The Temple of Artemis(Pre-Event/Intro Thread)

[Magus]

He sighed. It wasn’t meant to be audible, but there was no doubt the bespectacled shill in the suit had heard it. This impudent man began by insulting his appearance and then introducing himself. Crowley. There was something oddly familiar about that name, but he couldn’t place it.

Magus turned toward him, crimson eyes piercing into the dark lenses where Crowley’s eyes should have been. He looked the little man up and down, and what he saw was a man bathed in pretense. A man hiding something – or making up for something.

“Would you…. want to band together, maybe?” the man offered an alliance, without even knowing the wizard’s name. “Not that you have to, of course not. Just. You seem like an alright person and we’ll probably never run into each other again after this, might as well chat for a bit before we die horribly and in pain, yeah?”

Magus sighed again, the gears of his mind turning over as his strategy already began to coalesce, forming something altogether too ethereal to act upon. Still, he would gain nothing through inaction.

“I’m not helping this ‘Teucer’ out of any moral imperative. I’m doing it because it’s a means to an end. Solving his problem presumably means we’re released from this prison, and if I’m the one to do it, I can use his power to get what I need,” Magus replied. Or take his power for myself. “If you understand that and still wish to accompany me, I won’t stop you. Slow me down, I leave you behind. Get in my way, I end you.”

Before Crowley could reply, another newcomer stepped between them. Some would-be knight, clad in garishly ostentatious armor. Magus rolled his eyes as the man spoke to Crowley, and he, too, extended an invitation to an alliance with the shady man in the sunglasses.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Magus interjected. The armored man shot him an annoyed glance, as though he was the one who had just interrupted the conversation. “The three of us would be more effective working together than against one another,” he swept his eyes across the field of participants. “I don’t need to tell you that there are enough snakes here to end any one of us as soon as the opportunity presents itself. I suggest a triumvirate. Talk amongst yourselves; decide if that is agreeable.”

The mage didn’t wait for a response before breaking away from the other two, but he froze upon seeing a familiar young warrior. He wore light, green armor. Pointed ears poked out from locks of blond hair. He looked… so familiar. What felt like static discharges exploded in his skull when he focused on it. He clenched his eyes shut, his head immediately throbbing with the early onset of a migraine. Something was preventing him from remembering, he knew that, but he let it go.

“Who are you?” he muttered to himself. “And why do I feel as though we were… comrades?”

He turned away, separating himself from the group, though he hoped the green-clad warrior would speak with him. This bizarre sense of familiarity yet not knowing was… unpleasant.

Magus planted his hands on a solid stone handrail, leaning over it with closed eyes as he fought to drown out the world around him. This was shaping up to be a very political machine – alliances and agreements were what was going to win the day – but he was tired.

Perhaps they would come to him. Perhaps he could triumph on his own. Perhaps he’d simply slaughter the lot of them and damn Teucer the way Omni had damned him.

[Ada Wong]

Wizard person responded a little better than Crowley had anticipated, to say the least. At least he hadn’t been stabbed or filleted like a fish by some arbitrary concealed blade— that was always a plus. Maybe he’d rambled a little too much and frayed everyone’s nerves, but other than that, it was a stellar performance. Top marks in the communication department, that was him.

“A triumvirate. Snakes. Right.” Crowley shrugged and dug his hands into his pockets as the guy stormed off, feeling very much alone even with the Adorned Armor standing right next to him.

Well, wasn’t this a hairy situation— the wizard guy was clearly the self-serving type, maybe a little deranged even, but it wasn’t like they knew each other all that well, at least not to the point that Crowley knew his life story inside and out. It might have been best to exercise caution, in any case.

This is what you get for going out on a limb, Crowley, he thought sullenly, chancing a brief glance at Koren. Better the devil you know, right?

“Might as well.” the demon replied to the former pointy-ended weapon when asked if they could be all in this together, nodding his head off to the side and taking a good look at the temple for what seemed to be the umpteenth time. But hey, it was what everyone else was doing, too, talking and squinting around a whole lot as if this were all just some crazy, ludicrous dream. If it was, Crowley was sure he would have one sucker of a headache when he finally woke up.

There was very little to do now, though. He would have to suffer through this nightmarish dream until the bitter end. At least Koren was there, to share in his sorrows and be a balm for all of his reservations, a shoulder to lean on and—

Wait, no. He was gone. Crowley frowned at the empty space where the Adorned Armor had stood only a few moments before, now vacant. Okay.

After a few seconds of internal panicking, Crowley saw Koren standing a few long strides from where he had originally been, flexing his shoulders and inspecting his armor in any reflective surface available. It was probably a novelty, being able to see yourself for the first time or maybe the second, dependent upon whether the former Bejeweled Blade had undergone a transformation such as this before.

With a sigh, Crowley wandered over towards him and stood a healthy distance away, trying his best to seem like a team player rather than a cheerleader in the face of such impressively glittering armor. Meanwhile, differing conversations slipped crossways between the marble columns and over the smooth floors, ranging from what sounded like buzzing white noise to someone fiddling around with the dials of a radio.

"O.K.," Crowley muttered, observing as the mage decided to stop somewhere and sulk all on his lonesome. "This is fine. Who needs that doom and gloom guy, anyway? We'd best just stick together, Koren, unless you're seriously considering this trio-whatever."

He paused in his speech, voice rolling around like that of someone who was prone to ramble and ramble often. The hero Teucer drifted around several others in the the temple, keeping mostly to himself and to all appearances wallowing in his imprisonment. A faint blue sheen manifested upon the floor below him, like some strange inverted shadow.

Nodding in the sorrowful spirit's direction after situating himself easily within Koren's line of sight, Crowley asked, "You know that hero guy, huh? How's that?"

[Kopaka]

The green garbed organic seemed to move on briskly after Kopaka's terse reply. This was good, because the Toa had not intended on working alongside the semi-human anyway. He had to keep his eyes on his singular goal in this place. As it was, Mickey Mouse had clearly taken a shining to the human he had been conversing with, going so far as to climb onto her shoulders in a nearly nauseating display of camaraderie. Kopaka had no qualms with teamwork, but this sort of over-affectionate bonding could only lead to weakness in the group as a whole. Inevitable, emotions would cloud judgement, and any competent foe would be able to exploit that. The Toa of Ice had seen it happen many times with Tahu and Lewa. Their overabundant rage and mirth, respectively, often caused them to act rashly, even at the expense of their brothers and sister they allegedly cared so much about. Kopaka refrained from this sort of heartfelt tomfoolery not because he disliked his siblings; he abstained because he cared about them.

After all, someone had to be the adult.

In that regard, Mickey and this female both seemed like they were of naive dispositions, at least in one another's presence. Perhaps he was thinking about this too hard. It was a bad habit of any Ice aligned Bionicle. Always given to thinking about all possibilities and contingencies, it was a well used phrase that said "Think Smarter, not Harder." On top of that, Kopaka was going against his normal approach to situations, which was to operate under the assumption that the best solution to a situation was usually whatever was simplest. As such, the Toa turned from his place at the fountain and slowly walked over to Mickey and Belle, who both eyed the biomech suspiciously. His metallic feet clanged loudly on the polished marble floor, and even among the slight din of all the collected voices echoing around the chamber, it was possible to hear Kopaka's measured, synthetic breathing.

"Uh...heya bud!" Mickey said, trying to offer a clearly fake sense of enthusiasm. Kopaka's eye flicked up to Mickey, then back down to Belle's somewhat flustered face, and then back to Mickey. It was hard not to feel analyzed by the cold, blue stare.

"You're wanted dead by the Empire." Kopaka said flatly. Mickey's expression immediately soured, settling somewhere between a defensive glare and genuine fear.

"What about it?" the mouse replied, his words suddenly taking on a sharp note. The female's eyes were growing wider and wider every moment, but Kopaka couldn't tell if it was anger or panic causing the reaction.

"As a member of the EPD, I make it my business to hunt down and eradicate enemies of the Emperor such as yourself...however...I am curious to see if you can give me a reason why I should not kill you." Kopaka said, his sharp eye unblinking.

"...how'm I s'pposed to do that, huh?" Mickey said, looking at someone behind the Toa. Did the mouse have allies here? It would be important to ascertain at a later time. If so, he had done a good job of concealing it thus far; apparently Mickey had more wiles than his upbeat manner would indicate.

"I'm going to give you an option. Allow me to work alongside you in this competition, so that I may assess you myself. If you prove to be the kind of person who would benefit more people than harm them, I may let you live."

"Uh...may let him live?" asked the girl, suddenly piping up. Kopaka payed the female no mind.

"Reject this offer, and I will simply kill you upon first opportunity. What say you?" Kopaka said, his tone worryingly calm. If Mickey rejected the offer, then either he was a lazy coward who had no faith in himself, or, he had something in him that he didn't want Kopaka to see. If he accepted, it would at least prove to the Toa that the mouse had courage...

[Victor Wolfe]

Victor yawned at the Zombie's insults, he had heard it before and was pretty used to his venom by now , looking at the female that had joined the group Victor shrugged " She may be ten times the warrior that I am , that would probably be because I am not a warrior, Assassin, diplomat and more recently researcher. Now we could argue all day about each others flaws but I doubt it would lead to anything good, besides there are plenty of other people here to get in the institutes way, we maximize our chances by having as many people on the same page as possible. Especially as we do seem to share a common goal this time." Victor turned from the walking gathering of disease to the new member of the group.

"Yeah I am pretty sure that just like when we first entered the verses , we all got told the same thing by this spirit, maybe its just the smiling one in disguise, as to create some entertainment by throwing a group of primes into what will most likely be another blood bath. Although the people I do feel sorry for, are the primes that have not had the time to get connections, being alone in these types of events are often suicide, especially as to win you need all the artifacts. Luckily for you our organisation is always looking for new members. Perhaps you would be interested in joining an organisation that has plans to learn all we can about the verses we are in and use that information to unite the verses? Helping us in the event would be a good start in getting some useful connections. I am Victor Wolfe of the unity branch of the Institute , our goal is to carry out research and try to unlock the secrets of this world through exploration and experimentation. These two" Victor pointed at Okor and then Colonel "are the Dean and Vice Dean of the security branch, who fight , and patrol stuff , look for conflict and try to stop it. And there is also the Equality branch focused on providing aid and building up the infrastructure of the verses. So there is a place for all types if it interests you , and with the level of ambition our headmaster has I am sure that the future will be very interesting. So how about it?"Victor said in a polite tone

Smiling at the prospect of recruiting a new face into the fold, judging by his innocent expression, laid back attitude and lack of any scarring this man was most likely not well built for security , perhaps he would fit nicely into the Unity branch , or even help get the Equality branch kick started. Victor gave a warm smile and offered his hand in a hand shake.

[Dave Strider]

Ryner nodded along to the assassin, who began trying to recruit him into an Institute of some sort. The way it was set up kinda reminded him of Sion, at least before he... well that didn't matter now. It also seemed as if the assassin's words were directly precisely towards his position, was it that obvious that he was new around these parts. Looking around, he seemed to fit in pretty well with all of these, well completely random and differentiating people. Was that a child over there? Ryner shook away all the distracting thoughts as he replied to the recruiting assassin.

"Yeah... I am actually pretty new here. I didn't even make it past the place that was white everywhere before I got pulled in here too. That reminds me, you guys didn't happen to see some guy in some white knight armor did you? He.. um.. exploded into confetti or something when I was being pulled here."

The Alpha Stigma gave a slightly worried look before continuing.

"As for the Institute, I guess I could give it a shot. There might be um... issues with me being a diplomat, I would rather not talk about it, but I am an adept researcher, and I know all sorts of magic. Or at least, I did before I my memory of them got fuzzy. What is up with our abilities here? Are we all working together?" He scratched the back of his head as he looked around at the others.

In secret, Ryner hoped that he was stripped of his inner demon, reaching for a light he had never seen for a long time. Maybe here he wouldn't be a monster. Maybe he wouldn't have to take another life.

[Minato Namikaze]

'Namikaze-sama, you are the Yin-Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and Hatake-sama has the Mangekyou Sharingan begun to cause your eyesight to deteriorate?'

The young child startled him with her knowledge. No one but Kushina and himself should know about that. If the third Hokage had found his body after using the Dead Deamon Consuming Seal, then he would have understood what happened during the battle. So together, that would make three people that would know about his situation. So there was no way that this youth could know anything about it.

'People shouldn't have that information' Minato spoke with a strange seriousness in his voice. 'unless it became public knowledge at some point after my death, no one would have been told about that.' The blonde haired ninja finished, not even the hint of a smile on his face this time.

He looked to Kakashi, the young man's sharingan eye stood out as a defining feature on his face. 'Mangekyou?' The copy ninja's former teacher inquired 'is that some sort of jutsu?'

Minato knew about the sharingan, hell, he'd even seen it in action a couple of times, but he didn't know anything of this 'Mangekyou Sharingan' that the young girl spoke of. But what worried him more was the new information given to Kakashi. If Kakashi didn't know already, then that meant that the Third didn't tell anyone about the situation.

'How is he going to react?' Minato wondered, a feeling of worry sat in his gut as he awaited his protege's response.

[Amaterasu]

"It doesn't need to be a huge group. I mean, we could just be... a small handful. Three or four people. We have no idea what awaits us out there, getting a strong group would be helpful to making things work. Even if we end up splitting up for any reason." Amaterasu replied to Somerled, then she turned to face the room and took a deep breath to relax herself. She wasn't good with crowds, but... well, it looked like she was going to have this. After taking a moment to consider her words, she spoke up loud enough that most of the present Primes could hear her.

"Everyone! Could I get your attention for just a moment? ... thank you. I am Amaterasu, one of the... uh, contestants, I guess we can call it. I think that most of you have already found partners or groups, but I wanted to ask if anyone else wants to team up with my friend here and me?" She nodded in Somerled's direction, then adressed whoever was listening - even if there was nobody visibly paying attention. "We're both willing to take things calmly and work together, then in the event that we win we can make out who gets the prize. I myself have no interest in it, so if you join us you'll have one less person to worry about. Just, come say hi if you're up for it!"

Within, she cringed a bit. In retrospect she could think of a dozen ways to say things better... well, at least she had drawn the attention of possible teammates. Of backstabbers too, but how could she tell really? She just had to hope for the best. Besides, there were more and more people appearing... she wondered if the Spirit was planning to go for much longer, and forging alliances in the midst of battle would be a lot harder. No, she preferred to do it now, and do it fast - before things got going. She curiously looked around the room after finishing her little speech, to see if anyone approached them, or was even just looking her way.

[Link]

The all too familiar, by now at least, knot in Link stomach subsided for all of the briefest moments. “Look, I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine. That’s all I ask..” the stranger spoke, but his voice fell on distracted ears.

Six relics, Temples, spirits acting in defence when faced with the threat of an evil warlock.. the similarities to his own quest threw him into a quiet state of retrospect. The more he thought on his past, however, the more memories came to light, but not every memory felt like his own, almost as if he had another person’s memories. But each of the different places and different people felt familiar, something that confused the teen to no end.

A quiet sigh escaped Link as his continued his glazy eyed scanning of the room, coming to a complete halt as his gaze fell upon the white haired, grey skinned mage, who promptly clenched his eyes shut, muttered to himself and wandered away.

“Hey.. kid.. oi.. kid.. speaking to you here..” the long eared stranger spoke once again, prodding at Link’s shoulder.

“Huh? Oh.. sorry, got distracted. Uh hold- hold that thought would you? There’s something-” The Hylian trailed off as he began to wander away from Jak and Kopaka.

It was at this point that Link finally took to checking himself over once again. When he arrived in the Nexus, he had a pair of weapons, enough to keep him safe for the time being. But, to his dismay, it seemed both of those had disappeared upon arrival in the Temple. Whatever this Teucer had planned, his own weapons were no longer allowed, worryingly.

Link continued his approach on the Mage, whose back was turned. The familiar knot in his stomach returned, forcing the teen to falter slightly in his approach. He was unable to place it, but this man felt familiar. Unable to focus on whatever memory of this man had fallen stagnant in the recesses of his mind, a searing pain rang through the boy's mind. He brought a hand to his forehead and set off once again. A sense of urgency set about him, perhaps the dull the pain or, most likely, his morbid sense of curiosity. Regardless, the Hylian needed answers. But outright asking the mage why he was unable to recall any memory of him would not sit right.

Link sighed and hung his head for all of a second and spoke out towards the man, “What’s your take on all of this, then?” the blonde grimaced as he spoke, not quite the impression he wanted to make but it would suffice for the time being.

He opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut short by another one of the gathered Primes calling out for everyone’s attention, asking for potential alliances. The Prime sighed, heavily, and turned back towards the Magus, shaking his head as he did so.

This whole event was turning out to be quite the oddity. Link clenched a fist at his side.

[Makoto Yuki]

For the second time today, my foot sank through supposedly solid ground, and for the second time today, I tumbled through the air surrounded by unnatural darkness.

'Damnit. You know, I really should've seen this coming. What on Earth drove me to think that things would go my way, just like that?' I grouched, as I tried to reorient myself, no need to to fall in a pitfall trap and land flat on my face.

Something was different this time though. For one, I was absolutely positive that I had enough light to see where I was walking, and I definitely didn't step over a ledge or something. The floor didn't split apart under the effect of some complex mechanism, either. It vanished, poof, one moment it was there and the next, it wasn't.

This was more than just clumsiness on my part, it couldn't be, no degree of poor footing would allow me to go through the solid rock floor. Someone was responsible for this detour.

I was jolted out of that train of thought when I caught the first hint of color in the abyss; it was white. It was a white floor. And it was rushing up to meet me frighteningly quickly.

I had just about enough time to join my arms in front of my face and bend my knees, bracing for impact as best I could.

I landed feet first, and immediately threw my body to the side, better me controlling my fall than leaving it up to momentum, cruel as it could be. Basic principles of physics could really screw you over.

My right shoulder kissed the floor as passionately as one would a long lost lover, while the rest of me was busy rolling over on my back. I laid there, spread eagle, contemplating my own existence while staring at the beautifully sculpted statue, most likely of a greek or roman goddess of some sort , only to be rudely interrupted by a blue, transparent, apparition.

He, it was a person, introduced himself as the instigator of my most recent predicament. What followed was unmistakably a cry for help, one I could not, in good conscience, ignore.

"You really need to work on your people skills, I get that you've probably had no human contact for a good long while, but no one likes getting kidnapped and forced to help a complete stranger, even with the added incentive."

"Hero Teucer, I'll do my best to help you, if only to get back to my original task."

[Mickey Mouse]

Mickey Mouse was flabbergasted.

So, it seemed his admirer had decided to approach him. The mouse admired the blue creature’s bravery—if nothing else, he was very forward—but would admit that he lacked top notch conversational skills. The Omniverse proved time and again that it had different customs than the Disney Realms, but even through all the epic battles and hostile stand-offs he’d survived thus far, Mickey was pretty sure “you’re wanted dead by the Empire” did not qualify as good manners.

“Rude,” Mickey sighed under his breath, just loud enough for Belle to hear. She stifled a chuckle—the two hadn’t known each other more than five minutes, but this intrusion had already brought them just a bit closer together.

The strange cyborg (at least, Mickey supposed he could be called a cyborg, but he actually had no clue what to think of the creature’s origins) paid the pair little mind as he barreled through his speech. So, he and Minnie had caused such a ruckus in their escape that the EPD had placed a bounty on his head. He vaguely remembered that fact coming up; perhaps it had been Proto Man that alerted him to it, or maybe he’d just noticed it while scanning the Dataverse when the pair of pint-sized heroes had shared bodies.

Still, the threats barely phased the mouse. He had been through too much in the past few months to let a whippersnapper like this get him riled up. Besides, who knew what friends or enemies this room held? Causing a commotion—as their new “friend” seemed keen to do—would only hurt them in the long run.

“I think we’re all working together, bud,” the mouse smirked, sliding backwards off of Belle’s shoulders and landing feet-first on the ground. He slipped between the girl’s bare legs and looked up at the guy. Sure, his figure might have been a little intimidating; he certainly towered over the mouse—but then, so did everyone else. “Besides,” he continued, staring the Toa directly in its cold, dead eyes, “Don’t you think it’s a little rude to ask someone to be your friend after threatening to take ‘em out?” The mouse giggled, glancing up at Belle. She simply stared at the thing, her muscles a little tense.

Mickey frowned, and then realized he knew absolutely nothing about her. How many times had she been in situations like this?

No reason to put her in harm’s way—this wise guy could wait.

“Are you rejecting my offer?” the thing asked.

“I’m not the type to say no to friends,” Mickey clarified, “But I’m also not the type to take bullying sitting down. Especially from someone who hasn’t even properly introduced themselves.”

“Hey, I think that might’ve been in one of your cartoons, too,” Belle interjected, and Mickey looked up at her and smiled, still lost as to what the word ‘cartoon’ meant in the first place and what the heckskies it had to do with him.

The thing grunted. “Kopaka, Toa of Ice.”

Mickey squinted his eyes in confusion. He only recognized half of those words. Belle placed a hand on her hip. “What the hell did you say?” the redhead scowled.

“Yeah, come on, pal, English, please,” Mickey agreed. He glanced briefly up at Belle. “Watch your language, okay?” Her expression soured.

“My name,” Kopaka explained, “I am Kopaka, Toa of Ice. Now, I will repeat myself: are you rejecting my offer, Mickey Mouse?” The mouse sighed. This guy really didn’t get it, did he? Nimbly, the mouse leapt up and climbed back onto Belle’s shoulders before making eye contact once again with the Toa.

“I’m not sayin’ yes, no, or maybe, buddy,” Mickey blinked, “I’m saying what happens out there’s gonna happen. I’m friends with everyone until they give me a reason not to be.” Kopaka didn’t seem to have a response.

“Should we bounce, Mickey?”

“Yeah, Belle, let’s go.”

And with that, the mouse and his girl brushed past Kopaka, slipping into the crowd and out of sight. Mickey scanned the crowd for Proto Man, but somewhere in the shuffle the preteen machine had disappeared from view. Oh well, the former King thought, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other eventually. For now, the mouse had found someone new to hang out with—and if there was one thing that hadn’t changed from the old days, it was his passion for making new friends. And unlike ‘Kopaka, Toa of Ice,’ Belle seemed like a pretty nice gal.

“Gosh, what a creep, huh?” the mouse asked.

“Seriously.”

[Weiss Schnee]

”Strength in numbers, Schnee. Strength in Strength.” A hint of mirth creeped into his rasping voice, adding a sliver of humanity to the unhallowed ululation stemming from his ravaged form. ”I can… assure you, we have both in abundance.”

For a fraction of a second, Weiss thought of their options. She didn't know what to think or do with Okor. This was a man who threw the shrunken head of a corpse at her as a bomb - if there even was a man underneath that terrifying visor - and Had no issue ripping her to bloody pieces.

[i]But then again... I was trying to cut him in half too, at the time.

The thought, and the realization that it was completely and utterly true, was sobering to Weiss.
Really, what does the label of "monster" really mean coming from her, anyway?

Weiss took a deep breath, thinking about what they'd have to do. She had no idea who Okor Paleblood really was, even after crossing blades with him. His words didn't always line up with his actions, his appearance didn't match his mannerisms... She didn't know if she was talking to a monster or a knight, most of the time. Or neither. Or both. But mostly, she didn't understand what unsettled her to her core every time they spoke.

What she did have an idea of, though, was that Okor was the strongest opponent she had ever fought, and that for some reason, he looked favorably upon her miserable performance in the arena.

Weiss's face changed in an instant, all fear and doubt wiped off her face as a familiar impassive stare met Okor's. "We're not interested in this artifact. But... neither of us want to stay here." Weiss stated, finding it funny that she was suddenly making decisions with Ruby standing there. She wouldn't be surprised if she was ticking off the girl right now, what with doing this without being the team leader, but there wasn't a lot of time and this needed to be a snap decision. "We've got the best odds of survival working together. So we'll work with you and your..." Weiss looked at the other two less-than friendly companions Okor had with him. "associates, to recover the relics. Deal?" Weiss asked with a professional tone.

Ruby, finally paying attention to the proceedings, seemed too curious to even say anything about what Weiss said.
"Wait, you know this guy? From where."

Weiss thought about her answer for a half-second, thinking all about exactly what her history with Okor was. "We met in Camelot. That's all there is to the story."
"There's gotta be more-"

"There isn't." She said with an air of finality.
She really didn't think Ruby'd be more comfortable with Okor if she found out he was responsible for Weiss's injuries. Besides, Weiss really didn't want to discuss how she'd lost a fight in front of two unknown men she didn't know, either - and if she was honest, she didn't want to think about it herself. She'd never lost in such an embarrassing fashion before - though she imagined that, weaponless, Okor would have no problem topping that one if he so chose. Luckily for them, he wasn't feeling like fighting. At least, not them - the blonde-haired guy seemed like he was already wearing on the armored zombie's... did he have nerves?

Ruby was taking deep breaths to relax behind her, and Weiss hoped Okor didn't decide to change his mind. they needed a way out of here, and they probably needed these people - suspicious as they may be - in order to have any chance without their weapons. Heck, Weiss knew that even if she had all the strength she was able to muster in the omniverse, she still wouldn't have wanted to take on someone like Okor Paleblood again.
Still, she had to work very hard not to allow even a ghost of a smile on her face as Ruby very quietly muttered, "I do not even wanna know what's dripping off that guy."

[The Spirit]

The Spirit sighed once again as yet another "hero" decided to question his authority. The entire thing was simple...he would bring in Champions and they would help him as a fellow hero and in case he brought a few villains...well that was what the reward was for.

"If you do not wish to assist me for moral reasons I have offered quite the substantial reward. If you still do not care to assist me well...you are free to stay at the temple. I do not have the will nor power to send you back at this moment. I hope that I have managed to convince you of my plea. Please Final Boss. Help me."

The spirit could hardly hold back rolling his eyes as he said those words. Lowering himself to a beggar was degrading...especially to the like of these.

[Clownpiece]

Amaterasu’s voice rang out clearly above the din of the general socialization going on around the temple. As the great kami’s expectedly powerful shout did its best to draw the attention of those around, Somerled stood back passively, hands shoved into his coat’s pockets, as he tried his best not to look surprised by her sudden decision to yell. It was a damn interesting way to try and find allies, that much was certain. Given that they were likely short on time they could actually use to find allies, however, it was a smart decision.

With the tail-end of the sun god’s message now hanging over the ears of those in attendance, Somerled once again cast his gaze around, looking to see if anyone were to take up their offer, and for once, actually scoping out who and what he might end up making a meal out of later.

In attendance were approximately three to four robot-looking weirdos. Three in the nice, easily noticeable colours of blue, red, and white. As long as he kept an eye out, they wouldn’t be able to sneak up on him. The fourth, while it did have a greyish colour that allowed it to blend in better, did not worry the monster any more than the others. It had a definite, absolutely pungent stench, even from the distance it was at. All of them were a no-go for dinner.

Two bipedal, animal-looking weirdos were also present, one who looked sort of like a mouse, the other like a lynx, if you turned all the lights off and squinted really hard. Somerled wasn’t entirely sure what that pointy-eared dude was supposed to be, but he didn’t particularly care either. They’d both be a passable meal.

Elsewhere stood a small girl-looking weirdo. Appearances could be deceiving, but hers couldn’t deceive a blind man. A weird, tentacled thing sort of enveloped her, which the storm spirit wasn't quite sure what to make of. Tentacle things had an absolutely sublime taste, not as magnificent as human, of course, and they always had a weird texture going down. As long as he didn’t take out chunks that were too big, that’d be a decent snack.

Rounding off the myriad of people strewn about the place, were more human-looking weirdos than he could be bothered to count. There was a decent chance that there was at least one human in attendance, even if ninety percent of them turned out to be vampires or some such bullshit. Which, knowing his luck, was likely the case. They were humans. They had the perfect taste. There wasn’t much else to be said there.

Of course, after he had gone through all the trouble of making these observations, Somerled promptly had them all rendered null upon returning his gaze back to Amaterasu. While she glanced around the room, face betraying her curiosity, the monster mumbled a quick and quiet curse under his breath, disappointed by his own habits. While under the watchful look of the great kami, he would not be able to eat.

[Kopaka]

Kopaka scowled after the two as they shuffled away, having treated the Toa as if he had been a mere rowdy Ussal Crab. That didn't bode well for the mouse at all, or his new female 'friend'. None of this showed on the biomech's masked face, of course. Perhaps, in hindsight, deceit would have been more effective, but outside the field of battle, trickery had no place in Kopaka's life. Lies and similar tactics did not belie intelligence, but simply a lack of knowledge on how to handle a problem directly. In this instance, it appeared that Kopaka didn't fully grasp the relevant knowledge, but he would rather make a fool of himself than compromise his integrity. After all, only truly ignorant people walked through life acting as if they knew everything.

So, Plan B it was. Kopaka glanced around the room to look for people who might be willing to indulge the Toa's pursuit. A few more vaguely familiar faces had arrived since the Bionicle last took stock of the situation. It seemed as though there were three large groups that had begun to congeal, and Kopaka settled on trying to assess which might best suit him. First, there was the group of Institute members. Kopaka knee Okor from briefly watching his fights in the Colosseum, and he seemed to be a driven individual. At the same time, a faction affiliation meant that superceding any hidden agenda they may have would be difficult. In addition, the Omniverse Institute was directed by the Prime known as Nealaphh, one of the Empire's most hated enemies. Working alongside its compatriots might be good for his own survival, but assisting associates of a wanted fugitive might not bode well for his career with the EPD.

Next there was Ururu and her apparent allies. Based on snippets Kopaka had heard from their conversation, the all originated from the same universe. Kopaka idly wondered if anyone from Mata Nui had been pulled into this forsaken world like he had, but decided not to dwell on such distracting dreams at the moment. The Toa was unsure of Ururu and his relationship. Certainly, their last encounter had not ended amicably, but, at the same time, the girl seemed to harbor a deep intelligence and curiosity that the Toa did genuinely respect. Whether or not either she or her allies would be willing to go out of their way to kill Mickey was a little too uncertain, but if all else failed he could try to persuade them.

Finally there was the group that the green-enrobed semi-human had wandered into. They seemed to have collected around a central figure with blue hair and an impressive stature. Kopaka knew the man to be Magus, and had watched his significant progress in the Colosseum with great interest. There was no greater proof to Kopaka that the mage was a capable warrior, but whether he was trustworthy was another matter. The man wielded darkness as a weapon; a trait commonly associated with the wicked Makuta. It was a definite red flag, but these were dire straits.

In addition, he seemed to have attracted the alleigance of an armored organic and a slightly frail looking human. Perhaps the skinny man had hidden talents, and if nothing else, could always be used as a distraction. Settling on this course of action, Kopaka approached the mingling Primes slowly, catching glances from the four of them as his clanging metal footsteps grew closer. Magus' expression seemed to deepen its already evident irritation, but this alone would not dissuade the Toa.

"...and you are?" Magus intoned, his cool voice little more than a mutter amidst the din of excessive exuberance. One of the Primes more enamored with Teucer began shouting quite loudly, but Kopaka kept his eyes pinned to Magus' face. Once thet screeching had ceased, Kopaka responded.

"I am Kopaka, Toa of Ice. You are Magus. I respect your performance in the Tournament." Kopaka said shifting his weight slightly with a soft whirring of servos. Magus adopted a bemused expression, and gave Kopaka a looking over, his red eyes glinting blue in the light of Kopaka's own luminescent oculars.

"I have come to appreciate that respect is at a premium in this damnable prison. Say what you will." Magus said, keeping his guard up. This was good; Kopaka would have done the same.

"I have one goal in all of this." the Toa said, raising a finger to point at Mickey Mouse who was milling around on the far side of the polished temple with his human female. Magus' eyes followed the indicative digit, and raised an eyebrow.

"What of him?"

"I need to ensure his death in this place. Help me with that, and I will defer to your desires till we depart this farcical contest." Kopaka said, emphasizing that final clause with an extra buzz of synthetic speech. The other Primes present all stared at Magus, as if they had already chosen to serve the hulking wizard as well. Kopaka briefly wondered what it was about the human that produced such obedient magnetism...

[Kakashi Hatake]

A heavy silence fell over the copy ninja as the spritely kunoichi dropped her bombshell on the elders. Both men were jarred by the information she offered, though Minato seemed to recover more quickly from the initial shock. Kakashi stood in stunned silence as his former sensei addressed the newcomer, all but confirming that the information was true. If this was the case, he had little doubt that the rest of what she alleged to be equally factual.

Kakashi felt his heart race as he struggled to comprehend what he had just heard. The fact that his teacher was currently the home to half of the Kyūbi (evidently that was possible, despite what he thought) was definitely surprising, though it did not elicit any fear or concern from the ANBU captain. Hearing that the demon fox’s chakra had been sealed inside the body of not only strongest shinobi of his generation, but also a skilled Fūinjutsu practitioner, was hardly cause for alarm. No, Minato’s worried glance was not necessary. What troubled the man more than anything was this girl’s knowledge of his sharingan.

“Mangekyou? Is that some sort of jutsu?”

“How,” the Captain muttered behind his mask, ignoring his sensei’s inquiry. He could feel his blood pressure rising as his hands balled into tight fists, “do you know about my sharingan?”

The Mangekyou Sharingan. It had taken him weeks of searching through Lord Third’s personal archives to even find the name of his affliction. Considered the highest level of evolution of his particular Dōjutsu, it only made an appearance in the eyes of a handful of the Uchiha clan over the past few generations. The Mangekyou perfectly represented the Uchiha ‘Curse of Hatred’; it took a special kind of person to unlock its power. Those that had unlocked its secrets boasted a sinister deed along with its power. For them, it was a source of pride. For Kakashi, it was a reminder of his greatest tragedy.

The copy ninja’s grip tightened as he leered at the kunoichi, his head spinning. On that night, so many years ago, there hadn’t been a single survivor but himself. He had awoken hours later to a battlefield, the Kiri operatives having been slain by the Konoha ANBU that arrived to escort Kakashi home. And at his feet, his dear Rin.

“Kakashi…” Minato’s words were quiet and heavy with concern. Despite the mask that obscured the scarecrow’s face, he knew well the look of anguish his protege wore.

Kakashi met his sensei’s gaze, shaking his head in response. Though Minato knew full well what happened that night, the copy ninja was in no hurry to recount the story and explain its significance. Snapping his gaze back on the girl, he noted that she seemed to be distracted from their rather important conversation.

“Well?”

[Sasuke Uchiha]

Stoneford Mine had never been much, but for some, it was all they had. For Elias Coalman, it had been an oasis; his home, and now, he despised the forsaken mine. Before the slaughter, he had resided in a dusty old wooden shack, near the center of their dustbowl for a town.

The loss of his kin and his closest friends by the hands of cannibals had driven the old man to the brink. That fateful evening, everything had been taken from him, and, to top it off, the miner’s supposed savior, King Gilgamesh, had only offered false promises through the mouthpiece of some snotty nosed kid.

Coalman had returned to his once beloved home, now turned dreaded ghost town, and whatever his initial intentions were, they had been cast to the wayside in favor of breaking his 15 years of sobriety. With more than enough alcohol to drown a sailor, the old miner was camped out on his rigidity old front porch.

“The arrogance!” the old miner exclaimed between mouthfuls of whiskey. “I should have known they was all liars!”

“Damned primes, can’t trust any of them!” he snorted, burped, and hiccupped all at once, followed by a grimace on his face, and a hand to his chest.

“Careful old man.” the voice of Sasuke Uchiha gave Elias Coalman such a start, he spilled his drink all down the front of his favorite t-shirt.

“I vowed to find you justice,” the ninja spoke, hoped the ledge, and stood before the inebriated miner, “…and so I will. An Uchiha always keeps his word.”

“The King’s Hand!” startled, the miner exclaimed in a panic, “Oh no, I didn’t mean that.” abashed Coalman behind a red face.

“Yes. Yes, you did.” Sasuke chuckled to himself for a moment, “I do not blame you, elder. The loss of your loved ones, the rage you must feel.”

“I do.” Elias agreed, standing from his porch seat, “I hate them.” He was solemn and for a moment, for those words, he was sober.

“Good. May it keep you vigilant.” the ninja approved, speaking from his own, obvious personal experience, “Now, if you could show me around, and answer any questions I may have for you, we may find your family’s killers by nightfall.”

“Yes, my lord hand!” the miner replied with enthusiasm, in fact, he was so eager to begin, he tripped, stumbled, and fell upon his giant stockade of liquor. Wailing howls of agony and glass shattering followed quickly after.

The shinobi closed his eyes and shook his head, I don’t have time for this! he thought. Immediately, Sasuke abandoned the notion that Elias Coalman would be of any help and began searching the grounds himself, looking for anything that would lead him to Deathchew.

It didn’t take long for the prime to find what he was looking for. Baron Deathchew appeared to command a sizable force, that, or someone else’s giant army had left their tracks all over the place.

It was just what he needed. Maybe this won’t take long, the shinobi thought. However, before he could pursue this hot new lead, the ground beneath his very feet suddenly gave out from under him, and the ninja vanished from sight!

“Damned devil’s juice," Elias swore as he stirred from under a mass of liquor bottles, "I swear I ain’t know how it got there!" he said even though he had been drinking when Sasuke arrived. "I don’t touch the stuff anymore.” declared the drunken miner, as he found his feet, only to find no one listening, “King Hand Sasuke?”

***

“Please save me.”

Sasuke’s eyes closed as the words resonated within him. A reoccurring theme as of late, Arnold Hammond, Elias Coalman and now this Teucer had all called on the ninja’s favor. Please help me. Just three little words, but they carried such weight. Their very utterance seemed to derail the shinobi’s path to vengeance.

“I can’t.” the ninja began with his palm up and his best foot forward, “You don’t understand. There are already too many who rely on me.”

For the first time in a while, the shinobi’s face betrayed him, giving insight to a myriad of conflicted emotions, before finally settling on regret, “Listen, I just don’t have any more hero left to give you.”

Suddenly, the ninja looked around at his surroundings, realizing for the first time, that the room was crowded, and he was not alone. Whatever he was going to do, he was going to need to do it fast.

“I’m sorry, really I am,” the ninja began as he focused his attention back on the spirit, “but you are going to have to return me.” Sasuke’s feet found themselves in a familiar stance, one for combat.

“I’m not asking. I have people still left to avenge!”

[Orihime Inoue]

“Veni, vidi, vici” the deep raspy whisper of Lord Eisen repeated itself, consuming her mind. When her captor Eisen had brought her to the dunes of hell called Wacomundo, he repeated this script. Over and over again, he said it like a prayer. Orihime could see the way his soft lips mouthed the words as if she was kneeling before the captain now. She only ever wanted to help people, but as time went on it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so. For her to give her aid to others, one had to have a problem to begin with. Orihime was haunted by the realization that she no longer could rely on the comfort of solely helping those around her. Even though grandfather Tucer had summoned her here to help break his wicked curse and captivity, she knew there was more than meets the eye.

She saw in this marvelous Grecian temple, with its marble columns towering over her with a gloomy authority, that in reality this was a war room. Many people of all different ranks and reputations were strategizing for the ever impending doom of the next attack. This was about to become an unknown territory, where she may find herself with her back against the wall, fighting for her life. Fight like hell and get out alive.

Could she do it?

She needed to find a group. However, the problem with any group of strangers is they inevitably have their own agendas, that could lead to harming others. In most cases. Orihime could motivate others to teamwork by involving the group in a crusade against a common enemy, but this particular situation was different.

Orihime had been preparing for this moment. We all have our limitations, and she knew to pick her battles. Life for Orihime was endless campaigns and conflicts, knowing she couldn’t ward off effectively unless she identified her enemy. The Guardians were most definitely not on her side. Any one of these heroes could be, easily be wicked.
Even Hades out of the many virtuous gods caused a great death to befall the earth; recalling from her old history book. This was the difficult part about being surrounded by unknown persons. More or less being forced by the trolls, she learned to care for some wich encouraged her when she felt alone.

With the events unfolding around her this was a poor place to indulge in the past. Orihime needed to continuously force herself to react to the ever-changing present moment. She needed to remind herself to avoid wasting precious time on dreaming of the future either, to be engaged in the now.

Focusing on the goal of locating lost relics allowed to red hair girl to feel more like a strategy game. Win or lose, it did not matter, as long as she did not go down without a fight. She will do whatever it takes to rid the warlock's curse from this wretched island and free the unfortunate spirit.

"I came; I saw; I conquered." Orihime chanted to herself softly.

[Smith]

A white expanse momentarily opened up around Smith, a brief instant in time, before he was immediately swallowed by the darkness again. A sensation of falling washed over the program and in an eternity of seconds he regained his senses in… what appeared to be a temple from ancient Greece. Strange… had the Machines changed their minds about the idyllic world and decided to, once again, go to a moment in human history?

Smith’s thoughts were interrupted by words being spoken nearby. The source? A floating hologram of some sort identifying itself as the Hero’s Spirit. It briefly explained why it had brought the ex-Agent, and the others around him, to this place. It fielded a few questions, and the other people began to break off into groups, but Smith just let his memory routines handle gathering what they were talking about while he devoted his processes to thinking about just what was going on.

This was obviously the Matrix. No lie the Architect tried to tell Smith would convince him otherwise. The white room was a dead giveaway. Apparently they had mistakenly routed Smith to the Architect’s chambers before sending him here. But what to do about it? The Ex-Agent crossed his arms as he pondered his options. If he was still in the Matrix, then there was really only one path for him to take. He would complete his purpose, his mission, and destroy this world.

As Smith set his mind to his new task, the world around him passed by unnoticed.

[The Spirit]

The Spirit trembled in anger, every other hero he has summoned has in someway disrespected or is planning to delay his freedom. Thousands of years. Thousands of years he has spent trapped in this castle. Unable to move, unable to escape, unable to breathe. At this very moment it feels as he is suffocating, it feels as if he is trapped in a small box. His torture was unjust and endless, yet many people here question why they should help him. Does no one care that he will spend the rest of eternity here if they do not help him?

"I will not take you back. Even if I could, I wouldn't. If you do not help free me, I shall be in this place long even after your bones crumble into dust." His voice trembled with rage as the Ninja began to take on a battle stance. "I am offering you power in exchange for your assistance and you still do not wish to assist me? Then you shall remain here as long as I do. Your plans to save others will fail to be until I am free!"

His face relaxed into one that seemed to contain no hope. He went back to the spot he has been sitting in for thousands of years. "Go ahead and try to hurt me. I've tried that route many millennia ago."

[Ururu Kyuuei]

Ignoring a woman’s pleas for working together which with this huge assortment of well everything… wasn’t going to happen. The sensation in the side of her skull drew her back to the conversation.

Ururu could feel the baleful glare of the Sharingan eye even as it was locked behind the two part mask. She could see his skepticism and demands before they were uttered. Expected them really. Though those cold words he spoke didn’t help but raise a shiver in her. Here were two amazing legends staring her down, albeit one did have a more fatherly demeanor; that didn’t change the feeling that she had been caught with one hand snatching a senbei from the counter.

Well if the Senbei in question was really a tasty national secret or two.

“Again two hundred years roughly after your timelines. And I’m an historian and an archeologist.” She said with sigh as if it explained everything. The looks in response though told her that wasn’t going to hold weight with them. She was going to have to own up, “We don’t have much time for anything in-depth Hatake-sama. But my research is all about the origins of chakra, the bijuu, the Rabbit Princess Kaguya and the Sage of the Six Paths. The most recent links are the events that occurred during your two’s lifetimes. Your future selves… were around during the Sage’s brief second coming.”

Rubbing the bridge of her nose the motion seemed to disturb the necklace bearing, a tomoe shaped chakra crystal of emerald, into slipping out of her duster. The symbol of her faith in the Sage who had ascended to godhood.

Paying the disarray to her wardrobe no mind she took breath and gaze turned back upward in a steady beam on Kakashi alone, “Your teammate being the Sanbi jinchuuriki, the Sharingan’s origin and its ability to control such were important research material that took me years to find despite the laws meant to erase history.” Ururu spat out that last bit like a bitter seed.

“Whole swaths of your legacies are gone by those bastards’ decisions pretend that they didn’t invent something crueler than the tailed beasts. Pretending they didn’t use it civilians…” Ururu snarled, fingers balling into fist in rage as her own situation as the desecrations of her career and beliefs in ninshu came together. Something as sacrosanct as recorded time… and then they had the gall to rewrite or blank anything deemed dangerous and at the cost of human lives.

And just as always she was impotent to do anything about it, now more so than ever.

Her mind fought to center itself once more but the effect was only half-hearted. She had to focus on situations she could solve. They wanted information, she had it. That gave her a chance to save Hikaru. Ururu wouldn’t need to blackmail them with it; they would come to her willingly.

“I won’t hold this information over you like a baited hook, ask and I’ll tell you what I remember.” Ururu finally concluded.

“Ururuchan! You were bought here too?” a voice called in question. What followed was a loud tirade that cut through everyone else’s conversations until the Spirit gave a rather… gruff reply. From the sounds of it, not endearing him any more than he had earlier with Ururu.

Relief didn’t flood her but a spark of calm wormed its way in. Turning, she saw Desco-chan make her way rather unceremoniously through the crowd, no doubt being put out by the Spirit’s response enough to abandon whatever advantage her earlier position had. But at this point Ururu didn’t really care. Whatever her initial thoughts several days ago on the mostly human looking girl, Ururu felt comfort in a familiar face such as hers and rushed in for a hug. It wasn’t Hikaru but who was? It did feel good though.

“I left a colleague behind at the Stadium to meet up with you but she never found you or Okor-” Ururu froze as something else caught her eye. Specifically a familiar looking hair style reminiscent of bird feathers.

“Is that Uchiha Sasuke?” Ururu exclaimed in a dead monotone of surprise. “How many people from our universe has that fucking mad god abducted?”