06-05-2018, 11:12 AM
Lord Zedd stomped through the halls of one of countless Tier 1 facilities, his metallic feet echoing heavily. He was angrier than usual, which might have been harder to recognize for one not accustomed to spending time around his perpetual bad temper. A failed mission for the Imperial peace keeping forces was a rarity, but he was coming off of one and was none too pleased. One of the few sights that could make it even worse was approaching him, and he growled through his face mask.
Two former stormtroopers, Cade and Laci, stopped before him. Cade was a tall, dark skinned, bald man in his late twenties, with plenty of scars that silently spoke of numerous battles across more than one reality. In contrast, Laci was looked less like a soldier and more like a supermodel with her blonde bombshell appearance that she very clearly spent plenty of time maintaining. Cade cross his arms and Laci ran a hand through her golden locks as Zedd approached, and they both smiled. They and two others had spent their early careers assigned directly to assisting Lord Zedd before being deployed the Vasty Deep, where they had been able to truly prove their abilities and rise through the Empire’s ranks.
Zedd cared little for their progress, and looked upon them with disdain as he stopped before them.
“Why are you here, minions?” Zedd demanded, fearing he might be stuck with the four jokers once more.
“Just picking up some stuff for the Deep,” Cade answered. “Been pretty crazy over there, lately, if you haven’t heard.”
“How have you been back here?” Laci asked with a casual smile.
“Do not think I will sink to idle banter with you,” Zedd barked with indignation.
“We’ve been pretty good in the Deep!” Laci answered, not missing a step around Zedd’s attitude. She remembered it too well. “Knox and I got into specialty schools, Cade and Grace have a couple active applications out. It looks promising!”
“Why do you continue to talk as if I would be interested?” Zedd had reverted to legitimate confusion.
“So, you entering Dante’s Abyss this year?” Cade shifted the conversation to the one thing Zedd cared about: himself.
Zedd’s stance visibly shifted. Cade’s ploy had worked. “What? He’s opened his realm to outsiders once more?”
“He does every year,” Laci nodded. “Ads just started. Play his game, win, you get a nice prize. Might even meet him.”
Memories of last year’s fiasco flashed in Zedd’s mind and invited the familiar emotion of unbridled fury. Karl Jak had promised fame and fortune, but Zedd had ended up nothing more than a dismembered corpse for the amusement of the crowd shortly after a brief murder spree in the aerial arena. He had sworn his revenge, but had also begun to grasp the complications of Karl Jak’s playpen. It wouldn’t be so simple as walking in and avenging himself.
“I will not submit myself to trekking through the arena of that deranged madman in a mad dash for power like all the others,” Zedd scoffed. “I will deal with him on my own terms.”
Cade and Laci looked to each other, and Cade gave a knowing nod and grin before answering Zedd. “Word is that it’s just a straight up tournament this year,”
Zedd’s neck twisted and his head tilted in genuine interest.
“Yea, fight your way to the end, no gimmicks,” Laci added on, holding back a smile at her oversimplification of the terms. After all, her squad was big fans of the whole thing, and had taken time off to watch the whole thing at various bars in the Costa Del Sol’s party district.
“Culling the Omniverse of inferior beings is a proven strength I possess,” Zedd quickly boasted. “If all I must do is kill my way to the finish line, then I will happily take the challenge.”
Cade and Laci held their laughter. They were used to playing into Zedd’s obsessions, and watching him get killed on the big screen for a second year in a row would be a huge win. They didn’t get an opportunity to say much else, as Zedd had already marched off with purpose and conviction. The two of them just high fived and kept walking. They couldn't wait to tell the others.
Zedd marched up to the Tier 1 Syntech booth, where two employees had begun to shuffle some of their lighter things into various bags. The third had stepped away. Registration was probably almost over. Zedd knew they would wait until the end, but he had no interest in loitering through this portion any longer than necessary.
“Here to sign up for Dante’s Aybss?” the male employee asked with a warm smile.
“Yes. Now open the gates, so I may see those I am to slay,” Zedd ordered the two.
“Sure, we just need to get your name, some information, promotional material…” the man explained as he shuffled through his bags and retrieved the paperwork he would need.
“How dare you attempt to include me in Karl Jak’s propaganda. I will not be your jester,” Zedd snarled in disgust. “I am Lord Zedd, emperor of all I see, and now I have cast my gaze on the Danteverse.”
Both employees froze in place at Zedd’s bold declaration.
“Please tell me we got that,” the female attendant said after a beat.
The man was already checking the camera. “Sure did. That’s enough?”
“That’s totally enough,” the woman agreed as she went around the counter and scanned Zedd for his vital information.
“What are you prattling on about?” Zedd barked with unhinging impatience.
“Nothing, we’re all good,” the man responded, and gestured to the tent. “Be careful in there, you might get ripped to pieces.”
“Do you have to say that every time, Trent?” the woman rolled her eyes.
“Just sharing some experience, Kristen,” he replied with a wink.
Zedd ignored whatever the insignificant grunts were discussing, entered the tent and stepped on the teleporter. It whirred to life while he pondered how abruptly his plans for the day had changed. Even if he couldn’t drag Karl Jak behind some building and beat him to death, he would still gain a lot from this endeavor. Power came from actions in the Omnivers, and he remembered how much more powerful he’d become after his last, short tenure in Karl Jak's hidden land. Knowledge of other powerful primes would be useful too, so that he could learn the strengths and weaknesses of those that might oppose his takeover of this realm one day.
The end goal was all that kept Zedd clinging to sanity. Cackling to himself, he was whisked away to the Danteverse.
Two former stormtroopers, Cade and Laci, stopped before him. Cade was a tall, dark skinned, bald man in his late twenties, with plenty of scars that silently spoke of numerous battles across more than one reality. In contrast, Laci was looked less like a soldier and more like a supermodel with her blonde bombshell appearance that she very clearly spent plenty of time maintaining. Cade cross his arms and Laci ran a hand through her golden locks as Zedd approached, and they both smiled. They and two others had spent their early careers assigned directly to assisting Lord Zedd before being deployed the Vasty Deep, where they had been able to truly prove their abilities and rise through the Empire’s ranks.
Zedd cared little for their progress, and looked upon them with disdain as he stopped before them.
“Why are you here, minions?” Zedd demanded, fearing he might be stuck with the four jokers once more.
“Just picking up some stuff for the Deep,” Cade answered. “Been pretty crazy over there, lately, if you haven’t heard.”
“How have you been back here?” Laci asked with a casual smile.
“Do not think I will sink to idle banter with you,” Zedd barked with indignation.
“We’ve been pretty good in the Deep!” Laci answered, not missing a step around Zedd’s attitude. She remembered it too well. “Knox and I got into specialty schools, Cade and Grace have a couple active applications out. It looks promising!”
“Why do you continue to talk as if I would be interested?” Zedd had reverted to legitimate confusion.
“So, you entering Dante’s Abyss this year?” Cade shifted the conversation to the one thing Zedd cared about: himself.
Zedd’s stance visibly shifted. Cade’s ploy had worked. “What? He’s opened his realm to outsiders once more?”
“He does every year,” Laci nodded. “Ads just started. Play his game, win, you get a nice prize. Might even meet him.”
Memories of last year’s fiasco flashed in Zedd’s mind and invited the familiar emotion of unbridled fury. Karl Jak had promised fame and fortune, but Zedd had ended up nothing more than a dismembered corpse for the amusement of the crowd shortly after a brief murder spree in the aerial arena. He had sworn his revenge, but had also begun to grasp the complications of Karl Jak’s playpen. It wouldn’t be so simple as walking in and avenging himself.
“I will not submit myself to trekking through the arena of that deranged madman in a mad dash for power like all the others,” Zedd scoffed. “I will deal with him on my own terms.”
Cade and Laci looked to each other, and Cade gave a knowing nod and grin before answering Zedd. “Word is that it’s just a straight up tournament this year,”
Zedd’s neck twisted and his head tilted in genuine interest.
“Yea, fight your way to the end, no gimmicks,” Laci added on, holding back a smile at her oversimplification of the terms. After all, her squad was big fans of the whole thing, and had taken time off to watch the whole thing at various bars in the Costa Del Sol’s party district.
“Culling the Omniverse of inferior beings is a proven strength I possess,” Zedd quickly boasted. “If all I must do is kill my way to the finish line, then I will happily take the challenge.”
Cade and Laci held their laughter. They were used to playing into Zedd’s obsessions, and watching him get killed on the big screen for a second year in a row would be a huge win. They didn’t get an opportunity to say much else, as Zedd had already marched off with purpose and conviction. The two of them just high fived and kept walking. They couldn't wait to tell the others.
Zedd marched up to the Tier 1 Syntech booth, where two employees had begun to shuffle some of their lighter things into various bags. The third had stepped away. Registration was probably almost over. Zedd knew they would wait until the end, but he had no interest in loitering through this portion any longer than necessary.
“Here to sign up for Dante’s Aybss?” the male employee asked with a warm smile.
“Yes. Now open the gates, so I may see those I am to slay,” Zedd ordered the two.
“Sure, we just need to get your name, some information, promotional material…” the man explained as he shuffled through his bags and retrieved the paperwork he would need.
“How dare you attempt to include me in Karl Jak’s propaganda. I will not be your jester,” Zedd snarled in disgust. “I am Lord Zedd, emperor of all I see, and now I have cast my gaze on the Danteverse.”
Both employees froze in place at Zedd’s bold declaration.
“Please tell me we got that,” the female attendant said after a beat.
The man was already checking the camera. “Sure did. That’s enough?”
“That’s totally enough,” the woman agreed as she went around the counter and scanned Zedd for his vital information.
“What are you prattling on about?” Zedd barked with unhinging impatience.
“Nothing, we’re all good,” the man responded, and gestured to the tent. “Be careful in there, you might get ripped to pieces.”
“Do you have to say that every time, Trent?” the woman rolled her eyes.
“Just sharing some experience, Kristen,” he replied with a wink.
Zedd ignored whatever the insignificant grunts were discussing, entered the tent and stepped on the teleporter. It whirred to life while he pondered how abruptly his plans for the day had changed. Even if he couldn’t drag Karl Jak behind some building and beat him to death, he would still gain a lot from this endeavor. Power came from actions in the Omnivers, and he remembered how much more powerful he’d become after his last, short tenure in Karl Jak's hidden land. Knowledge of other powerful primes would be useful too, so that he could learn the strengths and weaknesses of those that might oppose his takeover of this realm one day.
The end goal was all that kept Zedd clinging to sanity. Cackling to himself, he was whisked away to the Danteverse.
Quote:Signing up in Coruscant
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