about their border. He was merely surprised that his original land claims were backed by the Outliners, though he was sure that they had an ulterior motive in doing so. They didn't act from the kindness of their hearts after all.

to the Alliance demands he and his wife could only snort in derision, along with some of the other factions present. "Please, i would never agree to such ridiculous demands without some incentive to do so," Ba'al noted aloud. Access to their technology would be nice, but not if it came at the expense of handing over his own. The only demand acceptable was the restaurant one, as...eccentric as it was.

He shifted to look at the Outliners as they proposed their suggestion that space exploration be limited, and resolved to ignore it. It was obvious that they wanted to keep a monopoly in orbit for themselves, and that was something he could not tolerate. Indeed, he was already working on that particular problem. It was just a matter of time.

He was prepared for the negotiations to go on until....

An eyebrow rose in curious amusement as the storm formed within eyesight range, turning into some sort of twister before a portal ripped through the center to disgorge a massive ship above. It was impressive, sure, though Qetesh snorted with derision as she looked upon it. It could not match up to the Goa'uld, no matter how big it was. But it did distract from everything else, up until the new delegates arrived and the meeting began to fall apart.

"Well then, this was a waste of our time after all. I apologize for doubting you Qetesh," Ba'al said with a sigh as the delegates prepared to break out into armed violence right here. Not that it would be a problem for him, with access to teleportation. In the meanwhile the press of a button would send a signal out, and from the Goa'uld's territory two Ha'tak vessels would set course for the newly arrived Temple Ship, to meet one show of force with another. And in the meanwhile, he waited to see how things would go.

@thewizardguy@Savato@Pirouette@Wraithblade6@Absolis

---

Across the world in Alliance territory, a dark haired girl sighed as she sat at the counter of a restaurant. Her hand brushed against her MP3 player as she waited for her order to arrive, wearing a smile on her face and dressed in her usual garb of a t shirt and a skirt.

It had been some time since Saten Ruiko had found herself here, some time since she had made contact with the strange people that now dominated this world of Arcadia. Initially encountering the Dark Outliners, she was then recruited by Nova and the Imperium, the God-Emperor giving her access to her Esper powers without the need for the Level Upper program that she had resorted to in the past. Since then she had helped out, fought when she had to, and had tried to rebuild her life here.

It was...weird, having access to her powers now. She had learned to do so much more than she could have thought possible, and her only regret that Uiharu hadn't been here to see it. Together the two of them could have had a great time, and she could have shown her friend that she was more than the accusations hurled at her, that power wasn't the only thing she cared about. But it was too late now.

At last her food arrived, and a hum of satisfaction escaped as she looked on the cheeseburger, fries, and drink. "Welp, time to eat," Saten said to herself before she dug in. Just another day in the life, for now.

@Nightknight
"Very well then." Viral stood imperiously above his opponents, but refused to accept his defeated target's weapon in any way. "Simply remember this day, if you have any thoughts of escape. You can flee to the far ends of the Earth, and join any army you like, but the second time I won't be so merciful. And I WILL find you." Those were his final words, as he merely scanned and added the soldiers in this army to his already extensive database. Any enemy soldiers already in the database would lose any chance to rejoin the army, as Viral had no time for traitors. A single chance at redemption by joining his side, that was all he offered.

Turning, he gestured to his army. It was clear they were to charge the city, as he marched back inside. It appeared his gunboats had been dealt with, and his infantry was taking some damage. They'd taken control of the main guard tower, but resistance had exceeded expected values. No matter. He would make up for any losses. After all, this bore all the hallmarks of a dangerous but small group of enemies, and he'd always wanted to create his own elite squadron. Now that he had returned to the field, soon everything would be rectified. After all, even if his minions failed, none could stand before the indomitable Viral.

@Gentlemanvaultboy

The creature looked at the charge, raising it's dual blades. If a snake monster could have grinned, it would have. As it was, it merely shifted it's tail in a menacing fashion, as it prepared to slice through whatever magical attack Firebrand would offer against it. And when a blob of magma emerged from the creature's beaked mouth, the Yuan'ti slashed as expected, but the blades were slowed by the magma, and barely missed the demon as it shot up from it's dive. Meanwhile the magma, unlike the fire, was not immediately dispersed, and managed to land on and scald the right side of the creature's body. It unleashed an unearthly screech as it quickly wove a ward against fire, limiting the damage to it's form. the magma seemed to be rebuked by the newly formed defensive ward, and slid off of the creature into the ground. More interestingly than it's ability to rebuke fire, however, was the reason it had not done so from the beginning, as Firebrand noticed the pain in it's chest momentarily decreasing. It appeared the Yuan'Ti could only focus on one spell at a time, and only when it dropped the ward once more did the curse resume it's task.

The Yuan'Ti stood still, after having a significant portion of it's right side scorched. Scales had been burnt off, revealing the black and red skin beneath. Had the wound not been inflicted by fire, perhaps it would have bled to death, and had it's constitution been anything but superhuman, the shock would have debilitated it significantly. But the creature stood, ignoring the pain. And the glare in it's eyes showed that it was not used to being harmed, and Firebrand's actions had made things personal. This fight would not end until the demon lay bleeding on the ground, another sacrifice to the serpent gods.

Words were whispered in an ancient tongue as runes were drawn in the sky. The cold began to spread through Firebrand's body, pain followed by numbness. Breathing became more difficult, as slowly it seemed all of Firebrand's bodily functions began to shut down. This curse was indeed a lethal one, and it would not take long before his heart itself stopped, or his lungs drew their last breath. Meanwhile the creature itself slithered forward, blades at the ready, seeming to wish to take a more personal approach to the fight. The same trick wouldn't work twice, and the anti-magic blades would make Firebrand's trademark attacks close to useless. Without assistance, he might soon find his journey at an end.

Meanwhile, the nameless red arremer found itself in only a slightly less unfortunate situation. A series of arrows shot up at it as the undead mercenaries focused their attention on him. Bladed warriors stood at the edges of the building, ready for his inevitable attacks, and anything but a direct hit from a fireball was practically meaningless to them. Destroyed arms or legs, holes in their chests, nothing seemed to do more than slow them down, besides destroying the head. They were still able to move and fight without a brain, but they seemed to still rely on their eyes for sight, and the blinded undead were rarely a threat. But for this red arremer to involve itself in the main battle with the Yuan'Ti would be difficult while under this amount of fire, and might simply draw the attention of the remaining undead to his boss, which would surely be disastrous.

Firebrand felt the sky darken, a sudden ring of dark clouds blocking out the rays from the sun overhead. The fragrant aroma of cooking flesh only lingered for a moment before the wind kicked up, carrying the scent far away. Firebrand did not look up at the sudden weather. He could not take his eyes off this enemy. As the magma fell from the creature like water from a ducks back Firebrand felt his heart reignite, blazing like a blast furnace, as the icy grip on it pulled away. He opened his mouth, feeling hot air already spinning inside his throat. He'd finish this now!

Then his heart was doused. The wind died in his mouth as he felt something, a new feeling slithering up his spine and wrapping his senses. A subtle feeling, but one that grabbed him and pulled him away from the fight and back, back, back into the distant past.

---

He perched upon one of the highest of the barren crags of the Ghoul Realm and from his perch imagined that he ruled all that he surveyed. The black rivers. The dark and deadly forests. The distant towns with the crooked buildings, visible from here only as specs of light that dotted the landscape. It wasn't a beautiful place. It was a cruel and hostile land that would just as soon devour any naive fool that set foot in it. A land that was nonetheless fought over by any ghoul or ghost with even a hint of ambition, for uniting this land would allow a demon to grasp the true prize; the beautiful green world of men.

He'd saved this world from two such ambitious demons. He was the hero of all demonkind, and an inspiration to all gargoyles, and had been offered the human world by the high nobility should he wish it. Should he have the power to take it. It had been a honor when he heard, but that was before realizing what a joke it was. One demon alone could never control all the humans, as they well knew when they had offered it to him. You would need the full might of the Ghoul Realm to take the human world. Someone would need to break the stalemate the nobility had found itself in. It had been what the demons he'd stopped had been trying to do. If he were to rule this land he would need power even greater than they'ed had, that was for certain. Then, with the full might of all demons at his back, he could march out to take what he'd bee offered. The problem was finding that sort of power.

As if in answer to his prayers he felt a chill, and his eyes were drawn upwards. Six streams of light pierced the dark clouds that blocked all light from this land, streaking across the sky. Green. White. Blue. Purple. Orange. Red. The light vanished beyond the horizon, but the feeling did not dissipate. He felt himself lifting off the crag before he even understood what he was doing, and he flew off in pursuit of the falling lights. All around him he felt a tingle, as though the word itself had shuttered at the touch of some great and terrible god.

Something had changed.

---

The sharp cold touch of death dragged the Demon back to the hear and now. He felt agony spread up through his limbs, followed by a nothing that was even worse. He was a fool! He had only taken his focus off the battle for a moment. A amateurs mistake. He saw rather than felt himself collapse onto the ruined building, his wings failing him from the shock of it. He was cold, so very unbelievably cold. Cold. Cold, cold,

---

...cold.

He stood over the sprawled body of the strongest demon he had ever met, unlimited power burning in his veins. The creature had thought to ambush him on his way between the worlds, take the Crest for itself, but Firebrand had learned long ago to be wary of that trick. It had been a painful, humiliating lesson. One that he had killed many demons to avenge. He had done it, though. He had cleared this one last hurdle. He had burned the Ghoul Realm to the ground, the blood of thousands of demons stained his claws, all of his enemies lay dead, and he was one step from the human world. The power of the Crest was like a sun in his bosom. He needn't even bother conquering the Ghoul Realm now. With this power he could rule the human world by himself as a dark red god.

Why then was he so unbelievably cold?

Why could he not forget the faces of his enemies?

Why did the devastation he'd wrought upon his home play back to him on the back of his eyelids?

He felt the thrum of the thing in his chest, steady as a heartbeat, and found he took no pleasure in it. In fact, he despised it. In that moment he hated it more than anything. He felt a sharp pain and looked down to find his blood streaming between his fingers as the dug into the flesh of his chest. He wrapped his fingers around the Crest, almost stopped himself, then plunged forward. With a wet ripping sound he tore the Crest out, his blood flowing down his chest and dripping down off his toes into the infinite void between the worlds. He felt his form shift, diminish from the magnificence he had become, as power flowed from his very soul and back into the greedy stone. He looked over it, breathing deeply, then cast it away into void. The stone tumbled over and over into the darkness before splitting into six beams of light. Green. White. Blue. Purple. Orange. Red. All were swallowed by the darkness.

His powers were gone. The fire in his heart was a mere matchhead compared to what it once was. He was still so very cold, but he felt a bit warmer than before.

---

The sound of a slithering serpent pulled him from his memory this time, and he looked up at the half burned snake charging at him. He shook his head, trying to shake off the memory as he rose to his feet. He'd heard tell of something like this. When a human was faced with certain death it is said that their life flashed in front of their eyes. The way time seemed to have slowed down as he surveyed the scene only served to confirm this.

The snake was charging forward, swords poised to end him. Any fire he launched would be hacked to pieces, the tornado wouldn't fair much better, and it would be ready with some trick to divert his lava. Behind it his unlucky subordinate was in no position to aide him, barely managing to avoid the barrage of arrows in the high wind. His armor felt heavy and cold on his skin. He wasn't even sure he could dodge the snakes attacks if he tried, but even if he did this curse felt like it was only moments from killing him. He didn't have time to be defensive.

Yes. Certain death was coming for him.

---

Yet he charged on anyway.

Firebrand watched, puzzled, as the man leaped clear over the heads of three zombies. One of Firebrands kinsmen flew towards him and he tossed his lance, burying it up to the hilt in the demons chest. The demon let out a choked scream and plummeted from the air, landing in a heap behind him as he sallied forth.

It was absolute madness. No human had ever invaded the Ghoul Realm before. It just didn't happen. Yet here he was, so far in, all for the sake of a woman. As he watched the man caught a scythe to the back, the weapon shearing away his armor and leaving him nearly naked. The poor ghoul caught a dagger in the face for his trouble, along with the three that had been coming up behind him. It wouldn't be long now. Without protection he couldn't possibly last. Humans were weak. Nauseatingly weak. Still, Firebrand felt a small flame light up in his black heart as he watched him dodge and weave his way through his comrades. He wanted him to make it. He wanted him to move on. He wanted this human to come to him.

Demons swarmed all around, and without his silver armor Firebrand could clearly see the knights eyes as he flung himself head long into the jaws of death.

---

Firebrands pupils shrunk to pinpricks as he raised himself up against the cold. That was right. He couldn't die here. This snake couldn't kill him. It didn't have the right. There was only one man the demon Firebrand could fall to, only one that he would feel satisfied with!

Firebrand steeled himself, pushing himself up to full height and letting out a demonic screech before gripping the roof with his feet and pushing himself forward against the numbing cold. He pounded across the roof toward the snake like a wild animal to meet the snake. When it swung he would tense up, reach out to catch its sword arms as they moved, then push forward. He was going to slam this snakes head with his own, and Firebrands head could shatter solid rock at the worst of times.

Mortainius

Mortainius now seemed to be working for the enemy now, at least for the time being. Mortainius was very upset that he now had to take the city and do all the effort for someone other than who he had sworn his allegiance to. Nonetheless, it was his and his men's lives on the line, and he was coerced into this arrangement. Surely, the Alliance of Conquerers will forgive him? He felt dread that at the end of the day, he was going to get demoted. Truly, this was a grave and terrible day.

Mortainius swallowed his pride, an extraordinarily painful action, and decided to give his troops their next assignment. "Alright minions! Listen up! I, your Magnificent Major, command you to take this city and convert it now for the New Imperium! (Because he still believed it was the Imperium attacking despite lack of insignias. He was not too bright in that respect.) Leave no stone unturned! No house untaken! You are all still my minions, and you will still fight with all the same strength and vigor as before! Hail to the Alli-I mean, do this for me! And because the big scary mech told us to!"

And with that, Mortainius detached himself from his now worthless body and clenched the Rainbow Rod with his teeth. He may not be able to use its magic without a body, but at the very least he could use it to bludgeon someone to death. "CHARGE!" He proclaimed, though muffled. Mortainius then charged into the city, knowing that his loyal minions would be just one step behind him.

Edit: Mentioning @thewizardguy

@thewizardguy @Gentlemanvaultboy

"...What the..." Ozo began, noticing some runes being drawn in the heaven, the armor clad fish monster only noticing them now, after a short rest. He had been worn down by Fluffles, and needed time for the power source of Fluffle's mech to heal him, and for him to clean his hat by eating it, the runes breaking down the muck and grime, but not his hat, which he spat up, and put onto his head. "Now then...onto the next fight. I must save this city, before it is to late..." Ozo says, before charging off. He would normally traverse by the waters, but right now he knew not what was causing these runes, and if they could stop his traveling. As such, he ran. And ran. For a fat fish, he seemed adapt at running.
Soon, Ozo made his way to a few demons fighting a snake man, and zombies. "......Zombies..why did it have to be zombies?" He asks aloud, before aiming his saw-arm at the undead, which he deemed the main threat. "I, Ozo the Great, come here to destroy evil, and save this city! Starting with you, undead scourge!" He yells, before unleashing a volley of saw shots into the horde, the saws aimed at turning the ghouls into slivers. It was clear Ozo was no ally to the undead, or the Snake, but if he was friends with the demons might not of been clear.

@thewizardguy @Nightknight @Gentlemanvaultboy @Flamelord @Wraithblade6 @Absolis @Savato
Martin was roused from a slumber caused from exhaustion. He had lost a lot of energy from the events of the day, and had nodded off at a desk. He had now more energy than ever, as he began to scramble about, plugging himself into more computers, and he was very confused at what he saw. Illogical errors. Data, that made no sense. At least, in some respects. Some data, about the alteration of space, time, if such things were there was not totally unheard of in his home universe, but it was all theorized, by people with greater tech than this...but..how? These readings...how and why? He ran examinations, done by him, and a thousand other AIs, stored versions of the crew, which were kept incase someone needed cloning. IT wasn't perfect, left a lot of holes in ones memories, and the true them were dead, but efficiency was all that mattered on the station. Morals were gone, to a large degree. As such, experimentation had been allowed on corpses, and anything not purely human. As such, mutants, and xenos were seen as merely tools for science...that included Martin....

His mind snapped back to the matter at hand. He worked, quickly, compiling the data. He must know what this meant. He must, or he may risk a singularity opening, or something like that. After all, that's what was theorized in his universe, when related to such readings. As he worked, he opened a microphone channel on his pda, a device he had gotten from the station. He spokes, on a wavelength able to be picked up by any FM/AM radio, or other coms device.

"This is Martin Robinson, Roboticist from Space Station 13, Formerly owned by Nanotech. We may be facing a large scale event on the plant. A possible singularity, is all I could hazard guess at...but....If there is anyone out there, with better equipment than this...I need your help." He says. "Come unarmed....but prepared. We have work to do, and we must do it fast, because this may either be nothing, or the largest event in history..." He adds. He then ran to the station, knowing such a signal would carry risks. Nanotech may hear it, and send a death squad, a group of highly trained soldiers used to purge stations that became corrupted by another faction, disease, alien lifeform, or other. As such, he had to be ready to defend.

He quickly set up some traps, hidden explosives, poisonous food, a pit with a grey slime in it, an adult one, which was the size of an ape, the top covered with leaves and such. He geared himself up with security armor, thick plating of a space age alloy, which could deflect laser fire, from all but the heaviest human wield-able laser weapons, and deflect large arms fire. He quickly cobbled together a large number of smoke grenades, some with some nasty effects, such as acidic smoke, dna shuffling grenades, which would shift the species of whatever it hit to another intelligent race, such as a lizard man. Or a human, if not a human. One grenade, a blue space grenade, would teleport those affected to somewhere else on the planet, and worst case scenario, right back where it'd be worst for him. He was armed with an energy sword, a sorta hand-me-down lightsaber, shoddier cutting power, and ran off of batteries, basically. Once he had done this, he began to do as he does best. Construct robots, new ones that didn't run off of the stations power, but rather powercells that he installed. He, within the span of half an hour, created almost 20 security-bots, robots equipped with a small laser rifle in their right arm, and a stun baton for riot control in their left. The ease of construction came from them being made from a blueprint, and a fabricator which was still running. It took him almost an hour, but he now had a small force to secure the space station, which was his first priority.

Shallow Introductions

---

With the metaphorical nod from his superior, Mandus did his part in what he considered to be a crazed scheme to show the Outliers strength and, of course, finally reveal who exactly was the Envisioning One. He did not agree with this course of action, revealing who exactly could pull all the Outliners strings, as it was, to Mandus's knowledge, an unprecedented move that no previous Envisioning Ones had performed. They always worked in the shadows, puppeteering the direction of many things which now could include the MultiVerse reality. With the end in sight, why reveal their trump card now? It didn't make sense and even though Mandus had counseled as much, it appears they were still going through with it. Thus, Mandus activated the commands to sends their behemoth of a ship to arrive just above the negotiation party. Indeed, it was possibly going to agitate the other parties but Eto was already establishing plenty before Mandus had inputted his first command...

--

Arrival in spectacular fashion. Amidst the chaos of the command ship's arrival, Mandus casually strolled out like it was a walk in the park, pig mask and all. He was not alarmed at the hostile reception he was receiving as that much was understandable. A massive alien craft arrives overhead and your head obviously imagines the worse. Certainly one who interpreted their flashy entrance was the Imperium boy scout who already took to his threats. Mandus proceeded undeterred from the man's intense fiery zealotry and threats, unafraid of what that man was capable of. It wasn't so much that Mandus thought he wasn't a threat, on the contrary, Mandus fully did believe that his body could be torn to shreds by that man's vigor alone! Alas, however, that Mandus wasn't human, not anymore. With all he has been through, he has reached a status that is far beyond mortality and physicality. He was a god in his own right and no amount of physical damage would ruin that.

Mandus continued his stroll to the negoations table as the other factions spoke up to comment, all the while the distant pounding of the encroaching Envisioning One was getting louder and louder. The Alliance so eagerly calling this an act of war and the Goa'uld playing off the act with blind confidence. They were fools. Honestly, the Envisioning One shouldn't bother.

Mandus brought his gaze to Kaldor, first, seeing as he was the most likely to overreact. "Would that be all xeno flith that aren't a decedent from the line of Men from the Imperium, Grand Master Knight?" Mandus spoke clearly and confidently, his voice still loud and commanding even through his mask although it did have an odd filter because of it. His intention obvious and despite the danger of antagonizing the man even more, Mandus did it anyway. "Perhaps you should consider your own role in furthering the escalation at these negotiation tables?". Mandus said, gesturing the Imperium party in general as he continued, "As all those present can clearly witness, the Imperium diplomatic representatives were the first to draw weapons and thus violated a significant responsibility that a diplomatic party should abide by, but this isn't even the worst offense."

Mandus had all the makings of a great orator and if the Outliners were more democratic, perhaps he'd be the Envisioning One. "I would invite all members of the delegation to turn their attention to those present." Mandus gestured to the Goa'uld's first and would make a gesture to each party in attendance whenever he made mention of them. "Despite the Goa'uld's irrelvancy up to this point, they have presented the Supreme Commander Ba'al and Queen Qe'tesh. The Outliners sent one of their higher rating officials to initiate the diplomatic proceedings with the added impact of their leader, the Envisioning One, to personally oversee and weigh in on such negotiations. An act that I should mention is highly taboo for this institution. The Alliance..." The first time Mandus broke was with a slight chuckle at the mention of the Alliance, as he now remembered that joke from earlier. "..The Alliance sent whatever ranking officials they had to delegate."

Finally it was back to the Imperium for the whole point of all this. "While all the parties present had considered this to be a serious representation of their factions," Mandus was careful to avoid mentioning the phrase 'taking this thing serious' as the Outliners did not take these negotiations seriously. That was why Eto was representing and not someone with more tact, like the Ethereal. "The Imperium sent a diplomat and a One-Man Army, who'd slaughter enemies of the Imperium like pigs." If one could see Mandus's face at the moment, they'd see his wicked grin and satisfaction with his own deduction. He could have kept going, trying to illustrate the issue of sending a xenophobic guardian who was famed for slaughtering enemies of the Imperium by the tens of thousands but he hoped the other parties got his implied point. Besides, he dared not to press the point further as the footsteps of his superior were sounding ever closer. "But back to the matter at hand, this is not an act of escalation as you all so eagerly desire but rather, the most compromising act that the Outliners can provide." Mandus was purposefully being a bit vague here and while he did mean the grand reveal of the Envisioning One, he also thought of the relief of duty for Eto as lead diplomat.

@Gentlemanvaultboy
Desperation and determination are a dangerous combination, and as Firebrand charged the snake mage sliced both it's blades towards his neck. Catching the blades left cuts deep into his palm, and most other creatures would have simply lost the top half of their hands. But Firebrand endured, making a desperate last gambit at life. Unfortunately, he had miscalculated, failing to understand the weakness of his attack. While both combatants had lost the use of two arms, the Yuan-Ti possessed an extra pair, which it was quick to employ. The headbutt would have shattered bone and shredded flesh had it struck true, but it was interrupted halfway by a forcefield that enveloped the demon's face. Scaled hands hovered tentatively in front of his eyes, waving in almost hypnotic pattern as the bands of force wove over his skin, locking his head in place. With no way to build up momentum, there was no way to break the cage without releasing the blades, and allowing them to remove that which he sought to free.

The only positive development to come out of this unfortunate endeavour was perhaps also his downfall. The curse that had so drained him slowly began to abate. Cold numbness gave way to prickling agony, as every cell in his body collectively gasped for fresh air. This gasp was cut short, as the demon realized that the mask of energy covering his face not only locked him into position, but also cut off his air supply. Any chance to recover was shattered as his muscles began shivering and shaking, deprived of oxygen and life. His lungs burned and his brain screamed as blackness began to pull at the edge of his vision. With no oxygen to fix the damage done by the curse he might as well still be cursed, and now he was out of option.

Malevolently staring at it's prey, the Yuan-Ti knew it had won. It's thoughts seeped into Firebrand's mind like a green ooze, forcing their way into the cracks of his failing consciousness. Voices spoke of an empire inherited by the children of foul gods, of great temples and living sacrifices, and immense power payed for with sacrifice and servitude. He learned of vile practises and cruel torment, and the voice was like a lullaby, urging him to a sleep he would never awaken from. It was a whispering lie that slithered through his mind, dispelling determination and preparing him for death. He would not be dead for long, he knew. Just a moment, as the moment his heart stopped his soul would be caught, ritually prepared, and reinserted. Unlike the fortunate fools his ally now fought his mind would not be allowed to fade, shackled to his body and made slave to the abomination's will. An eternal torment, a fate of suffering and servitude, an undead warrior to guard this creature for all of eternity, as it amassed even greater powers. And every secret he learned was like a nail in the coffin, a statement of fact, a grim fate that could not be avoided.

Then, for just a moment, the creature's concentration broke. Had it just.... moved?

Slowly, the demon's left foot moved upwards, and came down with a heavy smash. Moments later the right followed, slowly forcing the snake priest back as Firebrand made his way forward. Blocked, suffocating, half dead, his charge had not ended. Clinging to the last kernels of life inside of him he pushed forward, the only direction he could go, the only thing he could do. The creature hissed and screeched, as it was pushed back with every step. It yanked at it's blades, still held by bleeding hands, and the edge struck bone. But no amount of pain nor damage loosened the infernal grip. The abomination gestured, the forcefield pushing back, but no amount of force seemed enough, no amount of magical energy slowed down this final march. The creature raised itself up on it's tail, bringing it's full and significant weight to bear, like a serpentine boulder pressing against him. And still, they moved. Through willpower and determination alone, Firebrand simply refused to die, refused to pass out, and absolute refused to lose.

Pebbles rained down on the ground, as a long green tail slowly clipped the building's edge. Now the snake pressed close to Firebrand, getting as far from the edge as possible, desperately clinging to safety. It was a long drop down. And as they stood there, on the edge of oblivion, finally, Firebrand released the beast's blades. Yanking them free at last, the Yuan-Ti Abomination lost all purchase, and careened over the edge. It screeched all the way down, uttering curses in several ancient languages, before it's tirade was brought to an abrupt halt by a sickening crunch. The forcefield over Firebrand's face dissolved, as he was finally allowed to draw breath.

((In this post, I made some assumptions as to Firebrand's actions. On the whole I attempt to avoid doing this, but I found this to be the best narrative ending to the conflict I could think of. If you take offence to this, my sincerest apologies.))

---

@Supertinyking
Ozo tore through the undead creatures. A figure in oriental clothing slashed a number of blades aside, wielding a Japanese sword decorated with an ornate golden dragon coiling around the hilt. Another pulled back a silvery bow, unleashing a series of glowing silvery arrows which seemed to home on their targets. Yet another dodged and wove around his attacks, blades attached to his ankles coming dangerously close to decapitating the frog creature on a number of occasions. Had they been alive this would perhaps have been more of a challenge, but while they fought with the same styles they had employed in life, much of the subtlety was lost. They felt nothing, and their reflexes were relatively sluggish, although still quite impressive. One by one they were chopped down, often with the assistance of the red demonic figure that flew past, peppering the area with fireballs.

However, after some fighting, the remaining undead suddenly just dropped to the ground, no more alive than they looked. Ozo felt like some kind of influence had left the area, a prickling sensation he only noticed when it was gone. It appeared that whatever had been animating these corpses had stopped doing so, and quite suddenly at that. Ozo would have a moment to look around, and perhaps hail the demon that had assisted him. Or perhaps he would noticed Firebrand, as he stood on the edge of the building. However, any pleasantries he engaged in would soon be cut short.

A shadow fell over the building. Slowly looking around, Ozo was confronted with the massive face of Enki, blocking out the sun. The giant mech hung from the side of the building, glaring down at those present. While he might not have been certain of the demon's allegiance, this was most definitely the leader of the invasion, Viral. And Ozo got the feeling that, sawblades or no, he was not ready to take on an enemy of this magnitude.

---

@NightKnight@Gentlemanvaultboy@Supertinyking

Finding his way through the city, Viral sighed. It appeared most of this city had already fallen, even without his gunboats. The most competent souls had fled, and he had personally eliminated a significant chunk of their defences before the main force even struck. But it seemed that there were still some small pockets of fighting. With a mild kick he dropped a house on a squad of armoured vehicles who had gotten it in their mind to fire on him. A casual sideswipe crushed a winged pest, some kind of raven-man wielding an energy blade. They had been given plenty of chances to surrender, and Viral's mercy had run out. Meanwhile, loyal followers both new and old gathered around him, his army reforming. While the increase hadn't been as vast as he had hoped, his forces had certainly become more significant, and the weapon markets had provided an excellent source of arms for those among his troops who did not yet have powerful weaponry.

Suddenly, Enki's comm systems captured a message. It appeared a powerful broadcast signal had been sent practically all across the planet, on a general frequency. Curious, Viral opened it, listening as some human blabbed about a strategically important location. It sounded too good to be true, and that usually meant it was. Was this a trap? But who would they hope to trap, sending out a signal all over the place? The other factions were certain to respond to such a message, no one target would appear. Was this person just hoping to bunch up as many dangerous folks as they could? Or perhaps there was an actual matter of importance, so important that this person had been forced to discard any and all security precautions.

Grinning, Viral knew what he had to do. This would be the first blow against the human filth that ruled this world, his first great conquest on this world. Even as he stood on the ashes of the city he had set out to level, he planned out his next assault. This matter was of strategic importance, and might grant him the upper hand in the ensuing wars. Others would respond, but they would be slow to do so, and they would send scout forces first. He would go in full force, and merely erase all in his path. While the denizens of this world wielded powers far beyond Viral's comprehension, none could match the raw power of Enki. And with this army at his back, he was certain to capture and hold this point, making off with a strategic asset while other factions squabbled over petty territory.

However, for this endeavour, he would need elite soldiers. And his sensors had located some high-powered action in the area. Moving over, he found the source of the combat on a nearby roof, and quickly climbed up the tall office tower. The top floor was collapsed, but still the action continued. Enki quickly took take of who appeared to be the victors. They were certainly dangerous individuals. He recognized the one they had defeated, the snake that had passed him on the way up. That had been one of the most powerful soldiers in his army, and if these strange fellows had managed to best that monster... well, he wanted them on his side. They would certainly be useful assets. And best yet, they all appeared to be inhuman. He grinned inside his suit.

"Well, it appears I've found the source of my problems. I offer you a choice. Not much of one, really. I'm in a hurry. I'm creating a group of special forces in my army, officers with power above that of the general mook. Any of you who refuse die here, so I'd recommend you join. But, if you choose to die with honour, then I commend you on your bravery." The massive mech raised an arm, and a hatch opened to reveal a row of giant kunai. These would shred anything they hit, and probably cover a fairly large area. Viral was confident in his ability to stomp these guys if they tried to flee or even fight him. "Answer quickly. I have places to be." Meanwhile, his makeshift army would merge with the newly acquired Alliance battalion below. For them it wouldn't be much of a change, fighting and conquering for a slightly different leader. And Mortanius was certain to find plenty of new bodies to choose from, if he was willing to make do with corpses. Viral needed his forces in tip-top shape.

Firebrand breathed in a deep, sweet breath of victory. His hands stung, his lungs ached, his muscles still twitched from the exertion, and the last vestiges of the cold still lingered in his core. He was shaking just from the exertion of standing up. His mind was filled with dark secrets that would probably invade his sleep for weeks.

He was alive. He knew because you never felt quite as alive as just after a really good fight.

He dropped to one knee right there at the edge of the roof, clapping his hands together with a wince of pain and bowing his head in respect. "You were a worthy opponent." He choked out. "In place of your name I will commit all that you told me to memory. Your people will never be forgotten for as long as I live."

"Commander!" He heard the beating of wings, then the pounding of feet against the rubble, then felt hot hands on his arm that pulled urgently. The little guy must have thought he'd fallen down from exhaustion, which wasn't entirely untrue. Shoving the vile snake off the roof hadn't been any conscious plan on his part, and had taken a lot more out of him than he entirely realized. Truth be told he'd gone a little mad from the whispers and the chill and the oxygen deprivation. He'd even pushed the swords off too. Which was a pity, those things were fine booty. With any luck they hadn't broken, or been snatched up by someone else. He'd like to see Arthur try to throw a dragon at him when he had those.

"COMMANDER!" An panicky voice tore him away from his thoughts. Firebrand finally opened his eyes, looked up, and found himself face to face with the largest face he'd ever seen. He listened as the enemy leader made his ultimatum. Part of him, the part that was still hot with battle, wanted to tell Viral to come on if he thought he was hard enough. Another part, one that old, weary, and exhausted, thought that dying bravely was a pretty good deal. There was one last part, however. One with a long memory, that knew what it felt like when the world tilted. Besides, he'd already assumed the position.

"You," he said to the giant face hovering over him like some angry god, "You are the very least of this worlds problems." With that he pulled his arm out of the demons grasp and put a clawed hand on his shoulders, hastily shoving him to his knees. "The demon Firebrand, at your service. My lord."
@thewizardguy@supertinyking

As they were speaking, those on the office tower would feel something change in the air, some magic spell had been cast, yet they wouldn't realize what exactly was happening until guns began fireing below. Looking down, they could see that Viral's army was being attacked yet again. Anything on the ground that hadn't been undead before, was undead now and causing a massive waste of ammo and men.

But that wasn't all that happened. Without realizing where it was coming from, Viral himself would feel an assault on his senses. An unexplained fear rose up inside of him first, causing his heart to pound and his fur to stand on end. The annoying emotional manipulation would make his movements jittery, his impulses strong, and would probably piss him off.

A flash of blackness caught out of the corner of everyone's eyes would reveal the arrival of a new being, a human, presumably, who appeared to be responsible for this fear-attack. His face was clean, innocent, and youthful, despite the wrinkle between his narrowed black brows. He wore black robes with a hood like a sorcerer, but a carved red pentagram and skull at his side revealed he was something else.

Damien glared at Viral with cold, solid white eyes and pointed a contorted hand in his direction. The giant mech suit that surrounded the living beast within could not stop the effects of the spell, and Viral then began to feel sharply increasing, crippling nausea. With the mercenary general weakened and at a loss for control of his own senses, Damien stepped forth and spoke to the others while keeping a hold of Viral in his spell. "Don't be so quick to submit to the likes of this robotic mutt, my demon friend. I watched you defeat that snake-worshipping fool, that paltry excuse for a necromancer. His god was weak, and I found his display quite insulting. I would thank you for the service of killing him." Damien raised his other hand and cast some other spell on top of Viral, the affects of which would not be known yet. "I would not see this braggart in a machine dare to insult you and take advantage of you after your battle. No. By the might of Asmodeus, this is where the tides will be turned." Hopefully, he could inspire Mortanias and Firebrand to resist succumbing to this obscene warlord.

Damien grinned and he felt his magic flow through him. "Come now Viral. How much of a threat can you be while you're still living?"