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Post by Warrior on May 30, 2022 20:20:07 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/U4Xclbh~png Their dispute was finally interrupted by Hollow's arrival -- weapons never drawn, just as he had observed. He'd come to collect Warrior, but extended an invitation for Feint to join along as well. An offer she unsurprisingly denied just with her demeanor, but naturally, she'd still vocalize that as plainly as she could.
" I've got better things to be doing than crusading around with Xion and his ragtag band of goons. Governor or King, I won't be summoned like some minion at anyone's behest. "
" Didn't you hear? He didn't consider you at all; you're only invited out of courtesy. You go and do your better things while we find a way to handle this mess. Hollow, let's go. "
The tension was certainly still present, Feint huffing just to get the final word as she always would and Warrior allowing it so that he could visualize himself as the more adult one.
" Hmph. "
She'd need to decide whether to wait here for Grom, go looking for him, or assume he was caught in the blast here and choose some other course of action.
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Post by Gaia on May 30, 2022 20:28:04 GMT -8
Hollow.___
Hollow considered Feint, remembering her crude demeanor and sour personality quite well. He shook his head in disappointment, and decided to try something else for a change.
"I have a different idea." Moving quickly, Hollow simply vanished and appeared in front of Feint, electricity crackling over his body. He glowered down at her. "I suggest you come with us, to assist Xion in his endeavors, and us in finding our compatriots. Acquiesce, and I promise to aim the most dangerous lightning bolt I can possibly create at you whenever you wish to repay me for this perceived slight. Refuse, and I'll leave you here, and swear never to raise a single ounce of my force against you. I'll simply ignore your every word."
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Post by Warrior on May 30, 2022 21:04:20 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/8w4a7DV~png " ?! "
Feint was taken aback by Hollow's sudden changing of course. So he knew how her combat paradigm went -- that wasn't too alarming considering he'd witnessed it already. He presented it as though it were a bargaining chip; her brow furrowed in disgust.
" I'm not a masochist, asshole! "
Then again, the second half of his offer sounded like he was promising to show her mercy, which she also decided that she didn't like.
" You wouldn't dare raise force against me anyway. Get lost! "
" Make him, Feint. "
" ?! "
Her head snapped back to Warrior, a very "excuse me?" expression coming over her countenance as he showed the audacity to call her bluff.
" Go on, shoot first. "
" ... Oh, so clever. The brilliant detectives figured it out: Ha-ha, Feint hits like a feather if she isn't wound up, all bark and no bite, we're so smart. You want to drag me along? Fine. But don't expect any help, and you can spare me the stupid lightning bolt -- when we find whatever big-bad threat you're hunting for, I'll divert its attention away from your sorry asses just to siphon its blows and kill you both myself. Congratulations, you've got your meatshield. "
" Well, at least you know your place. Where to, Hollow? "
" Savor it while you can, Rayner. Hell hath no fury. "
A questionable ploy on Hollow's part, and yet somehow it totally worked. So she was on board too -- unwillingly or unwittingly, it was hard to determine -- as he'd choose their course from here.
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Post by Gaia on May 31, 2022 7:42:02 GMT -8
Hollow.___
Hollow's crackling energy subsided almost immediately as Feint responded, drifting slightly back from her without his cloak moving. While he had his own rebuttal to her response, it was unnecessary; Warrior, as expected, was also quite skilled at 'pushing buttons,' as it were.
"You are correct on at least one portion, though the word 'dare' isn't of importance: I would not raise my power against you, as I would have no reason to. Based on previous encounters, I do not perceive you as a threat. You would attempt incarceration before deletion, and I would submit to incarceration if pushed to that limit.
"I wasn't appealing to your 'masochism,' either. I was, however, appealing to your antagonism. You have yet to be observed to shy away from confrontation, and, more often than not, have provoked it when it was otherwise unnecessary. Given the opportunity, you fight. In the absence of that opportunity, you create one. Simple."
Hollow turned and flitted past Feint, nodding to her and Warrior as he passed them by. Raising an arm, he pointed his robe towards the center of the crater, at the twirling vortex at the epicenter. "As for the 'where to,' Joker and Merrill's energy can be traced to this location." They were both carrying quite a bit of power with them, Merrill moreso than Joker at the time being, and were easy for Hollow to track. The wave energy they emitted still hung over this place like a dense fog from Hollow's perspective. "I conclude that they have gone into that vortex after whatever occurred at the NIA HQ created the crater." He pivots to face them again.
"The last time we encountered such a breach, it led to an alternate dimension separate from the Net entirely. The cybeast Pandemic was inside. We must be ready to assume they face a similar, if not more dangerous, threat, if they have yet to return from the other side. Will you accompany me?"
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Post by Warrior on May 31, 2022 8:28:27 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/cqKbnSa~png No threat? Feint tuned most of the rest out as she raised her lip now while that phrase repeated ad nauseam in her mind.
" Incarceration before deletion? Such a cowardly attitude. Now it's no surprise why this world's Vega isn't around anymore with you as her guardian. "
She was surmising that based on what she had learned from Burai during her previous episode. While he never specifically stated the Hollow was Dr. Vega's protector, he did inform that she had one and then later implied Hollow would have the key to her lair. Along those lines, he implied that if they didn't see her during their encounter with Le Mu, then she was likely dead.
All of it a ploy to push Hollow's buttons right back, whether it was vain or not given his regular demeanor -- living up entirely to the analysis he just gave of her.
"If they're in trouble, we'll give them a hand. But knowing those two, I feel they're quite capable of handling whatever comes up against them."
Warrior brushed the scene off entirely, having his eyes on the portal now and beginning to wonder what all transpired in the short amount of time that had passed since Sirius had been defeated: NIA's destruction, Merrill and Joker's visit and subsequent pursuit into the vortex -- it was a lot to have happened in such a small window.
Fortunately, Feint's mind was too occupied to have given that line of thinking any more thought, lest she end up finding blame in those two for being here to begin with.
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Post by Gaia on May 31, 2022 8:45:02 GMT -8
Hollow.___
Instantly, the air got a little bit darker. Intensified and crisp, like the smell of ozone, a spark of electricity leaped across Hollow's body, first yellow, and then a cascade of black lightning began coursing around his cloak.
Hollow turned, casting his eyes at Feint, as the black energy coursing over his body intensified in a way she was familiar with, from her time with Burai; that incredible, destructive force that Burai channeled. The soft yellow glow of his eyes intensified, reflecting the void that he controlled, the lightning sparking with black.
". . . Don't you dare presume that I did not protect Lady Vega to my finest capability," he seethed, the flames that licked up from his coat taking on the black hue of the lightning, his whole body coursing with power. It was the first true emotion that Warrior or Feint would have ever seen from Hollow, and it was fury, undertoned with deep despondency. "Lady Vega was sick. I couldn't save her from a physical disease."
Even as he said the words, he faltered, his mind working against him. That was the story he remembered, but the words felt like a lie coming out of him. The energy he crackled with intensified as he tried to process that, Hollow glaring his attention at Feint, that rage rising up in him. "You don't get to talk about her. I won't permit it. You receive this one mercy, and that is it.
The intense emotion called up by her comment was not something he was prepared for, and, yet, he was just as ready to defend Vega's memory now as he was to defend her, then. He glared across at Feint, his request to Warrior forgotten, hoping she'll back down.
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Post by Warrior on May 31, 2022 9:57:43 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/Rsjiv1H~png Feint's vile smile crept up instantly at the display, having found a way to get under his skin at her leisure. The situation was under her control now -- just the way she liked it.
" Screw your mercy. You're saving yourself from me, not the other way aro-- That's enough. "
Warrior intervened now, his hand clasping Cherish's mouth shut before she went any further, knowing full well just how far she'd be willing to take things. She'd remind him of it immediately as she shoved his hand away and sent provocations his way now instead.
" Worried I'll delete another one of your pals, Rayner? According to him, it'd just lead to incarceration. "
She said it mockingly; they were literally standing in the ruins of the building that he would have been incarcerated in.
" Worried this is going to take forever while Joker and Merrill are kept waiting. If you want to vent frustration, at least do it somewhere productive. "
Feint could comply with that. In her mind, whatever was allegedly pinning down Joker and Merrill would probably hit much harder than Warrior or Hollow, and then she'd fully intend to do just as she said she would earlier as the double-edged sword that she was.
Warrior turned to Hollow then, addressing him with a much less hostile tone as he motioned to the vortex.
" I don't know if it's any consolation, but she was directing herself at you, not at this Lady Vega. Either way, her childish antics are just a means to slow us down -- which is why I was fine with leaving her behind. "
But, much like what he had assumed to be NIA's recent standing on the matter, she couldn't cause any unknown trouble if she was in sight at all times.
" Well, you're stuck with me now, and you'll wish it was just the death bolt that had been thrown at me when I do decide to repay you. "
Forcing her to stay now would have required force; another waste of time in Jake's eyes. Her antagonism was exactly how Hollow had described it, and she showed no shame in the matter whatsoever. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that she would revisit the subject of Dr. Vega in as inopportune a time as she could, but for now she'd holster this new psychological ammunition to be used later.
" Then just keep barking in the meantime. Are you good, Hollow? "
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Post by Gaia on May 31, 2022 11:07:51 GMT -8
Hollow.___
He glared down Feint a little more after Warrior stepped in and forced her to stop, knowing that she had said what she had said to rile him up, and feeling a little ashamed of himself for falling into it. Regardless of that, the rage that he felt was not easy to ignore, nor was it expected. How did she know that name, to begin with? It was not a subject he broached for the pain it brought with it, so that she had the knowledge to use it against him perplexed him.
He was reminded, suddenly, of that boy in the maze, and the conversation he had rather pointedly ignored. Was it him that informed her of Vega? This world? He couldn't recall in detail, and now he needed to know more.
Not speaking for a moment longer, he let the lightning coiling over his form die down, as his usual perpetual calm fell over him again; it was different, though, still charged, as if it was just a blanket for what was really underneath. She had further cracked that shell that had been built for over five centuries, and had been slowly being undone by the events of the world at large. The memories he had of Lady Vega seemed to be the key to whatever it was he was missing, then, including whatever emotions he did have, but couldn't access at all.
". . . I'm ready to go, yes," he said simply, turning away from Feint entirely, and flitting towards the cyclone. He paused as he looked back at her, staring through her with his plain, yellow eyes. "I pray, for your sake, that it isn't so easy for you to prey on someone else's loss when you consider your own. Lady Vega died five hundred years ago, and I blame myself every day for not being able to save her. Speak ill of her, or my attempts at saving her, again, and I won't be able to promise anything to you but pain."
What he didn't say was that it was a silent plea for her to not push this any further, if only because he wasn't sure he could handle the flood of emotions again. The dam that was up in his mind was already leaking out memories that he had shored away, locked up, and it was almost painful to get in touch with them, physically so, not just emotionally. If such a harsh reminder of his past came up again, he was worried that wall would come tumbling down, and of everything he could think of, he figured the Lady Vega had some good reason for programming this into him. He knew her well enough to know that she was trying to protect him from something.
He would prefer to not learn whatever that thing was. For her sake. For his. He had been at least content without emotions all this time.
Hollow stepped forward, into the vortex.
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Post by Gaia on Aug 10, 2022 13:57:32 GMT -8
#s://cdn~discordapp~com/attachments/858178610224562196/901882782098292836/Joker~png
Joker.DB
After retracing his steps, Joker managed to get to the other side of the extra-dimensional space and step back into the Net, lumbering through the vortex and back into the crater that had been created from the bomb left in his chest.
Taking a few steps back from the coiling space-time, Joker turned to look back at it, waiting for the others to emerge, while he mulled over what he had learned about the Hassmallim inside, to say nothing of those that had gathered to assist them in destroying it.
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Post by Raven8 on Aug 10, 2022 15:00:16 GMT -8
And this would be the moment that Joker's day took yet another poor turn. The Crimson Titan is greeted by a set of three claws, each roughly the same size as him, that pierce out from absolutely nothing above him, slam down in front of him, and quickly rake back, pulling the giant Navi into a newly opened portal behind him. Within a second, Joker is long gone.
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Post by Warrior on Aug 11, 2022 11:13:12 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/8w4a7DV~png " ... "
Next out of the portal came Feint and Warrior -- the former clearly unimpressed by that whole encounter. The later took stock of the situation, having not seen the rest emerge yet but having been there during the escape to know that they had all made it.
" Glad everyone's okay. That could have gone much worse. "
" Could it, though? "
Jake understood that Cherish never took her losses very well, but it was certainly better than dying to the opposition, or empowering it during the defeat.
On Feint's side of the equation, she felt she could have handled that creature entirely on her own if not for its countermeasures against her. And even with those in place, she was quite disappointed that nobody was equipped to disarm it for her to do her work.
" A loss is only a loss if you don't learn anything from i-- Oh spare me, Faith. The only thing anyone needs to learn here is not to mess with NIA, and that lesson is aggressively inbound for that piece of s*** we just fought. "
She still thought that was what blew up their base here, but there were plenty of other outposts that she could go to collect better armaments or allies to re-engage that creature. Something she wouldn't waste any time doing either as she gestured her farewell with the flick of a raised wrist.
" Lick your wounds, while I go sharpen my teeth. "
And with that, she pulsed out to attend to other matters first, leaving Warrior there to wait for the others to arrive.
(Feint -> Link Coming Later)
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Post by Zane on Aug 12, 2022 22:12:41 GMT -8
As Joker was preoccupied and Feint pulsed out, the others would arrive surely after Warrior. But the turns of this day had only just begun, and the days were certainly long at that. What came with it was either a stroke of good luck or a turn of misfortune as the strange vortex also disappeared. The alien feeling had vanished after it had appeared, and now even it was gone, potentially leaving them with no avenue for which to return there as well. And likewise leaving anyone who didn't get out otherwise stranded as well, making it at least good that they vacated the area together.
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Post by Xypher on Aug 14, 2022 8:37:18 GMT -8
Merrill appeared next to Warrior just as Feint spit out her last words, before leaving. Unfortunately, with her leaving, this left Merrill with no one to answer his questions. He sighed.
"well. That screws up my plan. I have questions for her, that I think she can answer..."
He rubbed his head. He turned towards his best friend, his brother.
"What now?"
Meanwhile, back in the Soul-space:
"At some point, I would like to speak with that kid, Warrior."
"As would I."
Merrill was silent, still waiting on answers from both Apollon and Warrior
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Post by Warrior on Aug 14, 2022 11:10:09 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/dk4CQm0~png " She's rarely in a talking mood -- least of all now, everything considered. "
Now he noticed that Joker was missing as well. The portal was already closed, and Warrior had certainly seen him leave first, so all things pointed to him either leaving of his own accord or being taken away unwillingly without a trace.
Either way, there wasn't much in the way of tracking him down now, and at the very least he'd know where to find them as long as their next step was the prescribed one from the beginning.
" Xion wanted to rendezvous with us. Hollow, you'll need to lead the way -- we're not in good enough shape to get caught out again, so let's not drag our feet. "
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Post by Gaia on Aug 14, 2022 12:46:13 GMT -8
Merrill would find that Apollon's final words back in the other space were indeed his final words, as the deity of fire had no further conversation to provide.
Armiger and Centurion had stepped out of the portal just a step behind Merrill, and the two watched in abject concern as Feint barked and marched away from here, obviously intent on dealing with the threat. As the portal began to falter, and look like it would close, Armiger turned to it in concern; Hollow and Merrill had yet to emerge!
Merrill finally came from the portal, and, as he had promised to do, Hollow returned last, waiting up to keep Merrill safe and ensure he had a way out in case that thing had intentions of making their retreat difficult. To watch the portal close itself was a little interesting, to say the least, but Hollow noticed something else of greater concern - Joker, one of the first ones out of the portal, was nowhere to be seen. He saw what looked to be claw marks on the ground nearby, and his glowing eyes flickered within his robe.
"Concerning," were the only words that left his hood, the flickering flames that filled up the darkness where his face would be finally shifting from black back to a deep red shade.
He held up one hand, then, and outstretched his palm to Merrill. "The power of Pandemic. It has been brought to my attention that it could be a danger to you. You need to relinquish it."
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