Location: THe Under - Pizza Tower Level: 3 Experience: 86/30 (Level up available) Word Count: <750 (+1 EXP)
After ending his fight with the Eyebrute, Rubick looked around to see if anyone needed help. However, he realized that everyone else had already finished their fights or was on the verge of doing so. Even Pizza Head had been bombarded with enough attacks to go down. "What is this!?" Rubick cried out indignantly. "How are they all defeated already? I came here to be tested!" He harrumphed, frustrated to be done so quickly, but there was nothing to do now. He eventually sighed and turned to look at his spoils of war: the Spirit of the Eyebrute. He gingerly lifted it up with his palm, wondering what he should do with it. Fusion was out of the question; he had no desire to launch his own eyeballs as projectiles, after all. A Striker might be interesting, but it'd be little more than a meatshield, and while it would be nice, he wanted more out of a Striker than that. That left only one option. Rubick squeezed his hand into a fist, compressing the Eyebrute's Spirit into an item.
You have obtained: Living Rock A thought shatters the stillness. Unwanted Breath aches in my newly formed chest. Can be crushed to increase MP regen by 25% for 30 seconds
He turned the item around in his hand, curious about the item. It was a shame it was a consumable item, as he would've preferred something more permanent. Still, it had a decent effect, so he would save it for an emergency. Storing it away in his robes, he would move on to rejoin the Seekers, next to Jesse. Everyone was currently busy looking for a way down into the mist-filled ruins. "I wonder what secrets they hold..." Rubick wondered out loud to the Seekers nearby. He hoped it would be something magical in nature. Meanwhile, the Koopa Troops were having fun trying out various gadgets. Rubick watched them for a time, also wondering alongside Jesse if any of them work. "Hmm, it seems some of them may have potential- oh. Except for that one."
Location: Pizza Tower Level: 3 Experience: 72/30 (Level up available) Word Count: <750 (+1 EXP)
The fighting eventually died down as everyone brought down enemy after enemy. Even Pizza Face was taken down thanks to everyone's efforts. However, it seemed that it was merely Phase 1 of the battle, as Pizza Face's... face opened up to reveal a pizza man inside. Rubick barely had time to be surprised before everything around them changed, and Pizza Head pulled out new enemies from the ground. Everyone took up battle positions once again, with Rubick taking on the Eyebrute.
It wasn't Rubick's first time taking on a monstrosity of a creature, but he could never get over his repulsion for them. Still, at least it made the feeling of blasting away at them with his spells all the better. Speaking of which, Rubick began by blasting the Eyebrute with his Fade Bolt, causing the creature to stare at him with a malicious glare. It then launched its eyes at Rubick, one after the other. Rubick merely dodged one of its eyes and caught the other with his Telekinesis, then launched it back at the Eyebrute, knocking it back. It then got enraged and charged at Rubick on all fours. Rubick used his Blink Dagger to teleport behind the Eyebrute, who proceeded to continue charging for a few more seconds before stopping as if it were confused it had not crashed into Rubick yet. It then retched up a new pair of eyes and turned around to spot Rubick once again, and it fired its second pair of eyes at Rubick. Rubick performed the same motions as last time, launching an eye back at Eyebrute, and dodging out of the way of the Eyebrute's charge with his Weaver's Warp.
At first, Rubick found it mildly entertaining, pretending like he was matadoring a bull. By the fourth repetition, however, he found it to be tedious. The Eyebrute wasn't much more than a mindless brute with a very simple attack pattern. He fired off a few other spells and abilities, but if the Eyebrute felt any of them, it didn't show any reactions Rubick could discern. Eventually, Rubick decided he had enough. When the Eyebrute ceased its charge, Rubick Blinked on top of the Eyebrute and proceeded to swing his staff into its lower jaw, unleashing Ganondorf's Dark Explosion and sending the monster toppling to the ground. Rubick sighed, feeling remarkably unsatisfied. Even the two brothers back at the arena were more challenging than this.
Location: Home of Tears - Crumble Cavern Level: 3 Experience: 71/30 (Level up available) Word Count: <750 (+1 EXP)
Rubick listened to everyone's stories about how they came to be in this world, and their time spent within it. Rubick could not help but marvel at how Galeem had taken over so many different worlds and merged them into this amalgamation. While this was happening, Rubick took the time to enjoy a slice of pizza; he had never had any before. It was delightfully cheesy, with a hint of spice and the tangy taste of the tomato sauce. In short, it was delicious. After finishing the piece in his hand, Rubick helped himself to a second slice. He just couldn't resist, it was just that good. Perhaps this Pizza Tower wasn't so bad if it meant he could enjoy such a wonderful meal.
Sectonia's antillions came over to Rubick in their attempts to make him "beautiful", but Rubick only allowed them to clean off his robes. Other than the dirt they had accumulated, Rubick was already satisfied with his appearance. The antillions did their job, then scurried off.
After they entered the door marked "Staff only", they came face-to-face... with Pizza Face. It also summoned a whole bunch of goons, forcing everyone to combat them and Pizza Face at the same time. He got to work doing what he did best; creating chaos. He jumped from place to place using his Blink Dagger and his Weaver's Warp, helping out where he could. Rubick used Telekinesis to stun groups of random mobs and Fade Bolting others. He also made use of his teammates' abilities, like summoning his own versions of minions using Kamek's spells, using Bowser's Fireball Master to blast some denser groups of enemies, and taking Ganondorf's Swords of Darkness to power up his own basic attacks. He then took Primrose's ability for Dark Magic to continue the assault, blasting Pizza Face with his own version of her Moonlight Waltz.
This was Rubick's element; being in a chaotic battlefield and slinging spells. And he was loving it.
Location: Home of Tears - Crumble Cavern Level: 3 Experience: 67/30 (Level up available) Word Count: <750 (+1 EXP)
Rubick watched as everyone got set up for the night. Or more specifically, watched Sectonia's minions set up tents that were larger on the inside and comfortable-looking bedrolls. Rubick marveled at the features of this camping set, poking his head into each tent. Looking back outside, he noticed that a few others had arrived, presumably after chasing off the rest of their pursuers. One of them, Nadia, was already asleep on the ground. As the others seemed to be minding their own business, Rubick tilted his head quizzically. Was it really that comfortable to sleep on the ground, even if it was made of cheese, as opposed to being inside a tent? He then shrugged and lifted her up with Telekinesis, taking her back into a tent anyway. He set her down gently onto a bedroll before making his way into a different tent, claiming it for himself. He made sure to straighten his robes, then got himself comfortable. He barely had a chance to think about how much more comfortable it was than it looked before falling asleep.
Location: Home of Tears -> Crumble Cavern Level: 3 Experience: 66/30 (Level up available) Word Count: <750 (+1 EXP)
"Well that was... informative," Rubck said as he, Nadia, Artorias, and Jesse emerged from the depths of their most recent adventure. It was somewhat of a pity to not obtain the Flapwoods' Spirit. He would've liked to be able to fly around as freely as it could. Now that the excitement was over, he was also feeling somewhat tired. He had items that restored health, but fatigue was a different story. He would've liked to go back to the hotel and get something delicious to eat, but it seemed fate would play a cruel trick on him today as the glowing red sign appeared. That could only mean one thing: a Consul! Sharing a look with Nadia and nodding, they rushed over to Fountain Central, Rubick's fatigue momentarily forgotten. He still wasn't over missing out on Consul P's appearance; he wasn't going to miss this one if he could help it.
After that relatively short journey, they came face to face with Consul F, who proceeded to unleash a crowd of mind-controlled townsfolk onto them. Rubick chuckled as he readied himself for combat. He knew it was likely that a Consul would pull some shenanigans, and he was glad he was right. The area quickly fell into chaos as projectiles saturated the air and melee combatants flung themselves at the Seekers. Rubick kept his Loch Shield up, which helped mitigate a great deal of the attacks that came his way, particularly the magical ones. As delighted as he was to be thrown into battle like this, though, there was a little too damage heading his way. So he covered himself in glowing white webs, using his Weaver's Warp to teleport himself into the air. There were some who noticed Rubick and proceeded to fire away at him. Rubick eyes darted everywhere, observing everyone who was around. Rubick would use his Power Steal on Gram as the blue-skinned brother leaped into the fray, using the same ability to maneuver himself out of harm's way. He then he used his Telekinesis on one of Sophie's potions, redirecting it into another projectile heading his way and cancelling them out.
By some miracle he hadn't taken a bit of damage in the next few seconds, and he used his Blink Dagger to teleport himself out of danger once more. He was creating a considerable amount of distance, and it wasn't long before he made his way to the giant whale Rika had made. Rubick did his best to help peel off one by one some of the stowaways clinging onto the whale with his Telekinesis, and he hoped the others could do better.
The Seekers did eventually make it to what was apparently the safest location for them now: Crumble Cavern. It seemed like their pursuers weren't going to give up that easily, though. Rubick wondered what was in store for them in this place that was apparently made out of cheese.
Well the knight hadn't been that far off in his observations, while these creatures weren't those that disguised themselves as a chest they had been hiding within them. "Save thy words for when thou arte in nary a sliver of danger." Artorias cut off the feral tersely as he stood to his full height.
As the sound of their cries echoed in the dark, it filled the knight with anticipation. Now these were truly worthy opponents to test his mettle upon, he too responded to their frenzied call with a bloodthirsty roar of his own. Nadia gingerly stepped up alongside him to face off with the earthbound pair of beasts, her claws at the ready.
Though tempered now with a fiercer calmness, his instincts were much sharper now that he was freed. He became like a graceful dancer as he pirouetted slashing broadly at the shiny wolf and the twin-tailed feline, his strike intended to push the two back if they were smart enough to evade his swift and terrible onslaught, and cleave them in twain if they had no sense of self-preservation. They both nimbly leaped backward beyond the reach of his blade, growling and hissing respectively.
Either way he followed through swinging downward as he shifted on his feet to strike the wolf while the momentum of his swing carried him forward. Southpaw clenched his bright blue teeth and reacted quickly. Rather than try and block the massive, metal-rending slash, he dipped to the side with the speed and poise of an expert boxer. His fists shot out, a quick one-two aimed for the knight’s torso to soften him up. The legendary armor of Artorias might shrug off slashes, but Southpaw aimed to puncture it, with the force of his fists behind his nail-like claws to drive them in.
Fists met the knight's plate mail with a solid thunk, while the force of the swift one-two was somewhat dulled it still made Artorias grit his teeth and wince in pain "Ah the wolf then bares its fangs-RAH!" the knight matched the wolf's punch with an equally forceful strike of his own when Southpaw got in close, aiming to strike the boxer square in the throat and follow through with a step forward to slam him away with an elbow. While Southpaw guarded the vital parts of its head with the tenacity one should expect of any skilled fistfighter, the sheer force of the knight’s close-quarters attack forced Southpaw out. Even after blocking, the canine found himself pushed back into the range Artorias wanted in order to use his sword. Narrowing his eyes, Southpaw planted his feet and entered into a low stance, flame sparked to life around his fist as he waited for his next chance to strike.
While he wasn't as swift on his feet or precise as Southpaw, Artorias instead was surprisingly tenacious. So he carried himself forward sword in one hand while his feet pirouetted to bring the blade around in a wide slash making certain that a forward assault would be folly if the wolf leapt at the opportunity to strike. Southpaw wasn’t about to hurl himself straight into a deadly cleave, but the reach of Finstertoter forced him to adjust his plans. He ducked backward, narrowly avoiding the huge blade as the flame around his fist died out. The advantage still belonged to Artorias, but Southpaw had a plan. Ceding more ground, he used Sharpen to boost his melee attack, and watched out for the next massive swing.
The knight thought for only but a second between bringing his blade around in a mighty swing forward shifted upon his feet almost as if he were preparing to close distance once more. Artorias' eyes narrowed beneath his helmet, then he wound his sword arm back, knees poised to leap forward. But that was far from what he did, his feint though simple was executed in brutal fashion swinging his blade forward but then leaping backwards in a flip landing on one knee and resting his blade on his shoulder. Southpaw fell for the feint, sacrificing a fifth of its life to use Metal Wall. A pillar of solid iron rose from the stone in front of it, as tall as Southpaw himself. The wolf glared at Artorias, an annoyed look on his face. Then he used Throw anyway, ripping the wall from the ground and hurling it at Artorias, a huge, heavy-weight projectile. Southpaw charged in behind it, its fists blazing with flame as he prepared to strike.
Artorias pivoted only a split second before the projectile came within a hair's width of him, a bead of sweat trickling down the knights forehead he tried to shift his weight to meet Southpaw only to be struck with a solid punch knocking the Abysswalker off his feet so to speak, flames licked his body as the blow struck but anger flared in the knight as well his wince of pain turning into a snarl bringing the brunt of his fury into slamming the pommel of his sword against the wolf's ribs in a forward motion that he followed through with another push this time with enough strength to throw Southpaw backwards. The beast was sent tumbling, but his parting gift remained–a Burn that would flare up after the knight’s next three techniques.
Cat-5, meanwhile, blitzed off the mark with Zoomies. Her sheer swiftness took Nadia by surprise, and the feral barely blocked the flurry of Beast-type blows in time. Her feline foe’s claws crackled with lightning as she moved to keep up the pressure with Double Smack, but it would take a lot more than this to earn Nadia’s respect this early into the match. She dashed backward with jets of blood, avoiding the electric scratches, then closed back in with El Gato. “Comin’ at nya!” With flashing claws Nadia sliced once, twice, then went low with Cat Slide and burst up with a backflip kick straight to Cat-5’s flat screen. It didn’t end there, though; her new tails raked across her foe’s face as they followed her loop, and once in the air Nadia spiked her own head downward like volleyball. “Heads up!”
However, the beast’s reflexes were quicker than she expected. Cat-5 managed to bat the head away, then dig in her heels as Nadia descended to the ground. She launched herself in an energized pounce, zooming forward in a lightning-fast blur. Her Charge passed straight through Nadia, and when the beast slid to a stop behind her the feral’s guard burst open in a giant discharge of electricity. ““Ohm-my goodness!” she groaned as the voltage coursed through her, reacting with her inherent Hydro. “That kinda hertz!” With her head detached and in front of her she couldn’t see Cat-5 clearly, so while still zapped she forced her body into a wild windmill kick to try and keep the beast at bay. The monster ducked beneath the haymaker and rose with a paw wreathed in flame to slug her right in the stomach with a Superheated Fist. When the fire mixed with her Hydro, the ensuing Vaporize reaction sent her body flying in an explosive outburst of steam.
“Urgh!” she cried, her head wincing as the rest of her tumbled overhead. Still, she managed to right herself and slide to a stop on her feet. Teeth gritted, she opened her eyes in a squint. “Hmph. Now’s it purr-sonal. So if it’s a cat fight you want…” Her body burst forward on all fours, running past the fight between Artorias and Southpaw. As it passed by Nadia’s head she scooped it up, then hurled it high into the air. Cat-5’s ‘s screen rose to track its flight, not noticing Nadia’s body as she pulled out and took aim with her Bait Launcher. “Then it’s a cat fight you’ll get!” A tiger poofed into existence beside Cat-5 and hammered it with a mighty clawed swat. She hurtled toward Nadia’s body, who met her head-on with Flying Screen Door. Cat-5 staggered backward right into Nadia’s head as it fell, which immediately set about biting the beast all over. “Omnomnomnomnomnom!” That kept Cat-5 in place long enough for Nadia’s body to get up, charge in, deal a handful of blows, and finish off with a piercing corkscrew with her detached head. “You know the DRILL!” Clutching her torso, Cat-5 fell, but when Nadia rushed in for a meaty hit her opponent rose with Zoomies, resulting in a trade of blows. Sparks flew as Cat-5 surged forward with another Charge, but this time her claws connected with a Rapturous Cultist–Nadia’s Striker. Though she still felt the pain, her striker did not share her elemental weakness, and when Cat-5 slid to a stop she found herself ensnared in the seven tongues of Nadia’s other Striker, Idea. “I don’t always go for grabs,” the feral grinned. “But I couldn’t resistor!” The pulsating albino monstrosity lifted the beast into the air upside-down and held her still while Nadia batted her like a cat toy, but when the captive blasted Idea with an Energy Shot it turned and hurled her away before disappearing.
Naturally, Cat-5 landed on her feet, sliding to a stop. As she stood up straight she curled her paw and wiped a smudge off her screen, which honestly struck Nadia as pretty cool. She was breathing a little heavier than expected, but this was nothing she couldn’t handle. “Well? Watts the hold-up, kitty? Feelin’ the purr-essure?” Cat-5 said nothing, but strode up to stand alongside Southpaw as the panting wolf rose from the ground as well, licking his chops. Lightning arced around her paw as she lightly punched her counterpart’s shoulder, infusing Southpaw with Static contact damage. At the same time, the wolf used Jagged Edge. Now, whether someone hit or missed him with melee attacks, they’d take unavoidable damage. Southpaw grinned, exposing his sharp blue teeth, and clanged his fists together. Nadia found herself returning the smile as she drew her boxcutter, wielding her blade alongside Artorias. “Two on two, huh? Nyeow we’re talkin’!”
Though his armor was pitted with holes, burnt in several places and his bones ached as if they were screaming in pain; Artorias stood his ground by the feral offering few words other than a curt and concise "Then let us not mince words, and fight!" and so he did, lunging forward through seething pain as flames wreathed him burning his armor as he came to with a swift and mighty cleave.
Nadia rolled her eyes. “Don’t ya realize I’m a chatty catty?” When Artorias charged in, she jumped up onto the aqueduct’s rim and followed. Cat-5 got moving the minute the knight bore down on her, but Southpaw held his ground with narrowed eyes to dodge at the last moment. Just by evading the giant slash he gouged Artorias with Jagged Edge, and the free hit gave him the split second he needed to hop up and deliver a mean left hook to the knight’s helmet. Worse still, when Southpaw made contact his Static added an extra aftershock.
Figuring Artorias could use a hand, Nadia prepared to jump down, but first she laid eyes on Cat-5. Her adversary had climbed up onto the opposite rim of the aqueduct, meaning both cats were waiting for the other to make the first move. Well then. Nadia crouched down and pounced in Southpaw’s direction. Immediately Cat-5 saw her opportunity and lunged–just as Nadia had been hoping. Gotcha! The two felines clashed explosively in the air above the aqueduct, driven together by lightning arcs and bloody streams. Her boxcutter’s plastic grip insulated Nadia from the electricity, allowing her to push back with all the strength she could muster. After a brief moment they burst apart, sliding past one another to land on opposite sides again, and Cat-5 whipped around and fired off a rippling, laser-like Energy Shot. Nadia bent backward far enough to plant her free hand between her feet, peering cheekily at her foe in an impromptu handstand. “Hey now, don’t beam-ean!” When her foe raised her other paw to unleash a second blast, Nadia extended that arm to pop herself into the air with a backflip. At the apex of her jump she blasted out blood from her legs to dive straight at Cat-5 with her blade extended. Her foe leaped toward her, and they slammed together in another big, noisy clash.
Beneath them, a battle of attrition ensued. Artorias gritted his teeth and stumbled back towards the wall, momentarily stunned by the electric shock of Southpaw's punch. Blood trickling from his nose and down to his chin the knight hadn't all but blinked to raise a hand to wipe the crimson from his face that he keeled over from another strike to the abdomen.
As he doubled over something just snapped, up until then he had been fighting a battle to simply wear his opponent down bit by bit methodically until the moment was right..Now he could only think about ripping the wolf limb from limb, cutting the cur to pieces. Artorias suddenly came at the wolf, dropping all semblance of poise in favor of swift and merciless swings.
Even if the flames bit his body the knight now enraged only bit his tongue to keep from wincing in pain. Even as Southpaw dodged the knight’s strikes, countering he found himself pushed back as Artorias stopped at nothing to carry on his assault as the full force of the Abysswalker's fury was focused on Southpaw and Southpaw alone. Quickly the boxer found himself overwhelmed, constantly pushed back and forced on the defensive. Even if taking a hit shocked Artorias in the process, Southpaw suffered far more from the knight’s unrelenting hacks. To make matters worse, Static and Jagged Edge were about to expire. When Southpaw dodged past a huge slash and attempted to use Dog Years to extend the timer, a deft spin slash from Artorias dealt the wolf his worst blow yet. Yelping, Southpaw skidded backwards, falling to one knee. His foe was coming–he needed to act. In a last ditch effort he threw caution to the wind and lunged forward, catching Artorias in the startup of an attack and grappling him in a close-quarters clinch. At this range the knight couldn’t fight back, but the wolf struggled against his armor.
Their contest came to a head as Nadia and Cat-5 clashed together in the air above them one final time, their tremendous impact turning into a frenzy of slashes, scratches, and shocks, three pointed tails against two plug-tipped ones, until the feral managed to pin Cat-5’s limbs with the almost tentacle-like tendons of her airgrab and send both careening into the brawl beneath them. All four combatants disappeared in an eruption of blood, lightning, and steel.
Meanwhile, Rubick was engaging with Flapwoods. Rubick began with a Water Gun at Flapwoods, who shifted sideways to avoid it and counterattacked with Multi-Shot. Rubick would then Power Steal Jesse again, this time taking her Shield. He raised a wall of debris in front of him, which absorbed the attack and left Rubick unharmed. “Truly fascinating,” Rubick thought out loud. The abilities of other worlds piqued his curiosity like no other, but unfortunately there was no time for that right now, as Flapwoods would press the assault with a Shooting Star. The Shield still held, but it was mostly dust and pebbles at this point.
Dropping the Shield, Rubick would return fire with Launch, grabbing a trio of rocks and firing them one by one. Flapwoods would zip around and dodge the first two, but get clipped by the third and momentarily lose control while in the air. Rubick would follow it up with a Fade Bolt, striking Flapwoods dead on. It was a solid blow, but Flapwoods recovered quickly. Rubick attempted to fire more rocks, but Flapwoods seemed to have learned from its mistake and moved more erratically in its attempts to dodge. At the same time, it would fire more Multi-Shots, circling around Rubick to get more angles to fire down on. Rubick already brought up another Shield, but he was struggling to keep up with Flapwood’s speed and was being peppered.
“At this rate, you’ll be a proper parautilitarian in no time.” Jesse said, impressed by Rubick’s ability to yoink her power. As far as she was concerned, the two of them were a good match for that reason alone. Jesse was well aware of how versatile her power set was, so having it in the hands of another person seemed very useful.
Producing her Service Weapon, Jesse began strafing to the sides and firing off her weapon at the floating alien stereo angel robot known as Decibelle. It was an elusive target, reminding Jesse of some of the more slippery members of the Hiss. She ripped a chunk of debris out of the bridge and Launched it at the Decibelle. It dodged and fired a big ring of sonic energy at Jesse’s feet. She jumped over it and began to Levitate off the ground, switching to Spin. Then she filled the air with bullets that the Decibelle would find a little harder to avoid, and the two began trading high speed, low damage projectiles.
“You flatter me,” Rubick chuckled, always willing to accept a compliment. Then his Shield crumbled away as the Flapwoods shot away the last of its health. Rubick would then use his Weaver’s Warp, disappearing in a flash of white webs and reappearing right above Flapwoods, and proceeded to use his Telekinesis to push it to the ground. Perplexed momentarily by the unseen force, the beast backpedaled in time to put itself above the pitch-black abyss rather than the aqueduct basin, allowing it to recover once its opponent lost line of sight.
While on the rise, it used Suit Up to boost its ranged and melee defenses, then sacrificed a fifth of its health to conjure an Astral Wall. When Flapwoods reappeared, it looked to Rubick as if a scar in reality had opened up in front of his enemy that bled the cosmos itself, aswirl with purple nebulae and speckled with glittering stars. This wall could absorb any three hits, except from Metal, Poison, or Plastic elements, which would shatter it instantly. Conversely, Air, Water, Earth, Fire, or Astral would all supercharge Flapwoods instead. Protected, the beast floated toward Rubick to deliver an Astral Beatdown. By this time, Decibelle had saved up enough energy to treat Jesse to something special. She breathed in deep and unleashed an angelic cry, whipping up a huge Hurricane that ripped toward the basin, eating up Spin Bullets on the way. The huge violent storm threatened to hit everyone in its path, including Flapwoods (supercharging it with Air in the process), and it boasted one other nasty quirk: the ability to destroy defensive walls in a single hit.
“Uhhh…” Jesse said, watching her spin bullets get scattered to the wind as she fired them. When she created a psychic wall in front of her, only to see it completely come apart, she said: “Uhhh…!” And cracked painfully against the structure beneath her, managing to Levitate mid air to not get thrown any further into the void. That blew them apart, and Jesse looked to where Rubick was being attacked. She aimed and began firing some well-aimed Grip shots at the Flapwoods, only for the Decibelle to Provoke and intercede, zipping in the way at high speed and deflecting her bullets.
Easier said than done though, and an annoyed Jesse began taking well-aimed shots at the Decibelle instead, pacing out her pistol shots. While Decibelle was fast, Jesse’s Evasion made pinning her down hard as well. Jesse floated over to the platform and touched down to give all her Powers a bit of time to recharge, sprinting away to avoid Decibelle’s sonic attacks that cracked the concrete behind her. All the way she began charging up a Pierce shot. Jesse turned and aimed at Flapwoods, ironically provoking another Provoke from Decibelle who moved to force Jesse to attack her first. But this only worked in Jesse’s favor, as she knew exactly where Decibelle was going to be, and where Flapwoods would be too. The Pierce shot fired its bolt through them both, Jesse’s service weapon kicking up. That would strike Flapwoods and Decibelle, sending whatever their version of blood was spattering into the void.
Confident, Jesse switched to Shatter and dashed forward, looking to blast Decibelle away with Shatter. That was when Nadia did her big airgrab explosion move, and Jesse decided that she probably shouldn’t run face first into it.
In the aftermath of the spectacular blast in the bed of the aqueduct, the four melee fighters were thrown apart. It blew Nadia and Artorias back toward the basin, where they quickly regained their feet. Though short of breath from her face-off with Cat-5, and sparking with residual electricity, the feral knew she could go another couple of rounds, no problem. “Whew! It’ll take more than that to give me paws!” While contact with same lightning left the armor of Artorias Conductive, meaning he’d take an extra zap anytime more electric attacks were used, the formidable knight wouldn’t be so easily felled either. The same couldn’t be said for the beasts. After being hurled 9down the aqueduct by the explosion, Southpaw and Cat-5 struggled to rise, wounded and tired from their fights. Nadia snickered. “Now you’re startin’ to realize,” she said, planting one fist in her other palm. “Bad doggies and kitties get the pound!”
When the beasts finally got up, the pair seemed to exchange a poignant glance, then nodded. Both suddenly dissolved into static, taking Nadia by surprise, and as she watched the two buzzing masses joined together. It reformed a moment later, and in its place stood a single, larger monster combining the types, moves, and stats of both its constituents: Catpaw. At the same time, Flapwoods and Decibelle recovered from Jesse’s collateral Pierce shot. A sudden gale whipped through the cavern as the two aerial aces merged to become Deciwoods, looming in the air above Rubick and Jesse with eyes ablaze.
As their combined cry struck her, Nadia took an instinctive half-step back, but she did not lose her smile. “That’s your ace in the hole, huh? Thought it’d be taller…guess you’ve got a short fuse!” Laughing, she drew her second boxcutter and took a fighting stance with both blades at the ready. Standing this close to Artorias, she could really get a sense of their astonishing height difference. She grinned up at him. “Well, all pets are off now! You ready, Sir? Let’s make it rain cats and dogs!”
Wiping both the blood and a line of glowing essence from the Estus dribbling down his chin, Artorias heaved heavy ragged breaths. "Let's." the knight replied through gritted teeth taking up arms next to the feral, the Abysswalker held his immense blade at the ready poised to strike.
“So…we’re not done yet.” Jesse asked with a good-natured frown, watching the monsters fuse together. “That’s a good trick…”
Catpaw and Deciwoods went on the offense immediately, their combined speed giving them the initiative. With its spiked metal mitts upheld by its screen and clenched tight, the former swerved from side to side in a zigzag as it quickly closed the distance. Without hesitation Nadia unleashed her tensed muscles and sprang forward; she did not pause her gameplan to think about Artorias or how she might be blocking him. The cat burglar kicked things off by hurling one of her boxcutter’s blades at her fused foe’s face. Catpaw jerked its guard into position and deflected the razor skyward, then lunged at Nadia with a quick one-two. She dropped down low ready to strike, but at the last second instinctively rolled backward instead. Catpaw’s fist slammed into the ground a split second later in a burst of lightning. “Round of ap-paws!” With her ears embedded the feral whirled around with Wheel of Fortune, then launched upward with an explosive Fiber Upper. “Pay a-tendon!” As if it barely felt the hits, Catpaw recovered and aimed an Energy Shot at Nadia’s head. She snapped up to her extended legs and came down on the fusion’s other side with a double crescent sword slash, only for Catpaw to come around with a superheated spinning hook. Nadia popped off her head in time to just avoid the knockout blow, which then forcefully lodged in the aqueduct wall beside her, just as she’d hoped. She did not, however, expect it to retract its claws and nail her with a revolving backfist punch on counterhit, sending her head spinning like a top. When she grabbed hold to stop her dizzy head spinning, she saw Catpaw’s fist grinding along the ground in a shower of sparks before blazing upward with a terrific uppercut.
“Yikes!” She separated at the midsection and let her upper half fall backward as the uppercut careened past her. From the opening she blasted out a load of blood that coalesced into a Copycat, which launched into Catpaw in a multi-hit corkscrew dive. The whole exchange lasted only a couple seconds, but it ended with Nadia shocked, on the floor, and in need of assistance. And thus assistance came, the knight who had been poised to lunge had been forced to veer with the feral both getting in the range of his swings and making him need to stumble back as Southpaw counterattacked. Fortunately he had enough time to recover from the residual shock of electricity that had coursed through his pitted and beaten plate mail while the fusion splattered Nadia’s Copycat.
Breathing a ragged sigh, Artorias in his sorry state was too willful to let such superficial wounds to fell him, leaping towards Catpaw only seconds before it could turn as the knight roared, slashing the beast across the back. He did not wait for it to turn to follow through with a slash at its arm, slowly building up momentum in his swings. The fusion took a couple hits, but it couldn’t afford to take any more; while its constituents’ health had combined, not one bit had been restored. As Artorias continued to swing it pivoted, putting up a vertical guard by its head with its other hand clenched around its forearm for support. A massive clang rang out as Finstertoter struck Catpaw’s defense, but the fusion did not break, even as the strength of Artorias behind his blade pushed it along the ground. After a moment the fusion brought its knee up, striking the flat of the greatsword from beneath. The blow threw the weapon upward and Catpaw couched its other hand, wreathed in flame, for a massive gut punch.
Instead Nadia grabbed it from behind, extruding a massive amount of muscle fiber to bind Catpaw up in a giant ’yarn’ ball. The fusion’s struggles from within scorched her with electricity, but Nadia persisted, juggling the ball on her back for a moment before tossing the enemy out, soaked in Hydro-infused blood. Unbeknownst to her, the treatment made Catpaw Conducted, giving it free Multitarget. However, it also Corroded Southpaw’s metal, weakening its defenses. Most important of all, it laid the monster right at the knight’s feet.
Artorias' arms still shook from the blow to his weapon, shoulder dislocated. He could only double over and gasp for breath as the wind left his lungs as he received the hit to his lower half. Vision blurred he blinked several times, holding his shoulder tightly until with a snap he popped the joint back into place with a painful grunt, now wasn't the moment to stand idle.
It laid at his feet, struggling against its bindings that only increased as the knight drew closer resting on Finstertöter as he stood over the monster breathing heavily, armor blackened from fire and broken in some places.
With a pained grunt, he raised his greatsword in both hands and swung it downwards like an executioner's guillotine. No guttural cries, no long winded speech to give, no hesitation as he brought his blade down upon the monster's neck.
Faced with imminent death, Catpaw snarled, and activated Zoomies. The monster lunged out of the way on all fours, also dodging a followup slash from Nadia in the process. Instead of sinking into their foe’s flesh the Seekers’ blades clanged together, and with a loud snap the feral another blade. “Dammit!” She whirled around, but without time for any other option was forced to block the Zoomies punch. To her surprise, the attack -being Beast type- had no other effect, so rather than take another ounce of block pressure Nadia whipped out her dagger Athame and let it fly.
Her Vantage counter knocked Catpaw back, worsening its defenses even further, but that wasn’t all Nadia had planned. It also slid to a stop in a pool of her own leftover blood, and with a simple command, her Copycat erupted from it to wrap her arms around Catpaw in a headlock. “It wasn’t in vein!” The feral instantly got blasted by an Energy Shot for her pun, but as she tumbled away she was laughing nevertheless; she wasn’t the one who’d be finishing things. “Now say good-knight!”
Sparks flew from Finstertöter, like the monster's claws had when they dragged across the rough stonework. His blade screeched as he launched himself at Catpaw wildly slashing it with a wicked upward cleave, sending the monster flying backwards down the bed of the aqueduct the force of the attack. The follow through left him slamming Finstertöter with a thunderous clang against the floor, next to him laid the feral and though he hesitated still driven by the will to fight he lifted Nadia to her feet locking eyes like both Cat-5 and Southpaw had. They'd end this together.
“Lemme at ‘em!” Nimbly Nadia climbed up on the knight’s sword, pointing downrange like a homerun star before a grand slam, and once he understood what the cat-eared lunatic wanted, he swung with all his might to send the feral flying. As she hurtled toward Southpaw, she kept her limbs clasped on Finstertoter, allowing her fibers to stretch to their greatest extent. Only after a moment did she snap her muscles tight like four giant rubber bands, slinging the greatsword through the air. It shot past her, with Artorias running behind it, and as she fell to the ground she didn’t watch it lodge in the fusion’s body.
The knight's joints burned, deft as his movements were following through the attack. Artorias launched himself forward into the air and grabbed Finstertöter by the hilt, pulling the weapon clean from the fusion and slamming it into the stone floor with such force where the monster stood that the ground cracked.
Even as his foe lay dissolved into ash he grunted, slamming the blade against the stone floor with a thunderous boom as metal struck stone he raised his sword again…
“H-hey, careful not to crush the spirits. We can use those…” Breathing heavily, Nadia got to her feet, an uneasy look on her face as she watched Artorias go nuts. “Feel like trash…” she groaned, thoroughly electrocuted but healing slowly. Still, they’d finished their foe off with style, and both of the beasts’ spirits lay on the aqueduct’s bed. One down, Nadia thought, turning to see what had become of the other fusion. One to go.
Unfortunately, things weren’t going as hot. Deciwoods had spent its initiative on Broadcast, giving itself Multitarget. Then it filled the gloom with the horrible discordant racket of Metal Riffs, assailing both Jesse and Rubick with a wall of gouging force as if the air itself were viciously saw-toothed. When it began to fire off Multi-shots, barrages of air bullets hurtled toward both opponents at once. While the fight against Catpaw had gone in the Seekers’ favor, Deciwoods had been dealing some serious damage, especially to Rubick. Rubick activated his Magic Wand, which granted him a sliver of health and mana, but it was still a far cry from his peak condition.
“You know,” Jesse said, Evading past the air bullets using Levitation. She landed on the narrow structure and sprinted back as the projectiles cut into the stone.
“It just hit me. Why are we doing this again?” She asked.
Rubick looked at Jesse quizzically. “Whatever do you mean? When it comes to solving puzzles, there’s nothing quite like complications,” he replied.
Nadia furrowed her brow. Normally she’d be happy to help, but after this battle on top of the deep-seated debilitation dealt by the fight with Consul P, she just didn’t have much gas left in the tank. The team needed a way out. She looked around, her eyes quickly settling on the battlefield itself. As she scoped out the aqueduct and basin the group had been fighting in, a fresh idea popped into her head, a certified Ms Fortune classic. “Brace yourself, ‘cause I’ve had a river-lation,” she announced to Artorias. Rather than run toward the battle, she dashed the other way, scooping up her boxcutter hilts and detached blades from where they’d fallen, as well as the beasts’ spirits. After a few seconds she reached the first basin, where she hauled herself up onto the platform by the pooled water and grabbed hold of the lever. “We’ll be leavin’...currently!”
She yanked the lever, and the gate slid down. Instantly the water flooded down the aqueduct, quickly sweeping Artorias up in its flow. Nadia jumped in herself, and when the wall of water bore down Rubick and Jesse, the feral was right there with them. “Watch me ‘sluice’ right in!” The wave swallowed them up and bore them onward from the second basin, where Nadia had already lowered the gate prior to the fight. The whole team streamed away from Deciwoods, quickly outpacing its parting shots, and after another few moments passed through the station’s loop to be dumped down right next to the waterwheel.
Nadia bobbed to the surface of the canal. “Whoo! How’s that for ex-stream?” Laughing weakly, she threw herself onto the canal’s edge before the flow could take her away again, and climbed up out of the water. Overhead, the turn of the waterwheel activated the hidden mechanisms, and the barred door opened up like a massive zipper. Magikrab stood nearby, watching in silence, and Nadia gave him a halfhearted wave as she lay by the channel, chest heaving. Meanwhile as Artorias dragged himself onto the edge of the canal the knight shook his head "Verily thou arte quite the character." the knight told her, following up with a metallic thump as he laid out on the ground with a grunt, hand still tightly grasping his somewhat battered and cracked sword.
His armor was in a sorry state from their battle, pieces of it were missing or burnt black from fire, his helmet was dented in a few places. Artorias made a mental note to visit the skeletal blacksmith again on their way back if time allowed.
Jesse pulled herself out of the water. “Shit.” She tilted her head to the side and smacked the other side of her head. “Got water in my ear. Damn it.”
Rubick appeared in the air, Blink Dagger in hand, and landed on the ground with a splat! He rolled onto his side and coughed violently, clearing his lungs of water. “Not my finest moment,” he croaked as he slowly got back up onto his feet.
After a moment Nadia got to her feet, wiping her wet hair from her face. “I guess we got away,” she muttered with a wary look at the pipe above the water wheel. That other fusion must have been too big to fit in. Making a conscious effort to avoid Jesse’s gaze out of guilt for unleashing the beasts in the first place, she withdrew the spirits of Southpaw and Cat-5 from her pouch. “Here,” she said to Artorias as she offered him the wolf’s spirit. “Seems like a good fit, and ya earned it. Crushin’ it’ll give ya some kind of loot, but if ya stick it in your heart or head you can get its powers or skills. Just don’t be surprised if ya come out of it with dog ears, nyeheh.” The feral then focused her attention on the feline spirit, thinking. Just yesterday she remembered fretting about slowly losing her cat-ness thanks to her other fusions. This seemed…well, purr-fect. Then again, she didn’t want any extra fur, and she did worry a little about that bizarre device Cat-5 had in place of a head.
He stared at the faintly glowing spirit in his hands for a moment, he knew that souls had the potential to make one stronger yet he never knew one could absorb the sum of one's being into oneself. His grip tightening around the spirit yet relaxed as he hesitated, what of the wolf's strengths? Such a worthy opponent had proven to be more than a match for him so his hand resolved to thrust the glowing orb into his helmet, he would take the sum of its strengths and make them his own.
Spirit absorbed: Southpaw The host is a bit shorter, now roughly 7 feet. His armor is smoother and light gray in color, and his helmet covers less of his face, more resembling boxing headgear. His eyes glow blue and his teeth are blue as well. His gauntlets are larger and heavier, suitable for punching, and he has both red-furred wolf ears and a tail. This spirit confers the Strength Boxer, making the host an adept fistfighter with a solid grasp of both offense and defense at very close range. This spirit also confers the Weakness Metal Reaction. If hit by a fire-type attack the host will be Burned, taking a little damage after his next three moves, and if hit by an electric-type attack the host will be Conducted, taking a little damage whenever another electric attack is used in his vicinity for a little while
Seeing Artorias take the plunge, Nadia made her decision. “Oh, what the hell.”
Spirit absorbed: Cat-5 The host is a little sturdier-built, with black claws. Her hair has flipped colors, becoming black on the outside and white on the inside, as well as gotten fluffier, and her ears are a bit longer. Her tails are also fluffy. The mark on her forehead has become a large white minus sign, and her eyes are both white with sclera that are flatscreen-blue. Her legs below the knee have become digitigrade, black-furred cat legs complete with paws and blue spurs. Her jacket lost its hood and gained a yellow fur lining plus collar. This spirit confers the Power Lightning Stickers, granting the host access to the lightning-type moves Smack (normal hit), Charge (lightning dash attack), and Battery (flurry attack that crits if used after Charge). This spirit also confers the Weakness Lightning Reaction. If hit by Earth, Plant, Glass, or Plastic-type attacks, the host will be Grounded, reducing her accuracy for a little while
When the light died down, Nadia quickly felt her face. Nose, cheeks, ears, everything in order. No weird screen, thank goodness! Disappointment flooded through her, however, when she found that her hair had changed colors. “Black!?” she groaned. Just my luck. The loss of the white hair dye she purchased in Argentum really hurt right about now. That realization paled in comparison, however, to her surprise when she noticed her legs. “Holy mackerel!” she gasped, falling flat on her rear. In stunned surprise she held up her new paws and wiggled her toes. After a couple seconds she let out an uneasy laugh. “T-that’s new.” Slowly she got up, trying to get used to a new way of standing. “Well, not sure if it’s a paw-sitive, but I guess I’ll be dealin’ with it ‘til we see Peach again.”
Her eyes turned to the yawning darkness of the newly-opened tunnel on the other side of the rushing river. “Might as well see what we spent all that effort tryin’ to open, right?”
Jesse looked at the all new versions of Nadia and Artorias. She wasn’t sure if Fusion was for her. She didn’t want to distill her powers, or specialize too heavily in something. She was very happy with her alchemist Striker.
“It never gets old no matter how many times I see it,” Rubick said, still curious about how Fusion worked. Taking another’s power by incorporating their being into yourself sounded like a simple concept, but being able to do so with so few downsides even without outside interference was an incredible ability. Unfortunately, as far as Rubick could tell, it seems to only work within this hodgepodge of a multiverse, as Rubick was sure he had never encountered Spirits back in his own world. He sighed, realizing the futility of this research topic.
“Yep.” Jesse said. “That quick thinking with the lever meant we got to skip the fight. I mean, I guess we already could have skipped the fight if we just decided not to open the chests, but… well, y’know, whatever, who cares, it’s all good.” Jesse said, trying not to make Nadia feel any worse in case for some reason she did. After a grateful look at Jesse, Nadia jumped over the gap and padded into the tunnel.
The light here was poor, but not prohibitive, especially for a cat. Within the tunnel lay a pair of creaky, rusty turnstyles, and beyond them a single train platform. No enemies could be seen, but the instant Nadia stepped into this final room, a chill ran down her spin. She arched her back, flattened her ears, and balked with wide eyes. Something was off about this place. It was shifting, subtly glitching, and a low droning sound like radio static echoed throughout it, even through the newcomers’ heads. The air here tasted acrid. Coppery. Like burned metal. It made the feral’s skin crawl. On either side of the solitary train track, the pitch blackness in the tunnels seemed to squirm. When she opened her mouth, she dared not speak above a whisper.
“This is bad. This feels…wrong. I gotta say…even if it’s anticlimactic, I’m fine just, y’know, leavin’. Like, right now, fast-as-we-can-type leavin’.” She shifted nervously side to side.
“Feel free.” Jesse said, looking around the place with great interest. Creepy. Off. There might be something more to this place. Like peeling back a poster.
Jesse walked to the turnstiles that sit in the center of the room, and the train tracks. “This place reminds me of an AWE. Not that you would know what that is, but…well, it’s pretty much my job to investigate places that give people the creeps.”
Jesse was going to try and activate these turnstiles somehow, maybe with a push, once the others had made their decision to stay or go. As much as she wanted to leave, the sight of Jesse forging onward made her hesitate. Though the almost eldritch atmosphere of this place injected dread deep into her very bones, her curiosity nagged at her. Just what was going to happen when the FBC director pushed past those decrepit machines…? She had to know.
Slowly, carefully, Jesse drew closer to the tracks. After a few moments, there came a familiar rumble, quickly building in strength. From the black abyss of the tunnels issued an old-fashioned locomotive, green in color, and it came to a stop at the platform with a screech that made Nadia’s hairs stand on end. The doors of its passenger car slammed open, and from within stepped its lone passenger.
Its arrival sent a fresh wave of anathema rippling through reality. Visual aberrations broke out on every available surface; the air twisted and writhed with a damnably insectoid quality. Slowly, the outsider stood to its full height, a staggering twenty feet. Milk-white skin…ivory crown…a yellow, leering grin. The archangel turned to face the heroes, fixing them with its eyeless gaze. Its abominable giggle squirmed wetly in their minds, and the sight of it hurt their heads.
”I KNEW I FELT IT”
Its voice was poison, a whisper, but tyrannically loud.
”AN EMPTINESS. A HOLE WHERE A HEART SHOULD BE”
Rubick was no stranger to seeing abnormal entities, but it never got any easier to deal with them. Every inch of his skin crawled in its presence, but he forced himself to look at it anyway. He guessed that doing the alternative would be worse. “Who… or perhaps, what… are you?” Rubick struggled to ask.
“Uh, hi there.” Jesse greeted. “I’m Jesse. Is this your…train station?”
”YOUR KIND COULD LIVE SUCH RICH LIVES. BUT YOU TRADE IT FOR HOLLOW SYMBOLS AND ARTIFICE. YOU EXCHANGE SOMETHING MEANINGFUL FOR NOTHING. MY CASTLE IS FILLED WITH THE EMPTINESS YOU LEAVE BEHIND”
From the ground, the walls, the air, striped tentacles began to emerge. Still stranger shapes began to appear, moving and bopping as if in a dance. Tentacles began to overgrow the exit. Gritting her teeth, Nadia sharpened her new claws and slashed at them, forcing them to recede. With everyone’s level of damage and fatigue, they couldn’t fight something like this. “We gotta go-!” she cried.
”I AM THE KING OF NOTHING” From beneath its crimson shawl the Nowhere Monarch stretched out its hands. Two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two. They reached out, grasping, accepting. ”COME, LET ME CONSUME YOUR EMPTINESS”
Rubick had no argument. “Agreed, let us depart,” he said urgently, Fade Bolting a cluster of tentacles that was getting a little too close.
Jesse took a wide stance, gripping her Service Weapon in both hands. She cast a look over her shoulder though as Nadia began to retreat. All right, fair enough. It doesn’t seem like the King is hurting anyone down here anyway.
She glanced back at the King. “No, actually, we’re good.” She said, then evaded over to the entrance where she used Spin to carve a chunk out of the tentacles with Nadia using machine gun fire. They recoiled at the bullets’ touch, and together the three of them raced back down the tunnel they came from. Once reunited with Artorias, Nadia, Jesse, and Rubick made a mad dash out of King’s Station, hounded by the hideous laughter of the Nowhere Monarch. The archangel, and any pertinent knowledge possessed by the Magikrab, would have to wait until later.
Location: Home of Tears Level: 3 Experience: 51/30 (Level up available) Word Count: <750 (+1 EXP) @Archmage MC
"Modify time, you say?" Rubcik nodded, impressed. "That explains my sudden afflictions yesterday. I wish I could've seen it for myself..." Rubcik had truly missed a prime opportunity to study something interesting. He fantasized about the various applications of such an ability for a time, then Sectonia brought up the topic of his recent purchases.
"Huh? Ahh, yes!" Rubick exclaimed as he remembered. He reached into his robe and proceeded to pull out the components of the Scepter: the Staff of Wizardry, the Ogre Axe, the Blade of Alacrity, and the Point Booster. "Now if I just..." Rubick muttered as he rearranged the first three items so they all intersected each other in the middle, then proceeded to hammer the Point Booster into the intersection three times. On the third strike, the items suddenly merged into each other, instantly forming a long wooden staff with a large blue glowing gem as its head. "Behold, the Aghanim's Scepter!" Rubick announced, holding up his newly crafted Scepter.
However, when he turned to look back at Sectonia, he saw that she had already gone to have a meeting with the Koopa Troop and a couple others. Rubick joined them at their table, wondering what was so interesting, and listened in. It was mostly a recap and some musings about the events with Asgore and the giant clock, but other than that, there was little else of note. Once the meeting concluded, Rubick once again presented his Scepter to Sectonia, "Once again, here is the Aghamin's Scepter!" The blue gem glowed brightly, as if brimming with power. "Go ahead and examine it for yourself."
Location: Home of Tears Level: 3 Experience: 50/30 (Level up available) Word Count: <750 (+1 EXP) @Dark Cloud@Archmage MC
Rubick walked on, not a care in the world, as he window shopped in the Home of Tears. There were various shops displaying various products, from clothing to food to household objects. Sometimes there was a magic-related store that really caught his interest, and he took the time to stare through the window to marvel at their wares for a few seconds, then nodding in appreciation and moving on once again. He couldn't help but feel that he was forgetting something, though. Normally he didn't have a problem with that. After all, he forgot things all the time. But this time, it was different. He pondered for a moment, then turned around to see Artorias. Then he remembered. He was supposed to be returning to the Seekers!
And so Rubick increased his pace, making his way back to the hotel. Along the way, he noticed his body becoming increasingly... itchy. And his attempts to scratch were only met with pain as he realized he had suddenly gotten bug bites on him. He had no idea how that could've happened, but that was certainly going to be an annoyance. Not too long after, he was also hit with a wave of lethargy, as if he hadn't slept last night, and a mild case of nausea, like he had eaten something that made his stomach revolt. He leaned heavily on his staff as he walked, eager to return to the hotel to recover from whatever had suddenly afflicted him.
Once he arrived, Rubick said to Artorias, "Here we are. The Seekers are out today, but they should be back by tomorrow. And hopefully none of them will die." Rubick turned to the front desk and booked a room for Artorias, then proceeded to leave him to his own devices, confident that he could find his way around. Rubick headed back to his own room to rest and recover.
Rubick made his way down to the lobby and spotted a familiar bug queen. "Ahh, Queen Sectonia! How gracious to make your presence known to me again!" Rubick greeted Sectonia. "And I can't believe you all left me behind! I wanted to test my abilities against that Consul, and now I'll have to wait for the next one to show up!" Needless to say, he was upset. It had been one of the few things he was looking forward to when he learned of the Consuls' existence, after all.
Up from the bowels of the earth, he came, step by step and mile by mile. Away from the molded vale of carcasses, where the darkness itself had teeth. Away from the caverns of flesh that gurgled and groaned, and disgorged unspeakable things. Away from the pitch-black Abyss that threatened to swallow him whole. Up through the tiered, dripping caverns of Riverdeep, where the faint signs of civilization -cobblestone roads- wound between stacked natural formations like layer cakes of radiant reflecting pools and sheer waterfalls. Finally, weary and worn down by hours if not days of continuous travel and fighting, he reached the manmade cisterns of the Royal Waterways.
After passing through a rank sewer, where rats and far more despicable vermin skittered and chittered in the gloom, he stumbled upon a bonfire in a corner of a great dingy corridor. There he settled down, watching the vivid Riverdeep water stream through a series of big, thick pipes. How much longer, he could only wonder, before he reached the light of day? Still, even if the surface lay a long way off, he was glad to be far away from the horrors of the Under's depths. At the same time, however, he got the sinking suspicion that his troubles were far from over.
Heaving ragged breaths the knight failed to notice the eyes watching him from the darkness that gleamed a sickly yellowish glow, too many questions plagued his somewhat broken mind. Scarred by the horrors both in his fragmented memories and the pulsating and nigh living Abyss below. A muffled grunt escaped the cowl of his helmet, as the knight massaged his left arm, setting the bone with a sickening pop why couldn't he remember how his arm had broken or how severe it had been? How could he even remember it was broken? It didn't seem so, it simply popped out of joint at times? But how many times was it?
A shrill squealing drove him to his feet, armor clattering as he stood in the breadth of a heartbeat a disturbed animalistic grunt escaping his pale lips from the helmet that hid his face. In the passage ahead he swore he saw the tail of an oversized rat, yet it disappeared fast behind a corner.
The darkness farther down the passage was too thick to make out anything, the knight's eyes furtively darted breathing heavily as his maddened red eyes searched for whatever was lurking, whatever made him feel as though he were being watched. Eyes shone in the darkness and disappeared, they reminded him of something…No, he shook his head the darkness was closing in, or was it his memories?
It mattered not, for the eyes got closer and closer causing the knight to let loose a guttural howl that bounced off the walls of the dingy waterway. Like the vermin they were, several furry humanoids crept towards the light resembling rats closing in on a corpse to pick at or a dying animal yet they made a mistake for the knight that towered above them like a giant was no dying beast.
Rubick sighed. He had been left behind by the other Seekers. Perhaps it was his fault for rushing off to buy his Aghanim’s Scepter right after they had just gathered together again, but still. Regardless, he was sure there would be an opportunity to regroup with them, but for now, he was stuck wandering the lands while the others were undoubtedly doing something exciting. Probably off fighting the big bad Consul. He had been very much looking forward to seeing what one was capable of, as well.
Sighing, he went off to go blow some steam. Blasting some weak enemies with a spell or two might make him feel better. After some walking, he noticed a distinct lack of things to launch his spells at. Puzzled, he wondered where the enemies could be. Maybe he just hadn’t looked far enough? He continued walking, and soon came across the Royal Waterways. Normally, Rubick wouldn’t even think of heading into a location like this, but the thought of blasting some sewer-dwelling pests sounded appealing to him. He fished into his pockets for a light source, but found none. He then remembered he had one within his staff, and Rubick called out his Puzzle of Perplex, which emerged from his staff and glowed with a bright green light.
He ventured in, following the echoing of screams and stuttered callouts; judging by the frequency of them, there must’ve been quite a few of them. Eventually, he came across the sight of a distant light with an armored knight near it, and many creatures surrounding it. Rubick retracted his Puzzle of Perplex and readied his staff, waiting for the combat to begin. Having the Skaven be fully focused on the knight would provide the best opportunity for him to jump in should the need arise.
When the knight loosed his howl, it seemed as though the vermin’s paused eyes widened slightly. Sparks suddenly flew, as the sound of metal scraping against the stone floor echoed against the sewer walls. The knight hefted a blade almost as tall as the vermin, moving forward swinging the weapon upward as though it were nothing followed by the sound of flesh being torn and a ribbon of crimson as one of the Skaven was bisected in one fell swoop, in such close quarters the imposing figure if the knight could only do so much without his blade glancing off the walls around him. Fear suddenly filled the vermin, this was no simple man they were fighting.
Before they could even skitter away, their frantic chittering was drowned out as the knight dashed forward swinging the mighty blade in his hands horizontally "RAAAAAAAAH!" the enraged knight roared, blood spattering his armor as he slaughtered two more of the creatures.
Suddenly, one of the Skaven began to float up into the air for a second, then proceeded to slam back down into the ground. The impact released a magical shockwave that stunned the nearby Skaven. “Mind the drop!” Rubick yelled as his spell took effect. Rubick also let loose a green Fade Bolt at the nearest Skaven, and the spell continued to bounce to multiple different Skaven until every Skaven within range was hit once. “Seems you could use some aid, knight! Allow me to grant it!” Rubick yelled.
It took the knight a moment to grasp the words in his state, eyes hidden neath his helm red "Hmmm…" was the only sound to escape the shadows but it was acknowledgement enough with his mind only grasping at things he could understand at the moment, and his attention snapped to the remaining enemies as they tried to run. The knight almost stepped forward to follow them yet hesitated, battle fury fading.
Heaving a heavy sigh the knight turned back to the fire after he carefully looked the cloaked stranger up and down with a piercing gaze, it took him a moment to grasp for the words before he spoke up staring into the bonfire "...the shadows below…I knew not from whence I woke, it is…Nice to hear a voice other than mine own…I …" he struggled to remember the last time he even introduced himself by name, momentarily lapsing as he slung his might blade over his shoulder "I was called Abysswalker once, Artorias." the title weighed heavily upon his tongue stained by a disdain; he had failed his own namesake after all.
“Well then, Artorias, I am Rubick, the Grand Magus,” Rubick greeted him back, flourishing his movements in a grand gesture of his left arm. He retrieved his Puzzle of Perplex and set it back onto his staff, the light illuminating their immediate surroundings. “We should talk more once we exit these waterways. They’re hardly a safe location to stay in, after all.” On that note, Rubick turned around and made his way back through the path he had taken and out through the entrance of the Royal Waterways. It was certainly nice to be back in some form of light again, even if it was still somewhat dark in the Under. Turning around, Rubick said to Artorias, “And here we are. Now, do you have any plans moving forward?”
"Hmmm…" rumbled the knight, growing silent as he peered off into the darkness at faint lights above like stars in the night sky. There was no answer that came easily to Artorias, so many things had yet to make sense to him "There arte so many questions I have, alas I know not the one you ask." the knight's eyes became clearer yet still they remained red with the touch of an entity he knew not was shrouding his mind and perceptions.
“Hmm. In that case, come along with me!” Rubick proposed. “There will be perils aplenty, and foes to defeat! Much work is needed to be done, more than enough to keep you busy. All will be answered when we join up with the rest of the Seekers of Light!” Rubick marched on happily, his previous depressed mood forgotten, content with the knowledge that he had potentially gotten a new recruit for the Seekers.
Location: Home of Tears -> Gallo Tower Level: 3 Experience: 46/30 (Level up available) Word Count: <750 (+1 EXP) @Archmage MC@Double
100 Geo wasn't much, but Rubick supposed it was a start. He was going to ask the Koopa Troop for additional funding, but Sectonia's next words were a surprise to be sure. "A currency exchange shop?" Rubick asked. "That's perfect! Then I should have enough money to purchase what I need from that magic emporium! Thank you for this information, Queen Sectonia." He collected his money from Sectonia, then bowed in respect. Rubick then proceeded to teleport in rapid succession towards the direction he believed the currency exchange shop would be at. Fortunately for him, he found it easily enough and proceeded to exchange some of his Gold into Geo. There was a line, to which Rubick rapidly tapped his foot on the ground in impatience, but he soon got some Geo and proceeded to make his way over to the magic emporium.
Once inside, he looked around for the components he was searching for. The Staff of Wizardry, the Ogre Axe, and the Blade of Alacrity were in their respective locations, but there was one more item missing... Then, he spotted it. The Point Booster, found in a more remote corner of the shop. Rubick went to the front desk and made his purchases, then dashed out of the emporium and teleported back as fast as his Blink Dagger and Weaver's Warp allowed him to.
When he got back, however, everyone was gone.
Lost:
850 Gold
100 Geo
Gained: Aghanim's Scepter Abilities:
Small amount of extra health and health regen
Small amount of extra mana and mana regen
Small attack speed increase and armor increase
Potential unique upgrades to a character's abilities, or even granting an entirely new one. Rubick Aghs upgrade targets his Power Steal, allowing him to copy and store two spells, and any ability he copies has the potential to be upgraded by the Aghanim's Scepter.
Izurich
Damycles
baraquiel
Noctis
Aku the Samurai
DracoLunaris
Rabidporcupine
Forsythe
Nallore
