Depths of Deep Darkness

[James Knight]

The castle that King Sombra had created was not one that looked inviting. Between the old school architecture and the nasty little surprises he'd filled the water with near his castle, it had an unwelcoming vibe to it. Sharks and eels as well as poisonous serpents that had been modified by his magic so as to not target him had been put into place. Furthermore he'd even added a few jellyfish, and giant squid monsters. Yes, Sombra really did despise unwanted guests that badly. Plus if O-Harmony or anyone else sent anyone the defenses of the animal variety should soften them up. Of course were the defenses of that variety not enough, there was more. Sombra had added turrets that while not auto turrets like those of Carmelita Sly-Cooper were similar, but more reliant on magic than technology. Eventually after several attempts to make the turrets purely out of science, he had given up completely and decided that they had to be made out of magic. 

This was not the only defense however. The door way to his castle had been modified with an enchantment. Step through the door without being loyal to him, and you'd experience your worst nightmare. Most certainly, this should deter any unwanted visits. Examining the castle from the exterior, Sombra had to admit. He had outdone himself, beyond his wildest dreams. 

"A job well done, I'll give myself that." 

Reminiscent of the castle he had once had in the Crystal Empire, the castle that he had created was made out of a black and navy-ish crystal. The castle was imposing and had a sense of foreboding terror that King Sombra liked. The top of the tower had a large crystal that actually was an auto turret that had been created out of magic. Several spires existed on the castle that were similar to that.The grounds of the castle happened to be made out of a smooth, white marble that was cold to the touch of the hooves and was easy enough to keep cool, especially with the benefit of air conditioning. Several pipes ran through the castle, pumping water to both refrigerators and the air conditioner unit that King Sombra had created.


Well to be exact, one of several of the units.This was not his actual home, but it was a close enough replica that he could call it his home actually. Hidden throughout the grounds of his domain were motion-activated traps that he had made. Each of the traps was made so that it would shoot a nasty explosive crystal shard into the body of anyone foolish enough to attack his castle. A king should defend his home after all, and to be honest King Sombra didn’t want a visit of any kind from Deadpool.

The interior of the castle was not like the exterior. While the exterior was primarily old school architecture and not modern in the slightest, according to his tastes a realization had been made by the dark king. Plumbing and refrigeration was a headache enough without having to adapt it fully to a castle like design, and so he had made some modifications. The interior wa a combination of both modern designs, and the castle aesthetic that he preferred. It was also made so as to appear terrifying to visitors who had come to visit.

Still there were more surprises that awaited any unwanted guests as the “Tyrant King” as some of the crystal ponies called him had no intention of a visit from Deadpool or anyone else Oharmony decided to send in his direction.Survival was paramount to his plans. The grounds inside of the castle itself even had crystal turrets aimed at the sky. Should this psychopath Carmelita described be capable of flight, Sombra was going to make sure he got shot out of the sky. Yes, the dark king really did worry about the ‘date’ he’d been assigned that much. Given he didn’t even know much about the individual, King Sombra was more than a little paranoid.

Several rooms of the castle actually were traps. Walls that would crush an opponent with lethal spikes, pits that were filled with dangerous animals,  pits that were filled with acid, and even some doors that could lead a person into their worst nightmare. When he had made each and every one of the traps of his home security system, King Sombra had memorized the location of each and every one of them.Dying due to his own defenses was not on his agenda either, but was something that he could avoid. Thinking back to the construction,  he had to admit that he had done a good job in creating the castle. Sure it didn’t exactly match his vision, but he was learning how to use the power of Omnilium still, so that was to be expected.

There was also a tank of water that contained poisonous snakes that survived well in water hidden beneath the welcome mat, which was actually not a welcome mat. It said “Go away” on it and via a hidden switch inside the castle, would cause the unwanted guest to fall into the tank of water and hopefully be attacked by the snakes. Cameras also lined every inch of his castle and were connected to his communicator, so he could see everywhere in his castle. His place also had several generators that were rigged to power the air conditioning, and refrigeration. A series of metal grates had also been put into place that were crudely connected to the generators. Each one of these would deliver a level of electricity to the nervous system that was powerful enough to make any would be thieves reconsider, to say the least.

"Yes, truly my castle is a wonderful creation." 

[James Knight]

Once he had observed all around every centimeter of his castle from the outside,  the dark king of the Crystal Empire allowed himself a smile. The base was better than he could have ever hoped, being a perfect blend of Omnilium and the dark magic that he naturally wielded. Re-entering, he made his way straight to the kitchen area and trotted there rapidly. There was no bucking way he was going to allow himself to get dehydrated. Not that that was a problem with several refrigerators full of food, and cold water dispensers throughout his base. In addition to that,  Sombra had also added a garage of sorts to his castle that contained the one vehicle so far that he'd learned how to make. Eventually he'd need to expand his variety of vehicles so he could create a ship for himself and get some secondaries to move into his castle. All in all, his castle was a marvelous place that he'd made with only the power of Omnilium, his magic and his own four hooves. 

Sitting down in a recliner with a bottle of ice cold water in hand, he used his telekinesis to open the bottle. As the crisp and cool liquid swished dwn into his throat, he relaxed and let out a sigh of pleasure. Truly there was nothing better than cold water when you needed it. 

"Aah!" 

[Centurion]

Val M'Damma rubbed his balding head nervously with one hand and fondled his opulent blue jacket with the other. Despite the commotion all around him, he remained lost in his own little world. Yes, he was a diplomat. Yes, he was surrounded by stormtroopers. However, his political sway was minimal, his escort was an assortment of rookies, and he was being sent to investigate a demonic castle that quite literally came out of nowhere.

His military entourage moved with skillful diligence, despite their lack of experience. Patches, the team's resident medic and designated science officer, gathered his tools of measurement, observation, and investigation. Patches had every intention of absorbing every scientific nuance this island had to offer. Epps, the team's demolitions expert, tossed a thermal detonator from hand to hand, having already packed his gear. A man of simple needs, he had stuffed his pack with explosives and extra ammunition. Team leader Sergeant Addom walked from soldier to soldier, inspecting their gear. Reconnaissance specialist Yugo finished cleaning his rifle before slipping the strap over his shoulder. The drop-ship finally flashed a warning, alerting the team to landfall.

"Alright Epsilon 12," Addom buzzed through his helmet. "Stay tight, stay sharp, stay alive."

"Man I love it when he plays the fearless leader." Epps whispers to Yugo. Yugo simply rolls his eyes behind is visor and scans the ragged terrain. M'Damma scuttled behind the team, like a chick following a mother hen. The Stormtroopers start setting up camp, using durasteel containers filled with simple tents and cooking appliances to build a kitchen and headquarters. Epps emptied his pack of its E-Web cannon components and assembled them. Yugo kept watch, standing diligently on a small hill. Once the HQ was up and running, Addom led M'Damma in and laid out a map of the island.

"Alright, Sir. How can my team make this easy for you?"

[James Knight]

The dark former emperor of the Crystal Empire had been in bed, enjoying the best sleep he had in quite some time. This had been until one of the ponies he had summoned,  one of his former Crystal Slaves had woken him out of bed. Upon hearing the report that some bipeds in strange whit armor similar to that of the individual he had encountered before were on his island, King Sombra jolted himself out of bed. Getting dressed with his telekinesis in a copy of his full regalia, his mind was made up. The dark king was going to personally see that these intruders were ousted from his island because he didn't like it when people came without an invitation. Had the animals around the waters not been enough of a deterrent to keep out pests? Apparently not. This meant that more proactive measures were definitely in order. First though he could go see what brought the individuals to his island home. If they were here to attempt to steal the island from him, King Sombra was going to torture and then murder them. 

The former emperor of the Crystal Empire helped himself to a single orange,  and a bit of porridge. Once he had a light breakfast, King Sombra entered his garage where he kept a vehicle. The vehicle was a boxy wagon, built like a war wagon but without fire-arms on it. Climbing inside with the aid of his magic, King Sombra now knew that he was ready. Soon he was going to personally see why the intruders had come. If he didn't like why they were on his island he was going to force them off of it. Not even the Mane Six were going to come to this island, and attempt to remove him off of it. For simply was not going to allow such a thing to occur. Never again was he going to lose a home, especially not in the Omniverse.

Driving the wagon, it took him about 20 minutes but he arrived at the camp site. Climbing out of the wagon,  King Sombra was clad in a steel and silver armor, with his normal crown atop his head. His cape had even been recreated,  and he was wearing armored boots on his hooves. Words eloquently flowed out of his mouth like a stream. 

"Why are you on my island? Was the population of dangerous creatures I put in the waters not enough of a "No Trespassing" or "Keep Out" or "Stay away" sign for you? Do you require me to paint a picture? This island is my home. It is also my castle. Even bipeds like you have a saying that "A Man's Home is his castle. Well you can see my home is indeed my castle. So this brings me to the question again, why are you trespassing on my island? I've barely even got the castle completed and already I have gusts. But I will not allow my guests to stay outside. No. All of you will come with me to the castle, just to show how generous I can be." 

King Sombra wanted to see how they would react to him. Were they going to be like that little girl, and pet him? Were they going to be like the bandits and attempt to eat him? Were they going to be like Carmelita Sly-Cooper and show him respect? He honestly didn't know. But if they were going to be like O-Harmony and be a pain in his fetlock, he was going to smite them.

[Centurion]

Addoms silently thanked the Force that Epps' normally itchy trigger finger didn't unload into the strange creature before them. And for full face-helmets, allowing for him to drop is jaw unnoticed. It was a pony. A literally pony. As in a small horse. Addoms was dumbfounded. However, he maintained his composure... until it spoke.

"Why are you on my island? Was the population of dangerous creatures I put in the waters not enough of a "No Trespassing" or "Keep Out" or "Stay away" sign for you? Do you require me to paint a picture? This island is my home. It is also my castle. Even bipeds like you have a saying that "A Man's Home is his castle. Well you can see my home is indeed my castle. So this brings me to the question again, why are you trespassing on my island? I've barely even got the castle completed and already I have gusts. But I will not allow my guests to stay outside. No. All of you will come with me to the castle, just to show how generous I can be."

He could hear Yugo chuckling through the helmet intercoms. He issued a hushed order for silence before flicking his eyes to activate his external speaker.

"I am Sergeant Addom, Epsilon 12, Imperial Army, Diplomatic unit," he buzzed through his helmet. "This is my charge, Diplomat Val M'Damma."

Val stepped forward, his nervousness evident in his posture, but not in his voice. He spoke clearly, with a distinct Coruscanti accent.

"Greetings... Sir. I am Val M'Damma, a diplomat for the Galactic Empire. I'm here with my escort to inquire as to the purpose of this castle. Why have you established such a fortified base on land that, by definition, does not belong to you?"

[James Knight]

"Given that I have been 'forced' by the vile website "O-Harmony" into a date with 'Dead Pool' I have every intention of surviving and not encountering the cold blooded psychopath. The island was abandoned when I found it anyway, with not a soul on it. Since it was not, and I needed a place to stay anyway I decided, why not build a place? Took me a few attempts to get right. You may call me King Sombra." 

He'd pause for a moment. So the White Soldiers had more than just a few of them? Interesting to say the least. Reaching out with his magic he'd attempt to scan them, but when it failed he said.  "Imperial Army? By any chance would this Empire mind if I rented a few hundred of you for a war I am planning? A war against the agency known as O-Harmony to be exact." Checking his crystal ball he looked at it for a moment and sighed. Given he didn't know where to acquire a Dataverse Uplink Device he supposed he'd have to ask them.  

"Do any of you know where to acquire the machine known as a "Davaterse Uplink Device?" 

This was asked because he had every intention of going and erasing all the slanderous content about him on their website. Since they wouldn't willingly do so and he didn't have the power to teleport, the option of by force was the only one left to him. 

"The purpose of this castle is two fold. One it is air conditioned, and serves as my house. Two it serves as a wall between me, Dead Pool and whoever else that O-Harmony decides they wish to send to make my life even more of a nightmare. Furthermore should pirates come, they'd not survive the waters here. I'm sure you saw the large quantity of sharks, and other dangerous animals I put in the water around here? Those are to keep Dead Pool away from me. Well hopefully."

He'd start to trot back to his castle. "If you're coming, follow me." 

Under his breath, Sombra was muttering that he was going to make Omni suffer his wrath for stripping him of his power.

[Centurion]

At this point, Yugo's chestplate was jiggling with the force of his laughter. Addom made every effort not to join him. This was ridiculous. Here he was, fresh out of the Academy, leading Epsilon 12 into a pony's castle. A few seconds of silence passed as the team discuseed their options in the confines of their helmet comlinks. Then, with a gesture, the Sergeant took the lead with Val M'Damma close behind. As much as Epps, (and secretly Sgt. Addom.) wanted to call in an orbital strike on this Force-Forsaken island, Their mission was a diplomatic one.

M'Damma berated the Pony Lord with questions along the way, inciting wrathful responses and sharp retorts that eventually led to the older man shutting his mouth. Patches reveled the the eventual silence, collecting soil samples and readings along the way. His instruments were picking up large amounts of an unknown energy, assuredly the 'Magic' that was used to build this castle. Epps fondled his DLT-19 Heavy Blaster, fantasizing about watching this island detonate from high altitudes. Yugo kept to higher ground, jogging across low ridges and rolling hills and scanning the area, his quiet snickers still audible through his teammate's helmets.

Finally, M'Damma spoke again, breaking the silence and finally asking a useful question.

"I am here exclusively to gather information for the Empire and its intelligence officers. Our only purpose here i to determine why you are here and what you plan to do. Now that we know that, our mission is essentially complete. However, out of curiosity... What are you?"

[James Knight]

"I am a Unicorn named King Sombra, apparently a Prime who was dragged here against my will. Right now my current plans amount to building even bigger walls around this castle, and making it even more of a don't come here for certain individuals. After that, I fully plan on going after O-Harmony given they put some slanderous content about me on their website, and despite my wishes I have submitted have not removed said content. Since they have refused my polite request that they remove the information, the next logical choice is to remove the information myself, by force. To that end, I am looking to get my hooves on a Dataverse Uplink Station." 

Once he had one of those in his hooves Sombra planned to go and murder the President of O-Harmony. Quickly summoning his crystal ball, he checked all of the Dataverse. Good. So his threat to the employees of O-Harmony had paid off. Once he could enter the dataverse making short work of the president and the rest of them would be a piece of cake. Of course making short work of the president was not what Sombra wanted to do. No, the bastard needed to suffer for the humiliation he had inflicted upon Sombra. To that end, the dark king now had a brilliant idea.Twilight and her friends might prove useful to him after all assuming he could give them an incentive. 

"Presently none of my plans involve the Empire in the slightest, unless you enjoy the overpopulation of bandits in the Endless Dunes or are in cahoots with O-Harmony making me date Deadpool. Something that once I am more powerful I will personally be correcting, as a few of them tried to eat me. As a result of that particular situation, well you see the reason for all the traps now. "

Sombra paused once more. Fifteen minutes later they were at his castle. His castle was a mix of navy and blue crystal. The welcome mat read "Go away" on it. If one were to pull the welcome mat away, beneath it was a metal circle. The circle when opened would drop anyone who fell into it into a tank of water that contained poisonous snakes. There were various turrets,  and all sorts of boobytraps on the walkway leading to the castle. Adeptly avoiding them all,  King Sombra said. 

"So tell me. Does your Empire allow soldiers to be rented from them? I will happen to need a small army to help me with some work,  IE making sure the next president of O-Harmony doesn't decide he or she wishes to slander my name." 

Sombra paused for a moment. "If any of your troopers would like to stay here, and learn magic I'd allow it. But they'd be working for me while they stay here. The choice is ultimately up to them." 

[Centurion]

"This freak is outta his mind." Epps commented via comlink.

As Sombra continued his strange tirade, the team discussed their options.

"I would love to take a sample of these crystals," Patches said.

"You can collect your samples as soon as we blow this place to hell." Epps responded.

"That's not the mission," Addom interjected.

"Maybe it should be," Yugo mused. Maybe we need to take this guy out before he becomes a threat.

"So tell me," Sombra said, piercing their conversation. "Does your Empire allow soldiers to be rented from them? I will happen to need a small army to help me with some work, IE making sure the next president of O-Harmony doesn't decide he or she wishes to slander my name. If any of your troopers would like to stay here, and learn magic I'd allow it. But they'd be working for me while they stay here. The choice is ultimately up to them."

Yugo started to laugh again. Addom was getting tired of the unicorn's arrogance quickly, and was seriously considering requesting an orbital strike following their departure, however that was not only far from the mission, but far from his pay grade. He was lucky enough to land escort duty. It'd take a miracle to convince someone to give clearance unprovoked for an orbital strike.

Val kept Sombra's attention, giving Addom time to think. "I'm sure I culd bring your request before the Imperial hierarchy. If that is all you need, perhaps my team and I should be on our way?"

[James Knight]

When he had seen their dropship, the dark ruler of the Crystal Empire had to admit it was an impressive vessel. It was certainly something he had never seen before much like the wonders of cool water and air conditioning. A letter of thank you would be penned by him to Carmelita Sly-Cooper later but for now he was going to focus on the here and now.  "Your ship you came in. Does it have a team of Unicorns to levitate it? If not, how does it fly? Is it a piece of technology much like Air Conditioning, or Plumbing, or Refrigeration or Auto Turrets?" They now had the attention of King Sombra focused on them, or rather on the technology they had.  "Words cannot express how astounded I am at the technology you and yours possess. I would love to borrow your drop ship and dismantle it to learn how it works. In any case, I will definitely be paying Coruscant a visit. If the technology you possess is anything to go by I should have plenty to study and add to my house." 

[Centurion]

Val stammered awkwardly, uncertain how to respond. Addoms stepped in, activating his external speaker.

"Thanks for the compliment, but we should be going." He motioned to the rest of his team to start moving towards the door.

Epps' voice crackled over the internal comlink. "Blowing this place up is still an option boss..."

Addoms responded in the same internal manner. "Negative, that;s not the objective.

Patches quietly chipped off a chunk of crystal and slipped it into his pack before leading M'Damma to the exit. Addom took up the rear, just in case.

"We appreciate the hospitality," He said. "But we should really be going."

[James Knight]

So they weren't going to share the technology they possessed with him which meant his attempts to get the Dataverse Uplink Device were going to be...difficult to say the least. Acquiring the Dataverse Uplink Device was going to be a pain in his flank. Yet it was a pain he knew was mandatory if he ever hoped to strike a blow against O-Harmony that they couldn't easily recover from. With that in mind,  King Sombra watched as they trotted out. Later on he could allow himself to strike his revenge for them denying him the chance to study their science. Now however was more of a time for planning and making strategies than it was actual fighting. Given that he lacked the offensive power,  he just watched...silently. Not a word came out of his muzzle as they made their exit, not so much as a goodbye.

[Centurion]

"Well that was interesting," Epps grumbled.

Addom knew that they may have narrowly dodged a blast on that one. He led his team back to the dropship as fast as Val could keep up. He rushed them to pack up camp and disassemble the E-Web. Once everything was finished, He gave the order to take off. The ship rose slowly before blasting off towards the Empire. Val M'Damma would have a story to tell.