D̴̨ͪ͌ͪ̽ͣ͏͉ȧ͙͍͓̲ͬ̽̓̇ͪ̎̊́͟r̶̨̝̞͂ͪ̿̎̐ḵ̪͂ͦ̽ñ̎̕͡

[Acradius]

Do you still stalk the battlefields, Darkness?

[Vgfian]

A wild Acradius appeared!... and his Topic title is leaking!

[Galefore]

Oh Joy. You brought Zalgo.

but srsly hai acradius

[Metal Man]

I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL

[t3hDarkness]

I am obligated to answer your summons.

[Acradius]

Alright gentlemen and ladies (if any care to join). It's going to start with Chase Alphonse posting his intro, and selecting the first of probably many different environments. Then I'm going to post. After that, it's anybody's game, just follow my lead and play it by ear. Planning on having some 'bigger' fun than usual around here.

[Vapor]

^

[t3hDarkness]

OOC: This turned out being way vaguer than I intended. Oh well, the first few versions read like a cross between a history book and a bible.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is it, the place where everything is connected.

All places, all times, and all events are connected through the Nexus.

Many say The Nexus is a place of ultimate power, a gateway to any real or imagined destination. Others say it is merely a theory, brought to a hazy existence by the collective unconscious of man and beast of reality and unreality. Still, a few more believe The Nexus is a tool of some long forgotten God or Gods.

What is known is that The Nexus is shaped by the desires of those that travel to it, the Nexus of Now is a battleground.

As it always has been, as it always will be.

In its current incarnation of Now, The Nexus is filled with the detritus of violence.

Discarded super weapons, dormant and inscrutable; The iron cavalry of many ages, varying from primitive tanks to advanced powered armors; the cold bones of soldiers that died for a cause, a stand of arrows growing from a tree, all forming a foreboding yet natural looking landscape.

One does not comprehend The Nexus, it merely happens and is accepted as such.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A nondescript man sits atop a scorched emergency air drop pod eating MRE paste and gathering his thoughts. The passage into The Nexus was abrupt and painless, but the preparation took a full month of mental preparation and physically exhausting rituals.

It was a bad decision perhaps, to travel here, but his curiosity at the name whispered by the wind was too much to ignore.

“Well, nothing to do but wait.” He said to no one in particular.

[Acradius]

As always, the brief flash of bright white light was sudden. A figure leaped? Flew? Certainly tumbled and unsteadily skidded to a halt amidst a semisolid lake of freshly-made ammunition. From his appearance, it was obvious that the Time Warrior had seen better days than this. Normally where and when he appeared it was with resplendence and valor, striking to the eye in form and ferocity. True, he was clad in his trademark half-plate armor. True, the legendary blade, the Quantum, shined with an almost-inner light as it reflected the vast sea of stars around him. But this was not an entrance in his character.

As he rose from his acrobatics, he did so expecting a fight. His stance betrayed that at least. Crouched for battle, blade steady in hand, left arm up for balance. Even the Elue ring was working on a charge. He stared intently at the emptiness that was once his portal to this place. His eyes glowed with a faint luminescence as his powerful psionic mind did its best to detect what he was searching for. His appearance, too, was off. Trickling down from his right ear was a trail of fresh blood. His blood. His armor was, while never bent or broken, scorched and marked. He hoarded breath like a man almost drowned, and his movements were uneven: clear sign that a powerful and practiced fighter like him had been in a rough spot.

Satisfied that no enemies were following him out of that particular gate, he began looking around. At once surveying his surroundings and probing the many places that things could hide in plain sight. His eyes rested for only a brief moment upon the figure, who stood, presumably noticing his intrusion. Only for a moment, and then continued his search. As he kept looking with that piercing white gaze, he crept ever closer to the drop-pod that the man in the suit occupied.

In this place, everything you could need was there. Acradius Journeyman, despite his obvious power, was human, and therefore needed an atmosphere like Earth's. He did not, however, need wind. Except for his clacking, clanking and occasional crunching, speaking to the other figure was as easy as speaking across a table. Knowing who he was immediately from his psionic scans, there was no need for introduction.

"Chase Alphonse. How would you like to have a time-travelling psychic owe you a really, really big favor?" He looked the other man dead in the eyes with that otherworldly glare. "Off the record." He didn't need to explain any further how desperate he was to do this. He knew how Alphonse worked. Nothing was off the record for his organization. If it was off the record, that meant that whoever offered it was essentially willing to do anything, and was willing to accept whatever consequences happened from it. It was terminology that was used for that group only when the alternative was worse. Death, in many instances, was not worse.

Without waiting for a reply, Acradius continued. "I need you to gather as many as you can, any way that you can. Bring them anywhere that they can make a stand. I've been travelling some of the darker planes out there. Long story short, I woke something up that should have definitely stayed asleep. It's happened before, but they usually stick around their own place. This one though, copied my time and dimension travelling ability." Again, he stared directly at Chase. "And I have no idea how to stop it."

That's when there was another flash of light. This time, it was not brief. It was above them, fifteen meters up and as many to the left. Snaking out of the fissure issued four twisting, writhing tentacles. They were dark green, tipped and stemmed with any and all assortments of blades, suction cups, barbs, and mouths with far too many teeth. Eyes stared coldly outwards from other spots on them, and some sort of repugnant slime dripped from every square inch of rubbery flesh. Along with the tentacles, there issued a voice:




H̶̊ͬ̃̿͛̃ͬͤ̓̓͏̢̮͓̠̫͕̞̱̹̕͘U̥͍̳͖͎̖̯̠̣̖͙ͫ̌͆̈̽͋͒͐ͣͬͥ̒͆ͭ ̚͜ͅM̛̑̉ͭ̕͏͏̼̥̹̹̜͚͈̤A̧̧̖̟̺̙̐ͥͣ̐̇ͯ̒̄ͅṈ̨̢̛̙̣͚̤͍̣͚͇͉̻̟ ̯̈́̌ͣ̏̆͜ͅͅS̵̵͙̼̫̮̥̳̤̗͔̽͋ͮ̾ͦ́̏̏ͦ̒̀.̶̦̹̮̖͓̪̹̦̦̮̤͉̟̱̽ ͧ͌ͫ̕͟ͅ ̴̢̛̹̘̦̏͆̃̂͋͂͆̊͑ͯ̅ͧ̐͛̍ͬͅͅ ̔ͯͪ̿͂̌̀̈̊ͮ͂ͩͩͨͮ͟͏͓̼̼M̸̢͚̤͉̘̮̙͙̣̝͎͖̣͖͖͓͈̭̱͐̆͂̏͗̔̀̓ͣ ̈͌ͨ̐͐͂͊͝Ẽ̷̩̮̗̝̱̹͇̘͙̖͓̥ͪͤ̌ͭ̾̉̄̎ͫ̽̽̌̿̽͂̀͟͢͝Ą̱̱̥̯͎̲̻͔ ̿ͭ̃̌̒͐ͣ́̊ͥ͌ͪ̍͋́̕T̓͋ͮ̅̿ͧ͑͏̢͕͈̖̺̹̝̲͓̬̺̞̜͇͓͔̟͢.̶͔̤̲͔̝ ̻̜̉̈́̊̓͑ͣ͜͠͡͠ ̴̡̥͔̫͍̝̭͎̟͌ͫ͐̔ͣ́̚͝ ̫͔̺̜̣̮̳̠̞̪̯͇͔̳͑̎̈̆ͫ̑͆̍ͬ̇̉̄̎̇̔̕ͅF̶̛̛̝͇͈̞̭̩͕͇̤̣̟̯̙̯̘ ̯̭̼ͪ͒̔̔ͪ͋͑ͪ̒̈ͧͦͤ̚ͅĘ͓̰̹̝̫͔̰̳̣̘̬̥̳̹̣͈̳̳͌ͪ̽̾̂̀͆͗͛ͫ̀Ḝ͗ ̽̓̉̓͑̾ͩ̎̉҉̧̳̼̤̘͢D̡͈̖̱̝͎̞̹̔͊̍̈́͋͗̊̀́͜͢͡.͎̼̱̬̦͖͙͕̩͔̮ ̳̳̙̱̾̓̿̂ͭ͌͒ͪ̐͗̿͂̉͘͘͡



Acradius turned to face them, grim-faced and Quantum at the ready. "Get going. He comes."

[Metal Man]

A black-fedora'd being walked out of the shadows. How he got here was anyone's guess, but his trenchcoat and face-covering scarf made who he was an utter mystery. He stood there, looking at the psychic and the utterly normal looking man. He spoke with a mid-toned voice. Strangely, he didn't seem remotely bothered by the cthulu-like abomination that was not so far away.

"I see you're in a bit of a fix." He idly took out a cigar and lit it, blowing a puff of noxious smoke at the psychic's face.

"Those dark things... they'll never stop tearin' you up if you let one get a hold of you."

He took another puff, nonchalantly ignoring the advancing monstrosity.

"But you know what, they ain't unbeatable. I make a sport of huntin' them, and you guyses seem to have created the most dangerous one yet."

He flicked the cigar away--time worked oddly. His whole conversation had taken only seconds, even though it was minutes. The cigar was already burnt out. He stubbed it out with a black patent leather shoe, and then took out a heavy revolver from his burnt black coat.

"Let's see how hard dis one is, eh?" He made a crooked glance at Acradius, and then cocked the hammer on the pistol. It was utterly normal--just like the cigar and the trenchcoat. What the hell was it and its owner doing in this weird place?

The smooth dark figure idly aimed at the creature with his pearl-handled revolver.

"Well... you guys give 'im a distraction before I fire. I don't like gettin' first blood all over my coat. Especially that kinda blood."

He stood there, waiting for the others to start the "festivities."

[Jarun]

The stubby, chubby, yet opulently dressed middle aged man made his way under a tree branch and through the hollowed out, oversize log. Dirty and out of breath, he was not used to traveling in such... natural surroundings. At last he had found his destination. At the other end of the clearing he saw the entrance to an ancient stone structure.

As he approached he noticed the stone work of the stairs seemed out of place. Newer and less weathered than the rest of the structure. The man had heard of this place. Ancient legends that this was once a temple of the forest. The domain of a sage. But that was many, many years ago. The age of the Hero of Time was over and he and his descendants long since lost in time.

The man made his way through the door and through a long hallway, dimly lit hallway. Through the door at the end he entered a large room, also poorly lit. If he had not spoken the man would not have noticed the other man standing mid way up on the grand staircase in the middle of the room. A tall slender man in his thirties, dressed in long flowing black robes.

"I trust you found your way here without incident?" He said with a smirk of sarcasm.

Still out of breath the pudgy man answered "Damn you Jarun! My escort was killed in the forest by some foul creature... How dare you drag me to this forsaken place!... Oh yes, thank you for the map... that happened to burst into flames once I approached."

"What can I say, I enjoy my privacy." Jarun answered back, still smiling deviantly.

"What am I to do when I leave!?" The man demanded.

For the first time making eye contact with the man, Jarun replied "What makes you think you will?"

The man fell silent, and a few shades paler. Jarun made his way down the staircase, his robes flowing behind him. "You have what I asked?"

"Yes... I have what you DEMANDED." The man retorted.

"Follow me." Jarun instructed. A wooden lift rose out of the middle of the floor. Jarun took his place on it, to the side implying the man should take the place next to him. He complied and the lift magically descended into the stone floor. The lift landed in a stone chamber. Jarun walked toward a doorway and down a hall as the man timidly followed.

The two entered a door at the end of the hall into a circular room. A gallery of sorts as paintings hung on the walls. In the center of the room was a large oval silver ring, a bit taller than the average man. Jarun waved his hand in front of it and the ring was filled with glowing, water like energy. As if it was a pool, but turned on its side and defying gravity. Jarun proceed through it and the man followed.

The pair exited an identical ring in the center of a large foyer. Jarun walked through double doors behind the ring into a snowy court yard. The man followed still. The two made their way up a staircase into the central tower. And from there into a large circular room. The man was taken aback by the panoramic view through the large windows of the room. A breathtaking scene of the surrounding snowy mountains. Jarun took little notice of any of this and made his way to a desk in the center of the room.

"Where are we?" The man asked.

"Technically its more of when are we." Jarun replied. "But enough, give me the item."

Frowning the man placed a blue ocarina on the desk. Jarun picked it up, smiled, and said "I knew you had it. You are living in the ancestral royal Hyrulian family castle."

"It is rightfully mine. My family owns the castle and has for generations!" The man said.

"Your family poached it and most of the land after the royal family and the majority of the inhabitant of Hyrule abandoned the land and migrated." Said Jarun while inspecting the ocarina. "But... I'm not one to talk." After all, he was not the original inhabitant of either of the homesteads he now resides. "Anyway, I could care less about gold and land."

"No, it's magic you fancy." Said the man smartly. Jarun looked up with cold eyes and the man again feel silent and pale. "You have what you want.... please... please make the man you sent with the music box go away. He stands outside the castle winding the music box. The song seems to penetrate every wall for miles. My guards can't touch him... The song 24 hours a day... every where... in every room... is bad enough. But the music also makes it rain. Its starting to flood."

Jarun smile wickedly. "I rather like that music." The man gave an even more desperate look. Jarun laughed and said. "Alright. I can guarantee you wont need to worry about the music man ever again." The man breathed a sigh of relieve.

Turning his attention back to the ocarina in his hands Jarun said "By the way. The enchanted armor that you sold me... wasn't very enchanted." The man turned pale again. "On my last endeavor it failed and I nearly died. So, to be safe I think I will test the merchandise just to make sure..." Jarun placed the ocarina to his lips and looked at the man who was now paler than most would think possible. He didn't know what was coming next, but he knew it wasn't going to be pleasant.

Jarun played a short song on the Ocarina and blue light surrounded the chubby man. He yelled, but all that was heard was a distant echo as the light glowed brighter. In a flash the man was gone. Jarun wasn't sure where or when the man was sent, but knew it was quite far away and a very long time ago.

Putting the ocarina away Jarun returned to the silver ring. However something was wrong. The watery energy that the the ring encompassed was not calm and rippling. Rather it was swirling and choppy. Jarun examined the ancient traveling portal. He had never seen this behavior. His understanding of it's magic was limited. It was unbelievably ancient. It only had a few connections and only within the same realm, though time was not a factor. Something was disrupting it. The void between the realms, the space which the gateway's passages existed, was being disrupted.

By what, Jarun did not know.

[t3hDarkness]

The fuzzy figure sucked down the last squidge of "Khicken Kurry with Peanuts" and hopped off of the emergency supplies pod. His form wavered in and out of focus as if through the lens of a camera.

As he walked, his features grew angular and his garb pulled itself into the shape of a well tailored but slightly frayed two-button suit. When his suit was done morphing he pulled a brass mask from his jacket and placed it over his still changing face.

The conversation between the two men was instantaneous. The overpowering force of the Time Warrior's psyche connecting to the subtle wisps of power from the Occulist.

You have no idea how long I have waited for you to say that, Mister Journeyman.

Three feet away from the time traveler, Chase Alphonse politely extended his hand.
Knowing full well the implications, Acradius reached out and grasped Chase's palm firmly.

There was a flash of light and a puff of smoke as the wristband on Chase's arm melted, expanded, and encased the handshake on a coating of living metal.

As the armored man pulled his hand away, the metal sagged like soft taffy and pulled back to each of their hands. Chase's forming onto an elbow length clawed gauntlet and Acradius's forming onto millions of tiny spiders desperate to burrow under his armor.

Our covenant is complete

Chase turned to the stranger with in the black trench coat.

"I suppose you have some insight into how these things work, but for now I'll use what I know."

A few moments later, wire unspooled from Chase's gauntlet and gathered into a nine foot wide shield of glowing sigils.

[Vapor]

OoC: for some reason, I'm imagining the scene as the Saffron City stage from the N64 Super Smash Bros. Must be the helipad :\
<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>
Somewhere, far away, one very experienced, very wise mind meditated calmly, in a blissful trance. And then was disturbed. He sensed the coming of an Abomination- and investigated that dimension further. A Dimension of Everything.

As he projected his psyche, he saw the battle that was just beginning, and the monstrosity that had disturbed his contemplative bliss. And he was both scintillated and shocked.

This is dangerous. This is unreal. This cannot be.

No. This cannot happen.

I will not allow it.

Awakening from his trance, Johannes Engelbrecht stood up and muttered arcane phrases. He spread his hands, still chanting, and moved them in a slow circle. As his chanting reached a crescendo, He crossed the paths of his hands, cutting open a glowing portal to the Dimension of Everything soon to be a Dimension of War.

The aged warrior-mystic-scientist bounded through, and landed atop the helicopter pad, right behind the two warriors having a strangely hostile handshake. A man in your average black trenchcoat stood off to the side, looking smug. The indescribable beastie continued to ooze out of the portal.

Johannes had heard of such things before, in his many wanderings and researches. First time he'd seen one personally, and hopefully the last.

One, the Brass-adorned one, he could sense was an extremely powerful magician. The other, he wasn't quite sure of, but knew that he was formidable.

Jumping in front of the two rivals, between then and the eldritch abomination, and made a declaration.

"I'm in this with you. Brass Wizard and Time Warrior both, I sense and respect your vast power. I know about these creatures,"-- A hiss emerged from the pile of horrid pseudo-life--"and I can help you. Immensely. Let's do this. Yes?"

He unsheathed the sword on his back- almost as long as his height, mechanical with a tarnished steel blade and bejeweled hilt. Muttering something obscure and shamanic, the Maschinesabel acquired a small glow at its tip. Johannes knew about these things, and maybe could handle this. Actually getting the job done, however, would not be easy.

[chibimod3]

A crack of lightning shines as a lone figure stands with his shoulder down in a position Acradius knew all to well. Heh I knew if I copied the stance and increased my speed I could pull it off. Lacking any knowledge of his surroundings he slumps down dripping sweat from the energy he expended pulling off instantaneous time travel. At first his eyes fall on Chase whom he has heard tales of his horror from other opponents he has fought. Then to the monstrosity starting to appear. It terrified him in an eerie way. He couldn't even figure out why it did. He just knew he never wanted it to exist ever again. And in that brief moment his thoughts reflected to something the creature reminded him of. The same man he copied that move from, Acradius Journeyman. Who he had once encountered in the woods. He saw the enmity between the three. None trusted or expected much of the others. So he did the only thing he knew how to do, be brave.

"My name is Kyle Franz and I come from a village way in the snow less mountains of lightning. Seeing you three right there in front of me makes my blood boil. So I'm going to beat all of you."

Of course they were shocked. Or so they should have been. Kyle would never use trickery to start a fight. Not his style. But seeing the two men not even bat him a glance and continue to look at each other until they had shook hands. An energy transferred there though he was almost to slow to catch it. He did however catch that they were both focused on the monster. So that would have to be his first target. It's funny that he has yet to realize any of the other fighters. Their legends yet unknown to him. He just wanted to become as strong as them. Strong enough so that others would fear him and quit hunting him.

"I guess I must be to much a small fry to you two but I'll just have to make my name here and now."

He said it with a grimace. Energy was forming in between his palms. It flickered light onto his armor. His red hair blowing back from the pressure. With his sword hanging from the scabbard at his side he was ready for whatever may happen. The density of the orb was making it radiate a white hot heat that only comes with the thousands of volts of electricity. The two glass balls on his ears which appear to be filled with lightning flashed in a brilliant dazzling light blinding anything looking directly at him. Including the eye of the creature he sought to target.

"Strobe! Ball Lightning!"

His words reverberated with power. The ball started to move forward at a slow pace. He estimated it would take it a minute to hit the creature. Plenty of time to set up his tactic. He had to impress those two from the first move. Nothing less than perfection. That was all that was on his mind.

[Zarellku]

Ooc.. Hey guys this is Zaraku by the way. I know you don't remember me and that is ok. t3hDarkness said u needed some help. I may be a little rusty so bear with me.

"Heh orders are orders."

A Tall figure stands at the edge of rift that cracked its way through hell. His blue spiked hair being blown back from what is believed to be psychic energy of unknown origin and ultimately more evil than his master could think of. With a Grin, Zaraku leaps into the rift as it closes around him seemingly swallowing him up.

As the others gather, Zaraku emerges from the ground brushing the dirt of his dark red trenchcoat as he stands.

"There's a few already here, but no one here has that power I felt," as he looks around, but realizes his inadequate perception of what the power is coming from.

With a Grin "Heh orders are orders" and gets ready for fight ahead. If you can call it a fight.

[Robotazy]

OoC: Ahhhh. I've been hoping to take a chance at getting back into Gunjin. I'm gonna keep away from Qual for now, since he's a little too simple to use, methinks. If I'm gonna stretch my muscles, I'm gonna go all out.
-----------------------------------------------

A yawn rang out across the worn road and the various hills that surrounded it as a man with a strange case of permanent bed-head walked down it. He was wearing his training clothes for the first time in a few months, but it seemed to be another day of traveling for him. His Red sleeveless shirt and baggy pants made him stick out like a single rose in a field of tall grass. He wasn't used to the black wristbands and boots since they were weighted and seemed to slow him down a tad. He thought that the weights wouldn't bother him, but that's what everyone says before they wear 10-pound weights on their arms and legs.

The road stretched out almost indefinitely past the horizon. Tazy remembered that he had seen a sign that had said "Town of Cumore- 5 Miles" about five miles back. At least it felt like 5 miles. If only Tazy could just fly to town, it would spare him all this trouble. Unfortunately, he didn't want to attract any attention, especially to anyone who knows that he's not supposed to be in this dimension. Ever since his ancestor started to claim dominance over Tazy's body, Tazy has tried to find any way to get rid of him before the Angels captured him and sent them both to hell, going from dimension to dimension to dodge the Angels.

Tazy's Ancestor, Toma, having enough of Tazy's brooding, started to speak up. "God damn this is boring" said Toma, "Can't we go beat up some thieves or bust up a kingdom? I promise not to rip off anyone's head this time." Tazy, being in one of his moods responds, "We're not breaking off from the route this time. It took me 3 days to get back from the last time we went to challenge somebody, and it wasn't even a challenge, so pipe down!" Toma scoffed, "Well, can't you at least run? I'm sick of road, and if we don't find this stupid town soon, I'm gonna scorch the entire place black. It would at least be an improvement on the color scheme." Tazy doesn't answer, being irritated at Toma's constant threats of violence as he continues down the road.

Out of nowhere, a man in a cloak bumped into Tazy, causing him to drop a big brown book. "Hey!" said Tazy, picking up the book. The man in the cloak turned his head while Tazy walked up to him. "I'm sure you don't want to lose something this big right?" The man took the book and stared at Tazy for a few seconds. Tazy stares back wondering what he's doing. "This is annoying”, says Toma, not one to hide his feelings. The cloaked figure pulls out his staff and says "You." "Whoa! Hold on a sec!" said Tazy, trying not to start a fight, but the cloaked figure had already started an incantation. "You need to be somewhere else now", said the cloaked figure as a black portal opened behind Tazy, "Your destiny points you towards the Nexus, the gateway of the gods." The cloaked man turned and started to walk away. "If you survive, you should find an answer to your question."

Tazy turned to the portal and stared at it for a minute, contemplating if it's safe. Toma, having enough of this, takes control of Tazy and with a "WAHOO!" jumps into the portal. He lands on the other side to see the Nexus, as well as the current predicament of the tentacled beast. "Hmmmm, well, I suppose I'm not here to have a tea party, hm?" said Toma, Tazy's eyes currently completely white, "So, we kill the only non-human thing in the room, and we're done right?” Toma quickly fires an energy blast at the monster, "Never fought an Old One before. That's what this thing is, right?"

[Acradius]

((Thank you for your patience with me so far, I believe that is all that want to join at this point. This is largely a play-it-by-ear thing though, so entry still remains completely open.))

*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#

As the microscopic spiders slid neatly between his armor, the Time Warrior set aside for later the thoughts of what implications this might have on him. He was an honest man of his word, but he was also the spitting image of a goody-two-shoes type. Wordlessly, he sincerely hoped those two facts would not come into conflict.

As though the favor he requested of the alchemist had been done as soon as the contract was settled, allies appeared from just about everywhere. He found it impossible to suppress a smirk. Almost forgot how fast they can come out of the woodwork.

The youth that appeared, rather suddenly at that, was what worried Acradius the most. Although the kid was completely foreign to him, he already noticed something quite off about him. The way he landed was echoing with near-perfect accuracy his own movements. Furthermore, the way he appeared in a clap of thunder reminded him of a Time Boost. Considering it was the first time he had ever seen this 'Kyle' fellow, it unnerved him to say the least. As the young one launched a projectile, Acradius caught a sidelong glance at the trench coat-clad figure. "There's your distraction for you."

As he approached Kyle, he addressed the rest of them in turn. "Thank you for showing up. If you've got experience, we can really use it." "Yes, I believe they've been called Old Ones before." "Whoever gave you your orders, tell them I'll visit them sometime for my thanks."

As for the youth he was closing the distance to, his tone was a bit more hesitant. He had a feeling he knew what was happening. "I'm not sure where you learned that move from, but it looks awfully familiar. I know I haven't met you. At least not yet. I hope you don't hold a grudge. You probably ran into me from the fut-"




S̷̵̸̛̱͔̪̖̱̘͚̼̥͍̬ͧͨ̈́͊͛ͩͨͮ́͞ͅK̙̰̘̘̭͉̜͓̭͎͉ͮͣ̆ͣ̎͌ͫ̏̉̋͜ ͉̱̻̖̙̺̺R͇͎͔̙̲͖ͯ̆̋̌̍̂̓͒ͮ̎̍͂̈́͂̆̽̄̀͘Eͬͤ̑̄̌ͦͤ̾ͧ̂̓ͦ͂̋̀͠ ̢̣̭͓̤̺̹̣̹͎̖̰̲͙͉̦E̬̦̪̮͇̹̝͙͇͉͉̞͒̒̍ͦ̀͜ͅẺ͂̇̎̄͋̇̆̇͑ͮ̒̚ ̡̥̣̘̹̯͍͎̟̩͔͇̬̜̳̓ͪ́́̕͢Ȩ̵̑́̒ͯ͂ͦ͑͆̏̽̈͋͌ͭ̅̀̚͏̲̪̮͈̭̺̤́ Eͭͣ͗̅͛͊̉̅͛̋̎ͩ̇҉̫̗̬̱͈͚̘͉͈̘̠̟͘E̷̡͙̫͌͑͂̐̋̒̀̅̅̇̊ͦ͐͐̏̂̆ ̪͇̠͇̟̥̻͈̘̠E̢̛̼̭̱͉͌̋̔̅̋̌̾̽̌̅̈͗ͥ̓ͭͤ͒ͨ̑͞Ȩ̈́̐͗̓͏̩̼̫̪̹̮ ͉͍̥E̷̸̞͈̦̱̪̬̤̭̯͔͍͍͖̭̠ͯͨ̓͋̾̓ͬ͋̅ͨ̅̽͌̀̀E̸̯͍ͥͬ͒̆͋ͩ͌̄͘̕ ̝̮̱̜̘̝̙̝̰̮Ê̡ͤ͗̈́ͤ̇̈́̅̎̆ͩ͑ͨ̄̋͢҉̡͙̣̠̟͕̲͇͈̻̜̗̺̀ͅĔ̅̀̏̚ ̳̭̠̤̯̺͖̬̗̙̭̰̺̲̮͆̀̉͐͂̇̓ͩ̔ͫ̂͌̀͟A̷̛̙̘̳̝̖̳̬ͪ͛̽̓ͯ̈ͬͭͪ́̕ A̷̬̞̤̱̎̓̃͒ͭͮͣͫ̚͡A̧ͫ̌̇͒͐ͦ̈͛̂̇̏ͥ́̓ͩ̆ͬ҉͉̦͖̭͈̙͇͙͉̖̮̗̜̤ Ą̧̛̖͎̳̱͉̩̞̾̑͂͑ͥ̂̎̌̌̽A̪͙̟͇͎̠̱̐͆̍͐̌̈͒ͪ̀Eͫͬ̍̅ͫͧ̏ͩ̽͛̊ ̡̛̻̺͖̬̭̠̠̜̼͙̪͈͓̱̩̿̀͘Ę̛̥̬̳͈̣̬̖̗͙̗͂͗͌ͫ̄ͫ͗̃ͥ̾ͭ̈͆̌̋̕͠ ̭̩͇E̳̭̥͎̟̪͖̮̞̜̘̟̖̘̹ͯͪͦ̇̈́́͜͟͡ͅẺ̶ͥ̾͒̈͊̔ͨͦ͏̶̱͍̗̺̩̝͈̕ ̼͚͚͖̟Ĕ͍̲͖̭̳͈͓̤͍̙ͥͫ̊ͯ́̚̕͢͟E̸̴̶̛̜̳͇̊ͥ̇̿ͣͯ̋ͣ̅ͤͧ̎͌ͧͥ̀ ͕̼͖C̵̯̭̬͙̞͕̻̠̠͚̩͙̝͇̎̃͗̊̔ͮ̑̍͑ͩͤ̀͡H̴̡̡̬̗̪͎̟̓̄̈́ͤͤͣ̾͝͞ ̳!̰̙͙̠͙̰̲͉͙̦̣̝͎̘̰̪ͭͮͣͣͮ̿ͤͨ͑ͬ̆̿̕͢͠ͅ!̴̳͚̲͉͙̺͌ͧ̈́͋̊͟͟͝ ̯̻͇͓̣̮͚̻͙͉!̋̿ͮ̃̐͏̧͜҉̛͚̗̜̙̩̲̫͎̠̩̤̻̪̭̠̹͍ͅ!̶͙̳͓͇͉̅ͤ̎ͬ ̫͈̬̮̤̗̱̠͈!̴̧̼͙͉͖̰̈̾͋ͯ͊ͭ̈̆̍́̀!̣̩̜͖̲̺̒͑̆̔͢͝



"Oh, HELL." The blonde man turned as the tentacles launched their attacks, and some very, very unwanted guests arrived at the scene of the battle. He shouted what seemed to be the best idea at the time. "If you've got some way to leave, I'd do it, these things take a little time to jump dimensions! I don't know how to beat them yet, but we've gotta find a way!"
_____

The first tentacle that writhed its way out of the dimensional rift went straight for the man with the immense shield. It moved less like a muscled limb and more like a liquid, constantly shifting what part was on what end of the tissue. It apparently made up its mind on ending with a mouth that grew to completely irrational proportions and sank its teeth into the side of the shield. It then proceeded to swing back and forth, attempting to separate Alphonse from his protective barrier.
_____

A second one darted at the as-of-yet unnamed man in the fedora. This one actually separated from the portal completely and landed too close by for comfort. It made all the sounds and smells of fecal mater as its inhuman eyes stared at him. With no warning whatsoever, four spikes burst out on tentacles of their own from the pile of eldritch goo. And they were all aimed at his face.
_____

Zaraku found himself with a far more cautious limb of this otherworldly life form. Instead of lunging in for an attack immediately, it slowly twirled down from the bright white portal it emerged from. It got a little close. Not too far. About five meters or so. It studied the blue-haired man from that distance. It took about four seconds for it to come to the same conclusion it must have come to for everyone else. One of the eyes emitted a dark purple blast at the warrior. The comet-shaped burst of energy was dark even against the starry sky above. It was almost like it was radiating darkness.
_____

It was Johannes that first saw the small figure. While the tendrils all busied themselves with other opponents, it was the scientist that was confronted with a diminutive figure. It wasn't much bigger than a human baby. It waddled, almost comically, across his path. And then it turned to look at him.

Where a human baby's face would be was nothing but a gaping maw of horrid teeth, made for gnashing the tendons between bones without waiting for the body in question to stop kicking. But the teeth weren't the worst part. As the figure peeled back the rows of teeth, inside was no gullet. It was simply a single, enormous eye. From that eye, issued the mind-breaking screech that was heard.

On the outside, the warrior-scholar simply stood stock still, locking eye contact with the miniature monstrosity. But in his mind, deep down in his very soul, Johannes believed he was a carrot. He was no ordinary carrot. He was a magic carrot. A carrot with a great destiny. He would be split into three pieces and fed to the heroes who would save the realm from the demonic machines that lie beneath. His body would nourish their spirits, and enable them to do great deeds. So it was his job, his very purpose of existing, to rest in the earth, accepting wind and water and sun, and growing as orange as possible until that day came.

The horrid toddler waddled closer to its now-docile prey.
_____

"Dammit!" Acradius yelled as another of the child-things ambled closer to he and Kyle. "Don't look into their eyes!"

That was the last they heard of him for a while. He immediately Time Boosted and full-body checked the mockery of a human's formative years. He just kept running, not even really paying attention to where he was going. He really should have.

Acradius ran into something wet, and it wasn't below him like a lake or ocean or river. Nor was it flowing like a waterfall. He was pretty sure he caught a glimpse of a vertical circle filled with water. And then he ran into a courtyard filled with snow. He definitely did not mean to end up here, so he figured he had best stop for now. He dropped the limp form of what he had been calling a 'Screecher Baby'. Little did he know that it still lived.

[Jarun]

working on a post. Should have it done by today.

[Vapor]

Got half a post together, it's going up tomorrow if I can get my mind into the right mode.

[Jarun]

"Who the HELL er yu?!" Acradius heard from over his shoulder. He turned to see Jarun in the doorway.

"JARUN?!" Acradius shouted ecstatically, seeing before him the one entity he knew might could keep the coming monstrosities at bay. "I haven't seen you in... well time's not exactly linear for me.... but it's been a very, very long time!" He lunged for the man, giving him a huge bear hug. A large cracking noise heard. Acradius opened is eyes and looked at Jarun's face to find it wide eyed, and blank with pain. He released him in confusion, never before recalling a time when Jarun ever expressed the sensation of pain.

Jarun fell to the floor and let out a small, weak, dry cough. He straitened his back and another loud cracking noise was heard along with a groan. He got slowly and shakily got to his feet. "Are you trying to kill me?!" Jarun yelled.

"Kill you? I didn't think that was even possible." Acradius responded. "What happened to you? Were is Caton? Or the rest of the cat women. Where are we?" He asked, looking around.

Jarun looked at him in confusion. "I have never seen you before, I have no idea what you are talking about, and you are in my house.... uninvited." Said Jarun, the shock wearing off, the anger setting in. "So I ask again. Who the HELL are you? What are you doing here?" And in growing anger yelled "And what the hell is THAT thing??!" As he spoke he raised his hand and from it a beam of light hit the monstrous child Acradius had brought with him. It glowed in a blue energy barrier and floated from the floor turning in the air.

When its horrid face came into view Jarun saw it, he faced Acradius and in a cool, calm voice casually and mater of factually stated "I'm going to throw up." He slowly turned and in no hurry walked to a snow drift to the side of the court yard... and did. And just as causally turned and walked back.

Acradius answered "That is, I am guessing, a seed of an Ancient One."

"Ancient One?" Jarun asked with annoyed interest.

"Yes," Began Acradius "Ancient One. Beings of great chaos, power... many other things too horrible to mention. They have existed since the beginning and will exist until then end. And..." under his breath "Imayhavewokenoneup*caugh*"

"Oh...well...that's just delightful... get out.... NOW!" Said Jarun, his anger returning.

"Well, it's not quite that simple. It's kind of following me. And I am guessing it will be here fairly soon." Acradius said with a toothy, apologetic smile. "But hey... if anyone stands a chance... its you."

"Ok... lets back this up a bit. Just who do you think I am?" Jarun asked.

Again Acradius gave Jarun a vacant look, but composted himself and stated. "Jarun, Self proclaimed God King. conquerorand ruler of countless realms. Creator of your own realm. Possessor of almost incomprehensible amounts of power... or something like that. I don't remember your whole spill. You liked to give lengthy boasts."

"While that sounds... awesome." Began Jarun. "That is not me. I was born here, in Hyrule. I am a formidable sorcerer, collector of magic and artifacts, and I spend my time seeking out the hidden, lost, and secrets of this realm."

Acradius laughed. "Still collecting power... I see some things do not change. I don't know how you got this way, but you are more than what you have become. Normally I would investigate this further, my old friend. But right now **** is about to hit the fan and I need a game plan."

"I doubt we are in any danger. This realm, Hyrle, it's alternates Terminia and the Twilie realm, and alternate timeliness are all sealed. Separated from from the rest of the multivers. I have been everywhere in every time. There is no way out. I was born here, as I have matured and my power grown I have searched endlessly for a way out in hopes to expand my power..er.. knowledge. And I have found no way ou..." Jarun trailed off in realization. "Oh dear... there was no way out, that is true. But there was an area where the boundary between dimensions was weekend by a man named Gannondorf when he banished one of his creations to the void between dimensions (OOC The boss of the Forest temple). A pathway of one of my portals runs right by that. If somehow something from the other side..." Jarun looked at Acradius with a narrowed expression "you for instance, were to hit that weak point just right... you might have broken through."

"Take me there." Said Acradius, alarmed.

"Bring that... thing" Commanded Jarun, pointing to the horrid child. "I do not want it here."

With that he walked back inside and through the portal to the forest temple basement gallery. And there he waited.