06-09-2015, 05:40 PM
Nealaphh emerged in the Ashen Steppes, the familiar heat washing over its blank features and channeling itself into its cold, energy absorbing body. The god-mind's first priority was to return to Darunia and notify the Goron chief that Nealaphh had reason to believe it knew where the Megaton Hammer was within the Omniverse. Granted, Nealaphh hadn't actually been able to obtain knowledge of how the Megaton Hammer was constructed, but the fact alone that the shadow had been able to go out and do this much would likely be enough for Darunia to feel inspired to maintain his end of the effort to slay Volvagia. The god-mind looked out over the vista of the Steppes; it was unfamiliar with this particular location, though being that it had only traversed a small fraction of the volcanic verse, this was hardly surprising. The good news was that Death Mountain was quite visible from here, so navigating its way back to the Goron village would be trivial.
Nealaphh set out into the harsh, blackened wastelands. This area seemed to have a lesser degree of volcanic activity than other places in the Steppes. This was interesting, insofar as the fact that it indicated that there was actually pattern of geologic progression to this isolated space, though how such forces were organized were currently beyond even Nealaphh's considerable ken. More than likely, The Smiling One simply arranged the lava flows and fissures as he saw fit. Truly, there was nothing natural about this Omniverse. After about an hour's walk, the god-mind climbed its way down a sheer rock face, only to be met with the sight of a truly monumental conflict.
In the valley below, there was a swarm of Soot Walkers, but there was something different about them. Their flesh was of a grey pallor, and their shells had been warped to be a deep, midnight purple. They seemed to move in unison, with perfectly synchronized steps. Amidst this grey amassing of Soot Walkers, there seemed to be a large amount of activity. Something down there was creating such great friction in the air that lightning bolts were ricocheting across the vast canyon floor. Nealaphh stared at the scene for a few minutes before beginning a slow approach towards the epicenter of activity. Information was required.
As the shadow approached the outer ranks of what Nealaphh now dubbed Soot Stalkers, they took notice of the god-mind with nearly mindless red eyes. The droned in unison:
"We are the Apokalips Troopas, and we serve The Entropy. Hail Darkseid!"
...and with that, a group of about ten Soot Stalkers charged at Nealaphh, grim determination on their sharpened mouths. The god-mind was outraged. No. There was only one true Entropy in this Omniverse. Nealaphh might be at only a fraction of its power, but that did not mean that it still could not claim sovereignty over its cosmic birthright. Whoever this Darkseid was...they would have to be dealt with before Darunia could be seen. Nealaphh summoned up its mental power, and its eyes flashed brightly, sending a mental pulse throughout the throng that was charging it. Being a dispersed telepathic attack, the mental blast only momentarily stunned the Soot Stalkers, but this was long enough for the god-mind to warp the flow of time, speeding its relative progression through the temporal fabric, so that it was able to leisurely walk behind the crowd of corrupted terrapins. Once they had come to, the Soot Walkers looked around for a moment, trying to locate their quarry. Suddenly, one of them spotted the god-mind a few dozen yards away. What was not noticed, however, was the rapidly contracting sphere of space that was located in the midst of their dark mass. A moment later, a deafening explosion sent blackened volcanic rock and Soot Stalkers flying in every direction. Some of them were immediately maimed beyond any further threat, and others were too shell-shocked so as to be able to retaliate towards the god-mind. One lone Soot Stalker staggered towards Nealaphh, dragging a twisted leg and reaching for the shadow's black cloak with desperate fury.
"Forrrr the Entropyyy!" it cried. Regrettable final words. The fated Soot Stalker's head twisted a full one-hundred and eighty degrees on its neck, and it he fell to the ground with a miserable gurgle. Nealaphh paused for a moment to admire its handiwork; clearly its power had grown since it had first entered the Omniverse. Unfortunately, Nealaphh's sense of hubris had grown as well, and in the time it had taken to dispatch ten of its darkling foes, thirty more had snuck up behind the god-mind. Nealaphh's eyes went wide as several Soot Stalkers launched themselves at the shadow, clinging to the ebon-skinned humanoid like oversized, gnawing limpets. Nealaphh let out telepathic screams of fury as it thrashed around, trying to telekinetically pluck the harrying horde off of its black form. A few of them were tossed irreverently several meters, but more were always willing to take their place. Luckily, Nealaphh's stone-like skin weathered the swarming assault well, but fending off the corrupted wave of tortoise-creatures was fatiguing. Desperate, Nealaphh summoned another warp bubble just behind of itself, and the resulting explosion hurled the god-mind up and over the beguiled crowd of Soot Stalkers like an onyx missile.
Obviously, Nealaphh landed right where it had been meaning to: in the middle of the fight that Barry and Vibe were taking part in. This should have gone unquestioned: forming an explosive force so as to launch a variable density mass towards a determined location with precision was more than child's play for Nealaphh. Still, this did not necessarily make the landing any easier, and Nealaphh smashed down into the black dust between Flash and Vibe, sliding a few feet before coming to a rest. The pair of speedsters glanced in curiosity at this newcomer: was it another foe to be tangled with. Nealaphh lay still for a few moments before hauling itself to its feet. With one great sweep, it fixed its hooded robe so as to be in pristine arrangement, before locking eyes with the one Nealaphh now dub be the Crimson Kinetic.
"Uhh, hey guy." Vibe said, absentmindedly backhanding a nearby Soot Stalker into submission. Nealaphh glanced in the sidekick's direction briefly before turning its attention back towards Barry.
You fight the one called Darkseid?
"You better believe it!" Flash shouted over the loud cracking sound that came from a hyper-speed kick to a Soot Walker's face. The god-mind was slightly surprised that this metahuman did not react in surprise to hearing a telepathic voice, but it was entirely possible that, in his universe, the Crimson Kinetic was used to this type of thing.
"So what does that make you?"
Nealaphh was about to answer when it spotted a trio of Soot Stalkers about to jump towards Flash. As they leapt upwards, Nealaphh's eyes flashed, and slowed down the local time within their group so that the three tortoises suddenly came to a near halt in the middle of the air. The Flash rose an eyebrow at the god-mind before turning around and spotting the three assailants. With a grin, Barry delivered a barrage of high speed punches to the slowed Soot Stalkers. When Nealaphh was no longer able to maintain the temporal distortion, the differing force between Flash's relativistically near light-speed punches and the time-locked turtles instantly vaporized the unlucky Soot Stalkers. This was enough of a display to give even the brain-washed Soot Stalkers a moment's pause.
In this struggle, count me as an ally. Nealaphh said, just a slight intonation of smugness in its mental voice.
Nealaphh set out into the harsh, blackened wastelands. This area seemed to have a lesser degree of volcanic activity than other places in the Steppes. This was interesting, insofar as the fact that it indicated that there was actually pattern of geologic progression to this isolated space, though how such forces were organized were currently beyond even Nealaphh's considerable ken. More than likely, The Smiling One simply arranged the lava flows and fissures as he saw fit. Truly, there was nothing natural about this Omniverse. After about an hour's walk, the god-mind climbed its way down a sheer rock face, only to be met with the sight of a truly monumental conflict.
In the valley below, there was a swarm of Soot Walkers, but there was something different about them. Their flesh was of a grey pallor, and their shells had been warped to be a deep, midnight purple. They seemed to move in unison, with perfectly synchronized steps. Amidst this grey amassing of Soot Walkers, there seemed to be a large amount of activity. Something down there was creating such great friction in the air that lightning bolts were ricocheting across the vast canyon floor. Nealaphh stared at the scene for a few minutes before beginning a slow approach towards the epicenter of activity. Information was required.
As the shadow approached the outer ranks of what Nealaphh now dubbed Soot Stalkers, they took notice of the god-mind with nearly mindless red eyes. The droned in unison:
"We are the Apokalips Troopas, and we serve The Entropy. Hail Darkseid!"
...and with that, a group of about ten Soot Stalkers charged at Nealaphh, grim determination on their sharpened mouths. The god-mind was outraged. No. There was only one true Entropy in this Omniverse. Nealaphh might be at only a fraction of its power, but that did not mean that it still could not claim sovereignty over its cosmic birthright. Whoever this Darkseid was...they would have to be dealt with before Darunia could be seen. Nealaphh summoned up its mental power, and its eyes flashed brightly, sending a mental pulse throughout the throng that was charging it. Being a dispersed telepathic attack, the mental blast only momentarily stunned the Soot Stalkers, but this was long enough for the god-mind to warp the flow of time, speeding its relative progression through the temporal fabric, so that it was able to leisurely walk behind the crowd of corrupted terrapins. Once they had come to, the Soot Walkers looked around for a moment, trying to locate their quarry. Suddenly, one of them spotted the god-mind a few dozen yards away. What was not noticed, however, was the rapidly contracting sphere of space that was located in the midst of their dark mass. A moment later, a deafening explosion sent blackened volcanic rock and Soot Stalkers flying in every direction. Some of them were immediately maimed beyond any further threat, and others were too shell-shocked so as to be able to retaliate towards the god-mind. One lone Soot Stalker staggered towards Nealaphh, dragging a twisted leg and reaching for the shadow's black cloak with desperate fury.
"Forrrr the Entropyyy!" it cried. Regrettable final words. The fated Soot Stalker's head twisted a full one-hundred and eighty degrees on its neck, and it he fell to the ground with a miserable gurgle. Nealaphh paused for a moment to admire its handiwork; clearly its power had grown since it had first entered the Omniverse. Unfortunately, Nealaphh's sense of hubris had grown as well, and in the time it had taken to dispatch ten of its darkling foes, thirty more had snuck up behind the god-mind. Nealaphh's eyes went wide as several Soot Stalkers launched themselves at the shadow, clinging to the ebon-skinned humanoid like oversized, gnawing limpets. Nealaphh let out telepathic screams of fury as it thrashed around, trying to telekinetically pluck the harrying horde off of its black form. A few of them were tossed irreverently several meters, but more were always willing to take their place. Luckily, Nealaphh's stone-like skin weathered the swarming assault well, but fending off the corrupted wave of tortoise-creatures was fatiguing. Desperate, Nealaphh summoned another warp bubble just behind of itself, and the resulting explosion hurled the god-mind up and over the beguiled crowd of Soot Stalkers like an onyx missile.
Obviously, Nealaphh landed right where it had been meaning to: in the middle of the fight that Barry and Vibe were taking part in. This should have gone unquestioned: forming an explosive force so as to launch a variable density mass towards a determined location with precision was more than child's play for Nealaphh. Still, this did not necessarily make the landing any easier, and Nealaphh smashed down into the black dust between Flash and Vibe, sliding a few feet before coming to a rest. The pair of speedsters glanced in curiosity at this newcomer: was it another foe to be tangled with. Nealaphh lay still for a few moments before hauling itself to its feet. With one great sweep, it fixed its hooded robe so as to be in pristine arrangement, before locking eyes with the one Nealaphh now dub be the Crimson Kinetic.
"Uhh, hey guy." Vibe said, absentmindedly backhanding a nearby Soot Stalker into submission. Nealaphh glanced in the sidekick's direction briefly before turning its attention back towards Barry.
You fight the one called Darkseid?
"You better believe it!" Flash shouted over the loud cracking sound that came from a hyper-speed kick to a Soot Walker's face. The god-mind was slightly surprised that this metahuman did not react in surprise to hearing a telepathic voice, but it was entirely possible that, in his universe, the Crimson Kinetic was used to this type of thing.
"So what does that make you?"
Nealaphh was about to answer when it spotted a trio of Soot Stalkers about to jump towards Flash. As they leapt upwards, Nealaphh's eyes flashed, and slowed down the local time within their group so that the three tortoises suddenly came to a near halt in the middle of the air. The Flash rose an eyebrow at the god-mind before turning around and spotting the three assailants. With a grin, Barry delivered a barrage of high speed punches to the slowed Soot Stalkers. When Nealaphh was no longer able to maintain the temporal distortion, the differing force between Flash's relativistically near light-speed punches and the time-locked turtles instantly vaporized the unlucky Soot Stalkers. This was enough of a display to give even the brain-washed Soot Stalkers a moment's pause.
In this struggle, count me as an ally. Nealaphh said, just a slight intonation of smugness in its mental voice.
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued