thewizardguy

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

A small ship entered orbit around a large, brown planet. It's scorched surface was mostly empty, however along it's equator was a long streak of highly populated metropolitan areas. This small ship was one among many ships moving in and out of the area, performing acts of trade, transportation and security. However, it was one of the only ships that did not originate in the Sergal Empire, and was not constructed from the strange magical alloys utilized in most Sergal technology. It was dark black, with a single engine in the back, and no visible protection or weapons. It did, however, have a rather capable Warp Drive, although it's nature would make it nearly impossible for the Sergal to realize this.

A routine message was broadcasted by one of the officers in a nearby space station, checking all unidentified contacts attempting to enter the planet. If it turned out to be a threat, a variety of ships stood ready to protect their homeworld from foreigners, in addition to a number of planetary defense systems. [Please state your name and business within the Sergal Homeworld. We would appreciate it if you would power down any and all weapons aboard your ship.]

The reply was in a slow, almost mocking tone. And yet, somehow, it sent a shiver down the officer's back. "My name is Mia Gorgon, I'm here on diplomatic business. I represent both Stein and myself, and wish to speak with the leaders of your little empire."

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

@supertinyking

Mia glanced backwards as she observed the souls of the two spies, her vision unobscured by whatever means the two might have used to hide themselves from Babylon's sensors. They would not be a threat to her, as long as Babylon was here Eruka would not approach. And Lisa was far too distracted to form any kind of threat. When the Tetris appeared, Mia thought for a moment that Teo had come to take some sort of revenge, but it seemed he was far too much of an airhead for that. All was moving accordingly. "As you must be aware, certain holes have opened up in the fabric of reality. Through use of my.... contact, I have discovered what appears to be the original prototype for Odin. If you could recover those files, you might have access to the original Archive, including all information pertaining to the Plot Hole, as well as Ygdrassil."

For a moment, Matt was silent. Silently, he relayed commands to Odin, and a tractor beam was fired at the Tetris. It would be roped in for further study. A standard drone message played as the ship was brought into one of Babylon's many hangars. [Please remain calm. You are currently being detained by the Allied Galaxies for parley and investigation. If you pose no threat to the Allied Galaxies, no harm will fall upon you. If you do, prepare for your immediate annihilation.]

"What is the price I would need to pay for this information?" No beating around the bush, there was always a cost. The concept of once more controlling the Plot Hole was tempting, but Mia was not to be trusted, even with a plausible story.

"Oh, nothing much." Mia smiled, as she played with what appeared to be a severed finger, a ring still adorning it. "All I want is a copy of the Archive, once you recover it."

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

"Hmph. You're smarter than you look." Alucard scoffs, as his body begins to shift, the black skin parting to reveal a far more familiar form. It was like looking into some kind of twisted circus mirror. It was definitely Mithias, and yet the differences were as profound as the similarities. The eyes were different, filled with a strange hatred. He was slightly shorter, and wore what appeared to be a long black coat, which came to his ankles. Most strikingly, however, there was a large wound cut across his face, blinding his left eye and cutting into the corner of his mouth. The wound looked open, although no blood leaked from it. "Of course, you only got so close. I'm the original, or rather, your alternate. From an alternate reality, one that occurred besides this one. I abandoned my name many years ago, as did those who fight with me. To hear you use it... it is nostalgic."

He lifts one hand, as energy crackles across it. The Jigen Tou projects itself over his arm, transforming it into a deadly weapon. Whilst he had lost his layer of armour, he still retained all the offensive power he had previously displayed. "I heard that you had defeated one of the Daemon, an impressive feat. I faced a Daemon once, and I could not defeat it. I thought that perhaps you held some secret power, some great ancient strength that I did not know of. That somehow you had surpassed what I believed to be the limit, that you had gained the power necessary to defeat such a being." Utilizing the Lightning Step (Mithias recalls the ability's name despite never having heard it spoken, undoubtedly from Tsukune's memory) Alucard appears in front of his double. "But I find you to be a weakling, without the resolve to fight nor with the power to do so. As such, it seems I will need to grant you the only mercy I have to grant. You will not be alive to see the end."

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

@supertinyking@Wraithblade6
Alucard smiled, not deigning to look around at Drac. Of all his senses, his eyes were one of the least reliable. Already he could tell that this opponent was old, and already he knew that it was an undead he faced. Of course, he would have known those things without his senses, from the mere mention of his opponent's name. "Oh my. It's Drac. Now I'm really terrified." Smiling, Alucard observed his two opponents silently. The magician from earlier was gone, the insect was dealt with. This much he could deal with with ease. Of course, that was before the brat before him insulted him so.

"Do you think me powerful, boy?"

With a flash of light, Alucard was in front of Drac. Drac was surprised, if such an emotion was registered in the nanoseconds before Alucard's leg stuck his face. The force was immense, the leg had already far surpassed the sound barrier, and if it hadn't been for the many enchantments laced through Drac's body he would have been split in two. Instants from impact, even as Drac's body began it's supersonic flight downwards, Alucard's inner energy focused and condensed. Once more, and explosion of energy, similar to Ki, a secondary blow of immense power that ripped into Drac. With an explosive burst of blue fire several seals sprang loose, attempting to absorb the dual shock of the blow, masses of energy flowing past him. The mere shockwaves turned stone to dust.

Had it been allowed to do so, Drac's form would have smashed into the ground at immense speed, generating a massive crater as it did so. It was certainly what Mithias had expected at the time, as his superhuman senses seemed to slow down time, allowing him to observe the beginnings of this fall. However, with a flash of light, Alucard interrupted the flight, appearing within the trajectory. What drac met was a fist, smashing into his back, the force from the two blows combining into a terrifying culmination of kinetic energy. With a crack, Drac snapped in two, the two seperate halves each smashing into the ground at subsonic speeds, their energy having been devoured by the act of snapping.

"The power I hold is the greatest that could ever be achieved by our kind. I, like my fellows, am the absolute pinnacle. I have mastered every ability I have stolen that I could master, I have pushed my body beyond any mortal concept of limits. I am the embodiment of martial prowess, an unstoppable killing machine, unmatched in speed, strength, or versatility." He looks up at Mithias, smiling, as his body seems to shake, his eyes filled with unspeakable rage. For all his earlier joking and mocking, for all his philosophy and pretty words, Mithias recognized in those eyes unbridled hatred. "And yet, when the end came, I was nothing. Do you think I did not take up arms? I was defeated in an instant, broken to pieces. I watched everything I fought for burn to the ground. With this petty power you hold, do you think you can protect yourself? Do you think you can protect anything?"

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

@kishin asura
I like having plots happen. If you want, you're free to go off and do other stuff, but it's a thing that can be done by people.

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

Babylon was well protected against teleportation. Powerful dimensional locks were located on several places in the ship, preventing anyone from boarding it without fighting through the outer defenses. It was for this reason that, when Matt asked for a status report, Odin carefully informed him that Mia was floating outside the ship, smiling and waving. And it was because Matt was no fool that he did not let her in, and instead ported out a phone, sighing. This would, without a doubt, be a rather interesting conversation. "What do you want with me, Mia?"

"Oh, not much. But we found something you might want, a little toy you left behind." Mia giggled, as she poked the force field that surrounded the massive space station. It was boring, using robots. They didn't bleed, and more importantly, they didn't scream. What was the fun in that?

"There is a reason I abandoned Ygdrassil, and one you should well know. The Plot Hole grew unstable, and it became impossible to lose." Matt sighed, he didn't like being reminded of his fall from power. When he had lost his powers as the God Emperor, he had managed to be revived without his powers. No longer had he been fused with the Plot Hole, and even his technologies had been lost to him. "If all you are here to do is taunt me-"

"Oh not at all. Because a friend of mine, he says he might be able to fix it."

Matt hesitated. There was no being alive who knew more about the Plot Hole and the related technologies than he did, and he had lost almost all of his knowledge when he had Fallen. However, the possibility was tempting. With the unmatched power of Ygdrassil, he would once more be an unstoppable power. Nothing would be able to stand before him. He would be able to unite the entire Multiverse under a single banner, and bring Order to the Chaos that now engulfed it. But gifts from Mia and her treacherous father didn't come without a price, and the price in this case would need to be a fairly heavy one.

"..... Go on."

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

Cosmos stares into the orb, smiling as he paces around it. At first glance, it was nothing, the complete absence of magic. A vacuum, and yet beyond the realm of matter. But when one looks closer, it is it's emptiness that defines this hole in reality, it is in nothing that it becomes something. Slowly it expanded, the reality on it's borders collapsing into that infinite nothingness. Through this hole could be seen the worlds that had been forgotten, that no longer existed. Through this void lay nothingness, and yet existence within it. A state of being not defined by such things as space or time, life or death. Not bound by the fragile laws of reality that governed this temporary refuge, a truly ascended form of existence.

"Can you kill him?"

Smiling, Cosmos raised a single hand, as he gripped the very fibers of the universe. "He will not form an obstacle."

"Very well. I will handle Ygdrassil."

Portals opened, and paths separated. The ingredients would be gathered, and the brew would be forged. Where Genocide had failed, Cosmos would succeed - in his own way. There was no point in destroying everything. The Omegans had been useful allies, with great power, but in the end their ideals were merely those of fanatics. To end reality was the act of a fool, why destroy what could be controlled? No, Cosmos would not destroy. He would merely.... ascend.

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

@Wraithblade6
"Hana To" Alucard holds up one arm, as it's enveloped in a sword of runes. Even as the Jigen Tou strikes it, it shakes, before seeming to shatter. A powerful stabilizing force, the equal opposite to the Jigen Tou, annihilating the technique completely. A dimension lock focused into a single point, and wielded as a sword. Alucard simply smiles, as he moves past the swing of the soul-devouring sword, using the open space created by the removal of the Jigen Tou. His fist then strikes the side of Mithias face, as he feels a sudden and intense energy build up inside the fist.

An explosion of force, a wave of energy washes over the area, destroying everything it touches. Mithias is launched backwards, or what's left of him, as his body is ripped to shreds by the sudden explosion. The building Alucard stood on started to collapse under the impact, crashing into an adjacent tower. In the distance screams can still be heard, although luckily the area had evacuated itself during the battle. Had there been anyone left, they would most likely have died.

"Am I not your lord? This is not a battle you can win, not with your body starved for blood. You hold the powers in your hand, but they are not yours, for you have not made them yours. You don't know where you are, or what your place is in the scheme of things." With a smile, Alucard moves towards Mithias. Already his arms were warping, forming long blades, the edges shifting and vibrating. "You like to play the hero, and yet there is nothing you can do. The Multiverse is collapsing, and not a soul can stop it. The Destruction that will fall over reality cannot be halted, you can only delay it."

"Tell me, have you ever seen a Primal die?"

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

Alucard simply sighs, as he raises one of the two blades. "Did I not tell you? I am the Lord of Vampires. And unlike others who may claim such a title, I have earned it not by heritage, nor by politics." He flings one of the blades, and it pierces Bug's body as he crawls away, rapidly expanding as control is released, an immense pillar of flames engulfing Bug. "I gained it by being the greatest." His other hand becomes wreathed in purple, as Mithias recognizes the Jigen Tou. And yet, equally, he could feel a voice inside his own mind, pressing forward, from a place deep within his soul.

~It has been a long time since I smelled this much blood in the air~

The voice was not Aono's. It was Alucard's.

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

"Most impressive. I must commend you, insect. That is a truly magnificent blade." Alucard raises holds his blades to the side as he watches the blade rush towards him, moving backwards simply to delay the point of impact. "Very well. Allow me to grant you an honour unbefitting of a kind as foul as yours. You have grasped the blade, and you have witnessed it's power..." Alucard stops, as he raises his leg for a kick, smiling, as energy begins to gather. "Allow me to show you mastery."

"Jigen Tou."

And as Alucard kicked, his leg shifted between worlds, like a chainsaw. Slicing through all in it's path, an unstoppable force. And reality was ripped before it, as the shifting chainsaw of worlds shot forwards, projected through the air, a shimmer of deadly energy. It strikes the blade, and a hissing screech can be heard as the blade clashes against itself. Bug's sword is enveloped by the wave, as it passes through, like a knife through butter. And moments behind, Bug's head is neatly severed from his shoulders. It drops down, and cracks open like a watermelon, making a faint 'splat' sound.

"A fitting death, for an insect trying to rise above it's place."