[IC] HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

[Wraithblade6]

Mithias felt an attack focused on him. Like intense heat, it cooked his cells, tearing his body apart on a microscopic level. His healing was keeping him together for the moment, but he could sense a far greater power gathering within the damaged 'god.' Two voices sounded from his mouth, as two souls spoke at once, and a red glow emanated from his eyes. "I'm sorry that this is your answer." As the burst of power rocketed toward him, full of the daemon's destructive will, Mithias took hold of a semi-real ghost sword in one of this right hands. "Jigen-Tou." The dimension sword was the ultimate weapon. It could cut through anything, hit from afar, and even cleave space. He slashed downward in front of him just as the attack would have hit, causing it to instead be swallowed up by a rent in the fabric of the very dimension they occupied. Heat and wind, power, and disrupted subatomic particles all spewed into the dimensional rift. Then, just as the downward swing of the dimension blade began to return upward, Mithias reversed the blade's edge and cut up, opening another rift parallel to the first. Shiva's attack, his will, his focused blast of reality-destroying energy burst back at him from the second rift. He would be obliterated by his own attack.

[ShadowVentus]

@thewizardguy

The young warrior eyes the figure warily, quickly glancing around to get a feel for the room he's now in. "This must be that "new work" of hers...if it's just a carbon copy of him, then I might stand a chance...only one way to find out." Ventus says to himself as he gets into a stance, preparing himself for if and when the Michael lookalike makes a move.

[thewizardguy]

A new spark, a sudden fire glowed in Shiva's vision. A will of great magnitude, an inheritance of the True Life. And it could feel a wave of malevolent will flooding towards it. For a moment, the great being panicked. Had one of it's brethren been moved here, and chosen to dispute control of this universe? Or was it the accursed Second that struck out at Shiva. It took a moment before the Daemon realized that the Will that now sputtered harmlessly around it was in fact it's own will to create and destroy. Directed through a link in physical space, or rather a removal of the concept of space. A connection between two points, a magic that had never existed, and should never exist. It was not a manipulation of the Root of magic, but rather seemed completely alien to Shiva.

The beast, despite being unharmed, could be seen to recoil, it's form rippling and shifting as the face portrayed atop it's humanoid body became, briefly, one of fear. Then, at high speed, it started moving away through space. Not propelling itself in the normal sense, but seeming to bend space around it into a tunnel, like some kind of reality-bending caterpillar.

[Wraithblade6]

It was afraid. Mithias saw the characteristic expression of fear, followed up by a very effective and desperate attempt to escape. This being was unbelievably powerful, destructive, and unable to be reasoned with. Wherever it was headed, it was undoubtedly going to reshape reality there in ways that shouldn't be done. No justice, no God, no ultimate power governed its actions or its will. The thing had to be stopped, and the only way to do that was to kill it. Mithias-Tsukune was the only one who had the chance right now.

The vampire gasped at the level of power Shiva used to distance itself as it was happening, yet somehow he knew there was a way to catch up to him. Aono's soul was present and aware, and seemed to understand things that Mithias had never realized before. His body quickly turned all black, and he lifted the sword vertically in front of himself, placing the back of his left hand across the back edge of the blade. Using an advanced technique, the body of Mithias became one with the dimension sword. Instantly, they vanished, exiting the dimension itself to close the gap with Shiva.

In the same instant, as if there had been no space at all between them, Mithias slashed at the daemon's body, cutting deep, wounding it to its immortal soul. As the deity cried out in pain and shock, the vampire prepared a final blow. The pure white light of hope burst forth like a star as the orb came out of Mithias' body. The essence of hope, the soul of the universe of Hell's Coffee Lounge, concentrated and given physical form in existence... this, he placed inside the emotion-powered hammer of Teo, and slammed Shiva with it.

[supertinyking]

A battle raged in hell, Space, and many other fronts.

Many died....

Many more were enduring pain and missery beyond anything they'd face before....

A mother, burnt to a crisp....

A son, battling a monster far worse than he.....

A daughter, dragging her mother away from the battle....

This had to be stopped.

As Drac managed to wrestle open a portal, and he collapsed within his home, he crawled to what would be possibly his final resting place.... Lifting himself up into the chair, he put on the headset to this multiversal comms station. He had this created after the Stine incident.....

"If you can hear me, now, listen. A threat to all existence is at hand...and we need help. To all that can hear this, good, or evil...we need help. We must band together, or we all shall perish in a void of oblivion....Call upon your strength. Prepare your armies...If we fail, all die....This...is war." Drac speaks into his microphone, and then collapses, his eyes drifting shut....sleep, was calling.

A thousand men heard this call, and a many ignored it, figuring it to be nothing more than just a farce...

But some listened to the call.

As the battle in hell was waged, a portal opened, and a figured stepped out, in between the demon child Ozzy, and the monster Five. As their blows clashed, both their strikes were caught with wooden hands.

"Five, you and Mia sought to destroy me, and release the rotten evil in my soul. You have failed, and now, you're plan will be stopped!" Leeroy calls, but he also looks to Ozzy. "And you're days of stealing souls is over, as well demon."

The bounty hunter clashed blades with the samurai, the dragon blade wielding fellow could see the smile of insanity on his foe's face, as he laughed. "This is fun! You'd better switch up the condiments, cause this weak sauce isn't cutting it..... I KILLED A FUCKING DRAGON!" He lets out, giddy with joy.

Before cosmos, a large portal opened, as a figure stepped out of it before him. A knight, who was a constant shade of brown, or a tan. The clayman, who's body seemed to disrupt magic with every touch. "So, you're friends were the ones who put Kilroy down? You'll regret that, he was a good friend." The monster says, before creating his blade, and charging at Cosmos.

The armies of hell and the forsaken opened retreat ways, and each fell back. Their presence, was no longer needed. The big guns had moved in, and now, they could fall back.

[supertinyking]

@Akihisa Yoshii
As she was bathed in flame, something strange happened. Minx's skin turned a dark red, as the flames seemed to be consumed by her, feeding her. Soon, she grew tired of Clarent's attempts at harming her, and she ran a large amount of force lighting though him, harming even the immortal sword. A searing pain, unleashed within his form by her hand.

"Either cease, or I will break you." Minx growls, as she heads to the hanger, and gets into one of her ships..and flies off, Clarent sat in a small case beside the pilot seat.

[Akihisa Yoshii]

@supertinyking

The sword did not respond to the lightning flowing through him, except for a spark at the blade's tip. The sword was curious. That lightning was generated by something he could not see... and as he acknowledged it, he noticed it was all around him... what the hell was it? He found himself contemplating it, studying it... And, upon further confirmation that it did indeed exist... he manipulated it. Just a tad. A small movement of the energy here and there, testing it... Playing with it...

[thewizardguy]

It was Balance.

It was Rage.

It was Anguish.

Shiva was all these things, the unending representation of one of the primal forces of reality. It was not merely a greater being, it was above the very nature of this creature's existence. It was an avatar, a force beyond control, beyond defeat. It was Shiva, the force that held the very universe together, the Queen of Strings, the Hand of Justice. To compare it to a being of mere flesh and soul, one who had seperated it's existence so pahtetically, was nothing less than an insult.

So what was this agony that flowed through it?

The space shook, as Shiva turned in rage, a streak of purple cutting through it's chest, revealing not blood, but merely a burst of energy. It's will, it's anger, and it's power. All were one, as it's many hands shot towards this tiny bug. Space seemed to bend, as Mithias felt reality itself folding over him, as an immense wave of Will rushed towards him. The conceptual reality rearranging itself, his name being removed from existence. He could see his past flashing before his eyes, and not in that nice metaphorical way. As he realized he was being absolutely and completely erased.

Glowing with the brightest white, the Crash Hammer struck forward. Hope shines brightest in the moment of despair. A supernova on a stick, an orb of condensed emotional energy. Not just a power. Not just a weapon.

A Will.

The two clashed in the middle, the command of the Lord of Reality, and the determination of the universe. The will to survive, the hope of those who are about to face annihilation. In that moment, the universe stood together. Man and woman, and beings without gender. Creatures with an existence that could not be defined within a physical reality, beings of great power and great weakness. All those who knew, for just an instant, that they stood united against a single threat.

And for just a moment, time stood still. Waves of colliding force, shattering apart in vast patterns of overlapping areas in space, as both Wills vied for control over existence. An image of beautiful destruction, a portrait of rapture drawn in the lives and toils of men, and the infinite cruelty of a limitless being.

Then, everything was still. Breathing heavily, Mithias floated through the void, Crash Hammer gripped firmly in his hand, the spark of hope vanished, nearly absolutely erased. His body was torn to shreds, already putting itself back together. As was his mind attempting to grasp the events that had just unfolded, placing them in chronological order.

The Daemon.... was no more.

[Wraithblade6]

Mithias awoke, floating in the void that surrounded him. The pain of another death ebbed from him as the incredible healing force compelled his own body together from ashes, atoms, and aerosolized spatter. Somehow, he was still holding Teo's hammer, although it lacked the reality-shattering spark that had transformed it into a weapon of will. The orb of hope was gone. Mithias looked down at the hammer, and the sword still summoned to his other hand and he recalled. He had probably been physically obliterated for better half of the Daemon's death and aftermath. "We can't die, can we Tsukune?" He asked his soulmate. Mithias looked around at the quiet blackness not expecting an answer.

There was a time long ago when he thought he had been dead. He remembered nothing of where he had come from before that. He had simply manifested in Hell's coffee lounge, mug in hand, screaming spirits drank down his throat. Bob laughed. Mithias laughed. Maybe it was still out there somewhere. Faint sparkles of other worlds and stars twinkled in the distance. Yes, the universe was still there. It had been there long before him too, and Mithias hoped he would never see the end of it. First, right now, he would try to find his friends. What he wouldn't give to get back to that crazy hang out of theirs. There would be so many new stories, new faces. Life would go on.

"Drac? ... Teo? Kishin?" Was there a Kishin? Mithias' head was a little fuzzy. It didn't matter however. It didn't look like anyone was around. A big explosion had just happened, after all.

[supertinyking]

@Akihisa Yoshii

The blade found attempting to will the energy into submission, or at least the energy he sensed around, proved difficult.
"What ever you're trying, stop, before I kick you out the airlock into the nearest sun." Minx growls, as they arrive on a planet, one Ventus, Micheal, and Creed had ventured to not to long ago, during the Dark Crisis. Minx grabbed the blade, and began to walk out, and Clarent could see a familiar plain.....

".....Kerrigan......" Minx whispered, and in the energy around them, a soul floated...one, with the darkness. Not eroded by it, but melded. In death, Kerrigan was one with the force...a small part of it. So small...so fragile. Nearby, a large ruined pillar jutted out of the ground, a scar on this otherwise pleasant world...and around it, darkness spiraled, and flowed.....

Clarent could remember this place...Maybe. And maybe, he'd remember slicing though Kerrigan's flesh.

[Akihisa Yoshii]

@supertinyking

Clarent remained silent, not speaking to anyone, and yet the weight in her hands disappeared, as if it were never there. The sword was light in her hands, yet surged with power. Clarent decided to forget the strange surrounding and focused on the soul in front of them. Kerrigan? Didn't ring a bell, but he felt it should...

[thewizardguy]

- Moved -

[Tyki]

After being punted through a good few layers of steel, Rudan was feeling a bit fed up with this new universe he found himself in especially after said portal to universe had been opened in his bathroom and then closed while he was dislodging himself from the steel. After seeing the portal home close and his meal escape, the now homeless necromancer decided to do some sight seeing in this multiverse and enjoy the various local cuisines and curios. Rather than stick around in the hell hole he found himself in, Rudan teleported to a completely random universe in a Hawaiian shirt and khaki's with some sun glasses into what looked to be the middle of a small village in the middle of the sengoku jidai period, and as would be expected of people in an era where brother can one day slay brother, a mob soon forms to greet the strange creature that had just sort of appeared in the middle of their village.

"are you the people in charge of greeting tourists?" rudan asks evenly, gazing at the people before him, armed with pitchforks and hoes, one man speaking up from the mob "kill the demon!" before they charge. after a few hours of fighting, rudan finds himself enjoying the local cuisine sooner than expected as he sits on a pile of corpses, slowly munching his way through men, women and children which sadly lacked any mystical might of worth and only slightly above average physical strength from the lot of them which resulted in the meal being quite unfilling. the ravenous beast finishes eating the last hand of a woman that had tried to attack him with a hammer only for a group of three travelers to come wandering into town to see the rather grizzly sight of blood and flames covering the building with a man in the middle of the street with a shark-like grin and munching on a human arm like it was a pokii (not sure how they're spelled) stick.

"i see we're too late..." the monk of the group says with a sigh "the town has already been destroyed". The woman of the group, armed with a bow, gasps and covers her mouth in shock as what appears to be a wolf demon charges at rudan with a massive sword.

"die demon!" the wolf demon shouts as he swings his blade only for rudan to catch his wrist, kick his ankle, and send him sailing over himself, the hungering beast's mouth already growing to size as he eats the head of the half-demon in one go, killing him instantly before rapidly devouring the rest including the sword. The half demon was deceptively strong in both physical might and mystical might but lacked the ability to use the full strength of either, however, rudan did not as he rushes the remaining monk, taking his head off with one bitch slap, eating the rest of his corpse while the woman cowers in fear and shock. While the half demon had been strong, the monk was less so, however he did contain a uniquity in how he applied his strength and rudan was apt to do something similar. Shark-like maws begin to form rapidly in the palms of Rudan's hands before he smiles at the girl which tries to run away only for her leg to be caught and severed in the same move.

After eating the final party member of the interesting trio, rudan found himself sated for the time being, each one having had quite ample amounts of mystical and physical might in their own respects however for two of which, most of their total might had been left untouched leaving all the more for the hungering beast to devour. However, over time the total magic began to wane and he was left with merely 1/10 of their total might added onto his own which, while not much in the grande scheme of things, was welcome as Rudan had a certain, powerful prey in mind for which he would need all the strength he could get.

[supertinyking]

@Akihisa Yoshii

There soon was a disturbance in the darkness around them...something was pulling, ripping into the darkness..... The faint soul is now alone, and is before them, almost infantile, in it's current state.

"......Grrrrrrrrrrr....................AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Minx lets out, a growl before a shriek, as in a flash of lighting, darkness, molding of earth into flesh, and power into life, Minx unleashes a torrent of power, resurrecting the death sith...but, something was off. Clarent could see it. Kerrigan's soul had been purged of darkness, in exchange for new life. Laying before her, the new Kerrigan shook, coughed, and wheezed. Minx grinned, as she opened a portal, and cast the reborn sith into it, sending her off to her new station...a place where she would receive orders from Minx. Minx already had her first target selected for her new assassin.....

@kishin asura

The Under dog, where ever he may be, would find himself feeling watched....an eerie feeling to be sure. Kerrigan was watching him, though a scope of a rifle. One which she was ready to fire, aiming to sever her foe's arm at the shoulder. It was scrawny, weak looking...but it was a arm. One she very much wanted.
"Hehehe...." She chuckled to herself, as she squeezed the trigger, letting the first shoot seek its target.

[kishin asura]

@supertinyking

"SHIT!" the underdog fell to the ground. Clutching his bleeding stump of an arm. He looked up as his date ran out only to fall flat on her face. But that's what she got for running in high heels.

"Come out and face me like a....whatever you are!" He yelled out. He was not going to die today. He walked toward kerrigan as everyone else warped out

[supertinyking]

@kishin asura

Kerrigan grins, as she chambers the next round into her rifle.
"Ohhh, this is to easy~" She says, the only one able to hear is the wind, as she is perched in the second story window of the building across from the restaurant. She had scouted this place out after she learned of the underdog's date. She was even smart enough to plant explosives at the front door, in case he managed to get to the building.
The next shot was aimed to take off his other arm, at the shoulder again. She wanted both of his arms, to replace two of the ones she lost in death. She missed her extra arms...such a hassle, having only two. Thinking of this made her shutter, making the next shot only scratch the underdog's arm, leaving him a moment to rush ahead as she chambered her next round.

[kishin asura]

@supertinyking

The underdog winced as the shot grazed his arm. He moved his hand away and focused. A blade of pure psychic energy appeared in his hand as he moved toward kerrigan's location. Judging by the direction of the latest shot.

[thewizardguy]

Five stepped back, knowing that he could not defeat Ozzy at this stage. He had been hoping to merely stall the Demon Child, but it seemed he was no longer necessary. This hadn't happened last time - something must have affected the timeline. But it didn't matter, Cosmos already knew the outcome of this little story. Soon, Minx would appear, and everything would change. This entire battle would be little more than a stepping stone, a playground for building up a sufficient charge of Dark Side energy. Already, he could feel it swirling around, the deaths and hatreds forming together into an almost palpable force. "Well then, I have no need to fight you. We can settle this dispute at a later time. You two gentlemen, however, seem to have a score to settle?"

5 had taken the form of Kevin, and was grinning wildly as he subtly amplified Ozzy's anger. Not with the goal of a Soular Strike as before, but simply to antagonize him. At the same time, he amplified Leeroy's calm, ensuring that he would not rush into battle. He didn't need more enemies to fight, when he could watch them fight one another.

The samurai known as Bahamut was expressionless behind his golden mask, but exhileration was blatant in his voice as he shouted with each repeated katana strike. Overcome with the rush of battle, flames bathed his sword and his arms, great dragon wings extending from his back, bahamut was a flurry of raging strikes and parries, always keen to press the attack against this formidable opponent.

Cosmos looked up as the mysterious figure appeared from the portal. Carelessly, he simply flung a bolt of flame at what appeared to be a particularly linguistically capable mud golem, only to watch the flames part around the figure's raised hand. The mere fire failing was to be expected, but it had been enchanted to maintain the stickyness of glue - to any other foe, the flames would have formed a constant source of damage throughout the fight. But the mere touch of this creature's skin seemed to break apart the carefully layered yet fragile enchantments Cosmos had placed upon the flames. It was clear this wasn't an ordinary golem. There were a number of creatures that were capable of breaking down complex arcane structures, but they exhibited this capability naturally. To see such a trait in a golem was most unusual, and he would need to study the-

A large brown fist swung towards Cosmos, and smashed his face in, sending him crashing to the floor. Why had his shield spells failed? Oh, right. Antimagic.

Furthermore, a cold spot could be felt moving along his face. A feeling that he all too well recognized as the death of tissue. Not only were his defenses pierced, the spells maintaining this body for his use were being shattered. If this mud golem was able to get a solid grip, he would be ripped from this body. And even with so many corpses around, with his magic so weakened, it would be nearly impossible to revive himself once more. To face death after all these years, hopping from one body to the next, was a terrifying prospect. It was his fear of death that had first caused him to develop this magic. And it was the same fear now that caused him to propel himself backwards rapidly, instinctively almost, no plan in mind beside the possibility of permanent death.

As Eruka and Lisa fled the battlefield, they found themselves suddenly confronted with the floating carriage of the bound girl, Voidwalker, who had struck her mother down in the first place. A single bright purple eye looks on, silently, as Lisa almost reflectively fires a burst of flame - which, of course, never hit it's target. But then came a strange moment of silence, as the floating figure made no offensive move. A kind of static flickered around her, weakening the barrier between dimensions, but no attackw as performed. And yet, making portals while in this girl's presence was a bad idea, Lisa knew that much. If she were to attempt to teleport away, she was sure to end up in some inhospitable location, or simply right back here. It was a standoff, as both parties simply looked at one another, waiting for the other one to take action, either offensive or defensive.

The two figures observed the fight, cloaked in shadows. One turned to the other, his voice inhumanly deep. "I believe this is my cue. Wish me luck, honey".

"Don't worry, I'll catch it all on tape."

"Hmm, I'll see it all when we get back"

"What, do you have that little faith in the boss?"

"Perhaps. we'll see."

The figure with the deep voice teleported away, seeming to simply step into the darkness and vanish. Meanwhile, the other spread it's wings, staring out into the battlefield, a tiny little camcorder in hand, the lens flare oddly piercing the unnatural shadows. Softly, it whistled under it's breath as it filmed the ordeals going on.

[thewizardguy]

He was wounded. Most of the burns had been healed when he had, briefly, gained access to his full power. But still the pain remained, and he was still far from optimal shape.

Clutching a particularly nasty cut on his side, Genocide grimacingly pushed his way through the swamplands. The Seal was close, he could feel it. If events had unfolded as they had before, then it would be unguarded. If he could open up this Seal without the more powerful forces in the Multiverse taking notice, he would be able to plunge this universe into annihilation. A Daemon would be his first target for transport, of course, but eventually more creatures could be moved through. An army of Daemon drawn from an alternate universe, beings of immense power and yet utterly incapable of transporting themselves through the universal barriers. They would be slaves to his whim without ever realizing it, and he tore apart the very basis of-

Suddenly, Genocide stopped in his tracks. The cold tip of a steel blade was softly pressed to his throat. While he had been internally monologueing, he had failed to observe the canine being that had now managed to catch him unawares. This was Strygwyr. But that made no sense. Strygwyr was supposed to have already died.

Slowly, Genocide raised an arm.

"I surrender?"

[Akihisa Yoshii]

@supertinyking

For lack of better wording, Clarent was indifferent. Master did have some tricks up her sleeve, he'll give her that, and a fair amount of power. He paused, questioning himself.

Master?

He could not deny, the woman did in fact have the ability to wield him, but he felt she wasn't the kind of person that should have hold of him... His opinion, however, was eliminated in its entirety the second it popped into his mind. He wasn't allowed to have opinions. He had Master now. He needed no more. No less. No questioning. Only obedience. As time went on, the sword released more and more of his power. Very soon, Minx would have access to his entire pool of energy.