Tarrasqing a Question

[DioBrando]

Servants all along the manor moved out just as the sun crested the horizon, curtains being drawn all along the numerous windows, oak and steel shutters being closed over the windows as the manor was prepared for a day of work for their vampire associates. All manner of Undead and demonic servants pouring out from their rooms now that the masquerade was over. Floors were scrubbed and waxed, the steps were cleaned of any stains that may have shown up when some tipsy noble lady dropped her glass of wine after a few too many.

The kitchens were still fired up, but in a far more minor manner in the manor than they had been last night, only the servants meals, a private meal for the master, and a meal for each of the primes being prepared this morning. A pleasant smell and a warmth filling the house as opposed to the near sweltering conditions that the condition had been in last night.

As the servants continued scrubbing, cleaning dishes, waxing floors and taking down tapestries so they could be cleaned and put up again for display the light ringing of a bell followed by the soft laughter of a blonde haired girl would be the wake up call for each of the primes staying there that night. A cart adorned with all manner of freshly prepared breakfast treats loaded high being pushed by a beautiful shorter blonde, a look of disdain and arrogance on her face as she'd place a meal in each room. As she left she'd make a point of turning her nose up at the person in the room, letting them know that this wasn't for them but rather because it would look bad if a manor with a chef didn't at least feed their guests in the morning before they left. After all, she didn't want them getting the impression that she liked any of them or anything.

For Kuuzan there was a hearty meat dish prepared, an array of sausages with eggs and a glass of orange juice. A fairly simple affair all things considered, but Kuuzan seemed so aloof that it was difficult to get a gauge on what he really enjoyed at the party last night.

To Homura, there was prepared a dainty affair. Ceare letting out a little "Fufufufu" as she'd unveil the meticulously prepared meal, she believed she understood Homura and had prepared her a meal of sweets, crepes, pancakes, and sweet meats lined up in a circle with a small parfait in the center.

Aang would find himself presented with a meal not by the gourmet chef, but by the maid, Narcissa bringing him in a simple affair, some miso-thickened broth with tofu and dumplings. It seemed they had some awareness of Aang being a vegetarian and had prepared a dish for him in light of the fact.

Moments later, if Alain was still around even if he was at the door he'd have a sandwich brought towards him by Reaves, The Skeletal Butler pulling out one of his own before taking a seat beside the assassin / information dealer. Whether this was out of an attempt to be polite, or if the skeleton butler was just keeping on an eye on the man who had infiltrated the manor the night before it was difficult to tell. However if Alain had made himself scarce then the Butler would instead take to managing the affairs of the house, heading towards the stable to find a rather grisly affair in the form of a dead horse that had passed sometime in the night.

An hour prior, Dio would awaken with a start in his room. A cold sheen of sweat covering his body as he awoke from a nightmare. The almost audible pounding of his heart in his chest told him it had been something perhaps even worse than the torture he had endured last night, but yet.. he couldn't remember anything aside from a single face, a blue skinned man who had flowing black hair. Somehow, whenever he thought of that face he felt like he was looking at a being who could even kill him.

However, nightmares were not something Dio tended to dwell on for long. He was not a man who had ever been given any reason to believe in things like premonitions, fortune telling, or any other method of street side crooked magic. He had gone his whole life with every single thing having an explanation, and thus. Though in another world Dio cursed himself, he would brush the dream off as merely an after effect of one of the implements Mephisto had used on him last night.

Shifting to sit on the side of the bed Dio would look his body over, after last night's torture session it seemed his whole body was healing much faster now. Wounds that he thought would have taken days to heal have sealed up with only a nights rest, the gaping wounds that had only been bandaged enough to stop infection had healed without a scar. Even the jagged red sewing marks from where his head had been attached to Johnathon's body had begun to heal. A wound that he had believed impossible to rid himself off was gradually beginning to vanish. A fact that Dio thanked that Omnilium in his veins for, it seemed that after the events of The Masquerade and the torture session he had endured his body had been forced to be far more accepting of the omni in his veins.

Yet, he knew that even this was just a fraction of what he was capable of, that brimming core of power within his soul that was always just out of his reach was just a step closer, but now he knew that he had enough strength that even if he were to meet his past self now, he could totally annihilate him. This realization brought him such great joy that he burst out in laughter. He couldn't believe how fate was favoring him, even though all his life he had always had The Devil's Own Luck he had never believed that the universe would go so far as to allow him to gain this kind of power from being tortured.

As Dio would begin to laugh, a loud, boisterous, laugh that contained more than a hint of mania would burst from his room. Dio dressing himself swiftly in his favored yellow coat and black tank top, donning the heart circlet around his brow once more as he'd exit the room. He had initially planned to wait for Homura, but with the burst of power he felt upon waking this morning he knew that now more than ever he was capable of hunting this Tarrasque. Thus, Dio no longer wanted to waste so much as a single second on things like pomp and decorum, the blood thirst that was currently surging in his veins demanded that he find this monster as soon as possible and show The World what kind of man Dio Brando was.

He'd walk into the hallway with an expression of extreme self satisfaction painted all over his face, the wry smirk no longer containing any hint of self doubt or any faux servile manner, this was the demeanor of a man who considered himself a god. Everything from the way he walked to the light in his eyes telling people who saw him that this was a completely different man compared to the one that had been hosting the event before.

Approaching each Prime's door one by one he'd call them out towards the main entrance hall, a few servants lighting the torches on the wall as they'd prepare the area for a meeting, Dio going towards the center of the stairs as he'd pull up a chair to wait for everyone to finish their meals and arrive. There was quite a bit to do today, so many things to discuss, plans to explain, and finally. A private environment in which they could discuss who had which powers, how they would be used in the upcoming fight. Who would employ the aide of any forces they would hire, if any, and what approach they were going to take in finding the beast's lair and guiding it towards the perscribed areas.

All these thoughts and more ran through Dio's head as he'd mull over what to say, and how to say it. There was no doubt in Dio's mind however that this group was capable of succeeding, after all, not a one here was a fresh prime, and then it was that he remembered that he had asked Homura to speak with him at some point. Well, he supposed there was really no helping it. He had apparently woken up before the others were finished with their meals, he would merely have to dictate his plan to the rest of the assembled members of the group and take her aside once the plan had been explained and everyone had been given their role.

He was still quite worried about the people who had shown up the previous night, that Inlumia could show up again at any time, and he didn't know which members of the Darkshire faction had found out about his plans. If that Veteran Captain had been any indicator of the level of their hunters Dio would definitely need to be careful. Last time he had encountered a man like that he had nearly died, and that was with more than a bit of luck and a meat shield on his side. This would need to be explained and factored into the plan as well. A lie about the forces of darkshire attacking vampires who bear the seal of Dracula on sight should be more than enough to convince Aang, and given how much truth there was to it he couldn't see anyone calling him out on the lie without some sort of compromising factor coming into play.

Then there was the matter of that Homura Akemi, Dio had been quite worried about her initially. Another a being who possessed dominion over time was not one he could take lightly, he wasn't even sure how much of his abilities related to his Stand The World would even be able to effect her, but luckily for him she didn't seem to be angry at him or even dismissive of him like she had been towards most of the nobility at the party. Yes, in fact Dio believed that he could even make her into his closest ally, though for a man like Dio even that meant being kept at arms length. For even though she seemed to be on his side for now he could never count on the loyalty of primes, he had heard rumors of Primes being able to resurrect and thus the amount of loyalty one possessed could not be defined so simply as it had been in the last world where being willing to give your life for someone was the ultimate statement of loyalty. In this world perhaps there was something further he would need to prove and ensure loyalty among the Primes he found deserving of being his followers, but how to do it? He had heard rumors and seen first hand what kind of beings came from The Underverse, perhaps there was some kind of binding oath or threat regarding that realm that he could use to keep people in line?

This was an infuriating problem for Dio, he was not a man who liked to take chances at all, ever. being unable to ensure the loyalty of his followers in any way was a problem that would definitely need to be fixed, and soon. He wasn't sure how he would be able to do it quite yet. He had heard rumor of banishment circles, but that was merely a threat to stop people from betraying him. It did nothing to ensure loyalty in there here and now and there was currently no tool that he had any knowledge of that would allow him to force loyalty. He could attempt to ensnare them in a web of carefully crafted lies, but his experience in the Joestar manor had taught him that lies only lasted for so long before they were uncovered, and that those who usually considered themselves noble or just were unlikely to bend knee even if Dio was overwhelmingly more powerful than them if they found out that they were being manipulated.

Then what could he use? One couldn't hand over Omnilium, and even if one could Dio would be out there robbing everyone blind of that omnipotent substance. Perhaps land? No, odds are most primes were interested in returning to their home universe anyways. Protection or wealth would be no good anyways as Dio had no interest in doing anything more than eliminating his enemies and rising to the top of every universe. Then perhaps he could manipulate them with his current strategy of moral obligation? Yes, he could probably rope Aang into helping him overthrow Dracula. However, to do so it was likely that he'd need a powerful holy weapon to take advantage of the weaknesses that Dracula had that he didn't, and that likely meant killing Paladin Argento. There was no way that Aang would allow him to do that. Even if he hid the fact initially it would come to light sooner or later that Paladin Argento had died and his weapon had gone missing. If that happened then even if it never came to light that Dio himself would have done the deed Aang would still know or at the very least harbor suspicion that he was the one behind it. If he continued to lie from there or claimed he got the weapon from Abraham Van Hellsing he may be able to continue it for a little bit but as it stood at the moment there would be no way Aang would stick with him past the slaying of Dracula, and the same could be said of Kuuzan.

Lies were good for now, but later on he would absolutely need to make a convincing platform for him to operate on. He knew that under his rule conditions would probably even be improved compared to how Dracula ran things. Dio was a cruel monster who enjoyed torturing others and the look of terror in a child's eyes before their last moments, but he was not someone who was going to let anything he did be anything less than the absolute best. This included things he was forced to do, and organizations he ran. So perhaps he could deliver on an actual promise to improve conditions in The Moors for the undead? While humans would have to end up being cattle he believed that he could deliver the promise of making things better for the undead without it being too flimsy a premise to work with.

Dio's lengthy introspection would be interrupted here by the arrival of a plate with a rather annoyed looking Ceare looking down at him, a cup filled with a freshly prepared blood tea on it. Seeing this, Dio was surprised. As far as he was aware she had taken great glee in seeing him tortured last night, so why was she bring him this now? Broken from his concentration now Dio would take the cup off the plate with a nod and a question.

"What brings you to me this morning? Just last night you seemed to take some pleasure in seeing that I, Dio, experienced as much agony as possible."

The rage Ceare felt at hearing this was readily apparent, the girl staring death down at the seated vampire before she'd turn her head up and away from him, speaking with her eyes closed as if to tell him that she definitely did not even want to look at him after that comment.

"As if! I was just getting back at you for being such a jerk when you showed up. However, seeing how you spent the whole night being tortured by Master it's my duty to ensure that you're at least well nourished after taking a beating like that. After all, no normal vampire could just be up and walking about after being tortured like that."

She said her cheeks tinted red by a blush, it seemed as though she had at least garnered some genuine respect for Dio after seeing him endure that entire night, and while she had initially been a little disturbed by his ability to handle pain it had formed into a veneration.

Dio chuckled, he had spent his entire life surrounded by women like Ceare. Women who initially held him in contempt, but then upon seeing a combination of his looks and the lengths he was willing to go to for accomplishing his goals they suddenly found him far more interesting. It had been the same even back when he was nothing more than king of the small slum he was born in, bar maid's who had treated him as nothing more than a kid began to make advances on who they saw would one day definitely rule that little place. However, Dio had little interest in things like love and romance, so he would merely look up at her with a smirk as he'd say.

"I, Dio, am indeed far beyond the ken of any other vampire in The Moors except for Dracula himself .As for the torture, pay it no mind. In fact I really must thank you and your master for last nights events. You see, that flaying and torture seems to have forced my body to adapt to the conditions here in this world. Thus, even though I will definitely pay that slight back one day one hundred fold, for now. I hold no ill will towards Mephisto and you. In fact, if anything I'm grateful for the powerful lesson that I have been taught."

He'd say, taking a sip of the blood tea, sighing in relief as he felt that much needed sustenance fill his veins. Last night had indeed been draining, and blood was truly the only tonic that could salve the deeper wounds inside his body. Ceare meanwhile was astounded and recoiled back at bit after hearing Dio. Thanking them for torturing him?! What kind of horrific masochist was Dio that he would not only endure the master's most horrific tortures but that he would then go on to thank them for allowing him to reach a new level of power because they happened to keep him from dying during it. However, Ceare could not deny that Dio seemed different, the wounds that hadn't been able to heal at all last night were now closed and hadn't even left a scar. A few of the burn wounds on Dio's body that she was sure would be an eternal reminder of Dio's mistakes during The Masquerade had even begun to vanish completely as he would polish off the cup of blood tea.

"W..What?! Thank us for that? What kind of world did you come from where torturing you makes you stronger?!"

She'd say, completely aghast at Dio's response to being flayed alive. She had heard rumors of the ridiculous powers primes were capable of attaining but to see a vampire prime grow so much stronger from something like torture was simply too much for her to believe. After all if that was so then why didn't Lord Mephisto spend more time torturing people or attempting to gain strength himself? No, the only answer was that Dio was simply too strange a prime to be considered within the normal definitions of power.

However, Dio didn't seem bothered at all by her reaction. In fact, he seemed to be rather entertained. Well, he was in an educating mood anyways, the girl wasn't a prime so she could never really grow to become a threat to him as he was now. Pulling down the collar of his shirt he'd show her the ring of red crisscrossed stitches that completely encircled the base of his neck. Dio letting her get a nice long look before he'd speak.

"Normally you would be right. A prime shouldn't grow stronger from being tortured. However I, Dio, exist outside the bounds and laws of normality. For you see, my body is not my own. In my home world I had a feud with a man known as Johnathon Joestar, and in that feud he hit me with a sun based attack known as Hamon. My body was so damaged by the attack that I had to decapitate myself to survive, and from there I went on to take Johnathon's body. That is why I gained so much strength from being tortured. My body was simply unsynchronized with the Omnilium in my veins, and by flaying it you forced it to accept en masse the only thing that was even remotely capable of keeping me alive. That is why I thanked you, but make no mistake. I, Dio, will not forget how you helped him."

He'd say, finishing it with an icy glare thrown the vampire gourmets way as he'd place the beautiful china cup back onto the silver platter in her hands. Ceare panicked a bit hearing this. Decapitated?! Even cutting his head off enough had not been enough to kill the monster of a man before her, and when faced with that he had still been able to kill that man Johnathon and went a step further as to take his body for his own. Dio was simply too bizarre a being. Far too bizarre for her to want to be associated with anymore, and with a panicked expression she would run off back towards the kitchen plate in hand, resolved to never speak to Dio again if she could manage it.

Seeing the girl panic and run away over something so trivial Dio couldn't help but laugh a little as he'd turn back to his own introspection, planning out in his mind what steps would need to be taken in the future if he were to claim the Pale Moors for his own. However, seeing Ceare so terrified did remind him of a specific girl, that girl he had offered up to Dracula. He wondered how her little boyfriend was doing. He did so enjoy ruining young love, and from what he had seen those two had been in the passionate throes of that naive little experience known as first love. It was why he had captured the girl.

Dio's internal musing would be interrupted again however as the first of the doors would open, whomever was out of their room first signaling Dio's time of self introspection and planning would be cut short here, and that he would need to begin the planning and explanation phase now. Standing up from the plush chair he would greet the first prime to leave their room with a bow. Straightening himself as he'd stand before speaking he would say.

"First I would like to say that I hope you slept well in the past night. I do hope that I was able to keep the noises of me and my employers disciplinary meeting quite enough that it did not disturb your rest. I also hope you enjoy the meals prepared for you this morning and that you're all ready to get to work. Allow me to detail the plan so far.

As I am unable to go out during the day Aang, Kuuzan, and Alain will be assigned to an out door scouting party to try and track down The Tarrasque. I give you full leave to use what permissions I have as a member of Dracula's faction where appropriate in your efforts to track down the beast and acquire the necessary explosives.

During this time I, and Homura will be training here and formulating our plan of attack using some of the available maps in the library when we get any information on the beast's location. Our goal will be to handle the logistics portion of organizing the fight as well acquiring any and all information we can regarding the Tarrasque from the books here at Mephisto's Manor. If we can find some hidden weakness, or some secret to stopping it's regeneration then it will make the process of slaying the monster that much easier.

Finally, I must remind you to be careful using my name. While you may not have any enemies in Dark shire, I do. If you throw around that we're searching for The Tarrasque too much we may draw unwanted attention from treasure or monster hunters looking to steal the prestige from us. Always attempt to disclose as little information as possible to get what you need.

With that said, we have little time to waste. Every hour we spend here is another hour where our names are not the most famous in The Moors. Move out!"

He'd say with a flourishing gesture at the end before he'd move to his assigned partner, appearing beside her with a flash. As he would appear in front of her the smirk on Dio's face would be more than enough to tell her that his plans for them today were going to be magnificent to behold.

[Drogon]

Aang awoke with a start to a very quiet knock on the door and an accompanying sneeze from the other side. He had slept surprisingly well, considering his relatively short period of actual sleep. Must be one of the servants. Also must not be used to flying bison hair... With that, he rolled up onto his back, then popped off the bed feet-first, scooping up his glider and grabbing the door handle before stopping momentarily to realize the potential uproar that could occur upon finding fur all over the room. With his hands, he swept enough into the corner that he thought the rest of the room looked somewhat passable, managing to mix some up in his hair and clothing in the process, and then transmuted the pile in the corner into the smallest imaginable dribble of Omnillium. Of course, it wasn't the amount that mattered, but rather that the fur was gone in the first place.

Once he opened the door, he had the sudden realization that no matter how much he'd tried to do for the room, it still smelled lightly of Appa and certainly wasn't completely clean. There maaay just be hell to pay for this later...

No matter. There was a quaint breakfast waiting for him at the foot of the doorway - Somehow Dio had known not to include any meats - and Aang picked ravenously at his plate as he carried it down the stairs to arrive finally at Dio's strategy meeting just as he finished. He listened to the short speech and job assignments. Perfect, he thought. I can do scouting. And Alain will be there too - Maybe he can teach me firebending while we're on the road? I'll have to ask about it later.

As soon as they were dismissed, Aang cheerfully tumbled back to the entranceway and into the courtyard. This monkeyish martial arts master of a boy was ready to get started, but sat down in the field by the stables to wait for his partners regardless. The weather felt unusually good, at least for this dreary verse, and the day was beginning to look like a good one.

[Alain the Carnedge]

Each attempt to get information on the Tarrasque was a horrible failure. There was almost nothing on the Dataverse which described how powerful this monstrosity was. Each try was met with some form of "This thing is dangerous and looks terrifying. Steer clear, idiots", and, shockingly enough, wasn't helpful at all. Probably because nobody tried to fight it or, more likely, nobody survived to tell the tale. More likely still: both. Alain rolled his eyes at the distinct lack of useful data, the holographic screen of his device fading before his eyes as he let out an exasperated sigh.

This is going to be a long day, huh?

Stifling a yawn, he thought about what to do next. Almost all the abilities of his companions were concealed from him, and he hadn't revealed his ability to use blood magic to them. Everyone appeared to be secretive, and this was no help in the end. If there was this much distrust in allies, teamwork was unlikely. If someone gets hurt, tough luck, put some dirt on it, you'll be fine. If someone's about to get killed, there wasn't going to be any "taking the bullet" like in the movies. Everyone'd do their own thing, and it was every man for himself once the fight begun. It was almost certain that there'd be some fatalities, unless everyone was a lot more powerful than they had originally let on.

Alain closed his eyes to enter another of his "thinking trances". His original power still hadn't come back to him. With it, he could go out there and outright level the area around the creature until it itself were just ashes that would blow away in the wind. But that unfortunately wasn't an option. He was used to restricting his magic so as to not arouse suspicion, but being completely unable to bypass these restrictions was new. It wasn't any fun at all. But, then again, this wasn't quite as big of an issue as you'd expect. He could build back his power, and while it was unlikely that the full thing would return, he could fill that gap with a lot of influence and strong allies. Work for the most powerful faction and become one of their most trusted "friends" to gain what he had lost again. And this was just a single move from one of the players in Omni's little game. One move of many to come.

There was little purpose in trying to coerce his new pals to just tell him all their secrets. They were likely fearing betrayal, and from someone who appeared out of nowhere behind their host, looking suspiciously like an assassin? It's unlikely they'd tell him anything other than the general plan, except for Aang, who seemed a lot more trusting than was wise. So, there was only one way to gain knowledge about everyone else. The hard way. He tried to undo the lock on his right eye's enchantment, focusing what energy he could into undoing the seal. It hadn't worked before, and it didn't work here, so the block remained. Alain could feel Omni taunting him, laughing from above...well, it was just his imagination. Omni wasn't actually laughing at him. Or at least he hoped so. As he imagined Omni giggling to himself like a maniac in the heavens, he remembered. There was a completely obvious method of undoing the lock, though he wasn't sure if Omni allowed that or not. Regardless, he slapped himself for missing something so obvious.

He tried to focus the Omnilium in his body to his right eye, using whatever sorcery this was to undo one of many seals on his magic. It was draining, to say the least. Having your inner power moving around your body isn't a pleasant experience, more specifically feeling like a demonic slug's moving through your veins, but he set to work regardless. He knew that he'd felt himself getting gradually stronger with time in the Omniverse, but undoing this seal was difficult. He had to do it himself, unlike his other powers which returned without any input from him. It was likely intentional though, knowing things about others is a great advantage. You can destroy plans with just a few words or actions with the knowledge of how-to. Even the strongest being could probably be beaten by an intelligent yet normal man. Which was partly the reason that Alain never got addicted to power: he knew this and also used it to his advantage. But now it did a lot more good. Without that mindset, he'd probably get destroyed trying to stand his ground against a horde of vampires, claiming that he's "the strongest in the universe!" like an idiot.

Thoughts of a far more egotistical bounty hunter aside, Alain could feel the block on his enchantment lifting. Slowly but surely. Unfortunately, his eye was blind for the moment as it adjusted to the changes, but years worth of gathered information flowed to his head, years of gathered information that was by all purposes useless to him at this point in time. No single person would've cared about any of the data as none of those people were in the Omniverse, so he didn't bother memorizing any of it. What mattered was the not-so-safe secrets of his new pals. They might not WANT to reveal their black magic or whatever abilities they were using, but they didn't have much choice in the matter now. There was a sharp jolt of pain as his eye "reactivated", and he winced, but it was a small price to pay for his right eye vision's return, and more importantly, the return of his analysis magic.

It was only then when he noticed the skeletal butler sitting beside him. Man, I spaced out. Ignoring the sandwich that the undead had brought with him in case of poison, fully aware that it was kind of hypocritical to distrust his allies so much after thinking about how secretive they were, he gave the undead a quizzical look. "Can I help you?" Before the butler could respond, however, Alain noticed that the kid, Aang, had left the building and went to the stables. Assuming it was time to leave, he moved to follow, then remembered the undead was still around and feigned politeness in hopes Mephisto wouldn't go after him for such a minor offense. "Ah, gotta go. Excuse me." He walked after Aang, ignoring the urge to kick the butler for fun as he passed.

The second the stables and Aang got into view again, Alain decided that first, he should test his technically-not-new ability in case it worked differently than it did before. Channeling magic energy into his eye, a type of miniature profile came up, which slowly filled with different kinds of information about the kid. Aang apparently had an aptitude for wind magic, owned some weird flying bison thing, and a bo staff glider. He wasn't totally new to combat and was pretty fast, but couldn't take hits all that well. Other than that, he could jump pretty high and could do some acrobatics. Alain almost shrugged to himself. It could've been worse. The profile faded from his vision just as he stopped in front of the Avatar with hands in his pockets, speaking in the usual bored voice he always had. "Guess we're waiting, huh?"

[Atelos]

Atelos was smirking at Shang for a second before he yawned and leaned against the wall. He had been so confused, he was glad he was with his trustworthy companion again. He couldn't help but think that while he was unconscious…was…was Hades in control…and if so…did he kill the rest of his squadron? Atelos shook his head and tried to relax. It wasn't good to think about this, especially in a place that would kill you the second you dropped your guard. Atelos felt a cold embrace surround him and he nodded it off as the wind brushing against his skin. The embrace grew more and more concrete as he noticed the wall was coming alive and consuming him. He panicked and he let out a cry for help as Shang turned in panic and tried to help the Spartan escape the walls firm grasp. The last sensation Atelos had was the weak grasp of Shang's hand before the wall has completely swallowed the Spartan.

The Spartan is transported into his mind.

Blackness, that was all the Spartan had left. Atelos woke up in the darkness, alone and empty, without his shield. The Spartan looked around in the endless darkness and he couldn't pierce the thick veil. Atelos walked forward for some time, his footsteps echoing throughout the emptiness. His eyes darting for some sort of light, for anything that could lead him to the outside world. A hazy, yellowish light appeared ahead of him and Atelos approached it slowly. The light grew brighter and brighter until Atelos saw distinctly a throne made out gold and animal pelts with tall lamps that were illuminated by white flames. The flickering lights gave Atelos a bad view of what was on the golden throne and he peered closer. There was an older, scrawny man with full, greasy facial hair. There were hints of age through the wrinkles beneath his eyes and the streaks of grey in his hair and in his hand lay a golden scepter with a skull on top of it. The man lay sitting down, with his hand on his chin peering of into the darkness as if he could actually see something. His grizzly head turned towards the Spartan and a devilish grin appeared on his face. A familiar voice uttered from his lips, giving the Spartan a shudder.

"Why hello Spartan." His grin disappeared as he noticed something, well the lack of something. "Spartan where is the Maw?!" The God got up from his seat and walked over to Atelos who glared at him. Hades grabbed onto Atelos by the shoulder and shook him. "DOES THE SORCERER HAVE IT?!"

The Spartan shook him off, "Damn you Hades, I'm glad it's gone. Oh and you are more pathetic than you sound." Atelos couldn't help but grin at his 'witty' retort to the God. He felt good at his half-assed insult but the god was not as happy. The God backhanded the Spartan and he flew across the vast darkness. The God's scrawny structure hid his vast power, his…his strength was unmatched. Atelos attempted to get up but the God was already there beside him, kicking him in the stomach. The grin had returned to his face and his hyena laugh echoed through the darkness.

"Oh that felt so good, I have been wanting to give you that for an eternity. Now do you realize my strength?! Learn your place Spartan" The god opened his arms to boast his powers as he turned around to sit upon his throne again. He couldn't help but snicker, meanwhile the Spartan got up behind him. Hades felt a tap on his shoulder and received a punch as he turned his face.

"Now that felt good." The Spartan smiled as he noted the God who had white blood traveling down his lips. The god's eyes raised in hate along with his hand as Atelos flew across the room. The god began to take out Omnilium of his chest and laughed.

"Ah yes, this is the substance that is giving me access to your body. I must thank that Omni creature for allowing me entrance to this Safe Haven. While I cannot express all my powers in your body, I can express them here, IN YOUR MIND. It is only a matter of time before I control all of you." He snickered as he let the rainbow orb flow back into him.

Atelos winced as he got up on a knee. "Why me Hades…why did you need a vessel?" Blood trickled down his split lip before the lip began to heal.

Hades' smile began to grow brighter, "I see my existence is even altering the state of your mind, perfect. Very well, if you believe knowing my story will help you fight me then I shall tell you. It is of no use." The King gathered his scepter and sat down on his throne, his smile fading.

The blackness around them faded into a bright room that seemed like a giant courtroom. There were columns and gods everywhere. There was an open roof and the blue sky was combined with the picturesque clouds, and the torches that were scattered on the walls. Atelos marveled at the area around him and Hades couldn't help but smile at the futility of Atelos' comprehension. There in the middle of the room was a large throne…with Hades in it, who turned out to look much better, and a dead body on the floor.

"Yes, this is mount Olympus…and that is me." Hades pointed towards himself in fond resemblance. His voice trailed off as the familiar scene of events transpired before them. The other, presumably Gods, aggressively took a step before him and shouted out at him.

"Traitor! Heathen! How dare you!" All sorts of hate and sputter was thrown at the god. His loud voice boomed through the hall. His face was full of hate and pride and his eyes had a different glint to them. They were filled with success and the prize that comes with an accomplished goal.

"ENOUGH! I am the King now! You shall all respect me or meet a gruesome fate!" The crowd was not having any of it, they began to get closer to Hades and he panicked. They were at his seat just as he transformed into a white wisp, fleeing the scene as the others shouted, "COWARD!"

The world around him faded until he was back in his mind. Atelos chucked, "Ah yes, you were a coward, especially if you had to hide in a pathetic Spartan." Hades gave Atelos a cursory look and waved his hand.

"I've grown bored of you, I'll see you another time Spartan." Skeletons pierced the ground and held him down as Cerberus walked from behind the throne. It's red eyes glaring at the Spartan as it was awaiting it's command from the master.

"Kill." The dog seemed to smile, with all three of it's heads before it tramped across to the Spartan and bit off his hea-

Outside the Manor

Atelos jolted up from the grass into the gloomy sky that was so common to him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he got up and looked ongoing at the grand manor. The smell of horses and the sound of their cries were not too far from him. Atelos let out a sigh and looked around trying to understand where he was at.

"Guess we aren't in Silent Hill anymore." He put up a forced smile as he walked towards his only hope of safety.

[Albert Wesker]

Kuzan had been left with little choice the night before but to accept Dio's 'offer' of staying the night. Given that he didn't have anything better to do in the interim hours, and that he was in no position to turn down getting some sleep, he didn't exactly see any reason to refuse in the first place. It was to such an end that the former Admiral had finally retired to a room he had been directed to after inquiring for directions only a short while after the end of the event the previous night. He had busied himself with taking care of such things as summoning his sleeping mask, and doing away with the stuffy uniform of his old Navy days. In its place came the more lax, work-ready attire from his even older years as a Vice-Admiral. It dredged up unpleasant memories, but it was easier to work in if a battle was to be expected, and still looked somewhat presentable than the increasingly-ragged green coat and other attire he'd been wearing.

The events of the night were minor at best. He tried to excercise his powers, to see just how far his abilities had fallen, and with his mind actually put to the task directly, he was apalled and shocked at how comparatively weak he had become. While far from weak by the standards of a normal human, he was barely a shadow of his former power. He had been stronger than his current level of strength nearly from when he had first joined the Navy, so many years ago! It was enough to bring a deep, angry scowl to his face. No wonder things had felt off to him... As it stood, he couldn't even harness proper control to take on his Logia state, the nigh-invulnerability it offered coming as a sharp, severe loss to him. He was smart enough not to rely on it entirely, but it was unquestionably effective and a tremendously useful power. To have it simply gone...

He pushed that thought away, not wanting to dwell on the consequences of trying to reflexively turn into ice, only to remain flesh and blood and get pulverized by whatever he had been trying to avoid. He would have to return to his old ways of thinking and fighting, when he couldn't rely on his unrefined control of his Devil Fruit powers to protect him from most harm. When he'd had to either toughen up and learn to take a good punch or wind up beaten, broken and possibly dead. Pirates and criminals weren't known for their fair play and kindness of heart on the best of days, let alone when it came to the Navy interfering in their "business". He'd managed to get by just fine then, and he'd do the same now. At least now he had the benefit of experience and twice as many years of wisdom under his belt to speed things along. He was...more than a little rusty, having not needed to use more than part of his abilities, or been put up against a truly worthy foe to test his skills in a number of years -- barring the chaotic events of the "Whitebeard War"....and the events following it...

He put a hand on his left knee, feeling the cold ice just below it where he had lost his leg in the duel against his former colleague, Akainu... The entire thing had been an admittedly pointless battle. If he had won, he would have ended up in a position he didn't particularly care for. And when he had lost, he had resigned from his position as Admiral and been severely injured in the fight. It was a miracle he had survived at all. That either of them had survived. As his visit to Punk Hazard before being grabbed and plunked down here in this strange new place had shown, the island still hadn't recovered from their duel.

Then again...neither had he. The ugly scars on nearly his entire arm, torso, and missing leg attested to that, and would be permanent, panful reminders of his own foolishness. Sengoku and many of the Marines under his command had called his effort heroic and commendable. But the pheasant had had his wings clipped and his pride damaged that day when Akainu not only bested him, but spared his life in what was supposed to be a duel to the death. It was only ever so slightly heartening to see that even Akainu had a heart buried somewhere beneath all his magma and intense rage, but it was a blow to his pride and foolish honor that he had been spared. That Akainu had had the gall to spare him at all, given the condition he was in, himself!

Slowly, the ice-man shook his head, flopping down upon the bed in his borrowed room with a disgruntled huff. He slid the sleep mask down over his eyes, folded his arms behind his head, and made an effort to doze off.

He dreamed that night, though of what he couldn't tell you. He only remembered bits and pieces. Flashes of events in his various battles, of his powers being used, pirates cowering and fleeing, his allies and suboordinates praising his skills...and of true monsters like "Diamond" Jozu, Whitebeard, and even Akainu... It was almost as if his mind was taunting his power loss, trying to drive him to gain his abilities back by any means. Of course he had every intention of doing just that, but he was stuck somewhat on the how. He knew that the Omnilium substance he'd been collecting was useful for things beside summoning, but... He didn't need any reminders from his brutal past encounters to encourage him.

He didn't wake up in a cold sweat, so much as he woke up cold. At a knock upon his door, his eyes snapped open under the mask over them, seeing nothing but darkness as he fumbled to sit upright, pulling the mask up onto his forehead. Darkness and the all to clear imprint of Akainu's magma fist inches from his face. He rubbed at his face, trying to dispel the already-fading images more quickly. He didn't need to be reminded of his failures and almost-failures before he was going to do something so important as hunting down a monster like the Tarrasque.

He finally opened his eyes to stand up and see the entire room covered in a fine layer of frost. Where he had been laying on the bed it was particularly of note, being more akin to a solid sheet of ice. Whatever that dream had been about, it must have bothered him more than he expected... He set about doing what he could to quell the frost and ice about the room, melting it seamlessly, leaving not a drop of water behind to cause any fuss over. It still left the room more than a little on the frigid side of things, but it was probably still better than leaving it frozen. That would have just been an insult to his ever so gracious host.

He opened the door in a cloud of frigid air and mist, onl y to see a beautiful little blond-haired girl. And food. It was fairly plain, given what he had seen the night before, but he couldn't complain. It was still hearty and filling, and he ate with much gusto and appreciation. Soon enough he was called out by Dio to the main hall of the manor, presumably to discuss their strategy or plans for the day. Kuzan took the time to finish eating, and extract his sleeping mask back to the component omnilium he had used to make it in the first place, somehow feeling he wouldn't have any need of it. He debated for a moment re-summoning his sunglasses...but a quick reminder of the general dismal-ness of the Moors, and the lack of particularly bright sunlight made up his mind for him.

He made his way down to the entrance hall, arriving well behind everyone else, it seemed. He didn't offer an apology for his unintended tardiness, merely listened to the outline of the strategy and general plans for the day. So...he was going to be on scouting duty with Aang and Alain. He idly stroked at the shadow of a beard on his chin, listening to the informaiton given. Go out scouting, while Dio and Homura trained for the encounter against the Tarrasque...hmm. He didn't say anything about his thoughts, merely nodded in acknowledgement. Being careful about throwing around Dio's name wasn't something he should have too much issue with.

As they were dismissed and told to move out, Kuzan ambled his way outside, rubbing at the back of his head as if in agitated thought. He looked up at the sky, squinting his eyes against the dim light. A long, low sigh soon escaped him and he dropped his gaze back down to earth, catching sight of his two allies for the day. He stuck his hands in his pockets and made his way toward the stables, and the other two members of their scouting party. He lifted a hand in a lazy wave. "Ready to be off...?"

[Drogon]

It wasn't long until Alain arrived in front of Aang, appearing bored and inquiring as to the state of the scouting party at hand. "Yeah, just waiting on Kuzan, I suppose." The silence sat in the air for a few seconds before Aang could no longer just stand and wait. "So, I couldn't help but notice you say something about fire, er, 'magic' last night after the party. Maybe you could help me learn how to use the same on the road? I mean, if not that's fine, but it could be useful to have two firebenders - er, fire magic users for the actual fight."

Aang then noticed Kuzan walking up to the asymmetrical duo. A greeting was called, and with a quick wave, Aang brought the unlikely party together in a circle."So hey, where are we actually going? I mean, I know everything is sort of in that direction," and he pointed away, along the gloomy backwoods path behind him, "but what are we going for? We need to find the tarrasque itself, get info, maybe even set traps... If you guys don't have any other ideas, I think we could probably head to Darkshire first for information. I at least sort of know a couple people, and I'm sure they won't try to make enemies out of us, who are looking to take out their own enemy after all." A good discussion about the game plan for the day certainly seemed the way to go. That is, until the facial expressions of Alain and Kuzan told Aang that there was a new factor to consider.

Aang spun around to face whatever the others had first noticed and was confronted by a disheveled spartan lifting himself to his feet on the ground beside the stables. He froze, taking in the strange sight of a man that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere while he was facing the other way. He slowly turned back around to face the older members of the scouting group. "Do you guys know him? I don't remember seeing him at the... party..." By now, the new face was on his feet, and Aang slid over to give both of the others a full view of the unexpected intruder. "What are you doing here? Who would actually come out all this way, if not for last night's party?" Aang left a few meters between his own travel party and the newcomer in case of retaliation, and put a single hand inconspicuously on the staff on his back.

[Alain the Carnedge]

Alain reacted a few different ways to the new person. His facial expressions rapidly changed from surprise to confusion to a mask of absolute indifference within the space of a few seconds. He found them an interesting new arrival, and deduced that they weren't at the party before, judging from how much they stood out. He then started to analyze the spartan, simultaneously moving past Aang to greet the new arrival, though he decided not to unveil what they were hunting at the moment in case they were here to sabotage their efforts. "Should I assume you're not here for the Masquerade? If so, it's over already. Sorry to disappoint."

Alain shrugged at them, trying his best to maintain a poker face as he took a few steps back so that he could mutter to his fellow monster hunters. "We'll discuss the fire thing later. This could be a problem. He definitely wasn't at the party before, he kinda...well, stands out. Perhaps he heard the news of the so-called Tarrasque slayers and wants to join us in defeating the beast." He froze for a split second to consider how he'd explain about thirty seconds of staring into space as he analyzed what's-his-face. He wasn't a good multitasker, and spacing out probably wasn't a good excuse, not for how long it'd take. So he took the alternative route.

"Alright, so give us your story. The long version if it's required. If we think you won't stab us in the back, then we'll decide what to do with you. But if you're just lost, I guess we could take you to..." He hesitated for a second, considering whether he should give them any information at all. It could've been risky, giving their first location to a mysterious person. But he decided that perhaps it'd persuade the spartan to give up more information if they "promised" that he could go to the only relatively safe haven in the Pale Moors. He also remembered that he'd be outta there before any problems could arise if the warrior was actually a vampire out to destroy human life, so Alain proceeded as normal. "...Darkshire, perhaps." He very quickly checked the acquired data before they could start giving him their life story. That wasn't definitely wasn't part of his job.

From what Alain could see of this new warrior, they were in possession homing shield that was also very good at blocking, along with a spiked glove that had a pyromancy enchantment. While shield-users were at a slight disadvantage against Alain due to how obnoxiously difficult it was to block a scythe, the mercenary still didn't want the fight. Taking up arms against a giant monster that despises any form of life which could also utterly crush anything in it's path with relative ease needed every bit of strength he had, and more importantly, getting into random fights with lost spartans also wasn't in the job description. Wasn't his problem if the warrior assassinated his new pals, he just hoped that they saved it until after they'd killed the beast. He was fairly confident he could take them out if all else failed.

The new arrival didn't look all that impressive, so Alain was just about to pretend he was listening and ask the others about what to do. Then, he noticed there was another profile open. At first, Alain thought it was some kind of mistake, but then he rolled his eyes at himself, hoping his eyes were obscured enough that nobody noticed. There weren't any problems with this type of magic, at least not this type of problem. It either always worked or didn't work at all when he tried it in his original universe, so he figured that he might as well have a look. It wasn't like he was actually going anywhere, not at this rate. So he just continued hoping that the dynamic trio would keep the conversation rolling and forget about the bounty hunter as he checked the new data.

The spartan had inexplicably gained a lot of pyromancies, at least according to the analysis. The shield and fist had disappeared from their things-that-kill list, but there was the noticeable addition of swords that could be summoned and shot at will. The warrior could also now survive normally-fatal injuries and regenerate from said injuries, while also being capable of fusing with another person. Alain furrowed his brow in brief confusion before taking a wild guess. Another entity was granting power to the spartan, more specifically giving him access to magic, which is why it conjured up two profiles instead of one. It also explained why the magic thought they didn't have their shield or gauntlet. Alternatively, it was a malfunction, in which case the mercenary was going to feel like an idiot. Either way, he was done for now. He could analyze Kuzan on the road, best to stop before they wondered why the not-so-assassin was giving their new friend a completely blank stare.

The profile faded from his vision, and Alain started to become concerned. Each moment they spent here was another that they lost knowledge about what they were up against, and lost time to prepare for the battle itself. Telling this warrior about the hunt could prove an advantage or a disadvantage as he could ally with them, or betray them in hopes of stealing all the glory. Part of why Alain was here was because of the fame gathered from this. Who doesn't want a slayer of a nigh-unkillable beast on their side? But having another fire user, even if his powers weren't natural, was a distinct advantage against something that they needed flames to put down. He wished his analysis came with mind-reading at times like this. But alas, it did not, and they would need to make a decision about whether this warrior was trustworthy or not. He didn't look like the villainous sort, but appearances can be, and usually are, deceiving. Decisions, decisions. But for now, he'd pretend to listen so that they could get back on the road quicker. Surely the others could come to a decision without his input, the trusting goody two-shoes that they were.

[Atelos]

Atelos was taken aback by the bluntness of the warrior. He watched as the man seemed to size him up as the others seemed to glance looks at each other in distrust. Apparently they weren't used to Spartans appearing out of no where. Ugh...so insensitive. Atelos let out a small laugh and he felt Hades burning rage inside his head. The pressure gave him a major headache as he felt the God's wrath unleash upon Atelos' mind as well as the ever increasing power of the god. He heard an echoing roar on the inside of his mind as he was asked to tell his story. His hand rubbed his forehead and sweat began to drop from his head.

"One moment, I require some time to recollect myself." His headache began to relieve itself and he took a look at the people before him. They seemed to distrust him as he rubbed his head. He looked around and sighed.

"Very well, if that is required to gain your trust then I shall tell you." The Spartan leaned against the stable looking off as if he were recollecting a story or as if he was trying to remember.

"As you can see I was born in Ancient Sparta. My family was killed and I was honor bound to take revenge for them. That ,however, could not happen for that was when Omni took me. My destiny was bound to be here for some reason and I served Darkshire and I went on a quest. However, I think the fates have brought me here to meet you when I was sucked out from Silent Hill." The Spartan paused. He realized he might have released some information he would have been...preferable not to say. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"But I am glad to have been here and I am honor bound to you all and I hope you are the same.

He extended his hand to the tall man in blue.

May your courage be known on the battlefield. My name is Atelos.

[Albert Wesker]

As he trudged up to the other two members of their scouting party, Aang called them in for a quick discussion, bringing up a good point, and some sound ideas. He was pondering over the best decision himself, and about to give an answer himself when he was distracted momentarily by a sudden movement. If he wasn't perpetually in the habit of being constantly on the alert, he might have written it off as just something inconsequential rustling about by the stables. In this place, that could have been a sore mistake. And so he diverted his attention to see what it was, and upon catching sight of another person -- one that had, for all intents and purposes, just quite literally appeared out of nowhere. While he hadn't been looking intently to be absolutely positive, Kuzan was more than a little sure that the disheveled-looking man hadn't been there just moments before as he walked up to join the small group.

The expression on his face shifting from focus on the matter at hand to mild confusion must have hinted that, as Aang soon enough turned around and took notice himself. At least that meant the ice-man wasn't seeing things yet. "I wasn't really keeping track, but I don't recall seeing him at the event." Given how everyone had been in some sort of unique garb, not to mention the masks, it would have been a touch hard to be completely sure about anyone's identity without paying far more attention to what details you could notice than was generally considered polite, or to speak with them at some length, as had been the case of their own little group the night before.

Aang and Alain seemed to take the lead in confronting and dealing with the new arrival, and Kuzan was content to simply stand by, and see how things unfolded. It left him a lot of time to let his focus and attention wander, keeping his eyes open and alert for anything...off. He had already noticed Alain seemingly staring off into space, but didn't mention it just yet. There was probably some reason or other for it.

Their new guest spoke up then, saying he needed a moment to collect his thoughts. Just from looking at him, it was clear he was in some degree of discomfort, probably a headache or the general aches and pains one usually associated from sleeping on the ground. Or from unplanned, sudden teleportation. Heavens knew that even the various gates of this place were unpleasant enough when you were expecting them. The man, who revealed himself as having been born in ancient Sparta -- a location that meant nothing to him, but he would remember it all the same -- and how he had came to be here, to his knowledge. Kuzan's expression was difficult to judge, but it was clear he was contemplating something or other.

Still stuck trying to hold onto something rational and that he could explain, he was having a tough time adapting to the strangeness and rules of this...Omniverse, he supposed it could be called. But judging strictly by the strange rules of this place alone...he couldn't say that anything the Spartan had said sounded outright fishy or strange in and of itself. Not when generally everything was so strange.

The Spartan finished his short explanation, and extended a hand, along with offering an introduction. "It always seems to come back to a battlefield of one sort or another, doesn't it?" He extended a hand of his own, offering a firm handshake to the Spartan. "Aokiji." Given he had had that exact alias emblazoned on the back of his coat the previous night, he hoped Aang and Alain would say nothing.

[Drogon]

Aang had been relieved to see that his temporary companions had been just as confused and suspicious as he regarding the new arrival. Alain had been hostile, and Kuzan had been, or at least seemed, indifferent towards the whole affair. Both, of course, were sentiments that Aang was trying to Proto cross, but he couldn't help but visibly perk up at the Spartan's mention of an alliance with Darkshire. Certainly, such connections would be useful one way or the other to the scouting group - at the very least they could learn anything Darkshire's people knew with less resistance now, if such a route were to be decided upon. On the other hand, should they somehow make enemies of Darkshire, it was quite likely that this Atelos would be quick to turn on them. Of course, Aang still wasn't entirely sure of Dio's intentions - Or even really Alain's or Kuzan's for that matter - and so an ally in defense of Darkshire could even turn out to be a boon.

"Darkshire? You work for Darkshire?" he asked, attempting but rather failing to retane his composure. He glanced over to the others, and not meeting any obvious immediate resistance, he forged ahead. "We're actually about to head out to find... information! About, uh, the area. I'm not sure that we're heading to Darkshire immediately, but if you could get us in with people who could help, we'd probably" - and he again glanced side to side - "Be glad to have you along. I think."

Though Aang was still just as suspicious of the new face as the others, he didn't think Atelos would be kuzan any problems, at least not for the time being. Aang paused for a second to look up to the skies, and through alain of thinner-than-average clouds, he could see that the sun was already getting quite high in the air, though they luckily wouldn't be able to feel its heat on their trek away from the mansion. He didn't know where Silent Hill was (Or Sparta, for that matter, though it was less relevant at the moment), but it was almost certainly too far away to bring Atelos back and still perform the scouting duties they were supposed to have begun earlier in the day. Oh, man, whirda all the time go? It feels like it's only been a few minutes at most...

Aang turned again to face Kuzan and Alain. "Look, we've got to get going now whether or not he comes along. I think it'd be fine to bring him, he can probably help us get info in Darkshire. The more tools in our toybox, the better, I say. But we really have got to leave now or we won't get anything done today. So, take him or leave him, I don't really care, but I'm going to go ahead and start to head out." And with that, Aang turned to Atelos, gave him a quick nod, and then walked past him towards that beaten path that had changed from nothing but anxiousness to a new symbol of hope. They would do a good job at their task; Aang had a funny feeling that if not, Dio wouldn't hesitate for all that long before throwing them under the bison, as long as such an action would aid in defeating the beast.

[Alain the Carnedge]

He was momentarily surprised by how Aang dealt with the situation. Alain expected the so-called "Avatar" to just let the spartan on board without hesitation. However, this expectation was evidently wrong, as Aang merely left it up to him and Kuzan to decide instead, though they did favor the "bring the stranger along" route as opposed to letting the man starve to death. Alain was obviously the most amoral of the trio, but he still wasn't a fan of straight-up stabbing the seemingly-innocent, at least not in public, and especially not when he didn't get anything from doing such a thing. He glanced at the spartan and decided that Kuzan could deal with it, whether he wanted to or not.

So Alain's new plan was to abandon everyone else for the moment and get to Darkshire before they did, which'd give him enough time to collect information and get some supplies of his own to increase his chances of survival. Death was still just an inconvenience if he was to believe that Primes just "respawn", but the body parts of a Tarrasque were likely to sell high to the right people. None of the group seemed like businessmen, except perhaps the bloodsucker, so he assumed they'd leave the corpse alone if they lived to see it. So his main goal when the fight begun was self-preservation. No kicking anyone out of the way of an incoming attack so he could take it instead, no taking unnecessary risks that might end in an untimely demise. Secure an escape route if possible on the off chance all else failed, and take note of how this thing fought so if he was forced to try again, his chances would drastically increase. So, in the interest of getting to his destination ASAP, he started to summon some transport.

He hoped that the primes were familiar with summoning by now so that it worked as a cover just in case someone actually noticed his staring during the analysis. Just not familiar enough to notice that the summoning shouldn't have taken as long as it seemed to. He'd be surprised if they weren't, but it didn't matter quite that much. He could just pretend he had no idea what they were talking about if they were to ask about it. Yes, it would seem incredibly weird, but they didn't have a way of finding out about the analysis magic that wasn't Alain giving them the information himself. Unless the tall man, vampire, or the girl had the same type of ability or some kind of advanced technology, which seemed unlikely though not certain. He glanced at Kuzan out of the corner of his eye, quickly activating the analysis so he could check the information later as he started to concentrate again.

He thought that he vaguely heard someone speaking to him, but he ignored it. Summoning required his full undivided attention, and all had to go according to plan, or this could end badly...but, in spite of himself, the mercenary almost grinned underneath his hood. Just a few right moves behind the team's back and he had a much better chance at survival than anyone else. Perhaps Alain might've felt a twinge of guilt about not preparing everyone equally that would've been very quickly eradicated, but seeing as nobody here could apparently die, there was not a single stain on his conscience. But despite how excited he was for the upcoming battle, the mercenary wanted nothing more than to hurl a few insults or snide comments at his companions. Even the most dedicated of actors felt a distinct urge to drop their facade of politeness so that they could wreak some havoc the old fashioned way. But alas, that option was far from available. Soon, said a voice in the back of his mind, apparently unperturbed by his attempts to summon some transportation without any interruptions. Soon.

As the rainbow colours started to take shape, Alain was resisting the urge to walk instead. Minutes of standing still and waiting just wasn't for him, moving at all would've been preferable. If he didn't know that taking the stroll would've taken even longer, he might've actually walked. But he persevered regardless, waiting for minutes and minutes for his transportation to arrive, not daring to look at the tall man's profile on the off chance that his change in focus would force him to do everything all over again.
But soon enough, (a few minutes of dead silence and intense boredom) a white horse was revealed from the rainbow bubble, which would look astonishingly like a unicorn if it had a horn...or an arrow in it's head. Relieved that he could finally leave and completely unaware if the other two had followed Aang already, he quickly saddled up without so much as a glance back, and set off through the forest.

Alain checked Kuzan's profile before he was attacked by vampires, or werewolves, or werepires. It wasn't going to be fun if he had to fight while on a job, even without the majority of his vision obstructed. The tall man was apparently an ice magic user that had the ability to create blades, spikes, spears, the ability to freeze others, and he could create some frozen bird...thing. Also, he had the ability to turn himself into a type of medieval ice knight, and he was a good jumper who could use the same "burst" trick that Alain could. Ice magic didn't come as too much of a surprise considering that they didn't seem to have a weapon on-hand, and definitely didn't look like they had super strength. Ice was very versatile in his universe, (as it apparently was in Kuzan's) and seemed a good fit for him. Kuzan actually didn't seem like he'd be that out of place in Alain's own universe, but he'd never heard the name before. Keeping track of where everyone was from was a pain, so he didn't try. The spartan said he was from "ancient sparta", which didn't ring any bells, so Alain assumed it was another person from another universe, though Ancient Sparta sounded like some kind of pit in the depths of hell to him.

Then the profile disappeared, and Alain let out a sigh just as his horse left the forest. Just him, the wasteland, and his horse now. He knew where he was going, just not how long it'd take to get there. Either way, he knew it wasn't going to be an action-packed journey. It was still a pale lifeless wasteland that reeked of death no matter where you went. Alain almost missed the manor already, but not so much that he was tempted to go back. He'd begun this quest now, and now he had to finish what he'd started. Get to Darkshire, get supplies and information, go back, leave again, fight evil beast that hates people. Simple, really, it just wasn't very exciting. There's only a few ways that you can entertain yourself while riding on a horse through what is basically Hell with less fire. Playing I-Spy against yourself is not one of them, as he soon found out. Unfortunately, over-preparing himself didn't give him anyone to talk to on the journey, though the way back was fair game. One of the things that kept him going was the mere idea of having some guards that he could be rude to, though he lamented that he couldn't injure others or make thinly-veiled death threats without getting immediately butchered by the skeletons. And perhaps his new comrades when they got there, with or without the spartan. So, tired and bored, Alain opened his dataverse device so he had something to do on the trip.

[Atelos]

Atelos noted as the foolish monk ran off by himself, taking pride in his stride as he began to run off. Kuzan nodded and followed quickly behind the monk and motioned for Atelos to follow along. Atelos walked behind the Ice Mage and he saw the two talking and laughing. He felt Hades in his mind grumble and he seemed to take a quick nap. The pulsating in his head faded and he felt much more relaxed, for the time being at least.

The Monk looked around and couldn’t find something he was looking for and confusion flew across his face. “Have either of you seen Alain?” His sentence was answered by the white horse disappearing into a forest with the assumed “Alain” on top of the horse. “Not so much as a Good-Bye?” His face seemed to fall into disappointment as Kuzan and Atelos both shrugged. He continued along the dirt path wondering why the other man had left him.

“Not much of a team are they.” Atelos muttered underneath his breath. Aang appeared not to have heard the Spartan speak, however Kuzan shot him a weird look. Apparently the man still did not trust Atelos. He stayed closer to the Monk and shot concerned glances out of the corner of his eye. Atelos couldn’t help but feel insulted at the man’s doubt of the Spartan. Who doesn’t trust random strangers?!

Why should I help them if they cannot trust me? How dare they try and abuse my hard work!? Those fools think they can abuse me and MY POWER!” These people were busy talking and they had only brought him so he could talk to the Darkshire. They were using him! His face darkened and he felt the overwhelming presence of Hades return to light. He was not happy either about the situation that the Spartan had let happen. He was ready to turn on them then and there, however Atelos was more...considerate of others. He had given them time to prove to him that they were not using him, but if they were...They would have one angry Spartan on their hands.

Time flew by and Atelos broke the two’s conversation with his enormous presence. “Why had you decided to bring me along?”

[DioBrando]

Time flew by and Atelos broke the two’s conversation with his enormous presence. “Why had you decided to bring me along?”

Turning his head towards Atelos with a look of complete disdain on his face, a glare of complete malice and contempt. His body emanating a menacing aura as he would speak.

"That would be because of me. You see, as a man who has infiltrated the ranks of Dracula I, Dio, have built up my fair share of enemies within the faction of Dark Shire. However I want you to make no mistake, I do not serve Dracula willingly, nor do I, Dio, possess even the slightest shred of loyalty for that bastard who's mark I bear. It is simply a matter of necessity that I have allowed this blemish to stain my flesh. Because of this necessity however, we find ourselves with a lack of intelligence in regards to Dark shire's recent encounters with the beast known as The Tarrasque. From what I heard of the conversation that is the only possible excuse I could see for these two talking to you."

He'd again turn once he was finished, his fierce gaze focused on the chief offenders of today, the menacing aura redoubling itself as he'd take a step towards Aang and Kuzan the angry glower the very definition of a look that could kill if it was possible, but thankfully Dio didn't possess any such power. His tone however, dripped with disappointment so thick one could almost feel their father looking down at them from above with a silent disapproving look.

"You two. It seems as though Alain is the only one who decided to demonstrate any competence. You wasted a whole day talking with this man and wasting valuable time when every hour is another lost life and another blemish on my reputation. Did you forget that I, Dio, promised to have this beast killed? You are not just running your own names through the dirt here when you waste time on pleasantries while towns and homes burn, but you are also running the pristine reputation of none other than Dio Brando through the mud. Do with your own names what you will but never sully mine. Understand?"

Dio would say, taking a deep breath after that scolding. He had desired to do so much more, he had desired to see their blood run freely from their throats, their faces frozen in that delicious expression of final terror as the finality of their mistakes and the futility of opposition became clear to them. However, that was for another time, and right now he was in dire need of man power to claim the Tarrasque. That alone is what motivated Dio to continue speaking and in what he perceived as an act of kindness that they did not deserve, spare the lives of these two layabout louts.

"Now I've come here thinking you were done to relay what we've discovered so far. In our studies we discovered that the beast itself is an improvement on Diablo's famous Siege Breakers, the disappearance of which while unexplained till now is quite clear. This is a monster who is the result of the sacrifice of dozens of these beasts, and it's regeneration can be stifled not just by fire but by a mixture of holy weaponry and fire magic applied to it's wounds. This is why things like cannons had been unable to harm it. In addition to this it also has one other weakness that we'll need to exploit."

He said reaching down to his waist to retrieve a book from a satchel he currently wore, the hellish inscription on the front making it all too apparent that the tome was diabolic in origin. Flipping through the pages Dio would come to rest on an illustration of a tower with a massive heart beating at it's peak, burning blood flowing throughout it and demon's roaring with power at it's base.

"The sin heart. I have reason to believe based on the beast's raw power and size that Diablo designed it with the intent of creating a mobile Sin Heart Tower. The Sin Heart empowers demons and unholy magic preformed around it, such is it's strength that I believe that if it had been allowed to be deployed with the demonic host that Diablo would currently rule the omniverse. The only way to destroy these is with a blast that encompasses the entire heart at once, otherwise the sin heart will simply regenerate any damage done to it. I also have to report that upon learning this.. Homura has decided that this expedition is no longer worth the risk. Not only do we risk earning the ire of the owner of the manse once this knowledge comes to light, but likely that of the entire underverse."

Dio said, his expression grim. He didn't enjoy bearing this news anymore than he imagined the people hearing it desired doing so. This meant that the mission just got that much more dangerous, especially if Mephisto or any of the other underverse agents caught wind of the beast's true nature they would doubtlessly come to stop them, and even together he had doubts about their ability to take that damn devil under the effects of a Sin Heart tower, let alone if they also had to face The Tarrasque side by side with that beast.

"That's why we need the explosives. We'll need to find a way to open a hole large enough and then using everything we have in a combined assault destroy the sin heart before it can regenerate. Hopefully the blasts from the thermal detonators and fire crystals I had provisioned will let us compensate for any gaps in our attack pattern."

He knew at this point that this was as much a hell mary and a half as anything he had ever done, and while Dio loathed taking chances he didn't exactly have many tarrasque guinea pigs laying around or any way at all to set up some simulated fight between them and the beast so that they could have a more solid plan of action set up. However, providence showed itself, riding on a nightmare a skeletal man bearing a letter with a golden seal came crying towards the mansion, his voice shrill as he'd dismount the nightmare collapsing from exhaustion as he fell forward onto Dio's chest saying.

"The.. the drow are rampaging from town to town. Their numbers are huge, they easily double or triple the size of our militia, we had no choice but to evacuate everything in their path. What makes matters worse is that anything they miss in their rampage is soon ravaged by The Tarrasque. Please kind sir, grant me shelter in this manse. This letter here is an official writ of payment from the mayor of Writou. It's good for up to a hundred gold coins, this should more than cover any expense for keeping me here till this all blows over."

Dio pushed the man off towards the door, the skeletal man taking this as an invitation as he'd proceed towards the mansion, the man bowing and thanking him repeatedly for what was simply nothing more than a case of mistaken intent. He just didn't want to have his body soiled by that filthy thing's touch. However, the news he brought was more than enough to raise his spirits, the monster had been found, and even if the Drow had been sent fleeing by that monster they would surely jump at the chance to let a group of powerful primes take down the threat that was forcing them from their underground homes. Thus, he'd turn to the group and gesture with a flourish before clenching his fist to strike a pose.

"Alright you heard him, we have a location on the Tarrasque now and the Drow have already provided the bait to draw it into the trap. While it's not as favorable as the valley we initially had planned we now have an army to fall back on if we can injure it enough. Thus this is our best chance! Everyone grab the blessed whips from the stable and grab a nightmare. Once Alain returns with the explosives, we ride!"

Dio said as he'd feel the cool exterior he kept up threaten to crack, today was one instance of providence after another! How clearly the fates favored him, they had sent their very own messenger to his doorstep practically begging to be allowed to tell him this critical information. The winds of providence had brought him the secrets of victory, and now all this hinged upon their abilities and how well they could execute their plan.

Little did he know the danger he was charging into was far more insidious than he had ever imagined.

[Drogon]

Aang was internally fuming. The merry crew was finally, FINALLY getting on their way, when they were suddenly accosted by a Dio more angry even than had been witnessed the previous night, when a party-crasher had brought about his personal humiliation and torment. Apparently, they weren't actually on their way at all.

Nonetheless, he did his best to keep a straight face, albeit with rather twitchy eyebrows, as the new gameplan was laid out. They were to wait back at the manor for Alain, who had also just left, to return with something useful. It wasn't just that he felt belittled and almost incompetent, but also that he'd not even gotten to prove himself. What's more, he had finally, FINALLY gotten to socialize a bit with Kuzan, the one party member who he'd mostly trusted for most of this time, and hadn't gotten to bring up his suspicions of the rest of the party yet. He contented himself to slowly and quietly shamble alongside Kuzan and Atelos as they followed Dio back to the manor at a good 20 paces.

"Well, um, Atelos, was it? I apologize for this. I was going to try and at least direct you back to your hometown" - he began to mumble - "And maybe just get some info for the trouble... Ah, but you see, we never meant to hurt or disrespect you or, anything like that..." He trailed off as his thoughts began to wander back to the undead messenger. He didn't know what these Drow were, but they sounded scary, and dangerous. It was even likely that they'd have to face these creatures on their way to defeat the bigger one. He turned again to the newest member of the entourage. "Uhm, what ARE the drow, in the first place? And if we can't avoid them, do they have any weaknesses we might exploit? Do ya think they'll stop when we stop the Tarrasque? Hey, why is your face so angry? Am I just talking too much?" At this, he received an angry, firm nod, causing him to gulp and turn back to face the path ahead.

"Really, though, we could certainly use your help. And anyway, you're an ally of Darkshire, and I can't imagine they are friends with this creature." His voice had slowed down, and he was talking more upwards than towards Atelos. Speaking of strategy... It suddenly became clear to Aang that he had no idea what any of the primes surrounding him were capable of, both on moral and combat terms. At the very least, their expedition could take advantage of coordination their skills... Right?

"Hey, Dio! Wait up for a sec!" He didn't, of course, actually expect the pissed off, hulking man to slow down for him, so he hopped onto a whirling sphere of wind and sped over to catch up on his own. "So, while we're waiting, I was thinking we could at least get acquainted with eachother's abilities and stuff? I mean, it'd certainly be a better use of our spare time while waiting than just sitting around, and we could possibly use it to coordinate a battle plan of sorts." Aang realized then that he was still sitting on the air scooter and, considering that said state may be rude for the sake of conversation, promptly allowed it to dissipate and fell comfortably but unceremoniously to his feet. He was still a bit frustrated with the party leader for his recent intrusion, but couldn't deny the man's will to do what it took to coordinate such a party as the one presently gathered.

It was also almost certainly against his best interest to show any more than he already had of his suspicions towards Dio, and to this end, Aang returned to his best impression of naivety and contentment. "I mean, I'll even go first, if you like." Though he hadn't actively checked, it seemed the others had had the time to catch up by this point, as the footsteps behind him had grown closer and their breaths were again tangible upon the boy's bald head. "What do you say, guys?"

[Alain the Carnedge]

Alain closed his dataverse device as the pathetic excuse for a town came into view, dismounting near the entrance without a second thought. He was here on business-nothing else mattered. He had to follow his plan and gather supplies before the goody-two-shoes crew arrived, then use any time that remained to gain information. Simple, really. It wouldn't be that hard to persuade someone to lend him some medicine and explosives, or at least he hoped so. From what little research he did, this Tarrasque was a threat to all life, and as such, it was a necessity that it had to be taken out before it could demolish what appeared to be the only sanctuary that the Pale Hell contained. Alain knew he was overestimating the town, they were obviously just scraping by, but there had to be something they could give to eliminate the biggest threat in the Moors. Anything would do.

But the state of Darkshire wasn't of concern to the mercenary. He couldn't even reassure the spartan that the town wasn't doing even worse than it was already, as said warrior was heading to this location anyway. So, confident that he had no further use of the village no matter the outcome, Alain stepped forward to greet the two guards who had turned to look at the new arrival. They narrowed their eyes, perhaps checking for any weapons, perhaps eying him up on the off chance that he'd become a vampire on his short journey, or maybe they just had terrible eyesight. Either way, they greeted the mercenary in the most sceptical tone possible. "What do you want, prime?" Alain resisted the urge to roll his eyes and hurl a few snide insults, he could do that on the way out. So he said in response, "Business. I don't suppose you ah..." Alain raised an eyebrow under his hood, and though the guards naturally couldn't see it, they recognized the pause and scowled. "...fine gentlemen could assist me?" He noted that the undead on the walls were watching and were ready to raise their crossbows and fire if he so much as put his hands in his pockets.

The guards muttered to each other, evidently deciding upon what to do with the prime. They naturally knew who he was, as he'd helped out with a few issues, but months, maybe even years of guarding the walls of a near-hopeless town had left them a little paranoid, though they preferred "wary". Alain crossed his arms and tapped his foot until they'd stopped talking, internally scowling at them. He didn't have time for this, there was a monster to kill, and more importantly, loot to be gained! Each moment of their paranoid mumbling was another moment of wasted time, and there wasn't any to spare. Anxious to hurry this along, Alain half-heartedly tried to mask his frustration, but didn't succeed in the slightest. "Look jackasses, I don't have time for this. I'm here for supplies to kill the Tarrasque, and information on where to find it. The more of my time you waste, the more time it has to destroy stuff. Got that? Good. Now let's talk business."

The eyes of the guards widened in brief surprise. They weren't really used to being insulted by non-bloodsuckers in the middle of their territory. No single person in the Moors short of Dracula himself could take the entirety of Darkshire alone, no matter how powerful they were. Sure, they might have lost a few soldiers, but they still would've been triumphant in the end. It was actually a surprise that the vampire king hadn't just marched in and slaughtered everyone himself. Regardless of the insult, they very quickly got over their surprise and wrote it off as just another cocky prime. It surely wasn't that uncommon, considering they couldn't die and all. The more experienced of the duo thus spoke up. "You're hunting that thing, eh?" Alain rolled his eyes. "That is indeed what I just said." The soldier resisted the intense urge to throttle this guy. Just who did he think he was?

"Well, that thing hasn't been took down for years, now. And you think that you're gonna be the one to end it? Alone?" The soldier laughed, and his partner half-heartedly laughed with him. The mercenary merely gave an exasperated sigh and carried on. "I didn't say alone. Five primes, including one you know. I believe it was...Atelon? Atelos? Something like that." He internally cursed himself for forgetting the name, but the guard's reaction-more specifically biting their lips and looking nervously at each other-was a relief, as that was almost certainly a sign that he'd got close enough to convince them. As such, he continued in the same calm tone.

"Look. Five primes is the best shot at this the Moors will have for a while. And we might even pick up more companions on the way. There might not be this good of a chance that it will die for a long, long time, and every moment that it lives is another chance for it to destroy this place. Give us a few explosives and medicine, potions, whatever you have along those lines, and that's probably what's one of your biggest threats off the radar. Don't, and you have a far lower chance of living through the year." He shrugged, and hoped that his new friends just happened to forget that primes could summon these things on their own. The younger of the duo spoke up, just the tiny bit nervous. This could very well cost them more than their jobs. "When're you heading out?" Alain tapped his foot, more than mildly irritated by how slow this was. "Immediately. I take the supplies, we find out where it is, we kill it during the night."

The two whispered to themselves again in hopes they could come to a conclusion on the matter. They talked for what seemed like the longest sixteen seconds in the mercenary's life until they finally ceased their chatter. The older one briefly hesitated before he spoke, and even then he still sounded nervous. "We'll see what we can do. Stay here for a few minutes." Alain held himself back from strangling the guard. He didn't have any time to waste in this hellhole! "Well, if you insist, but make it quick. Longer we wait the less time we might have to fight the monster." Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he grinned, and the guards felt the distinct urge to run away and hide. His smile was like that of a psychopathic serial killer that had picked their next victim, and at that, nearly anyone'd feel fear. It was all the guards could hope for that they weren't going to die here, as they weren't entirely confident that the undead could get a killing shot in before the mercenary took at least one of them out. So, slightly worried about turning their backs to the psychopath behind them, they walked off to report the supply request.

Alain had just remembered that he did have some other weapons.The manticore spines he picked up on his last visit here could still most likely cause problems for the Tarrasque. It'd surely be difficult to paralyze such a gigantic beast, but nowhere near impossible. He didn't believe in impossibilities. Difficulties yes, but not impossibilities. The soldiers had surely taken all of the remaining ones, but the few that he had could surely at least slow it down before it got over the venom running through it's veins. The merc opened his dataverse device to do some quick research as to whether or not this Tarrasque could be taken down via poison, but didn't expect any results.

Unsurprisingly, nobody'd tried to do such a thing. It was damn near impossible to get manticore spines without well, fighting a manticore, and it was hard to come by poisons as potent. Not to mention that fighting a manticore required a lot of fighting skill without getting yourself either bit or sliced to death, never mind the Tarrasque itself. It wasn't that big of a shock that there wasn't any records. There was obtaining the poison, getting the poison to work on the beast, then surviving the attack on it in the first place. All three were obscenely difficult.

But as he thought about this, one of the guards walked back with a bag. Alain resisted the urge to grin again in case they actually took off this time. They might've took the bag with them, after all. "We've given you what little we have, so please don't make us regret it." Alain took the bag and immediately looked inside on the off chance that they were trying something. There were no explosives, but medicine was included. Morphine, painkillers, disinfectant, and bandages.

It wasn't much, but he hoped that it'd do and nodded at the soldier. "Don't worry. You won't. Any reports on it's location?" The guard thought about it for a second or two before speaking. "I'm afraid not. Last it ravaged a town near here, but the residents soon moved in." Alain cursed his luck, he'd been around for that. The other crew hadn't arrived so something had either happened to them or they were stopped by whatever issues might have arised, and there weren't any explosives in the supply bag. He sighed and tried to hide his disappointment. "Very well. I'll just be on my way then."

Alain mounted his horse again and took off without so much as a glance back, looking out for any bloodsuckers that were looking for fresh meat. Hopefully this Dio had the connections with Dracula that he claimed that he did, otherwise the mercenary might meet an untimely end before even fighting the beast. That'd be embarrassing. He wouldn't be able to look at the others after he reincarnated if he died before even fighting the damn thing. He squinted at the nearby landscape. There had to be some of the bloodsuckers around. This was their territory! Surely they had to have scouts out at least. But he rode on through the wasteland, and nothing was there except the ever-present silence and stench. No information, no comrades, and no explosives. This was not good at all. He'd have to summon some bombs outside before confronting the vampire and Akemi. There was nothing he could do for the other members if they'd gotten killed on the way to Darkshire, so he could just say he wasn't involved. It was true, but he still wasn't sure if Dio'd buy it. He just had to hope.

But suddenly, as he passed yet another ravaged town..."Aw, hell. What just fell off?" A voice said, reacting to the sound of metal hitting the ground behind them. Alain stopped just another voice responded, though they were wearing a helmet from the sound. "I think it was a few of the thermal detonators. Wanna go back for them?" The first man shook his head, apparently having some sort of vision problem as he didn't notice the white horse or the bounty hunter in crimson red that was riding it. Just in case though, Alain directed his faithful steed behind a nearby house. "Are you kidding me? We brought more than was ordered, and those things might blow up in our hands! Leave it unless you wanna get blown to smithereens, there's no point going back for them." They then rode off in whatever vehicle they were in, and the voices soon faded.

Alain dismounted and gave his horse a murderous glare like it'd stay still if he implanted enough fear into it's mind. It didn't notice and ate what little grass there was. Velgr thus proceeded, looking everywhere for anyone on the road before opening the nearby box. Lo and behold, there they were. A ton of explosives, mostly thermal detonators, just sitting there, in a box that just so happened to fall off a nearby patrol's cart, or truck, or whatever they were in. Alain was almost certain that Omni had made them fall off just so they had a better shot at this...though it was more likely so that he could have a really good laugh whether they failed or not. The mercenary grinned. He definitely knew that feeling.

Then he realized: I have to sit through the journey again. Alain's ecstatic mood then changed back to near-depression, and he sulked about it through the whole ride back. He'd be glad to see even an angry vampire if it meant doing something other than traveling, just for once.

[Atelos]

Atelos glared at Dio, the self-serving, arrogant man. The manner in which he spoke to Atelos was abhorred and he couldn't help but grind his teeth just looking at the man. Just the way he walked had a mean of swagger and confidence and Atelos couldn't help but carry over his emotions from the man's earlier speech. His cockiness just triggered something in his mind and it couldn't help remind him about a certain God of Death.

The man was about to speak and he could already feel his overbearing nature and his condescending behavior about to emerge from his lips. Atelos furrowed his brow and abruptly cut his speech of before it ever began.

"Is this how you treat your allies? Your patronizing behavior is unacceptable. I find it abhorring to work with a man who belittles his comrades, however if this is True about the Terrasque and it's eminent rampage…I find it to be my duty to assist anyone in taking down this ferocious beast. At least for the time being. Dio turned to look at the Spartan and gave him a cursory look and sized the man up before speaking.

"You are nothing special in this world, I hardly found that these two had the patience to even talk with you. If you wish to assist me in my quest to save the Moors then do so, however do not waste my time with your useless attempts of selfishness." Dio couldn't stand to look at him anymore so he turned to the other two and began in conversation about whatever the two were talking about before. Something about strategies and other things that were not important to the Spartan, or at least while he was in a state of shock.

Atelos felt a burning passion inside his heart light up and his eyes couldn't help but peer at the man who dare degraded his honor with his slick words. A heavy weight seemed to fill up his heart and his voice was stuck in his throat but an inferno was raging on in his mind.

-------

Inside Atelos' mind

Hades was sitting on his golden throne in his "host's" mind. He was so BORED, he wanted time to play and have fun. This Dio character would be fun to play with, a faint smirk came up as he toyed with the thought. Maybe as an ally, to help gain full control over this vessel and to gain more power. Or maybe as an enemy, to feel the man's head crushing underneath his boot. Both options sounded good.

Red flames spouted from the sides of his throne and the God smiled and took his scepter and used it to get up. He looked around the room, cabinets and cabinets of memories lay before him, the fights, the wars, the limited experiences the Spartan had lived with for all of his short existence was right in front of Hades. The emotional nature of the Spartan would be his downfall. Hades kinked his neck and smiled playfully, peering off into the sights that his minion would have to share soon.

"Look at the Time, Atelos is angry…again. Look's like it's time to play." His hyena laugh echoing as he turned into a white wisp and flew off into the distance.

------

Atelos' eyes seemed to cloud up a bit as he peered to the side, his breath staggered and heavy. The man that had ditched them earlier had just arrived and Dio couldn't be happier. Dio and the others jabbered some nonsense, but it appeared they were getting ready. Dio glanced over to Atelos , "Are you joining?"

"It would be my pleasure." A smirk came upon his lips as he gather his stuff before mounting a horse.

[DioBrando]

Dio would sigh as he remembered all of a sudden that he was working with an actual child among his number, someone still full of all the curiosity and disgusting ignorance that comes with a lack of world experience. Thus it was with a pinch of the bridge of his nose that he would contemplate for a moment about what exactly he should tell Aang while under the perhaps more genuine than he'd like to admit veil of frustration he put up. He definitely didn't want people just knowing about his powers, a good chunk of the usability his powers came from the surprise factor of finding that time had been frozen for you, and that before you had even been aware of what was going on you'd come to find yourself mauled. However he doubted that Kuzan would have any objections to such a group show and tell so that left him with very few options that would leave him in the at least personable light that Aang currently saw him in. The issue in regards to avoiding it was that if the rest of the group divulged anything new then even he, Dio, having come off as the mysterious force that he had so far couldn't just get away with simply showing them something they'd already seen back at the party, and if he revealed his ice powers here they may connect it to the murder of Homura back in the building. However he would show them just a taste, Dio closing his eyes as he'd focus in and from the ethereal realm within his soul he would call forth the energy to materialize The World, a man coalescing from the energy in Dio's body to stand behind him and mimic his cross armed pose.

"This is my power, my stand, The World. It's essentially another set of arms and legs every bit as strong as I am, and when I put my mind to it I can put my hand through a stone wall as easily as you breathe. It's a simple minded construct, but it's power is undeniable, so powerful are it's fists that when it strikes someone it shatters their personal flow of time, slowing them down and disorienting them as they're essentially skipped back and forth through instances of time."

Thankfully he wouldn't need to reveal anymore than this, Kuzan seeming to be keep this to himself as well or Dio would've felt pretty pressured here to at least make up some kind of lie that would have come to light later in the evening. That didn't mean anything good for him other than that however as he had desired to at least come up with the lie of only having the powers they'd seen so far for the sake of baiting potential traitors into action thinking they knew every card up his sleeve. After all, his personal strength, speed, and endurance coupled with his summoning an other worldly being to fight with him was already incredibly impressive, but it was absolutely essential that no one know the true nature of his stand if he could help it so that he could retain that advantage if they ever decided to betray him. A series of events that were all but foretold in the case of Aang and a certainty more obvious than the dawn in Kuzan's case. He knew that these were temporary pawns unless he managed to magic up some method of mind control for primes, but knowing that omni bastard and his dedication to keeping things interesting that was likely as possible at his current level as defeating Diablo. Thus, he would only reveal this portion of his power for now, hoping to keep the rest of his abilities in reserve in case any of the men assembled here got any funny ideas about becoming a hero, and though he could count on the naivete of Aang and the uncaring nature of Kuzan to last through the battle with The Tarrasque, he wasn't so sure that it would last any longer.

This Atelos on the other hand, this spartan who dared to interfere in the group management of people he had barely met and for him berating them for being dragged behind schedule for some lay about prime equivalent to a homeless person was irritating to say the least. It took a great deal of restraint for him not to just reach his hand inside his chest and pull that sniveling bastard's heart out through his throat. However, to do so would be in violation of the training he'd done for centuries to reign his emotions back in, and it was thanks to this training that outwardly that mask of normalcy he wore showed not even so much as a crack as they'd have their little exchange, the spartan's demeanor changing when he was reminded of the fact that like most primes not a single one of them was special for just being. Power meant nothing in the hands of those unwilling to use it, and it was quite clear from the lack of this man's attire and the general state he was in that he hadn't seen the right side of a bathhouse in years. However, when Dio mounted the horse and the spartan spoke it was almost as if a different person was saying those words, whereas earlier the bastard had the insane gall to try to interrupt him. As his eyes found the spartan who's eyes now burned with an ambitious fire all too familiar for Dio, his personality seeming to shift before his eyes, everything from his demeanor to his stance having shifted in a second.

This development would identify this spartan as a suspicious character in Dio's eyes. An instant demeanor shift like that was either some attempt to fool him into thinking he'd be a compatible member of the group, or a demonstration of actual insanity. He still wasn't sure on the rules but it could be possible to have a prime split personality, given the nature of how beings are brought here and their physical bodies being omnilium Dio had a sneaking suspicion that perhaps this man had been brought along as an extra passenger for the true prime inside him. Perhaps he had a serial killer alternate personality and that was why Omni had taken interest in a man who was so bland and pedestrian he wouldn't be out of place at a bingo tournament. Though perhaps he had a personality that wasn't some goody two shoes looking for a fight with a boss that comes in to tell his employees off for sitting on their proverbial asses. That wasn't even a particularly evil thing he had done when he'd come in, he hadn't started beating them with a rod or called them slaves. Still, his ego wouldn't let this slight to his honor and intent stand. After all, if he allowed this challenger from nowhere to even step within a thousand miles of his authority he'd look weaker to his subordinates. Thus he met that ambitious fire with one of his own, his glare turning ice cold as he'd focus in on the spartan who had dared to try and question the will of Dio.

"What right do you have to tell me how to lead my men? I'm the leader of this hunting party and these primes were delayed several hours by your appearance, and while I cannot fault them for stopping to deal with a potential enemy infiltrator I can fault them for not doing so swiftly. That you'd follow this up by trying to sow dissent in the group and questioning the leadership of the man clearly giving orders around here identifies you either as a naive child who doesn't understand the gravity of the task before us and the importance of maintaining discipline in the face of death, or the world's worst spy. Because in case you haven't heard The Tarrasque is rampaging through towns as we speak, and we ill need. On the flip side of the same coin the fact that we need all the help we can get is in fact self evident. So you can either fight alongside us or crawl back into whatever hole you came out of. I, Dio, will continue my efforts to make this a land worthy of it's inhabitants either way."

He'd say turning away from the spartan as he'd give a derisive click of his tongue before getting into the back of the wagon that contained the crate of thermal detonators, turning the explosives over in his hand as he'd carefully observe each one for cracks or damages to the casing, discarding a few that were obviously below par before taking one and heading down towards the basin where the holy whips were blessed, dousing each of the detonators and covering his hands and face with the blessed water as he'd say

"There has been a small change of plans, it's come to light that The Tarrasque is a creature of hell, and in order to do meaningful damage we'll need to have some manner of holy weapon on top of the fire we discussed earlier. It's also a creature powered by an artifact known as The Sin heart, a relic of hell that amplifies the power of demons around it and draws the evil out of men's souls to drive them to treachery. Thus, I want all of you to bless your weapons and douse whatever exposed flesh you have in this holy oil to try and put a damper on these effects. I want no surprises from the back line in this fight."

He'd say as he'd rub himself down. This aura of that drew evil out of good people was of course a lie, evil people would find their murderous desires amplified but this was simply too easy an excuse to make on the spot. This would allow him to take any of them out during the fight if they started to show signs that they would betray him or his secrets, and having this kinds of back doors and outs were the very core of Dio's plans, as he'd been taught quite clearly by that Johnathon Joestar in his Home world that repeating a murder using the same methods or leaving little tidbits like that damnable letter was like handing your enemies all the evidence they needed to damn you. Now however, if he saw someone was becoming a problem they'd be as easy to kill as a sleeping babe. In all likelihood he wouldn't even get questioned if he did so to the "other" in the group named Atelos.

This lie wasn't without cost however, but it was a planned bit of give and take for the observant members of the party. Here Dio was allowing anyone watching to get the precious tidbit of information here that Dio wasn't actually vulnerable to blessed or holy relics at all. His body being literally covered in the blessed water of one of the human priests, a bit he'd let slip towards Atelos to reinforce his earlier points. After all, if any of them were familiar with any version of vampire mythology it'd be quite apparent that he wasn't damned in any way shape or form. Though, the vileness in his heart and the evil in his mind left him feeling slimy as he was covered by the blessed oils that would normally shroud a noble person in the warmth and love of the god or goddess the shrine was dedicated to.

Finishing the alterations to the detonators done he'd toss them back into the box and head into the stables, As he took the reigns in hand, he'd bring a leg up and place a boot into the stirrup pushing down and himself up to mount the horse. As Dio would take his place in the saddle, one could almost swear he was smiling as he looked down at the reigns and read the name embroidered into them aloud. "Silver Bullet?" Dio said, an instantly he felt something in his mind click. He knew that he felt some strange attraction towards the stables. Yet the feeling of riding this horse was simply too natural, as if he was meant to ride it in some other time and place. The natural motion and flow of their movement giving off the impression that this was a destined horse and rider pair.

He'd say looking down at the brown Arabian thoroughbred he'd mounted, give it's mane the closest thing to an affectionate stroke he'd ever given in his life, an alabaster hand brushing through the silver mane, a star emblazoned where the neck met the flank of the beast, an oddity that brought a chuckle to Dio's lips as he'd turn towards the group with a smirk, his horse giving a whinny as it and it's rider turned towards the yet to be mounted group. He was honestly grateful that things had turned out as they had so far, these easily manipulated pawns had popped up one after another, and even when someone had shown up from the enemy faction the most he'd been met with was the glare of disapproval towards what were honestly completely normal orders to give. However he also knew that every single thing that had happened until now had been carefully orchestrated and that he was not here because he had lucked into discovering this, Mephisto had chosen him because of his arrogant demeanor as a test to see if he was worthy to keep around, he'd tailed that patrol for days before finally striking at the perfect moment to earn his way into Dracula's faction, and now he was about to meet the charge of a building sized hell spawn with a solid plan and a prepared group of men at his back. However, he still had to make them aware of that plan, and thus turning towards his men and he'd address them properly as a group.

"The plan is as such. The Tarrasque is currently rampaging through a town known as Writou. From my cartography research earlier we know that it's situated on fairly hilly terrain about an hour south of here. Unfortunately this means we wont be able to collapse a cliff on it as planned. However, the ground underneath is filled with tunnels and judging by the limestone quarry a few miles off that means that the ground is soft and porous. Thus, I'll be entrusting Alain and Aang to handle planting charges in the path to create a controlled collapse beneath the beast. This wont keep it down for long though so I'll be needing everyone to pour on every ounce of power at that point, if anyone has any disabling abilities they think can work on that scale use them when the collapse happens to buy Aang and Alain time to plant more charges to detonate beneath the beast again and escape. When the second detonation happens I will go in with my stand The World and use the remaining charges to attempt to blast a hole through it's hide and into the sin heart. There, we will converge and use every ounce of power we have to destroy the monster's core in a single blast. If we fail the monster's heart will regenerate and the mission will be a failure so I want you to dedicate every ounce of your being to this task and put your faith in my research. Now we have no time to waste. Every second is someone's home destroyed or a valiant fighter who dies trying to slow it down, mount a horse, grab as many detonators as you can carry, and follow me!"

He'd say grabbing and hoisting one of the crates off the wagon and perching it against his shoulder, fastening a leather set of reins into a makeshift harness to carry it as he'd ride out towards the south, taking off down the path at breakneck speeds, his body low to the horse as they'd sprint off towards the location, Dio intending to be the advanced party for intercepting the Tarrasque, knowing full well that with his time stop abilities he would be the most likely to survive first contact with the terrible power of that despicable aberration.

As he stormed through the gates on his steed his group in tow, the mansion was not idle. The Skeleton man he had brushed off earlier was currently crying for mercy, a blade to his neck, and a rather annoyed looking Mephisto looking down on him, information flowing like water from the skeleton noble as he'd beg for the chance to at least leave this place alive. However, Mephisto would have none of this. He had no desire to grant shelter to these pitiable refugees from those backwater hamlets. This was the glorious manse of a former Prince of Hell, and the last thing he was going to become was the director of a shelter for those to weak to face a monster like The Tarrasque. Thus he'd merely nod towards Sebastian, who with the flick of a blade decapitated the intruding pest, the butler immediately taking to the arduous task of cleansing the beautiful rug of that pitiable reject. As he busied himself with that task, a servant came in and bowed towards The Prince of Lies as she'd relay the information Dio had shared with his group, namely about The Tarrasque being a last minute creation of Diablo and the reason why The Heart of Sin had vanished from the core of the Tower in hell. This information would do nothing more than illicit a simple chuckle from The Damnable Demon. Turning and walking towards the door he'd raise a curtain out towards the storm, watching the downpour as the riders rode away from his manor, knowing that at long last things were going to get interesting in The Pale Moors. Walking back towards the living area he'd take a seat in a luxurious armchair and extend a hand, a wineglass materializing within it as he'd say to the remaining servants within the manor.

"Do not fret child, for this is all within my calculations. You see, this Dio Brando thinks that he's the only one moving pieces in the game of chess that the moors has become, but that's simply because he has yet to see anyone else as a player in our little game. Let him do as he wills for now, after all that bastard Dracula has sat unopposed on that bloody throne of his for far too long. Let this serve as the usurpers second test to see if he is worthy to compete for the mantle of ruler in this world of killers and demons."