Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ MUGEN Universe: Tournament of Champions ❯ Episode 1: The First Wave, Part I ( Chapter 2 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Napoleon De Cheese 
The wheels of destiny are put in motion...
Anime/Manga: Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 05.02.2006 | Pages: 8 | Words: 8.9K | Visits: 415 | Status: Work In Progress
The wheels of destiny are put in motion...
Anime/Manga: Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 05.02.2006 | Pages: 8 | Words: 8.9K | Visits: 415 | Status: Work In Progress
Episode 1: The First Wave.
Prologue:
Somewhere in Tibet.
The small fortress of thick black walls was half buried under a few feet of snow at the peak of one of the world's highest mountains. It was supposed to be my Shangri La. My last hideout from the cruelties of the world outside. It was my safe place. And I was, at least, relatively happy with it.
Then, why was he there, intruding, hunting for me? Couldn't he just leave me alone? Did he need to hound my steps through the world, right down to my last safe hiding place? What did spur him to do so? What??
It didn't matter. It wouldn't matter anymore, never. I was prepared for him. As I heard him dispatch my guards sitting behind my working desk inside of my office, and I saw him through my TV screens, shooting his way through my troops, I caressed the gun in my hands. He wouldn't take me this time. I would make sure of it, one way or another.
Did he have any idea of how much had costed me to hire all those guards with the salary of a mangaka? He plowed his path through them as if he didn't have any care in the world, smiling with cocky confidence, every once in a while throwing a few grenades at them or pulling a bazooka out of his stupid hairdo to blow them up. It was all a game for him? Did he have such a low concept of me? Unacceptable.
He was getting closer. I already could hear the explosions near my door, complete with the desperate yells of the soldiers. It was time. Clearing my sore throat, I stood up and walked to the door, gun in hand.
"I'm waiting for you, SOB" I said then.
An Elite Ex-Green Beret mercenary being thrown through my door into the office was his way of saying "Here I am", two seconds later. As the unfortunate man fell to my feet muttering "He's crazyyyyyy..." very weakly, my tormentor stepped in to face me.
There was a grim resolve of his own on his eyes.
"Rikdo-san" he said, gravely. "We need to talk".
I pointed my gun at his forehead, right between his eyes, under his huge afro. "The time for talkings is over, Nabeshin. You'll never convince me to partner with you again!".
"Is that so?" he asked, critically, giving a long, cynical smoking of the cigarette between his lips. "You shouldn't be so obstinate. Everyone else already has given their approval".
"You lie" I growled. "You just want to trick me again...".
He shrugged, and before I could react putting a bullet into him, he threw a few documents at me. "You can check these out and tell me if I lie...".
I distrusted. But still, I just had to know if he was being sincere this time. The curiosity got the best of me, and I quickly picked up the papers and read them with widened eyes behind my glasses. "Th-this can't be...".
"Oh, but it is. And if you don't want to take a part on it, you'll be the only one left out. Your call, Rikdo-san. But I'd suggest you to do it... even if it's only for the good ol' times... and the most important thing...".
"Do you mean--?" I asked him, with some hope in my voice.
"Yes". He nodded solemnly. "Lots of money".
I had to sigh in defeat. "Okay. You win, damn you. I'll do it... for the money".
I pulled the old approval seal out of one of my pockets and held it over the expecting document as I pronnounced the old oath:
"I, Koshi Rikdo, hereby allow this to become the first episode of our massive group collaboration, the Mugen Universe Series!".
*STAMP!*
Prologue:
Somewhere in Tibet.
The small fortress of thick black walls was half buried under a few feet of snow at the peak of one of the world's highest mountains. It was supposed to be my Shangri La. My last hideout from the cruelties of the world outside. It was my safe place. And I was, at least, relatively happy with it.
Then, why was he there, intruding, hunting for me? Couldn't he just leave me alone? Did he need to hound my steps through the world, right down to my last safe hiding place? What did spur him to do so? What??
It didn't matter. It wouldn't matter anymore, never. I was prepared for him. As I heard him dispatch my guards sitting behind my working desk inside of my office, and I saw him through my TV screens, shooting his way through my troops, I caressed the gun in my hands. He wouldn't take me this time. I would make sure of it, one way or another.
Did he have any idea of how much had costed me to hire all those guards with the salary of a mangaka? He plowed his path through them as if he didn't have any care in the world, smiling with cocky confidence, every once in a while throwing a few grenades at them or pulling a bazooka out of his stupid hairdo to blow them up. It was all a game for him? Did he have such a low concept of me? Unacceptable.
He was getting closer. I already could hear the explosions near my door, complete with the desperate yells of the soldiers. It was time. Clearing my sore throat, I stood up and walked to the door, gun in hand.
"I'm waiting for you, SOB" I said then.
An Elite Ex-Green Beret mercenary being thrown through my door into the office was his way of saying "Here I am", two seconds later. As the unfortunate man fell to my feet muttering "He's crazyyyyyy..." very weakly, my tormentor stepped in to face me.
There was a grim resolve of his own on his eyes.
"Rikdo-san" he said, gravely. "We need to talk".
I pointed my gun at his forehead, right between his eyes, under his huge afro. "The time for talkings is over, Nabeshin. You'll never convince me to partner with you again!".
"Is that so?" he asked, critically, giving a long, cynical smoking of the cigarette between his lips. "You shouldn't be so obstinate. Everyone else already has given their approval".
"You lie" I growled. "You just want to trick me again...".
He shrugged, and before I could react putting a bullet into him, he threw a few documents at me. "You can check these out and tell me if I lie...".
I distrusted. But still, I just had to know if he was being sincere this time. The curiosity got the best of me, and I quickly picked up the papers and read them with widened eyes behind my glasses. "Th-this can't be...".
"Oh, but it is. And if you don't want to take a part on it, you'll be the only one left out. Your call, Rikdo-san. But I'd suggest you to do it... even if it's only for the good ol' times... and the most important thing...".
"Do you mean--?" I asked him, with some hope in my voice.
"Yes". He nodded solemnly. "Lots of money".
I had to sigh in defeat. "Okay. You win, damn you. I'll do it... for the money".
I pulled the old approval seal out of one of my pockets and held it over the expecting document as I pronnounced the old oath:
"I, Koshi Rikdo, hereby allow this to become the first episode of our massive group collaboration, the Mugen Universe Series!".
*STAMP!*
Somewhere else, a few days later:
Keiichi Morisato sat down at the back porch of the old reaconditioned temple where he had been living for the last couple of years, and sighed softly in the cold breeze of the Autumn.
He was missing her already.
Not only missing her, but even missing her sisters as well. The house was just too quiet without them around anymore, to the point it wasn't feeling like a real home anymore.
He felt just miserable. Slumping down his shoulders, the young man stayed quiet and silent, lost in deep thoughts and asking himself what had gone wrong, when he heard the knockings at his front door. He barely could gather enough interest on it to mutter, "Who is it?".
"It's me, Bro!" a familiar young female voice called out from the outside. She sounded so careless, always. In moments like that, he really couldn't understand at all how did she do it.
"Come in, Megumi. The door isn't locked" he said, barely loud enough for her to hear him. And a few moments later, she was standing next to him, smiling down at him.
"Come on, Keiichi. You don't have to worry so much!" she slapped him gently on a shoulder. "Didn't they tell you they'd be back soon?".
No, actually, they hadn't. That's what he had told Megumi, of course, but it was a lie. There was no way of knowing what would happen from then on.
Still, there was no point in telling his sister truths she couldn't understand, much less believe, and that only would hurt her even if she believed them. So he made the best fake smile he could and looked up at her. "Yes. You're right, of course. I've no reason to think anything bad will happen, do I?".
"That's the spirit!" the girl with the short brown hair winked an eye to her (slightly) older brother. "Now, what if we go out with Hasegawa and your Motor Club buddies to that party tonight, so they can talk to you again? You've barely seen them for the last few days...".
"I know, I know. Look, I'll try to go, as long as I'm feeling better...".
"Oh, please, Keiichi. You're starting to worry me. Be honest. There is something else to this you haven't told me...?".
"No, no, that's not it--".
Then a loud booming thunder in the gray skies cut his words short. Somehow, it had made him to shudder.
Megumi Morisato looked up. "Boy, looks like there's a real big storm comin' up...".
She didn't know how truly right she was then.
Keiichi Morisato sat down at the back porch of the old reaconditioned temple where he had been living for the last couple of years, and sighed softly in the cold breeze of the Autumn.
He was missing her already.
Not only missing her, but even missing her sisters as well. The house was just too quiet without them around anymore, to the point it wasn't feeling like a real home anymore.
He felt just miserable. Slumping down his shoulders, the young man stayed quiet and silent, lost in deep thoughts and asking himself what had gone wrong, when he heard the knockings at his front door. He barely could gather enough interest on it to mutter, "Who is it?".
"It's me, Bro!" a familiar young female voice called out from the outside. She sounded so careless, always. In moments like that, he really couldn't understand at all how did she do it.
"Come in, Megumi. The door isn't locked" he said, barely loud enough for her to hear him. And a few moments later, she was standing next to him, smiling down at him.
"Come on, Keiichi. You don't have to worry so much!" she slapped him gently on a shoulder. "Didn't they tell you they'd be back soon?".
No, actually, they hadn't. That's what he had told Megumi, of course, but it was a lie. There was no way of knowing what would happen from then on.
Still, there was no point in telling his sister truths she couldn't understand, much less believe, and that only would hurt her even if she believed them. So he made the best fake smile he could and looked up at her. "Yes. You're right, of course. I've no reason to think anything bad will happen, do I?".
"That's the spirit!" the girl with the short brown hair winked an eye to her (slightly) older brother. "Now, what if we go out with Hasegawa and your Motor Club buddies to that party tonight, so they can talk to you again? You've barely seen them for the last few days...".
"I know, I know. Look, I'll try to go, as long as I'm feeling better...".
"Oh, please, Keiichi. You're starting to worry me. Be honest. There is something else to this you haven't told me...?".
"No, no, that's not it--".
Then a loud booming thunder in the gray skies cut his words short. Somehow, it had made him to shudder.
Megumi Morisato looked up. "Boy, looks like there's a real big storm comin' up...".
She didn't know how truly right she was then.
Yggdrasil:
The impossibly beautiful woman standing in the air, in a long white ceremonial robe, overviewed her handwork from above, and weakly smiled to herself, satisfied. She felt very tired, but also proud of her work. At long last, the Arena for the final match was ready.
Of course, challenging almost anyone else to a battle against the Ultimate Force, under normal conditions, would have been an exercise in futility. They would never stand a chance against her then. That's why she had to try and level the odds... make a special place where the strenght of the challengers would be equal to their resolve... Only then, they could have a prayer.
She really wanted to take a short sleep now. The work had been too intense, with her Seals still on and all that...
Just a few moments of sleep, she told herself as she descended. Surely The Father wouldn't mind after all...
"Is it over, already?" a female voice asked, coming from behind her.
"Yes. It is finished" she answered, with the most beautiful voice of all of Heavens. "Everything is going according to the Plan".
"Are you sure about this?" the other woman... or rather, Goddess... asked. "This could be a classic case of a remedy being worse than the illness, if things go wrong at any point...".
"That will not happen, Peorth" she replied with resolve. "I know everything is going to work out at the end. It has to".
"Very well" Peorth of the Roses nodded solemnly. "Then, I assume we can pass on to Step 2 of your project?".
"Just let me rest a bit first, please. I feel drained... We will go for Akira after that".
The dark haired Goddess crossed her arms and said nothing. Then her longtime rival added, "Thank you for your help, Peorth... I know it mustn't be easy for you...".
"The alternative wouldn't be any easier for me either, Belldandy" she replied quickly. "I just hope you are right... and this doesn't turn out to be a fatally wrong faux pas...".
The impossibly beautiful woman standing in the air, in a long white ceremonial robe, overviewed her handwork from above, and weakly smiled to herself, satisfied. She felt very tired, but also proud of her work. At long last, the Arena for the final match was ready.
Of course, challenging almost anyone else to a battle against the Ultimate Force, under normal conditions, would have been an exercise in futility. They would never stand a chance against her then. That's why she had to try and level the odds... make a special place where the strenght of the challengers would be equal to their resolve... Only then, they could have a prayer.
She really wanted to take a short sleep now. The work had been too intense, with her Seals still on and all that...
Just a few moments of sleep, she told herself as she descended. Surely The Father wouldn't mind after all...
"Is it over, already?" a female voice asked, coming from behind her.
"Yes. It is finished" she answered, with the most beautiful voice of all of Heavens. "Everything is going according to the Plan".
"Are you sure about this?" the other woman... or rather, Goddess... asked. "This could be a classic case of a remedy being worse than the illness, if things go wrong at any point...".
"That will not happen, Peorth" she replied with resolve. "I know everything is going to work out at the end. It has to".
"Very well" Peorth of the Roses nodded solemnly. "Then, I assume we can pass on to Step 2 of your project?".
"Just let me rest a bit first, please. I feel drained... We will go for Akira after that".
The dark haired Goddess crossed her arms and said nothing. Then her longtime rival added, "Thank you for your help, Peorth... I know it mustn't be easy for you...".
"The alternative wouldn't be any easier for me either, Belldandy" she replied quickly. "I just hope you are right... and this doesn't turn out to be a fatally wrong faux pas...".
Arkham Asylum:
People feared the name. A dark castle of shadows, wrapped in thick walls and an aura of insanity. The Fortess of Madness itself.
There lived a Prince, do you know? A dark Prince of warm, charming smile and the heart of a devil. The Sultan of Swing, the Count of Chaos, Duke of Disaster. The Joker, for the pals.
And once upon a day, the Prince got an invitation to a Royal Ball...
He laughed dryly, just to himself. He had just had an idea.
He had to. Sitting restrained in the rubber room, almost choked by the tightness of his old straightjacket, faintly smelling of sweat and dried vomit, he had no other things to do than:
1) Scream to the walls, which really became stale after a while.
2) Fall asleep and have ideas while dreaming, and
3) Have ideas while being awake.
Of course, there also was Choice 4) Vomit again, but today's food hadn't been THAT bad.
Anyway, as for the idea... That was a real beauty... The newest, keenest escape plan ever! Surely no one ever in the history of mankind had ever thought about it before! Now, all he had to do was to--
"Wait a minute".
He had just heard a small poofing sound near him. He looked aside with curiosity to find himself staring at a tiny, big headed blonde woman with strange markings on her rounded face. She smiled wickedly, showing him some slight pointy fangs, and was half wrapped on a black cloak around her somewhat buxom body.
She was oddly sexy looking for being some sort of gremlin.
"I'm sorry, but the Mistress isn't here today" the ghostly pale, green haired man told her, as if she was the most normal sight ever. "Try coming back tomorrow, please".
The diminutive figure clad in black huffed at him. "Really? Figures. The reports didn't lie, it seems... You're really convinced you're funny".
He frowned. If there was something he hated to be called like, it was 'Unfunny'. "What can you know, Smurfette?" he snorted.
"The name's Mara" she replied. "I came to make an offer to you".
"Sorry, but I already accepted three proposals from the last hallucinations that came to visit me. My schedule is full for the whole week".
"This isn't a joke..." the little thing said sternly. "Wouldn't you like to be free again?".
"I'm already working on it".
"Yes, and looks like you're doing such a fine job at it...". She almost laughed cruelly.
He stared down at her, critically. "What can a mouse with makeup like you do to free me, Sweetcheeks?".
"Watch me".
With a louder, stronger Poof, she grew up to normal human size amidst a cloud of yellowish smoke. Joker raised a green eyebrow. Definitely this was a change for the better.
"I like what I see!" he chuckled, and tried to playfully ram his head into the crotch of the shapely woman standing in front of him now. She just kicked him in *his* crotch, instead. "YOW! You little-- I mean, big--" he almost choked, and gasped for air.
"Oh, don't be a crybaby" she waved a hand in front of his face. "I didn't even put any real strenght on it... Anyway, that's just a reminder for you to keep your hands quiet now that you have them free". And just by waving her hand again, the straightjacket loosened and suddenly fell from Joker's body.
"Hey! Neato!". He stood up and stretched his arms. "Much, much better, I'll admit it... So, Mera--".
"Mara".
"Whatever, Maria... I suppose you aren't here just because you're part of my always lovin' Fanclub, right?".
"They don't call you a Criminal Genius for nothing!" she noted sarcastically. "My employer wants to have a few words with you".
"Exactly which words, Marla...?" the Clown looked at her again with mild interest.
Her grin grew a bit. "I can tell you this: One of them is Apocalypse".
People feared the name. A dark castle of shadows, wrapped in thick walls and an aura of insanity. The Fortess of Madness itself.
There lived a Prince, do you know? A dark Prince of warm, charming smile and the heart of a devil. The Sultan of Swing, the Count of Chaos, Duke of Disaster. The Joker, for the pals.
And once upon a day, the Prince got an invitation to a Royal Ball...
He laughed dryly, just to himself. He had just had an idea.
He had to. Sitting restrained in the rubber room, almost choked by the tightness of his old straightjacket, faintly smelling of sweat and dried vomit, he had no other things to do than:
1) Scream to the walls, which really became stale after a while.
2) Fall asleep and have ideas while dreaming, and
3) Have ideas while being awake.
Of course, there also was Choice 4) Vomit again, but today's food hadn't been THAT bad.
Anyway, as for the idea... That was a real beauty... The newest, keenest escape plan ever! Surely no one ever in the history of mankind had ever thought about it before! Now, all he had to do was to--
"Wait a minute".
He had just heard a small poofing sound near him. He looked aside with curiosity to find himself staring at a tiny, big headed blonde woman with strange markings on her rounded face. She smiled wickedly, showing him some slight pointy fangs, and was half wrapped on a black cloak around her somewhat buxom body.
She was oddly sexy looking for being some sort of gremlin.
"I'm sorry, but the Mistress isn't here today" the ghostly pale, green haired man told her, as if she was the most normal sight ever. "Try coming back tomorrow, please".
The diminutive figure clad in black huffed at him. "Really? Figures. The reports didn't lie, it seems... You're really convinced you're funny".
He frowned. If there was something he hated to be called like, it was 'Unfunny'. "What can you know, Smurfette?" he snorted.
"The name's Mara" she replied. "I came to make an offer to you".
"Sorry, but I already accepted three proposals from the last hallucinations that came to visit me. My schedule is full for the whole week".
"This isn't a joke..." the little thing said sternly. "Wouldn't you like to be free again?".
"I'm already working on it".
"Yes, and looks like you're doing such a fine job at it...". She almost laughed cruelly.
He stared down at her, critically. "What can a mouse with makeup like you do to free me, Sweetcheeks?".
"Watch me".
With a louder, stronger Poof, she grew up to normal human size amidst a cloud of yellowish smoke. Joker raised a green eyebrow. Definitely this was a change for the better.
"I like what I see!" he chuckled, and tried to playfully ram his head into the crotch of the shapely woman standing in front of him now. She just kicked him in *his* crotch, instead. "YOW! You little-- I mean, big--" he almost choked, and gasped for air.
"Oh, don't be a crybaby" she waved a hand in front of his face. "I didn't even put any real strenght on it... Anyway, that's just a reminder for you to keep your hands quiet now that you have them free". And just by waving her hand again, the straightjacket loosened and suddenly fell from Joker's body.
"Hey! Neato!". He stood up and stretched his arms. "Much, much better, I'll admit it... So, Mera--".
"Mara".
"Whatever, Maria... I suppose you aren't here just because you're part of my always lovin' Fanclub, right?".
"They don't call you a Criminal Genius for nothing!" she noted sarcastically. "My employer wants to have a few words with you".
"Exactly which words, Marla...?" the Clown looked at her again with mild interest.
Her grin grew a bit. "I can tell you this: One of them is Apocalypse".
"Apocalypse?" Joker huffed a bit, without truly looking too interested or impressed. "To be honest, I prefer 'Harmageddon'... sounds cooler, and more like a heavy metal band. But I suppose Apocalypse is also a fine way to spend a weekend. By the way, do you know which day is today? It's kinda easy to lose your notions about that sort of things in here...".
"You talk way too much" Mara snorted, and she raised a hand in front of him, touching his forehead. "Get ready".
"Get ready for what?".
Then he felt the world around himself to distort, the laws of physics and reality bending and breaking all around him, only to kick back into existence a few seconds later. He blinked, feeling slightly disoriented and weakened for a few moments.
"Whooo..." the Clown Prince coughed a bit, his legs almost trembling. "Did the Earth move for you too, Darling?".
And then, he looked around. They weren't in his Arkham cell anymore. They were in some sort of fine, well mantained office, not unlike the one you'd expect a high public officer having, although with a certain otherwordly twist, now.
"I see" he said, slowly rubbing his long chin with a hand. "Teletransportation trick. Not too different from what Luthor used to carry me to his Injustice League satellite, after all... Let me guess. You're working for him, righto, Honey?". He smiled at Mara again.
"Not quite" she shook her head. "You have no idea of how much MORE powerful my boss is". And she pointed at the small figure sitting behind the office's desk, smiling at both of them in a casual way. "There she is. Be sure of being respectful to her".
Joker blinked in surprise. "No way, Julian...".
He walked towards the dark skinned sitting little girl with long white hair, almost chuckling to himself. "Now this is funny! You know, cutie, you remind me of the time when I bombarded a kindergarten...".
"My name is Hild. Not 'cutie' " the child said to him. "Welcome to Hell".
Joker stopped right there. "Hell? Hmmmm. Doesn't look too much like Neron's place...".
"That is because this is *another* Hell. I'll explain it later" the girlie noted, in an even voice. "Now, just stay quiet and listen to what I have to say".
"Or else, what? You'll hit me with your dirty diapers?" Joker started to laugh, until he felt an intense, irresistible force pinning him, face down, against the floor. " ... Ouch. The baby's got spice!".
"Hmph" a man's voice sounded then, as Joker could hear steps coming into the office, and a tall man in dark clothes that reminded him of religious habits went in at a signal of Hild's. "I can say this lowly being is full of sins, just by looking at him. Making him into a productive member of our community shall be a challenge... but for you, Mistress, it shall be a welcome one".
"Hello to you too" Joker grunted from the floor. "Who are you, pal, the local babysitter?".
"The gentleman's name is Leopold Goenitz" Hild stated from her chair. "He will be working with Mara and you...".
She paused, and smiled down deviously at him.
"... And that's no joke".
"You talk way too much" Mara snorted, and she raised a hand in front of him, touching his forehead. "Get ready".
"Get ready for what?".
Then he felt the world around himself to distort, the laws of physics and reality bending and breaking all around him, only to kick back into existence a few seconds later. He blinked, feeling slightly disoriented and weakened for a few moments.
"Whooo..." the Clown Prince coughed a bit, his legs almost trembling. "Did the Earth move for you too, Darling?".
And then, he looked around. They weren't in his Arkham cell anymore. They were in some sort of fine, well mantained office, not unlike the one you'd expect a high public officer having, although with a certain otherwordly twist, now.
"I see" he said, slowly rubbing his long chin with a hand. "Teletransportation trick. Not too different from what Luthor used to carry me to his Injustice League satellite, after all... Let me guess. You're working for him, righto, Honey?". He smiled at Mara again.
"Not quite" she shook her head. "You have no idea of how much MORE powerful my boss is". And she pointed at the small figure sitting behind the office's desk, smiling at both of them in a casual way. "There she is. Be sure of being respectful to her".
Joker blinked in surprise. "No way, Julian...".
He walked towards the dark skinned sitting little girl with long white hair, almost chuckling to himself. "Now this is funny! You know, cutie, you remind me of the time when I bombarded a kindergarten...".
"My name is Hild. Not 'cutie' " the child said to him. "Welcome to Hell".
Joker stopped right there. "Hell? Hmmmm. Doesn't look too much like Neron's place...".
"That is because this is *another* Hell. I'll explain it later" the girlie noted, in an even voice. "Now, just stay quiet and listen to what I have to say".
"Or else, what? You'll hit me with your dirty diapers?" Joker started to laugh, until he felt an intense, irresistible force pinning him, face down, against the floor. " ... Ouch. The baby's got spice!".
"Hmph" a man's voice sounded then, as Joker could hear steps coming into the office, and a tall man in dark clothes that reminded him of religious habits went in at a signal of Hild's. "I can say this lowly being is full of sins, just by looking at him. Making him into a productive member of our community shall be a challenge... but for you, Mistress, it shall be a welcome one".
"Hello to you too" Joker grunted from the floor. "Who are you, pal, the local babysitter?".
"The gentleman's name is Leopold Goenitz" Hild stated from her chair. "He will be working with Mara and you...".
She paused, and smiled down deviously at him.
"... And that's no joke".
The zombie was scared.
Really. He--it-- literally trembled while backing away on shaky, clumsy legs, hissing hoarsely, almost slipping on the wet floor of the dark hall as he tried to get awat from the inhuman thing that had just massacred all the others. That little beast who was staring at him with icy cold blue eyes, a huge sadistic grin on her face. She advanced towards him fearlessly, aiming the impossibly large gun in her hands at him, stomping over the inanimate remains of countless other zombies splattered all over the hall as she did so.
Twirls of golden blond hair were visible coming out from under the red bonet on her head. She was not the mightiest, but certainly the most merciless Hunter in the world, *her* world, at least. Welcome to another of her job days.
"It's time to pay the piper, Mr. Stinky...!" she giggled in a perverted fashion, now stomping her way towards the zombie. "You're the last one standing, so I guess I'll have to savour you before this all ends... But it would be way better if you showed some guts first! C'mon! Be a man! Bring it on! Do your worst! Bam! Sock! Uuuuuuurrrrghhhh! Let me see that famed undead feral rage! Do you get what I'm saying to you, stupid beast?".
As if it could truly understand her, the unliving one seemed to decide to die (again) like a man (that is, at least better than his first time). With a gutural, low growl, he rushed forward to attack her...
... and had its head blown up by her as thanks.
"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaackpot!" B.B. Hood smiled with satisfaction. The Little Red Riding Hood from Hell, Scourge of Monsters all around Earth, softly blew some grayish smoke from the point of her gun as the zombie fell down, inutilizied. "Feh. Those UMBRELLA idiots... will they never learn, I wonder? And why it looks like their zombies are getting even worse with each attempt? They must be runnin' out of budget... Maybe they should try another area. I bet they could give Tupperware a very good run for their money if they wanted to".
She whipped out a cell phone from a pocket in her little red dress and spoke through it. "Yeah? Hood here. Yep, the zone is all clean. Prepare that money now, because I'm going to collect immediately. Yeah, yeah, my pleasure. I live for my job, after all!".
Then, a pause.
"I'll call you later, Eduardo..." she cut the communication as she cautiously walked to the nearest corridor. She could hear a suspicious weak zooming sound coming from there... and she didn't like it any bit.
Once there, her eyes widened. Some sort of weird vortex of light was opening in the middle of the corridor, and out of it was stepping a tall, buxom, female figure. It obviously had to be some kind of cheap Darkstalker trick.
Cool. The job had been way too easy anyway.
She jumped to face the unknown woman, aiming her guns for her massive chest. "Alright, Morrigan, or whoever the Hell you are! I don't know why are you here, but I can tell you where you are going to--".
Just a moment. That couldn't be Morrigan. Heck, she made Morrigan to look *flat* as a pancake.
The tall woman with long black hair looked down at the child and laughed, with a hideous laughter that managed to do what few others ever could-- scare B. B. Hood. "OOHHH HO HO HOH HO! You little kid! Why must you all children be so impulsive?".
Hood arched her fine eyebrows. What kinda freak was that? She wore nothing but tall black boots, spikey shoulder pads, a scandalous black leather bikini that didn't leave much to imagination, some jewelry, and a black, long cape. Be careful, she told herself. This must be a being twisted enough to give Zarock the creeps.
"Who are you, sister?" she demanded, not bothering to be polite. "Talk fast, before I get an itch on the trigger finger!".
The woman looked at her guns with a puzzled expression. "What are those things?".
"I asked you a question!!".
She humphed. "You obviously never learned any manners. You're even worse than Lina! Very well, if you want to know it so much... I'm Naga the White Serpent! The most powerful sorceress ever born! The world fears my name, kings and demons are nothing to me!". And then she laughed again with that damn laugh of hers, and her round breasts bouncing.
"Very impressive!" the Hunter snorted. "OK, I'm Baby Bonnie Hood, and I kick the buttocks of freaks in black for fun! Wanna take a number? I'm all willing!".
She looked down at her in true amazement. "YOU are Hood? The one I was instructed to look for? No way...".
The girlie looked at her with a cute but serious frown. "What do you mean?".
"Well, I was told by my latest patron to look for a Demon Hunter named Hood... He said he had a job offer for her...".
"Me, working for the same guy you work for...?" the child grumbled. "What's the catch?".
Naga shrugged. "Looks like he's searching for people who works for money for him. And he's got a lot of money, too".
"Lots of money??". Now she WAS interested.
"Indeed" Naga nodded. She passed Hood a small bag, and the kid could see it was full of gold coins weighing heavily in her small hands. Her eyes went wide like saucers. "He said this would be yours, only if you came with me to talk with him".
"Okay!" Hood nodded anxiously. She always could collect Eduardo's payment tomorrow. Or the next week. "I could be talked into doing some favors for this guy!".
Really. He--it-- literally trembled while backing away on shaky, clumsy legs, hissing hoarsely, almost slipping on the wet floor of the dark hall as he tried to get awat from the inhuman thing that had just massacred all the others. That little beast who was staring at him with icy cold blue eyes, a huge sadistic grin on her face. She advanced towards him fearlessly, aiming the impossibly large gun in her hands at him, stomping over the inanimate remains of countless other zombies splattered all over the hall as she did so.
Twirls of golden blond hair were visible coming out from under the red bonet on her head. She was not the mightiest, but certainly the most merciless Hunter in the world, *her* world, at least. Welcome to another of her job days.
"It's time to pay the piper, Mr. Stinky...!" she giggled in a perverted fashion, now stomping her way towards the zombie. "You're the last one standing, so I guess I'll have to savour you before this all ends... But it would be way better if you showed some guts first! C'mon! Be a man! Bring it on! Do your worst! Bam! Sock! Uuuuuuurrrrghhhh! Let me see that famed undead feral rage! Do you get what I'm saying to you, stupid beast?".
As if it could truly understand her, the unliving one seemed to decide to die (again) like a man (that is, at least better than his first time). With a gutural, low growl, he rushed forward to attack her...
... and had its head blown up by her as thanks.
"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaackpot!" B.B. Hood smiled with satisfaction. The Little Red Riding Hood from Hell, Scourge of Monsters all around Earth, softly blew some grayish smoke from the point of her gun as the zombie fell down, inutilizied. "Feh. Those UMBRELLA idiots... will they never learn, I wonder? And why it looks like their zombies are getting even worse with each attempt? They must be runnin' out of budget... Maybe they should try another area. I bet they could give Tupperware a very good run for their money if they wanted to".
She whipped out a cell phone from a pocket in her little red dress and spoke through it. "Yeah? Hood here. Yep, the zone is all clean. Prepare that money now, because I'm going to collect immediately. Yeah, yeah, my pleasure. I live for my job, after all!".
Then, a pause.
"I'll call you later, Eduardo..." she cut the communication as she cautiously walked to the nearest corridor. She could hear a suspicious weak zooming sound coming from there... and she didn't like it any bit.
Once there, her eyes widened. Some sort of weird vortex of light was opening in the middle of the corridor, and out of it was stepping a tall, buxom, female figure. It obviously had to be some kind of cheap Darkstalker trick.
Cool. The job had been way too easy anyway.
She jumped to face the unknown woman, aiming her guns for her massive chest. "Alright, Morrigan, or whoever the Hell you are! I don't know why are you here, but I can tell you where you are going to--".
Just a moment. That couldn't be Morrigan. Heck, she made Morrigan to look *flat* as a pancake.
The tall woman with long black hair looked down at the child and laughed, with a hideous laughter that managed to do what few others ever could-- scare B. B. Hood. "OOHHH HO HO HOH HO! You little kid! Why must you all children be so impulsive?".
Hood arched her fine eyebrows. What kinda freak was that? She wore nothing but tall black boots, spikey shoulder pads, a scandalous black leather bikini that didn't leave much to imagination, some jewelry, and a black, long cape. Be careful, she told herself. This must be a being twisted enough to give Zarock the creeps.
"Who are you, sister?" she demanded, not bothering to be polite. "Talk fast, before I get an itch on the trigger finger!".
The woman looked at her guns with a puzzled expression. "What are those things?".
"I asked you a question!!".
She humphed. "You obviously never learned any manners. You're even worse than Lina! Very well, if you want to know it so much... I'm Naga the White Serpent! The most powerful sorceress ever born! The world fears my name, kings and demons are nothing to me!". And then she laughed again with that damn laugh of hers, and her round breasts bouncing.
"Very impressive!" the Hunter snorted. "OK, I'm Baby Bonnie Hood, and I kick the buttocks of freaks in black for fun! Wanna take a number? I'm all willing!".
She looked down at her in true amazement. "YOU are Hood? The one I was instructed to look for? No way...".
The girlie looked at her with a cute but serious frown. "What do you mean?".
"Well, I was told by my latest patron to look for a Demon Hunter named Hood... He said he had a job offer for her...".
"Me, working for the same guy you work for...?" the child grumbled. "What's the catch?".
Naga shrugged. "Looks like he's searching for people who works for money for him. And he's got a lot of money, too".
"Lots of money??". Now she WAS interested.
"Indeed" Naga nodded. She passed Hood a small bag, and the kid could see it was full of gold coins weighing heavily in her small hands. Her eyes went wide like saucers. "He said this would be yours, only if you came with me to talk with him".
"Okay!" Hood nodded anxiously. She always could collect Eduardo's payment tomorrow. Or the next week. "I could be talked into doing some favors for this guy!".
"The Ley Lines are in chaos..." The little Devil muttered under his breath as he drew his coat a little tighter around his chest. He watched as beneath him, the nuns, ministers and others serviant to the Order of Magdeline milled about, almost in a frenzy. It had been months since the last crisis threatening humainty had been averted, the Sinner known as Aion dispatched, and finally the world of humans and the world of Devils reaching some manner of accord, thanks to Pandemonium being appeased. Chrono put his ear to the warm, tiled roof basking in the morning sun as below, and listened as Ewan Remington spoke grimly.
"I am sorry to have called you all here, but things have been set in motion that may again require the efforts of the mgadeline Order. I am aware that the conflict between urselves and the Devils may be over, but I am afraid that we may need their aid yet again..."
As usual, Chrono heard as the voice of his partner, the rambunctious, and often obnoxious Rosette Christoper tore the stoic silence of the room in two.
"AGAIN!? But..."
Remington cut her off. "Rosette, I understand that Sister Kate has allowed you and Chrono some time away from your duties but this simply cannot wait!"
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkay, so what is it this time? Devils? An Apostle needs saving? What?" the fiesty nun shot back, only to find a littl hand over her mouth, and a arm around her wait, both appendages beginning to drag her backwards.
"I'm sorry about that Father Remington," Chrono smiled, embarrassed, and hissed into his partner's ear, begging her to be a little more patient.
"Thank you, Chrono." The tall, handsome minister placed a gold-trimmed tube of ivory upon the desk of the Mother Superior, all in the room letting out either a gasp of disbelief or a murmur of suspicion.
"It is," Remington cautioned, looking down at the elegant cylinder. "The final Revelation of Fatimah, the scroll which holds the secret words given to those Faithful, words which pertain to the remaining time humanity has been allowed by God."
The room was plunged into silence as Remington slowly, carefully twisted the top of the cylinder and with delicate fingers, extracted its cotents, unfurling the scroll.
None approached it, save Remington himself, who slowly, solemnly turned it around to face the assembly before him, and then nodded to Chrono, the Devil who had taken up residence in the House of God itself. The little Devil stepped cautiously forwards, and paused several feet away from the huge oak desk.
"Father Remington...I feel..."
If it were at all possible, Remington's features grew even more grim. "What is it you feel, Chrono?" He noticed the eyes of the little Devil begin to grow wide with fear, as his lips began to tremble.
"You do understand it, don't you Chrono? You do know what this means..."
Rosette came to his side, and together the pair stepped cautiously ever-forwards, until they looked almost directly downwards at the ancient Hebrew letters, a strange shape, sitting omniously in the corner of the parchment.
"This can't be..." Chrono stammered.
Remington nodded, and beckoned the pair of them into his chambers. As the door closed behind them, hrono noticed a petite little girl, her light blue hair tied into the most adorable pigtails and kept where they were with little ribbons.
Remington turned to face tha pair. "Rosette, Chrono, I would like you to meet one of my colleagues. This," he presented the adorable little creature, "This is Dokuro-Chan. As you may ave guessed, she is as I am. Except fr the fact that she is from our Covert Operations Section." It had already been a while since Remington had revealed himself to be an Angel during one of the more brutal battles against the Sinner Aion and his cohorts.
Rosette took a shallow step towards their "visitor," and then poked her repeatedly in the head. "So, what's all this about? We're suppose to be on extended leave, you know!"
Behing them, Remington took up the Scroll of Fatimah and nodded to the tiny Angel, who began to speak in a voice so soothing both Rosette and Chrono were mesmerised.
"We need you, Rosette. We will be leaving immediately."
Chrono's jaw dropped, as the young Angel took Rosette's and and began pulling her towards the door. He found the and of Father Remington uopn his shoulder, holding him back."But why!?"
Remington spun him around, and brought is face again to the scroll. "It doesn't burn your eyes, does it?"
"Wait..." Chrono whispered in disbelief. Heavenly objects never had a good effect on Sinners like him. "No, it doesn't..."
Remington sighed. "That is because the power behind this sigil is still sealed...it has been sealed for the last one thousand, eight hundred years." He spoke matter-of factly as he indicated the star-shaped brand at the bottom of the page, seemingly burned into the Nile-reed paper.
"One thousand...no...impossible!" Chrono stammered...
"You are needed elsewhere Chrono," Remington stated flatly, "Because if we are right, and the rumors about the Relief Office in Heaven shutting down are true, then we may again need the help of the Devils who aided us before."
THe Minister let out a sigh.
"Before this, we dealt with Devils. But never before have we dealt with a God..."
Before his eyes, Chrono watched as the paper surrounding the star-shaped brand began to smoke, as if it were burning. The words left his lips in a lisp of awe, but mostly it was fear.
"The God of Destruction...is coming?"
Remington's silence spoke volumes.
"I am sorry to have called you all here, but things have been set in motion that may again require the efforts of the mgadeline Order. I am aware that the conflict between urselves and the Devils may be over, but I am afraid that we may need their aid yet again..."
As usual, Chrono heard as the voice of his partner, the rambunctious, and often obnoxious Rosette Christoper tore the stoic silence of the room in two.
"AGAIN!? But..."
Remington cut her off. "Rosette, I understand that Sister Kate has allowed you and Chrono some time away from your duties but this simply cannot wait!"
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkay, so what is it this time? Devils? An Apostle needs saving? What?" the fiesty nun shot back, only to find a littl hand over her mouth, and a arm around her wait, both appendages beginning to drag her backwards.
"I'm sorry about that Father Remington," Chrono smiled, embarrassed, and hissed into his partner's ear, begging her to be a little more patient.
"Thank you, Chrono." The tall, handsome minister placed a gold-trimmed tube of ivory upon the desk of the Mother Superior, all in the room letting out either a gasp of disbelief or a murmur of suspicion.
"It is," Remington cautioned, looking down at the elegant cylinder. "The final Revelation of Fatimah, the scroll which holds the secret words given to those Faithful, words which pertain to the remaining time humanity has been allowed by God."
The room was plunged into silence as Remington slowly, carefully twisted the top of the cylinder and with delicate fingers, extracted its cotents, unfurling the scroll.
None approached it, save Remington himself, who slowly, solemnly turned it around to face the assembly before him, and then nodded to Chrono, the Devil who had taken up residence in the House of God itself. The little Devil stepped cautiously forwards, and paused several feet away from the huge oak desk.
"Father Remington...I feel..."
If it were at all possible, Remington's features grew even more grim. "What is it you feel, Chrono?" He noticed the eyes of the little Devil begin to grow wide with fear, as his lips began to tremble.
"You do understand it, don't you Chrono? You do know what this means..."
Rosette came to his side, and together the pair stepped cautiously ever-forwards, until they looked almost directly downwards at the ancient Hebrew letters, a strange shape, sitting omniously in the corner of the parchment.
"This can't be..." Chrono stammered.
Remington nodded, and beckoned the pair of them into his chambers. As the door closed behind them, hrono noticed a petite little girl, her light blue hair tied into the most adorable pigtails and kept where they were with little ribbons.
Remington turned to face tha pair. "Rosette, Chrono, I would like you to meet one of my colleagues. This," he presented the adorable little creature, "This is Dokuro-Chan. As you may ave guessed, she is as I am. Except fr the fact that she is from our Covert Operations Section." It had already been a while since Remington had revealed himself to be an Angel during one of the more brutal battles against the Sinner Aion and his cohorts.
Rosette took a shallow step towards their "visitor," and then poked her repeatedly in the head. "So, what's all this about? We're suppose to be on extended leave, you know!"
Behing them, Remington took up the Scroll of Fatimah and nodded to the tiny Angel, who began to speak in a voice so soothing both Rosette and Chrono were mesmerised.
"We need you, Rosette. We will be leaving immediately."
Chrono's jaw dropped, as the young Angel took Rosette's and and began pulling her towards the door. He found the and of Father Remington uopn his shoulder, holding him back."But why!?"
Remington spun him around, and brought is face again to the scroll. "It doesn't burn your eyes, does it?"
"Wait..." Chrono whispered in disbelief. Heavenly objects never had a good effect on Sinners like him. "No, it doesn't..."
Remington sighed. "That is because the power behind this sigil is still sealed...it has been sealed for the last one thousand, eight hundred years." He spoke matter-of factly as he indicated the star-shaped brand at the bottom of the page, seemingly burned into the Nile-reed paper.
"One thousand...no...impossible!" Chrono stammered...
"You are needed elsewhere Chrono," Remington stated flatly, "Because if we are right, and the rumors about the Relief Office in Heaven shutting down are true, then we may again need the help of the Devils who aided us before."
THe Minister let out a sigh.
"Before this, we dealt with Devils. But never before have we dealt with a God..."
Before his eyes, Chrono watched as the paper surrounding the star-shaped brand began to smoke, as if it were burning. The words left his lips in a lisp of awe, but mostly it was fear.
"The God of Destruction...is coming?"
Remington's silence spoke volumes.
Somewhere in the snowy hills of Japan:
The man was surrounded by monkeys, sitting in a circle all around him. He was tall and thin, still young looking, with long dark hair and a long beard. His feet were bare, and he wore a brown robe, looking more like a vagabond than anything else. His voice had a real simian tone to it as he talked to the beasts in their own language, fluently, exchanging impressions with the group as an old friend.
They were alone in the hot springs mountain resort at those hours of the night. At least until the water in one of the nearby springs bubbled intensely, and a light vortex appeared above it. Scared, the monkeys quickly ran away, but the lanky man simply approached the water with interest.
"So, my pupil comes to visit at last" he pondered to himself. "There must be something really pressing urging her to do so".
From the vortex, a young petite girl with long black hair and blue rounded markings on her forehead and cheeks, all dressed in pink, emerged to face him. Her expression was absolutely serious.
"Master Beenuel" she did a quick, half unwilling bow at him. "Excuse me for intruding this way".
"It is somewhat disturbing to see you coming here, indeed..." he nodded. "Especially since you never have wanted to have anything to do with the lessons of your intended teacher...".
"Oh, please! We've already talked about this!" she told him. "With all due respect, you can't teach anything of any interest to me!".
Celestine, definitely this guy wasn't. What had the Oracles of Yggdrasil been thinking when they assigned him to be her future teacher? And yet, he was her last option right now. Just showed how badly messed up things were on a whole.
"Just because I am a minor deity, or because I am not fond of the machines you love so much? In any instance, if your position about it is still the same, why did you come here this night?".
She stared at his face, genuinely shocked. "They haven't told you about it??".
"Told me about what?".
"Ragnarok!".
Beenuel blinked quickly. "Ragnarok...? Surely you jest".
"I'm NOT joking!" she protested. "My Father called us back to Yggdrasil and told us about it, a couple of weeks ago! The End is near... that's why I am here".
He pondered what he had just heard silently, his eyes wide open. Finally, he spoke up slowly, "If that is true... Goes to show how badly they think about me. I never get a memo when this sort of thing happens. The God of Cheese gets more respect than me...".
"Stop thinking about your ego, will you?" the girl asked, almost scolding him. "Now, as God of Animals, this is bad news to you. All your precious beasties will be wiped off existence along with the humanoid races. So you have to help me to handle all this...".
He observed her with a critical look. "What is your interest in all of this, Young Skuld?".
"My sister".
"Which one of them?".
"Who else? Belldandy! You know her... She has been asked to handle the main basics of the Ragnarok Operation, but... she can't do it. She just can't. I've seen her... For the last days, it has been eating her alive... She couldn't bring herself to do it, so she proposed an alternative to our Father".
"And the alternative is...?".
"She'll put her own life in risk for the Universes. She's going to stage a... some sort of massive battle for the Future... and, if someone manages to beat her and the Ultimate Force, the Existence will be spared. She is going to... make herself killed, Beenuel-san... She's just going to throw herself at the mercy of the mightiest beings in the Universes... and I'm not going to stand there and let them to destroy her!" she announced, almost crying, stomping with a foot on the ground.
"And you want my help for that?".
"We have common goals. I know you don't think much of me, but we have no other choices, really. No other God in the Pantheon will help me with this, and odds are they won't help you either".
"Of course, you know you are challenging the Will of your Father...".
"No. He has approved this... Tournament, and as long as we play by its rules, we aren't going to disobey His Will".
Beenuel smiled weakly. His apprentice lacked very much in the field of Communion with Nature, but she still had a very stong determination. He nodded.
"I think I am willing to help you, then. Just tell me more about your plan".
The man was surrounded by monkeys, sitting in a circle all around him. He was tall and thin, still young looking, with long dark hair and a long beard. His feet were bare, and he wore a brown robe, looking more like a vagabond than anything else. His voice had a real simian tone to it as he talked to the beasts in their own language, fluently, exchanging impressions with the group as an old friend.
They were alone in the hot springs mountain resort at those hours of the night. At least until the water in one of the nearby springs bubbled intensely, and a light vortex appeared above it. Scared, the monkeys quickly ran away, but the lanky man simply approached the water with interest.
"So, my pupil comes to visit at last" he pondered to himself. "There must be something really pressing urging her to do so".
From the vortex, a young petite girl with long black hair and blue rounded markings on her forehead and cheeks, all dressed in pink, emerged to face him. Her expression was absolutely serious.
"Master Beenuel" she did a quick, half unwilling bow at him. "Excuse me for intruding this way".
"It is somewhat disturbing to see you coming here, indeed..." he nodded. "Especially since you never have wanted to have anything to do with the lessons of your intended teacher...".
"Oh, please! We've already talked about this!" she told him. "With all due respect, you can't teach anything of any interest to me!".
Celestine, definitely this guy wasn't. What had the Oracles of Yggdrasil been thinking when they assigned him to be her future teacher? And yet, he was her last option right now. Just showed how badly messed up things were on a whole.
"Just because I am a minor deity, or because I am not fond of the machines you love so much? In any instance, if your position about it is still the same, why did you come here this night?".
She stared at his face, genuinely shocked. "They haven't told you about it??".
"Told me about what?".
"Ragnarok!".
Beenuel blinked quickly. "Ragnarok...? Surely you jest".
"I'm NOT joking!" she protested. "My Father called us back to Yggdrasil and told us about it, a couple of weeks ago! The End is near... that's why I am here".
He pondered what he had just heard silently, his eyes wide open. Finally, he spoke up slowly, "If that is true... Goes to show how badly they think about me. I never get a memo when this sort of thing happens. The God of Cheese gets more respect than me...".
"Stop thinking about your ego, will you?" the girl asked, almost scolding him. "Now, as God of Animals, this is bad news to you. All your precious beasties will be wiped off existence along with the humanoid races. So you have to help me to handle all this...".
He observed her with a critical look. "What is your interest in all of this, Young Skuld?".
"My sister".
"Which one of them?".
"Who else? Belldandy! You know her... She has been asked to handle the main basics of the Ragnarok Operation, but... she can't do it. She just can't. I've seen her... For the last days, it has been eating her alive... She couldn't bring herself to do it, so she proposed an alternative to our Father".
"And the alternative is...?".
"She'll put her own life in risk for the Universes. She's going to stage a... some sort of massive battle for the Future... and, if someone manages to beat her and the Ultimate Force, the Existence will be spared. She is going to... make herself killed, Beenuel-san... She's just going to throw herself at the mercy of the mightiest beings in the Universes... and I'm not going to stand there and let them to destroy her!" she announced, almost crying, stomping with a foot on the ground.
"And you want my help for that?".
"We have common goals. I know you don't think much of me, but we have no other choices, really. No other God in the Pantheon will help me with this, and odds are they won't help you either".
"Of course, you know you are challenging the Will of your Father...".
"No. He has approved this... Tournament, and as long as we play by its rules, we aren't going to disobey His Will".
Beenuel smiled weakly. His apprentice lacked very much in the field of Communion with Nature, but she still had a very stong determination. He nodded.
"I think I am willing to help you, then. Just tell me more about your plan".
Hong Kong:
Decades ago, Jules Chawang had been an elite Street Fighter. He had won several famed martial arts tournaments, and his name was respected in fighting circles around the world. That had been, however, far in the distant past. Now he was a spent man, old and tired, with blurry vision and a beer gut. He hadn't fought seriously in more than seven years.
However, he had not truly realized how low he had fell until that night. Beaten, literally pummeled... by the goof in the pink karate gi who has holding him by his shirt's collar now, behind that lowly bar, in the darkened alley.
His assaulter's already narrow eyes narrowed even more. "Why, Chawang? Why did you have to do it?!".
"F'r the love of God, Dan!" the old man coughed. "How could I know Sagat was going to kill him? I truly thought yer dad had a chance! Honest!".
The young man with the thin hair tied down in a long ponytail shook him a bit more, with cartoony streams of tears running down from his eyes. "You were his friend, Chawang! He trusted yoouuuuuu...! And you told him it was a good idea to challenge Sagat!".
"Bu-but that was so long ago!" he pleaded. "I'm sorry about dat, have been dat way f'r a long time! Don't hurt me, boy... Yer dad wouldn't have liked it...".
"Shut up! Now you're going to taste the full fury of Saikyo...!!".
"No! Please, don't hurt m--".
What was he doing now?
Dan was rolling in a quite ridiculous way all around him, taunting him while singing:
"You scum, treacherous bum,
foolish no-good, dirty crud!
Your no worthy of nothin', but taunts, piece of mud!
The Hibikis laught at you!
Saikyo! Saikyo! Taste the cold despise
of the strongest fighting style!
Saikyo! Saikyo!".
The old man blinked in disbelief. "What the f--".
"Hah hah!" Dan Hibiki stood up and faced him again. "Bet that truly shattered your poor soul, eh? You'll never forget the sting of the Saikyo Special Revenge Super Taunt!".
"Uhhh... sure. I'll never forget. Is that... all?" he hesitated.
"Do you want more?".
"No! No! I-- I have, um, tasted more than enough of your terrible rage, boy. But, since your going to allow me to live... I want to give you a showing of my gratitude... I'll tell you about something I just learned...".
"What?".
"There is a new World Martial Arts Championship coming. I'll bet you have quite good chances there".
"Don't tell me! But of course! Hah! Nothing will stand in the way of my style to victory!".
Jules handed him a piece of paper. "A woman gave me this... told me to give it to the greatest fighter I knew... It's an invitation. My gift for you, son".
Dan smiled, looking with mild fascination at the paper. "Very interesting...".
Jules smiled to himself, too. The boy was even dumber than his father. Surely he'd get himself killed in that jam the weird woman had told him about. The pompous arse had it coming.
"By the way, Chawang...".
"Yeah?".
Dan then gave him a good punch in the middle of the face. Granted, it wasn't too strong, since he was Dan after all, but still, it was enough to really hurt the frail old drunk.
"That's my parting gift for *you*! Thanks for everything, old weasel! WAHOOOOO!". He began to run into the night, full with enthusiasm. "I'll be the next World Champ...!!".
Jules spat a few drops of blood.
Stupid boy...
Decades ago, Jules Chawang had been an elite Street Fighter. He had won several famed martial arts tournaments, and his name was respected in fighting circles around the world. That had been, however, far in the distant past. Now he was a spent man, old and tired, with blurry vision and a beer gut. He hadn't fought seriously in more than seven years.
However, he had not truly realized how low he had fell until that night. Beaten, literally pummeled... by the goof in the pink karate gi who has holding him by his shirt's collar now, behind that lowly bar, in the darkened alley.
His assaulter's already narrow eyes narrowed even more. "Why, Chawang? Why did you have to do it?!".
"F'r the love of God, Dan!" the old man coughed. "How could I know Sagat was going to kill him? I truly thought yer dad had a chance! Honest!".
The young man with the thin hair tied down in a long ponytail shook him a bit more, with cartoony streams of tears running down from his eyes. "You were his friend, Chawang! He trusted yoouuuuuu...! And you told him it was a good idea to challenge Sagat!".
"Bu-but that was so long ago!" he pleaded. "I'm sorry about dat, have been dat way f'r a long time! Don't hurt me, boy... Yer dad wouldn't have liked it...".
"Shut up! Now you're going to taste the full fury of Saikyo...!!".
"No! Please, don't hurt m--".
What was he doing now?
Dan was rolling in a quite ridiculous way all around him, taunting him while singing:
"You scum, treacherous bum,
foolish no-good, dirty crud!
Your no worthy of nothin', but taunts, piece of mud!
The Hibikis laught at you!
Saikyo! Saikyo! Taste the cold despise
of the strongest fighting style!
Saikyo! Saikyo!".
The old man blinked in disbelief. "What the f--".
"Hah hah!" Dan Hibiki stood up and faced him again. "Bet that truly shattered your poor soul, eh? You'll never forget the sting of the Saikyo Special Revenge Super Taunt!".
"Uhhh... sure. I'll never forget. Is that... all?" he hesitated.
"Do you want more?".
"No! No! I-- I have, um, tasted more than enough of your terrible rage, boy. But, since your going to allow me to live... I want to give you a showing of my gratitude... I'll tell you about something I just learned...".
"What?".
"There is a new World Martial Arts Championship coming. I'll bet you have quite good chances there".
"Don't tell me! But of course! Hah! Nothing will stand in the way of my style to victory!".
Jules handed him a piece of paper. "A woman gave me this... told me to give it to the greatest fighter I knew... It's an invitation. My gift for you, son".
Dan smiled, looking with mild fascination at the paper. "Very interesting...".
Jules smiled to himself, too. The boy was even dumber than his father. Surely he'd get himself killed in that jam the weird woman had told him about. The pompous arse had it coming.
"By the way, Chawang...".
"Yeah?".
Dan then gave him a good punch in the middle of the face. Granted, it wasn't too strong, since he was Dan after all, but still, it was enough to really hurt the frail old drunk.
"That's my parting gift for *you*! Thanks for everything, old weasel! WAHOOOOO!". He began to run into the night, full with enthusiasm. "I'll be the next World Champ...!!".
Jules spat a few drops of blood.
Stupid boy...
Yet another dark city.
The city was full of towers that pointed to the black sky like needles attempting to scratch the night. Its streets, narrow and shadowed by the buildings, were almost empty of any bystanders at midnight, since most people was almost too scared to get out after sunset. The criminal element ruled after the fall of the sun in the city without hope.
Now, that sounded dramatic, didn't it?
The gang was on the move, coming out of the jewelry store. Their steps were quick, echoing in the lenght of the lonely street, as the alarm siren blared behind them.
"Move it, guys!" their leader, a huge, corpulent humanoid with a... wolf's head, barked as they almost reached their motorcycles. "I don't wanna any problems this tim--".
His words were cut short by the impression of seeing the cloud of smoke appearing in front of them, between them and the vehicles.
"Aw, crap. Not him".
A voice was almost hissing, coming from inside the cloud. Threatening, in a sort of way.
"I'm the terror that flaps in the night...".
"Fill 'im with lead, boys!".
The night resounded with gunfire, but when it stopped, they saw they hadn't hit anything. Blinking, the five canine men stood up stupidly where they were, until they heard how the gas was poofing behind them now, along with the same voice.
"I'm the needle that breaks your bubble! I'm the nightmare that makes you spend your life in the psychiatrist's couch!".
"Shut up!" the leader prepared to end up with the strange tirade by turning around and aiming at the small caped figure appearing in the gas with his gun, but was stopped by some sort of smoke projectile exploding in his face.
Then the whole world went black.
A few minutes later, standing over the pile of tied, knocked out thugs, the caped feathered figure clad in purple dusted off his hands. "Look good while doing good, just like always" he muttered satisfied to himself. But something else caught his attention at that moment, making him to blink. It seemed to be some sort of intense white light, coming from the other side of the street. He looked at it, intrigued.
A very young female voice called from the light. "In this dark place, where Injustice reigns, I have come to meet the one who wields the flame of Justice! Sent by Heavens, here am I!". She was visible now: a small blonde of long hair with a light blue ribbon on her head, dressed in pure white. A human?? "Angel Trainee Flonne, at your service!".
An Angel? No way. He *had* met humans before, and he knew they... often were far from being likely to say the truth. Even when they had such radiant smiles as this child's.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, looking straight at her.
"I came for you, Mr. Mallard!" she said cheerfully, waving a little hand at him. "Why, we're going to save the Universe!".
The city was full of towers that pointed to the black sky like needles attempting to scratch the night. Its streets, narrow and shadowed by the buildings, were almost empty of any bystanders at midnight, since most people was almost too scared to get out after sunset. The criminal element ruled after the fall of the sun in the city without hope.
Now, that sounded dramatic, didn't it?
The gang was on the move, coming out of the jewelry store. Their steps were quick, echoing in the lenght of the lonely street, as the alarm siren blared behind them.
"Move it, guys!" their leader, a huge, corpulent humanoid with a... wolf's head, barked as they almost reached their motorcycles. "I don't wanna any problems this tim--".
His words were cut short by the impression of seeing the cloud of smoke appearing in front of them, between them and the vehicles.
"Aw, crap. Not him".
A voice was almost hissing, coming from inside the cloud. Threatening, in a sort of way.
"I'm the terror that flaps in the night...".
"Fill 'im with lead, boys!".
The night resounded with gunfire, but when it stopped, they saw they hadn't hit anything. Blinking, the five canine men stood up stupidly where they were, until they heard how the gas was poofing behind them now, along with the same voice.
"I'm the needle that breaks your bubble! I'm the nightmare that makes you spend your life in the psychiatrist's couch!".
"Shut up!" the leader prepared to end up with the strange tirade by turning around and aiming at the small caped figure appearing in the gas with his gun, but was stopped by some sort of smoke projectile exploding in his face.
Then the whole world went black.
A few minutes later, standing over the pile of tied, knocked out thugs, the caped feathered figure clad in purple dusted off his hands. "Look good while doing good, just like always" he muttered satisfied to himself. But something else caught his attention at that moment, making him to blink. It seemed to be some sort of intense white light, coming from the other side of the street. He looked at it, intrigued.
A very young female voice called from the light. "In this dark place, where Injustice reigns, I have come to meet the one who wields the flame of Justice! Sent by Heavens, here am I!". She was visible now: a small blonde of long hair with a light blue ribbon on her head, dressed in pure white. A human?? "Angel Trainee Flonne, at your service!".
An Angel? No way. He *had* met humans before, and he knew they... often were far from being likely to say the truth. Even when they had such radiant smiles as this child's.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, looking straight at her.
"I came for you, Mr. Mallard!" she said cheerfully, waving a little hand at him. "Why, we're going to save the Universe!".
The air reeked of methane, and the ground released its bubbling wheezes as she treaded onwards between the red pools, once every so often stopping, looking downwards at faces that were all too familiar. The sky was red, and the atmosphere thin, and where there were pockets of oxygen, the breathable air stank of decomposition, decomposition that was all around her, in the ground, the ground of world made of crushed bodies. The crushed, soulles bodies of Gods long dead.
"Every single one of them, their residual energies indicate that they were at least equal to my Lord himself in power, some of them are even off the scale...what could have done all this..." she thought as she presed her bundled up cape closer to her nose. Then it hit her, the red skies, the red oceans, the ground, they were the remnants of a war long past. Bodies, bodies of Gods piled so high in the weightlessness of space that the sheer number of them had become a planet, with its own gravatational field, with its own atmosphere, and the oceans, they were the blood of the divine, the moons above her, the twelve silver crescents, were the vessels in which they once lived, crushed into perfect spheres by one being's will alone.
"This...this is what Urd sent me to retrieve..." Peorth turned pale, realizing that whatever she was to recruit for Heaven had, here in the Continuities beyond, evolved to such a state that it could very well end the system functions of Yggdrasil on its very own. "What in the name of Kami Sama was she thinking, extending a invitation to...to this place?"
The flash of light caught her off guard, and as the warmth surrounded her, so did the blue skies, the perfect clouds, and the sound of children wherever she turned. As her vision returned, she found herself face to face with an old man, bent over double with age, his torn rags bundled about his deshrivelled form so as to hide his face. From between the rags, his husky, cracked voice crept. "If you are looking for the being who made that world of death, you're a bit late. He has already left." The beggar pointed to the enormous hole in the ground, not five feet from where Peorth stood, and then towards the sky, where the silent juggernauts plied the skies, meandering their ways through the transluscent, almost organic buildings that seemed to rise forever towards the sky. "He caught the train."
Peorth was a bit too awe-struck to reply.
"Welcome to the City of Dreams, Daughter of Yggdrasil. I know, you can no longer sense your bretheren. That is natrual. You are beyond, what was it that he called it...ah, the Fourth Wall."
She reeled with shock, but before she could scream her disbelief, the beggar's finger found its way to her lips, silencing her.
"He literally caught the train. Only, he, uhmm, didn't really get the fact that even an octo-dimensional groundplane cannot support an inverted entropic field...he's kind of dumb that way."
A bead of sweat rolled down Peorth's cheek. "And how do you know all this?"
The snicker filled her mind, rather than her ears. "You..."
The old man gave opened his hand, and brought the space of distorted air to her face. "This is your sister's handiwork?"
"The Dimension Tide! But how...that..."
"It is nothing, she still needs to learn how to properly wield her power. Her heart is both her strength, and her greatest weakness. Now step through it, he is already in transit."
Peorth extended her hand towards the ever-shrinking anamoly, a mirage in the several dozen or so dimensions that made up the small space within the confines of the beggar's palm.
"Oh, wait. Before you meet him, tell your Lord that Seicross sends his regards. And take this to Nudoru." The beggar handed her a first aid kit that was quite comprehensive. "And tell him not to die so much, it's f*cking irritating when he keeps falling into my coffee. For that matter, he'd better not die again."
Peorth's features distorted, trying to take in everything that the beggar said.
"Your sister wanted a champion from this Continuity, and so I sent to your Continuity the one man who needed to find himself the most. However, Nudoru Kaarage cannot manifest in your form of reality without creating immense chaos. He is composed of simply too much matter on too many material planes. As he is aware, and as you now are, I have stripped him of the better part of his power. I do not want another debacle like that planet of death you landed on. In return, he will have the chance to earn a place in your Omniverse, in your Continuity. I have sent the memo, ask if your master got it. My fax has been playing up and I think it's seriously f*cked over."
The beggar pulled the rags away from his face as Peorth stepped into the anamoly, the Dimensional Tide which had fused every single reality in the one Continuity that mankind had come to know as the Fictional Universe. As she felt herself begin to fall, she saw the beggar's true face, the white mask, the sigils flowing across it, and then again, came the light.
~The space between existances~
"And you are?" the man with the spar of an enourmous nanoconstructed hull through his head asked.
Peorth could't speak, the scene before her was pure carnage; half his brains were hanging out the back of his skull with the white spar protruding a good war out of the back of his head, its entry point objiously his left eye socket. She held the nausea back as he extended his hand.
"Nudoru Karaage!"
"What! I can't hear you over this..."
The wind intensified suddenly, and her instincts took over as she willed hersef into intangibility in that crucial split second. The same split second that the skyborne train, three miles long, and its unwilling passenger-by-impalement slammed into the waters of Lake Toba, cutting like a hot knife through butter through the Earth's crust, right into the molten rock beneath, lava saturated with pockets of poisonous gasses.
"Oh My Go...what in Hell!?"
The portal opened right above her, and out tumbled her quarry, the half-masked man whose jawplate ended in round, dark goggles. His silvery-white hair mingled with her own jet-black crown as their craniums met, hald a mile above solid ground. Peorth clutched her head in pain. "YOU IMBECILE!!!!!!" She raised her hand, electricity arcing between her fingers, at the man she was tasked to recruit, the one being who might have stood alone and triumphed against the might of both the three Chousein and Yggdrasil combined, only to have him vanish before her eyes. Right into the engine of a Boeing 747...
She produced a cell phone from between her ample breasts. "Hello, Urd? He's here. But uhh, I think he's dead." A moment of silence passed. "No, no...he kind of died twice in the first five seconds that he was in this reality. Leave him be? Are you sure...alright."
As Peorth faded away, returning to her duties, the dark portal again opened. And spat its contents, the Killer of a civilisation of Gods, right into the path of a striking Indonesian Cobra.
Nudoru Kaarage had arrived. Now, all he had to do was to stay alive long enough to make a difference.
"Every single one of them, their residual energies indicate that they were at least equal to my Lord himself in power, some of them are even off the scale...what could have done all this..." she thought as she presed her bundled up cape closer to her nose. Then it hit her, the red skies, the red oceans, the ground, they were the remnants of a war long past. Bodies, bodies of Gods piled so high in the weightlessness of space that the sheer number of them had become a planet, with its own gravatational field, with its own atmosphere, and the oceans, they were the blood of the divine, the moons above her, the twelve silver crescents, were the vessels in which they once lived, crushed into perfect spheres by one being's will alone.
"This...this is what Urd sent me to retrieve..." Peorth turned pale, realizing that whatever she was to recruit for Heaven had, here in the Continuities beyond, evolved to such a state that it could very well end the system functions of Yggdrasil on its very own. "What in the name of Kami Sama was she thinking, extending a invitation to...to this place?"
The flash of light caught her off guard, and as the warmth surrounded her, so did the blue skies, the perfect clouds, and the sound of children wherever she turned. As her vision returned, she found herself face to face with an old man, bent over double with age, his torn rags bundled about his deshrivelled form so as to hide his face. From between the rags, his husky, cracked voice crept. "If you are looking for the being who made that world of death, you're a bit late. He has already left." The beggar pointed to the enormous hole in the ground, not five feet from where Peorth stood, and then towards the sky, where the silent juggernauts plied the skies, meandering their ways through the transluscent, almost organic buildings that seemed to rise forever towards the sky. "He caught the train."
Peorth was a bit too awe-struck to reply.
"Welcome to the City of Dreams, Daughter of Yggdrasil. I know, you can no longer sense your bretheren. That is natrual. You are beyond, what was it that he called it...ah, the Fourth Wall."
She reeled with shock, but before she could scream her disbelief, the beggar's finger found its way to her lips, silencing her.
"He literally caught the train. Only, he, uhmm, didn't really get the fact that even an octo-dimensional groundplane cannot support an inverted entropic field...he's kind of dumb that way."
A bead of sweat rolled down Peorth's cheek. "And how do you know all this?"
The snicker filled her mind, rather than her ears. "You..."
The old man gave opened his hand, and brought the space of distorted air to her face. "This is your sister's handiwork?"
"The Dimension Tide! But how...that..."
"It is nothing, she still needs to learn how to properly wield her power. Her heart is both her strength, and her greatest weakness. Now step through it, he is already in transit."
Peorth extended her hand towards the ever-shrinking anamoly, a mirage in the several dozen or so dimensions that made up the small space within the confines of the beggar's palm.
"Oh, wait. Before you meet him, tell your Lord that Seicross sends his regards. And take this to Nudoru." The beggar handed her a first aid kit that was quite comprehensive. "And tell him not to die so much, it's f*cking irritating when he keeps falling into my coffee. For that matter, he'd better not die again."
Peorth's features distorted, trying to take in everything that the beggar said.
"Your sister wanted a champion from this Continuity, and so I sent to your Continuity the one man who needed to find himself the most. However, Nudoru Kaarage cannot manifest in your form of reality without creating immense chaos. He is composed of simply too much matter on too many material planes. As he is aware, and as you now are, I have stripped him of the better part of his power. I do not want another debacle like that planet of death you landed on. In return, he will have the chance to earn a place in your Omniverse, in your Continuity. I have sent the memo, ask if your master got it. My fax has been playing up and I think it's seriously f*cked over."
The beggar pulled the rags away from his face as Peorth stepped into the anamoly, the Dimensional Tide which had fused every single reality in the one Continuity that mankind had come to know as the Fictional Universe. As she felt herself begin to fall, she saw the beggar's true face, the white mask, the sigils flowing across it, and then again, came the light.
~The space between existances~
"And you are?" the man with the spar of an enourmous nanoconstructed hull through his head asked.
Peorth could't speak, the scene before her was pure carnage; half his brains were hanging out the back of his skull with the white spar protruding a good war out of the back of his head, its entry point objiously his left eye socket. She held the nausea back as he extended his hand.
"Nudoru Karaage!"
"What! I can't hear you over this..."
The wind intensified suddenly, and her instincts took over as she willed hersef into intangibility in that crucial split second. The same split second that the skyborne train, three miles long, and its unwilling passenger-by-impalement slammed into the waters of Lake Toba, cutting like a hot knife through butter through the Earth's crust, right into the molten rock beneath, lava saturated with pockets of poisonous gasses.
"Oh My Go...what in Hell!?"
The portal opened right above her, and out tumbled her quarry, the half-masked man whose jawplate ended in round, dark goggles. His silvery-white hair mingled with her own jet-black crown as their craniums met, hald a mile above solid ground. Peorth clutched her head in pain. "YOU IMBECILE!!!!!!" She raised her hand, electricity arcing between her fingers, at the man she was tasked to recruit, the one being who might have stood alone and triumphed against the might of both the three Chousein and Yggdrasil combined, only to have him vanish before her eyes. Right into the engine of a Boeing 747...
She produced a cell phone from between her ample breasts. "Hello, Urd? He's here. But uhh, I think he's dead." A moment of silence passed. "No, no...he kind of died twice in the first five seconds that he was in this reality. Leave him be? Are you sure...alright."
As Peorth faded away, returning to her duties, the dark portal again opened. And spat its contents, the Killer of a civilisation of Gods, right into the path of a striking Indonesian Cobra.
Nudoru Kaarage had arrived. Now, all he had to do was to stay alive long enough to make a difference.
Next: Invitations.