Kill the Numbers [Dark Data]

[Nebula]

The Ashen Steppes had always been a danger-filled land, but nowadays it was much less subtle in the way it could potentially kill someone. In the past, someone would have to actually go looking for a monster to attack them or for the very ground underneath them to break open randomly. But now? Those things still happen, but are much easier to find.

Creatures known as Darkspawn had began to ravage the Omniverse. What used to be a dangerous land to travel was now a full-on suicide mission.

The border of the Koopa Kingdom had been completely decimated. Fortresses were abandoned or torn down completely. Bodies of fallen Koopa soldiers were either picked clean by the dangerous wildlife of the fiery plains, or had been converted into the army of darkness that continued to move into the usually defensible kingdom. Most of the safe paths through the Steppes were littered with the monsters that prayed on anyone silly enough to actually pass through. Many of the verses in the Omniverse were in danger, but it was not a stretch to say the Steppes were one of the worst. 

Despite this, the Koopa Kingdom persevered. That's what they did. Underground, they had a strong foothold in the massive cave system that spawned much of the verse. Despite the success of the Darkness' ground forces on the surface, the line underneath was held successfully. But only thanks to the ability of one group of Koopa soldiers.

Only one of the surface fortresses in the Koopa Kingdom was still standing and fully manned: Wendy Garrison. It was situated near the largest entrance to the Koopa's cave system, and was a clutch position on the map as far as a war was concerned. In front of it was plains, and behind it was a shallow path through the mountains. Losing it would make holding the underground much more difficult. Named after one of the Koopa King's many children, it was never the biggest or the most well-fortified of the above-ground castles. But the only female Bowser Jr had been able to rally troops and fight creatively, which earned her respect among even the enemies. She was well known for being greedy and political, but now she was becoming more known for her inability to give up the fight for the Kingdom (and her father).

It was on the ramparts of her Garrison that Wendy overlooked the battlefield. It was quiet right now. Only a straggler Darkling was visible, scouting them out. She could see it in the distance; a dragon humanoid in full armor. She turned away from it, unconcerned. She kept her hands behind her back under the curve of her shell. In front of her now was a line of elite Koopas: the ones known as Boomerang Bros. Behind them, in the courtyard of her bastille was more soldiers; the bulk of her small army.

Wendy brought a hand up to adjust the pink and white dotted bowtie on top of her head. The other hand held a small scepter, which she held up in the air. "Koopa Kingdom, I need you!"

She received a warm cheer from her soldiers as she gave them a moment to respond. None of them were too tired or scared to not proclaim their willingness to fight.

"Right now," she began, "We are the last line. We are all that stands between this Darkness and the Koopa Kingdom. Nobody thought we would survive the first night. Nobody thought we would last this long. But here we are." She paused for another cheer. "Our story is being told right now. More and more soldiers are coming from the Koopa Kingdom." Cheering. "My brothers are coming. More fighters from other verses are being called to arms right here, at Wendy Garrison." At the name of the fortress they were fighting more, another round of applause came. "Even my father, King Koopa, is joining us on the battlefield." This got the biggest reaction, by far. Even after the acclaim died down, mumbling could still be heard. "Because they all know this is where the fight is."

Wendy didn't have a popular reputation among the Koopa Kingdom. She was known to be bratty, greedy and petty. But this war had changed all of that. She was popular among her people, and she was the main reason her Kingdom still stood. She raised her scepter up and then pointed it out at the empty plains behind her.

"Out there is where the fate of the Ashen Steppes will be decided! That is where the fate of the Koopa Kingdom will be decided! So stand with me now!"

The roar of approval was deafening. It was so loud that even the Darkling Dragon Knight from way down the plains could hear it. Despite everything, the morale of the soldiers at Wendy Fortress was as high as it had been from the beginning.

But the reality, Wendy knew, was much more dire then the false hope she could feed them. They would need her brothers, her father and as many soldiers are they could spare if they were going to survive another attack. They would especially need help from beyond the Ashen Steppes as well. Without the aid of more Primes and a lot of luck, the Koopa Kingdom would be ravaged by Darkness.

[Kuzuru]

Word of calamity had traveled fast across the Steppes. Distant news crews had begun to capture action footage of the impending assault on the Koopa Kingdom. Even errant pleas for help flashed across Dataverse message boards like a S.O.S. smoke signals in the night. Brave souls across the realm rallied to defend the turtle creatures. Though not all who answered the call were what you could describe as virtuous. Some were drawn to battle like moths to a flame, unable to keep themselves from being consumed by conflict. Kuzuru was one such being. The demon cared not for the kingdom and its subjects, but the impending scent of bloodshed sent his mind buzzing. An itch crawled up his spine and try as he might to resist the unyielding urge he was but a slave to his impulses. Carnage carried a drum and the hapless demon marched along to its Pied piper staccato. Not that he minded. Killing was what he was good at, perhaps the only thing he was good at. It was after all man's inherent violence that first spurned his creation. When primitive man first raised a sharpened stone and dashed open the head of his fellow Kuzuru was born. Every act of slaughter after that was just gravy, baby.

The demon had shucked his coat and T-shirt in favor for what some would call a "wife-beater" shirt. For a moment the demon pondered the moniker "wife-beater". He had never had a wife, so would the shirt still be considered a "wife-beater" shirt? He shrugged. Perhaps they meant that he beat other people's wives? Which, while true, was not something he actively tried to do, for you see he was what one would call an equal opportunity beater. At any rate he was getting sidetracked and missing a perfectly good battle because of it.

"Clappy," he shouted over his shoulder, "let's get going, I want to make sure we get there while everyone is still fresh, sloppy seconds isn't exactly my idea of a fun time."

The strange robot wheeled in behind him, "you've got it!"

With companion in tow the demon moved towards the exit. He pressed his palm against the access panel and after a few seconds hidden mechanisms began to creak and whir. The massive stone slab that served as their door slid to the side at an excruciatingly slow pace. Once the stone had moved far enough for Kuzuru to comfortably slip through he stepped out into the open air. His pupils dilated as the sudden bloom of light assaulted them. Thick clouds of volcanic smoke rumbled overhead, swallowing acres worth of blood-red sky. A stone's throw away Kuzuru watched a fresh lava flow trundle down the slope of a nearby mountain. They themselves were standing atop a small landing carved into the side of a, hopefully, dormant volcano. The demon smiled and took in a big gulp of fresh air.

"Can you smell it Claptrap?" The demon asked.

With an enthusiastic tone the robot responded, "no, but that's because I was built without a nose."

"Well, I was," Kuzuru said, "and I smell the beginnings of a damned good day."

He turned towards the lava rock stairs and caught sight of a man clad in a tan cloak standing on the final step. The stranger stood taller than any man that Kuzuru had ever met. His eyes were of a ruby persuasion and his skin, what little was exposed, carried a rough almost scaly look to it. Strangest of all was the spine-covered tail that curled out from the cloak's rear-end. It seemed to move of its own accord, slithering about like some kind of rattlesnake.

"Ah Kuzuru," the man said, "I'm glad to have finally met you, I'm here on behalf--"

"Not interested in solicitors buddy," Kuzuru cut the stranger off, "I've got places to be."

"Yes well, I won't take but a minute of your time," the stranger continued, edging his large frame in front of the demon's path.

Kuzuru raised an eyebrow, "this better not be something stupid like girl scout cookies, what do you want?"

"I'm here on the behalf of the Nebula Foundation, we have a proposal that we think you'd find most intriguing," the stranger said.

"Go on."

"What we're trying to create here is an unified Omniverse," the messenger continued, "a place where petty differences can be cast aside and true co-operation can be achieved, unfortunately this requires us to break a few eggs, so to speak, by now I'm sure you've heard of the assault on the Koopa Kingdom, yes?"

Kuzuru exaggerated a yawn, "that's actually where we were heading before you so rudely interrupted us, you better speed it up cause I'm getting a bit antsy here friend-o."

"Right, well, in short we're afraid that our current, assets, are a bit lacking, and with the incoming tide of misguided interlopers we might not see our dream come to fruition," the messenger said, "what we're looking for is exactly what you seem to offer."

"And that would be?"

"An unrequited lust for bloodshed," he answered.

Kuzuru chuckled and responded, "well, looks like you guys do your research, what do you have in mind?"

The stranger held out a scale-covered paw. In his palm were several black squares that, upon closer inspection, appeared to be microchips.

"These will grant you a kind of power that Gods would squabble over," he said, "and all we ask for in return is that you act as a shock unit against the Koopa Kingdom."

"Well shit buddy, that's all you had to say," Kuzuru said, "I'm all about cracking heads, hand those bad boys over and we'll make some turtle soup."

The recruiter smiled and handed them the darkchips, "you've made the right choice."

[Miranda Frost]

Word had indeed spread quickly. How could Miranda not hear of a battle brewing on this scale? Surely Kuzu-boy has already heard of it and planned to move in and place himself in the middle of that chaos. Sighing, the woman would shift out of bed, her boots pressing hard on the smooth stone flooring. Her clawed hands tightened the dragon leather eye-patch over her empty right eye-socket. Her weight shifted, testing the heavy coat around her as she stood to leave. Miranda saw Cinder before she saw Frost, a typical occurrence of their meetings.

 "You've been waiting here for some time...", she'd say, stepping from the room to find Cinder standing crossed armed by her room's doorway.

 "Kuzu's heading out. Claptrap is with him, what are you planning to do?", she'd ask, her dagger twirling casually within her palm. Miranda's influence on the girl has shown by her posture. She no longer was cold to Frost, but she wasn't quite warm to her as Miranda liked. She was a pawn to Kuzu and nothing more, that much Miranda could see.

 "I figured he'd get his nose dirty in matters that doesn't concern the Blades."

 "The more powerful he becomes, the better."

 With this, Miranda couldn't help but laugh, her clawed hand waving the air as if to dismiss such a silly notion. "You young fool, as if he'd give you a taste of real power. When you are no longer relevent to him he will crush you and leave you to burn among the ashes.", she'd say, lightly tapping the edge of her claw upon her forehead, giving it a playful tap before turning to leave, following the pathways down to the main gates. "Follow me."

 If she'd make haste she might be able to catch them, perhaps even persuade them to invest their energy more productive. Luckily for the white haired brawler, they were just outside the gates, talking to someone Miranda found suspicious, but only really because of Frost's inability to properly read that man. "Kuzu... what the hell are you doing? Did you even bother to check the fine print on those?", she'd say, a sharp claw stretched out at the chips  he carried, her eyes radiating a crimson light over the man who coaxed Kuzu into whatever agreement that was decided before her appearance.

 The little rustbucket at Kuzu's side would turn towards her, its arms flexing imaginary muscles. "Fear not, white maiden! The Mighty Claptrap has this under complete and total control!", it said, twirling about in a carefree manner.

 Shaking her head, she crossed her arms with a light sigh. "Trapster, the thought of you having anything under control worries me even more. You are a glorified comedian at best", she'd say, lightly brushing her claws over the little robot's head  as she passed it.

"What are your intentions... and what the hell are those?"

[Dave Strider]

Dave heard the familiar beat of his ringtone, a flow of raspberries and quotes from his infamous sbahj comics, and figured someone is probably trying to reach him.  Oh, just the boss dude from the Ashen blades. He guessed he did alright from the message and he was expected in the Ashen Steppes on official terms for their next mission. Dave had seen some rumors on the Dataverse about mad shadows and weird infections coming in throughout the verses, so this might be tied into what they were about to do. He decided to nonchalantly write up his reply with one hand as he turned and made his way to the Steppes.

"K. Cool."

One day he might not be too lazy to send a witty remark, but for now, bossman only got the short and shit replies. After a few inside jokes Dave figured he'd spice them up, but for now, he would chill. He took his time as he walked across the white decor of the Nexus, occasionally yawning or browsing the dataverse on his iShades as he walked forward. He wondered how their lair would look? Probably something edgy. Not that it was a bad thing, Dave always like to hard some sort of edge, but unlike some people, he was aware of his own snowflake syndrome. 

Dave only looked past his holographic screen once he felt the familiar heat and smell of ash, taking a deep breath and giving a very slight smirk. Home sweet home. Although the battle he was returning from was recent, it felt like months since he had actually been a part of it. Actually, checking his local dataverse time, it was a few months since that event. Huh, weird. He wondered how anyone could remember birthdays or be on time for shit with all these time warps and fuckery going on. How long ago did Kuzuru text him, earlier today right? Or yesterday?

Dave's mind wandered just as far as his own legs carrying him, leaving nothing but shallow ash-prints behind him that were blown away as quickly as they were made.

Apparently, the Koopa Kingdom was having the most trouble, with large amounts of media covering the carnage and crossfire. Who was the good side in this shit? Dave recognized the douchey turtles from a video game, and they weren't exactly the nicest of creatures. Right? But then again there was this darkness and corruption? Maybe we should just go in there and fuck ever thing up. Actually, that's probably what Kuzuru is thinking.

But then there was the whole possibility of the Koopa Kingdom being good? His thoughts then wandered on a much more familiar subject, one that made him hang his head slightly.

He wondered about Jade and her thoughts on this. What if he was fighting for the wrong side? Then again, did anything even matter in this shitty omniverse ruled by some faceless white douche? What if Jade wasn't even real, and everything was in his mind. Gamzee had recognized him, but was that real too? He remembered laying there for so long. Why did he fight that battle, what was he trying to do? What if he was no longer who he used to be?

Fuck it. Shit's too complicated for even the Knight of Time's understanding of shenanigans.

Dave shook his head as he came back to the real world from his thoughts, finding that he had subconsciously pulled up Jade's memo on the omniverse. He froze for a moment, unsure of what to do until his eyes looked past the screen.

He stood before a grand fortress, with a carved path leading around the bends of lava and up to the front gate. He heard the gates close above, as if someone had just exited, or maybe entered? So long as it was one of the Ashen Blades then things were alright, if not, well Dave would make it alright by kicking some ass. Kuzuru better not be a vampire of some shit though, this stuff looks like it came from Dracula himself, all we need are a shitton of bats. 

Dave made his way up the carved steps, whistling a bit as he hopped up along and kept his hands in his pockets. he hoped Kuzuru didn't forget to mention some secret elevator behind fake lava or some sci-fi teleporter guarded by some stone dragon or some shit. These stairs were long as fuck, and though Dave wasn't tired, he would rather not have to walk all this... wait... he forgot he can jump. Well shit.

Dave facepalmed as he forgot about his basic abilities, just before he shot up to the front gate. He took a moment to dust off the ash and realized he still had Jade's contact info up. Again faced with the decision, but should he act upon it or ignore it? Voices from beyond the gate ahead signaled for him to make a decision soon, and with that, his screen faded as he walked forward. The dude he guessed to be Kuzuru started to come forward, but Dave immediately interrupted him and spoke up, rocking a bit on his heels as he gave a small stretch.

"Alright, so we have Mario Party Omniverse Edition going on somewhere and I don't know why the hell we didn't get a damn invite, but I say we cut the fucking board shit and get right into the mini-game battles. What's the plan?"

[Nebula]

Wendy took her spot at the ramparts with the best view of the battlefield. This was her favorite spot on the Wendy Garrison: from here, she could see almost the entire fiery plains of the Ashen Steppes. Usually, the sight gave her comfort and power. Today, it gave her a twinge of pain to look and see the powerful Darkness Army standing in front of her. Beyond them were the ruins of the two Koopa forts they had trampled on their way in. This was their stop above ground. This was the final fort standing in their way before getting to the meat of the Koopa Army, underground, behind them.

She set her scepter on the ground as she stepped up into her floating egg-like vehicle. It had pink and white polka-dots, just like the bow on her head. She hovered a little off of the castle, giving her a view of the mammoth of a Koopa below her.

On the ground, King Koopa slowly began to walk out of the main gate of Wendy Garrison, flanked on both sides by allies. Bower Jr, his oldest son, was on his left and one of the many Chain Chomps wobbled behind him, towards the right.

In front of them were three dragon-men, all walking from the Dark Army and towards the empty field between them and the Garrison. The dragonling in the middle was taller, wearing what appeared to be mage armor. It was leather and cloth, but it had strange fiery symbols along the edge of it, giving out a lot of Mystic-air about this man. He was also flanked, on either side by Dragonling Knights. Wendy knew already thanks to earlier information (and messengers) that the man was known as the Darkloid, and his knights were Darklings.

King Koopa stopped. Darkloid stopped. Behind each of them were their armies.

"I am here to accept your surrender," the Darkloid hissed under a raspy voice. "I am here to convince you to do the right thing for your people."

"No," said Bowser.

The Darkloid shook his head, his snout waggling back and forth with it. "Your people cannot deal with the power that Nebula has given us. You cannot fight it. But if you submit now, you will be granted that which I know you crave. True power, and true independence."

Bower opened his wide maw to say no again, but this time Bowser Jr put up a paw to stop him. Bowser was never much of a talker, but BJ did not inherit that character trait.

"Why don't you just fight us now?" Bower Jr asked. "If you have the strength, yea? And if you have the orders, yea? What's stopping you?"

"Honor," said the Darkloid Broodmaster.

This actually elicited a laugh from King Kooper. Not a laugh. More like a cackle. He even slapped his knee as he let out a guttural roar-like laughter. "You?" He asked, saying his first real words outside of no. "You believe you have honor? You don't know what that word means."

Darkloid waited for the King to finish. He kept his hands folded in front of him, very proper-like. His knights, however, both hands hands on their swords. "I am here today, to show you that just because we are conquerers, does not mean that we are savages. We are here to take what is due to Nebula, and that lies underground in your Kingdom. If you make the right decision here, now, then you will be rewarded and recognized as the Dark Koopa King. No other King will challenge you, or the Ashen Steppes, again." He paused a moment, and waited for a response. He didn't get one. "You have 72 hours."

Again, Bowser looked to say something, but his son put a hand on the side of his shell and shook his head. Better to be political. Better to keep options open.

The Darkloid unfurled his wings, which behind him looked small and inconvenient, but now spread out and released they actually were very impressive. The tall, leather wingspan covered his frame and he jumped into the air, hovering above Bower and his emissaries. "Make the honorable decision, King Koopa, or I will burn your Kingdom down in 72 hours. Starting with your daughter's castle, and ending with your throne."

The Darklings in front of them turned to walk away. The Darkloid flew off in the same direction, impressively raising his height further and further with each powerful flap of his dragon wings. This time, there was no stopping King Koopa from unleashing his voice. He released a defiant roar that shook the very ground of the Ashen Steppes. He howled out his frustration at the threats and got out everything he wanted to say in one single blast of audio waves.

Once he was done, it was just him, his son and his trusty Chain Chomp. "What're we gonna, Dad?" Bowser Jr asked. Are we going to surrender?"

Bowser looks down at his son with a glare that could have killed him dead. He squinted his big, bushy eyes and shook his head. "We have 72 hours. We'll use it, and we'll show them the might of the Koopa Kingdom."

Wendy Fortress is now formally under siege. Nebula's forces are still attacking in small bursts, but the main army is camped out in front of the Fortress, waiting to strike. Those in Nebula's camp can freely roleplay there. Those who want to join Bowser's camp at the Fortress can find Koopa scouts to utilize secret roads from the mountains to get there (around the army, obviously). The deadline to join is Friday at 11:59pm EST. Saturday will be the update where the battle will officially begin.

[Guu]

Hidden, buried.

If Dama were featured in a movie, she would be diagnosed with Multiple Personality Disorder. Of course, as many things featured in movies, that is not how that condition works. And even then, she had far surpassed those boundaries.

Her mind was a warzone. No, that’s not correct. Her mind was a democracy.

Same difference really.

Her minds, the personalities she’d create, they’d always stand court, deciding what story should come next. It was their sole duty; they’d even give up control if it was for the purpose of the narrative. So many times, many would cry out in unison, too often the story speaks for itself, but it’s when the story gets too convoluted or boring that violence will break out amongst her minds.

Deep in Dama’s being, shunned from her many personalities, was the most feared one of all. When the minds decided to hate Guu for what she did to them, she was the only personality to stand for her. She dared call her a Sensei. For these crimes, she was locked away, held captive in the area where they kept the poop related memories.

Her minds so rarely ever set her free. Only a cause of great importance would allow them to release her, let alone take control.

Only a cause, for a hero.

Dama’s Playlist:

[spoiler][/spoiler]

The fro’d hero stepped through the Ashen’s gate. The Nexus behind her warped and disappeared as the fiery landscape took its place. For such a hotly contested verse, she half-expected the fight to have found it’s way to the gate. Outside lava geysers and the sound of stirring molten rock, it was oddly quiet. If cheesy Matrix music wasn’t playing off her phone that moment to accompany her arrival, it would have been dead silence all around her.

This is why she brings her own soundtrack.

She took a deep breath, taking a great deal of sulfur aroma into her lungs as she did a number of stretches just a few feet from the gate. She laughed and smiled.

“It’s so great to be free!” She yelled out as she did cartwheels on the hot surface. “I would have gone mad if I had to sit through that diarrhea memory again!”

She did multiple flips into the air before landing perfectly on her feet. She took a bow to an imaginary audience.

“Hehe, thank you thank you! And no worries, I don’t mind the diarrhea memory. It’s unpleasant until it’s over, then it’s quite nice! Hahaha!”

As she rose from her bow, she noticed she wasn’t alone. Two fairly short figures in cloaks stood before her, their beaks sticking out from their hoods. Seeing she was done doing her pointless acrobatics, they approached the old woman.

“We apologize,” the right one said. “you look like the woman we were sent to retrieve.”

“Oh my! How did you know to look for me?”

“You sent our higher ups twelve e-mails.” Responded the left one.

“Oh, right, sorry.” She said. She was kind of a different person when she wrote those. She turned off the phone and put it away, giving her full attention to the pair. “Please continue.”

“You said you wanted to join our cause?” The left koopa asked.

“More than anything. I have a personal stake in this verse now, I don’t want to see the darkness to swallow it.”

The pair turned towards each other and whispered a small exchange. Then they turned back towards Dama.

“Okay. The path towards the battlefield is wrought with monsters, but we know a path that’ll take you straight there.” Explained the right one.

“Please, follow us so the boss can see you.” Said the left one as he bowed politely.

[Kuzuru]

Kuzuru frowned as Miranda walked past claptrap.

“No need to be so rough on the little guy,” the demon noted, “he’s got a lotta heart, and that’s what matters right?”

Before Frost could respond the white-haired Knight of Time made his appearance. Kuzuru smiled and made his way over to the soon-to-be newest member of the Blades. The demon held out his fist and Dave obliged him with just about the suavest fist bump the Omniverse had ever witnessed.

“I like the way you think Strider, and don’t worry we’ll get to the fun stuff here in a minute,” Kuzuru said and turned back towards Miranda, “just gotta make sure everyone is on the same page.”

He shifted the darkchips between his hands, feeling their unassuming weight. This was exactly the kind of break he needed after his failed foray into Coruscant and there was no way in hell he was going to let Frost screw it up. His eyes met hers and a chill traveled up his spine. Could she read his mind? Or was that cybernetic eye just for show? Either way, why did she give him such a bad case of the willies? Kuzuru sniffed the air and smiled.

“As for my intentions, Miss Frost, I intend to blow off some steam,” he said, “it isn’t every day that a verse-ending calamity comes about, and I’m not going to hole myself up in a mountain watching it go down through the damned T.V.”

He held up one of the darkchips between his thumb and forefinger.

“As for these things, why they’re supposed to be ‘the kind of power that God’s would squabble over’” he said, contorting his voice to mimic the recruiter, “not sure what that means exactly, but I’m all about forbidden power baby, here, try one on.”

He tossed the chip over to Miranda, who caught it between her claws. She held it up to her robotic eye and turned the thing over.

“We’ve no idea what these things are capable of,” she noted.

Kuzuru laughed.

“What are you afraid of? In case you’ve forgotten we’re primes darling, our bodies are as malleable as clay,” he said, “what could they possibly muck up that we couldn’t fix? We’re living embodiments of change, we fight against stagnation in this wonderful world, so why shouldn’t we use our strength to impact the world? Now I won’t force you to stand with me here, but I’d love it if you’d join me.”

Without waiting for her reply he motioned for Claptrap and Dave to follow him down the side of the mountain. As they walked he dispersed a few chips amongst them, but kept the lion’s share for himself.

“We better get going if we don’t want to miss the festivities,” Kuzuru said, starting the process of summoning his motorcycle, “oh and welcome to the Blades, Dave, you keep cracking heads and we’ll make sure you’re rewarded handsomely.”

Once their respective transports were summoned The Ashen Blades made their way towards the Koopa Kingdom.

[Guu]

After hours of navigating through the long secret roads that cut the volcanic mountainside, they finally approached Wendy’s castle. Dama paid no mind to the giant structure, or even the military of black monsters that she could even see up in front. She was just eager to take her place in the battle, to fight for this verse.

The pair lead her to the back of the castle, tugging on a brick that caused the wall to part for them, gaining them access.

The cloaked goons lead Dama through the castle, she witnessed as koopas of all shapes and sizes ran around, arming themselves with weapons, strapping on any armor their shells couldn’t provide.

Before she knew it, she was standing before Wendy herself, who was in between shouting orders.

“Mistress! We have a prime who wants to aid us!” The left cloaked koopa stated, his arms raised to present Dama.

The old woman knelt on her knees, bowing low enough to be below Wendy’s short stature.

“I offer my services in your time of need.” Dama said, humbly.

Wendy looked over the senior citizen before glancing at the pair. She remembered the e-mail, she remembered the woman’s offer. She looked her up on the dataverse earlier that day, though even then she didn’t expect how ancient the woman was.

“Did you do a background check on her?”

“We did, her history was kind of all over the place.”

Wendy looked back towards Dama.

“Do you have anything to prove you aren’t here to betray us?”

The elderly woman took a deep breath. She wasn’t used to being sincere, or at least her other personalities weren’t. Despite her more heroic mind taking the helm, it still felt like a trout swimming up stream.

She thought of the most inspirational speech she could muster, one that pointed out the strengths of the Koopa Klan, how they deserved to stand.

But she thought that seemed trite, so she went with the action hero response.

“I just hate those nebula mothafuckas. No way I’m letting them take this verse!”

That was half the truth. She didn’t want to say it was all so a dog won’t lose her house. Somehow, that felt like weak justification.

“Okay, fine. Get her prepared for battle. Thanks for the help.” She turned her attention to her armies to bark mor orders.

In truth, Wendy didn’t fully trust Dama, but she didn’t have much choice but to accept her help. She would just need to keep her on a really short leash in case she was a Nebulous spy or something.

[Lord Dominator]

Lord Dominator’s forces were in ruins.

Wave after wave of Dominator Bots, tiny spherical robots with little in the way of personality or intelligence. She had spent months constructing them, carefully mustering her forces so that, eventually, SHE could descend from Dominator Mountain and sweep aside the Koopa Kingdom in a wave of metal, lava and flame; so that SHE could dance on the ashes of King Koopa’s hopes and dreams.
When word of the encroaching army was sent, she had been furious. Now, the army was destroyed. Little more than a roadbump for the hordes of monsters that now threatened to overwhelm not only the Koopa Kingdom, not only her so-called ‘allies’, but HER HOME as well?!

This could not be allowed to stand.

So, she had sent her forces. All of them. Dozens of Dominator Bots to unleash waves of magma and focused laser-fire to bring down the Darkspawn before they ever got to threaten her ‘friends’ in the Koopa Kingdom.

In retrospect, perhaps she should have let the whole Kingdom burn to act as a buffer between her forces and theirs. But, you didn’t become the Greatest in the Galaxy by cowering. She just hadn’t expected the Darkspawn to overwhelm her forces quite so easily. It had been enough to convince her that she would lose if she took to the field on her own.

Which brought her here, now, to this place, at this time.

The green-skinned woman towered over Wendy Koopa on the ramparts, her spiked helm raised high as she glared down from one of the few defensible positions left in this forsaken land. She’d chosen this place because it had the resources she needed in abundance, but she had also not dreamed that anyone would care enough to try and wrest this miserable piece of the Omniverse from her grasp.

Now, this wave of simple-minded beasts were prepared to tear down what she had, for no other reason than the fact that it was there. They probably didn’t even know who she was. There had been no dramatic speeches. There was no rivalry. There were no leaders, at least, not that she had been able to determine so far.

There was no drama. There was no class!

She had been silent throughout the Koopa’s speech, standing like a tall statue as she tried not to bleed from the ears at the Koopa Princess’ irritating voice. Let her gain what she could from her troops. Dominator was hated and feared by them in equal measure, and that was how she liked it. She had carefully cultivated a reputation for utter brutality, and the fact that she stood with them was enough to grant a little more hope to those few Koopa Troopers who remembered her and what she had done.

The fact that she’d sent all of her loyal followers to their deaths had inspired even more fear in the Troopers. The fact that they were robots seemed to have been missed by most, and why would she want to disabuse them of anything that added to her reputation for cruelty?

So Dominator merely held her peace, quiet and lost in her own thoughts.

Then the old woman arrived, and Dominator turned her head to take in Dama in all her… glory.

There was a bark of laughter from the green tyrant as Wendy invited Dama into the battle, and she shook her head, “Oh, perfect, just perfect!” She declared, anger finally boiling over in her tone, coming out in sarcasm so biting that Wendy looked as though she felt the teeth sink into her hide. “We’ve got an army of turtles, and an old woman, how could we possibly fail?!”

Wendy shot her a dark look, “You’re with us too, ‘Domie’. In case you’ve forgotten.”

Dominator let out a huff through gritted teeth, and her fingers flexed, magma slowly oozing from her gloves to cover her hands, and work its way up her forearms. Even as she felt the anger burn in her, she allowed the visor to slam back down from her helmet, covering her face as she grew taller still, standing head and shoulders above the ramparts.

“No.” She boomed, her voice deep and thrumming with power. “You are with me.”

She jabbed a finger towards Dama before the Koopa Princess could object. “You, anyway. We need to keep these walls safe. So, we can’t let that army ever reach them. Are you ready to crank up the heat?”

Still, she reflected, the battle wasn't over yet. The odds might be stacked against them, but she still had a secret weapon of her own to deploy, and if they somehow managed it... she could extract whatever price she wanted from King Koopa's coffers when the smoke settled.

[Miranda Frost]

Miranda stood there, the black chip laying lazily in her steel palm. She could destroy it and walk away. It would be so easy to ball her fist, the tiny silicon chip rendered to dust, but... then again it could prove a useful weapon. Whether she liked it or not, she did have a job. Her bloodletting may or may not have been superstitious trash, but it was highly symbolic. Each of them had offered their blood upon that fountain. In the end, it didn't matter if she hated Kuzu-boy or not. They were in this together, whatever lay ahead.

 There was a battle ahead. Just as one would take a weapon of war into battle, so should be their transportation. Miranda had one in mind, a weapon she used to rally the desert raiders against Colosseum's regime. The terrain was mountainous, perfect for this type of weapon. Kneeling down she placed the palms of her hands against the ash-covered ground. Her body started to heat, Omnilinium dust starting to flow from her hands into the ground, cracking the soft ground below.

 "I suggest you make some room", she'd warn the others as the radiant light from the omnilinium began to collect before her. The omnilinium's light coalesced, its light fading into a dark void. The black object radiated darkness. Four steel arches would form over this mass of nothingness, trapping it. Miranda took deep breaths, her arms continuing to glow once more as she concentrated on bringing her massive weapon into reality. 

Frost's playlist + Ship reference:
[spoiler][/spoiler]

 

 Ash gave way to a steel, grated deck as the Weapon's superstructure frame slowly arose from the ashes. The ground beneath them shook violently as the egg-like superstructure sprung forth its four legs, piercing deep into the ground. The walking fortress of sorts would rise beneath her, the sound of twisting and scratching metal shattering the air outside the fortress. Four gun platforms would materialize out of the super structure on each of the main directional points.

 Atop its eight stories of death, an artillery piece was created. Its structure was complete, but it still needed its systems and a workable crew. Miranda was a sweaty mess at this point but it was nearly complete. Slowly its stores was filled with ammunition and supplies, its birthings and workstations beginning to be filled with its crew. Its systems were completed, the dark crystal reactor now supplying perfect amounts of energy throughout the ship. She could feel the deck beneath her vibrate and shake as it came to life, its legs causing small tremors beneath it as it adjusted its permission.

 "Lady Frost, the Terremoto is fully operational, your orders?", a voice behind her would say as she stood up to catch her breath. Her eye scanned over the man in his khaki uniform, the name on the breast of his blouse a golden "Weber". 

 "Chief Weber, have your men fly the colors, run diagnostics on all systems. Be prepared to move on my command."

 "Fly the colors. Run diagnostics Aye", the chief would call out, his hand balling to a fist before placing it over his heart in a formal salute before leaving. Miranda looked out over the mountains and the white expanse. Hopefully this would be over quickly.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

 "Fly the colors!"
  
 "Fly the colors, Aye!"

 The Terremoto erupted as her crew rushed about its hull to their  stations, checking everything  imaginable for any chance of failure. The great machine needed to work with clockwork precision. Anything less than precision was unacceptable. This land was strange to all of these men. After all, how can a scorching desert turn into a land of fire in the span of seconds? They were confused. Perhaps some were even frightened.  However, they had Lady Frost in the bridge as confident and cold as ever, what right did the mere crew have to freak out?

 Soon the flags began to rise with the blade's colors hanging off the foreward bow. Miranda's insignia would hang off the stern, its thorny "8" filling Miranda's men with pride as they saluted it. The colors were flown and the diagnostics checks all cleared the ship for departure, At Miranda's order of course.

 All the men would stop momentarily as the  Lady's voice came over the M.C. for all to hear as well as the external megaphones. 

"And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts and I looked and behold! A pale horse! and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him."

[Nebula]

The final battle of the surface of the Ashen Steppes was about to begin. The darkspawn forces had given their enemies 72 hours to either prepare or surrender. Not many did the latter. Those who chose the former were standing at the ready.

Wendy Garrison stretched across the narrow gap where two cliffs almost met. In the very center of the ramparts was King Koopa, flanked on either side by two of his spawn: Bowser Jr and this fortresses' commander: Wendy Koopa. On either side of them, all the way across the top of the fort, were the 'long-range' soldiers they had, known as the Hammer Bros and the Boomerang Bros. They also had the large creatures known as Piranha Plants who were prepared to spit fireball. Underneath them were the ground and flying forces, lined up ranks in front of the castle gates. The main bulk of the soldiers were regular green or red-shelled Koopas, some with wings and most without. There were also some surprises littered through-out the ranks, such as Chain Chomps and some local wildlife from the Ashen Steppes. More then just Koopas had heeded Bowser's call, and so his army was varied.

In front of them, with far greater number then anyone feared, was the Army of Nebula. The vast majority of the army consisted of just mindless, twisted corruption waiting to devour anyone that got in their way. But again, littered in their ranks were powerful siege weapons, long-range energy-wielding gunslingers, and some of the top Lieutenants in the army. It was easy to tell who was and who wasn't completely corrupted by the darkness. Those who had taken to Nebula's side willingly still had their mind. Most of them were Dragonling Knights, with full armor and long, beautiful swords. Other Darklings came from different races; rumor had it that an infamous faction in the Steppes had aligned themselves with Nebula as well. Also visible was the Darkloid himself, standing tall in one of the siege towers that were being pushed ever closer. He was holding a book in one of his scaly hands.

"Forward!" Came the single, sudden call. The 72 hours were up. The Darkloid commanded his army to attack.

"Hammer Bros! Fire!" Bowser roared out.

Some might have effected arrows, but instead hundreds of spinning hammers came flying from the top of the garrison walls. The mindless brutes called darkspawn rushed forward, not concerned with the fact that most of them would be smashed by these dark objects flying towards them. When impact was made, it was loud and violent, crushing monsters beneath them.

"Defend your Kingdom!" Bowser screamed down at the forces on the ground, in front of the gate. The main bulk of the Koopa forces began to charge. Many of the actual Koopa retreated into the shells and shot forward at their enemies.

From their angles up above all of the action, both Bowser and The Darkloid observed the ultimate chess match for the Ashen Steppes.

The Battle for Wendy Garrison has begun. Everyone involved has until Saturday, August 5th at 11:59 pm EST to write 1 post with a 1200 word limit. You can check out the OOC thread for info on the Darklings and Darkloid.

[Morene Fellon]

It took no time at all for Morene to have found the mass of chaotic energy that was the frontline of Koopa Castle. On her Thunderbike however, going at a top 80 miles-per-hour on rocky terrain took more time than she'd have liked. Even then, the woman didn't have time to take in the scenery, if one could even call it that. Her general reactions towards the Steppes were the same as many Primes who first waltzed into the chaotic verse; it was hot. Furthermore, avoiding disgustingly sharp spikes in the terrain, geysers of molten rock at every corner, and trying to stay sane through the hissing of fire was a daunting task.

The context was rather simple to understand, even to Ebony, still clutching onto the back of Morene as she rode onto the mountainous land of ash and stone, slowing down and making rather violent turns and twists, making the teen's gut wrench in nervousness. This place was barely hospitable as it is, which explained why the only Darklings they had seen only, say, thirty minutes beforehand, were the lonesome and barely sentient Darkspawn mook.

As much as Morene wanted to take out her rifle and begin shooting, it occurred to her that she still couldn't, not with her Liberator Aid still on. At this point however, she'd definitely needed it. Finally nearing the top of one of the hills of stone, the chivalric huntress saw and heard for only  a brief moment the assault that was already taking place.

Ebony couldn't help but see it too, and she couldn't contain her awe.

"Are t-those... hammers...?" the teen expressed, unable to mutter any more words after seeing the rain of steel being fired from the Koopa kingdom's residence. Morene might not have been able to hear her if the roaring of her bike, the cries of the distant battlefield, and the searing embers of the flowing lava nearby were any louder, but she did.

"Yes, I believe so!" Morene looked back to reply, similarly finding this situation to be a strange one.
 
Still, Ebony's confusion remained, even as they neared the top of the peak, a full view of the terrifying scene below.

"T-those are the, uh... Darklings?" Ebony whispered the last word, seeming afraid to get an answer, though slightly less than before. Morene would not hold back however, for she did warn the teenager what she and her were to go up against only an hour or so prior.

"Forsooth. We intercept at the middle, make our presence known, otherwise we'll likely get shot from both sides."

"K-known?"  Ebony repeated, louder than usual. It suddenly occurred to the small feline-loving female the two Primes would find themselves in combat only mere minutes for now.

"Please," Morene begged, "be brave. This is sudden, I know, but we must thrive."

Thrive. Even Ebony thought it was a strange word to use in this situation, but Morene knew better. Twisting the handles on her Thunderbike, the motors hissed for a moment, then bursted into a cacophony of moving pistons. Morene could see the distant armies, so contrast in color that it was like observing paint mixing onto a canvas. They were already in battle, and Morene had a job to do. Rather, an obligation to fulfill.

Ebony closed her eyes as she felt the alien vehicle she sat upon move with alarming speed. Morene would think of it justified, if she wasn't busy rearing off the edge of the cliff-like geographical structure they previously parked upon.

Gravity worked it's way on the two Primes and their new mount, dropping Morene's Thunderbike onto the steep slope that felt as large as a canyon to traverse. Ebony's eyes tightened, and a whimper escaped her lips as the turns became even more violent, even if she couldn't see them.

The temperature raised as the bike went down, twisting and weaving onto the few rocks and stone that would keep her bike intact, Morene trying her damnedest to prevent crashing into the streams of lava now becoming wider and wider the more she drove.

Not even a mile away were both of the armies. Koopalings and Darklings both stood against each other, the turtle-like creatures standing by to defend their gates as the gnashing, moderately armed zombies of Nebula rushed forward.

Her Liberator Aid began beeping intensely, and to Morene, it seemed to be the only sound that comforted her in this situation, other than perhaps the child holding onto her back as tightly as she could. Quickly, she reached a hand to her head, pressing the singular button that activated her collapsible helmet, air steaming from the protective headwear as it affixed itself onto the huntress' skull.

Only being able to pull out her blade, a shortsword raised from the woman's hip as she zoomed at the first Darkspawn dare making it's presence known at the front lines as the Koopa Kingdom's hammer volley ceased for a moment.

Ebony opened her eyes, and she almost couldn't believe what she saw. A dark knight of Nebula found itself rearing backwards as it's chest was cut open. Perhaps not enough to be fatal, but enough for any infantry nearby to understand the Liberator is what they should be prioritizing at the moment.

Of course, Morene hoped for it, playing to Ebony's fears. Even then, she almost couldn't believe how easily Morene's helmet turned her so fittingly into something even more intimidating than before.

Turning sharply, Morene's bike skidded across the stone as she looked back onto the group of skirmishers before her.


Nothing in her body wavered. The castle of King Koopa, as she'd soon learn to be named Bowser, would be stone, unaffected by the eroding winds of destruction that was Nebula.

[Miranda Frost]

It had been too long sense the Terremoto had stretched its legs, evidenced by the amplifying noise of twisting metal with each step it took. The great machine had taken Miranda and her entourage of trouble makers off the main roads and onto the mountainside its giant, pincer-like legs shaking the mountainside with each step.  For a war-machine crafted in a world without roads, these ashen equivalents were a tad bit overrated for it. Terremoto climbed over the rocky faces with ease even if its occupants were in for a less than comfortable ride. Through out the walking fortress, its crew of two hundred men rushed through its corridors and passage ways, distributing the necessary equipment needed for extended period at battle-stations. By a quick glance one would possibly dismiss these rugged men with their tattered uniforms and strange tattoos and view them more as thugs than soldiers, however this couldn't be far from the case.

 Perhaps at one time these men were what the world had thought of them, but hard discipline can change any man. Miranda scowled at her view-port as the Terremoto slowly climbed over the mountain face, her crimson eye glimpsing the massive battle taking place. A tide of crimson stormed towards the castle ahead, where the Koopa army lay in wait. This wasn't right, what they were doing. However what was in this world? Light cant exist without darkness. To have one without the other would equal an eventual degradation to nothingness. Miranda sighed, standing from the chair she commanded the vessel from. This vessel was a siege weapon, not one that would do well in the front lines. To march this weapon through the front lines would give the Koopas too many chances to board.  

 Miranda would bring her hand up to the zipper of her coat, pulling it down as she slipped from its confining clutches. Despite her conflictions, she couldn't help but feel a sense of calm. She relaxed her jaw, her body slouching slightly as she hoisted the heavy coat over her shoulders. Reaching down over the crew operating the small communications trench, she grabbed the rusted phone that was connected to the loading dock, where Chief Weber and the other Blades waited on her word. 

 "Chief Weber, LadyFrost: Commence deployment operations. I will be arriving shortly."

" Chief Weber, Commence Deployment operations, Lady Frost, Aye. We will be awaiting your arrival"

 Frost scowled as she put the phone back into its proper space. There was once upon a time when she despised him, but everything terrible in the world happens for a reason. Her life was saved when her limbs were taken and brought outside the safe city walls to rot. Out there in the wastes she found salvation, here in the ashen she'd find redemption.

 Leaving the control room behind she'd climb down the nearby ladderwell leading to the lift she needed to take to traverse down the belly of the beast. Her eye saw through the winding metal walls and corridors, glimpsing at the gunnery crews as they loaded the main guns, preparing to bombard the Koopa lines.  The short ride wouldn't last as the metal cage of the lift sprung open for her, allowing her to step out on the steel deck of the loading dock.

The other blades were waiting, their vehicles already positioned and ready to go. It wasn't long before her men noticed her appearance.

 "Attention on deck!", one of the maintenance men would call out, everyone in the room snapping to a tight, rigid form attention. It's comical really. Miranda had gone so long without people from her world that she'd forgotten about this bit of treatment. 

"Carry on.", she'd say with a chuckle and a wave of her hand. With that they all returned to their work and Chief Weber approached her. "You're venturing out with them, M'Lady? I don't think that is wise."

"I respect your concern but It is misplaced. I need you in the control room, keeping this rust bucket from falling apart. Have the men commence fire on the Koopa lines."

"Koopa? M'lady?"

 "The turtle-like creatures holed up on the opposite side of the battlefield."

 "Commence Fire on the Koopa battle lines, Aye", the Chief would say, starting to walk to the same lift she operated moments before. Miranda's clawed hand would stop him, resting firmly on his shoulder. 

 "Chief Weber, the Raven of the Black Knights. It has a ring to it, wouldn't you say?", Miranda would state pulling the once concealed memory forward. Out of the thirteen knights that served Lucifer, this man was the fifth. Specializing in reconnaissance and espionage, it was surprising to Miranda to find him among these soldiers. He looked younger than she'd remember. Perhaps this was his position before becoming recognized? The Raven merely glanced over at her, his light blue eyes seeming darker now that his facade had been seen through. Miranda laxed her hand, allowing him to go silently before turning to her comrades.

 Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, claptrap doing his normal strange thing while Kuzu himself seemed more jittery than normal. She'd scowl at him as she approached. It would seem he'd taken some kind of drug or combination of drugs during his ride upon her vessel. She'd ball her hand into a fist but rather than slug him as hard as she could, she merely flicked him over the forehead as he spaced out. He snapped out of his twitchy trance to cup his forehead, stepping back against his vehicle.

 "Heeey Frosty, the hell was that for?"

 "You know damn well what that was for you bloodthirsty junkie.... and don't call me that again.. you can't call me that.", Miranda would say, her palm slapping the controls that operated the loading dock doors. The Terremoto would shudder, the symphony of cannons filling the structure. The crew assigned to this area took positions by the doors, lowering the boarding ramp via large hand cranks.  "Besides we have a job to do. Better hop to it Kuzu-boy"

"Whatever you say Frosty"

[Ebonywood Hellscythe]

Ebony's arms locked, bones grinding with every jolt of the bike; the steel edges of Morene's armour grated against Ebony through her cloak. Her stomach churned, the sulfur in the air and the erratic motions of the vehicle only fueled her nausea further. Specs of red liquid flew through the air as Morene's blade slashed against another foe. The vibrations travelling through her body made Ebony all too aware of this fact, her face pailing from the glimpse of red. It felt too real. Too vivid. The gushing air has long since pushed down her hood, leaving her unable to shield her vision with the fabric.

She screamed: head tilted back, arms clenching, voice echoing through the air. If any of the monsters were previously unaware of the duo's presence, they certainly weren't now. The seemingly sudden sound shook Morene out of her previously steadfast demeanour. It was slightly deeper than one might expect, yet the blood-curdling cry continued to cut and stab into the ears of all who heard it. Morene's head turned back after yet another strike, diverting her invaluable attention towards her passenger. Ebony's eyes locked with the terrifying helmet, the shriek fading. Lungs starved for air, her voice caught in her throat. Precious few of her recent breaths had been completed. Ebony panted from the self-inflicted asphyxiation, arms and back shaking from a mixture of fear and adrenaline. 

To her horror, Morene continued to drive, not watching the terrain in front of her as the bike continued on its arc back towards the mob. Even going so far as to remove the only one of her hands steering the bike to display a thumbs up. The strange hilarity of the motion shook Ebony's resolve further. Things were definitely not OK, yet it was as if Morene was having fun and treating it as a joke. Ebony shuddered, arms relaxing for a split second as she began to roll off the tilted bike. Seeing this, Morene quickly straightened her former steering arm behind her, shoving Ebony back into place violently and efficiently. There wasn't time for her to waste on the girl further.

Quickly, Morene returned the arm to the handles, bracing her sword and straightening the bike. The enclosing horde was primarily in front of the pair, allowing Morene to zip in and out quickly to dispatch the more isolated stragglers. From a strategic perspective, they were in a fairly good position. Or would be if they had the numbers to support themselves. While reaching the castle through the masses would be nigh impossible, the hostile terrain often prompted Nebula's forces to spread out. A nearby river of magma had few crossings, limiting the movement of the attracted darklings towards them. Yet the numbers continued to build up as the mob aggressively pushed towards its prey. Occasionally some of the monsters were shunted into the molten rock by their own kinsmen, all eager to wet their claws, teeth, and blades with the blood of primes.

Ebony didn't get used the gruelling motions of the skirmish. It was worse than her first time on a boat and coupled with much, much, more stress. Mere hours ago she'd experienced the paralysing process of drowning in icy water; she'd been ripped away from her home, her friends - never even getting to say goodbye. Then, just when things were beginning to look up - no more intimidation from Stormtroopers or villains who kill for money - just when she thought she had made a friend, she was cast away into the chaos of the battlefield. Grotesque zombie like monstrosities hounded against her. Claws and swords groped at her fleshy body, trying to catch a taste as Morene continued to weave in and out against the battle lines. 

Each charge took greater risks than its predecessor as Morene gambled her body more and more with each strike, aiming to fell the many members of the tide that dared accept her challenge. Metal clashed and scratched against the bike and her armour, leaving nicks but not yet drawing her blood. Ebony huddled in, frantically breathing. Her eyes closed, trying to block out the sights. Specs of warm liquid flicked against her cheek. Ignoring it to the best of her ability, Ebony dreaded what it was as the drips trailed down her face. She swallowed, forcing bile back down her throat.

How was she supposed to thrive in this?

How could anyone live through such an event?

Her imagination never stretched this far when writing. Even her alter ego had never experienced anything as graphic as this.

Yet, in reality, she knew the answer. Deep down she understood why Morene had forced herself to come here. She'd had to, the fate of this realm depended on the outcome. Nebula, whoever he was, could not be allowed to succeed. And these monsters had to be refused the right to assist him.

They're just monsters. They're evil. There's nothing wrong with... hurting them. Ebony tried to convince herself, eyes still screwed shut, cloak flowing behind her. Sword strikes had hit the fabric on rare occasions, missing their actual target. None had cut through, only pushing the material out of the way. The slight tugs had still caused her to flinch, however.

It seemed as if hours had passed since Morene's blade first drew blood, and while still unaccustomed to the erratic jostling of the bike, Ebony knew she had to act. Even if it only made a small difference, she had to help her friend. Steadily, the pair had moved further away, rather than closer, to the castle. Yet Morene's intention had come to fruition. They had, in fact, made themselves known.

Stabilising her turbulent breaths, Ebony opened her eyes, blinking from the harsh light of magma and the ash-saturated air. Recognising she needed her hands to cast spells, and removing one probably wasn't a good idea, Ebony grabbed a nearby rock with her magic. Her previously contained mana gushed through the outlet the spell provided; her body filled with a calming warmth - yet that wasn't enough to stop her shaky breaths.

Slam.

The fist sized clump of obsidian smashed into the chest of one of the darklings. It was hard to miss when there were so many targets, especially now that they were beginning to further coalesce together into a single swarm. Those that separated had fallen or rejoined, making Morene's job much harder.

Slam.

The use of her repressed magic was intoxicating. Addictive.

Slam.

The bike skidded to a halt halfway up a nearby incline. Taking on more than a single foe at once was too risky, especially with the majority now protecting each other. I need to break them up.

"Air, be with me; disrupt their formation. Wind, I need thee; scatter the endless division." Ebony spoke delicately, voice wavering as the relentless tide moved closer. Holding onto Morene with her free arm, she braced herself.

Hiss. A swirling green orb shot out of her palm, sending vibrations down their bodies.

Hiss. Another followed shortly after.

Green air exploded throughout the impact sites, waves of energy shunting carcasses into the air. In the chaos, the bike engine revved. Morene was ready for another charge.

For those unfamilar with Ebony's moves, she multicast two explosive air spells. Essentially two non-damaging explosions of air. The intent was to disrupt the horde of darklings to assist Morene with her skirmishing tactic.

[Kuzuru]

Calamity. Complete and utter bedlam consumed Wendy’s garrison as a curtain of black death fell upon it. Darkspawn surged over the walls, creating an unrelenting tidal wave of blades and bodies. Anthropomorphic turtles took up arms to defend their homeland, unleashing withering fusillades of hammers. Kuzuru watched with about as big of a grin that he could muster. Sure killing Ballad was nice, and that dreamland trip was certainly something to write home about, but this, this was something damn near magical. He inhaled deeply, filling his chest with the aromatic notes of bloodshed. Yes. Yes, this would do nicely to slake his gluttony. This field of violence would be his feast and he would gorge himself on the anguish of the fallen.

As the Blades approached the frontlines Kuzuru’s entire body was dipped in electricity. The handful of food pills he had consumed sat awkwardly in his gut. They sharpened his mind and hardened his body, but sent anxious ripples across his flesh. Small metal leaves wormed their way from beneath the skin covering his forearms. The sickening squelch of sheared derma filled the air as several feet worth of blades ruptured from his body. Four scimitars shined in the light, three attached to his left arm and the fourth attached to his right. He clanged them together and broke from his fellow Blades to charge into the heart of the chaos.

A dancer possessed by murderous intent, Kuzuru carved a swathe of carnage through the Koopa’s lines. His blades, hardened by the food pills, punctured turtle shell as if it was porcelain. Hammer-wielding Koopas did their best to slow his assault, but the few wayward blows they managed to land did little more than spur the demon onward. It wasn’t until he was broadsided by an armor-clad beefcake that his slaughter was hindered. The goliath carried his momentum well and pushed the demon several meters before losing steam and disengaging.

Kuzuru coughed as he turned to face his new aggressor. A turtle clad in football gear stood before him. The Chargin’ Chuck planted his cleats into the ground and clapped his gloved hands together. He stood sentinel, ready to weather the storm set before him. The demon smiled and held up his hand. Between his fingers he held one of the many darkchips bestowed upon the disciples of Nebula. His opponent’s eyes went wide, but he did not falter. Without a word Kuzuru smacked the chip against his neck, much like one would smack a mosquito. For a moment nothing happened, but that moment was nothing more than the ephemeral calm before the storm. In an instant the demon’s body had turned into a funeral pyre. Violet flames wicked off his flesh and consumed anything within arm’s reach. Two vicious rubies scowled from within the whirlwind of flames, and they set their gaze upon the would-be hero before them.

Forward the demon pressed, his new visage acting as a beacon for the twisted minions of Nebula. In a last ditch effort the Chuck charged Kuzuru. He was met by an unbearable wall of heat. Violaceous flames hugged the brave soul and rewarded him with excruciating agony. Kuzuru laughed as the turtle stumbled backwards, flailing wildly to extinguish the otherworldly flames that ravaged him. The demon stepped forth to deliver the coup de grace. He raised his blade high, but was interrupted as a bolt of magic slammed into his backside. The force of impact sent him stumbling forward, and he had to skewer the ground with his weapon to steady himself. With a growl the living fireball whirled around to engage his new enemy.

Astride a motorcycle sat two warriors, one clad in armor and the other shrouded by a dark cloak. They pulled wide and began to circle Kuzuru, kicking up a cloud of dust in their wake. The shrouded one spoke hidden words and signed an arcane language. After some build up the girl unleashed a swirling sphere at the fire-shrouded devil. Had Kuzuru possessed a mouth he would have been smiling. His drug-enhanced mind performed a handful of minute calculations and he stepped into the incoming projectile. With a well-timed swing he deflected the sphere and sent it spiraling towards the motorcycle duo.

Morene cranked on the handlebars and squeezed the brakes, hoping to cut a sharp turn and avoid the reflected attack. While she managed to dodge the actual sphere she was unable to avoid the resulting explosion. A burst of air erupted from the nearby impact and sent them both tumbling across the ground. Chunks of their industrial steed flew into the air and scattered themselves across the battlefield.

Kuzuru stomped towards the wreckage, his eyes scanning his surroundings for what was left of them. Without warning, the head of a poleaxe carved through a cloud of smoke and aimed itself towards the demon’s head. Were it not for his enhanced state the blow would have rang true, but he managed to raise his right arm in defence. The weapon smashed into Kuzuru’s burning blades and for a moment the two warriors found themselves at a standstill. For only a moment though. Morene stepped through the smoke, choking up her grip on the halberd. This extra leverage was all that she needed to press an attack. Kuzuru’s blades shattered into a thousand flaming bits of shrapnel as the axe smashed through them, continued down the length of his arm, and finally buried itself into his gut. The demon howled in pain and lashed out with the remaining blade on his other arm. The curved scimitar cut through the air and found purchase in Morene’s shoulder, crushing through her armor and drawing a healthy stream of blood. The two warriors stepped back, disengaging and freeing their weapons from each other.

Kuzuru laughed as his charcoal eyes focused shifted from Morene to Ebony. They had both survived the crash, and hell they seemed no more worse for wear because of it.

“Now, darlings, as much as I love your attention,” he said, his voice heavily distorted from the darkchip, “you’ve made a terrible mistake showing up.”

The demon slowly raised his hand, keeping the palm pointed at them. The armored one took up a defensive stance, unsure of what to expect, while the panther girl edged behind her. Kuzuru’s eyes narrowed to pinpricks within the swirling cloud of flames. The glint of a spearhead appeared in his palm as the tip breached his skin.

“I’m afraid you’ve landed yourselves smack dab in one hell of a show.”

As if to punctuate his sentence, the spearhead erupted from his palm and rocketed towards them. As it unspooled from that hidden place beneath his skin the shaft of metal grew thicker and thicker and adopted a grooved twist to its body. Kuzuru simply laughed.

Activating the DARK BURN chip and firing my tier 2 super move “Demon Spear” at Morene. I have 2 SP remaining. I’ve also consumed all of my food pills resulting in this statline.

ATK 6
DEF 3
SPD 5
TEC 4

DARK BURN - Your body will erupt in dark violet flames. Only a silhouette, and your eyes (now burning a bright red) will be visible of your body. The flames will not burn you, but to anyone else in melee range they will be unbearably hot and inflict constant damage and excruciating pain. They will also serve as a minor defense against weak projectile attacks. The flames will burn for up to five minutes once the chip is triggered.

[Claptrap]

Claptrap let out a 'whoa' as he dropped from the Terremoto into the battleground below. He lifted himself up to see Kuzuru tearing a bloody path through the koopa army and decided to follow suit. The small robot summoned his shotgun and fired at the distracted turtles, scattering them like bowling pins. The koopas which didn't have their shells pierced by Hyperion firepower retracted into their shells and were sent flying.

After fully emptying his shotgun, Claptrap went to reload but was narrowly hit by a flying hammer. The robot paused, searching for where it came from, before his eye locked onto the group of hammerbros tossing hammers from safety at the back of the koopa army. "Well, I guess somebody's gotta do something about that." Claptrap mumbled as he skirted around the side of the koopa army, the turtles too distracted by Kuzuru transforming into a demonic bonfire to care about the relatively harmless looking robot.  

Claptrap reached the hammerbro line and snuck behind them just as they prepared to fire another volley, only to be disrupted by the loud boom of Claptrap's shotgun. The line of hammer throwing turtles turned and their eyes met on the robot holding a shotgun behind them. "Uh, hey there." Claptrap said sheepishly before unloading into the hammerbros, sending turtles flying with each pull of the trigger.

As the darklings advanced on the koopas, Bowser turned, wondering why the hammerbros had stopped firing. To his surprise, in the place of the hammerbros was Claptrap. The Koopa King roared in anger and started lumbering over to the robot, the ground seeming to shake with every step. Claptrap screamed a little as the giant reptile charged towards him, and turned tail. As he ran, he fumbled with the dark chip Kuzuru had given him. 

Claptrap inserted the chip into himself and gave the command to run it. "Are you sure about that?" Asked the voice of Hyperion. "That is not a registered Hyperion program. Running may cause malware, voided warranty or spontaneous combustion." "Uh, yes. Run the program." Claptrap said uneasily. He really didn't want to spontaneously combust. As Bowser began to draw close, the chip hummed with power from within the robot, and a Gatling gun formed itself onto the robot's arm.

The koopa king's eyes widened as he saw the gun, and Claptrap laughed maniacally as he revved it. Before Bowser could get away, Claptrap unloaded the Vulcan cannon into him, and a large portion of the koopa's back line. The stream of bullets was wildly inaccurate, but was so thick that it appeared that the air between Claptrap and the koopas had ignited. Before Claptrap's fun had finished, however, the cannon overheated and sputtered to a halt. "Dammit, don't stop now." Claptrap muttered to himself. 

In the time it was taking for the cannon to cool down, Bowser had retreated into the midst of the koopa army and roared something Claptrap didn't catch. It didn't take long for him to find out, however, when a chain chomp came barreling out of the koopa army towards Claptrap. The robot shrieked and started running twice as fast as he was before, making a break for the darkling line. 

The chain chomp's jaws opened right behind the robot, before lunging forward and swallowing him whole. The chain chomp was still for a moment, before a hail of bullets exploded out from its mouth, shattering its teeth. Claptrap pulled himself out of the monster, before turning to the koopa army once more and releasing another hail of bullets, this time from the darkling line, ready to consume the koopas in the firestorm of artillery.

Used DARK VULCAN dark chip: Dark Vulcan grants you a powerful, arm-mounted vulcan cannon. It has eight barrels. It takes two seconds to spin up and ready to fire, but when it does it unleashes a hellstorm of explosive shells, several thousand rounds per minute. After firing for 10 seconds straight, it will overheat and need 10 seconds to cooldown. Individually, the shots are not all that powerful, the explosions only having about a foot in diameter, and its accuracy is not spectacular beyond about ten meters, but sheer volume of fire makes up for that. The vulcan cannon has infinite ammunition, though only lasts for three minutes when triggered.

     .

[Summer]

“You've gotta be kiddin’ me...” The first words in the new verse were from Jim as the soldier muttered a rather harsh sentence under his breath, barely audible over the country music blasting over the radio. Had Sonny been susceptible to heat, he might’ve been inclined to agree. The scorching dunes they’d been in had done a number on both Sun and Jim, and the fiery greeting the Steppes had just given them put that to shame. And between the two, the Nexus had been as barren and neutral as ever, providing a nice, uneventful respite between the two hells.

“Stop, please.” The trio had scarcely travelled more than a few meters into the verse, when Sun’s voice rose up from the back. “I’m sorry guys, I really am. I thought I’d be able to continue, but it’s even worse here.”

“That’s your prerogative,” Sonny said levelly, leaning into his seatbelt as the humvee ground to a halt. The monkey boy pushed his door open as soon as they were stationary. A hot, furnace-like gust of wind burst through the open door. “Good luck on your adventures,” the sun spirit gave a quick farewell, shooting his ally a friendly smile.

“See you guys!” the magician responded.

“Yeah, see ya.” A final farewell from the soldier, and Sun was off, disappearing behind the vehicle and on his way to do who knows what. Without another word, Jim stepped on the gas, pushing them forward, further into the rocky hellscape.


The humvee bounced and shuddered as it travelled, pushing relentlessly over the rough terrain. Sonny and Jim were both thrown against their seatbelts with every dip and divot. Doing his best to ignore the rough ride, the sun spirit stared out the passenger side window, keeping an eye out for any ambushes or the like. Plumes of ash and smoke rose up from mounds far in the distance, blotting out the sky for miles. Despite the constant cover of soot blocking the sun, the verse was not cooling off. It felt more like the environment of Venus than Earth.

A frown crossed the the spirit of clear sky’s face. He vaguely wished he’d taken his other half’s place in the Dunes, and instead let him deal with this place. Having no sunlight shining down on him was just disappointing, and while he could technically disperse all this ash, it wasn’t in his nature to do so. Storms he could kill without a wasted breath, but ash plumes weren’t weather. He’d need to adjust the spell to work on other things, and that always took more energy than it was worth.

Volcanic lightning flashed ominously in an endless electrical show, providing the sunless illumination they needed to traverse this treacherous terrain. Vague, twisted forms scrabbled across the rock faces, keeping an eye on the humvee, but none daring to approach it just yet.

THUNK

A loud bang, accompanied by the truck lurching, shook Sonny from his watchful trance. He whipped forward, casting a quick glance out the windshield, before turning to face Jim.

“Whoops,” the soldier said casually, keeping his eyes glued on the path ahead. Something must not have gotten out of their way fast enough.

“There sure are a lot of them,” Sonny said, turning back to look out the window.

“Sure are,” Jim responded. “Can’tcha wipe them out with a storm or somethin? Like what you did back at the pyramid?”

“They’re too disorganized,” Summer borrowed their shared voice for a moment, not giving the sun spirit a chance to answer for him. “With how far apart they’re spread, I’d need to summon up a hurricane or something. That’d take at least a few weeks, and a body of water that I don’t have access to here.”

“I see,” Jim muttered. “Looks like we’re doin this the hard way then. Take the fight straight to the boss and hope we don’t get jumped in the meantime.”

“Looks like it.” Sonny said, glancing down at his Liberator Aide. Little red dots absolutely covered the screen, the prime indicator of the sheer amount of numbers they’d likely have to face. Many of the dots seemed to move with purpose, all heading in the same direction, converging on some point far beyond the horizon. “Where do you think they’re headed to?”

“Beats me. Wherever it is, it’s probably the place we need to be.”

“This is gonna be fun,” the split spirit muttered. Sure, if they were all grouping up in one area, that would make it easier to be swarmed. It would also make it much easier to blow them all away all at once. Whether he liked it or not, there was a storm brewing.

[Dawnika Snow]

The heat seared her face as instantly as possible. The dark haired woman found herself back in the Ashen Steppes. She had no idea where she was though, somewhere random. After that experience, she somehow felt refreshed. She was mostly relieved that she hadn't died during Dante’s Abyss. Her thoughts went directly to the blue woman: Graowr. The bubblegum monster owed her a fight and she was going to collect on that debt.

However, her first order of business was to go home and relax for a moment. She didn't feel the fatigue she had felt on the island, which felt amazing, and was no longer extremely tired. It never hurt to just sit down and breathe after being in a combat zone for days with little to no sleep. The vigilante grew her devilish wings and began to fly. From collected knowledge from having to pass through the jagged landscape, she was able to find some landmarks making it easier to find her way home. The ability to fly also made it so much easier to travel around the molten hills leaking lava and standing to block the path. Once she had found out where she was, it didn't take long to find home base. She landed at the entrance to the Blades’ hideout and let herself inside.

It was empty. Not a single soul in sight. The confused Dawn looked around the rocky rooms for anyone. Not even Mal, Cinder or Charles were around.

“Hello? Where is everyone?” She called out to be respond to only by the echoes of her own statement. The vigilante’s face grew heavy. “Fuckin’ asshats.”

Dawn proceeded to her room and took a seat down at her computer. Almost instantly when she booted it up, a public service announcement forced itself on the screen. She scoffed at it’s interruption. It told about pressing issues in the Vasty Deep and the Ashen Steppes. The Koopa Kingdom was being overrun by something called Darklings, they desperately needed help fending off their sheer numbers. It seems as though the Darklings are being aided by a terrorist group known as...The Ashen Blades. Dawn sat in silence for a moment, and with a sigh of resignation, she grabbed her sniper rifle.

“Idiots. Wait for me, I'm coming.” She said as though they could hear her. She turned on her Vita Compass and began her journey to regroup with her faction. No one ever tells her anything these days.

It took maybe a half an hour or so, but finally, the Vita Compass beeped and turned off. Kuzuru was nearby. The dark haired woman landed in front of the new face to the field, meters away from her allies. Kuzuru saw the half-demon land gracefully in front of Summer.

“Perfect timing!” He yelled out to the girl, who just ignored him. She starred down the newcomer with beautiful blue eyes, gun at the ready.

“I don't know what’s going on here, but you're on the other side of the battle field to my family-in-arms. If you want to destroy them, you’ll have to take me on as well.” She said raising Oscurita, ready to fire. “What say you?”

“Yo, Shadow, take this.” Calls out Kuzuru. She turns around just in time to see him throw something small, which she is barely able to catch after closing a bit of distance between them. “Should help you out.”

A black data chip of some kind. She shrugged and put it in her pocket for now.

Dawn is challenging Summer. Kuzuru traded off the DARK HEART Dark Chip.

[Summer]

The sun spirit’s chest heaved with a deep sigh, his eyes flicking between the rifle barrel pointed his direction, the woman’s piercing blue gaze, and her ally not too far in the distance. It seemed like she was challenging him and him alone to a duel, but he knew better than to accept in the position he was in. Even if they had some code of honor, you never fought when people had allies around. If you came out on top, they’d just jump you while you were worn out.

“The ally of my enemy is not my enemy,” Sonny said evenly after a moment, shoving his hand and stump into the pockets of his coat and staring Dawn right in the eyes with a calm gaze. She was decidedly normal. Average face, average demeanor, maybe a better than average build. She wasn’t a darkling, she was your standard soldier, dragged into a fight they might not support. He’d treat her as such.

“You have your own goals here, and though they may lead you to fight alongside Nebula’s forces, you’re not fighting for them.” He took on an incredibly polite tone, and let his words hang for a moment, turning his head to look towards a rocky outcropping to his right. Jim had taken the humvee that way, scouting ahead. Hopefully he’d be back soon. “Thus, I don’t intend to fight you, nor your allies. I’m only here for the darklings.”

Without waiting for a response from the gun-toting woman, he turned on his heel and stepped away, towards the small cliffs he’d been eying. Like hell he was fighting anyone on his own. Especially not when she had allies around just waiting to step in should he even think about winning. And especially not when he still had other people to protect. There were other Liberators around her, taking hits they didn’t need to, getting injured, or possibly even dying. He wasn’t just gonna sit around, letting her burn herself out trying to kill him while there were more productive places he could be. This wasn’t the hill to die on.

Sonny refuses the challenge, guarantees he won’t fight the Blades, and walks away. Should you attack, he will defend himself, but will not fight back. His “fighting” style revolves around wearing people out, not hurting them.

[Morene Fellon]

No time whatsoever had passed before Morene felt a spike of livid pain course down her arm as the demon's spear injected itself into the huntress' shoulder previously unscathed.


The woman went wide eyed, almost dropping her poleaxe as time itself seemed to speed up, everything around her coming out of focus. Blood was already pouring down her now disabled arm, the flaming demon twisting his strange tendril of a weapon inside of her already open wound, and her ears began to ring over the raising intensity of the battlefield's noise. Worst of all however, was looking back and seeing Ebony at the corner of her eyes, fearing.

Her gut twisted. Shame rose to the woman's conscious, and it felt worse than any wound she had been inflicted upon in recent memory.

Why did I do this?  Morene almost panicked, realizing in that moment the danger she put that child in. Simple as that, Morene felt horrid, sick to her stomach at the thought of Ebony dying at a moment like this.


More thoughts raced in the woman's mind, the spear-like protrusion from Kuzuru's palm ripping from Morene's limb. The huntress yelped in pain, and if the woman listened closely enough, she'd have heard Ebony gasping audibly.

Morene looked back at her opponent who finished goring her. That smile.

The horrid ear-to-ear grin plastered on the flaming hellspawn's face immediately replaced the worry building in Morene's chest with contempt.

Kuzuru would have laughed, had Morene not wiped that sadistic smirk off of his face with a fistful of lead a mere second later, her rifle now in hand. Her only functioning arm stung horribly as the firearm kicked back onto her shoulder, but seeing sparks fly from the fiery demon’s face made up for it almost completely.

Almost.

Morene dropped her rifle, unable to maintain a grip over her weapon over the seething burn in her arm. Grasping at her pauldron, Morene looked over. Blood was still coming down, albeit slower than moments ago. The thought of dying did not cross her mind once however. Not until Ebony Hellscythe sprinted towards the huntress, anyways.

Crouching down, the teenage Prime grasped at the Liberator’s arm, not wanting to let go. Morene watched Ebony as she huddled as close as she could to the woman. The steady approach of the Darkling masses and Kuzuru himself weren’t important at the moment, no. Morene knew better.

Ebony would be her only concern, and Ebony would be the one girl Morene would have to fight for in this instance. Still, the huntress felt a steady ping of regret looking on at the girl’s fearful eyes.

“I’m,” Morene wheezed, continuing the best she could, “so sorry.”

Ebony’s eyes widened, this time in awe. She looked up at the woman for a second, the noise of intense battle becoming no more than a distraction at this point.

“N-no,” Ebony eventually replied, “please don’t go.”

Her voice was no more than a whimper at this point, and to this, Morene clenched her fist so tightly she could almost feel the tendons in her wrist snapping apart.

Morene had purpose. She always did, but now, a fire in her soul flared with more intensity than even Kuzuru’s blazing pores. The knight of Creedmoor would not allow these wretched creatures of the night to take these lands, let alone her partner’s life.

Perhaps Morene didn’t understand how these Darklings could amass so easily into an army, or why as of now, Primes joined their ranks in order to attack this castle, including a woman who seemed to be colleagues with the demonspawn that wounded both of Morene’s arms. Her Liberator Aid reminded her that she didn’t need to. With that, Morene Fellon gripped her rifle, slowly using both hands to aim at the darkspawn quickly approaching the two defenders of the siege.

Bullets flew, and Ebony watched in shock at the sight of Darkling heads popping off one by one. At least five of the half-sentient creatures had their existences put to rest in a mere few seconds. Of course, things only got worse from there.

Kuzuru remained, and an ear-piercing laugh echoed through what seemed to be the entire Verse. The demon boy made a mad dash towards his two opponents, and the scene seemed to set itself for the two girls nicely.

Koopaling and Darkling battlecries ripped through the air like sirens. It was quite possibly one of the strangest sounds the huntress has heard in recent years, but the sounds of Koopalings advancing behind her comforted the woman, if only slightly.

Morene flicked her gun to the side, watching as the empty magazine of her rifle slid from the bottom of her gun. Steadily, she reloaded with both of her hands, and the movement required to do so was already a pain on the woman’s limbs. Still, Kuzuru was merely halfway towards both of his adversaries before Morene walked back, returning fire to the literal flaming demon. Ebony’s face pressed onto Morene’s arm, muffling the sound of her weapon.

Morene expected Ebony to remain this way until they retreated successfully, but the woman was surprised to find that only seconds later, the tiny child had already let go of Morene’s injured arm, her own palm raised in the general direction of Kuzuru.

A slight smirk of amusement spread across Morene’s lips, though nobody could see it as due result of her helmet. The woman couldn’t say exactly why, but there was something satisfying about watching a tiny teenage girl fire raw magicka at the feet of a demon, forcing the hellspawn to fall flat on his face right onto the sharp rocky terrain of the Steppes.

Of course, it didn’t hurt him much, seeing as he got up immediately after. Sighing, Morene raised her rifle once more, and began shooting in unison with Ebony and her barrage of magical attacks.


This is going to take a while.

990 words according to wordcounter.