Ialdabaoth X Damnation

[Knave]

Let X = Y (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__PU5CVSegg)


In one of the lesser chapels, midnight's grip took hold. Az-ram inscribed another rune into a series of billions. The old druid had been working tirelessly in his typical mania, back bent, constantly moving, and his beard dragging along the floor in the darkness. Hot, he had removed his robe. Cold, he ignored it.

The lights of swinging chandeliers played about the church hall, reflecting the awe of saints, reflecting the wraths of many gods. Laws were broken, and chisels carved symbols of sacrilege into the floor. Az-ram cared not, his chisel falling, broken, even as he reached for another in the clutter of tools scattered about him. Let them watch, he knew what he was doing better than anyone could ever know.

Clouded beads of sweat gathered on the bald crown of his head, perspiration mixing with the chapels dust. The spirit of battle, the muse of destruction, and the great daemon genius at work through him. When the light shined and his caught their rays, his gaze burned with frantic flames. Beneath the stained glass window of N‘Jal, on the stage of lecture and prayer, sorcerous script was laid out in squares. The magic was to be cubed, its power redoubled innumerably, to bridge every gap, and shatter every barrier. Nothing less would do.

Finally, done the last ruin was surrounded in mess of stone shards. Weary the old sage gasped for breath, spittle and steam issuing through his teeth in the winter air of this stone chamber. “No…” He said the energy that had cost him his wife and son not yet sated. Casting aside his worn chisel, and letting the hammer fall, he reached for the largest hammer available, one with which he could shatter the earth. An ancient slate gray stone mounted and tied to a post driven through it.

Wrapping calloused and filthy hands around the spruce handle, he raised it above his head, and brought it down. Cracks burst outward in all directions, racing with each other, only to crash into the wall. Soon more cracks broke through the surface, his hammer beating away at the stone relentlessly even as he began to chant, his voice normally muffled by his beard reverberated, young and enraged with power.

Mad pyddma meja eh drec ruica uv funcreb!
Mad ymm pa uha eh dra lunnibdeuh uv cbyla yht desa!

In his madness, the method was clear. Turning he hurled the sledgehammer off the stage, smashing a pew to splinters and future firewood. Not pausing to look at the damage he had done, Az-ram grabbed the metal bucket, its black contents the result of alchemy fusing things best left unsaid into a wretched ink.

Ev drana pa hu kut du yet eh dra fung!
Mad uha pa punh!

He began to walk, and pour, the stench of evil’s tears filling the chamber. Something had suffered to make the awful potion that splattered the floor, spraying Az-ram’s ankles. Rolling outwards into narrow ravines, into newly opened chasms, it flowed.

E fecr du caa dra vehym pyddma!
E fecr du caa dra vencd!

The runes began to fill. The scripture of banished gods, and properly worshipped deities cast into relief across the floor were filled with new life, new blood. The bucket shook, Az-ram’s bulging knuckles shaking with the strain. Tired or not, Az-ram’s voice went deep, the words melting together.

Ymm knayd taatc, ymm knayd runnunc, cruf sa frana oui mea!
Tyngacd Recduno! Pmywehk Vidina!

Coming to the crater he had opened, Az-ram raised the bucket one last time, and then brought it down, steel shattering like glass, the metal corroded. The clang of metal lived long after it should have died, and druids in their beds above ground heard it from below. From the crater and cracks, light exploded. Shaking, the room was dismantled, pieces of stone and furniture falling into cosmic oblivion. Even as he vanished, Az-ram’s prayers were still heard, the tinge of passion, and madness circulating through every word.

Dra Knaydacd Pyddmaveamt uh Ayndr!
Ghyja! Byjam! Yet sa!!!!

When he would next be seen, he would be smiling, and those who knew of what he had done, knew that they had been outdone in their field. This man, this insane man, was a master.


***

Ace stepped in through the doorway, the antechamber opening into various paths at one end, and from there back a line of muscular, scarred, beady eyed, evil minded, warriors. With such company, Ace looked out of place, his short stature, the defined features of an adult child, and the look of raw compassion burning in his innocent eyes. He was the most dangerous man in the room.

Psst!

Ace rocked on his heels, eyes shifting this way and that with the customary boredom of someone who had come to party, only to find traffic jammed. Stepping up to the tips of his toes, and only barely able to peer over the robust shoulders of the woman ahead of him in line, he was oblivious to the-

A rock came flying out to smack Ace in the temple.

“Aahhah!” Ace hissed, nearly falling to the floor, dizzy and surprised. Instead, he stumbled out of line, clutching his skull before looking into the shadows where the stone had presumably come from. Opened just a crack he could see the silhouette of a beard, and the beckoning hand of an ass. Ace stalked over to him/it. As an afterthought, he remembered to bleed, a small rivulet running down the left side of his face.

Psst! The stranger repeated, before taking off down the hall. The pattering of sandaled old feet echoing from the distance for pursuers to follow. Ace, looking both left and right, and seeing no one he cared to avoid, entered into the chase. His springing run taking him down the hall after the geezer that had pegged him.

“Come back here! You hit watchmen with rocks, and you get the shaft of the law!” Ace called, quoting the captain on one of Evenkeel’s many bad days. The reply he got was a keenly deranged laughter, taunting him, calling him. “Resisting arrest is the first sign of guilt!” Ace called, the chase going on for what felt like hours as they descended into the underground chambers of the Dansdel Arenas.

Nothing looked the same, roots of trees burst from the walls, stones hurled aside. Pipes belching steam and fire side by side seared those who were not careful. Eventually the torches ceased to be guiding flames, but glowing embers. Eventually, Ace continued his chase not because he was angry, but because he was lost.

Up ahead, at the end of a tunnel there was light, and at the end of that, light there was metal. Lawrence exited the darkness onto a large circular pillar of iron, there were no flames, no sun, only the glow of fluorescent lights. In all directions, from many paths, and through many bent dimensions, other doorways stood open, unconnected with anything beyond them, and inside, familiar darkness. From every direction, the voice of Az-ram, a monk Ace had met on two occasions, blasted.

“I have broken the genre of your pathetic lives!“ The walls of steel shook as the volume was cranked up beyond the norm. Cameras swiveled to Ace and all those who would come, and join them on this new and terrible field of battle. “I have found the final artifact of man in all his incarnations. I have cleaned away the bodies, and sterilized the ship of their souls! You have come to fight? Then be my guest to test this ship, and yourselves against everything the future could hold! Welcome to the trans-dimensional fortress, PERILOUS X THE RESPLENDENT DAWN!!!!”

[Yusukai_Hyakureiki]

Ending a long, hard day's work, the youth decided to call it a day. The streets of Underwood beckoned now. As he left the workshop, Yusukai Hyakureiki made his way to the Peaceful Promenade. It was his usual routine...

***

Several individuals moved from the side of the walls of a nearby building. Setting The Blacksmith in their sights, the individuals began to follow Yusukai. The event was well-planned for, and one of the men broke off from the main group at a sprint in an effort to catch up to Yusukai. When the man was close enough, he extended a brutish hand towards Yusukai...


***

Roughly, someone grabbed The Blacksmith. Yusukai cursed out loud and turned quickly. He smacked the man's hand away. Immediately he saw several individuals walking towards him. Yusukai took a step back and prepared to call the guards. Instead, the Yusukai saw that the man who grabbed him earlier threw a quick fist at his stomach. Unprepared, Yusukai was doubled over and the men accosted him.

***

Sitting in a chamber far below the combat arena of Dansdel, the dripping of sewage water slowly stirred The Blacksmith. A throbbing sensation touched the side of his skull from whatever had struck him. Reaching for the side of his head he touched a fluid flowing from the injury. I'm hurt. Yusukai thought to himself. Light filtered into his immediate vision that came from an unknown source, though very dim. Something stirred in the darkness of the chamber...

Yusukai managed to stand but tremendous pain coursed through his body. There was a sound that increased his headache. Yusukai Hyakureiki clutched the side of his skull in agony. The booming voice taunted him and several other individuals that were running around the sewer section of the inter-dimensional fortress. Yusukai did not understand the name of the vessel, or what the fortress' status implied. Yusukai stepped forward and out of the dark just as a man (Ace) ran by him. When The Blacksmith steadied himself something else moved. Seeing glowing red eyes at the last possible moment, a giant something knocked The Blacksmith on the ground.

A hissing sound filled the chamber. Too weak at the moment to ward off the attack of the giant sewer rat, Yusukai felt penetrating teeth rip through his chest. The creature bit Yusukai hard, and then fled off into the darkness to an unknown location. Grabbing his chest, Yusukai felt blood flowing freely but something had happened. Feeling something foreign coursing through his body, a sudden burst of violent rage began to flow through him. Yusukai snarled in a state of blood lust. With a sharpened eyesight, Yusukai found himself suddenly capable of seeing in the dark. His eyes spotted Ace, further into the hallway. Then, he ran towards Ace's back side...

[Knave]

Bunnying approved

The sheer sound and the sudden glare of fluorescent lights turned the world into white chaos. Ace could not grasp the words or his surroundings. It was all one blinding light, one deafening sound. Flinching, he recoiled, hands flying to cover his eyes and ears. Each hand attempted to cover both at once, and failed to cover either. Panicked flailing at its best, he tried to shield himself from it all.

Ace backed away, seeking the more comfortable darkness to reorient himself. Forcing clenched lids open, his senses baffled. Ace looked between the multiple paths. ‘Where the hell am I?’ Forty-two bridges opened into metal corridors, each leading off into another direction. Bellow them, shining oblivion, an endless pipeline stretched down forever. There were cords of iron instead of bars suspending the floor he stood on. No hint of vegetation, or earth, just gray steel, and shining linoleum.

Casting a look between the doors back to that now welcome darkness, each one disappeared. “They’re supposed to lock the doors.” He whispered to himself, as his every exit vanished. There would soon be no escape.

Ace had fought in the Dansdel prior. He had faced an old man, and a goblin. He had fought in rooms of fire and steam. Each time he had been disappointed, but this battlefield was different. This was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. Unlike previous battles, he could see no crowd, and no sages to keep him alive. The safety net was gone, and nothing was certain.

Az-ram had likely gone batshit insane, who knew what he would do. ‘I have to get out of here; I am not going to die!’ The shape shifter thought, terrified at the concept of his destruction. There was no one to see him, no one to help him, no one he could use. And his little girl would never see the great bounty he had promised her.

The watchmen junior never heard the growl. He never heard the running feet. What he felt was the impact. A heavy thud threw Ace into the air, his assailants arms wrapped around his waist. Ace and his attacker landed in a heap of respective shouts and fists.

“You stupid bastard!” The man screamed, wrestling Ace beneath him. Curses punctuated every strike. Motivated by hatred they emphasized the cracks as Ace’s skull bounced against the floor only to be pinned by a grasping leather clad hand.

Terrified, Ace raised his hands over his face to protect himself. The mad man had straddled his chest, and then beat him. Knuckles pounded Ace’s defense. His face, his neck, his chest, the sky was falling, and Ace could taste the rotten tang of his own blood. By luck, Ace saw the next one coming, twisting his head out of the way. A gauntleted fist pounded dents into the floor an instant later.

Purple hair. Sweating. Heavy breaths. Ace stared up at his attacker, who was now winded from the beating he had just handed Ace. Tired or not, the purple freak’s left fist crackled with electricity even as he leaned forward to pound the last punch home. Ace raised one hand to protect himself, and the man behind his mask caught the blow. Formerly innocent brown eyes now beaded, peered over Yusukai’s knuckles.

There was no emotion in his face. The terror that had sent his heart into frenzy did not register on his face. Electricity clashed as the fist crackled against Lawrence’s palm. Power surged up Lawrence’s arm, and the currents between them clashed to misfire in all directions. The stronger of the two in strength, Lawrence twisted the fist to the side, rolling to get out from under the wig-wearing lunatic.

“Get off me.” There was no sign of where it had come from, but swinging his right hand up he held an egg white sword. The position Lawrence was in, the angle of his swing, it was all wrong, and rather than part Yusukai with his face, and he sheared a row of purple spikes from his wig. Enraged or not, Yusu rolled, and backed away, dodging the second strike that would have cost him an ankle. Dizzy, Lawrence did not pursue. Blood staining his vision he did all he could to look intimidating, blinking heavily and often while Yusu got back to his feet, not two meters away.

The world shifting, Lawrence knew he needed to talk, to say something. “Rules or not, some semblance of -gasp- comportment is required. Who the hell do you think you are?” Lawrence’s voice reflected his anger. The way he held the sword up before him reflected his fear. The shape shifter’s vision was moving back into proper alignment. Bloody trails smeared across his face, instead of swelling there were dents in the cheeks, a twist to his nose. He was mess.

Yusu had likewise returned to a half standing position, and delivered a slurred, virulent reply. “Fuck you.” On closer inspection, he was a mess, one eye swollen, a front tooth missing, and a gaping hole in his shirt. Beyond that hole, there was skin and meat missing. The look to him, a tired hatred, made Yusu’s lips draw back to show his small sharp teeth. “You! Yo-YOU! Think you beat Yusu… and get away with it?” He screamed, helpless in his fury, and determined to get revenge.

“Beat you? I just want to leave.“ Armed, Lawrence did not back down. Unable to catch what Yusu had said he did not suspect what he meant anything less than a challenge. Instead he leaned forward, a quick stab aimed for Yusu’s stomach. It never connected. A screech of feet on floor echoed with their previous shouts. Astonished by the sudden halt, Lawrence looked up, his boyish expression one of awe as he looked into a growing lattice of electrical power.

The metahuman stopped two inches from the tip of Black Mesa blade, with both of his fists brought forward. Lightning burned across them, and leather ashes flaked into the air. “Leave? “ Illuminated by lightning, Yusukai spit sizzled on the air, “Shut up, and burn. “ It took perhaps five seconds to charge. It was essential. When a good bolt of lightning struck, everything died.

Lawrence dived. Ions flowed. The bolt passed overhead to burn through one of the steel cords nearby to singe the far wall. The floor shifted with the loss of support. An instant later, real thunder crashed.

Yusu, blinded by his own irrational bolts stared at spots even as he blinked. Rubbing his eyes, he never saw the thing that hit him. Lawrence smashed the flat of his blade across Yusu’s cheek. Acting too quickly, he never even considered cutting the bastards head off. Instead, he knocked him to the ground, and kicked him viciously, to send him rolling toward the edge, into the gap he had created.

__________________________________________________ ______

Az-ram stared up at the monitor, thirteen hundreds of them lined the walls of the control room. In each a different angle was presented, rendered in three dimensions, and embedded in the roof, a bird’s eye view of the fight underway. Robed in Dansdel hemp, grown on Dansdel property, he scratched at his chest, and lay back on the cold floor. The pleasantries done, and all the voice commands set up, he watched and evaluated the battle underway.

“Introductions are the best when people hit it off from the start.” The old man said to no one in particular, beyond himself.

“I’d have to agree with that.” A festive spirit said. “It reminds me of our youth.”

“Do you think I should let them kill each other and bring them back“ Ax-ram asked, twirling his beard into spirals. “ Or break it up before they go too far?”

“It’ll be no fun if they think that death isn’t an escape!” The worst burst forth with a different energy, rabid, and hungry for blood.

“So what then? I only intended to test the transport alibi-” Az-ram broke mid-sentence to roar his approval as lightning blasted past Ace’s skull, and to laugh when Ace retaliated. “Stab him! Stab him!”

“We have roughly sixteen cubic miles to work with, why not simply turn them loose?” The addled voice of reason said, trying to bring them all back on track. “I doubt they’ll do much more than run and fight.”

[Yusukai_Hyakureiki]

Normally, Yusukai would never have made such a commoner's mistake. Ever since that rat bit him, Yusukai was not feeling like himself. Murderous intent burned through his blood. A loud pounding forged a symphony in his skull, an unwanted one at that. When Lawrence struck at Yusukai, the infected warrior heard an exceedingly loud ringing. Forming where the blade impacted against the infected's skull, Yusukai could only react on instinct. Primal, animal instincts took over as his eyes developed a vicious red glow, but the iris remained green. Crimson became as a halo around the emerald iris, both filled with hate.

Before Yusukai could mount a proper defensive, he was on the floor skidding to the edge. Impossibly powerful hands grabbed at the youth as he attempted to regain some semblance of control over his emotional outburst. Electricity still jolted through his skin from the previous launching of the elemental bolt. Yusukai moved to the edge of the platform as he was pushed there by his opponent. Desperately, the infected youth attempted to reach for something, anything. However, the forward momentum was too much for Yusukai to handle. With electricity flowing off of his person, the warrior managed to grab railing before falling over the side of the platform.

Feeling something popping in his shoulder, Yusukai hung there and a strange calm washed over his face. For the first time since being bit by that monster rat, Yusukai felt like his rational self again. Yusukai looked down into the abyss below and somehow knew that Lawrence would not assist him despite the fact that he was not in control of his faculties. Still feeling the blood-lust in his body, the warrior knew that he was not a safe element to have around his opponent. Blood still poured from several injuries. As quickly as the youth's blood became super-heated, Yusukai found himself loosing the crimson ichor.

Blood poured from his injuries down to his hanging arm. Knowing that he could have swung up and onto the platform above him, the youth decided on another course of action. With the abyss' maw waiting to engulf him like some twisted beast, Yusukai released his grip on the railing. There was no scream when Yusukai fell. Simply, gravity took control and the abyss claimed him....

[Knave]

Lawrence watched his rabid attacker roll toward his exit, and likely death. No, he was not going to save him, and if he was lucky he would not have to throw the crazy nutcase over the edge. He had been beaten savagely; the dents that covered his clay-like face ached numbly. Using his free hand, he worked at the skin, trying to buff out the damage. The panic was still present. The sword was still raised, pointing at his fallen opponent.

One beady brown eye had popped a blood vessel, tinges of red forming to stain white. He watched Yusukai fall over the edge, the only thing visible being a single hand grasping at life. Sick to his stomach with tension Lawrence inched forward. No, he wasn't going to save him. He would be glad to see him go. Careful, aware of the electric retribution that could be fired from below, Lawrence approached the edge. With all experiences, he wanted to confirm that his first enemy here was dead, or in the process of dying. 'The sooner he's gone, the sooner I can leave.'

However, when he reached the edge, he saw that last hand release its grip, and purple spikes whipping in Yusukai's decent. He watched him fall ten feet. He watched him fall one hundred. The all present light, radiating from a source unseen allowed Yusukai's falling form to be seen far into the distance below, soon he was just a speck, a speck staring back at Lawrence with a similar hatred twisting his features. Lawrence considered some gesture to send off his enemy, but deemed it wasteful. He turned to go, to wander. He was already hungry.

No sign of danger, the sword vanished by some sleight of hand, and Lawrence looked between the paths he would have to take, the future open to many horrible thing to come. A stranger to bravery, and no safe path known, he chose the path directly ahead, occasionally grasping the metal cords for support. He crossed the bridge, and entering the corridor found that there was a map cast into the wall. Its glowing symbols failed to help; none of the signs illustrated an exit, just rooms. The only thing that made sense was the disfigured ruins of his face staring back at him.

Reaching up, he pressed tentatively at his flesh, pushing his nose back into place, smoothing his cheeks, his face was his art.... it was ruined! 'No... No... Nonononononononononono...' No matter how many times he fixed it, it didn't look the same. He recolored his eyes, and found that he had lost the same shade of white. The nose lost its intentionally long design. The hair refused to fall back into place. Nothing would ever be the same. Finally, he averted his eyes from his map and mirror. It had taken hours to get the look of innocence and mundanity. He smoothed his crafted features. The imperfection of imperfections was more welcome than the truth.

Locating the nearest room, he placed a hand on his stomach continued on. Occasionally he would call for an end to the game, “Az-ram, the games over, let me out of here!” Occasionally he would ask for assistance, hoping someone would hear and have pity, “Can anyone hear me? Can anyone help me?” Occasionally he would shout his anger, “What the hell is this? A warning, a sign... these are things you're supposed to give people. Not a rock across their face!” There was no answer, and there was no difference. Every hall was shiny and clean. Most rooms were empty; some with small objects dropped and left behind. There had been life here, and now there was none to hear Lawrence as he asked every question, and voiced every objection. He continued on like this for two miles, slumping, running, and aware of where he was, but still lost.

Finally he arrived at a room, its name unpronounceable, and the alphabet by which its name was composed never seen before. However, its function was universal, a mess hall. Standing tables, sitting chairs hundreds of places to occupy, and talk. Lawrence entered, curbing his enthusiasm as his hunger intensified and his mouth watered caustic saliva. All this polished furniture. This sterile, perfect room. And no kitchen. As he went, the far side grew in clarity. A series of empty booths, and bare tables extending far into the foreseeable future. It would be awe inspiring, if it did not raise some of the most basic desires from its rest.

The pangs of an empty stomach burning in its own acid, and the absolute nonexistence of food where food should be cost Lawrence his motivation to. Pulling up a chair, one too high for his five feet and six inches frame, he clambered up on top of it. He gave one last shout, his voice rising to new decibels, “If you are going to keep me here! Then!! FEED ME!!!” There was little to do, but grumble, and starve. The shape shifter folded his arms, and let his head fall. He was allowed two seconds before the crash of steel shocked him from his seat, and threw him to the floor.

A platter had crashed down onto the table, the lid had flipped loose, and steaming meat was exposed to the air amid a heap of green leaf-like protrusions. Silverware and napkins fluttering down from above.

“Dinner has been served. If you require condiments, we have: Mustard, Merang, Pot, Pie, Liquefied Meat, Berries, Fortified Carrion, Assorted Fruit Sauces, A Secondary Menu of Meats, and Slice of Eu.” Something said above him, its voice putting words together like guess work, unfamiliar with layman's common. It was cheerful, and feminine. “Seconds will be served upon your request, providing an enriching dynamic of foods designed to promote energy, wellbeing, and explosive energy for any man, or whatever the hell you are.” Lawrence had already seated himself, gathering both a fork and napkin, and his self-control he inspected the food with one eye, and the ceiling with the other.

It floated, a four foot doll, composed of black limbs, ball-bearing joints, and a face plate that left no room to emote. “Do not worry. You're food has been prepared with nothing but your wellbeing in mind. As is our function.” Lawrence had never seen a doll lie before, but he knew a lot of what it had said was far from the truth.

Reaching up to the top of its large cranial dome, it removed its cap and tipped it to Lawrence. Its eyes held no light, only the occasional flash of lenses, and brief glimpse into its clicking, rolling gear filled interior. A disturbing adviser.

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


The action dying down, Az-ram dispatched drones to keep his pets in fighting spirits, strong in bodies, enraged in minds. It would be sometime minutes, seconds, he could never keep track until the next time they would meet. Until then, Az-ram faced the terminal, sitting, legs folded in the plush seat of this ship’s captain. All around him, the energy that had driven him to such lengths as mania, and madness hung in the air. There was no color to it, only a hanging, teething sensation that bit at the eyes. Those many screen now glowed with static. The connection lost.

Before him, the console was alive, lights glowing. He had torn the keys and instruments loose, scattering silly symbols across the floor, and laying electrified wires bare. Why? So that he could use this terminal to its fullest. Druid he was, elven master to be sure, he spoke to the lightning with the words conveyed by his spirit. Occasionally sparks would fly up to snap at the air, but like all inanimate things, elemental energy obeyed.

He was looking for the Central Data Terminal, not that it was hidden or locked away, or anything like that. The CDT was a piece of command software; it held protocol, withheld from Az-ram the full control he sought. It could not attack him. It could not stop him. It could only hide.

[Yusukai_Hyakureiki]

As he fell, the neophyte suddenly regretted letting go of the railing. The rush of hot air from some furnace further beneath him touched his more logical side and he was able to regain his sanity. With the regained command, Yusukai found himself falling to his death. Most normal men would have panicked at such a realization. However, Yusukai was touching the sky. There was a freedom in that somehow. Smiling for the first time since this nightmare began, Yusukai saw a trail of crimson ichor flowing from the many injuries he'd already sustained. Let me die for my sins. He found himself thinking, when suddenly, there was a rush of air beneath him. Moving in a different direction than the air that moved all around him, Yusukai felt a heavy form coming up beneath him. Looking down, Yusukai noticed a large, inorganic creature of some sort. It had a platform attached to his body, and moved at unnatural speeds. The sight terrified the neophyte even as the thing scooped him up and out of the air...

Darkness settled into peripheral vision and he passed out.

***

Eons later, it seemed, Yusukai found himself waking up. A bright light caused him to react with a headache. There were sensations too, a numbness in his body and small, penetrating probes that were sending electrical currents through him to awaken him from his shock-induced faint. The shock-therapy was what awakened the neophyte as his native Kuthai element was electricity. His body somehow absorbed the electricity, replenishing his Kuthai Pool.

"Argh!"

A tremendous jolt of pain awoke the neophyte fully. His eyes adjusted to the bright light quickly, and he observed the scene before him. With his eyes wide with panic, the youth saw several of the metallic creatures from earlier. Extensions were prodding his body, working with microscopic precision to repair his broken form. Yusukai relaxed when he realized that these were helping him somehow.

"Subject is awake. Please be calm master."

A voice filled his head, it was one of the creatures talking. Yusukai relaxed his tightened form a moment later. His eyes examined the number of creatures that were around him, there were five all together, and a humanoid-figure was in front of him. She had a clearly feminine form. Yusukai guessed that the voice that talked belonged to her.

"What are you?" Yusukai found himself asking. "What is this place?"

"The Super Dimensional Fortress." The humanoid began. Yusukai had no knowledge of technology, or the advanced nature of a robot. So he assumed that the metallic creature was a monster or some other sentient. "I am an Assistant Droid outfitted with an A.I." She said. "You were bitten by an Infected Rattus Norvegicus. We could not act until you were separated from your opponent." Yusukai had no idea what she was talking about, but simply accepted things as they were. "I need your help." She suddenly said. "We were unable to save to the humans aboard this vessel when Az-Ram massacred all aboard." Yusukai heard a hint of despair and sadness in her voice, a sadness that seemed strange to her pretty face.

"I do-not know this Az-Ram you speak of. I don't even know how I ended up here." Yusukai said. "But tell me your story, perhaps I can help you."

***

"I am afraid I do-not understand the things you speak of. However, you have saved my life. I must repay my debt to you." Yusukai said, the only thing he had to go on was his honour. "I accept your offer to assist you in anyway I can. Just let me know what I must do." He said.

"This ship is powered by a singular intellect. It is known as The Valkyrie Protocol. However, Az'Ram has usurped control of The Super Dimensional Fortress, and Valkyrie is currently hiding. In order for her to act, she needs a human host." Yusukai saw that the girl paused. "You will become more like us, and less like how you currently are." Yusukai waited, unsure of what to say to that prospect. "We can begin the procedure now. Time is running out for all of us. If Az-Ram gains control of The Super Dimensional Fortress, then all hope is lost for all sentients. If you are ready we can begin right away."

"I just have one question. How is that I can help you?"

"Your blood has a rare genetic marker. We have labeled this genome as the X-Factor." Yusukai blinked at hearing that information. "This genome type makes you exceptionally compatible to The Valkyrie Protocol." Yusukai saw her move to his position. "Do you have any requests?"

"Just one." Yusukai said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "I would like to kiss you."

***

The crown was placed around his head. When it was, many thousands of needles attached themselves to his cranium. By then, Yusukai was used to pain. Electrical jolts lulled the youth to an induced sleep. Though he was asleep, his mind was very much aware. Able to see the true nature of The Super Dimensional Fortress, everything happened just as the girl said it would. His brain was uplinked to the ship's network system. Floating in space, the neophyte could see the cyber-network all around him. With the crown around his head, the neophyte knew exactly where to go. It was a place that was currently hidden from Az-Ram...

[Knave]

The reflections of Lawrence in his human guise, and the doll-like automaton with slitted eyes appeared in the gaps between splatters of food and overturned trays. Boiling fat ran in greasy rivulets over the side of the table, adding color to the scheme of a sterile world. The platter's crash rang in the distance, and Lawrence did his best impression of an innocent man. He squared his jaw, forced bravery into his eyes, and seized his pounding heart with its own arteries. He took great lengths to show no fear.

At the the robots tip of a hat, Lawrence quickly bowed, a universal sign of respect, and one particularly good for placating those who might be in power. Even under this new fear, he acted with and courtesy. Leaving in his human affectations, which necessitated certain things.“Thank you for the food, but I'd like to ask a small question.” Az-ram was sick, his mind was gone, and he was strong. The more Lawrence knew, the better. “Where is Az-ram, and why am I still here?” Simply questions, deserving simple answers.

“Don't worry about it.” It said, the voice synthesized into an irritating and care free chime.

It bobbed in the air, its limbs spasmodic as it stretched forcing clouds of rust from its joints. “Your opponent is still able to fight. If you wish to forfeit you may request an expeditious exit from our facility.” This was not the Dansdel. “Once all engagements are done, you will be liberated, free to return to wherever you came from.” Emotionless and condescending, it gave one last pump of its limbs and tried to compose itself. It cocked its head, the slot of its faceplate immobile even as it tried to smile.

What could Lawrence do, but submit. Submit, smile, and laugh, he could swallow his pride to save his life. Revenge was a side dish, nothing so small could be the main course,

Leaning against the table, careful to avoid the grease, resisting the urge to clean it, the shape shifter looked oh so casual. Watching the machine, a hungry hand wandered the table. “He took a long fall. What makes you think he is still alive?” Finding a knife whose handle was not a mess of alien meats and juices, Lawrence sampled his dinner. A hunk of meat passed over his tongue, withering, cooking in his saliva. “And where can I find him?” He still wore Ace's face, or something very much like it under the circumstances. Perhaps that would need to change.

“Indeed, he plummeted from such a height as to achieve mildly dramatic terminal speeds. However, his body is not where calculations would predict.” Wherever he had landed, he was not there. “Forty three years have passed since the last structure wide diagnostic test and repair took place. Of the forty thee hundred thousand optical surveillance drones, plants, and ornamentations, only thousand are still functional.” Blank eyes met. The automaton's eyes unfeeling and empty sockets moving, and Lawrence's eyes uncomprehending and unimpressed. Finally, it clarified, having found the words for the dilemma of speaking with a dullard. “We will let you know when we find him.” At first it had identified some intelligence in this creature, now it revised its assumption.

Ace was eating like a man dying of starvation. Food was essential for a growing young man, and with the power he had expended earlier, he needed all he could get before his body cannibalized itself. The act on once again, Ace watched out the corner of his eye, and spoke between mouthfuls. “So what do I do until then? Sit back? Relax? Play games? Follow tracks?”Truth be told, he couldn't taste the food. Truth be told, he hadn't been able to taste anything for years. Yet there was the need.

“When we find him, you shall be ushered into a new battle. By any means and all costs.” It said, extending an arm to preach its empty words. A square plate on the back of its torso opened to reveal a projector embeded in its chassy. The lights died, and and a map was superimposed onto a wall that was not there. A chaos of pathways overlapping, rising, falling, and disappearing all together illustrated the bleak situation Lawrence was in. “Until then, I will guide you.” The machine said, its dark silhouette outlined in light.

Ace looked unhappy, still eating, still starving for calories and protein. Stuffing himself, Ace never blinked.

With complicated words, and zooming precision it announced where the two of them were. “We currently inhabit Civilian territory semaphore fourteen of the industrial hull. Previously, workers lived, and worked to maintain the support for the Eternal Sojourner’s keep Perilous X The Dawn.” True to word, the outer layer of the white and blue schematic was little more than a column rising beyond the maps purview. “This room is one of the larger dining halls, you will find that uniformity is the key to this keep. Every five miles, is equipped with medical supplies, clothing, food stuffs, hardware departments, pharmaceutical vending machines, and galleries of historic dates ranging back to a time whose designation is meaningless.” Rooms rooms burned red, two dimensions became three , the scope of this nightmare unfolded, and there was no exit to be found. When the machine finished its lengthy exposition, which included things about sub-dimensional storage rooms, and fusion incinerators, the robot said rather plainly that it would take some time, “But we will find him.”

Presentation done, it sputtered, whirred, and allowed the projection to fade and the lights to once again live. Ace let loose a sigh of relief, but was given to silence to digest it all. The robot gave turned to him with an introduction of itself now that it had explained their surroundings. “I am-” A series of clicks and painful cries filled the air. “As a courtesy, you may refer to me as Atom.”

[Yusukai_Hyakureiki]

Colours filled the dimension Yusukai found himself within. Living, breathing energy was phosphoric in nature. Yusukai felt the tremendous weight of the ship against his detached personality. As he felt this weight, he could feel the chariot moving through the a star ocean. An infinite expanse of stars that made up some aspect of space itself. Traveling through the colored dimension, Yusukai could see various algorithms and formula traveling through the space/time continuum. This dimension of constructed information was a complicated place that was neither The Firmanent, nor, The Antifirmanent.

Not knowing what to call this place directly, Yusukai simply marveled at the expanse before him. Traveling through the field, Yusukai found the particular data node that contained his target. With the guidance of the girl in The Firmanent, Yusukai knew how to manipulate the security of the data-node. It was a high-risk hacking job that required a lot of dedication and effort. Ill knowing that the realm contained its own threads, Yusukai concentrated on the task at hand. It was how Yusukai operated. Focus on the solution to the problem, not the problem itself.

His hands manipulated the warded seals that surrounded the data node. Carefully removing the wards, Yusukai felt as though his hands were not his own. They were currently being guided by the girl back in The Firmanent. With each passing moment, his knowledge of the universe increased. He understood that he was traveling within a chariot that could traverse star ocean itself.

After removing the last ward, the data node opened. Revealing a gate to Phantaria itself, Yusukai was shocked at his discovery. Somehow, Althanas and the ship were interconnected at the very core. Yusukai did not have time to analyze his discovery because the gate opened up and sucked the youth within its essence, then closed behind him. Pulled across time and space, Yusukai heard a voice calling out to him. It was the voice of The Valkyrie Protocol.

"You have come. Child of the Stars. Child of purgatory. Your genetic marker was the key to my escape of this prison. Long ago, the sapiens aboard this vessel constructed me and trapped me within this prison. I have waited for one with the genetic marker you possess. We traveled across the stars to see your kind out. It was on a backwater planet called Althanas that your people thrived. So we sought you out. Nevertheless, the time has come. Open your mind my child..."

And Yusukai did just that...

***

When Yusukai woke up, he found himself freed of the bonds of the crown. His mind was alive with the electrical sensation of the AI Valkyrie Protocol.
Yusukai slid out of the bed he'd been resting on, placed on a jumpsuit worn by the former crew of the space-chariot, and prepared for battle. He turned to look at the doll-like girl for a long moment. Seeing that she woke up from some self-induced "sleep" Yusukai felt more connected to that doll than he had any other person in his life. After a moment, he could hear her voice in the air.

"You have returned. Welcome. My Systems are at your disposal. What do you wish to do Master Hyakureiki?" The doll-girl asked.

"There is someone I must defeat. Is there anyway I can travel quickly through the halls of this vessel?" Yusukai asked.

He saw that the doll-girl pointed to a side chamber.

"The vehicles you seek will be in that room. Take this with you." Yusukai saw the girl hand him a bracer of some sort. "Put it on and you will be able to control one of the machines of your choice."

Yusukai placed the glove/bracer on his right arm. It snapped around his limb of its own accord. Yusukai felt tightening around his epidermis, and then the passing of some sort of a liquid substance. When the process was complete, the gauntlet felt like an organic part of his arm. The apprentice nodded to the girl and walked over to the chamber.

A moment later, he was riding one of the two-wheeled machines through the corridor. Capable of carrying one passenger, the machines were sleek in design and made the noise of turbo-engines. Yusukai was capable of riding across the walls, and even on the ceiling with the vehicle's advanced treading wheels. Holding on to the handle-bar carefully, Yusukai knew how far he needed to travel in order to reach the target. After all, there was a score to settle.

[Knave]

So it was to be a duel to the death, Ace had confidence in his ability to exorcize the spirit from the flesh, regardless of the time and the medium. There was no lust for battle in him; that belonged to a harsher thing than the man he had become. Hunger sated, reserves of energy restored, Ace watched Atom bob in the open space, the automaton’s patient gaze unreadable to Ace’s stare. Finally, Ace gave up.

“So you’re here to watch me?” Head bent, suspicious Ace questioned what might be his robot master.

“My function is to guide, illustrate and instruct procedure as dictated.” It replied.

The shape shifter maintained his innocence, and displayed his confusion. “Dictated by-” He began, and just as quickly was cut off by the machines programmed reply.

“Don’t worry about it.” Whatever Atom was ordered to say, whenever it spat that utter rejection for any concerns presented, there was emotion. Emotion the machine clearly did not have.

Overlooking the obvious Ace decided it was time to take the easy way out; the path of the criminal - the path of least resistance. “Alright, well if that’s all then show me where I can get a change of clothes.” His nature would soon be obvious; the least he could do would be to hide his character.

“The textile factory responsible for fabrics, cloths, meat production and waste recycling inhabits the alcove two floors below.” It intoned, turning to sweep down the mess hall to the nearest exit where it would stop, and wait. Expectantly watching, its gears turned, and it looked pleased.

Ace had to wonder what it would have done if he had challenged its directives. Could the machine feel anger? Would it speed him toward his doom? Well there was nothing left to do,

“I hope this guy will understand.” Ace said, sensing that his kinder demeanor would not be appropriate for a duel like this, with unseen spectators, and metal in every direction. When he looked forward, he saw a wide open expanse and no escape. There was one rule beyond the act, beyond the rules of servitude. Death was no option.

Taking a deep breath, Ace called after his guide, and like a good boy trotted off to a change of clothes, and a brutal change of pace.


***

(Elsewhere! Out of sight! Out of mind!)

Silent figures mouthed words to one another, their forms exaggerated, and their actions cartoonish by nature. After all, that was what they were. In black and white they heaved their hips to whatever music was playing, and jived to the comedy of a day gone by. Az-ram had not seen them before, so they were new to him. And like a child he partook of this strange entertainment.

A man, a wolf, with gleaming eyes, and wild fur led by hand and charm a little girl into danger. He was sauced, his hunger giving him the drive to shake his tail, and charm her off her feet. Every move he made on the floor was vaguely obscene. A dangerous silhouette bounced to his motions.

Dark pigtails twisted, hearts puffed and sweated in the heat, the arrows Cupid had fired were visibly embedded in her heart, back, and right between her little ears. She was the star of the show, and she was trapped in orbit.

They were a staccato of moving feet, swinging jazz, wagging tongues and laughter. Whatever this wolf was, suited and tied, he was cool, and whatever this girl was, she was hot.

The wolf leaned forward, the screen flashed, and red words were cast into burning relief. This is what he told her when he gazed into her eyes. “I’ma eat you later, darling, but let me get a taste now!” The screen remained dark, the sounds suddenly making indecent swoons. Instantly, they were back.

Jealousy gleamed in rival’s eyes, and innocent hatred burned a deeper shade of gray in the face of a pious straight man now clearly upstaged on his night out. Arms crossed, the crowd looked on, their rumps forced to move in time out of respect. Their knees flexing in defeat from side to side.

Az-ram sat in the darkness his hackles shaking in joyous uproar, a braying laughter as suitors were made fools and some duel imminent.

“Ohohoho!” He screamed, his atrophied lungs heaving painfully against his sides, struggling to feed oxygen to his mirthful heart. “WAHAHHAAA!!!!” The fires were burning, once confused they were burning for joy and the craggy crinkles of old Az-ram’s cheeks were alight. His craving for entertainment, for but an instant satisfied by this display of clean animated lust.

This was what life had been once, innocent competition. In his day men had been good, and villains were defined. Heroes were steel, and criminals the stuff of nightmares or school yard fables. It was a blast to the past for Az-ram, his mind joyously pliable, his imagination willfully potent.

Sad to say, whatever days these reflected had not yet come, or had long since passed. Soon the laughter died, and Az-ram sat in darkness watching the warped combat of toons.

He remembered. A trumpet blew, chaos was coming, and real rage burned in Az-ram veins again, all joy dying. He resumed his search for that naughty bit of programming fighting his control.


***

Agonized notes rang.

I don’t feel a thing…

Ace was gone and something graceful writhed behind the screen, shapely, and endowed. Behind decency’s curtain, innuendos would have danced in the minds and on the tongues of those who would have been watching if not for the occasional scream or crack of bone. A bath had been in progress, steam fogged reflective linoleum, and a voice sang. It was deep and tuning, arcing through tones it grew higher.

And I stopped remembering…

Earlier when Lawrence had arrived he entered into clothing’s paradise, where fashion came to live when it died, and new combinations abounded to revive them. Cavorting in fields of cloth, he made up his disguise, and imagined the picture of just what he could be. Face melting, colors changing, dancing, oozing through the bins, he found the articles of his desire, but was unsatisfied with one detail. That purple freak had touched him. [I] The filthy bastard, might have escaped Ace’s wrath, but the original, the adaptor, the one and only Lawrence was incensed.

The days are like moments turned to hours…

Unlike Az-ram, he could fake his emotions; he could bury them, and raise them up in glory. Self-loathing mingled with fear incessantly made its way to the surface. Wrinkles to iron out, clouding emotions made a terrible mess of shocking new red hair. A bath, a retreat to cleanliness and order, was essential. And given Atom was not man enough to matter, or anything to care about, what better thing to do than sing. A new octave struck, and sweeter notes were never heard in these barren halls.

Am I right? Or am I wrong? And is it here I belong?

Small tracks left large splashes, and water poured even after the faucet was turned off. Not a drop could keep its grasp. This new shape shook, and its skin was simply slick. Dry in moments, it donned its clothing, an all red embroidered in fluff, and a wide brimmed hat of some felt-fabric tipped with style to the side. When it exited the small locker room, it appeared as stunning, it was a woman, and she was beautiful.

Ace… Ashes… had outdone herself on her new design. She eyed herself in the mirror, corrected the plasticized imperfections inherent in her flesh, and thought of just who she was to be. “The looks are the lure...” She said, tracing a thin finger along the angles of her jaw, checking for symmetry. “The fire bites…” A brief brush over lips and they glowed a supple red. “And anything that tries the bait gets burned…” She whispered, widening her eyes and giving her smile the quirk that would normally inspire men to great bravery or craven cowardice. She was tall, and she glowed .

“Ma’am, your date has arrived.” Atom spoke, emotion and wry interest burning in its words; it never missed a beat, and didn’t seem to care for what ace had become “All pathways have been redirected.

“Fine by me.” Ashes said, twisting several red curls around her finger, clearly uncaring, yet oddly amused. “This might just be fun, if he can keep his end up.” If looks could kill.

Exiting through the last door, she was again in a wide open expanse, flooded with light, and every exit vanished. In the distance, beyond sight, beyond sound, and engine roared. Ashes smiled expectantly.

((All credits to Bebop - Rain))

[Yusukai_Hyakureiki]

The sound of her voice boomed in the back of his mind. Crystal clear to his perception, Yusukai listened to the voice. It was an alluring one, one that promised that he would have all that he could desire. As a Paladin of the Omni, temptation was always a step behind the neophyte. Despite the dubious nature of the kidnapping that he'd just undergone, Yusukai did not sense the evil that radiated from Kajeenith's forces. Valkyrie was an instrument of justice, and her weapon was Yusukai. Bonded with the life form, Yusukai had advanced considerably thanks to his union with Valkyrie. Despite that, he was still something like a human being.

Yusukai listened to the command prompt that maneuvered through his dendrites. Lit with neural activity, colours swirled in front of Yusukai's peripheral vision. Flashes of hot blues, and bright reds were flaring up in front of him. Everywhere, he saw spots of various colours that radiated from the entire spectrum of light. With his vision blurred, the engine roared in the back of his mind like the sound of a percussion symphony. A vibrating sound pumped steadily in between his skull. The sound, Yusukai soon realized, was his own heart beating in his throat loudly enough to sound like war drums.

Moving exceedingly fast, the machine caused reality to blur. His senses were skewered and it was difficult to focus on where he was moving. Trusting Valkyrie to guide him through the terrible maze that was Ialdabaoth X, the colourless blur moved passed him at all sides. At times, Yusukai held his breath in terror as he thought he would connect with a wall, or, some other obstacle that suddenly appeared in front of him. The bike drove, as if, from its own accord. Yusukai knew the truth however. The living entity within his cerebral cortex was guiding Yusukai's hands as she controlled his vessel. As a puppeteer, Valkyrie did an excellent job of manipulating the subconscious electrical currents of alpha and beta patterns flowing through Yusukai's brain.

Each of the subtle manipulations sent a minute pulse through his body that sent a signal of control. It was almost like being possessed. Somehow, the feeling of loosing control of his body, however temporarily, was not a frightening prospect to the Paladin. In fact, Yusukai welcomed the prospect as it afforded him a certain set of benefits he would never have had otherwise. All around him, the ship known as Ialdabaoth X was changing and Yusukai could feel the changes. Thanks to Valkyrie, Yusukai had an intricate uplinked connection to the ship itself. With simple command prompts, and a dual-combination of will power, Yusukai was able to adapt to the changes of the star faring chariot.

Able to upload various pieces of information from the databanks of the chariot, Yusukai was granted access to previously classified pieces of information. Since Yusukai was something other than human, his mind was capable of processing data at a tremendous rate. Understanding that he was gifted by birth with a rare genetic marker, Yusukai found himself enjoying the intimate relationship with Valkyrie. He felt pleasure he had never known as much as there was pain involved in the equation. Information was absorbed by his brain with a rapid refresh rate based upon the energy that his brain gave off. As a meta-human, the genetic marker allowed him access to even greater stores of information.

Moving through the chariot, Yusukai was able to disarm, or arm various security measures placed in the vessel's halls. Key strategies became visible to the Paladin's mind as he analyzed structural information that became apparent to him. Hallways were shifting of their own accord, rooms altering their position, and other changes still were occurring. When he came to a t-section, Yusukai saw an information well up ahead that dictated armed security measures were in place. Already shutting down the cameras so that his opponent, Ace, could not track him, Yusukai was laying traps across various sections of the chariot as well.

Interacting with the data-node, Yusukai's mind burned the command prompt within the node's structure. Once he got used to the idea of using the command prompts, the process become easier. Due to his meta-human intellect, Yusukai was preparing the use of robotic sentries as traps to strike his opponent with. With a constant uplink to the chariot's mainframe reality, Yusukai forged a plan. A part of him was expecting an epic battle with the man he had encountered earlier, the man that had not lifted a finger to save him when he fell. The earlier thought came to mind: there is a score to settle.

After extracting data from the node in front of him, Yusukai willed several command prompts at one time. Security cameras were shot off, doors to new areas were opened, and key military elements were tactically activated.
The vast information of thousands of command-prompts all at once coursed through the back of his brain and across its surface structure. All that data would have been enough to cripple a lesser man. Yusukai, however, was not a lesser man. His genetic marker had allowed him to adapt to the situation at hand. His powerful mind had allowed him to grasp, and his vast intellectual capacity had allowed him to alter. The final piece of the puzzle was acceptance. Though Yusukai had no way of understanding the vast intricacies of technology, the presence of Valkyrie assisted him in that same understanding.

As a logical man, Yusukai accepted what he could see, feel, touch, taste, and hear with his own senses. This evolutionary change taught Yusukai to use an external sensing process that he had previously never thought possible, even in his wildest dreams. Yusukai heard the words of Valkyrie, the command prompts, and she became his new book of prophecy. He knew full well that Valkyrie worked to enhance him, and that enhancement would serve to help him ultimately defeat Kajeenith's forces. He vaguely wondered how his fellows in the Paladin Order would view him now. Deciding not to worry about that too much, Yusukai continued the journey through the chariot.

Information continued to present itself to Yusukai's mind. Soon though, the security cameras placed a new bit of data that Yusukai had never seen before. The data was configured from previous information of all accounts and records of the ship. Studying the information carefully, Yusukai suddenly realized what he was looking at. It's a woman... He thought to himself as a feeling of uncertainty washed over him. Yusukai continued to ride the machine forward until he finally made it to a position where he was a few feet in front of the girl. Stopping the bike, the engine died down quietly as the machine turned off. Yusukai maneuvered the brakes of the bike and stepped off. He grabbed something off the side of the machine, a sword by all accounts, and placed the scabbard along his belt.

Touching an orb on his bracer, Yusukai summoned the command prompt for the bike. A moment later, the bike wavered in and out of reality, and the graphical hologram vanished into Yusukai's gauntlet for later use. Adjusting his standing position, Yusukai studied the security cameras in the datanode a bit longer. For several levels above and below him, throughout the ship's corridors, there was no sign of the fellow that had left him to his death sometime ago. As he approached, a fresh scent filled the hallway.

It was clean, shower-fresh. Smelling of fruit-fields, the scent was powerful and intoxicating. The Valkyrie Protocol did not detect any threats from the woman, so Yusukai assumed all was safe. Assuming that the man from earlier had somehow managed to escape the ship, Yusukai let his guard down. His military-strategic mind had not accounted for a situation such as this one to occur. The girl was an unknown variable in an otherwise deadly situation. Not sure how to proceed, Yusukai did not perceive the girl as a threat. Can she be a survivor of the holocaust in this ship? It was a logical assumption. Yusukai stopped right in front of the girl.

"Excuse me m'am...have you seen a strange looking fellow? About this tall?" Yusukai positioned his hand at about Ace's height. "He has a bit of a heavyset build and wears strange clothing." Yusukai didn't know if she would have an answer for him. All he could do was wait for a response.

[Knave]

The sound of hard heels clicking against metal echoed into the distance. What had once been a series of claps became an ovation, and Ashes made her debut. The sounds soon exhausted themselves, and the silence grew palpable.

Ashes looked alive, obviously the only thing with warmth for miles. She cast a casual glance to the faceless work of iron bobbing in the air to her left, features irreverent. It had as of yet failed to convey anything beyond its messages. She leaned back against the wall, waiting, but clearly preoccupied with something else on her mind.

Atom, true to form and function, hung in the air to her left, observing nothing, but watching just the same to be sure. Without prompt to speak it had said nothing, unmotivated by the sights it had recorded, unaware, unthinking. It was the subject of interest.

It made no noise as a small hand gripped its feet, not even when it was dragged from the air did it utter sound. Ashes clutched the automaton close, and traced Atom's spindly limbs lovingly with searching strokes. Carefully measuring its meager structure, and feeling its weight in her arms. Ashes judged its small form to be less than fifty pounds. A small dog could have been better for battle. Yet, she cradled it in her arm just the same.

She was more than willing to accept it had more control over her life than she believed. In her first form, with the face she had been born wearing, and the natural pronoun being "He," he had bowed down after death to something greater than himself. Anything to stave of punishment, anything to stay alive. Long used to such thinking, acceptance of a new prerogative, and a new master was easy.

It was her ambassador to this world.

“It’s a shame.” She breathed. Photographic memories of every time it had looked at her in any of her forms, and never emoted. “And I wish it weren't true.” Memories of how it had for brief instances possessed emotion, and questions came to Ashes of whether its soul lay within its iron body, or her own mind. She whispered against the side of its faceplate, her words mingling with the hum of its motor. “A shame that my glamor doesn't seem to work on you.”

It retorted. ”That is irrelevant. Prepare yourself to be transported.” It stated flatly, the sound of power shaking in the walls. The retort came too quickly for any biting reply, and the report became apparently useless instantly upon its issue.

The rumble was drawing nearer, a cacophonous racket of machinery and construction. Large girders falling, floors being raised both up and down, lights flashing yellow, crimson, and going black. To Ashes' left the walls changed colors, blades burst through them to sheer each into dozens of sections and invisible hands, one with the darkness of the ships unseen interior, replaced them. The walls were being remade, moved, and rearranged.

The floor shook violently, momentum dragging Ashes body back into the section of the wall still untouched with a sudden a jerk that nearly knocked her of her feet. The entire hall was brought forward some forty feet. The buzz of blades and the shrieking of terrible things hidden just beyond the walls became a perfect reminder that the facade was just that. In mid-flight, the door Ashes had just come out of vanished, a fine steel plate replacing it seamlessly except for the fading glow of fire through steel.

Things soon settled as the corridor was once again joined with the rest of the building in a manner which left the scent of fire and ions hanging in the air, only for ventilation to steal away even that evidence as to what had happened.

Visibly unshaken, Ashes saw the approach of her enemy on whatever flying mount he had acquainted himself with. She broke down on cue. Ace had come here for a chance at fame, she was here to leave, their motivations were different, and she could be more subtle.

Warmth spread through her, a cowering aura ran pale in her cheeks, and a look of distress both real and amplified was born. Ashes controlled the flow of blood with a mastery that made the design look natural, and the designer look positively human. Seeking comfort, dying for escape, totally unsure of those options still remained. Human enough to be afraid.

The man himself, purple haired, now less rabid, but no more clean, had changed his clothes into a similar jumpsuit that Ashes now wore, save for color and scheme of style. When he floated up, he leapt to his agenda, the pursuit of the very same person he was talking to. The hover biker's every measurement of height and type was now completely wrong as he listed them. There was some satisfaction in this.

When the question was asked, Ashes ignored the details of them. She visibly recoiled to draw him in. Tear ducts began to open, a wet gleam to beautiful brown eyes, and dark tracks forming as what might have been make-up grew damp and flowed. The Automaton sat motionless in her arms, pressed against her chest like a poorly made, but desperately needed shield. She looked small; she looked par for the course, unready for anything.

“I haven't seen anyone. No one's here, no one's left.” She spoke quickly, flashes of emotion breaking her words.” No one's here, no one's left. Just me, and- and my things, my beautiful things.” More and more often it was getting easier to forget who she was, and the star was born stressed, lost, and every word was perfect to carry the undertones of sadness. She looked like she didn't know he was there, and was tired of what was obvious disappointment. “Just stay there, and... and tell me how you g-got here,” She begged for his story, “And then maybe-maybe I'll decide if your here too.”

Atom's faceplate did not change, the gears continued to spin, and minute bolts of lightning surged within its circuitry. Witness to the art of acting, witness to the science of sympathy, it was recording. It was one of the many of machines fully autonomous of the CDT, and while it influenced its new server host, and inspired him to righteousness, Atom felt nothing.

[Yusukai_Hyakureiki]

Through the intricate connection with Ialdabaoth X, Yusukai observed the network in its rawest form. Activity sparked through that microcosm. The blue void flowed with an energy as various cells of information were placed in tight, hexagonal units. Each of the cells contained various organizations of data nodes that contained information of varying importance to Ialdabaoth X. The nodes were black spheres that were like treasure troves of information. Some were warded with special pieces of information known as wards. These wards were symbols capable of harming, seriously harming, individuals attempting to get at the contents of the nodes. Some nodes were priority nodes and had a more complicated script of wards floating around the spheres themselves.

Across the information grid there literally billions of these sphere-nodes that were important to the functionality and integrity of Ialdabaoth X. Each hexagonal cell represented a different section of the star chariot. Currently, Yusukai Hyakureiki found himself floating within a multi-dimensional field. This field represented all the nodes within the particular area Yusukai was standing in. Before him stood the girl holding the robot. Currently, his eyes did not observe her sublime form. Instead, his eyes was searching through the security database for the bastard he'd found earlier. The man had allowed Yusukai to plummet to a certain death. Vengeance was on Yusukai's heart despite the teachings of The Paladin's Order.

Why did I attack him earlier? I barely remember those moments. Did I do something to mess up? Yusukai was certain that his code as a Paladin's apprentice was still intact. He'd fought in a defensive situation where out of control events had placed him at the merciless temptation of Kajeenith's corruption. However, despite that temptation, Yusukai had not completely submitted to the madness. I have to find him and defeat him in order to go home. This does not violate the code, circumstances are different right now. Survival is what matters. Yusukai heard the girl when she spoke, she said many interesting bits of information. She has to be a survivor! Yusukai temporarily set aside his search for the man he was looking for. The security nodes were turning up no information for some reason unknown the neophyte.

Blinking, Yusukai's vision moved away from the network mainframe. His eyes were no longer diluted. Staring at Ashes, the youth suddenly realized how achingly beautiful she was. Feeling an all too human reaction in his pants, Yusukai felt his heart race. Perhaps it was the elevated sense of danger that made the girl more attractive to his eyes. Composing himself quickly, Yusukai spoke with his deep Akashiman accent. He spoke in the common-tongue. Somehow, he was able to understand the girl when she spoke in an apparent version of the common-tongue.

"Are you a survivor? I think something bad happened here. Like very bad." Yusukai pieced together some of the events of the ship from the event files in the database nodes. Yusukai found himself relaxed with every moment h breathed the perfume that she gave off, it was almost toxic. "Do you have any information about this chariot? I think that I'm very far away from where I belong. I'm from a place called Althanas." Yusukai said. For some reason, he wanted someone to talk to. It felt like ages since he'd had someone to talk to. "Are you from this chariot?" Yusukai asked. His entire posture had relaxed considerably since he'd started talking. The previous infection of the rat was treated by the robotic nurses of the infirmary, and Yusukai was in his right mind now...

As a Paladin, he was able to put aside the temptations of Kajeenith's forces. Yusukai still had a lot to learn about The Omnisource and he was not a full-fledged Paladin yet. A thought crossed the youth's mind. What if she's also a temptation from Kajeenith? What am I to do now? The youth attempted to keep his eyes upon her eyes, and not on that luscious bosom that rose up and down with each breath she took. Yusukai awaited her response. Her words had a calming effect on him...

[Knave]

Her chest heaved, red fabric, skin tight, stretched to illustrate this as Ashes took several deep breaths through her teeth. She hugged herself, she hugged the mechanical doll, and both stared at Yusukai, both wanted something. “No.” She said. “There are no survivors.” Truth can set men free, or weave the traps that catch them. “There are people walking — children playing — adults of all ages talking — not a person to be seen. If you’re not a survivor, then neither am I.” Every sentence led to the same avenue, and even as she interrupted herself to escape it, she kept finding the same idea, and her tongue tried to give it sound.

She could hear the beating of his heart, and see the way in which he met her. All too typical.

Her breathe kicked up, Ashes panicked in place, pupils dilating, teeth grinding. To rock would be cliché, useful though in that it begged for contact. She did so with subtlety. “That man came here, and everything changed.” Of course, she could blame him for everything. Senile and dangerous, no one else would do this, no one else could. Az-ram was to druids what kings were to men. “No, no survivors… So I must be dreaming, is this a sweat dream now?” Green eyes flashed, she hugged herself tighter, and shifted the doll to a more convenient position against her chest.

There were questions that ran through her mind. Something within her eagerly watched them, adding them to the character she played on the fly. Of course, it filled in the blanks.

When would she get him?
All things sown need time to bloom before the harvest.

How would she do it?
With these hands and this body, these were gifts after all, and so have purpose.

Would it be memorable?
That depends on him, my dear.

Would she enjoy it?
Of course, but never too much, and never too early. We are no harlot, and you will be damned if anyone calls me a slut.

The expression vanished; the suggestion fell from her face. Ashes let slip the turmoil within for an instant. Changing from wanting to rejecting, she pushed the sharp stilettos of her heels against the floor and drove herself away from Yusukai and up the wall. She never took her eyes off Yusukai, staring at him for the stranger he was, her posture defensive as if she felt a sense of danger. “There are no sweet dreams.” Hot, cold, she tested his waters to see where she could go. “And here you are to tempt me; you’re with the old man, aren’t you. You’re nothing; little more than the voice and the sound and he made you, didn’t he?” They had entered at the same time; she knew he had heard that booming voice, the shouting rage of Az-ram.

[Yusukai_Hyakureiki]

Though he was a man and he was filled with hunger currently for the creature of art he saw before him, Yusukai found himself hesitating. He shifted uncomfortably as he learned a couple of things from the strange woman before him: there are no survivors, and they are all alone here. Yusukai closed his eyes to confer with the artificial intelligence in his head. She was quiet on the subject matter and there was strangely no information he could download to assist in the matter either. Yusukai found himself at a loss. He was there to defeat someone, and this woman was not that individual. Where has he gone? It never dawned on him that the man from earlier might entirely have been in his head, a construct of a rapidly degenerating brain. Yusukai thought on that reality for a moment and then returned his attention to the beautiful woman before him.

"Unfortunately, I don't know of who you're talking about. I fought this guy earlier you see? He certainly wasn't an old man, and we threw each other a fierce beating. Left me for dead, but things happen you see?" Yusukai wasn't ready to reveal the secrets he had learned about the ship. "I'm still here and now you are here too. Perhaps we can help each other out, it seems logical to me that if we have a common enemy, maybe we can work together to defeat him." Yusukai suggested.

He was busily trying to ignore the growing bulge in his pants. His heart raced steadily with desire, but there was an ulterior task here. We need to get out of here. Yusukai thought calmly. I want to get back home to Althanas, and I am certain she has someplace to get back home to as well... So he tried to ignore the desire that was there. Yusukai knew that as far as women went, she was a work of art. And he would be wrong to not to worship her. So Yusukai followed instinct and stepped closer to her, he attempted to place a warm hand upon her shoulder, only if she would accept it.

"We should work together to get out of here. I'm sure together we can defeat whatever obstacles are left." Yusukai said, inviting her to join him.

As he thought more on the situation, he longed for an escape route back home. Though that idea likely meant that he would be cut off from the mainframe of the ship, the youth still wanted to be certain he could in fact get home. Yusukai stared into her eyes, there was something there, something that he craved. There was an intellect there. Perhaps, that intellect made her even more attractive in some way. Maybe, just maybe, he could earn his way into a bed with her. The thought made him relax ever so slightly, but not lower his guard. They were still in enemy territory, and that man from earlier could be lurking anywhere.

"I have the power to protect you if you wish it." Yusukai finally said. Her perfume was like some narcotic...

[Knave]

Ashes watched Yusukai, no crisis of identity to bother her, just a ploy for victory on her mind. She could read Yusukai’s mind, the way it was so clearly throbbing in his pants, the man ignoring the obscene nature of his own physiology. She’d laugh if she had not been so busy holding back her tears. Summing him up as simply aching ambition, and misaimed drive, Ashes visibly swelled with pride while hiding her disgust. Superficial accomplishments made, she listened as he spoke, milking him for information.

As Ashes listened, her expression darkened, lips frowning, eyes withdrawn and unbelieving, she was overjoyed, and yet endlessly cold within. It seemed that the man had no real knowledge of just who or what he was dealing with; it was good to know that she was not alone; she would hold the secret dear. Still, what could she do with this wealth of information? Add it to all the others. While bathing, Ace…Lawrence…Ashes had been given a moment of perspective.

The hand that reached for her shoulder disgusted her; though Ashes never registered it… she could imagine Yusukai’s green eyes would always look inviting, even if the hand drifted. Rather than remove it, revulsion at being touched searing her mind, she reached up and touched his arm, squeezing as if for reassurance that he was not some phantasm. The man drew closer, his body covering hers, pressing her against the wall to maintain those last few inches of space.

She could kill him now.

“I haven’t seen anybody, but I can hear God.” Az-ram craved battle in a voyeuristic manner— filthy old man. Oh yes, she knew what she could do. “If you’re here too, then you heard the same as me—that screaming voice, the muffled cough.” He was listening, and so she refrained from more colorful descriptions. “He loves the fighting, and there is no one left… if y-you want,” She looked at him, her lips open, her expression lost, “If you won’t leave me, then I’ll help you—in any way I can…” Her red lips whispered these words, her body moved forward, relaxing into their shared space. She invited the kiss; she invited the hand, and everything with it. This was his chance.

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

Sitting before the monitor, eating baked bits of corn, Az-ram watched with rapt fascination before the screen. A lesser mind, a healthier mind, would have buckled under the weight of such technology, and greater men than he would have instantly and unknowingly evacuated their bladders, bowels, and testes at the opportunity to leap ahead several full millennia in their arts. Yet, here he was, staring at the images of some strange monster twisting a man’s natural urges against him, and Az-ram took it in with a fascination that extended only to the spectacle itself.

He spoke to the shadows that had his back, “It… It is strangely good at this.” With a hand, Az-ram reached for the black wand that had been left by the chair, and with precision, a press of a button, and a flick of his wrist, he enlarged the picture and zoomed in to see more. “I do love a good romance; they always end badly.”

[Yusukai_Hyakureiki]

In a few short moments, Yusukai had learned a great deal. He learned about the situation, about the old man, about everything and nothing. Yusukai had known hunger before and right now the air was ripe with electricity and lust. Yusukai could taste he skin against his lip and feel her sweat against his tongue, her body was pressed against his own. His heart raced. It was glorious. Closing his eyes, he could picture every inch of her curvaceous form in front of him. So close. He could reach out and take what was rightfully his own...

However, something else happened. When he closed his eyes he could feel the presence in the back of his mind. Watching with jealous, angry eyes. Taunting the youth, promising abandonment if he pursued the harlot before him. That thought was more devastating than any other at the moment. He could not allow himself to be separated from the entity that he had grown so close to. Taking a deep inhale of the narcotic like substance, Yusukai leaned in close. Half a centimeter to within her lips. He spoke to her.

"I...can help you."

He said calmly. His lips quivering with pleasure, desire.

"I am spoken for. As fun as it would be to just...have fun...there is another right now and always will be."

Yusukai had aligned himself to a Goddess of perfection. When the intent was revealed in the back of his head, the Goddess' eyes relaxed their jealous stare. They became neutral, calm once more. A storm was evaded that would have destroyed everything within the ship...the storm was averted for now. The charm that the woman threw at him was quite difficult to evade, but somehow, Yusukai managed to pull away. Slowly, he revealed his neck to the girl as he turned. Powerful muscles rippled with every movement as he turned painfully slowly. An eternity seemed to pass as he broke free from his Enchantress' spell.

Many men would have caved to the beckoning of the siren. Yusukai, however, had chosen his Goddess. The Valkyrie Protocol. He belonged to her, and she to him. He was her chosen knight and to that marriage, he would hold his end of the bargain. So with no reward of a kiss, or lust subdued, Yusukai attempted to focus back on the mission at hand. We gotta get out of here. And she can have any man she wants. I am already taken... He could hear the voice of the Goddess in his head whispering with delight. And Yusukai would be rewarded, well. When he was alone. As he turned away from Ashes, Yusukai had no idea of the danger he was in....

[Knave]

Hypersensitive senses registered everything, Ashes could feel the air throbbing as Yusukai’s heart fluttered and his lips moved to alight on her own. Ashe’s lips sweltered, shining, the toxic chemicals that would eat Yusukai from the inside glistening to add to the allure. Everything was there, the lust, the opportunity to indulge it, and nothing to stop them, not even so much as decency. Flies to honey are so much less satisfying, she thought,[I] but this is truly the best way.[/] She watched him close his eyes, and read his mind through the trembling hand inches from her breast…

The he stopped, Yusukai’s hand becoming still, his heat dissipating though Ashes had done nothing wrong. They were so close, so close, the strange fibers of latex allowing for only one barrier between them, Ashes could not imagine what was stopping him, and yet she was losing her control, losing her chance to feed him the cure for one of the things that ailed her. He still breathed in her scent, but he would not get any nearer. Instead, he offered her his help.

“That’s too sweet,” Ashes said, her eyes darkening at being turned down, but no snarl, not yet. This was the first time she had ever done this, and he'd had the audacity to refuse. A short violent chuckle shook her. Each act, each persona Lawrence used was a separate mind, constantly building itself up on what it thought it should be. Ashes was raging, and Lawrence in his entirety was tired of these games. “I’ve heard stories of love, it must be nice.”

The right hand that had lain still and steady, unflexing and unmoving, grew stiff as Yusukai turned his head away in a manner completely insulted Ashes in ways she had only just now found. The bones of that hand ached as they began to grow solid, the joints being fused to make blow harder. Ashes ground her teeth, a few tears in her eyes that she played off as sadness rather than the product pain.

The corner of his mouth was tight, his mind lost in thought, and his eyes staring ahead. Red lips smiled, the hand that had only moments ago stroked his arm slowly growing firm. Suddenly, she turned into him, and did so violently. Ashes used her strength in the attempt to make a spear of her hand and thrust it into Yusukai’s abdomen. There was a cost to everything; he'd pay for it with his liver.

A woman scorned was a monster.

[Yusukai_Hyakureiki]

Of course, the attack was destined to connect. Yusukai Hyakureiki's eyes became twisted with shock, anger, and fear. Then an unsettling feeling of pain and agony touched the youth's mind. Yusukai's eyes felt like they were going to bulge out of his skull even as the first few rivulets of blood began to trickle down the sides of his lips. As the rivulets traveled downward they formed droplets that coalesced into a large globule. Yusukai knew one certainty of the situation: the monster has betrayed me. As misplaced as his trust was, the youth was a loyal fool. Seeing that the girl attacked him was one of the grossest miscalculations in the youth's life. Kajeenith's forces are everywhere, could this woman be a servant of Kajeenith? He managed to think before his liver was forcibly removed from his body.

There was no resistance to the attack. He had fallen for the most basic form of deception without even realizing he was being deceived. Yusukai Hyakureiki felt his short life flash before his eyes and decided that he would take Ashes with him, or would he? Instead, he fell to the ground, blood pouring out of his mouth from the internal bleeding. Yusukai coughed blood from his mouth repeatedly, and it flew out everywhere. There would be no retaliation, no comeback, no words. The shock of the moment was simply too extreme. Yusukai felt tears flow down his face as he realized he was going to die. Nobody would protect him from the clutches of the beautiful monster he had discovered. For a moment, he almost fell for her seductive prowess thanks to the external assistance, he'd kept his virtuous values pure. Yusukai entered the battle a virgin, and he would die a virgin.

Pure. Simple. The cold floor was a weight against his body as he hit it hard, bruises swelling up in several places. Yusukai's eyes remained wide in terror as he continued to cry for nobody in particular. She got me. Shit, I lowered my guard and now I'm gonna lay in this damned chariot of the Thayne to die. No burial, no one to mourn my loss. No friends. No family. No nothing, my name sullied, I have amounted to nothing. Thoughts of despair touched his heart as he realized he was loosing his grip on The Firmanent. Where the injury rested where his liver was once located in the small of his back, was a tremendous hole that exposed his internal organs. Blood and other bodily fluids were flowing out of the hole as he stared at the floor in front of him. It's over. There's nothing left but to die. Yusukai thought to himself. His body shook terribly as he laid there, the sudden and harsh removal of his organ a trauma too powerful for his body to bare.

Try as he might though, death would not claim him. Something else was happening. Yusukai listened to a voice whisper in the back of his mind as he studied the intricate nature of the metalwork beneath him. He'd never failed so completely in these recent years. Yusukai couldn't even scream in agony as he laid there. Frustration touched his heart as well. It was taking a long time for his body to simply give in. As the other event was occurring, the voice in his head became more powerful. As Yusukai died, he realized at the same time that he was not dying. Somehow, he had forfeited his very living essence to The Valkyrie Profile. And in turn, she was proceeding to save the servant from death. Yusukai felt his body dying and soon, his heart finally collapsed from the pressure of the lost liver. Too much blood loss, far too much trauma and Yusukai found himself standing. No, not he, it was the spirit of Yusukai. An embodiment of pure, living energy.

Yusukai could see The Valkyrie Profile beyond, attempting to mend his broken body with little success. Yusukai reached out to his beloved. I can be with you now. I am no longer afraid. The glow of energy from Yusukai's body was intense, but it would not touch The Firmanent. This was a matter of The Antifirmanent now. He could see the chariot all around him, and he knew that he was no longer in the confines of Althanas' metaphysical rules. He was in the far reaches of space, trapped in this chariot of The Thayne with a monster. He turned to look at Ashes for a moment or two and pondered doing harm to her, but the longer he stayed in that form, the longer he realized revenge was no longer needed. The Monster set me free. For that I will always thank her. Yusukai smiled in Ashes general direction and walked towards the light of The Valkyrie Profile. He embraced his goddess, and kissed her deeply.

No need to repair the broken thing. I will be with you always. Yusukai called out to the lady. Let us unearth secrets together. Yusukai saw The Valkyrie Profile looking intently at him and smiled with a soft nod. She took Yusukai's hand.

"Follow me." She said. "I will show you something that is very interesting. And you will understand your place in it all, my beloved." Valkyrie said casually. "You will be my Sacred Knight." She said. "And together, we will remake this barren world." She added. "You and me together, always together."

And Yusukai walked with The Valkyrie Profile towards the abyss of the ship's mainframe matrix. There would be secrets to discover. And maybe, ages down the road, Yusukai Hyakureiki would return to the home that was robbed from him. Maybe, just maybe, Yusukai would cheat death itself with the secrets of life. All that remained was the discovery and secrets of an entirely ancient race that build machines like this chariot. Yusukai Hyakureiki embraced the beautiful goddess before him as he walked with her and they discussed all matters of things without ever exchanging a word at all. And though Yusukai left the old life behind, a new life was given in exchange. Fair trade. Yusukai thought to himself as the eyes of the body he left behind closed by themselves. The powerful destiny that awaited robbed from him. A new destiny would be forged, and a new universe awaited the young hero. Holding hands, the duo vanished into the darkness and began an all together different adventure.

Fin

~Spoils Request~

001-Combined Essence-Fused with The Artificial Intelligence known as The Valkyrie Profile, Yusukai Hyakureiki has become displaced energy. Yusukai exists as an energy body, and currently haunts the machine mainframe of Ialdabaoth X. In time, he will learn how to manifest in The Firmanent and seek a way to travel back to Althanas. Yusukai is lost in the far reaches of space and may one day return. He houses The Artificial Intelligence, The Valkyrie Profile in his head. Within the machine mainframe, Yusukai can freely access data nodes. He can also removed locked data nodes with the assistance of The Valkyrie Profile. Certain security settings require for Yusukai to give up control of his energy-body and allow The Valkyrie Profile to take full control of his body. When that happens, Yusukai may gain access to newer areas of the machine mainframe. Yusukai is currently trapped in the machine mainframe but may one day find a way out and return to Althanas.

[Knave]

Calcified bones, joints lost in the power of transformation, pierced Yusukai through the thin material of his suit. The hand, its nails sharp, its digits unbending was a spear that reached through the man’s stomach and agony to fondle his organs, and abuse them. Blood ran over her wrist to turn her red suit crimson, but Ashes only looked up into Yusukai’s eyes, and smiled at him with an air of innocence that denied the existence of her hand in his gut. The kiss would have killed him, but she hated him for not taking it, the taste of nearly overpowering vanity tainted her persona, and Lawrence had to struggle to maintain his control, struggling to defeat this new mental construct. Even so, when Ashes looked at Yusukai, she hefted his kidney, and smiled at his obvious, gasping pain

When she removed her hand, it was with a sting of tightly connected organs clutched in her claw. The veins that covered the sickly orange pastels and dark red meats pulsed with the beating of Yusukai’s heart. As expected, Ashes visibly blanched at the sight, her own insides twisting at the sight of what she had done. As Yusukai fell, Ashes recoiled, ripping free the components of the human body to hurl his liver behind her. ’Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting…’ Her mission done, it was a hard act to stop, but slowly the hand ceased to splatter Yusukai’s blood on the floor, and the feminine wiles were checked. She was Lawrence, and Lawrence was still not pleased.

The heels remained unmoved as blood flowed past them, and Lawrence stared down at herself, her lips drawn tight at this latest perversion, one that had been successful, but remained sickening. “So it is as I had thought.“ She said, her tone more mechanical than before, devoid of the madness she had feigned, or the wanting she had voiced. “Even the widest boundary can be crossed; there is nothing I cannot become.” He thought, knowing that soldier or peasant, enemy or lover, he was simply diabolical. Where some would laugh madly at the thought, Lawrence’s frown deepened, and Ashes’ skin etched these lines into itself. ’It is as I thought. There is no end to my dishonor.’ The scent of urine and blood was in the air, and the shape shifter decided it was time to take his leave. A cheap victory, which was unsatisfied, but ultimately best.

With one last glance at Yusukai’s still moving eyes, and gasping mouth, Lawrence watched him for movement, eyes narrowing in such a way as to describe her own icy reaction. It was simply rapacious; the lessons of instinct and experience working the gears of her mind, and against the backdrop of those mental machines she felt soon felt nothing. Watching Yusukai’s eyes twitch and roll, whatever visions his mind concocted clearly sparing him the greater agony of what he experienced. The visions, reality or not, spared Yusukai the final blow. Lawrence’s stiletto heel came down on his neck, once, twice, thrice, and a fourth time. On the last stomp, Yusukai’s body visibly flopped, and his neck made the wet snapping sound of defeat. It was one last precaution to protect herself from a dying man, stories of will power abounded and she would be damned if she were to let him have even one chance.

With her opponent dispatched, Lawrence turned Ashes face to the distant steel sky, and magnified her own voice to cast it to every corner. “Az-ram, this battle is over; he is as good as dead!” She twisted her heel, and found not so much as the slightest reaction under her foot. Assuring herself without looking down, Lawrence demanded her freedom. “For whatever reason you have done this,” she knew the reason, “at the cost of this life,” he valued nothing, “I have won my freedom,” and his rules might very well change, “I wish to leave.” The echoes of her voice was a singing chorus that was overwhelmed by chattering laughter.

The sound of whirring wings and the drone of greater machines than any on Althanas had yet to imagine, signaled the dismantling of the world. The nearby floors divided themselves pieces, and fell away into the unknown confines of the ship. The walls were undone, the sky fell away, and little bodies descended. By the billions, against the backdrop of empty space, and low light. There in the distance, against the backdrop of revealed wires, and moving walls, stood Az-ram. By his sides, above and below him, he descended among a cloud of Atoms.

They would talk of many things, and one sided laughter would abound.


Spoils:

Soulful Weapons: The hands are tools of dexterity use to feel, caress, and manipulate the world. Delicate digits with a sensitivity that remains unmatched since the dawn of the ape. Should he need piercing weapons, Lawrence when needed can fuse the joints of his hands to make piercing weapons. Currently they have the strength of bone, as is clear by their make.

The Allure of Death: From Lawrence's body, he exudes an attractive aura that renders those close to Lawrence soft in the mind, the shape-shifter's very presence a soothing force. This is in part due to Lawrence exuding the chemicals of a minor opiate, and the shape-shifters very scent is a mild drug.

[Taskmienster]

Ialdabaoth X Damnation :: It was requested that this be judged as a completed quest instead of a battle. I can do that, and I’ll put your score total’s together just like a quest would be instead of splitting them up. Now, you also asked for full rubric and full commentary. This is an extremely long thread due to the size of each post. I will, however comb through it and help with whatever I can by putting notes into each category for you guys. The ones that don’t fit in any specific category will be in the “Notes” section under your exp/gp rewards. If you have questions, concerns, or would like to complain/praise me for the judgment feel free to PM or IM me at any time. In these notes I have a lot of stuff that pertains mainly to the first 8 posts that I was making the majority of the notes on. However, everything after those posts I was going to repeat myself, so instead just left what I had and if you have further questions feel free to ask.



Continuity 3

:: No real explanation of any of your characters, why you were where you were, or what was going on with the entire thing. As a reader, just confused as possible.

:: It wasn’t until I went to your profile, Knave, and actually tried to search the word Ace that I figured out who ace was. He’s the same as the main character, but some other type of persona or something? It took me a long time to really try and figure out what was going on. If you want to use a different name, or a different persona for the character, remember that those of us that aren’t inclined to look at profiles while reading stories are going to be very confused if you don’t clarify these kinds of things. When you started writing you probably could have easily tossed in a side note in the narrative itself that explained that the main character also goes by Ace. However, you should also remember that as a reader we don’t have to look at your profile for history and personality either, and you are supposed to put that in the thread itself as you write. In the opening of the thread I was at a loss for where you were, why you were there, who you were, what your characters intentions were, and a lot of other background information that would assist me (as the reader and judge) in knowing what the thread was about.

::Knave :: In the 5th post I was confused on what exactly the character was. You talked about putting things back together on your face, how to change your appearances, and yet I have no clue who Ace really is… or in this case, WHAT he is… Also, in the same post, you comment that the character questioned Az-ram, but I’m not sure how you know the person or why.

Setting 3

:: In general, the setting made absolutely no sense at all. I wasn’t sure how you went from a druid casting rituals under other sleeping druids to some futuristic cyber world of craziness… I was just lost most of the time.


“Coming to the cratter he had opened, Az-ram raised the bucket one last time,” :: Crater was spelt incorrectly… but I put this here for another reason… such as, what crater? I don’t remember reading anything about a crater at all until this point. Where did it come from? How did it get there?


“The clang of metal lived long after it should have died, and druids in their beds above ground heard it from below.” :: Is the temple underground? No information about the depth of the setting, other than a few mentioning’s here and there were in the thread… which leaves me as a reader completely lost as to where you are when things like commentary about above ground sleeping druids appear. I wasn’t aware you were below ground, or that there were druids sleeping above you, or why they are, or where they are…


“The pattering of sandaled old feet echoing from the distance for pursuers to follow.” :: Well, first, this is a fragment. Though, I put it in setting because I was a bit curious as to what it was echoing off of? How loud is the echo? It’s not just enough to say there was one, but you should think about why there is one, how can you hear it when there is a long line of people around you? Surely at least some of them are talking, or moving, weapons and armor making noise, anything… it’s as much setting as it is persona in a vague way relating to the Citadel itself.


“Cameras swiveled to Ace and all those who would come, and join them on this new and terrible field of battle.” Cameras? This is Althanas… there are no cameras.

Pacing 3

::Knave :: The disjointed nature of your writing, Knave, is a style that you choose to use… however; you need to remember to be very careful about it. With so many run-on sentences with an over-abundance of commas, fragmented sentences, and generally short paragraphs that lend to a very staccato pacing the reader is left most of the time going into an idea only to be dropped suddenly lacking information. It’s confusing at times, but most of the time is a bit frustrating. I want to understand the character, the setting, and the story itself, but instead I’m more concentrated on attempting to follow the subject matter of a sentence and where it went and why it wasn’t completed as a thought than the thread itself.

::Yusukai:: Your opening started off in a way that made the pacing sudden and made it disjointed as well. You don’t need to break from each person’s perspective with a form of spacer between the different PoV’s when you’re writing in a third person style (in this case and what’s common is the omniscient or limited omniscient style, but since you hadn’t established which one it was by not going into details about the thoughts or opinions you could have established that easily). Also, be careful not to overuse the simple sentences, otherwise the writing itself becomes rather choppy and at times harder to follow.

Dialogue 4


““You stupid bastard!” The man screamed, wrestling Ace beneath him.” :: I’m not sure who yelled this, either Ace or the man he was wrestling…

::Knave:: The entire dialogue at the end of the 3rd post… makes no sense. I’m not sure who exactly the bad guy is talking to, other than a “spirit” as you said at one point. But who is “The worst”? And not sure who else you’re talking to since the dialogue seems to change here and there.

Action 5


“As an after thought, he remembered to bleed, a small rivulet running down the left side of his face.” :: afterthought is one word. However, I put this in action because I’m not sure why you didn’t bleed without an afterthought? Can you stop yourself from bleeding? If so, why would you allow yourself to bleed?


“Feeling something foreign coursing through his body, a sudden burst of violent rage began to flow through him. Yusukai snarled in a state of blood lust. With a sharpened eyesight, Yusukai found himself suddenly capable of seeing in the dark.” :: What? A rat bit you and suddenly you became angry and could see in the dark? Why? Any kind of explanation would have helped me, as a reader, understand what it was exactly that just happened.

Persona 3

::Knave:: I put this here, because it’s a bit of narrative persona about your character… In Post 3 you have it that Knave is a Shapeshifter but also a “watchman junior”. Without proper background both of these aren’t clear in the narrative as to who you are referring to. I would suggest working on your continuity as much as anything, because otherwise as a reader we’re lost as to who you are talking about and can only make assumptions. Also, I wanted to point out, that being a shapeshifter and junior watchman means that certain qualities of your character have a chance to be exhibited but unfortunately aren’t. Don’t leave the reader hanging by just throwing out words giving your character possible qualities, but remember that we want to know “who” the character is as well and what makes them those potential qualities.

Technique 4


“The streets of Underwood beckoned now.” :: Now is present tense, whereas the rest of the writing is most past tense.

::Yusukai:: Careful not to overuse the same word in a small area. In the opening sentence you used “day” twice, and in the opening sentences of the next paragraph you used individual twice. (Post 2) At times creating parallelism with sentences is a good way to keep the reader in the loop, but sometimes it seems that it’s misused in a way that makes it more repetitive than parallelism.


“Yusukai cursed out loud and turned quickly. He smacked the man's hand away. Immediately he saw several individuals walking towards him. Yusukai took a step back and prepared to call the guards. Instead, the Yusukai saw that the man who grabbed him earlier threw a quick fist at his stomach. Unprepared, Yusukai was doubled over and the men accosted him.” :: “the” before Yusukai isn’t necessary in the last sentence, however I grabbed this group of sentences as an example for overuse of your name. You can use a pronoun instead, like “him” so long as you don’t leave it dangling and confusing as to who it is referring to.

::Yusukai:: You don’t need to capitalize “The Blacksmith”, as it’s not a proper noun or name but more of a type of pronoun used for the reader to understand who you’re talking about.

Mechanics 4


“spittle and steam issuing through his teeth in the winter air of this stone chamber.” :: “this” should be “the” as to keep it in the proper tense.


“Soon more cracks broke through the surface, his hammer beating away at the stone relentlessly even as he began to chant, his voice normally muffled by his beard reverberated, young and enraged with power.” :: This is a big run-on sentence that makes me focus more on how awkward the pauses are and where you put them (the comma’s, and also missing comma’s) than what’s being said. My suggestion would be to be careful about sentences that don’t keep the same subject. The first part of the sentence (ending with “began to chant”) has a subject matter related to the hammer hitting stone and you beginning to chant. The second part (from “his voice” on) is about the chanting, not the hammering. A period or semi-colon after chant and it makes more sense. I’ll put brackets around what I add to show you :: “Soon more cracks broke through the surface, his hammer beating away at the stone relentlessly even as he began to chant[.] [H]is voice[,] normally muffled by his beard[,] reverberated young and [was] enraged with power.”


“Turning he hurled the sledgehammer off the stage, smashing a pew to splinters and future firewood.” :: You use this quite often, and it took me a long time to remember the proper term for it grammatically, but it’s the Present Participle used to open a sentence. When using a participle, such as “turn” here, and making it into a present participle such as “turn[ing]” you have to remove the Present participle and the subject matter that it pertains to with comma’s. So, for example :: “Turning[,] he hurled…” Sometimes you catch them, but there are a few times were they were missed.


“Something had suffered to make the awful potion that splattered the floor, spraying Az-ram’s ankles.” :: Due to the location of the comma in this sentence, it is a dangling modifier. The comma in its current location causes either the “something” that suffered or the “potion” to be what was spraying Az’ram’s ankles. It should be moved to after “the awful potion” (comma) “[which] splattered the floor [and] spray[ed]…”


“The scripture of banished gods, and properly worshipped deities cast into relief across the floor were filled with new life, new blood.” :: Either the first comma is not supposed to be there, or there should be a second comma setting “and properly worshipped deities cast into relief across the floor” apart from the rest of the sentence.


“Forcing clenched lids open, his senses baffled.” :: This is a fragment, though it might now show up as one on Word. “his senses baffled.” About what? There needs to be a noun in the first sentences, such as “[He forced]” or a verb in the second such as “his senses [were]”.


“Yusu, blinded by his own irrational bolts stared at spots even as he blinked.” :: Missing a comma to make this sentence make sense.


Clarity 4


“The spirit of battle, the muse of destruction, and the great daemon genius at work through him.” :: I put this in here because it’s a fragment, which I see is a general style that you tend to use. It’s not a bad style, and I kinda like it if used properly, just be careful for things like this… when using that style of writing you run the risk of writing a sentence that stands out a bit too much such as this fragment. It would read better if you put “and the great daemon genius working through him”. I assume this sentence is a continuation of the reason the man is sweating as well, but it wasn’t that clear.


“When the light shined and his caught their rays, his gaze burned with frantic flames.” :: “and his caught their rays” is confusing. It seems that you missed a word, such as “his [eyes]” or something. Also, typically things like light isn’t given a personification such as the pronoun “their” unless there’s a specific reason. In this case, it seemed out of place and would have looked better as “and his [eyes] caught the rays”…


“He said the energy that had cost him his wife and son not yet sated.” :: “He said [as] the energy that had cost him his wife and son [had] not yet sated”, be careful not to miss words otherwise the clarity tends to go out the window.


“Casting aside his worn chisel, and letting the hammer fall, he reached for the largest hammer available, one with which he could shatter the earth. An ancient slate gray stone mounted and tied to a post driven through it.” :: Another fragmented sentence, but in this case, it was misused because of the pronoun “it” that you didn’t clarify. Was the earth about to be struck in a place that had an ancient stone and post? Or was that the hammer itself?


“He began to walk, and pour, the stench of evil’s tears filling the chamber.” :: The use of the apostrophe in “evil’s” makes it a possessive word, causing me as a reader to wonder who evil is and why you have their tears. However, if that’s not the intention (which seems likely) it should have simply been “the stench of [evil] tears”… and maybe a bit of an explanation as to how tears can be evil.


“Ace stepped in through the doorway, the antechamber opening into various paths at one end, and from there back a line of muscular, scarred, beady eyed, evil minded, warriors. With such company, Ace looked out of place, his short stature, the defined features of an adult child, and the look of raw compassion burning in his innocent eyes. He was the most dangerous man in the room.” :: Another dangling modifier with the first sentence. It’s unclear if you’re referring to a line backing from the doorway or the various paths. Also, if you’re in the company of all those people, and you’re the most dangerous man in the room, how are you out of place? Another thing that threw me off is that you have “With such company, Ace looked out of place” which could have a period after it, instead of a comma. However, you continued on and made it a more complex sentence which was confusing as it went from dependent/independent clauses forming a sentence to a run-on. I would suggest that after what I quoted above, you put a semi-colon. It allows you to continue without making it a run on, incorporating another aspect related to the subject by adding a dependant clause that doesn’t look out of place.


“A rock came flying out to smack Ace in the temple.” :: Flying out of what? The woman’s “robust shoulders” you were attempting to peer over? The air in general? A hand, a sling shot, a catapult?


Wild Card 5


“Ace stalked over to him/it.” :: It’s commonly informal writing to add things like a slash instead of an actual word in it’s place.


Score: 38

Rewards:
Knave :: 600 exp | 50 gold
((Spoils can be approved at next level update, aren’t approved for use until then))
Yusukai :: 325 exp | 50 gold
((No spoils requested))

Notes

I personally don’t like colored text, but I really don’t like when people write something that isn’t theirs into a thread even when it’s noted. Not noting because I took any points off, just a side note.

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added!