The General Replay

Tooner-Tastic wrote:Chell looks back to Mayday and nods a bit, looking around. She remembers the portals that now connects the island to the land below. She looks at the young Link and picks him up, with a bit of a grunt since she has to do this one-handed, placing him under her arm as she moves quickly to jump through the portal to get off the island.

ToonBlade wrote:Link yelps as he's picked up, confused at first, then looks up to see Chell and Mayday. He gives them a smile, though it's cut short when Chell jumps into the portal. The young hero yelps as they go in, and once out he squirms a bit and falls onto the ground. He's a tad disoriented from the sudden change. He groans and sits up, rubbing his head.

*Mayday pats the Young Hero on the head pleased to see he's alright. She then glances back to where her Father is.*

*The Spider notices Chell making her quick escape. He's enraged by those attacking him, but also there's some sense he's getting too, he needs to follow that child. Something about that child is really scaring him, a feeling he can't explain, perhaps it's some sort of lame anti-fresh vibes he's picking up on, or something else...*

ToonBlade wrote:Nightwing saw the whole spectacle go down. Suffice it to say, he's not pleased with the villain attacking and aiming to harm a child. He charges forward, joining in the other attackers. As he approaches, he notices the other fighters join the fray and charge at Spider-man with their own attacks, as well as Spidey's own counters. Nightwing has his own counter for this.



"Oh no you don't."

Reaching into one of his suit's various compartments, he grabs a pair of Wingdings (like Batarangs; think shurikens, but in the shape of his mask/bird logo), then throws them toward the web slings, aiming to sever the webs and foil Spidey's attacks. He then follows this up by throwing another three at Spider-man. Or rather, the ground around him, purposefully missing his mark. Of course, that is a feint, as a few seconds after landing, the Wingdings would flash and beep, then explode.

*Distracted by his anger at Chell's escape, the Spider doesn't react as quickly to his Spider-sense as he was before. The weblines are cut by the Wingdings (as to whether the weblines had thrown off his two attackers however he'd have to wait and see.) and he lands on top of the other three that had been thrown at the ground around him. Whilst he possesses stronger versions of Spider-man's powers and superficial knowledge of how to use them, Nightwing might notice that he doesn't seem entirely confident in what he's capable of.*

((Going to have the explosives hit soon but I want to make sure Onion Knight and Connor can react to this first too.))

Aliucon wrote:

"W-Why were you saying something so scary, anyway! We need to run! That... That really doesn't seem like good news at all...! N-Not only that, there's something happening in the distance with the sun and I don't like it at all!"

She might have said that, but at least she wasn't running. She was watching Spider-Man from afar. Yeeeah, her resolution was pretty paper-thin. If Vince wanted to skate into the fray, he'd probably have to leave the witch behind. At least he could be sure she'd try to keep herself safe!

The pikachu is quiet for a spell, still staring at the carnage going on in the distance. There's a complicated expression on his face, though it can be hard to tell through the shades.


Vince: "It's just what you gotta do. If someone's in trouble and you can help them, even a little, ignoring it wouldn't be right. It's like what I was saying to Spidey. It's about responsibility. Someone's gotta step up and do it."

There's a certain hesitation in his voice even though he's saying such confident words. In truth he doesn't really want to go up there much more than Butterscotch does.


Vince: "...And those guys, Marcus and Connor? We're basically neighbors. We're not super close, but I can't just abandon the other neighborhood 'mon."

---

Sable-Xeno wrote:
Grovyle: “AH!”

The Grovyle sat up with a start, cringing as the reflex itself seemed to pull at his entire body. He cringed, looking up towards who this person speaking to him was…and taking notice of how drained he felt. Like he could barely move…he tried to think of what to say, but in his current state, his thoughts were all a soupy blur…


Grovyle: “Wh…where…”

"...huh. I can't believe that worked."



"So. Don't panic or anything, but it looks like you got taken over by an evil mind virus bent on bringing back the late 90's. It's out of you now, but I had to hit you pretty hard with the lamest game I know. Unfortunately it still managed to escape, and now it's latched onto Spider-man, so we're all probably going to die."



"But on the plus side, I finally know what Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is good for!"

---

Sable-Xeno wrote:Speaking of, and contrary to all known survival instincts, Xan calls out to the young-looking figure.


Xan: “Ah…h-hello? Is someone…there…?”

Frisk jumps, startled by the nervous-sounding voice. She can't really make out the figure it belongs to through the dilapidated lighting, but they didn't sound very imposing. Then again, the silhouette seemed non-human and appearances can be deceptive where monsters are concerned. If there's one thing she's learned through experience, that would be it.

Frisk: "H-Hello? I... I come in peace?"

Smooth.

Regiwi wrote:*A sound rings out from the rooftop of the old Hospital[.*]

Somewhere well above this hallway, there's a faint, alien, grinding-ish noise. She can't help but look towards the roof worriedly. Is the building going to come down or something? Loud noises are rarely good.

Frisk: "...w-what is that? Where is this...?"

Sable-Xeno wrote:…Actually, it HAS been on Firion’s mind. After all, witches have all these stereotypical things associated with them: Black Cats, curses, flying brooms…I mean, it might be rude to base one’s assumptions on stereotypes, and all, but the broom can’t just be for cleaning, right…? He wracks his brain, trying to think of the best way to. Ask? Shouldn’t be so hard to do-


Firion: “…Uhm…”

…

Oh god, he’s terrible at this.

"Honestly, close yer mouth, you'll catch flies."

Although the two of them had initially ran into the woods with the intention of finding that strange sound, there was now a much stranger sound sounding. Somewhere far in the distance, Marisa was sure she could hear something. Her ears pricked up like those of a cat as she tried to figure out what exactly it was.



"Hey, d'you hear that?! That noise? Whatever it is, it's not the same one we just heard."

---

Regiwi wrote:*Sensing both of these attacks coming, the Spider stops itself from landing the possibly killing blow, he leaps into the air and fast as lightning shoots out two weblines, one aimed at the incoming Onion Knight, the other aimed at Connor. Should they both attach to their targets he'll redirect their attacks towards each other.*

ToonBlade wrote:Reaching into one of his suit's various compartments, he grabs a pair of Wingdings (like Batarangs; think shurikens, but in the shape of his mask/bird logo), then throws them toward the web slings, aiming to sever the webs and foil Spidey's attacks.

Regiwi wrote:*Distracted by his anger at Chell's escape, the Spider doesn't react as quickly to his Spider-sense as he was before. The weblines are cut by the Wingdings (as to whether the weblines had thrown off his two attackers however he'd have to wait and see.) and he lands on top of the other three that had been thrown at the ground around him. Whilst he possesses stronger versions of Spider-man's powers and superficial knowledge of how to use them, Nightwing might notice that he doesn't seem entirely confident in what he's capable of.*

Now, the Onion Knight was already hurtling through the sky with a spin on his fall, so there was a good chance he would cut the webstring that had just stuck itself to him just by doing nothing. However, he didn't need to wait to find out as somebody had outpaced gravity and taken care of the grappling attack. This meant that he was back on track to take a swing at the nimble enemy ahead of him. And so the boy in red continued to fly straight at where he had previously been heading until-

A rather self-contained puff of bright, white smoke enveloped the figure in immutable colour and the Knight was quite literally gone in a flash. When the smoke spread out and dissipated, he was nowhere to be seen.

---

DimitriBarronmore wrote:Frisk jumps, startled by the nervous-sounding voice. She can't really make out the figure it belongs to through the dilapidated lighting, but they didn't sound very imposing. Then again, the silhouette seemed non-human and appearances can be deceptive where monsters are concerned. If there's one thing she's learned through experience, that would be it.

Frisk: "H-Hello? I... I come in peace?"

* Well, there's no need for you to be so on guard. Look at the poor thing, it's practically shivering with anxiety.

DimitriBarronmore wrote:Somewhere well above this hallway, there's a faint, alien, grinding-ish noise. She can't help but look towards the roof worriedly. Is the building going to come down or something? Loud noises are rarely good.

Frisk: "...w-what is that? Where is this...?"

* How interesting. Do you hear that sound? Doesn't it strike you as familiar? Which is doubly interesting as I do not believe I've ever heard it before.

Regiwi wrote:*She turns to Ravio.*

So... what do you think we should do now then? Things are looking pretty dangerous and I doubt we'll be much help here...

"Honestly, Lady...I was hoping that you would help in that. Sheerow isn't strong enough to carry anything other than what's in my bag"

Reverie wrote:

"Honestly, close yer mouth, you'll catch flies."

Ah, yep. There goes the thought entirely.

Reverie wrote:Although the two of them had initially ran into the woods with the intention of finding that strange sound, there was now a much stranger sound sounding. Somewhere far in the distance, Marisa was sure she could hear something. Her ears pricked up like those of a cat as she tried to figure out what exactly it was.



"Hey, d'you hear that?! That noise? Whatever it is, it's not the same one we just heard."

…Well, Firion had been a bit distracted trying to think of the best to bring up the whole, well, broom thing, but…yeah, this is a bit more urgent. He braces himself, crouching down a bit with sword outstretched.


Firion: “…You’re right. Whatever that was, it could be them. We’ve no time to waste!”

And with that, leaps forward across the ground as he almost appears to dash a few inches off the ground towards that sound!



It might take you a bit to realize he could’ve done that the entire time.

---

Regiwi wrote:*Sensing both of these attacks coming, the Spider stops itself from landing the possibly killing blow, he leaps into the air and fast as lightning shoots out two weblines, one aimed at the incoming Onion Knight, the other aimed at Connor. Should they both attach to their targets he'll redirect their attacks towards each other.*

ToonBlade wrote:

"Oh no you don't."

Reaching into one of his suit's various compartments, he grabs a pair of Wingdings (like Batarangs; think shurikens, but in the shape of his mask/bird logo), then throws them toward the web slings, aiming to sever the webs and foil Spidey's attacks. He then follows this up by throwing another three at Spider-man. Or rather, the ground around him, purposefully missing his mark. Of course, that is a feint, as a few seconds after landing, the Wingdings would flash and beep, then explode.

Regiwi wrote:*Distracted by his anger at Chell's escape, the Spider doesn't react as quickly to his Spider-sense as he was before. The weblines are cut by the Wingdings (as to whether the weblines had thrown off his two attackers however he'd have to wait and see.) and he lands on top of the other three that had been thrown at the ground around him. Whilst he possesses stronger versions of Spider-man's powers and superficial knowledge of how to use them, Nightwing might notice that he doesn't seem entirely confident in what he's capable of.*

Reverie wrote: Now, the Onion Knight was already hurtling through the sky with a spin on his fall, so there was a good chance he would cut the webstring that had just stuck itself to him just by doing nothing. However, he didn't need to wait to find out as somebody had outpaced gravity and taken care of the grappling attack. This meant that he was back on track to take a swing at the nimble enemy ahead of him. And so the boy in red continued to fly straight at where he had previously been heading until-

A rather self-contained puff of bright, white smoke enveloped the figure in immutable colour and the Knight was quite literally gone in a flash. When the smoke spread out and dissipated, he was nowhere to be seen.

Man, a lot going on at once here for our other combatant. Connor has no problem swerving around the webbing, pulling himself into a spin and dodging with uncanny speed…hey, helps that it was cut as well. His momentum still changed a bit, though, and he’s not too confident himself in what those Wingdings are gonna do once they stop beeping.…meaning he can only pull off one good slash now, and fast. Aiming towards that mask, at that. Regardless on whether it lands or not, he’s still gonna leap away the chance he gets.

Marcus is also fully aware his sonic blast ain’t doin’ shit. Damn, he was pretty confident that funny Metal Pipe Spiderman Movie 3 meme he saw on Twitter would come more in handy…but that’s fine. Because he has one more trick up his sleeve. By which, I mean he has plenty of tricks up his sleeve! Unfortunately!! He doesn’t know that any of them would actually be particular helpful tricks up his sleeve in this exact moment!!!

Oh, except, that one. That one might be funny.

The Zoroark pulls out a large cartoon bomb, easily twice his size, and with one anime-esque protest-


Marcus: “Bombs away!”

-Throws it towards him, appropriately waiting until AFTER Nightwing’s Wingdings go off to do so. Anyone with a sharp enough sense in the moment and any background knowledge of what kind of pokemon Marcus is (something that absolutely nobody here is liable to know besides Vince, I’m aware) could probably tell this is FAKE as FUCK, but given the determined look on Marcus’ face…he’s gotta have somethin’ brewing here.

Meanwhile, back on the island…

Dimitri wrote:

"So. Don't panic or anything, but it looks like you got taken over by an evil mind virus bent on bringing back the late 90's. It's out of you now, but I had to hit you pretty hard with the lamest game I know. Unfortunately it still managed to escape, and now it's latched onto Spider-man, so we're all probably going to die."



"But on the plus side, I finally know what Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is good for!"

Our other Grovyle present here tried to stand himself up as he listened…straining himself greatly in the process, collapsing back onto his legs. Looks like the best he could manage in this state was sitting up…


Grovyle: “…Why must my strength…leave me, at the most crucial moment…!”

…He doesn’t exactly stop trying to move his body, though. Failing that, though, he rifles around in his bag for…


Grovyle: “…There’s not much time to explain more. You have to warn anyone here that cannot fight to evacuate. There’s a City nearby that holds a rift in Time and Space…the rift’s Guardian can keep them safe there, so long as they aren’t followed…”


Grovyle: “I’ll fill in the gaps later, just go…!”

---

DimitriBarronmore wrote:Frisk jumps, startled by the nervous-sounding voice. She can't really make out the figure it belongs to through the dilapidated lighting, but they didn't sound very imposing. Then again, the silhouette seemed non-human and appearances can be deceptive where monsters are concerned. If there's one thing she's learned through experience, that would be it.

Frisk: "H-Hello? I... I come in peace?"

Smooth.

…Guess they’re both pretty nervous to see any other sign of life, here. But…as Xan slowly approaches…it’s a little easier to make out the shape and, indeed, this does appear to be a…child. Wearing strangely-familiar clothing…

In any case, appearances are always deceiving. But not so much to warrant suspicion…yet. He’ll decide whether to look into her past or not later, once he’s seen what she’s capable of…


Xan: “I…I mean no harm, either. My name is…Xander Xela, though you can just…call me Xan. I’m not from here…I feel as if you aren’t, either.”

…And yet.

=) wrote:*

Why is his 6th sense on such high alert?

Regiwi wrote:*A sound rings out from the rooftop of the old Hospital[.*]

Oh, that’s why.

“Dimitri” wrote:Somewhere well above this hallway, there's a faint, alien, grinding-ish noise. She can't help but look towards the roof worriedly. Is the building going to come down or something? Loud noises are rarely good.

Frisk: "...w-what is that? Where is this...?"

Of course, the importance of finding out what’s going on here and getting out has amplified with the presence of a minor. Xan tries wracking his brain, mentally considering the correct course of action…whatever’s going on with the roof could be equal parts dangerous, equal parts beneficial. A helpful friend, or an unbeatable monsters…both unknowns, and both a risk of putting this child in danger. That said, he’s probably capable of carrying someone else small, like a child, mid-flight…it’d be the fastest escape, especially if this building’s actually collapsing.

On the other hand, finding the reception is a safer bet, though any guarantee of knowledge would be slim, as well as slow…not to mention, they’re closer to the roof than the ground floor. Which means more distance if whatever’s up there is actually someone else who’s a threat. But…well, there’s no guarantee this Hospital doesn’t have dangerous creatures, either. It all comes down to how confident Xan is in a hasty getaway…

Actually, come to think of it, hasn’t he heard that sound somewhere before? Wasn’t it coming from the window earlier…?


Xan: “I don’t…I don’t know where we are, or what that was. But…I did hear that sound earlier.”

He motions with his wings to beckon the child a little closer. Perhaps, to hold her, for comfort, or to ease both their minds…


Xan: “…If someone is causing that sound, it would probably be our best lead. I’ll help get you out of here, so please follow behind me…”

Surely, the stairs to the roof wouldn’t be too hard to find…

Hiroko wrote:"Honestly, Lady...I was hoping that you would help in that. Sheerow isn't strong enough to carry anything other than what's in my bag"

*Having watched people portalling all over the place, Anna realises she has something that might be of use. Only problem is she hasn't actually got the ability to use it, still perhaps this other merchant does, he does look 'magey'. She pulls out of her rucksack two of her top items, it pained her to do so but you can't sell much if you're dead. She holds out a Warp Staff as well as a Rescue Staff.*


You any good with magic?

*The Spider's Spider-sense starts blaring like crazy, he doesn't know why but even with his relative inexperience with these powers he can tell this is telling him to MOVE!*

*He leaps to escape everything approaching, but too late perhaps, the Wingdings below him detonate, the explosion isn't a direct hit but it definitely does some damage throwing the Spider into the air leaving him momentarily in a vulnerable state in midair.*

Sable-Xeno wrote:Marcus is also fully aware his sonic blast ain’t doin’ shit. Damn, he was pretty confident that funny Metal Pipe Spiderman Movie 3 meme he saw on Twitter would come more in handy…but that’s fine. Because he has one more trick up his sleeve. By which, I mean he has plenty of tricks up his sleeve! Unfortunately!! He doesn’t know that any of them would actually be particular helpful tricks up his sleeve in this exact moment!!!

Oh, except, that one. That one might be funny.

The Zoroark pulls out a large cartoon bomb, easily twice his size, and with one anime-esque protest-


Marcus: “Bombs away!”

-Throws it towards him, appropriately waiting until AFTER Nightwing’s Wingdings go off to do so. Anyone with a sharp enough sense in the moment and any background knowledge of what kind of pokemon Marcus is (something that absolutely nobody here is liable to know besides Vince, I’m aware) could probably tell this is FAKE as FUCK, but given the determined look on Marcus’ face…he’s gotta have somethin’ brewing here.

*If this was Peter in control he'd have realised this cartoony bomb wasn't setting off his spider-sense, but the parasite wasn't used to using that to tell when his other senses were tricking him. He therefore flinched in midair shooting a webline elsewhere in an attempt to pull himself away from the incoming bomb. Doing so however is likely going to leave him even more vulnerable to incoming attacks.*

Reverie wrote: Now, the Onion Knight was already hurtling through the sky with a spin on his fall, so there was a good chance he would cut the webstring that had just stuck itself to him just by doing nothing. However, he didn't need to wait to find out as somebody had outpaced gravity and taken care of the grappling attack. This meant that he was back on track to take a swing at the nimble enemy ahead of him. And so the boy in red continued to fly straight at where he had previously been heading until-

A rather self-contained puff of bright, white smoke enveloped the figure in immutable colour and the Knight was quite literally gone in a flash. When the smoke spread out and dissipated, he was nowhere to be seen.

Sable-Xeno wrote:
Man, a lot going on at once here for our other combatant. Connor has no problem swerving around the webbing, pulling himself into a spin and dodging with uncanny speed…hey, helps that it was cut as well. His momentum still changed a bit, though, and he’s not too confident himself in what those Wingdings are gonna do once they stop beeping.…meaning he can only pull off one good slash now, and fast. Aiming towards that mask, at that. Regardless on whether it lands or not, he’s still gonna leap away the chance he gets.

*And those attacks reach him, the first of which is Connor's slash.*

!

*The slash causes a temporary red line to form across his chest, at first it might be thought to be blood, but actually the red is of Peter's actual suit that's underneath the parasite. Within a second the slashmark heals, he is dangerously open to the Knight's next move however.*

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*The Doctor continues with the device he has on the tripod, seemingly looking through it in order to adjust the view the device has, it's clearly facing the pale sun which luckily is dull enough in the sky to look at without being blinded. If anyone else was present he certainly wasn't noticing them.*

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Meanwhile far removed from everything else going on in a section of space is a large asteroid. This asteroid has been developed into a base once used for shipping, the company now long defunct. Following this space pirates made it their base until they were massacred.*

*Now it seems this base is populated once again, with it's various empty rooms turned into facilities for the worst scum and villainy out there. Within the bar there sits a patron lazily lying across a booth seat gold digging as always.*

Haah.

*He reaches at the table and grabs a whole clove of garlic.*

Oooh!

*The rowdy bar is not the most populated part of the asteroid base however, for through a door out the back lies a massive hall with rows of seats put out, almost like a theatre with a stage at the front. In contrast to the bar this area looks a bit more 'classy' but still scavenged together. On the stage stands a figure.*

Bidding will begin on our next item, a blue Chaos Emerald. Once part of a set of 7 said to grant immense power, this is a rare find and even alone can be a strong power source, or perhaps for those more adventurous souls of you out there it will be the first step on your journey to find all 7.

Honestly, I don't care either way, what I do care about is how much you are willing to bid on such an item.

*An older figure sits in the crowd, arms crossed with an irritated look on his face.*

(Why did Saxon tell me to attend such an event?)

(I have no use for such trinkets, as outlandish as the plans of some of my associates are, we are not some group of supervillains looking to build a raygun to blow up the moon or some such nonsense.)

Vince wrote:
"It's just what you gotta do. If someone's in trouble and you can help them, even a little, ignoring it wouldn't be right. It's like what I was saying to Spidey. It's about responsibility. Someone's gotta step up and do it."

Despite any hesitation present, Vince certainly manage to convince Butterscotch that he meant every word. There was this weird tugging in the young witch's chest. Doing something because it was what you had to do, or because it was right, not necessarily because you gain from it. It sounded lovely, but every time she looked at the on-going action, which was escalating now with the use of explosives, she wanted to turn tail and disappear.



"Y-You'd go anyway? In that case... I-I... well..."

She looked at her hands. Sure, she could cast spells, but what good had that done so far. It saved the small boy in a green tunic, but who's to say he wasn't going to be alright anyway? After all, the spell onto Spider-Man had done next to nothing. She wasn't meant for this. Or to get in the way of more capable people.

Spiraling into uncertainty, as she was prone to do, she couldn't complete the sentence. Even being looked at by the Pikachu was starting to be aggravating, with her being sure she was going to be judged if she didn't step to the plate, like he proclaimed he wanted to do.

Might as well get it over with and disappoint him. It was coming at one point or another.

Pulling her hat down onto her head, she shook her head, teary-eyed.



"I can't...! I-I'm scared... I-I..."

She sulked.

"I'm sorry..."

She'd try and run away again.

---

The hall might have stirred with the display of the Chaos Emerald. Whispers of intrigue ran amok, or perhaps brief monologues that they had to themselves. Villainous folk could be like that.

In one of the rows, someone who seemed like a kid wearing a brown coat much larger than herself, and with two dolls on her lap, checked the screen of a computer tablet or somesuch device. She raised a finger to the screen, counting something and holding the screen up to one of her eyes, which was green. The other, a red eye, seemed entirely lifeless.

"I have... 120 credits! Maybe I should-"

From another row, a man sprung up, his voice carrying along a dramatic cadence.

"An artifact that bestows power such as this MUST be mine!"



"I, the Dark Mage Schezo Wegey, will bid as many as FIVE thousand and nine hundred of these credits on it!"

After the outburst, a disapproving shake of the head and a side-eye would come from a woman right next to the kid from earlier.



"What a specific amount. Does that happen to be your entire budget? Pretty pathetic- but that's to be expected of a pervert such as yourself."



"I am NOT- Ghhhh, why must such a title be thrown around EVERYWHERE I went up going!? You misunderstood my words earlier, that's all!"

The woman didn't dignify that with an answer, instead noticing the kid in the huge coat and giving her a headpat, to which the girl smiled and blushed.



"Nonetheless, let's start this bid with something a bit more dignified than this paltry sum. 15000 credits. Who's up to challenge this?"

Sable-Xeno wrote:
Firion: “…You’re right. Whatever that was, it could be them. We’ve no time to waste!”

And with that, leaps forward across the ground as he almost appears to dash a few inches off the ground towards that sound!

It might take you a bit to realize he could’ve done that the entire time.

Marisa kept walking for a second, at least until her walking buddy gathered some distance away from her. Then it all sort of clicked for her as she looked down at her shoes and eventually back up at the quickly-vanishing Firion.



"..."



"... I knew that."

She gathered the hem of her dress rather unnecessarily and hopped into the air, quickly reducing that distance once more. The broom she carried hung alongside her limply, as though hoisted by some invisible thing. Gradually the two of them raced closer and closer to the island hanging much less so in the sky.

---

Regiwi wrote:*And those attacks reach him, the first of which is Connor's slash.*

!

*The slash causes a temporary red line to form across his chest, at first it might be thought to be blood, but actually the red is of Peter's actual suit that's underneath the parasite. Within a second the slashmark heals, he is dangerously open to the Knight's next move however.*

The smoke dispersed, but revealed nothing. Definitely not a brightly-dressed onion knight with violent intent in his eyes. Seconds ticked away as the tension of the battle rose just a tick. Suddenly, there was another flash above the Spider-Man, who just so happened to be too preoccupied with his other attackers to do much about it. None of whom were even registering for the young boy, focused as he was on the target.

The crimson ninja dove down at roughly the same speed he had disappeared at, but from the other man’s blind spot, accelerating somewhat as he prepared his assault. The Onion Knight lashed out with his whole body as he got within range of the infected insectoid, his figure recoiling like a cheap rifle as his blades swept in front of him, aiming to slice through his foe as one would a block of cheese.



Back Attack.

And what was more, Spider-Man would have to rely entirely on his spider sense to do anything about it - which might prove to be difficult at the moment.

---

Regiwi wrote:
Bidding will begin on our next item, a blue Chaos Emerald. Once part of a set of 7 said to grant immense power, this is a rare find and even alone can be a strong power source, or perhaps for those more adventurous souls of you out there it will be the first step on your journey to find all 7.

Aliucon wrote:

"I, the Dark Mage Schezo Wegey, will bid as many as FIVE thousand and nine hundred of these credits on it!"

Aliucon wrote:

"Nonetheless, let's start this bid with something a bit more dignified than this paltry sum. 15000 credits. Who's up to challenge this?"

The most American-looking man in the world stumbled into the auction room, taking in his surroundings with a confused stare. It wasn’t necessarily the room itself that was giving him issues, but rather his circumstances in being there. He gradually noticed the occupants, some of whom weren’t even human, and nodded with a deceptive look of understanding.

Almost as though it were nothing but a reflex, his hand shot up into the air when he heard the bidding get going. He didn’t really know what the item in question was, but it seemed to be some sort of gem and clearly there were some here who believed it had value. That was good enough for Ted.



"Fifty-thousand credits," he spoke, his voice carrying across the hall.

He had know idea what he was saying. He had no idea what a credit was, let alone what the exchange rate with the US dollar was. But it sounded like money. And that was good enough for Ted.

Aliucon wrote:

"Y-You'd go anyway? In that case... I-I... well..."

She looked at her hands. Sure, she could cast spells, but what good had that done so far. It saved the small boy in a green tunic, but who's to say he wasn't going to be alright anyway? After all, the spell onto Spider-Man had done next to nothing. She wasn't meant for this. Or to get in the way of more capable people.

Vince: '...?'

Aliucon wrote:Spiraling into uncertainty, as she was prone to do, she couldn't complete the sentence. Even being looked at by the Pikachu was starting to be aggravating, with her being sure she was going to be judged if she didn't step to the plate, like he proclaimed he wanted to do.

Might as well get it over with and disappoint him. It was coming at one point or another.

Pulling her hat down onto her head, she shook her head, teary-eyed.



"I can't...! I-I'm scared... I-I..."

She sulked.

"I'm sorry..."

She'd try and run away again.

Vince: "H-Hey!"

Oh no you don't.

As soon as Butterscotch takes off Vince gets down on all four and springs after her, stray sparks jumping off his coat. Why? If he stopped to think about it, he wouldn't be entirely certain himself. After all that big talk about running off and joining the battle it could seem a bit strange to immediately jump after her. Then again, making sure she didn't get lost or hurt herself somehow was the reason he and Marcus had gone after Butterscotch to begin with. And maybe he was just scared, and impulsively chasing her was easier than going into battle. Maybe it was just simple instinct kicking in. Maybe all three were true at once, maybe none of them were.

One thing that was definitely true, though, is that a decently experienced Pikachu running at full tilt is a good bit faster than a perhaps slightly out of shape young witch. All things remaining as they are, he's on a fast track to full body tackling her to get her to stop running.

---

Sable-Xeno wrote:
Grovyle: “…There’s not much time to explain more. You have to warn anyone here that cannot fight to evacuate. There’s a City nearby that holds a rift in Time and Space…the rift’s Guardian can keep them safe there, so long as they aren’t followed…”


Grovyle: “I’ll fill in the gaps later, just go…!”

"You don't really look like you're in much of a state to go anywhere, so if you're suggesting some kind of heroic stalling I'm not sure how you expect to fill in the gaps later..."

...Scott looks around to take a headcount of all the noncombatants left on the island, which... By his estimation, that's just him, the grovyle, and the two shopkeepers. Not that Scott's "incapable" of fighting, per say, just that he's not sure he can do much against a 90's-roided superhero. He's heard that guy can react to 50 times his own weight or something like that.



"...but I'll see what I can do."

He turns towards Anna and Ravio, who he guesses have just been having their own conversation since Connor left? He hasn't been paying a lot of attention to them, seeing as he's been talking about his childhood games for a bit. Scott claps once and raises his voice to get both of their attentions.



"So. Apparently the green man says we have to retreat and go jump through some kind of time vortex. You guys are, like, video-game shopkeepers or something. You guys have any convenient medicines on hand that can bring someone back from the brink of death? Maybe something that can teleport a large group of people out of danger?"

Regiwi wrote:*Having watched people portalling all over the place, Anna realises she has something that might be of use. Only problem is she hasn't actually got the ability to use it, still perhaps this other merchant does, he does look 'magey'. She pulls out of her rucksack two of her top items, it pained her to do so but you can't sell much if you're dead. She holds out a Warp Staff as well as a Rescue Staff.*


You any good with magic?

"...Yeah, kinda like that."

---

Reverie wrote:* Well, there's no need for you to be so on guard. Look at the poor thing, it's practically shivering with anxiety.

Ah, there it was. That ever-familiar internal monologue, forever willing to offer advice and commentary. Well, Frisk thinks to herself, and to the voice that's been hitchhiking in her mind since she first fell through the mountain, you can't blame her for being cautious. She's only human.

Sable-Xeno wrote:…Guess they’re both pretty nervous to see any other sign of life, here. But…as Xan slowly approaches…it’s a little easier to make out the shape and, indeed, this does appear to be a…child. Wearing strangely-familiar clothing…

In any case, appearances are always deceiving. But not so much to warrant suspicion…yet. He’ll decide whether to look into her past or not later, once he’s seen what she’s capable of…


Xan: “I…I mean no harm, either. My name is…Xander Xela, though you can just…call me Xan. I’m not from here…I feel as if you aren’t, either.”

Frisk continues to be nervous against her guide's better judgement as Xan approaches, since his exact appearance isn't really the problem so much as the fact it's distinctly non-human, and in her experience even scared monsters either challenge her on sight or bear no ill will whatsoever. But... So far he's being very polite, which by the same logic causes her trust in him to immediately skyrocket. And he's clearly not a type of monster she's seen before, which is worth taking note of.

Frisk: "S-Something like that, yeah..."

Reverie wrote:* How interesting. Do you hear that sound? Doesn't it strike you as familiar? Which is doubly interesting as I do not believe I've ever heard it before.

Sable-Xeno wrote:
Xan: “I don’t…I don’t know where we are, or what that was. But…I did hear that sound earlier.”

He motions with his wings to beckon the child a little closer. Perhaps, to hold her, for comfort, or to ease both their minds…


Xan: “…If someone is causing that sound, it would probably be our best lead. I’ll help get you out of here, so please follow behind me…”

That's... That's very strange. Everything about this is very strange. But with two voices pushing to investigate the noise, and no more second chances to fall back on, maybe it's best to go along with it. Her strange travelling companion has never been wrong before.

Forcing a timid smile that looks more confident than she feels, Frisk closes the distance to Xan and goes for a brief embrace, whether that really was his intention or not. She is a scared child at the end of the day, so she doesn't mind stepping to the background and being escorted for a bit.

Frisk: "...okay. I trust you."

---

Reverie wrote:

"Fifty-thousand credits," he spoke, his voice carrying across the hall.

He had know idea what he was saying. He had no idea what a credit was, let alone what the exchange rate with the US dollar was. But it sounded like money. And that was good enough for Ted.

There's a low, confident chuckle towards the back of the assembly. Clearly this guy feels like playing a high roller today, but he's not the only one who can push around credits. Attending today is a man of no uncertain renown among certain circles. A merchant, an artist, a man of wealth, and a man who knows his way around precious gems.



"Two hundred thousand credits."

If Ted wants that emerald, he'll have to come back when he's a little, mmmmm... Richer!

Oh, Vince didn't have to go far. As soon as she heard the sparks flying through the air, her instinct was to stop, so it's entirely possible she was just a victim of the tackle almost as soon as she tried to run.

"Ahhhhh!!"

It doesn't take much to put her down. She does "feel" a fair bulkier than she looks, Vince would notice, but overall, she still looks like a small scared child.



"WHY- Ahhh, please don't hurt me...!!"

She's freaking out.

---

In the auction, seemingly satisfied with the fact it was moving on swiftly, Sousou took her seat and watched with interest. The kid by her side also looked from bidder to bidder.

Schezo, however, even though he already felt thoroughly beaten, wouldn't let it get in the way of his pride.

Morshu wrote:

"Two hundred thousand credits."

"Hey! You forked-tongued knave! Just before, I could swear you had said you didn't GIVE credit. And suddenly you have hundreds of thousands of them!?"

---

As the panic in Ho Chi Minh City reached a fever pitch, and the crowds grew so dense that nothing but mopeds could go across the streets, there was still one motorized vehicle. In a way, it also increased the panic of the commonfolk, since, against all common sense, it wasn't speeding away from the huge monster currently surveying the city- it was rushing towards it.

To avoid most of the crowd, it rode up a pile of debris forming a makeshift ramp on the side of the road- and once in the air, there was this moment where the brave (or foolish?) soul could get an unobstructed view of the monster.

Slifer the Sky Dragon wrote:

"It's that feeling again. There's no mistaking it."

The vehicle landed, maintaining its speed, while the rider steered it so it was going to go around the vicinity of the monster, a bit further away from where most people congregated.

"It's not an Immortal- But it might be even more dangerous than one."



"The least I can do is buy them some time."

Accelerating his old Duel Runner, he had a hit of nostalgia and mild nausea when seeing it automatically dispense 5 cards at him, which he caught with a hand and arm flourish.



"Duel!"

Reverie wrote:The smoke dispersed, but revealed nothing. Definitely not a brightly-dressed onion knight with violent intent in his eyes. Seconds ticked away as the tension of the battle rose just a tick. Suddenly, there was another flash above the Spider-Man, who just so happened to be too preoccupied with his other attackers to do much about it. None of whom were even registering for the young boy, focused as he was on the target.

The crimson ninja dove down at roughly the same speed he had disappeared at, but from the other man’s blind spot, accelerating somewhat as he prepared his assault. The Onion Knight lashed out with his whole body as he got within range of the infected insectoid, his figure recoiling like a cheap rifle as his blades swept in front of him, aiming to slice through his foe as one would a block of cheese.



Back Attack.

And what was more, Spider-Man would have to rely entirely on his spider sense to do anything about it - which might prove to be difficult at the moment.

*Currently slightly dazed, the Spider was in a difficult situation, however despite his inexperience with this form and these powers, this incoming attack was stronger than any of the others and set his Spider-sense buzzing like crazy.*

!

*He shot out a webline at a nearby giant rock and pulled himself with all his might towards it, not fast enough to escape unscathed as he received the tip of those blades across his back, this time revealing the blue of the suit underneath, but he avoided being turned into Spider Slices.*

*Despite his escape however, he didn't quite stick the landing, smashing into the rock turning it into a chunk of rubble. Dust from this impact would make it difficult for the others to see what state he was now in.*

...

DimitriBarronmore wrote:There's a low, confident chuckle towards the back of the assembly. Clearly this guy feels like playing a high roller today, but he's not the only one who can push around credits. Attending today is a man of no uncertain renown among certain circles. A merchant, an artist, a man of wealth, and a man who knows his way around precious gems.



"Two hundred thousand credits."

If Ted wants that emerald, he'll have to come back when he's a little, mmmmm... Richer!

I hear two hundred thousand credits, it's a good amount...

But are the rest of you really going to let this man practically steal such a powerful gift from right under your noses? I know many of your pockets go deeper than this. Do I hear a higher bid?

“Dimitri” wrote:

"So. Apparently the green man says we have to retreat and go jump through some kind of time vortex. You guys are, like, video-game shopkeepers or something. You guys have any convenient medicines on hand that can bring someone back from the brink of death? Maybe something that can teleport a large group of people out of danger?"

Regiwi wrote:

You any good with magic?

Now that—as a Link—he knew for sure how to do. The items may not be his forte, but Ravio is pretty sure he could learn how to handle them!

’There’s just one problem, though.’ he thinks to himself as Anna and Scott the Woz look between the lot of them.

’How am I going to tell Ms. Anna that I’m only allowed to use items for demo purposes? I may be a hero, but I have no right to waste product like that as a shopkeeper’

Author’s Note: Wait—hold up! Did that twigs-for-limbs from Ohio just break it to Ravio that he’s a videogame character?!?

!!!!!!

Author’s Note: Are we really gonna ignore the potential damage to psyches this bitch might cause because of it?!?

’What was that…?’ he wonders as he hears a voice he’s never familiarized himself with in his life.

Author’s Note: Granted, Ravio has a point. Kinda hard to justify waste of a product while demonstrating it for sale. Eh, ya know what, fuck it. Hey GM!!

GM: hey

Author’s Note: Say that—I wanted to godmod a little. Can I?

GM: Elaborate

Ravio is left speechless amongst his newfound allies as he hears a conversation most mortals probably aren’t allowed to ever hear. As the voices continue on to a subject that made no sense to hi—

—Author’s Note: But he’s a shopkeeper. So he shouldn’t use any PP using it for “demo purposes” ~You think you could bend the rules a bit?~

’Bend the rules of what!?!?’ he shouts in his own head, believing that exclaiming them in that matter would allow his thoughts to be heard. Pretty sure that they don’t hear his thoughts.

GM: Sounds fun to me

Author’s Note: Cool beans!!

GM: Thy beans art cool indeed

Author’s Note: You should be all set Ravio!! Safe travels!!

………This moment just keeps getting weirder, but since his life’s on the line he’s fine with just pushing past the fact that he probably heard the voices of gods.

“I think I can get us out of here. Just…tell me how these things work”

Regiwi wrote:

ToonBlade wrote:Link yelps as he's picked up, confused at first, then looks up to see Chell and Mayday. He gives them a smile, though it's cut short when Chell jumps into the portal. The young hero yelps as they go in, and once out he squirms a bit and falls onto the ground. He's a tad disoriented from the sudden change. He groans and sits up, rubbing his head.

*Mayday pats the Young Hero on the head pleased to see he's alright. She then glances back to where her Father is.*

*The Spider notices Chell making her quick escape. He's enraged by those attacking him, but also there's some sense he's getting too, he needs to follow that child. Something about that child is really scaring him, a feeling he can't explain, perhaps it's some sort of lame anti-fresh vibes he's picking up on, or something else...*

Chell sighs and gives a smile to the young boy, to let him know he's safe, but notices Mayday glancing. She looks at her and tilts her head as she gets up. She sets down her trustful companion cube. Why is she so interested in that dangerous fellow?


Meanwhile, another person has arrived to this strange world, and is unaware. A tireless explorer and on a mission to stop the threat looming her home, she was just scavenging in a forest-type area near where she was raised. She got some good machine parts, and some medicinal berries, and managed to get a few bones or pelts from some animals; hopefully enough to increase one of her multiple arrow bags or supply pouches. She walks alone, at first looking down as she inspects her bow. It's not damaged, but it's always good to check, right?
As she starts to exit to a clearing, she realizes...something is wrong. She looks up and sees...buildings. Yes, there's plenty of buildings, in many different areas. But not this close to her Nora home and certainly not in pristine condition, and even more so, not close together like this, with lights on. The closest she's seen that is the ruins of Las Vegas....
She activates her focus and looks. She sees..People running, and something in the sky, flying. She stares, wondering what in the world is going on, but looks back to the forest. She probably needs to go back, but...These people might need help. And with that never-ending drive to help humanity, and her curiosity of what this area could be, she rushes into this strange new land...
Aloy, once more, is on a mission to help people.

Aliucon wrote:

"WHY- Ahhh, please don't hurt me...!!"

She's freaking out.

Okay, so maybe that tackle ends up being rougher than he intended. In his defense, he didn't expect her to stop so quickly. But Vincent doesn't have a lot of mass, so at least it doesn't actually hurt very much.


Vince: "Calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you! And quit running off!"

So he says, though the rhythmic pop-and-crackle off his adorable little cheeks and the obvious frustration in his voice might make calming down a little harder.

Regiwi wrote: *And those attacks reach him, the first of which is Connor's slash.*

!

*The slash causes a temporary red line to form across his chest, at first it might be thought to be blood, but actually the red is of Peter's actual suit that's underneath the parasite. Within a second the slashmark heals, he is dangerously open to the Knight's next move however.*

Bracing himself as he jumps off, Connor tenses his muscles, ready to make the next strike. Except…

Regiwi wrote:*He shot out a webline at a nearby giant rock and pulled himself with all his might towards it, not fast enough to escape unscathed as he received the tip of those blades across his back, this time revealing the blue of the suit underneath, but he avoided being turned into Spider Slices.*

*Despite his escape however, he didn't quite stick the landing, smashing into the rock turning it into a chunk of rubble. Dust from this impact would make it difficult for the others to see what state he was now in.*

…His vision obscured, he wouldn’t be able to pinpoint just where Spidey may be, much less if the Parasite is off the guy. Big doubt on the latter, but either way, his reflexes have taken hold, ready to either attack him or protect someone else at the first sign of movement. Marcus, on the other hand, is still holding up his cartoonish bomb…Ah, what the hell, may as well throw it in there. If he panics and leaves, then there’s still danger, and if he’s too weak to move, great! It’s still fake as shit.

Meanwhile, just on the horizon…dashing in onto the scene, and at the fringes of the conflict…an unfamiliar-to-them hero donning bandanna.

Well, unfamiliar to most of them.


Firion: “…Almost there…”


Firion: “…Wait. Onion Knight…?”

---

Dimitri wrote:That's... That's very strange. Everything about this is very strange. But with two voices pushing to investigate the noise, and no more second chances to fall back on, maybe it's best to go along with it. Her strange travelling companion has never been wrong before.

Forcing a timid smile that looks more confident than she feels, Frisk closes the distance to Xan and goes for a brief embrace, whether that really was his intention or not. She is a scared child at the end of the day, so she doesn't mind stepping to the background and being escorted for a bit.

Frisk: "...okay. I trust you."

An embrace that Xan, a little surprised, reciprocates. He’s still unaccustomed to the goodwill and faith others tend to give him, from all walks of life..he’s tempted to tear up a little, but he puts on a brave face.

…All emotions which distract him from the fact that this child has skillfully avoided giving her name. Though, that’s par for the course.


Xan: “..I won’t let you down, then. Now, come along.”

It’s probably safe to say the two don’t get much information out of these dusty halls. The Xatu tries a few times to look into the past of this place, but it’s no use…whatever happened to separate the time between this dilapidated state and that bomb he saw in the sky, it’s too much a strain to keep up, and the best glimpse of info he ever gets is of a large man, wearing a red/blue?? jumper with a Nurse’s Outfit and gas mask, and wielding a flamethrower. Which would be *helpful* if he could read the lips of whoever this anomolous being was, but. Y’know. Gas Mask.

…Honestly, he’s not sure he *wants* to know the context after that.

Lost in his own thoughts, he hardly thinks to raise conversation, but as they make their way up a staircase or two, and reach a door leading towards the roof…he turns to the child once more.


Xan: “…Alright. Stay here, and I’ll scout ahead. If it looks dangerous…then we run. Understand?…good.”

Waiting for a confirmation, first, he then turns around and  opens the door…peering out at the roof beyond.

DimitriBarronmore wrote:Ah, there it was. That ever-familiar internal monologue, forever willing to offer advice and commentary. Well, Frisk thinks to herself, and to the voice that's been hitchhiking in her mind since she first fell through the mountain, you can't blame her for being cautious. She's only human.

* Of course not. If nothing else, you’re certainly at least human. Possibly too human, actually. I’ve been meaning to bring it up.

DimitriBarronmore wrote:Frisk continues to be nervous against her guide's better judgement as Xan approaches, since his exact appearance isn't really the problem so much as the fact it's distinctly non-human, and in her experience even scared monsters either challenge her on sight or bear no ill will whatsoever. But... So far he's being very polite, which by the same logic causes her trust in him to immediately skyrocket. And he's clearly not a type of monster she's seen before, which is worth taking note of.

* Oh, would you look at that. You bonded over almost being sick. I’m happy for you.

* Also, I’m not a bestiary. Take your own notes, I don’t have hands.

DimitriBarronmore wrote:That's... That's very strange. Everything about this is very strange. But with two voices pushing to investigate the noise, and no more second chances to fall back on, maybe it's best to go along with it. Her strange travelling companion has never been wrong before.

* Strange companion? Frisk, I can hear you.

DimitriBarronmore wrote:Forcing a timid smile that looks more confident than she feels, Frisk closes the distance to Xan and goes for a brief embrace, whether that really was his intention or not. She is a scared child at the end of the day, so she doesn't mind stepping to the background and being escorted for a bit.

* Just in case you forgot, we were we going somewhere.

Sable-Xeno wrote:
Xan: “..I won’t let you down, then. Now, come along.”

Xan: “…Alright. Stay here, and I’ll scout ahead. If it looks dangerous…then we run. Understand?…good.”

* Don't take this the wrong way but I’m putting the unfortunate-looking child in charge.

---

DimitriBarronmore wrote:

"Two hundred thousand credits."

The man in the corner of the room who managed to look pale despite having tanned extensively shot the comically large merchant across the room a dirty look, but repealed it after just a second. If he was gonna get his hands on that emerald, Ted thought slowly, he would have to meet this guy’s power move with an equally powerful power move.

Aliucon wrote:

"Hey! You forked-tongued knave! Just before, I could swear you had said you didn't GIVE credit. And suddenly you have hundreds of thousands of them!?"

He looked around the bidding hall in an attempt to gauge the reactions of the other spectators, all staring at the shopkeeper with mild surprise. So that meant, Ted supposed, that two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand credits was quite a large amount, but probably nowhere near trillionaire large. In which case, he needed a number that dwarfed two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand – made it look entirely inadequate by comparison.

Infinity.

No, that’s too high. Stupid answer.

Regiwi wrote:
But are the rest of you really going to let this man practically steal such a powerful gift from right under your noses? I know many of your pockets go deeper than this. Do I hear a higher bid?

“One million credits!” the sweating plastic Californian retorted.

He threw out his arms wildy, as if one were shrugging but sneezed at the crucial moment. Or handing out wads of green to mostly-silicon call girls.

---

Aliucon wrote:Accelerating his old Duel Runner, he had a hit of nostalgia and mild nausea when seeing it automatically dispense 5 cards at him, which he caught with a hand and arm flourish.



"Duel!"

Ignoring the young duelist’s challenge completely, Slifer halted its manic frenzy to focus on this new, more interesting and more dangerous target. Buildings and fat tourists didn’t make for particularly good target practice anyway.

He brought his colossal tail up for a second, letting it lull in the polluted sky for a few seconds before bringing it crashing down again. The bulk of it fell just shy of the front of Kalin’s Duel Runner, shattering the pavement and leaving the asphalt almost equally fractured. The sudden movement caused the ground underneath Kalin to jolt upwards with force, launching the cycle into the air with a flip.

The vengeful dragon let out a low, metallic roar that rang throughout the night. Nothing was going to get in its way.

---

Regiwi wrote:
!

*He shot out a webline at a nearby giant rock and pulled himself with all his might towards it, not fast enough to escape unscathed as he received the tip of those blades across his back, this time revealing the blue of the suit underneath, but he avoided being turned into Spider Slices.*

*Despite his escape however, he didn't quite stick the landing, smashing into the rock turning it into a chunk of rubble. Dust from this impact would make it difficult for the others to see what state he was now in.*

The Onion Knight landed with a quick roll, taking a look behind him to see what had happened to the spider he’d tried to swat. With any luck, he could follow it up with-

Sable-Xeno wrote:
Firion: “…Wait. Onion Knight…?”

The young boy changed back to his onion knight gear with another non-descript flash of light. He simply stared at the eyes meeting his own, not knowing what to say.



“. . . Firion!”

---

Hiroko wrote:Author’s Note: You should be all set Ravio!! Safe travels!!

………This moment just keeps getting weirder, but since his life’s on the line he’s fine with just pushing past the fact that he probably heard the voices of gods.

“I think I can get us out of here. Just…tell me how these things work”

Ravio tripped over, even though there was nothing to trip over.

Regiwi wrote:*Currently slightly dazed, the Spider was in a difficult situation, however despite his inexperience with this form and these powers, this incoming attack was stronger than any of the others and set his Spider-sense buzzing like crazy.*



!

*He shot out a webline at a nearby giant rock and pulled himself with all his might towards it, not fast enough to escape unscathed as he received the tip of those blades across his back, this time revealing the blue of the suit underneath, but he avoided being turned into Spider Slices.*

*Despite his escape however, he didn't quite stick the landing, smashing into the rock turning it into a chunk of rubble. Dust from this impact would make it difficult for the others to see what state he was now in.*

Nightwing stops, keeping some distance from the dust cloud where everyone's common enemy lies hidden. He raises an arm, gesturing everyone to stay back.



"Everyone, keep your distance. Our friend here might not be down for the count just yet."

He narrows his eyes and lifts two fingers up to his mask. The mask does more than conceal his identity. Indeed, such a small thing is full of various functions to carry out his crime fighting. After all, he wouldn't be the first son of the Bat if he didn't have a few tricks up his sleeve, would he? For now, he activates thermals to see through the dust, trying to see what Spidey's up to.



"Let's see how you're holding up, shall we...?"

---

Regiwi wrote:*Mayday pats the Young Hero on the head pleased to see he's alright. She then glances back to where her Father is.*

Tooner-Tastic wrote:Chell sighs and gives a smile to the young boy, to let him know he's safe, but notices Mayday glancing. She looks at her and tilts her head as she gets up. She sets down her trustful companion cube. Why is she so interested in that dangerous fellow?

Link groans as he gets up, then shakes his head, blinking after, now getting his bearings. He frowns and looks around, noticing everything's slightly different than it was before. He then sees that the fight continued, though much further away now. He frowns, then looks at Chell, his eyebrow raised a bit. He then notices Mayday staring to where the battle rages, towards the former ally/now enemy.

He blinks and reaches out to her. "Hey, what's wrong? Do you know that man...?"

---

And now for something completely different.

It all started with a glowing baby. Soon after, people all over the world started gaining super powers of all kinds. Chaos ensued as society, the government, and indeed the world itself struggled to keep up with the rapid spread of these new "quirks," as they were soon called. From this chaos, individuals stepped up to help, using their newfound abilities to aid others, working toward restoring order and pushing humanity back to peace. Laws were passed, quirks restricted, save for those who had stepped up. They became heroes, real world super heroes, whose job was to use their powers to keep peace, order, and maintain the balance between individual quirks and society.

Society idolizes them for the work they do, especially one man, the greatest hero of them all, the symbol of an era of peace he had brought with his great power and his unwavering smile. Many youths of this modern super powered world are inspired him, hoping to follow his example and become heroes themself. One young man in particular looks up to this grand hero...




This... is not the story you're thinking of.




In fact, it takes place in an unspecified amount of time before the story you're thinking of even starts. However, this story has ended, for the most part. He saved his town, though due to numerous impending lawsuits for property damage, among various broken laws, he's been essentially exiled from Japan. Our hero would have been thrown in the slammer for various crimes related to illegal and unauthorized quirk usage had it not been for some friends, a top American Pro Hero among them, pulling out a contract out of their asses and arguing that he was totally the man's sidekick all along, yep. Thus, the young man finds himself in an airplane en route to New York, ready to start a new life to live out his dream of becoming an actual Pro Hero.

Or, in this case, a sidekick.

The young man watches the scenery as the plane drifts through the skies. He gets up, though, and heads to the back. Bathroom time!

He opens the door and steps inside, closing the door behind him. He then turns to the... there's no toilet. Instead...

Reverie wrote:

He blinks a few times to make sure his eyes are working correctly. He looks back to the door, then up to the beast in the skies, as well as the surrounding buildings. Back and forth goes his gaze before he turns around and opens the door, though now it just leads to the inside of whatever building the door is a part of. He closes and opens and closes and opens a few times, eventually coming terms that no, it will not be going back to the plane.

Defeated, he turns back to look at the beast in the skies.



"Uhh..."

The problem for young Koichi Haimawari is that he still really, really needs to use the bathroom.

Hiroko wrote:

“Dimitri” wrote:

"So. Apparently the green man says we have to retreat and go jump through some kind of time vortex. You guys are, like, video-game shopkeepers or something. You guys have any convenient medicines on hand that can bring someone back from the brink of death? Maybe something that can teleport a large group of people out of danger?"

Now that—as a Link—he knew for sure how to do. The items may not be his forte, but Ravio is pretty sure he could learn how to handle them!

’There’s just one problem, though.’ he thinks to himself as Anna and Scott the Woz look between the lot of them.

’How am I going to tell Ms. Anna that I’m only allowed to use items for demo purposes? I may be a hero, but I have no right to waste product like that as a shopkeeper’

Author’s Note: Wait—hold up! Did that twigs-for-limbs from Ohio just break it to Ravio that he’s a videogame character?!?

!!!!!!

Author’s Note: Are we really gonna ignore the potential damage to psyches this bitch might cause because of it?!?

’What was that…?’ he wonders as he hears a voice he’s never familiarized himself with in his life.

Author’s Note: Granted, Ravio has a point. Kinda hard to justify waste of a product while demonstrating it for sale. Eh, ya know what, fuck it. Hey GM!!

GM: hey

Author’s Note: Say that—I wanted to godmod a little. Can I?

GM: Elaborate

Ravio is left speechless amongst his newfound allies as he hears a conversation most mortals probably aren’t allowed to ever hear. As the voices continue on to a subject that made no sense to hi—

—Author’s Note: But he’s a shopkeeper. So he shouldn’t use any PP using it for “demo purposes” ~You think you could bend the rules a bit?~

’Bend the rules of what!?!?’ he shouts in his own head, believing that exclaiming them in that matter would allow his thoughts to be heard. Pretty sure that they don’t hear his thoughts.

GM: Sounds fun to me

Author’s Note: Cool beans!!

GM: Thy beans art cool indeed

Author’s Note: You should be all set Ravio!! Safe travels!!

………This moment just keeps getting weirder, but since his life’s on the line he’s fine with just pushing past the fact that he probably heard the voices of gods.

“I think I can get us out of here. Just…tell me how these things work”

*Anna hadn't heard of videogames before, although she knew well how odd the Outrealms could be, it didn't sound that different from famous warriors being thought of as simple cards and for now there wasn't really time to consider these things, they needed to get away.*

The Warp staff will warp you a distance away, then you can use the Rescue staff to teleport others to where you are.

I'm trusting you here to not just warp and run, although I should let you know...

*For a split second Ravio might feel a strange aura, as if there were over a hundred Annas all glaring at him.*

My Sisters and I don't take well to thieves.

Sable-Xeno wrote:…His vision obscured, he wouldn’t be able to pinpoint just where Spidey may be, much less if the Parasite is off the guy. Big doubt on the latter, but either way, his reflexes have taken hold, ready to either attack him or protect someone else at the first sign of movement. Marcus, on the other hand, is still holding up his cartoonish bomb…Ah, what the hell, may as well throw it in there. If he panics and leaves, then there’s still danger, and if he’s too weak to move, great! It’s still fake as shit.

*The Parasite could tell he currently was in possession of a being with an amazing range of speed, agility and power, not to mention the other abilities such as webbing and this Spider-sense. He wasn't used to them, but it was time to stop messing around. The dust around him meant that he couldn't see where the others were, so it was time to rely on this Spider-sense of his to pick up on any incoming threats. Naturally due to this, the incoming 'bomb' didn't register at all.*

ToonBlade wrote:
Nightwing stops, keeping some distance from the dust cloud where everyone's common enemy lies hidden. He raises an arm, gesturing everyone to stay back.



"Everyone, keep your distance. Our friend here might not be down for the count just yet."

He narrows his eyes and lifts two fingers up to his mask. The mask does more than conceal his identity. Indeed, such a small thing is full of various functions to carry out his crime fighting. After all, he wouldn't be the first son of the Bat if he didn't have a few tricks up his sleeve, would he? For now, he activates thermals to see through the dust, trying to see what Spidey's up to.



"Let's see how you're holding up, shall we...?"

*Nightwing would pick up on a figure standing within the dust cloud, it was not just the figure alone however, he was holding something over his head, something the size of a car.*

*The dust clears and he sees his targets, held over his head is a fragment of the giant rock he'd smashed into, about the size of a car. The parasite realises that these heroes all seem to share one feature, they're not edgy 90s anti-heroes who are purely dedicated to hunting down enemies, this meant if he wanted to throw them off, simply attacking them wouldn't work.*

...

*His attention therefore turned to the others on the island currently with them, Scott, the shopkeepers and his former host. He uses his considerable strength to throw the giant rock towards this group of non-combatants. It's speed was such that the others would have a chance to stop it, but they would have to act now rather than formulate any plan before it made contact.*

!

*Anna sees this incoming and looks to Ravio.*

HURRY UP! GET US OUT OF HERE!

ToonBlade wrote:
Link groans as he gets up, then shakes his head, blinking after, now getting his bearings. He frowns and looks around, noticing everything's slightly different than it was before. He then sees that the fight continued, though much further away now. He frowns, then looks at Chell, his eyebrow raised a bit. He then notices Mayday staring to where the battle rages, towards the former ally/now enemy.

He blinks and reaches out to her. "Hey, what's wrong? Do you know that man...?"

*Mayday looks at the young hero, she holds out her arm then shoots a tiny bit of webbing at his shield. This time she doesn't look like she's having fun with this still with a sad expression.*

...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sable-Xeno wrote:
Waiting for a confirmation, first, he then turns around and  opens the door…peering out at the roof beyond.

*The Doctor is too absorbed in what he's doing to notice this, he adjusts his device somewhat looking at the sun, waiting to see what results he picks up.*

((I'll leave it to Veri whether he picks up on anything or not, his device is looking for either anything that can be seen or any traces of anything having been in the sky at an earlier point in that direction.))
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reverie wrote:

“One million credits!” the sweating plastic Californian retorted.

He threw out his arms wildy, as if one were shrugging but sneezed at the crucial moment. Or handing out wads of green to mostly-silicon call girls.

Now that's more like it, One million credits! Do I hear anything higher?

*The private accountants every villain present seems to have brought start murmuring and whispering to their clients. This asteroid base is a dangerous place where a fight can break out at any moment, but the accountants are the only truly untouchable people present, afterall it's only with their help the personal fortunes of those bidding can be converted to the credits required for this auction. A figure stumbles in through the doorway from the bar.*

Hey whatsagoin on here?

*He sees up on the stage shining something so beautiful to him, something so... expensive looking, that wonderful Emerald.*

Woah!

(Hmph, I don't believe our finances would allow us to bid much higher, and I'm not going to bankrupt our society for such a bauble...)

Actually, the fact that Vince sounded frustrated was paramount in making Butterscotch stand and listen. Deep down, she expected people to be frustrated (or Pokémon, in that case), so this was more normal. She was still freaked out by the surroundings, however- especially because more people seemed to join the fray, as Firion had just arrived.

Vince wrote:
"Calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you! And quit running off!"

"W-Well, then... what should we do? What am I supposed to do? W-Why..."

Seemed like the speech Vince made earlier still hadn't registered at all as something that she could follow.

---

One million credits was getting good. Pretty steep, but who's to say this source of power wasn't worth it. Schezo was mostly grumbling to himself in the corner, unable to compete. The girl in the oversized coat looked up to Sousou by her side.

"How much is one million...?"

The sovereign found herself smiling, and musing whilst looking across to any possible window into the void that the spaceship might have. She'd whisper an answer.



"It's hard to fathom, especially for the young. One hundred people is a lot, isn't it? Imagine each of those people would lead a small force of 99 soldiers. The result is a huge number of people... but you'd need that exact scenario to happen 99 more times in order to count up to a million alone."

The girl looked up, green eye sparkling with awe, while the other was as red and dead as ever. Meanwhile, Sousou's private accountant did approach her, as many other's did, and she began a brief dialog with them.

---

Slifer the Sky Dragon wrote:Ignoring the young duelist’s challenge completely, Slifer halted its manic frenzy to focus on this new, more interesting and more dangerous target. Buildings and fat tourists didn’t make for particularly good target practice anyway.

He brought his colossal tail up for a second, letting it lull in the polluted sky for a few seconds before bringing it crashing down again. The bulk of it fell just shy of the front of Kalin’s Duel Runner, shattering the pavement and leaving the asphalt almost equally fractured. The sudden movement caused the ground underneath Kalin to jolt upwards with force, launching the cycle into the air with a flip.

The vengeful dragon let out a low, metallic roar that rang throughout the night. Nothing was going to get in its way.

Kalin watched the tail, and while in its way to slam into the concrete in front of him, he swerved hard right. His intention was to stop shy of the bulk of the tail and run along it, but he was unexpectedly propelled upwards, his prior momentum carrying him over the tail, sideways, Duel Runner angled slightly down and, unfortunately, spinning.

The pedals would do nothing, and there was a real chance he'd crash headfirst to the ground and die. Perhaps as he was previously, the emotional leader of Team Satisfaction, he'd have panicked at this point.

As he was now, he managed to wait until he was oriented upwards and hit the nitro, slamming his Runner towards the ground again while upwards. This did cause him to land so harshly that his head propelled forward and he slammed his forehead into the wheel. After some dizziness and wiping the blood off, he could reorient himself on the street.



"Tch... I can still do more. I'm not leaving this up to fate yet."

Of course, despite the life-threatening situation, he hadn't once let go of his cards. He was a true duelist, after all.

What followed was a flurry of moves to stabilize his position.

You can safely skip the entire next quote if you're not a Yu-Gi-Oh fan.

Kalin wrote:


"Let's begin. I activate Foolish Burial."

As he flourishes a spell card, an ethereal grave forms by his side, with a hand protruding out of it, reaching for nothing. Kalin pauses momentarily, realizing that this felt about as real as when he was a Dark Signer.

"... It allows me to send any monster from my Deck to my graveyard. I choose Infernity Sage."

A robotic, warlord-like demon with a white fan emerges from the deck area and is dragged into the grave by the aforementioned hand, which promptly disappears. However, his specter immediately surges and waves his fan.

"When Infernity Sage is sent to the graveyard, I get to send any Infernity monster from my Deck to my graveyard as well. And I'm choosing Infernity Archfiend."

The ghost of another monster, this one much more demonic in looks, floated just behind the Sage's shadow. Kalin slid all remaining cards in his hand into a few slots in front of him, which make them appear as giant holographic face-down cards in front of him.



"I set 3 cards and activate Infernity Launcher from my hand!"

A giant gun-like contraption appeared right on top of his Duel Runner. As a matter of fact, it was pointed at, and it seemed to track, Slifer. After this, Kalin made a motion with his hand, which got him weirdly nostalgic.

The handless combo was a part of him. Seemed like no matter how much he rode his Duel Runner, he could never elude it for good.

"My hand's empty," he announced, "which allows me to activate Infernity Launcher's effect. I can send it to the graveyard to Special Summon up to 2 Infernity monsters from there back into the field."

The ghosts floated up to the barrel of the gun, which cocked and fired. The monsters, now way less ethereal-looking and more physical, flew out and started to follow Kalin's Duel Runner.

"When Archfiend is Special Summoned, I get to add an Infernity card from my deck to my hand. I'll grab Infernity Mirage-

Kalin had established two monsters on the field, and 3 face-down cards. Infernity Archfiend's effect goes into chain first, which would enable him to go further. However...

He found himself quite unaware of Slifer's effects, which might kick in exactly at this point.

Regiwi wrote:

I'm trusting you here to not just warp and run, although I should let you know...

*For a split second Ravio might feel a strange aura, as if there were over a hundred Annas all glaring at him.*

My Sisters and I don't take well to thieves.

Oh, he could feel it!! He could feel it, alright!!! And it scared the ever-living fucking bejeezus outta him. Made him question if this was where the voices he heard originated from.

He was visibly quaking in his boots. How could this one lady make him feel like a thousand ladies wanted to murder the guy. Made him almost piss his pants. Almost.

He whistled for Sheerow. At that sound, Sheerow delicately plucked both staves from Anna's hands and neatly placed them in Ravio's hands before burrowing into a designated pocket in the mountain bag.



"W-wouldn't dream of it M-ma'am." he squeaked.

Regiwi wrote:*His attention therefore turned to the others on the island currently with them, Scott, the shopkeepers and his former host. He uses his considerable strength to throw the giant rock towards this group of non-combatants. It's speed was such that the others would have a chance to stop it, but they would have to act now rather than formulate any plan before it made contact.*

!

*Anna sees this incoming and looks to Ravio.*

HURRY UP! GET US OUT OF HERE!

At Anna's outburst, Ravio squawks as he hastily raises the Warp Staff above his head, as if he knew how to use one his whole life. He doesn't even bother to check where he warps to.

Apparently, it transports him at ground level below The Rock. He was safe. He breaths a sigh of relief...

Until he remembers Anna's threat and panics all over again. He lifts the Rescue Staff into the air--

Reverie wrote:Ravio tripped over, even though there was nothing to trip over.

--and drops the staff like a fucking idiot. The staff as well as a handful of shiny, shiny Rupees were sent flying off a couple feet away from him as he lands on the ground face-first.

"No, no, no!!!"

Aliucon wrote:

"W-Well, then... what should we do? What am I supposed to do? W-Why..."

Seemed like the speech Vince made earlier still hadn't registered at all as something that she could follow.

Vince: "...Listen, I'm not going to ask you to follow me."

The electric rodent hops off Butterscotch and glances back at the battle again, which even from this distance is still visibly heating up. He offers the young witch a paw up, which given his small stature is more a well-meaning gesture than real assistance.


Vince: "It's real bad up there, and to tell you the truth I don't even know how much I can help. I'm pretty terrible at most moves, but I figure if I can at least fling a few lightning bolts at him and Agility my way out of getting hit before I run out of stamina I can at least be a distraction."


Vince: "I can tell you don't quite have the hang of your thing either, but you do have some great range. If you think you can join me in distracting Spidey from back here, I'd love the help. If you want to just keep your head down, that's fine too. I just don't want you panicking and getting lost out here."

---

Regiwi wrote:
The Warp staff will warp you a distance away, then you can use the Rescue staff to teleport others to where you are.

I'm trusting you here to not just warp and run, although I should let you know...

*For a split second Ravio might feel a strange aura, as if there were over a hundred Annas all glaring at him.*

My Sisters and I don't take well to thieves.

"Yeah, this sure is some videogame-type stuff here."

Regiwi wrote:*His attention therefore turned to the others on the island currently with them, Scott, the shopkeepers and his former host. He uses his considerable strength to throw the giant rock towards this group of non-combatants. It's speed was such that the others would have a chance to stop it, but they would have to act now rather than formulate any plan before it made contact.*

!

*Anna sees this incoming and looks to Ravio.*

HURRY UP! GET US OUT OF HERE!

Hiroko wrote:[Ravio Disappears]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--"



"--Oh, he's gone. That's good. That means he should be teleporting the three of us out of here any second now."

A long moment passes.



"...Right?"

---

Reverie wrote:* Of course not. If nothing else, you’re certainly at least human. Possibly too human, actually. I’ve been meaning to bring it up.

Yeah, well, there's not much she can do about that. She'd like to stop associating with the human race as much as the next guy, but some people don't get to die and come back as annoying pesudo-ghosts.

Reverie wrote:* Oh, would you look at that. You bonded over almost being sick. I’m happy for you.

* Also, I’m not a bestiary. Take your own notes, I don’t have hands.

Hey, not her fault. Also, she wasn't talking to you to begin with.

Reverie wrote:* Strange companion? Frisk, I can hear you.

It's around this point that Frisk stubbornly stops paying attention to the voice in her head as best as she can manage. There's no point awarding needling with attention.

Sable-Xeno wrote:
Xan: “..I won’t let you down, then. Now, come along.”

Frisk isn't inclined to raise conversation on the way any more than Xan is, rather being the quiet sort to begin with. And given that she doesn't see nearly as much as the Xatu does, and given how little there is to look at to begin with, she spends most of the time watching Xan's back and thinking about nothing in particular except how strangely frightening it is to be doing something so completely new after so long, and to a much lesser extent how much she wishes her tag-along would stop commenting on everything sometimes.

Sable-Xeno wrote:
Xan: “…Alright. Stay here, and I’ll scout ahead. If it looks dangerous…then we run. Understand?…good.”

Reverie wrote:* Don't take this the wrong way but I’m putting the unfortunate-looking child in charge.

Don't take this the wrong way but she was planning to let Xan take the lead to begin with. Let the monster run into potential danger first, they're more durable. Unless it's a human, or some other purely physical threat up there. In which case he can probably still take a hit and run. Probably. She'll watch him and improvise.

And anyways, how is he 'unfortunate-looking'?

Frisk nods her confirmation, watching Xan as he looks out at the roof. As soon as he seems like he's a considerable distance past that door, she's taking his spot.

---

Reverie wrote:

“One million credits!” the sweating plastic Californian retorted.

He threw out his arms wildy, as if one were shrugging but sneezed at the crucial moment. Or handing out wads of green to mostly-silicon call girls.

That's more like it. The shopkeeper wasn't surprised by the amount of money the oddly plastic-looking man decided to throw out, no. It was normal enough for a high-value item like this to get some high-value bids, and the way the man flaunted the high number like he was standing on a stage meant he had deep pockets and a massive ego, which was a possibility, or that he was bluffing. Passing it off as mere pocket-change when he was nearing the limits of his budget, or conversely attempting to goad a competetor into bidding even higher to remove competition for later lots. All perfectly common strategies. Unfortunately, Morshu had never seen this person before in his life and thus had no idea how he preferred to play.

He takes a moment to consult his pocket ledger, an essential item for any independent merchant. Morshu has no need to consult an accountant on this matter, not until the time comes to pay. A merchant must know his inventory and his investments by heart and be familiar with exchange rates whenever necessary. After all, how could he have maintained a near complete monopoly on all three essentials in Koridai for so long otherwise?

One million credits isn't a small amount, as deep as his pockets are, and for only one out of seven...

...Well, if he wins he can always trick that numbskull Link into emptying out Hyrule's royal treasury for him, or even use the power of the emerald to do the job himself. And if he loses, he might as well drive a hard bargain.



"Two and a half million credits."

Despite Vince's gesture not being wholly practical, Butterscotch still felt it appropriate to reach for his paw as she stood up again, even if she didn't use that as much for leverage. That, combined with Vince's honest assessment of the situation and lack of cushioning how bad things might be was in line with Butterscotch's own fear. Her weak heart resonated with the message. And hearing someone actually be willing to count on her for once felt as weird as it did... heavy.

Vince wrote:
Vince: "I can tell you don't quite have the hang of your thing either, but you do have some great range. If you think you can join me in distracting Spidey from back here, I'd love the help. If you want to just keep your head down, that's fine too. I just don't want you panicking and getting lost out here."

There was that sense of responsibility, in a way different than when dealing with someone that was technically under her protection, like Toffee. In truth, Toffee knew how to handle herself better than Butterscotch in most situations, so that was sort of a moot point. But here, where everything was uncertain, someone actually wanted to rely on her.

The more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt. She had been the one to lead Spider-Man there in the first place, after all.

After a pause, she swallowed and let out a breath.



"...O-OK. I... I can't keep running. I'm... with you."



"Even if he absorbed something I summoned like it's nothing... maybe I can make something else as a distraction! Yeah... like a big, brighter cake! I can do that from afar!"



"Ahhh, just be careful there too, I- don't think making candy barriers is going to be too much of a backup for you..."

DimitriBarronmore wrote:

"Two and a half million credits."

*There's some sounds of shock from the audience with many discussing with their accountants.*

Wonderful!

(There is one thing that can be said from all this however.)

(He certainly has found individuals with deep pockets, that is always an advantage...)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Meanwhile, in another universe altogether.*



Your Majesty, Daimur and his minions have seized the land of Faramore.

Where the ship is Faramore?

I don't know!

Aliucon wrote:

"Ahhh, just be careful there too, I- don't think making candy barriers is going to be too much of a backup for you..."

Vince: “Don’t worry, dodging stuff is what I’m best at.”

Vincent flashes the witch one last cheeky grin before getting all serious again. He drops back to all fours and relaxes his body, giving all the joints a nice shake out as a couple stray sparks run across his coat and to the ground. Gotta get in there quick, and keep that speed up.


Vince: “I sure hope I live to regret this…”

The pikachu takes off towards the ongoing battle at a significantly higher clip than before, hoping he’s right about there being an easy way to get up top. If this were an anime there’d no doubt be a very crescent-shaped dust cloud and an unrealistically strong gust of wind left behind him.

Shit!!! Anna was gonna murder him!!!

Ravio gets up and rights himself as fast as he can and frantically looks around for the staff.

He can’t fucking find it.

The spilled rupees look like the fucking floor. The fucking floor looks like the spilled rupees!!

The metal and jewel of the Rescue Staff look like the fucking floor! The fucking floor looks like the metal and jewel of the staff!!!