Lugubrious

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

A sudden, lurching motion captured Elliot's attention, and with furrowed brows he watched Alessa barely keep herself from falling flat on her face. Then the girl apologized, and tried to sweep the tears away. A stab of pity pierced Elliot's heart, turning his bored frown morose. The hurt's just now reaching her? ...She's taking it pretty hard. He felt compelled to try and offer some comfort, but what could a measly buffoon, struggling with his own thoughts, give as solace? Empathy wasn't part of the script he'd devised. Nothing like this was supposed to happen. Of course, Elliot hadn't naively thought that bad things would simply pass his life by, but he couldn't have understood or anticipated this sort of despair until it clawed at him without mercy. He straightened himself up, moving his rear back into the chair, and transitioned into a forward slouch. Though still not the best of postures, it gave the impression of being engaged. With his head rested in his hand, he watched Alessa try to work through what plagued her.

It would have been easy to look at the floor, or close his eyes and let the darkness mask the pain, but Elliot steeled himself to see the raw emotion on his new leader's face. No matter how little he professed to care about any of the others, he hated to see anyone cry, especially Messiah. Out of all of them, she tormented him the least. He didn't know whether her true nature suited her rather saintly image, but seeing her now brought into his mind the image of some pure, holy girl touched by tragedy for the very first time. It wasn't right. When she spoke, he had ears for her. A nod greeted her words. ”Yes, I shall carry whatever anyone requires. Least I can do. The thought of getting a car struck me.” Not quite knowing why he felt it necessary to share his plan, Elliot moved closer to the table and raised his profile to put his elbow on it. Perhaps, he reasoned, he wanted to try and make the situation more normal.

His focus shifted to Ira, and a chill went down his spine as the nullification field went into effect. It was rather like having an ache and not knowing exactly where in the torso or head it was. Dryly he thought about how lucky he had been to leave all his things in his room; otherwise, a collection of cinderblocks, caltrops, knives, and other weapons might have exploded off him, or even into him, once unbound by his power. Having heard her suggestion, he lifted his head out of his hand to give a succinct nod. ”It would take some planning on my part to ensure whatever I have on me doesn't hurt any of us as it all reverts, but that is an excellent plan. Evening the playing field, so to speak.”

When Tulpa began to speak, he grew silent. To broach the matter of Collin so soon was to reopen a very fresh scar. Either the girl's choice to speak up now would make matters worse or it wouldn't. Elliot, unable to help in any way, would have to wait and see. He could not keep himself from shifting uncomfortably, and interlacing his fingers.

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

Whoops, I'll be right with you.

Pokemon: New World

One moment, Olivie stood in a maelstrom of action. The pokemon attacking her alone or in pairs were no match, and with a cruel smile on her face she began to grow careless. Could any of these unclean buffoons even compare? She altered her movement, shifting towards form over function. A true paragon of beauty and strength could, after all, effortlessly claim victory and do it in a stylish manner. So caught up was she in this endeavor that she did not notice a dark shape, hidden by the black sky, swooping in from above. In a split second, the steel talon raked across her face, and in the next its owner disappeared again. Olivie cried out in pain stumbling backward in an attempt to keep her balance only to trip and fall flat. Clutching her bleeding face, she rolled onto her from and pushed herself onto her knees. It hurt more terribly than she could have imagined. Even as she utilized them to their utmost, she hadn't thought that her incredible offensive powers might imply that her defenses were paper-thin. None of this occurred to her at the moment, though; all she could think about was the pain. It wasn't going away, either, and when she tried to open her right eye she was greeted by a stab of agony and nothing else. The terrifying word blind echoed through her head.

In the background, Darkrai's mood did not change. ”Then again, deep down you're still a pathetic wannabe. Never has a softer heart blustered harder. Didn't I say this place shows you for what you truly are? All bark and no bite.”

Half-hearing her captor's condemnation through the thick haze that assailed her brain, Olivie tottered to her feet. The pokemon that had attacked her must have thought her defeated and turned to deal with a more pressing foe. With her one good eye, she gazed around, trying to find an escape. Tears clouded her vision, but she could make out one odd thing in the chaos: a giant creature, like a four-legged spider made of teal steel, sitting on the earth with its eyes scrunched closed. A couple pokemon were attacking it, but as Olivie watched, two grew bored and picked a fight with each other, leaving only a beat-up, puny-looking Ursaring to smack its tough exterior halfheatedly. Something clicked in Olivie's mind, and she cautiously made her way over. In this place, sneaking would avail her radiant white form none at all, so she resorted to simply dashing her way over. The Ursaring flinched when she approached, but remained still when it became clear Olivie didn't want to attack. Having sensed a new arrival, the Metagross mumbled, ”Get on with it. I'm not fighting back.”

Even with the heavy metallic distortion, Olivie recognized the voice. She reached out to touch its forehead and involuntarily stopped halfway. Her instincts screamed at her to leave the filthy thing along. You are better than in every way! Stronger! More beautiful! Don't bother with the lesser creatures! But the pain made them hard to listen to. Olivie gingerly laid her slender golden fingers on the steel surface and uttered in an odd croon, “Barnie. Get up...you doormat.”

The pokemon's eyes blinked open. They were green, not like Bernard's eyes, but perhaps like he'd want them to be. Olivie could visualize the gears turning in his mind before he said, ”Olivie?”

Withdrawing her fingers, Olivie stared at the ground. Knowing his eyes were on her made her ashamed—she could see the intimidation within them, startled at how amazing she was. Part of her reveled in his realization that she was beyond him, but part of her hated that. ”How...did you shut it out? These new feelings...like I wanna lose myself...so hard to think.”

A creaking noise rang out as Bernard hoisted himself to his feet. As best he could, he shook his head. ”It just wasn't hard for me. But I can see you struggling, so listen. What you are now came from what you really are, but its not the real you. Its like a virus trying to take control, but one that your body wants to embrace, like eating potato chips when you know you shouldn't. But you can beat it. That's what strength is: not beating someone down, but standing up for what you believe in. That's what you've been trying to teach me on our journey, right?”

A tear, as blue as the sky, dripped between Olivie's fingers. ”You're...right. Man...this is so...soppy. Gotta wake up...gotta wake up.” She looked around. Back near where she'd been fighting, Leisy and Ella were still fighting. Behind them, Darkrai lurked, but he'd risen so he could see what Olivie was doing. Even from this distance, the pheromosa could see that his eye had narrowed. Why? she wondered. Didn't the monster have complete dominion over this dreamscape? A new thought occurred to her.

Bernard raised a claw like a student lifting up a hand to ask his teacher a question. ”How about you give him the business, instead? If by some miracle we faint him, the nightmare should end, right?”

A tentative smile crept onto Olivie's face. She allowed a touch of her anger to return. As if she'd flipped a switch, gray energy started to form around her. Still holding onto her eye with one hand, she directed the other outward, and the gray energy turned vivid scarlet before shooting out as a blast. It soared toward Darkrai and hit him dead-on, causing him to recoil.

Calm malice filled his tone as he stared at her from across the distance. ”Clever kid.” Suddenly, everything had grown quiet; the other pokemon could barely bring themselves to keep fighting. ”You sure you want to do this? Look, if you don't like this way this is going, I can change things up a bit. This is supposed to be the place where you're free. Where everything is as you want it. Everyone wants to be a monster...don't make me the bad guy, little lady.”

The Boisterous Bruiser Turned Beauteous Bug

It ͢h͡u͘rts.̕..i̡t ̴hur͢ts so̴ ̵m̀uc͡h!̷ ̸ B̴ut ̡this̡ pain.͢.̧.it͢'s ̛m͠ak͠ing t̢h͝i͠nǵs͘ ͏c͢l̸èar͢er.͘..̶

Be Advised:
@Dusksong's L͠e̢̧̕í̛ś̷҉y͘ T̢̛ak҉͝a̵͜g̵a̛w̴̕͠ą̀͝
@LuckyBlackCat's El̵͟l͡à̀no͏r҉ ̀B̨e͏a͏̡̀u̸f̵͞ơ̵ŕ̶͢t

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

@Caits, out of curiosity, how long do you intend the current state of affairs to continue? It may be cynical of me, but it seems like we've in a rut for some time now. Making something important happen might be just the ticket for getting the RP back into gear.

Pokemon: New World

@lugubrious Prodding you for a post soon ^_^

@Dusksong

Yeah, sorry about that. I'll post tomorrow afternoon.

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

Since the early days of mankind, the unknown proffered a profound choice. Stricken by fear and a need for security, some would turn away and find refuge and solace in the familiar, but others would take the chance for adventure. Across the ages, sailors and pioneers pushed the boundaries on the known world over land and see, venturing into uncharted territories to discover new and amazing things. As humanity grew, however, the world shrunk. In the modern age a person could travel halfway around the world in a day, look up any information about the most exotic creatures or plants on the internet, and find a map to wherever they wished to go. There were no more blank spots on the map, captioned in the olden days 'here there be dragons!' Now, scientists looked for dragons in the reaches of space or the depths of the sea, but in their eyes the earth had been conquered.

Not so for the champions of humanity. Over the untouched, pristine expanse of leafy green, a military helicopter hovered along. Within, eight pairs of eyes peered down at the wilderness below, wondering what lay in wait beneath that verdant canopy. Only hours ago, an important contact let slip that heaven and hell had scrambled platoons of their respective warriors to a supposedly unremarkable spot in the open ocean, and Gilgamesh Corporation mobilized its own response team in reply. Humanity would not sit idly by, a clueless buffoon caught in the chaos of the eternal feud, as another Seal fell into the hands of another faction. In the helicopter lay a bizarre technological device with the rough dimensions of a smart car, bristling with wires and tanks. Inside its tubes, a yellow liquid glowed ever-so-slightly. Gilgamesh's mission was to find the seal and plant this gas bomb, then escape and set it off from safety. Once triggered, the alchemical necrotoxin contained within would eke into the terrain and the atmosphere, turning the Jungle Tabernacle into a wasteland so brutally, corrosively toxic that no angel, demon, or monster could set approach the Seal and live.

The helicopter passed over a towering grove, the trees began to shake. With unnatural speed, a pair of gangly, grotesquely hollow limbs shot out from the leaves and snatched at the vehicle. One hand missed, but the other clamped its claws around the chopper's tail. Like a caught fish, the helicopter struggled, its violent jerks throwing around everyone inside. Despite the pilot's best efforts to wrench his bird free, however, it was reeled inexorably in. A colossus emerged from the grove, a twisted giant whose form was a mockery of humanity. Its snaggle-toothed, lamprey-like maw opened up to reveal a human face within, frozen in a permanent open-mouthed jeer, as if laughing uproariously. Its other hands reached for the helicopter; one attempted to grab it by the rotors, but the spinning blade lopped off one finger and lodged itself in the next. As the monster reeled, even while its other hands clutched the vehicle like a toy, the chopper's side door slid open to reveal a woman with rotors of her own. Skylark soared from the interior and, after getting a few meters away, unloaded a barrage of missiles from the pod on her back. Several deviated off course and exploded against the creature's flesh, prompting it to bring its wounded hand in front of its face as protection, and the remaining missiles blew what was left of the limb into chunks.

A dark blur shot from inside the captured helicopter toward Skylark, stopped as it reached her just long enough to reveal its demonic features. Using his comrade as a springboard, Gloom launched himself toward the monster, blood swirling around him. Another hand released the helicopter in order to pluck the demon out of the air, but in mid-flight he turned around to coalesce his bloody aura into a javelin that propelled at the incoming hand with enough force to pierce straight though. Gloom then span back around, just in time to latch onto the surprised behemoth's face, bury his wrist-blade into its flesh, and start to run up and over its scalp. The skin parted with little resistance, and in only a few seconds a gushing vertical furrow had been carved into the monster's head. The resulting pain sent the freak into a frenzy, and it made to hurl the helicopter into the ground. Instead, a magic rune sprung to life in mid-air, catching the vehicle and slowing it to a crawl. With her hair and garment well mussed, Viola pulled herself from the now upward-facing door. On her heels came Macbeth, who wasted no time leaping from the stalled transport toward the enemy. Thanks to impeccable timing, he landed on one of his enemy's passing arms, and with a flourish he produced his blades before burying them in the offending limb. For the first time, the monster screeched, its high-pitched howl sending birds flapping in panic from nearby trees. From the point of penetration, a wave of petrification swept across the limb, and by the time the spread stopped the entire arm had been turned to stone.

Now possessing only one fully functional arm, the creature reached toward its head to tear Gloom off. The two remaining Gilgamesh operatives extracted themselves from their helicopter to see Gloom slip onto the monster's shoulder, and its hand claw at nothing but its own bleeding gash. Jekyll snickered and threw himself into the air, apelike in his appearance and strength, to crash into the beast's petrified arm. It cracked and tore free from its socket beneath his weight, and the agony sent the monster into a mindless spasmodic fit. With a clear shot, Silver opened fire on the exposed head, ripping into the wound there to create a vulnerability. Right on cue, Gloom reappeared, standing atop the creatures cranium, and with little ceremony he drove a blade of blood into the fracture made by Silver. The sudden intrusion into the brain did not go over well with the monster, who died instantly, and with a resounding crash it toppled over.

Viola, still standing atop the sideways helicopter alongside Silver, took great care as she lowered it to the ground. The other operatives made their way to the place she deposited it, forming a crude circle. Jekyll, his face hidden now that his helmet had misted up in the excitement, held a chunk of unidentifiable flesh, perhaps as a trophy. After cleaning his blades, Macbeth put them away, and stood with a wry smile on his face. Gloom, taciturn as ever, crouched in silence. After touching down, Skylark stood with her arms crossed. With her characteristic blank look etched on her features, Silver, hoisted herself from the chopper, and stood for a moment staring at the mud on her boosts before wiping them on her opposite pant legs one after another. A stirring noise from the helicopter's inside announced the survival of the pilot—though not many expected that she would have died. Hyobanshi Otsune appeared from the cockpit, sporting her everyday white augments, but as she walked toward her allies a white flash surrounded her. When it died down, it revealed her in her black battle-ready augments, looking every inch like a revenant. “Well,” she began. “That was disappointing. If you had responded two seconds sooner, Skylark, you could have kept it from damaging the rotors. As it is, we can no longer find the Seal from safety, and must wander through the jungle. Jekyll, please carry the bomb.” Tossing aside his scrap of monster, the hazmat man climbed into the helicopter to retrieve the device he'd so lovingly nicknamed 'the Defiler'. Otsune turned to examine some ruins in the distance, set into the side of a mountain. “Let us depart.”

-=-=-

In the heart of the area of the jungle occupied by hell's demonic legion, a lone woman stood upon a promontory. Beneath the lush canopy, a series of intense skirmishes raged back and forth, but she did not deign to participate. The rabble could die as far as she was concerned; to Gomory, a premier agent of Mundus, all that mattered was the mission. For the moment, however, the pain had distracted her. She held a hand to the right side of her face, gingerly brushing the edge of the grievous wound. For her failure to secure the Eidolic Cairn, her master had chosen to punish her without mercy. The baleful axe of his execution had cleaved diagonally through Gomory's head, taking off the upper-right fourth, including her right eye and horn. Since then, of course, the demoness had regenerated, but her missing features did not reappear. A black silk bandage lay across her face, covering the damaged parts. It still hurt to worry at the area.

Gomory did not blame her master. After all, a seventh of the fate of the world had laid in her hands, and she'd failed him. This punishment was hers to bear for her weakness—that much she understood completely. This time, however, would be different. Today, the Seal would belong to hell.

Gritting her teeth, Gomory snapped her fingers. Beside her, three Hell Vanguards that had been standing idle snapped to attention. At her command, they flung their cloaks over her, and the entire party disappeared in a cloud of darkness with the toll of a bell.

-=-=-

Until now, Souta had remained quiet in the presence of two demons. Not having Wrath along for the ride, however strange a Nephilim was, made him more uneasy. In a strange way he felt as though Wrath was one of the more normal paranormal beings he'd come in contact with. Now, however, he had only Lily and Fenn for company. A certain reason in particular could be found without too much reaching for why he wasn't keep to speak up, but Souta liked to think that he wouldn't have much to say anyway. A more prominent thought in his mind was why exactly he'd been thrown into a combat mission yet again when by all rights he should have been allowed to stay in the Citadel and keep working. Inspiration came to him the night before, after all, and one does not simply cut a man off right as he's gotten himself excited about a new project! Yet, the Council cared little for a lowly human's opinions -this was a presumption, for he'd thought it wiser to not voice them in the first place-, so here he was, on some jungle island looking for another Seal. This time, there was no helpful guide or hint-giving asshat to provide any kind of assistance; the agents were on their own.

Fortunately, it did not take long for the hellhound to improvise. By some miracle Fenn managed to catch an important scent, and after taking a moment to marvel at the convenience of it, Souta set off after him and Lily at a vigorous trot.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

I wouldn't say that the animation was all that shiny either. It has some cool showpieces, like all the new Grimm, but everything felt slow and predictable. Practically nothing was cool, not even the Nuckelavee, which should have been the most badass monster to grace the series. The only exception for me was the Qrow/Tyrian fight, but even that wasn't good all the time.

The way characters interacted, all stiff and slow with so many pauses, filled a lot of time while accomplishing very little. Plus, there were some things that just didn't make sense. For instance, having Ruby and Jaune carry Qrow around the long way while the other two took the 'shortcut' to try and get help faster. Why not have the two physically strongest characters (Jaune and Nora) carry the dead weight, while the one with the actual speed semblance goes on ahead? And the chameleon girl's tiny lance has the same semblance-piercing effect as Adam's blade? And so on and so forth.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

To the remaining people watching the show: thoughts on volume 4?

Pokemon: New World

Not even a second passed before Olivie almost fell over. So light and lithe was her knew form that every action she took went faster than she anticipated, but even as she staggered and steadied herself over the course of a few moments, she could feel the changes sinking in. Her mind adjusted at a remarkable rate. The moment of relaxation allowed her a chance to witness the final phases of her acquaintances' own changes. In Ella's place, a tentacled monstrosity that did not give so much as a hint of humanity now floated, and Leisy had shrunk down into a minuscule being of what looked like origami. Olivie flinched, backing away. A dispassionate look crossed her new, wide-eyed face. ”Yech! Just what you'd expect of losers--a jellyfish and a piece of paper. This is all your fault. If Barnie was with us when we came, we'd be able to beat this thing.” A pointed, azure-blue glare swept over both Leisy and Ella, but she couldn't even tell where their faces were. Conflicting thoughts swirled in her head. So much strength filled her limbs that she could hardly bear to stay still, just as one could barely keep themselves from moving when filled with hype. However, the two looked so stupid and unclean that she could find almost no desire to hit them at all, no matter how much they deserved to be punished.

The noise of feet against the ground caught her attention. In from the left sprinted a blue-scaled reptile, its pink head awash in flame and its eyes narrow slights of gleeful eagerness. Olivie started to move, and in stunning feat of unnatural acceleration skidded to a halt a few feet behind the druddigon a split second later. Confounded, the dragon turned to attack, but Olivie had already lunged for him. She struck him across the jaw with her slim golden knuckles, and the force of the blow caused his head to whip around the other way. Filled with energy, Olivie attacked again, delivering a brutally swift Triple Kick that bowled her enemy over. As he sprawled on the ground, still not sure what hit him, Olivie dashed to his side and raised her leg to Stomp down on his face. The next second, she turned around in a flash to see who else wanted some. More pokemon were on their way; evidently, the members of the grand free-for-all had realized that a few more opponents were hiding on the sidelines like cowards. The first to attack, an Octillery, stopped at a safe range before unloading shells of water from her cannon-shaped mouth. With exceedingly little trouble, Olivie dodged past them all and closed the distance in only a handful of seconds. She planted a foot right in the cephalopod's cheek and shoved, sending the Octillery flopping end over end like a half-inflated balloon.

Darkrai's smug satisfaction could be heard in its voice as it murmured, ”Yes, give it all you've got!Show them all that nobody can mess with you—that you're the toughest there is! I can see your desires...you want to be so strong that all will respect you and look up to you. This is the place where you will prove your strength, and where everyone else, too busy and selfish in their daily lives, will give you what you deserve!”

Its gaze had already shifted to Ella and Leisy. it wondered what it was they wanted to prove, but it suspected it wouldn't have to wait long to find out.

The Boisterous Bruiser Turned Beauteous Bug

"͔̹͗̇̅̚Ș̪̝̻ͣ̾ö̝̯̜͙̖͊ ̙̫̳͎͖̬y͉̌͌̃̒̍o̾̍ͧͤu̮͚͊ͩ͑̒̌̿ ̻͚̠̘͖̘́w͇ͬ͂̇́͛ͤã͇͍̹̪n̤̘͙̺̆ṉ̩͊͊̏ͬ̄͗a̰̜ͤͦ̆ͭ̅ ͥ͊̔̂̈̂r͕̱̝̥͕̟͔u̯͔̥͍͉̺ͤ̂ͮ̽m̘͎̺̐ͩ̄̍͗̓ͤb̭̍l̖̞̪͉̙̺̉ͤͩͥͪͅḙ͍͚͛?͖̩̠̘̿͋͂ͯͪ̅ͦ ̥̤͓̮̐͑̊̃ ̪͙ͩͮ̇̉̽̔͂I̲̱̺̅ͧ̈́'̔̈́ͣ̅̆͋͆ḷ̪̦̱͓̐ͤ̄l̜̞̈́̈́ ̞̝͍̈̃b̪͔̯̳̠͚͚ͮͨ͗̔̾͗ͮl̼̠̱͔͎̩̇̿̓̎o̫w̭̜͎͍̄̀͋̿̚ ͉͙͖͍̙ͯy̪͈ͪͮ͆o̱̼̩̼̰̭ͮͫ̔̚û̪͍̗̌͆̊ͤ ̪̰̤̳͚͚̑ͮͨ̿͋ͣ̅o̊ͮͮu͕̦̰̲̞̝ͧ̚t͙͓͍͓̗̀̒̾ ̲̮̙̉o̻͈̭̜̞̺̬ͭ̍͋f̮͍͎ ͕̗ͣ̇ͫ͑͗̽t̃̐ͩh̩̮ͣ̏ͅe̞̖̓̒̄ͦ ̩͚̳͇̫̐̎̿w̙͓̤͎̌ͣͥ̑̚ā̙̭͈͈̻̝ͭ̑͛͑t̠͎e̍̾ͨ̔͂́̄r̟͙̂ͥ!̬̥ ̥̠̤̽̐͗̓̄͂ ͖̞̦͖͍͍͉E̹̹̞̯̓v̟̠͚̄́̃ͯͫ̌e̬̩̯ͭͫͨr͙̹̙̗͚̭͎͆͐y͉̖̭̣̞ͪͧ̎͌̍̍ ̘̙̓ͫ͑̚l̬̻̬̎ͅa̳͚͓̝̔͋̊͋̍s̤͉͕͍ͯt̬̣̱͔̟ͪ̆̿̅ͅ ͙̬̜́ͮ͛̈́͒o̜̞͈̾ͤ̈̄͛̈n̻̟̜̲͓͖̩ͦ̒̓͌͂e̤̘̦̹̪͑̅ͪͭ̓!̼̩̰̣͖̞͑"͇̞̬͊͑̓͒

Be Advised:
@Dusksong's L͠e̢̧̕í̛ś̷҉y͘ T̢̛ak҉͝a̵͜g̵a̛w̴̕͠ą̀͝
@LuckyBlackCat's El̵͟l͡à̀no͏r҉ ̀B̨e͏a͏̡̀u̸f̵͞ơ̵ŕ̶͢t

Project Crossover [Video Game Crossover RP]

Slayer
Level 1
Day 1
Location: Abandoned Castle
@Hylozoist @Holy Soldier @Gentlemanvaultboy @Lmpkio @Zarkun @ToadRopes @Bright_Ops
Word Count: 798
Experience: ||||||||||

For all his strength, Slayer could not drive his fist through vapor. The instant before his blazing fist would have cannoned into Oswald's noggin, the Shadow Knight disintegrated into his namesake, and Slayers hand passed harmlessly through the empty space. All that remained was his voice, but its edge told the vampire that his opponent wasn't toying with him. Before the duel could even commence, Oswald both forfeited and departed with no small amount of urgency. Under normal circumstances, the gentleman might have taken his time adjusting his attire, but the split-second skirmish ended so quickly that not one hair on his head was out of place. It all struck Slayer as disappointing. However, hidden in his foe's parting words was a pertinent implication; his attention was needed elsewhere. The gentleman did not hesitate to start moving again, having guessed where Oswald might be headed. ”The other team must have begun its assault,” he murmured, voicing his thoughts. ”Regrettably I could not provide much of a distraction, but given the young lad's teleportation ability, I could not reasonably be expected to waylay him for long.” Casting his mind back to the members of Team Two, he felt sure that poor Oswald had leaped out of the frying pan and into the fire. Slayer, eager to rejoin the action, picked up the pace to a brisk trot. ”With me, he might have stood a chance.”

The Abandoned Castle wasn't far. Its proximity alone meant that Slayer arrived just in time to hear General Brigan make his dire ultimatum. Against the entire assembly of heroes, only Oswald stood in opposition. Atop the flight of stairs with murder in his eyes, he cut an imposing figure, but the swollen barbarian alone dwarfed him, and the General's allies meant that for all his presence and all his skill, the knight was a lone candle awaiting a deluge. Having arrived from a slightly different direction, Slayer was sure that Oswald could see him. So could the members of Team Two. Convinced that a grand brawl was poised to take place, Slayer said what he could. ”Good evening, compatriots! My opponent teleported away. I will aid you however I can.” A moment later, the action began. Luigi planted a seed, belted out an order rather uncharacteristic for one who'd shown himself to be shy, and then sprinted into the melee with a hammer in his hands. His two soldiers began their assault as well, and the other half of Team Two broke off to get inside. Amusing that this lot would end up doing the job mine was supposed to. Where are the others, I wonder...?

Slayer remained still, a hand cupping his pipe as he studied the situation. He had to admit that he knew very little about Team Two's mission in particular. 'Storm the Tower, Rescue the Princess' was what stuck out in his mind. He could not say if the phrase accurately represented his new allies' mission. The combined fire of Edward and James would place a great deal of pressure on Oswald as he attempted to deal with Brigan and Luigi at once. Given his lack of mobility and range, Slayer felt inclined to believe that he would be more of a hindrance than a help should he throw himself into the mix. Meanwhile, the others would be attempting to proceed up the staircase Oswald guarded. ”Ah, I know!” he snapped his fingers. ”I'll stir things up. More chaos means less chance for Oswald to keep track of everyone, so my fellow heroes may get through. Then, I will join them as backup. Marvelous!” As the fierce battle began, Slayer skirted the edge, making sure to stay out of the line of fire of his allies. He made his way to a solid wall and, after taking a moment to get his angle and target right, mustered his strength to pound the solid rock with a Pile Bunker.

KRAKOOM!

The resulting blow, while nowhere near enough to shake the castle, nevertheless rumbled the room. The wall itself conducted the force to the second floor, rattling anyone directly above enough to send items off of furniture and people tumbling. Dust and a few stones cascaded from the ceiling, but nothing more. Slayer retracted his hand to find it bloodied and broken, which he acknowledged with a click of his tongue. ”My constitution really has taken a hit! I'll wager I must look fairly imbecilic, having just punched a wall. Hopefully something helpful comes out of it.” At the very least it might throw Oswald off balance, but with any luck it might open up a passage of some kind for Team Two's members to get up to the second floor faster, or even keep its occupants from fleeing for a moment.