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Post by Kuro on Sept 27, 2013 17:59:45 GMT -5
Mr. Dark turned towards Kusu when she expressed her annoyance at her presence not being acknowleged. He supposed it would have to take note to not make that mistake again. As hor her speaking for herself...he doubted the need of such a thing. He was there for her. From her inquiry on the company's name though, he sensed that Kusu did not get the gist of his efforts. On one hand, that might have made him seem weak or subservient in her eyes. On the other hand, it could make his attempts at manipulation more believable.
"Most likely, Kusu, it is because - "
"DO NOT QUESTION ME!" Hearing all of his voices shout, screech, and explode in such a small space threatened to rip apart one's ears; the echoes that followed made it even harder to be rid of. He had spun around to face Kusu and towered over her, Mr. Dark reflexively coming closer to her to serve as a partial wall between her and the Executive. "The name means nothing! Only something as foolishly arrogant as Pride would cause millions of complications by trying to change the corporation's iconic name! The name means nothing! I'm pulling the strings, I know it! I don't need a throne, a title, a corporation's name, or a savage's approval to prove it!"
Mr. Dark wanted to attack the Executive right there before he could do any sort of physical attack, but he had to be patient. His voice was inquisitive, just as curious as Kusu's was. "Of course you do not need our approval...with no evidence behind your claims of power though, would you be able to get it in the first place?"
This made him back off of Kusu, at least. He rose a bit into the air, floating from his steam as he looked down at the boogeyman. "I have all of the evidence that I need." Mr. Dark looked at him, then at Kusu, hoping that she would understand this time. He turned back to Wrath.
"And yet you're still Slythe's lackey."
Wrath thrust his hand forward, slamming the boogeyman into the wall and puling him against it until his black boots were no longer touching the ground. He pulled him up to eye-level, although neither could really look into the other's eyes. "What makes you think I can't kill you right now?"
Weakness. Lack of control. Powerless, his law meaningless and unenforced. He could do nothing, and he meant nothing. His hands craved blood, but all he could do was scream, or worse, nod along.
These thoughts entered Wrath's head as fear coursed from Mr. Dark's body to his. Mr. Dark did not let loose as much as he could though; he knew how people like Wrath reacted to fear and doubt. It would only result in the elevator being stained with pirate blood. He did not want to turn him into a cornered beast; just a worried, confused, and anxious one. Much easier to catch.
"Precisely because Slythe would want otherwise. You have so much power, but no one can see it because you're obeying him."
"IT IS NOT THAT SIMPLE!" Mr. Dark could actually feel the warmness of the blood beginning to flow from his ears from hearing the sounds so close. "It is a game of subtleties and deception; a pirate would never understand."
"If you can't do what you want, then what does all of that subtlety mean? What is the deception worth if for all of it, you're not able to kill a few savages without asking permission?"
Snarls and growls of so many types came from the Executive, filling the elevator with animalistic fury. His grip on the boogeyman tightened, as he stewed in his anger.
"Do it."
"..."
Lack of control.
Powerless.
Meaningless.
He was nothing.
After a pause, Wrath let go with a sudden jerk. A cruel, mocking laugh came from the Executive, a sinister glee becoming apparent when he spoke again. "No...not yet. Not yet. I can kill you. I am powerful. I am in control. I just won't kill you...yet." He floated away from the two pirates, or at least as much as he could in an elevator. "Just you wait...you'll see."
click
Jackal was becoming more and more nervous with every second, sweating with wide eyes behind his flowery mask and torn up clothing. His fingers were twitching, ready to activate the Victorian knife-draw mechanism under his sleeve at any moment. His breaths were short and many, but quiet. His eyes flickered between Lynwood and Greed, anxious to prevent any fighting, anxious to stop any blow.
In contrast, Greed was remarkably calm and as casual as ever, as if he did not notice a single emotion in the room. Indeed, he carried on as thoughtlessly and giddily as he had before, no malice in his voices as he answered her question. "Oh, the near-extinction of your tribe wasn't intended. That was the fault of some careless marines or some such. You were supposed to be preserved for the sake of labor and perhaps later down the line, exhibits. After all, as miniscule as your civilization was, it was still unique, which of course, meant that it was valuable.
Still, it is a shame that they all died. Although the island was quite far from the territory of Arkady Industries, we were still interested in some fauna and wildlife that was there. Oh, and of course, land. A little agreement with the World Government, just reserving some land a quite a far bit aways from our territory, tricky government business. Oh, and there was also the keeping track of another truly primitive group of savages; we could have learned a lot from them, knowing how such beasts operate and live out their meaningless lives. Well, I suppose that they weren't meaningless, weren't they? Their deaths had quite the effect on you."
Then a thought entered his head. A fleeting memory of something that had to do with the incident. One paragraph out of the countless that he had to read, but it popped up in his memory. Something important.
"...Say...The marines never lasted long, did they? A bloodbath, they said. Every single one dead. Each one of those incompetent World Government lackeys...dead. Did you...?"
"Stop it!"
Greed snapped his head in Jackal's direction, his voices now irritable in their tone. "What did you say?"
Jackal was still breathing erratically, but he tried his best as he put on a joking voice, one desperately seeking to lighten the mood. "Stop it. She doesn't really need to hear this, does she? You're only endangering yourself. Imagine if -"
The Executive's finger almost jabbed into Jackal's face. Greed had outstretched his arm towards him, a scornful and rebuking finger in his face. "I. Do. Not. Stop."
Despite having a potential weapon in his face, Jackal was frantically looking to Lynwood. Please, please Lynwood, please, don't do it, don't do it, please.
"Do. You. Understand?" He jabbed his finger into Jackal's chest with each word, not even paying any attention to the Urdian next to him. Jackal paid enough attention to her for him.
"Some...Something to compare to?"
Pride was offended at Kalen's words at first, about to verbally lunge at him for not doing as he had said. However, now that he thought of it...He put a hand to his chin, a "Hmmmm...." the only sound coming out of him. It was quite the pause before he spoke, his voices full of his namesake and some happiness.
"So you wish to know of my accomplishments, my achievements, my godly traits? I thought that you would be able to infer some of it, such as how I am clearly in control of the largest and most successful corporation in all of history, how my very presence fills you with awe, and how each and every word that comes out of me is...beautiful.
Out of my grand generosity, I have decided to bestow upon you two savages a great and amazing knowledge. I shall tell you of what I have done, what I can do, what I am. You shall know just how I am the most fascinating and amazing being you have ever seen and why you should grovel at my feet. Prepare yourselves; when it comes to what is good about me, for there is only good about me, there is much to know. If you do not be careful, your minds may very well burst from this knowledge. Now then, I shall begin!"
And the rest of the elevator ride was completely dominated with the unfaltering talk, talk, talk of Pride. He listed reason after reason as to why he was just such an astounding display of glory. Some of these "reasons" were personal exaggerations of about himself and his positive personality traits, but he had more than his fair share of abilities to share. He could wipe out towns with but a signature, with but a few movements of his hand he could completely destroy entire civilizations and lives. With but a swipe of the hand, he could fire an employee and force their family into a life of poverty and misery. With but a flick of his finger, he could send anyone he wanted to be executed. He was unbelievably rich and held power over many estates. And then there was more and more and more. While she was intrigued at first, Silver soon became tired of the endless self-serving rambling and had to try hard not to fall asleep.
Unfortunately for Kara, there really was nothing interesting there. There wasn't much besides the meeting room; the rest of the floor was made up of rooms where astoundingly high stacks of papers and official-looking documents were stacked upon one another while some papers and diagrams were stuck onto the walls for reference. Each room had a word above the door such as "Resources" or "Publicity" or "Defense", and there were seven of such rooms. Again though, there really did seem to be nothing there but papers, papers, and papers. That, and the lone Executive who had been lazily scribbling away at his paperwork to the sound of walls breaking and paperstacks collasping.
When Kara went through all of the rooms, the Executive sighed. A few moments later he spoke, no condescension or disdain in his not-very-beautiful voices, just boredom and apathy. "While I see the logic in coming to one of the highest floors in the building, there really isn't much here besides the view. I suppose you could sit in Slythe's chair and feel all big and powerful..." Another sigh. He couldn't even tell if Kara was listening, but he didn't really care. He had barely looked away from the paperwork on the desk, so he could have been talking to empty air for all he cared. "Sloth, Executive, like the one you met earlier, Wrath. I suppose he bothered you some, didn't he?" Yet another sigh. "What exactly is it that you want, Coryphauen? You came in here by Jackal, heh, so I suppose you didn't come on behalf of your empire. Not much you could get from here anyways, it takes Victorians a thousand pages just to explain how a few gears can shift together. And I have to sift through it everyday...Not really the high life as the others think."
He leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the table, now in a much more relaxed pose. Compared to even just Wrath, the contrast was extreme. Wrath moved about and acted as a diving being, a strange creature that floated and spoke in an orchestra as mist surrounded him. although there were holes on the bottom of his shoes, no steam was coming out. His voices were many and varied, but all sounded rather dull. There was no sense of pride or condescension. And of course, there was the fact that such a being in such immaculate white wear and golden apparel was just laying back in his chair with his feet on the table. He exhaled a long, wistful breath. "What's your name? It would be much easier to refer to you by your name on the paperwork rather than refer to you as the Coryphaeun. Don't make my job more tedious than it already is..." Sigh.
Lust had looked up and turned at the sound of...something happening his back. His mask showed no emotion at the sight of Fenrir regenerating, as he watched in silence. And then the machine raised a palm.
"Who's the smart guy now?"
Right when the beam shot, the room seemingly exploded into steam, the vapor spreading all over and clouding one's sight, although perhaps it wasn't much trouble for Wolf. When the mist began to clear, Fenrir would be able to see that there was now a hole in the wall that led to some other laboratory-looking place, but there was no trace of Lust. A faint assortment of laughter could be heard echoing from the hallway outside, leaving a trail of steam in its wake.
Fenrir was now free. Lust was gone and there was no one there to stop him.
Now he was truly free.
"And of course, there is the matter of my dress. A savage eye may think I wear the same rags as the other Executives, but my cloth is -"
click
"Ah! We are here. We shall have to continue your enlightenment at another time. I will expect top-quality worship by the end of the day. Follow."
The elevators opened up to a room that was large, but not as ridiculously so as the lobby. This size was at least more comprehensible. A long, red carpet laid in the middle of the room, leading to the other end of the room. On the the sides of the carpet were Victorians all lined up parallel to the carpet, all of them dressed in their fanciest clothes with their masks displayed proudly; there were perhaps thirty on each side, all muttering and gossiping amongst themselves at the sight of the Executives and their guests.
The red carpet led to a flight of stairs at the end of the room that were wide and steep, leading up to a raised platform on which sat a throne beset by two robots, and what a throne it was. It was crafted completely out of a light-blue crystal, every inch of it shining in the light. Three large, impressively made pairs of wings came out from the back, one above the other above the other. The lowest pair of wings gently wrapped around the feet of the throne, while the middle pair stretched out proudly and the top pair pointed upwards, ready to flap. It was a brilliantly dazzling display, but the being in the center managed to take even more attention.
His height, build, his entire body was of the perfect build, just lean enough and just muscular enough while being taller than any average man but not grotesquely so. He wore a crimson waistcoat with a purple velvet ascot and golden buttons, all under a huge white coat lined with fur that wrapped round him, draping over the sides and end of the throne and onto the floor, a vivid fire decoration on the ends of the sleeves and the bottom of the coat. In one hand a wineglass was lazily held, the red fluid sloshing inside. Atop his head was a crown of red and gold, with jewels of all types and colors embedded into the gold, each one enormously valuable in its own right. In it all was a flawless golden mask that betrayed no emotion, only showing the piercing, silver eyes beneath. He slouched in the magnificent throne, not at all formal. After all, he knew with all of his heart that this was where he belonged; there was no need of formality.
His loud, deep and booming voice rang out across the room, making every Victorian conversation cease. Each and every word that came out was full of joy and spoken dramatically and in the grandest fashion possible.
"Greetings, my precious pirates! How nice of you to finally join us! You are the first outsides to ever enter our home. You are even more privileged than some Victorians to even step into this very room!
I am Slythe Arkady, Chairman of Arkady Industries, ruler and god of this realm. Welcome to Victoria!"
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Post by Hitotsumami on Sept 27, 2013 21:32:38 GMT -5
As the steam began to clear, Fenrir looked on to see that the man who had had shot out had fled. His sensors detected that the individual had escaped down the hall, but Fenrir decided to ignore.
"No reason to hunt a rabbit," said Fenrir, his voice like a mix of a growling wolf and a synthetic echoing machine, "when there are much larger game!"
At Fenrir's command, rockets appeared out of the bottom of his feet, blasting him straight into the air, smashing through floors and the outside wall until he could see outside! Above him, smog, below him, the golden gleam of the winding city streets and the silver-white skyscrapers that spiked the sky.
"Oh, how I do not remember this city looking so grand as it does now. When chains were bound upon my neck and my arms and legs were held together like a pig on a roast, this city was dark and dreary, black metal, cold. Worthless."
Fenrir's rockets picked up power as he zoomed through the city, gaining height with each second.
"But now, I must say, even now, it is still but a speck in my way. It may think of itself as a precious diamond picked from a piece of lumpy coal, but does it remember the power it had in those eight-hundred years that contributed to it? I think not!"
In Fenrir's mind, Samuel asked him to stop.
Fenrir laughed, a sound of screeching metal. "Let us remind them! With this body given to you by man, let my power coarse threw it! Let us remind them not just who, but what I am! I am Fenrir the Wolf!"
Fenrir pointed its palms down towards the city below. Bright glowing yellow light formed in his palms and then a huge laser beam shot out, cutting through the city from one part to the next. Following this, small short bursts of energy shot out of its circular, fang lined mouth, flying through the air and slamming against the base of the silver buildings and the golden roads, exploding on impact!
"Let us see if I can jar your memory, this old cage that once held me bound! Let us see if I can stir up some past animosity, Victoria!"
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Post by CJ on Sept 30, 2013 11:35:44 GMT -5
Kusu's wings snapped upward in surprise when Wrath shouted at her. She was shocked, though not terrified as he might have hoped she would be. The mask covered her entire head and shoulders, preparing, as Mr. Dark did, for any sort of physical attack.
It retreated when the boogeyman served as a distraction, leaving only a knight's helm around Kusu's head.
"Let Mr. Scary Man go! Right now!" she said, though her words fell on deaf ears.
Her arm struck out in a pose, as though she was going to catch a stick or weapon. Nothing happened though. The mask only continued to stay in its place as her fingers grasped the air.
Eventually, Mr. Dark was able to convince Wrath not to live out his violent wishes. Kusu had to admit, she was really impressed. It was why she chose him as her first mate. He could make judgements and calls that she would never ever begin to think of. Then again, she was only eleven years old, but at that time she could possibly imagine there was a difference between the mental capacity of her or any other person on her crew.
As they were escorted by Wrath out of the elevator, she tapped on the mask-helmet on her head, whispering, though not too soft to be heard.
"You know, Hil. You could at least pretend like you care about the Scary Man's safety."
---
As the crew walked down the red carpet, Kusu waved gleefully to the Victorians. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she seemed eager to make new friends.
The pirate captain jumped up and down in glee at Slythe's introduction. She looked as though she should have been scolded and taken away for making a scene among adults, not leading a group of criminals to what could have been their doom.
"You called us precious! And privileged! Finally, someone who understands us!"
She bowed her head forward as a sign of equality between the two.
"As you likely know, I'm Kusu R. Kidd, Captain of the... ummm... the Feather Pirates and these are my friends, who can introduce themselves if they'd like. Mask Jack Man is our friend too now."
Glancing at Jackal, for a brief moment she realize she wished she could lend her mask to him. He looked lost amongst his kind without one. But she knew the spirit in her mask would never agree to such a gesture.
"Before we become too comfortable, I realized something. Should I be wearing this mask now? At first I thought these mask were only weird and silly, not like your wing obsession because, as I know, that's totally cool!"
Kusu grabbed the tips of her wings and wiggled them in a cute display.
"But now I can see that those masks are actually a part of your culture. Should I put mine away out of respect, especially since you're the one of the first humans who has ever given us respect? Sqwee?"
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Oct 5, 2013 21:02:56 GMT -5
"Hmmm... I think he's got a point Silver, he does seem to be better than me in pretty much every way."
All the way up, Kalen listened to Pride's fascinating story of wonderment and glory, one hand at his side and the other holding his chin as he nodded in understanding. Perhaps it was because he had never seen anyone like this, in a place like this, in his life. He was just a simple shepherd after all, what did he know? But he knew, at least as much, value when he saw it. Quality. This place, this land, it was not easily built and its people not easily made. All he knew was sheep, but what this person knew...
Or rather, perhaps it was because he was quite delirious from the loss of blood.
"As you likely know, I'm Kusu R. Kidd, Captain of the... ummm... the Feather Pirates and these are my friends, who can introduce themselves if they'd like. Mask Jack Man is our friend too now."
"Kalen is my name, I'm a capt- shepherd, yes. I herd sheep for a living, nothing more. This is a very nice place you have here, but is there any way we can help, that some Victorian's can't?"
Despite what they had seen so far, the shepherd felt no reason to act against the ruler of this place. Not yet, had he given them a reason to do so, they had only just met the man. From what Slythe said however, Kalen guessed that if they were in a place that some Victorians could not go, then there was a reason. He wanted to believe it was a reason more than just simple curiosity, of them getting into the country, but maybe that really was the only reason they were here.
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Post by Mise™ on Oct 17, 2013 2:01:13 GMT -5
"*cough*"
After breaking through a few walls and ruining a few piles of Arkady Industries secret documents prince Karalisk returned to the room where he had started from. There really wasn't much to do here and even the executive present told him so.
"Why the fuck did I ever come here? Those fucking assholes aren't even here yet. Whatever..."
The, seemingly very lazy, AI executive spoke to His Highness, asking a few questions. At first it seemed like Karalisk wasn't going to answer him, but eventually did speak. "I have no fucking clue why I am here. And my fucking name is Karalisk." The prince had to wonder what kind of an idiot this guy had to be to not know the prince, but know that he was a Coryphaean.
"Well then what the fuck should I do now?" Karalisk had to wonder and then turned his attention to the Slythe's throne and just a moment later was trying to steal the throne and stuff it in to his pockets. It might have seemed impossible for something as large as that to fit in to His Highness' pockets, but it wouldn't be the largest item there.
"*cough*"
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Post by Kyubey on Oct 19, 2013 13:24:24 GMT -5
If Lynwood's face wasn't blocked off by a mask, Greed and Jackal might have been able to see her expression, and possibly would have had a hint at the emotions she was holding back. Whatever her initial reaction to the truth was, it was now lost forever.
Everything she was, all that made her special, all that she had pride in, her family, her culture, her tribe, but a footnote in the plans of some arrogant company. A step in another man's avaricious path. All she loved, eliminated through what Greed called a mere fault of incompetent lackeys. The woman from Urd saw the world clearly now, and understood the open seas, and the men who lived in them, for what they were. Perhaps, it might have been funny to her, that she tried to put so much faith in them, despite all that had happened. Even all of that was secondary to one thing.
"So, friend," she said, turning her head sharply in Jackal's direction. "This is the great Victoria? This is what you asked for my help in changing?"
The Urdian cast her eyes downwards. "It amazes me," she said, in a strange, inconsistent tone, "How you little things can claim to hold such power. You create machines to hide your frailty, use words just as you use your masks, but it's all so meaningless. It must have been some sort of joke, for the Gods to have allowed you to come as far as you have. But it won't amount to anything,. There's nothing a man can accomplish, while kept in an iron cage. When your machines crumble and fall, and they will, that will be the end. There's nothing else to your kind. Just... tools. Tools of a flawed, failed design."
And then, Lynwood laughed. "Hahahaha! You lot, controlling the world? You cannot master anything! How can you, when your vision fails to reach beyond your own fingertips?"
For the past six years, the Urdian had one thing she held onto that allowed her to smile, to go on with her life, without being consumed by wretched, unstoppable emotion. One fact that she kept close to her heart, when all else was exposed. And that was her secret, of what happened that night. Only she was supposed to know. If she was the only human left who knew about her actions, upon discovering her people dead, then she could have gone on, the same as she did before. But if someone was aware, of the monster that she was... the thought was unthinkable.
"Not even a single one of you outsiders knows what a weapon really is. Watch me, Victorians."
She never dreamed the day would come a second time. As a child, she had never imagined she would need to use it at all. How wrong she was.
Mr. Dark, it appears you weren't entirely wrong after all. Kalen... I'm sorry. And Captain, I hope the world you wanted to create is better than this one.
The laughter faded and stopped, and her voice became low, and solemn, and distant.
"It's... sad. I've been through so much with you friends, in such a short amount of time, but... none of you even knew my name."
The Urdian began to make a soft, low humming sound, as her arms and head fell limp, and she swayed back and forth, side to side, to the imagined rhythm of music that nobody else could hear. it resembled a dance, almost, but it was a dance far different from the kind she had shared with Jackal the night previously. As Lynwood slipped into a trance, the humming slowly turned into words, in a language nearly lost forever. Besides the words, and the trance, all else drifted away from her head. Her sorrow, her pain, her surroundings, her mind. All in that order.
To her people, back in her home, she was Llywela. That was what her tribe called her. After she lost that home, and became a monster, she took on the name Lynwood, to separate the person she was from the person she became. But neither of those were her true name, the one only shared between her parents and herself. The sort of name that no Urdian would share with anyone.
<Gods of War and Madness, I submit myself to you. Through this vessel, walk free on the Earth once again. To you, I give my body, and my soul. In return, destroy the enemies who stand before me, and all those not worthy of the gift of life. This request I, Nemain of the Urdians, ask of you.>
She made a short, soft gasp, and then was gone.
---
The hunter blinked a few times. Its breathing was sharp and harsh, and looked around, finding its vision obscured by something. One hand reached up to its head, and grabbed the helmet that was blocking it. The thing was only in the way. It threw the helmet down, and looked forward, finding its prey. Blood leaked from the hunter's mouth, as though at some point it, or the one who inhabited the body last, had bit down hard on its lip. Finding new prey wasn't hard. Its hand reached around, until it found its weapon. The knife was right there, at its hip, exactly where it remembered leaving it. The beast snarled. It had been six years since it last had been fed. Far too long a time, for such an insatiable creature.
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Post by Kuro on Nov 3, 2013 15:43:33 GMT -5
When Lynwood turned her eyes to Jackal, he looked into them with panic. "I, I, I -"
"You will pay attention to ME, you little ingrate. How dare you tell me to stop, as if you have the right to say such a thing, as if you have the ability to -" It was then that Lynwood continued to speak, putting the Victorians to silence as they listened. Jackal's mostly hidden expression of complete worry was all that he had, for there were no words he could say at this moment. Greed's mask showed nothing but whatever eyes were behind it were now focused on the Urdian, taking in her every word like poison. When she made her comment on how the vision of Victoria did not go beyond its fingertips, the Executive spoke in a condescending and disdainful tone, filled with more bitterness than anger. "Oh, so the savage is a poet, well, all the more reason to value you then, hm? Your words mean nothing. Our tools are wonders of the world and prove as a testament to our glory, our divinity. We are able to do so much more than any other culture in the world. We deserve to take everything we see; the world is rightfully ours and anything we take is simply reclaiming that which should already belong to us."
"Not even a single one of you outsiders knows what a weapon really is. Watch me, Victorians."
Greed crossed his arms, curious as to what sort of display of power the Urdian would pull off, perhaps a primitive ritual or something else of that type. Jackal wasn't sure what to think; what could he do, what could he say?! He had no idea what was going to happen! Why couldn't everything just go according to plan?! None of this was supposed to happen, none of it! He watched as Lynwood fell into a trance, now even more unsure as to just what was going on.
And then she stopped. And she looked up.
"...L-lynwood...Are you okay?"
Slythe listened as Kusu and the others introduced themselves, the Victorians watching with anticipation from the sidelines. When she actually called the masks weird and silly, sharp intakes of breath could be heard from the masked audience, although they did their best to shout at the child for such an insult. She offered to take hers off out of respect, but that did little to mend what the Victorians thought to be an attack on their glorious traditions.
The one on the throne thought differently, however. He let out a merry laugh that echoed in the room, catching the attention of his confused inferiors. As the Victorians looked to their ruler, Pride and Wrath floated behind the pirates quietly, holding in their irritation as they did every single day.
Greed was nowhere to be found, the third elevator door not having opened yet.
"Oh, so you care about respect, do you? Despite everything that you have done, you still take care to not tread on the feelings of others? Oh, how grand!" He let out another laugh and then looked back to Kusu, his tone devoid of any menace. "Yes, put your mask away, child. You will not need it anytime soon, and I would most definitely love to see your face. The visage of Kusu L. Loilette, one of the greatest destroyers of our time.
But, make no mistake." His tone became slightly more serious. "I am no human. Could a human have done any of this?" He spread his arms wide, gesturing to the room. "Could a mere human, could a mere mortal have constructed such an empire? Could a human ever be responsible for creating the most fearsome force the world has ever seen? Could a human be the one before you, ruling from the heaven he crafted himself, his every whim tended to as he sends armies to crush centuries of culture into the dirt? I am no human, dear child. I am Slythe Arkady, and as I said before, I am a god. And you will treat me as such." He relaxed slightly, going back to his more gleeful tone. "But yes, of course. Special and privileged is what you are, what all of you are. Is that not right, my Victorians?"
Without hesitation, one of the Victorians spoke up. "Of course, my lord! These pirates are the pinnacle of their kind! Truly they are marvelous wonders. Much more valuable than any lower Victorian." After looking at him for a bit, Mr. Dark recognized that person as one of the many Victorians who had pulled out a knife on the crew back when tensions were high in the streets. In fact, several of the people here had been from the crowd all too eager to cut the pirates into pieces.
"Oh yes, quite the marvels indeed."
"Far better than the average savage."
"Truly, they inspire us with their feats."
There was much nodding of the heads and murmurs of agreement as the Victorians continued to praise the Feather Pirates, each trying to come up with a better compliment than the last. Silver's confusion at this display of duplicity was clear on her face as she tried to comprehend just was going on. She happened to recognize a few of the dazzling outfits she had seen pointing a weapon at her back in the streets, only for their wearers to now speak on things such as how beautiful she was. She glanced behind her and saw Pride and Wrath still floating in the back in silence. Of course she could not know that this was the nonsense and insanity that they dealt with and in every day. They had learned to not bother protesting to such transparent deceit long ago; it was a formality if anything at this point.
Slythe held up a gloved hand, at which the Victorians stopped. He turned his attention to Kalen now, his silver eyes locking onto him. "Help? How could you possibly help, little shepherd? Did you not take in the sights as you came here, to this very spot? Did you not see the golden roads, the silver spires, the robots that tend to our every whim?" He took another sip and did not react as one of the robots next to him refilled the glass, pouring wine from a hole in its metal hand. "Our technology is far beyond anything that you have seen before. There is no match for our power and yet you ask if you can help us? How very insolent."
A tense silence pervaded the room for some moments, the chairman's glare focused on the lowly shepherd. The Executives still floated nearby, wondering with some amusement if Slythe would order the death of such a naysayer, regardless of whatever his intentions may have been. After all that was happening today, the sight of a good torture might have been able to lift their moods.
"...Ah ha ha ha ha! Oh, do not worry, shepherd, I have no desire to destroy you. I will say though, you do overestimate your importance in the role of things. Your voyage here was almost completely by chance, after all! You were chosen by that worthless nothing, Jackal, as some sort of agents for his pathetic attempts at reigning supreme. Oh, poor little Jackal, years and years of exile and still the failure!" He laughed again, with the whole of the Victorians cackling with him and the Executives joining in with their multitudes of voices. The room filled with such horrible laughter, echoing across the walls until there was nothing but the sound of their twisted mirth. It was quite the while until it all began to die down, ending with Slythe wiping a mock-tear from his eye. "Oh, little Jackal, always the laugh. Why, even now, the very elevator he is in appears to be malfunctioning. The fact that he has seemingly caused something as simple as an elevator ride to stop working is testament to how failure just follows him around like a stench. Do not think of him as a friend, my pirates. He will only ever drag you down with his silly, blasphemous ideals and ill-thought-out plans. I don't know how he was going to use you, but believe me when I say that you are better off forgetting him. Nothing more than a nuisance, really."
Another sip. "Oh, I did not plan to bring you here, my pirates. You're just here because Jackal thought you could help him. Shows what he knows. But, as long as you are in my domain, I can think of several purposes for you and the rest of the crew. You see, this realm is a masterpiece of Arkadian design. It is pure paradise, a literal metropolis of silver and gold, laden with metallic servants that will obey all orders without question. The architecture is supreme and the walls that surround it are impenetrable to all assault or spying. Yes, a true wonder of the world...and yet, there is no one to admire it." A long, deep sigh came from the one on the throne as he slouched further inwards, his voice turning overly dramatic in its melancholy. "Oh, for all of our work, there is not a single non-Victorian to look upon it and praise us for such glory. Imagine creating something so marvelous, so amazing, and having no one to show it to. We dare not open our walls to the disgusting savagery and filth of the outside world, and so we thought that our work would be destined to never be granted a single ounce of appreciation. Oh, such a travesty! An abomination of justice in the world, a cruel joke of which there is no comparison! Ohhhhhhh, the horror! The horror!"
Slythe put a hand to his head in worry, the Victorians following in suit with gasps and hands to their hearts. Mr. Dark had no words for what pure idiocy he was seeing. By this time, Silver had already closed her eyes after much effort in trying to stay awake through the speech and was now fast asleep, not making a peep besides her steady breathing.
"...And that's where you come in! Jackal brought you here for his own purposes but now that you're here, why not use you to the most of your extent? Why would we just kill you or return you to the world you came from? No, no, we shall keep you here as the audience that I so rightly deserve! Spectators that shall praise us for our works, that shall do whatever we ask, that shall worship the divine beings in front of them! A true honor that you should be grateful for, for there is no higher privilege for any non-Victorian.
Oh...and it is a privilege you do deserve. The destruction of Regala was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen outside of Victoria. I was not able to witness it first-hand, but the very description and remnants of the event are revered even by I. Of course, it is nothing compared to Victorian wonders, but that such a monument to destruction was created by savages is amazing in every sense of the word. But do not worry, Regala is not all that defines you. We've put some research into your past, and oh, the things we have found. What you've achieved.
Dock 9, a top-secret World Government facility that A.I had found out about through our spies, and you turned it into something that could never be salvaged from, you destroyed their personnel and reduced it into something utterly useless.
When Vivied, a renowned pirate who had never fallen to the World Government, got in your way, you crushed him. Throughout his life he had left an impressive trail of destruction in his wake and you turned him into a weak old man now rotting in a cell.
So much chaos in Water 7, a city beloved and protected by the World Government as a jewel of sorts, and its highest-ranking official, the mayor, dies at your hands.
You end up in the center of G8, one of the World Goverment's most impressive and impenetrable strongholds, and as countless forces and opponents all go against you, you defy all expectations of reality and escape, an incredible number of Marine agents left bloody and bruised from your work.
The Dead End Race, one of the most dangerous events in the Grand Line, a race in which practically every pirate around the area participates in, and you conquer the main contender as if he was nothing, after years of victory to his name.
And all the way back when, in your first days, when you all just started setting out on the sea...you played a part in a revolution. The Kingdom of Alabasta was nothing to you, hm? You may not have been the primary causes of such an event, but still you were involved. Was it merely a warm-up for you, for the destruction you would soon unleash upon the world?
You may think that these were all isolated events, but everything has its ripples. Ignoring Regala, there is still so much that has changed because of you. Do you know what happens when you leave one of the World Government's top laboratories and research facilities in shambles, or how impossible it is to achieve such a feat at your level of funding and number?! Do you know how unbelievable it is to hear that some generic crew of pirates conquered a top-level Marine stronghold, that they did as they wished in Water 7 without being wiped out by the World Government, that they were able to obliterate whatever pirate or obstacle came in their way?! Only so few times have you ever stumbled in your gradual path of destruction, and yet you always came back, always looking to leave more scars on the world, and that you did.
You think you are some happy-go-lucky crew traveling on the seas for adventure, but you're not, not anymore! You're only ever left ruins in your wake, when we traced your path through history we found it was traced with blood and total annihilation of almost anything that came in your way. It all came to a head in Regala, which I do not even need to describe."
Slythe paused, taking a moment to collect his thoughts.
"...I will admit, I did not believe it at first. I did not believe that such a small, unknown crew could have ever accomplished such a feat. But once I had my employees research you, once we put a considerable amount of effort into seeing your past...we have found that even if Regala had never happened, whatever crew you are in would still be synonymous with destruction, dear Kusu. You are a force of death and your touch will only ever result in the tragedy of others. And that...is why you and whatever death-team you have assembled will be the perfect audience. What else besides a harbinger of death and her assistants to look upon our glorious creations and praise them? It would be an honor for you to live in this place, and it would be an honor to Victoria for such wonderful beings to look upon our works with admiration. A chance encounter this all is, and yet it is magnificent.
It is truly your lucky day, my Feather Pirates. On the whim of a madman, you have come into a land of gods. Do not worry; you shall never have to leave. You shall spend the rest of your days in this paradise as direct servants or disciples of divinity. You have now found your purpose in life. This must be the most important day of your life. Is it not so, Victorians? Is this not a cause of celebration? Rejoice!"
The Victorians quickly applauded, filling the room with the sound. Mr. Dark was left speechless. This was sheer madness. Of course he had no intent to live as a servant to such filthy creatures for the rest of his life. They had to escape as soon as possible, which meant that they had to get Jackal to -
...
Where was Jackal?
Mr. Dark looked to the elevator with Jackal, Lynwood, and Greed allegedly inside, which had still not yet opened. Slythe noticed him turn his head and directed his eyes to the elevator as well. WIth irritation in his voice, he pointed at Pride and then the elevator. "Go open it, will you? They actually missed the first half of my speech, i'd rather that they don't miss the rest.""
Pride growled in response and reluctantly floated over to the elevator to press a few buttons on a panel on its exterior. As he did so, he noticed that there was really nothing wrong with the machine, the inhabitants had simply not opened the door yet.
"Oh for heaven's sake, can't you at least open a door, Gre -"
A big blur of white shot out from the open elevator, slamming into Pride and propelling the two of them across the room from the full force of the steam shooting out of its shoes. The Victorians watched in stunned silence as two revered Executives flew right over their heads and broke straight through a wall in their path before crashing into another. The Victorians all rushed to the hole in the wall, eager to see just what in the world had happened. Slythe himself had stood up but kept his eyes on his elevator. Moments later, a garbled mass of distorted voices, some ridiculously high-pitched or twisted, made a nightmarish shriek.
"SsaVAagEEEEEEEE! M-m-m-mY V-VOCEI modu-modu-modulATOR - prPRoPULSiiiiii-on, pro-pu-l--ll-l-ssssss -"
Greed's body in the other room started to flail about, the steam still shooting out of his shoes and propelling him without stopping. He flew away from Pride's body and began to shoot about the room like a pinball, desperately trying to right himself as his sense of gravity and balance went haywire. Without a word or groan, Pride fell forwards from the deep hole he had left in the wall and landed on the floor with a thud.
The Victorians were too distracted by the enjoyable sight of two Executives being so throughly humiliated that they focus their attention on just what had flung the being out of the elevator.
Jackal stumbled out of the elevator, blood pouring out from gashes on his chest. He fell to his knees, wheezing and putting a hand to one of the many injuries on his front. As the blood went through the spaces of his fingers, he continued to wheeze and breathe rapidly before looking up. The flowery mask that Kusu had given him was now completely crimson, and his bloodshot eye could barely be seen behind it. He whispered one word.
"...Help."
He fell forwards, still twitching, his chest rising up and down with each quick breath. Behind him in the elevator stood Lynwood, her body stained with his blood. Her hands, her mouth, her knife. Slythe, still standing at his throne, looked upon the scene with fascination. Wrath, however, responded quite differently.
"Savage beast! Containment in process!" He pointed at her and a laser shot out, a thin beam of energy that threatened to go straight through her legs and leave holes in their wake. Not long after, the room shook and Slythe nearly fell from his heightened position and down the stairs. He stumbled forwards and looked around, rage in his voice. "Just WHAT was that?!"
Sloth never moved from his seat, even as the newly-identified Karalisk began to stuff a throne down his pants or when the table beneath his feet shook violently, along with the rest of the room.
"...Hm. Well then, prince, this is quite the situation you've happened to get yourself into. Not every day you stumble into a land of the gods." The room shook again, almost throwing the Executive out of his chair. Almost. Seems like something's going on outside. Could you be a pal and look out the window for me? A bit too far from the table for my tastes."
Were Karalisk to look out the window behind where Slythe's throne was supposed to be, he would see what was nearly a bird's eye view of the majesty of Victoria, slowly becoming enveloped in flames. A black speck flew across the city, leaving destruction and flame in his wake. Lasers shot out and buildings fell, some into other buildings and others into the ground, crushing all in its way.
"So? How's it look out there?"
Not a hint of worry. Only mild interest.
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Post by Mise™ on Nov 7, 2013 15:42:18 GMT -5
"I ascended godhood a fucking long time ago. The day I was fucking born to be exact. Being in the fucking presence of such a pathetic creatures feels no different than being in the presence of fucking ants." Prince Karalisk responded to Sloth. Every egomaniac in the world has called themselves a god, that was nothing, so His Highness had to go one step further. Because he was the most EXTREME guy in the world. "*cough*"
"See for yourself, asshole." Karalisk said to the lazy executive and walked towards the wall in front of Sloth, did some stretches and then kicked the wall as hard as he could, which was really, really hard. And that would create a massive hole in the wall, if not send the whole side of the building flying. Now even the ever-so-lazy Sloth should be able to take a look at what was going in his city. "Oh look at that. Just an average fucking monday."
"*cough*"
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Post by Hitotsumami on Nov 11, 2013 13:43:20 GMT -5
"Let it burn! Let it all burn!"
Fenrir was like a bullet in the sky, zooming faster and faster above the city. Beams of destruction shot from his hands, obliterating whatever they touched. Fire spewed from his mouth, burning what it could and melting what it couldn't. Huge bolts of electricity shot from the cannon on his back, shaking the entire city in a thunderous wave.
Then, Fenrir stopped in mid air. Samuel, still locked inside his own mind, wondered why. Wolf then chuckled, and Samuel knew that Wolf had discovered something.
"Oh, the secrets within this mechanical body never cease!"
Suddenly, Fenrir grabbed one of his arms and ripped it off, showering the air in sparks. Then examined the severed limb, grinned, and tossed it down to the city below. As it fell, Fenrir's arm began to grow back, starting with an iron pole which was built upon by a mixture of wiring, metal, and gears.
"What did you just do?" thought Samuel.
Fenrir said, in his metallic, eerie voice, "So there are things about this body you do not even know. The government, I believe they may have created something that could grow on its own, that could create abilities that were not originally programmed..."
"What are you saying?"
Far below, the severed arm finally hit the ground and exploded, blowing up dust and smoke and debris. As the smoke faded, for all to see, a second Wolf was standing there, motionless. It then slowly began to walk forward, in a very mechanical way, and it lifted its arms, shooting beams out to destroy everything it saw on ground level.
"Another?" thought Samuel in disbelief.
"That's right. More destruction! More power! Hahah!" Fenrir grabbed his right arm again, ripped it off, and threw it down to the streets below.
He did this over and over until there were at least fifty Wolfs on ground level, all programmed to do nothing but blow stuff up.
If the Victorians didn't do something soon, the entire city would be swarmed by the beasts.
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Post by CJ on Nov 11, 2013 20:39:16 GMT -5
Kusu went to remove her mask, as Slythe suggested, but kept it tight on her face with her hand when he stated his desire.
She had to know something was up when Slythe was excited to see her. No pirate, criminal or great leader was ever excited to find her on the blue seas for good reason.
Nearly ignoring Slythe's proposition, the pirate crossed her arms in confusion. She couldn't imagine Mr. Dark, Kalen and his spider friend turning into Victorians. It didn't make any sense. How could these people love this place so much?
"So you're an Okama too?" she asked the great leader with a tilt of her head. "Or are you some other animal if you're not human? Sqwee?"
But then the elevator opened. Like everyone else, Kusu was shocked. She grasped onto the sides of her mask as it began to shake violently.
"Run? I can't run, Hil! I can't leave another crew behind. We have to succeed this time!"
Gulping, she tried to disconnect Lynwood from the beast before her in her mind. She bit her lip. It was incredibly difficult to see her friend the way she was now. Quite frankly, it was unbelievable.
"First things, first. We have to get Mask Man away from the Miss! Go, Hil!"
Kusu's mask jumped off her face. It spun in the air and morphed into what looked like a large net. It attempted to grapple onto Jackal, lift him swiftly through the air and drop him in front of the young pirate captain.
Even covered in blood, having maimed and possibly killed Jackal and Greed, Lynwood would always be more of a maiden that Kusu felt he ever could be. Wasn't that the truth though? It wasn't just his gender he tried to hide, but everything else that Slythe now talked about in grandeur. Ever since that fateful day he met Thistlewood, Hito and the rest of his old crew, he knew he didn't belong. His warlord brother warned him it wouldn't be safe, for him or anyone else he came across in this alternate timeline. He ruined so many people's lives because of his selfishness.
He was too young for piracy and far too immature to ever think of taking on the role of a captain. But when Thistlewood and the first crew disappeared, that's exactly what he did. He knew of the dangers his name brought to others but thought he would rise above it. Instead, Nick died and he had no idea what happened to his other friends, the fishwoman and the cat in particular. The only one he knew of was the prince, and he could never bring himself to ever like him. Kusu truly felt he was horrible.
Fear sent his heart racing. It was very likely he was about to destroy more lives here and now and become even more of the thing Slythe admired.
Glaring at the beast of a former crew mate, the captain stood still and frowned. Soon, the roars and screeches of the destruction of the city made it clear as to what really was going on outside. So the mechanized monster was back again, Kusu thought in solemn despair. Shitty Sword sprang up from its metal net formed and floated about the pirate in defense.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Kusu said to Slythe with alarming sincerity, "but I'm afraid even I wanted my crew to join your audience, they wouldn't listen to me now.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Nov 13, 2013 5:43:31 GMT -5
Throughout the entirety of Slythe's grand speech on the methods of the sort of people Kusu surrounded herself with, Kalen looked on with some degree of interest. He kept alternating between holding his chin with an inquisitive look, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow, and scratching his head with one eye closed and biting his lip a little. It took quite awhile for all the information Slythe divulged to sink in, and even longer for Kalen to try and make sense of it in his head. Eventually though, the shepherd finally managed to navigate his way through the mountain of new knowledge, and formulate what he believe to be a proper and appropriate response.
"Whut?
And then everything started to go to hell. He could guess that there was probably more than one source of destruction occurring based on the sound and rumbling coming from outside the tower, but the only one that was immediately apparent to him was Lynwood. Or rather, the thing that was Lynwood. He wasn't experienced or worldly enough to try and figure out what happened to her, all he knew was that she had turned into some sort of monster, and that the Victorians were apt to take her out. Priorities were priorities, and he had to take care of what mattered most at that moment.
"Silver, stay by Kusu and the others. If anything bad happens... or, anything worse, they'll find a way out of it so hang with them." With that he pulled off his makeshift captains jacket and let it fall to the floor. Now he was just down to his undershirt and the mass of bandages covering his arms and torso, the latter ones rather bloody in particular. He moved into a position that looked like he was about to start a race. "Me, I'll be back in just a minute. Just need to go get my jacket back."
And he was off, assuming the Victorian armed forces didn't immediately vaporize or otherwise stop him from doing so. His plan was... well he didn't have a plan, but his aim was to essentially run at the Lynwood beast and try to grapple with it just long enough to get his jacket off her and not die in the process. In truth it was a terrible plan, but Kalen didn't think through even half the stuff he did most of the time.
If it wasn't tending sheep, then he had to improvise, as was the case now.
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Post by Kuro on Nov 22, 2013 18:36:51 GMT -5
"Sorry? Ha! It seems that you still have a lot to learn if you worry about your minions 'listening' to you!" Glee had returned to Slythe's voice, replacing the anger and confusion he had been speaking in a few moments ago. He looked down at the bloodied Jackal, who Hil had been able to save. At the moment, the remnants of Lynwood were occupied with Wrath. "Oh, quite the show, isn't it, Jackal? You finally find a competent crew to help you, and now one of them is a mindless beast that eats your face. How unexpected. Poetic even, if you look at it hard enough. Ah ha ha ha, it almost makes up for the fact that you've brought a little bundle of destruction with you to my beautiful creation." The building trembled again and, since Jackal was far too injured to give any sort of response, Slythe turned his attention to Kusu. "I did not expect for you to start blowing everything up so soon - or at all, really - but I suppose that's all you really can do, hm? Walk across the world and leave suffering in your wake. A truly admirable life you must live. Your every step is one that leaves the world worse for wear. You must be so proud. I know I would be." Through it all, he had managed to keep at least a bit of wine left in his drink, which eh downed calmly and elegantly. "Ah. Now then, Kusu, if you would come with - "
A sound of quick steps and one of Mr. Dark's guns pointed to Slythe's head. His other hand held the other gun, which was also pointed at the C.E.O's gut. "I do not know what kind of armor you may or may not have under your fur and vest, but I am willing to take the risk that it will not survive a bullet at this close of a range." Slythe turned to look into Mr. Dark's hidden eyes and chuckled. "Oh, Mr. Dark, you take yourself far too seriously. Come now, are we not more than this? A few vandals and killers pointing guns at each other? We are so much more than this petty little conflict."
"Such a question is irrelevant. You will take us out of Victoria or you will die. There is no other choice."
"Ah ha ha ha ha...Is that so? But you've only just arrived; it would be such a shame for you all to leave now, cataclysm or no. No, I think i'll just have all of you stay here in this room for now. I'd like to enjoy watching this little show here and see how it plays out. So, Mr. Dark, kill me if you must. You'd love to dispense a little justice, now wouldn't you? Strike me down with your righteous fury, although I really must say: If you are such a beacon of good, a being of justice and punishment, then when exactly are you going to put an end to Kusu's life, hm? After all, in this world of darkness and crime, there is one person who had been beside you this whole time, and she is one of the worst of all. Or do you enjoy playing 'Daddy' too much to see her brains splattered all over the floor?"
BANG
"Hm. Maybe a bit much. Oh well, I suppose it works."
Sloth looked out the newly enlarged window in front of him and did not move from his seat as the city burned before him. Smoke billowed from the depths of flame as the splendid monoliths of the city began to melt and distort. Spires of gold and silver were erased or fell apart from the power of the beams, all to the omnipresent sound of screaming; a single, continuous, deafening roar hundreds of floors below.
"...Hm. It is quite a sight, isn't it? Beautiful, in a way. A shame that it's Victoria that is the subject of such a piece." He sighed. "Well. I guess there might be some trouble if this just keeps going on. But to solve it would involve a lot of procedures, paperwork, signatures, all of the prim and proper stuff. Eh. I'm sure Wrath or Lust'll get around to it eventually. There's quite a lot of city, and it looks like they haven't really focused on us yet In the meantime, we may as well watch, hm? Unless you have more pressing matters to attend to, young prince."
And then an idea sprung to mind. Still speaking in a variety of bored tones, he lazily pointed in Kara's direction. "...Hey. You know, there's a lot of enemies down there, and each one is supposed to be a superweapon. Each one is capable of annihilating countries, crushing life, and obliterating all before it. They're practically begging to be beat up by someone stronger than them. They're supposed to be the strongest things in the world; seems like someone's made a mistake. Maybe you'd like to try and fix it. Show people that you could destroy any of this, hm? Each and every one of those robots thinks that they could crush you like a bug. You're not going to let them get away with that, are you? Why, you can practically hear them laughing. You going to just let them do that?"
Even then, his attempt at manipulation sounded rather half-hearted, but perhaps that would be enough. This was all a rather nasty business anyway and while it was all very fun to watch, the longer this lasted just meant more things to fix. Sigh. The unbearable problems of an Executive.
Unbeknowest to him, in the very same building, time, and reality as he complained internally, a bang sounded out.
As Slythe had mocked the captain and first mate of the Feather Pirates, the beast had moved with unreal agility. A moment before the laser shot out, it jumped to one side and dodged the laser by a few inches. With the laser still shooting out of his finger, he moved it this way and that, intending to slice and dice the beast. Unfortuantely, it leapt and spun around the thing each time as if she was water, flowing in the air as she came closer and closer. When she was arm length's away from Wrath, she managed to make a tremendous someersault of a leap over the floating, seven-foot monstrosity and landed behind him without a misstep.
Before he could turn, there was a blur and the sound of something tearing.
She stood behind Wrath, her dagger fully embedded in his back, but only for a moment. She took it out as quickly as she had shoved it and stabbed again and again and again, her bladework leaving hole after hole after hole in his body, all in the span of a few seconds. Wrath swung his arm back in an attempt to strike her, but she ducked and as the Executive turned towards her, she took the chance to strike again. She stabbed upwards and forwards into a single, precise strike that left the dagger stuck into his heart. The beast showed as much of its teeth as possible in a horrible, wide-eyed smile of pride; of having vanquished this strange prey.
The Executive was silent for a moment.
A moment.
"...Hmph. How much of a child you are."
The Executive pointed his fingers to the beast's head like a gun. The beast raised one leg up and kicked the Executive in the chest, using the knockback to propel herself back and take her knife out of his body with her. She ended up narrowly avoiding the laser that way and snarled at the sight in front of her.
The Executive had several holes in his back and one hole on his chest, but no blood spilt from any of them. In fact, nothing came out at all. He showed no sign of pain, still floating in place in a confident manner. His posture or demeanor was not affected in the slighest, except perhaps that he seemed and sounded somewhat calmer.
"As if you could kill a god."
"Wait, Kalen, no!"
The beast growled and leapt forwards only to fall down from the weight of Kalen jumping onto her back. She rose quickly, swiping her hands behind her at the boy and shaking in every direction to try and get him off, which was made all the more complicated by his efforts to take his jacket back. While for Kalen there was the matter of staying onto a mad beast that shook and swung her body at a high speed, a guttural growl coming from her all the while, it may have seemed a rather odd or amusing sight to others. It certainly was for the laughing Slythe, although not for the Victorians who were still focused on the malfunctioning Greed and incapacitated Pride.
"Hmph. How laughable. If only I had a sense of humor." He pointed his finger at the beast and the shepherd, both of them easy targets in their distraction.
BANG
The laser shot out a far distance away from the target, the wielder's aim suddenly altered. A flattened bullet fell to the floor, having hit something but not made it through. Wrath stood still and silent, simmering with a growing rage.
Mr. Dark glanced at his guns, both of which were still pointed at Slythe, in confusion and looked to where the bullet must have come from judging the way in which Wrath's head had jerked.
...How interesting.
The beast eventually flipped Kalen over her and onto his back, which ended up getting the jacket off of her as well. A victory for the shepherd! Unfortunatley, it seemeed as it would not last for long as Lynwood's hand was raised above him, ready to plunge for the kill.
BANG BANG
"Run, you mindless idiot! Surely even a dog knows when to flee?!"
Lynwood dodged the other two bullets and looked in the direction from which they came, which led to the crowd of Victorians that had been looking upon the other two Executives. They had all jumped and looked around frantically at the sudden sound of gunfire in their midst and soon distanced themselves away from one, solitary figure. A female Victorian, tall and of a subtle hourglass figure, stood proudly in a crimson coat with long, black feathers from some huge bird lining her collar and the ends of her sleeves. Black straps could be wrapped around her arms, shoulders, and chest, although it seemed that besides a barely noticeable amount of tightening the coat, it served only an aesthetic purpose. The rim of the coat reached just above her knees. She wore long, black boots with straps and high heels over her crimson pants.
Atop her head was a large crimson hat with one of the long, black feathers jutting out of it fashionably. Below the hat was a mask in a menacing snarl full of disdain and fury.
Her pistol was pointed at the beast and fired again, which the beast dodged yet again before rushing towards her. The crowd completely dispersed in a panic, but one unfortunate Victorian found himself thrown by a certain feathered peer into the beast's path.
"NO, WAI -"
A swipe of the hands and blood splattered onto the floor, a thud coming soon afterwards. The beast knelt down and finished the prey off, her teeth gnashing and tearing. Another laser shot out at her and the fight between the beast and Wrath commenced again.
With the jacket in Kalen's grasp, Silver hefted him by his collar quite easily and looked towards Mr. Dark and Kusu, with the bleeding Jackal laying beside them. "We have to leave, quick! They're all distracted, we can -"
The black-feathered Victorian appeared next to the spider and gestured to the elevator with her pistol. "Into the elevator immediately! Or do you wish to die here, worm? Do as I say!" Silver was caught off-guard by her sudden order and looked towards Kusu and Mr. Dark again out of worry. "Go, Silver. We shall follow." She nodded and took Kalen with her into the elevator, the Victorian coming in soon afterwards and pressing the buttons to operate the machine. "Keep your distance, vermin. I have no desire for either of you to sully my fine clothing."
And with that the elevator doors closed and it went down. With both of his pistols still locked on Slythe, Mr. Dark looked between him, Kusu, and Jackal. "Kusu, have Hil carry Jackal, he shall acquire medical attention later. Slythe, you shall follow us or die, as stated before. Move now."
The chairman threw his head back and laughed. "Ha! As if I would share an elevator with any of you. No, I have a much better idea." A light shone at the end of one of his fingers and he swung his left arm from left to right, a laser cutting through all in its way. And yet, he had aimed it above Kusu's head and stopped his arm before it could touch Mr. Dark.
"...Ah ha ha ha."
The two elevators that had not yet left suddenly seperated into two halves each, the bottom halves falling down into the pit below. The entire wall had been cut in half, which didn't make the building any more stable in all of the trembling. The elevator that had already left would not be affected, as the elevators were propelled by wheels on the sides of them rather than one long rope pulling them up and down. But there was no way that elevator would be able to come back up.
Mr. Dark looked on in stunned silence as their means of escape was sliced. He looked back to Slythe, who chuckled. "Now, if you want to leave through my secret exit, you will have to do as I say. Otherwise, I may just stay here and let you two die. As you may have seen from Wrath's little performance, you cannot kill a god. I could stay here until this building crumbles and make it out alive. You two, on the other hand..." He laughed again, Mr. Dark's guns now powerless before him. "Oh, isn't this all exciting? Isn't it fun? Oh, yes. Hm? Oh, Pride, how nice of you to join us."
The Executive floated into the room, no longer incapacitated, although Greed's frustrated screaming could be heard behind him. The other Victorians were now all spread across the room, their eyes on the unpredictable beast, but too scared to risk a single shot. Pride looked upon the fight. "You seem to be doing well, Wrath."
A tearing slice across Wrath's chest, but to none of his discomfort. "Silence!"
"Hm. Anyways, now that you're done with your little nap, how about you go fetch the people who just went down the elevator? I don't want them getting too far away."
"As neither do I." Pride floated down one of the elevator tunnels that the trio had not gone into. He would not make any sight or sound.
"Now then, as we enjoy this little show of Wrath viciously fighting the mindless, bloodthirsty body of one of your beloved friends, let's talk about why exactly you would want to keep Jackal alive. After all, he's proven to be nothing but a burden to you. Surely, in your absolute path of destruction, you would not care if a single such person died? Just another lost soul, another speck gone from the world. What do you, an envoy of chaos, care for a fools' life?"
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Post by Mise™ on Nov 23, 2013 10:14:21 GMT -5
Prince Karalisk listened to what Sloth had to say and surprisingly he seemed to agree with what the lazy executive said that someone mighty should go out there and fight with all the nasty cyborgs rampaging outside in the happy town of Victoria. "Yes. That's what we should do. You're a fucking genius! Almost half as fucking great as I am!" For possibly the first time in the history of this One Piece role play His Highness complimented someone. Arkady Industries' executive Sloth certainly was something special. "*cough*" To further congratulate the executive, prince Karalisk walked closer to him or so it would appear, but in fact as His Highness got close to Sloth he would actually grab him and then try to throw him in the middle of the cyborgs. Just a moment ago the executive had referred to himself as a god and even such a lowly creature should be able to handle this. As usual the prince was very determined to have things go his way, so even if the executive was able to avoid getting thrown he would just try and try again until Sloth would have to take on the Wolves. After setting up the fight for the night it would then be a time to watch it and so His Highness prepared his telescope ready to observe this great match. "*cough*"
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Post by CJ on Nov 25, 2013 21:37:24 GMT -5
"Mr. Dark," Kusu warned, "don't kill him. Don't do it!"
He looked back at the chaos with a terrified expression. The black-feathered Victorian didn't seem trustworthy, especially since she attacked the beast, Lynwood to Kusu. He wasn't aware she was saving Kalen's life.
"Wait," he mumbled as Mr. Dark told Silver and the others to leave. He wanted everyone to go together, not understanding they really couldn't.
Then the boogeyman made yet another command he didn't agree with.
"If Jackal were to die," Kusu whimpered, "Hil would... No. I can figure this out."
Tyrfing, more commonly known as Shitty Sword, was a cursed sword. It captured the soul of whoever touches it when he or she dies. It then forces the victim to obey whoever wields the soul. At Breakwater, the crew saw firsthand how terrible the consequences could be if someone else got a hold of it. Ezekiel killed innocent people with its power. As much as Kusu wanted to trust Jackal, he couldn't trust him with Hil. Or worse, trust that he wouldn't die and replace Hil in the sword.
The katana melted and morphed into a coiling rope, which Kusu grabbed onto. It wrapped around Jack like a cocoon and formed a spoon-like shape to prop his head up. As morbid as the situation was, it looked almost like Kusu was holding Jackal up like a balloon.
"No!" he shouted as Slythe cut the elevators. His thoughts ran wild. What was that woman going to do with the remainder of her friends?
Cringing and looking away from the bloodied Wrath, he tried desperately to maintain his composure. He was ill prepared when Slythe asked why he wanted to save Jackal.
"He asked for help," Kusu began with a gulp, "so I gave it to him."
Tears streamed down his face. His parakeet wings grew larger and green feathers began to cover his skin. They stopped along the bottom of his face. He seemed to reacting physically and emotionally to Lynwood's destructive rage.
"I never wanted anyone to die. No one deserves to die. Not even someone as terrible as you. I only ever wanted to be a friend but my actions have only caused pain and misery. I thought this crew would be different, but I was wrong. At the very least I can be a friend to those who are left."
Pausing, he looked again at Lynwood. He once wanted so badly to be like her. Long ago, his fathers told him of real maidens, people like Lynwood. They were not only beautiful in their appearance, but beautiful in their hearts. Lynwood's example made Kusu believe he could emulate a real maiden, at least in heart.
But this beast wasn't anything like a maiden. It wasn't anything worth aspiring to. For all he knew, Lynwood never existed. And in that, Kusu despaired.
"I stand by what I said before. Jackal is our friend. He asked for help, so I gave it to him. Now, take us to the rest of our friends or I-I'll make you... somehow!"
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Nov 27, 2013 3:33:50 GMT -5
"Sweet! Got my jacket ba- OH DAMN!"
Kalen didn't honestly expect to come out on top against the monster let along get his jacket back, but that was exactly what happened, much to his surprise. For a moment he was ecstatic, until he realized the monster was about to bear down on and horribly kill him. Cringing for the death-to-be, he didn't notice Silver's approach until she actually carried him off.
"Thanks Silver, I was almost a goner there."
He wasn't exactly sure what happened, only that Silver had saved him from the monster, but that he owed the Victorian as well. He let himself be carried to the elevator no problem but when he was set down as the vehicle began its descent (or was it ascent, he couldn't tell), he fell to his hands and knees as he was let down, but this didn't faze him much. He was too enamored by his Victorian savior.
"Keep your distance, vermin. I have no desire for either of you to sully my fine clothing."
"A-Anything you say M-Ma'am! That was such an impressive display though... you saved us! I wish there was some way to thank you, surely someone as amazing as you deserves it?"
It was hard to tell how much of what he said was truly felt, and how much was a bit of lip service. He felt though that they needed to in some way thank their Victorian protector, and praise seemed to be one of the best ways of doing that. He hoped Silver would understand, heck she could even help out with a kind word or two herself. It was undeniable though, that there were sparkles in his eyes, when the shepherd gazed upon his splendorous feathered savior.
"If only you had a name, so that we might properly address one so resplendent as yourself."
He wasn't even sure what resplendent meant, he just remembered seeing it in a high-class magazine while in first class aboard the Hyperion. He liked the the way it sounded and hoped it would be appropriate in usage here.
Whatever the case, on the ground as he was since he didn't yet manage to rise to his feet or otherwise, to some extent he resembled a dog grovelling at the Victorian's feet. Intentional or otherwise.
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