MachineSoul

I Wanna be a Saikyou HERO! [One-Punch Man Inspired] [Magical Girls, Ninjas, Metahumans and more!]

And the actual GM never did anything at all, the one person that drove the plot forward has been absent for over a week.

It's dead

[Zamokra41] - Avalon Empire - [MachineSoul]

Aleko walked down the stone stairs until he reached right in front of the gate which lead to the surrendering army outside. He was unaware of the slight inconvenience, as he was confident enough the fools wouldn't just give away their lives for naught; human loyalty may be something of great respect, but they still are flawed beings afraid of death. Loyalty in death is something that has to be won, and it would seem that general Dunngard didn't quite win it from all of his subordinates. They preferred to drop their weapons with him instead of defying his order to fight to death for him. As Aleko prepared himself to have the quick talk with the general, Bulkwyn made sure to pull him aside once again, this time to compliment him. The heir was taken by surprise with this gesture of appreciation, he could actually feel his cheeks prickle to form a light blush.

"You're too kind, general." He replied, quickly throwing a glance somewhere else to hide his flushing cheeks. "I only do what suits best the situation and don't let my feelings get in the way, that is all to it."

"But, thank you. I'm... I still cannot get used to this. It means a lot to know that I have your approval." He admitted in a low tone, a small smile giving away a little more emotion than he wanted.

But once he would be free to walk outside, the Emperor strode with confidence, quickly followed by an ever-eager MacFinlay and two more rangers the wolf called with him. Once they had reached him, the two quickly made their way to the human general and attempted to apprehend him, but with Asimov showing displeasure and resistance, MacFinlay quickly drew his rifle up; Aleko only had to raise his hand to quickly defuse the situation, all three ceased hostility towards the general. Then, they started walking, the general seemed to believe that the halfling was actually in a talking mood, when in reality, the halfling pulled the rifle from his shoulder and wrapped his fingers around the neck of the buttstock and the handguard in preparation for a knock-out blow. Aleko knew that he missed his cue, his intention was most likely given away by the shuffling of his armor, by his utter silence, by him falling behind; his mistake was to attempt to knockout anyway, even if he had been discovered, believing that he would still get him some way or another. To his dismay, rather than surprise, he found himself in a headlock, his rifle on the ground and with an arm tied around his gorget, which in its turn pressed tightly against his throat; that, combined with the great discomfort in his shoulder, made him attempt to gasp for some air, but in return he only managed to utter a grunt. Most of the general's words had fallen on deaf ears as the canine tried to calm himself down and let the situation pass, knowing that the human did not have the gall to take him down there and then. In the end, he was released, MacFinlay quickly made his way to the pained Emperor.

"Sir, are you alright?" He asked before he turned and raised his rifle again. "You bloody leatherface, I'll rape your mother's arse if you touch him ag-"

"Can it." Interrupted Aleko after he did a full rotation of the pained shoulder to realign the joint in its place and batted the rifle away a second time. MacFinlay cocked his head, left aghast by his superior's order; although he could complain about it, he slung his rifle on his shoulder with no further comment. The dwarves quickly arrived to cuff the general and take him away, to which Aleko finally opened his snout with a deep chuckle, a reaction that made Bedpan's blood go cold, the same with the other two rangers.

"No good deed goes unpunished, general." Aleko stated through the chuckle, a wide grin present on his face. "No idea just how you could have snapped my neck, armor and all, but you should have done it either way. It would have been the best for you." The heir then walked towards one of the dwarven troops that cuffed the human general to pull him aside, but not without a last glance and a last sentence.

"I certainly would have done it, I'm an Elite Ranger. You're only a loud-mouthed, high-ranking officer. The dog that barks does not bite."

The heir then wrapped his arm around the dwarven troop and whispered to him leisurely as he headed back for the forest, his head leaning down so that he would be able to address to him.

"Keep him well-fed and well-rested for two or three days. Then, you have my permission to do anything you want to get out every bit of information he's got, but I demand you to keep him alive. Once you've drawn every last drop of intelligence, bring him to me on Escalyber. Have I made myself understood?"

With that done, he patted the stout man on the shoulder and allowed him to leave, giving himself another moment to gyrate his shoulder and push his neck in the opposite direction, a sickening crackle releasing some of the built-in tension. The physical tenderness was bearable, but there was clearly more than muscle damage imprinted on him. Soon, a war bear made itself visible with general Bojor atop of it; the dwarf dismounted and ran up to the halfling to keep up with him and question him about the situation. The heir had nothing to reply to him, save for informing him about the order he had bestowed upon one of his own men, concluding with a shrug and a nonchalant:

"I thought it would be polite of me to let you know what would be going on in Paletower."

Some time later, the general reunited, Bulkwyn tried to show some pleasantries towards the crass dwarf, then, show worry for the halfling.

"There is no wound for a physician to tend to, general." Aleko replied curtly.

“Don’ mother him. He can walk’ it off. We’ain’ done ‘ere yet.” Added Ironfist.

"I was about to say that I'll lick it off, but that would work too." The heir then completed, tilting his head to the side.

“Well ye’ did a bloody fine job o’ tha’ fortress.” The dwarf started, yet his tone did not imply actual commendation. “But we’ still gott’a convince tha’ mayor o’ tha’ town to pledge tha’ whole province’s allegiance to ou’r side, now don’ we?”

“He is right, sir", Pepper nodded, "the town of Northspark is some hours march away from here. If you’re able, we should leave immediately.”

"Then, let's not keep the man waiting for us. Take whatever forces we have left, we march now." Aleko immediately ordered, his tone changing drastically from the previous one; mostly like due to the fact that no one actually understood the subtlety of the self-deprecating jape.

Prior to the march, Aleko and Bulkwyn had mustered some of the Elite Rangers, a handful of highlanders and some score of drow vanguards to join them on the walk towards the capital of the region, the town bearing the same name as the fortress they had captured yesterday. In this time, Aleko took himself a couple of moments to ease his bladder; he cleaned his hands with a handful of pure snow, inspecting it beforehand to make sure it didn't have drops of yellow in it. Once the shepherd was done, he took another moment to walk over to a tree and lean himself against it, a heavy sigh trailing out as a puff of steam exiting his long snout; he had the hurting arm resting against the tree trunk, the other one hanging loosely next to his body. Within a second, he grunted loudly and snarled as he slammed the thick of his palm against his temple in a repeated manner.

Idiot, sodding mutt, letting yourself so damn exposed! He scolded himself between grunts. I'll show that crusty old bear what tyranny is all about.

"Sir, a-are you... oh, gods."

Aleko promptly turned his head only a little, his face not visible towards the voice from behind. He immediately identified it being MacFinlay's. He knew that he couldn't explain to him what he just saw, so instead he replied to the wolf's attempt of a question with an oddly calm voice, which carried a rather menacing undertone to it.

"I am quite fine, Bedpan. Are the preparations in order?"

"Uh, y-yessir. We're ready to leave." The wolf answered, his voice giving away the uneasiness that overtook him after witnessing his superior's outburst and sudden change of tone.

"Good. Get in formation."

"Sir!" Bedpan saluted and promptly left his Emperor alone.

Aleko turned his head back towards the ground and relaxed his shoulders, the thumping pain in his temple drawing away the temper inside him. A matter of seconds later, he took his place within the marching formation, visor down, acting as if nothing had ever happened. MacFinlay was still close-by, but whatever plan he had to socialize with the heir was most likely gone. For the following hours, the silence Aleko had about him tasted in a very different way compared to the other times he kept his mouth shut through the marches; it would seem that sounds around him would be siphoned by something, everyone seemed rather reluctant to explore the oddity. The long walk did help him get a grip of his fiery emotions, but even so, he could still feel a knot of rage in his throat. In due time, they reached the gates of Northspark city, where a couple of musketeers defended the niggardly towers laid at the sides of the gatehouse. Once challenged, Aleko walked forward and lifted his visor, his glacier glance falling upon one of the human guards.

"Aleko Farland Sendrakon, first of my name and heir of the Sendrakon bloodline, I come to announce the fall of Fort Northspark!" His voice boomed at the two guardsmen. "I wish audience with the mayor of the town!"

Not long after, the gates opened, Aleko was the first to walk inside, to the dismay of a squad of Elite Rangers that were tasked with defending the Emperor; they quickly caught up to him and matched their pace with the heir's stride, which seemed rather adamant about stomping his way to the center of the town.

This is my victory. It feels different because it is for me, not for the general of my army, or for the king of the Freedom Islands. This land is now mine. I do not know what to do with this notion, yet, it empowers me. I need to calm my blood some more.

He met with the mayor of the town, the White Shepherd gave him a scrutinizing look before he nodded his head towards the lanky human.

"T..t..the heir? The heir of the Sendrakon bloodline?” The mayor stuttered, obviously taken by surprise. “That means… That means you are from the New Empire… but… why are you here? What is happening?”

Aleko lowered his head to align his eyes to his and clasped his hands at his own back.

"I thought the guardsman told you? I'm here to tell you that the fort of Northspark is forfeit. The army has been all but eliminated, the surviving troops have been captured; general Asimov Dunngard has surrendered prior to his apprehension. He tried to negotiate himself out of the situation, but it would seem that few know the privileges of being captured." Aleko addressed to the man calmly.

"Which is why I hope that you will have the wisdom to avoid more conflict and forfeit the town and all of this region's settlements, as well as its resources. As long as the relationship between this region and the New Empire's core remains civil, you are promised prosperity, security and attention, as well as the benefits of a different mind-set of lordship and ruling; if you wish to resist even under the circumstances you find yourself in, I'm afraid I will have no choice but to take away your position and offer it to a loyal vassal." Aleko took a quick break in his speech to take a few steps away from the mayor to gaze at the mob of residents crowding to witness the commotion.

How in all the hells am I able to speak like so without stuttering?

"Citizens of Northspark, you will find my rule a gentle, yet, productive one, based on honesty and workmanship. You will find kindness and prosperity, under the condition that you pledge your allegiance to me, the last of the Sendrakon bloodline. I may be a bastard, aye, but that means half of my blood will quench the tyrannical other; I too know what the people have been through under the seemingly unending dynasty, the Sendrakon have grown too accustomed to their well-being and took their underlings's loyalty for granted. I stand here in front of you to promise to you that the end of childish regimes and careless behavior has ended with the death of the last pure blood. I may be Sendrakon, but I am also Hyde. I am unfortunate, but also blessed to wear both of these names, so I will take them and bear them with courage and pride in my heart, to lead my people to a New Empire, where you, the people, will have the most important voice in leading the Empire. Your pleas and suggestions will be carefully listened and applied, for the better of Avalon. For the better future, for our children, so that they do not have to live through the atrocities the elderly had to suffer." Aleko then turned to the mayor.

"You must understand, I am no threat to you since I did not come here to point the tip of my sword at your neck. I couldn't come to have this discussion with the Old Empire's army breathing down my neck, I had to make sure you could listen to my proposition with no interference, surely you can understand that. I am sure we can forge a fruitful cooperation, once you have replaced the banners and accept me as your leader." The shepherd took a deep breath and straightened his back, feeling rather light-headed after he had lost focus on his breathing.

"Now then, my dear mayor, what will be your verdict?"

Star Wars - Jedi Exile - Knights of the Last Republic

He felt nothing. No ripple, no tug, no nothing to indicate a reply at all. Admittedly, the Jedi had never been a good telepathy user and couldn't send any strong messages through the use of the force; even so, he half-expected to receive something back, anything at all. He felt alone once more, laying on the rooftop on his belly and his forehead pinned against to ground while listening in on the traffic above. He didn't hear the Z-95 quad engines shriek, but he could definitely pick up low rumbles of explosions not too far from his hiding spot. He assumed that it was the temple being hammered by the clones, a thought that only seemed to push him deeper towards dangerous emotions. For that reason, Aleko found it more and more difficult to focus on the imaginary schematics of the temple's innards, looking for a possible exit the surviving group would take.

With every explosion, the Temple's architecture might change. I can't be sure the service tunnels and other secret exits weren't also be destroyed. He thought as he opened his eyes, unable to coalesce a proper map based only on his memories; not only did he found it difficult to concentrate on himself, he didn't have extensive knowledge of the layout either. He was once more at an impasse.

Aleko crawled out from his cranny, confident that the two pilots were not on his back any more; still, he felt that a far more dangerous peril would come his way, as he was sure that they had called reinforcements from the temple to scour the area where he had ejected from his Cutlass. If the traitors were invested enough in eliminating the Jedi order, most surely they had brought clone commandos.

That's one of the last things I want to confront this day. I need to get to the Undercity fast.

Once he pushed himself up on his feet, he took a quick assessment of his surroundings to make sure there weren't any eyes on him and jogged his way to the edge of the structure's rooftop and peer down; he could see the crevice between the buildings go down a long distance into a mist below, which quickly convinced him that there was no way he could survive such a fall. And if he did survive, he still had to work his legs and find a nearby portal to fall through and access the infamous Undercity. Then, he focused on the complicated vents and pipework lining the walls, but, the more he looked at the external configuration of the structure's walls, the more disheartened he felt as he just couldn't find accessible ledges to aid him in his descent. The shapes were either too steep, or there was too much of a distance between them. There was just no way for him to go down, not without the help of at least an airspeeder. Coruscant had reached a point where the "surface" level could only be accessed by vehicles, only the rabble who dwelt in the Undercity would have the possibility to walk around. Looking across, the adjacent structure's roof was way too far from him, the gap in between couldn't be cleared even with an augmented jump.

Aleko frantically turned around to dash in the completely opposite direction, the darkness falling over the planet making it more and more difficult for him to discern the shapes of the various service constructions littering every rooftop of this level. He didn't know what else to do but to run as fast and as far as he could from there, for it was only a matter of time before he would have to face capable hostiles; the Force present in his musculature helped him jump on the top of the structures, it helped him cross the entire roof at a baffling speed, but he hit against the same problem once he stopped his dash to let his boots slide to the opposite edge of the roof. He peered down shook his head, seeing that there was no way he could get down from this side either. Nightmare.

There was a distinct hum closing in on him. He turned his head first, then, his entire torso. A second hum then made itself heard, a sound that not too long ago meant safety to him. Time had run out and there were very little options left for Aleko, the most obvious solution, hiding and sneaking, would only stall the inevitable. This time, he couldn't pull himself out of the situation with the help of terrain, since the troops would be on the roof scouring every corner with guidance and support from two LAATs surveying the search. All that Aleko could do now was to reach for the hilt hanging from the belt clip on his left hip, the shape and structure of the saber offered a sense of confidence and safety as he wrapped his fingers around the hilt and gripped it against the glove and flesh of his palm. He took a deep breath and straightened his back, opening his eyes only after he calmly exhaled. He could already see searchlights falling from somewhere above. He gritted his teeth and curled his toes, his knees creaked as he lowered his stance with a few centimeters. His left hand found the base of the hilt while the other found itself closer to the emitter shroud, his torso shifted sideways to put his right shoulder forward in a parallel position with his right foot. The inatcivated saber was lowered at his hips just by relaxing his shoulders, his eyes fixing on the two approaching LAATs.

He waited. Waited for them to find him.

Superheroics 101

@Shorticus

[Zamokra41] - Avalon Empire - [MachineSoul]

Day 8

The night spent in a decent bed proved to be comfortable enough for his back, but the smell of someone else's sweat and drool absorbed by the cushions and mattress did not do good to his morning appetite; falling asleep also proved to be rather difficult, as the presence of the musky, sour smell would torment Aleko even in his dreams. But he got rid of the persistent odor after he had washed himself in the morning after his fitness drill and made sure to be dry enough to walk out in the biting cold of the North. He had two other rangers help him put the plate suit back on his body before he walked outside, where chill and fog greeted him promptly. The heir could only sigh to himself and buckle up the scabbard containing his longsword around his waist for a tighter grip, the same with the sidearm and dagger, while he loosely slung the rifle on his left shoulder; as he made his way on the top of the battlements, he met with some of the soldiers that helped conquer the fort under the command of Bulkwyn, the anthro side of the troops were obviously more eager to greet the emperor with the most reverent bows, nods and appraisals. One of the rangers seemed more than glad to see the emperor and promptly lifted the visor, revealing a MacFinlay wearing a toothy grin and a fresh wound on the tip of his nose.

"Good morning, Commander!" He mouthed, steam flowing from his snout.

"Good morrow, Bedpan." The halfling replied with a small smile and a nod of his head. "Care to join me on my duties today?" He asked without thinking too much; but he found that he needed a more familiar face next to him, especially from a boot-smashing soldier like he was not long ago.

"Duti- of course, Commander!" The wolf seemed taken aback by his superior's request, but he didn't seem to mind leaving his crenelation to join the halfling. He kept up with Aleko, keeping himself at his side, throwing a glance down every once in a while.

"It sure feels good to sleep where the wind doesn't pelt you, sir." Commented Bedpan as he took a final look down at the anthro chargers. He shifted his gaze forward, immediately identifying the gatehouse they were approaching.

"Oh, yes, I do appreciate some walls around me." Aleko replied before the wolf could inquire about the general. Noticing that he took his subordinate's chance to speak, he lifted his own exposed muzzle forward to the woman. "Yes, we're going to have a talk with her."

"Oh." MacFinlay nearly stopped in his tracks. "Well, uh, I'll wait until you have finished, sir. I wouldn't want to interfere in high-brass discussions."

Aleko turned his head to him and squinted his icicle eyes. It's a completely different reason, isn't it? "I see. Well, carry on."

The heir left Bedpan behind and approached the general, managing to startle her.

"Good morning, general. I can say I've had a decent night's sleep in someone else's sweat and spit." He commented while admiring the misty vista from the gatehouse. He stretched his neck and hopped on the balls of his boots, plates and scabbard clattering in a cacophony of steel, leather and wood. Standing atop the castle felt good to him, knowing that he conquered the fortress with the help of eight men; as he thought more and more about his accomplishment, he couldn't help but to feel fortunate to have made out of another stronghold takeover. Even though it was smaller in size and capacity, the operation was perilous none the less. He did present his opinion over the success of the mission here, moment in which he found the opportunity to bring up the battle-mage observation he had two days before. For some reason, he did not expect a straight up answer, but he was glad that she offered to give in the details at a later time; the heir could only nod and smile, bringing out no more words to show his understanding.

Silence took over as they stood there to watch the obscured horizon, Aleko half-expected to see troops returning to the castle, with quite an amount of dread in his chest.

How will I handle them? I can be pretty bloody sure they will not listen to a single word that I have to say. They're crude people, they only listen to their own superior, I'm the enemy they are supposed to murder. I better acquit myself as such.

Before he could even assimilate what was going on, the troops arrived, the half-mouse started shouting down at them to hold and surrender, dwarven troops immediately surrounded the enemies from behind; Aleko crossed his arms and smirked to himself, his head lowering as he stifled a proud chuckle.

"Hammer and anvil." He muttered quietly.

"Hammer and anvil." Echoed MacFinlay, which in the meantime approached the two superiors. He glanced at Aleko, gave him a grin and looked back down at the trapped army. He lifted his gaze again as the emperor stepped forward and rested his forearms against the merlon in front of him.

Of course, he expected the rather disgraceful reaction from the general, since he was at the end of the day, a bastard and nothing more. Aleko didn't take it as an insult, but what did manage to pull a frown of disdain was the act of defiance he resented so much; the halfling ground his teeth, canines poking through his lips. Something that bothered him some more was the general trying to negotiate himself out of the situation, only to be countered by a female captain that declared the opposite offer. One way or another, Aleko would either have the army killed, or the general free. He wanted both. Bulkwyn whispered something to him, but the halfling seemed rather unfazed by her words. MacFinlay abstained from uttering a word, he only turned his head to his grace while his rifle aimed down at the mass of humans caught in between a fortress and a dwarven force. For the newly-made lord, attacking them would only yield casualties and if there was something that many military treatises told him, he wasn't supposed to surround the enemy completely, lest they would fight until the bitter end and take down men of his own; that was unfavorable, as leaving them a small niche of escape could have the remaining forces surrender and flee, perfect occasion to let the light cavalry pick off troops. But, he found no other option here. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, to make sure his voice could be heard.

"General Dunngard, Captain. I am rather befuddled by an issue here: since when are prisoners able to negotiate themselves out?" He glanced at Bulkwyn, then at Bedpan, only to return his gaze back down. He lifted his shoulders and dropped them, the pauldrons clattered. "Circumstance dictates that you are the mercy of my words, yet, you find the audacity to find solutions for yourselves? A castle filled with rifles aiming at each of your heads, while at your back you'll have grenades and axes, and yet, an old man with pain in his joints wants out. And a captain that prefers to kill her entire force for naught. Intriguing." Aleko straightened his back and lifted his eyebrows, feeling an odd confidence in his own voice, in his own words that he picked for the speech. His leather-clad fingers tapped against the merlon.

"Firstly: drop your weapons, shields, spell books. All of them. Men, lead the captain and her men inside the fortress; pick three guards and apprehend the general, I want to have a private talk with him." He slapped his palm against the stone and turned to Bulkwyn, to which he quietly, but quickly, whispered:

"Lead each and every man inside and close the gates behind you. Once I and the dwarven forces are alone with the general, we will make sure he will be silenced and taken by the dwarves to their outpost and have him interrogated." He gestured his hand to follow him. "This army will be put for labor, we cannot risk setting them free so close to the enemy." Aleko then sighed and tried to talk at a slower pace, making sure that his plan was fully understood.

"The bitch doesn't realize the grievous mistake she made: she laid the perfect setting for me to get everything I need with very little inconvenience. While I "talk" with the general, make sure their remaining forces are locked behind the gate, so that they can't see me sock the man out cold and give him to our friendlies. How copy?"

Superheroics 101

Fix'd

Superheroics 101

@BCTheEntity Yep, pretty good stuff! Though, I'm afraid I missed the reference ;_;

You know, I'm actually keeping a tally of the nice things associated with RED.

• "robot arm person" - sounds so innocent
• "Mr. Klutz-and-Bolts" - well, that's got triggering potential
• "Mr. Rock'em Sock'em arms" - 55% chance of inflicting epistaxis on user
• "Mr. Roboto" - DOMO ARIGATO

Star Wars - Jedi Exile - Knights of the Last Republic

I'm thinking of posting tomorrow and move my knobhead forward, just to cut more of the distance between the main group and him so that you don't have to wait for me.

Superheroics 101

@Shorticus Heh, pretty sure robots are also susceptible to Newton's first law of motion, especially when gravity works against you

Tough life bein' a robot, mang

Superheroics 101

Can't blame you two for being the victims of overly-polished surfaces ¯\_(ツ)_/¯