Date: 6:55:47 PM, January 3rd to 8:57:45 PM, January 3rd;
6:04:42 PM, January 16th to 8:45:58 PM, January 16th, 2013.
Metal Man (GM): Continuation
The group was in the X-Zone. There was Razor, Kit, and Rinith and Xavier... going to ostensibly stop The Void from controlling the world by removing him from existence... somehow.
They had entered some sort of mansion... Luigi's old mansion.
It was some sort of echo.
The X-Zone had become very dead, so as a result there wasn't much to see.
The group had reached a basement after a long discussion and pushing buttons.
A strange noise had been heard down the corridor.
Rebriefing over--In-Session
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...Hm. Better get prepa--"
Metal Man (GM): Before he can say anything else, he suddenly vanishes, as does Kit and Rinith.
The X-Zone melts and warps, becoming far more... trippy.
It's anybody's guess why it does this, but now all of a sudden some sort of ghostly impression of a Boo shows up. Indeed, it seems to be the most general Boo you've ever seen.
BATTLE: Mook-level enemy.
AUTO-Reaction: Razor goes first.
In this case, Razor shall go first. Take your turn like normal.
Everything should proceed... like it normally would. Including any/all overkill.
Razor: "..." *His brow furrows, and he tenses up more, wings unfurled and stretched behind him as he eyes the Boo.* "...really?"
*He doesn't even feel it necessary to form his wraithblade.* "Step off, Casper! Annihilate!" He flips his Lavis Blades up, then swings them down, sending a pair of green energy waves converging on the hapless mook.
Metal Man (GM): He flies to the side, dodging the attack.
Anything else?
Razor follows up with a second normal attack from the blades.
Metal Man (GM): But, the Boo fails to dodge.
Lucky you.
1/4 of the Boo's HP is gone.
Anything else, or is that your turn?
Razor will stop there, daggers raised defensively. Hadn't quite expected to miss his first blow, but oh well.
Metal Man (GM): The Boo tries to ram you. As Boos are prone to doing.
It... utterly fails to hit you.
Razor: "..."
Metal Man (GM): It saves its remaining energy for later.
Hm. So far things feel pretty sturdy. Let's see just how deathtastic your attack gets, should it (hopefully) hit.
Razor: "...okay. So I've decided that you don't even deserve to exist anymore..." *His Wraithblade erupts from his arm, a swirling mass of blackness wreathed in a deep green... which then becomes black as well.* "Obliterate!" *He thrusts the blade forward, straight into the Boo's face.*
Metal Man (GM): Although the random chance of these dice suggests even a nuke can miss now and again >_>
Hit! With three over!
Whoopsie.
Razor: *185 Damage, 124 Piercing, Lethal x3*
Metal Man (GM): *Analyzes* Ok, so that of course ignores pretty much the DR of anything that isn't Metal Man... even then it would probably deal damage...
Ah. And lethal means that even if it had 300+ HP, it'd die anyway.
Yup. I see the overkill. Though I also see where it comes from. good to know.
*Giant deathsplosion* *Boo annihilated.*
Razor slowly withdraws the blade from the air where the Boo once was. "Okay, now what the hell is going on here...?"
Metal Man (GM): The illusion changes. A new figure arises... and I do a slight intermission to remove the marijuana smoke in my room, because apparently my dorm is now just one gigantic marijuana den.
Dammit.
This is why I'm getting my own apartment.
No, you're free to OOC in here for now.
Ok. So, the simple review there is that on paper, Lethal and piercing are fine, but when upgraded they start to get into wacky McInsanity territory. The good news is, this would seem fixable simply by changing the rate they increase/what they start as rather than anything insane like changing how they work.
As in fact, Annihilate should still be pretty deadly. I like that things die.
I hate slow battles.
Huh.
Piercing probably won't need as much a modification as Lethal, since it just ignores DR.
And DR in this system tends to go to extremes.
So either it's so little I go "Okay, you ignore all of that" or it's so high I go "Okay, that allows you to actually hit."
For Lethal... I'm thinking we make it go in .5 segments instead of 1x. So if they have half of your attack's damage in HP left over, they die anyway. And Each upgrade adds .5x. That might still make it too lethal, but, it's a start. I wanna just... carefully ease in these things rather than breaking the world.
Since this system is so easy to make quasi-generic enemies, you'll have yourself another enemy to chop into tiny pieces!
Yeah. Waiting on TW for that.
For now, though, just some simple testing so I get used to the current setup while we wait.
Actually is pretty easy to use. Numbers are just a little "Oops I destroyed Saturn."
Anyway, one more before I go on to actual continuation. I feel good about actually doing a segment though, even with just Razor.
More Battling
The weird haze decides to send someone ELSE at Razor... somebody who isn't just a Boo.
It mutates and morphs the nothingness until he faces none other than... Phantom Julian!
Razor slowly twists his lips into a wry grin. "That's more like it!"
Metal Man (GM): The tough looking fighter puts on his silver boxing gloves and simply gives a ghoulish laugh--he isn't The Julian, but he'll probably fight the same way.
Given this is a more "real" opponent... roll init!
Order: Razor, Phantom Julian
He sits there, waiting to see what you throw at him.
Razor holds his wraithblade out to one side. "Alright... let's see what you think of the old one-two..." The blade first shifted completely green, then completely black as he lunched in and delivered a rapid cross slash. "Annihilate! Obliterate!" ((Just rolling em both.))
Metal Man (GM): Only accepts one at a time.
I should fix that, though, naturally.
Now, he can't dodge the first, so he has to block.
DR doubled, so his DR becomes 60.
Second one, he goes to dodge normally.
And dodges it entirely, because... he's a Phantom Julian.
Now, I'm betting, Annihilate goes "Hahahaha 60 DR" and just keeps on going. Which is an interesting thing, as the older SSQ had little to no equipment, and Julian HATED armor.
He sort of gets this shocked expression on his face, realizing his fists are not a suit of armor.
But... he's Still Alive because he's still got plenty of HP.
Razor: "'che, alright, let's see what you've got..."
Metal Man (GM): He nods, rubbing the ghostly wounds you've given him. One moment while I make sure I do this move right...
He goes to start with some straight up punches, not sure what you're made of. Boy, does he move fast.
Razor starts ducking back for some evasive maneuvers, ducking and weaving while using his blades to provide a measure of confusion. ((Active defense, Evasion.))
Metal Man (GM): Hm. That succeeds. That be a full dodge?
He smirks and punches at you one more time to see if that was a fluke or not.
Razor smirks right back, then suddenly stops his evasive tactics... for some reason.
Metal Man (GM): *BONK* 160 damage, complete with the sound a Scout's bat makes when it hits things.
He's wearing aluminum gloves, clearly... hardened ones.
Razor hadn't quite expected that much of a punch... his armor didn't really do much to help...
Metal Man (GM): What's your HP like now?
He nods, then puts his gloves back up.
He clearly didn't use his full might... was testing.
This is your chance to further blow him up before he gets a chance to use whatever those strange extensions on his gloves are.
It makes sense now though--Julian was a punching deathmachine. Xavier probably couldn't defend against that hit with the sort of armor he had at the time, if the logs he handed you are correct.
Razor wasn't planning to give him that chance. He delivered another of those lightning fast emerald slashes, then crouched down. "Meteor Revolution!" His wraithblade burst into flames and he leapt airborne, taking to the sky and delivering a vicious vertical slash on the way.
Metal Man (GM): He goes for another block.
It... meets... which doesn't work, so his already paltry DR is laughed at.
And he blew that luck on that dodge, so up comes his other attempt--this one at evasion.
Blew his luck is right.
Razor: *247 with 248 Piercing, then 185 Fire with 124 Piercing, and I'm in the air now.*
Metal Man (GM): First one chews up his HP, then the next one chews slightly less but still a ton of HP.
Half of his HP is gone. Nice.
He sees you now, as a valid threat, given the vast destruction you visited upon his health.
And now I spend a moment to calculate... (Gonna try a big one)
Not much, actually. I'm just GMing two things at once.
He goes for a rocket punch, trying to blow you up.
That said, I did spend about 3 minutes double checking it.
I want to make sure I did it right, to see what happens.
Razor does his best to do some aerial evasion...
Metal Man (GM): You dodge. The attack deals 480 damage to the ground, violently exploding it.
He moves after you and tries for one more before he runs out of TP.
Razor tries his best to dodge again... that looked like it would hurt... he quickly darts out to the side in the air.
Metal Man (GM): And he misses. Now for another intermission called "Metal accidentally gave him two more mods than he could use, then forgot jumping costs TP that he didn't have."
Razor somehow manages a miraculous dodge, dipping down out of the way of the next attack. "That was a pretty boss move there, chief. How'd you do that? Was it something like... THIS?" He rears back his wraithblade and drops down, thrusting it forward with all of the force of that rocket punch.
Metal Man (GM): . Hahahahahaha reroll that.
Today, on "Metal and Razor get weird rolls!"
You hit, well and truly. He realizes his mistake too late to react.
You smash him good. He's near death... well... "Destruction" as it were.
But he's STILL ALIVE as he would keep saying, back in the day.
Razor: "Well, that wasn't too bad... not too bad at all." *He falls back into a defensive stance.*
Metal Man (GM): He would nod, and get back into battle stance. A fighter to the end, he takes out a pez container full of instant heals and fully hea--hahahaha just kidding.
Though that's what the real one would do.
Just for reference XP
This being a boss ghost, he simply goes for more regular punching.
Razor tries for the ol' Dempsey, instead of his flashy blade maneuvers.
Metal Man (GM): Hm. I guess he hits you then. 160 more damage.
He then goes for one last punch to round out his turn, since that bit of cheating disqualifies him from another rocket punch for a while.
They did last time I ran the system. Did TW have any specific idea on that?
Razor takes that one right on the chin... it's like he's not even trying.
Metal Man (GM): Another 160. Aaaand his turn is over.
Razor twists back with the second punch... and uses the momentum to rapidly twist around, delivering a quick double Annihilate slash combo.
Metal Man (GM): And both hit.
He flies back, then gives a wily smirk before disappearing into dust.
He had about 1300 HP. I recall TW said 1000 HP was supposed to be a major boss. Heh. Heh. Heh.
Razor: "Phew... that was fun..." *He breathes a slightly relieved sigh, rolling his shoulders a bit.*
Metal Man (GM): I have a good feeling for this though, I can work in Lunar Number land... with a few tweaks to make sure I'm not killing everyone or vice versa...
You return to where you were, only now the hallway's colors are inverted.
You see Xavier glowing oddly, and a bizarre after-image of Charles burned into the a wall.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "... ...I see! It looks like the illusion has been testing us! ...I must say, shooting Charles to pieces has never quite been so fun, although he dislocated my helmet several times..."
Metal Man (GM): Your wounds vanish--they were ghost wound. WoooOOOooo.
Razor: "Yo, Mets!" *He waves, actually looking a bit worse for the wear, even after the wounds vanish.* "Lucky you. I nearly got rocketpunched by Julian."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Ouch. I remember what that feels like."
Metal Man (GM): He shows a still-extant dent in his chest armor.
Razor: "Yeah, well, now so does he. Or well, his ghost... phantom... illusion thing. I'm a quick learner."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Guessing we should gang up on him should we find the real one and he decides to fight us. Still, glad to know you held your own. It's just as I said, anyway!"
"He has death fists... and no armor!"
"I don't care what kind of meat you're made out of. No armor just means getting blown up."
Razor: "Heh. You just soak up his biggest attack, and I'll throw it right back in his face."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...Even though he kept coming back to life, and eating evil pez things that healed himself... ...We'll need to make sure to break those..."
"Yeah. We can probably do that. He's only one guy... one very egotistical guy."
"Anyway, there's probably something at the end of that hallway, the others will catch up... or if they don't, it seems the illusions aren't lethal."
Metal Man (GM): He coughs a bit.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I wasn't quite ready to fight Kuja one-on-one. That's the benefit of The Void not being here anyway." *He'd start clanking down the hallway.*
Razor: "Suppose so." *He starts following behind, his wraithblade dispersed and Lavis Blades sheathed behind him once more.*
Metal Man (GM): Xavier clanks into the corner, backs off, then walks through, and you'd follow, finally seeing the main room.
A control room.
In the middle of here?
There, sitting in the middle of it, is a transformer.
And... in the way is Ivan Robotnik.
Ivan Robotnik: "Oh, how great of you to come! I was just done testing to see what your strength was. Pardon my... surprise test. I had to be sure."
Razor: "...oh. Cool. A Robotnik. Which one are you? I could never keep track."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "What? How could you be doing that here?"
Ivan Robotnik: "I am Ivan. But I'm not going to be a Robotnik much longer."
Metal Man (GM): The light would reflect off his glasses.
Ivan Robotnik: "I read all your data, Xavier. Anyone could. It's shared on unsecured wifi, the only password is 'CHARLES SUCKS', I cracked it in one afternoon while on a webconference with the Princess and Mario."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "You... incredibly geeky... not exactly fiendish person!"
Razor facepalms.
Ivan Robotnik: "But... I'm not going to turn on you, or become The Void's servant. Because your data revealed something! The change from master to servant is subtle. The Void did that to me... in the future."
Metal Man (GM): He grins evilly.
Ivan Robotnik: "And you and I have similar goals."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "What could I possibly share in common with a crazy man with techno--oh."
Ivan Robotnik: "I just have a better idea, is all. The Time Cops... want this."
Metal Man (GM): He holds out a different Transformer.
It... is marked 'Kuja.'
Ivan Robotnik: "They... don't care for this realm, either."
Razor peeks from behind his hand. "Why does that even exist?"
Metal Man (GM): He smiles.
Ivan Robotnik: "The Questers before you, Razor, sealed Kuja into this. In the future, it is found by a fool and opened, and he takes over this world. Becomes a God."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "And then fake-me smashes him into dust!"
Ivan Robotnik: "Unlike the steelhead there, though... I have a better idea. We get rid of him, bribe the Time Cops away from us, and then seal the realm off. No more Illian. No more Garrick. No more Void."
"I am not the nicest person... but I am not the meanest either. I have no interest in this... 'world domination' thing."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Pah! You wore a crown!"
Ivan Robotnik: "The one THE VOID made me wear, when he took over my mind."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Touche."
Ivan Robotnik: "Now I know how it all happens, so... I'm not going to open or study The Void's tomb."
Razor: "Sounds like a plan Q at best."'
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Where's the part where we all become Super-Kings of the Universe?"
Ivan Robotnik: "I'm afraid we can't do that without those other people coming down on us."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Bah!"
Metal Man (GM): Ivan then looks to Razor.
Ivan Robotnik: "You're a special person here, because you don't follow the normal rules. You aren't actually stuck here like he or I are. So I'd rely on you and these other future people to take Kuja to the Time Cops... if you agree that is the best solution."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Sure, he's wanted for a million Time Felonies. And they do kill him. But I'd much rather we kill him. Now if only I remembered how that could even be done."
Ivan Robotnik: "In any case, there is no rush. We have an entire year. If we slow time down, we could have several years."
Razor: "I suppose having safely used the power of a paradox in my own world has made me a little... strange, in this sort of thing. I'm... not going to say that's the best solution, but I WILL admit that it's a possible one."
Ivan Robotnik: "Fair enough. In any case, things are now stable enough that waiting for the others to help us decide... won't kill us. I have mastered the X-Zone... well. The non-harmful parts of it. You can train here while we figure out what to do, or go back to your HQ. These devices here?" *He presses a button. Both are force fielded.*
"They are safe."
Metal Man (GM): He then hands the remote to... Razor?
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Hey, why him?"
Ivan Robotnik: "You're insane."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I know, but..."
Ivan Robotnik: "Insane."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "That was only that time with the waterfall!"
Ivan Robotnik: "INSANE."
Editor's Note: While funny, technically that wasn't Xavier's fault, but rather Illian! ...But also true, at this moment in time, Xavier's mind could not be trusted.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...Fine."
Razor takes it with a smirk. "Don't worry, Mets. I'll keep it safe."
Ivan Robotnik: "You'll make the same mistakes I did, only faster, because you are at least twice as insane as I am, Metal."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Well, I guess Razor won't eat it or anything, so... we can go."
Ivan Robotnik: "Your friends have also been sent back... ...after some training themselves. I don't want anyone to be too rusty, because there is still Grunty the Hag to deal with."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Won't that mess up the future?"
Ivan Robotnik: "This world's future is already irreversibly corrupted. Be glad that this is a parallel universe, or you'd have vanished already due to causality."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Meh."
Razor: "I said it before, and I'll say it again. Time travel is bullshit."
Ivan Robotnik: "Oh, and by the way--just a warning. The Time Cops are going to clean up that Time Mess you made a while ago."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "But there should always be eight Dr. Marios!"
Ivan Robotnik: "Not anymore."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Damn. I was on my way to making my own football team of them."
Ivan Robotnik: "If you want more Dr. Marios... ...just clone them. Seriously."
"It's not that hard."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Maybe. Or maybe I'll just call you Dr. Mario."
Ivan Robotnik: *Shakes head* "...You may leave now."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Fine, Dr. Mari--" *Walks into wall* "OW!"
Razor: "WHY would you want more Dr. Marios? Why would ANYONE want more Dr. Marios?" *He just shakes his head incredulously.* "Yeah, I'm out. Good plan."
Ivan Robotnik: "It is unknown to me why he wants them. Nor do I want to find out."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Marios... Marios everywhere!"
Metal Man (GM): He wanders into a warp portal back to base.
You can also warp back to HQ.
Razor follows right behind him, remote now securely hidden on his person.
Metal Man (GM): And... we'll pause there. And... 6 more EXP to you.
Metal Man (GM): Intro
It has been a while. Some things shuffled about, after that whole business with Sloan and the energy.
Sloan vanished. Then things got very quiet. Eerily quiet.
The war between the Gray Mann and Borne suddenly quieted down... and Illian focused on building things.
Now Valron has been aiding Illian in building his base. At this time, there is now a proper center--the Eternal Dauntless has landed and not flown for a while.
Valron: *has taken note of the silence and is... honestly a bit unnerved by it, wondering what caused it. In any case, he's put that aside for the moment and has been helping Illian with construction efforts, while pondering a few other things...*
Metal Man (GM): He'd be walking into the Meeting Room, where Illian would be sitting at the head of a table, complete with chairs. Empty chairs. Valron would sit in his assigned seat, as Illian would finish doing something. Hard to tell, because he can type with his mind--he just suddenly regains attention after being blank for a bit.
Continuation
Illian MacGregor: "Ah, Valron. Well. It's about time we did some work again."
Valron: "What's on the agenda for today, then?"
Illian MacGregor: "There's some news from the Time Cops. They have something important going on, but I can't attend. I'm too busy trying to settle that business with Borne and the Gray Mann."
"Ael has agreed you can come in my stead. They're discussing the Dweezil... apparently they figured something out."
Valron: "Hm... Interesting. I'll definitely be sure to check this out, then."
Illian MacGregor: "That's all there is for me to say at this moment." *He'd gesture, and a portal would pop up* "You'll see the rest when you're there. I have a treaty to discuss." *Presses a button on his wrist, and vanishes.*
Metal Man (GM): And, FYI, I'm double... triple tasking, so feel free to take it slow. Not super slow, but...
I'm in no super rush.
Valron: "Alright, then. Best of luck with that, sir." *He enters the portal.*
Metal Man (GM): You'd enter the portal, and appear before a strange council, in what is the rebuilt Time Cop HQ.
Ael is addressing some people.
Ael: "--have determined that this space will soon be utterly and completely annihilated. Measures have been taken to get all innocent sentient life out of this world before it is destroyed."
Metal Man (GM): A man wearing gray robes who is bulkier and has almost Ganondorf like black hair stares at Ael.
Valron approaches the two, not wanting to say anything just yet.
???: "You have really screwed this place up, haven't you. It's just a bunch of fragments floating about in a sea of chaos."
Ael: *Shakes his head* "Not quite, Omnus. This is just a temporary setback."
Omnus: "Oh, and what was the Evil Wolfman incident?"
Ael: "Also a--"
Omnus: "And the Time Bandit?"
Ael: "..."
Omnus: "YOU are a temporary setback. To be removed so that someone more fit to lead can rule! Autumnus died under your rule, or so you claim. But he's out there, working on his own! How do you explain THAT?"
Ael: "He went insane."
Omnus: "And why is the Arbiter gone? You had him right here!"
Ael: "He... left of his own accord."
Omnus: "Why don't you do the same? No one else is left!"
Ael: "The point is that--"
???: "E's just a loser, ya know. That's why I'm back."
Metal Man (GM): Dillinger leans on the crystal table, putting his 1920's boots on the table.
Dillinger: "Give meh his spot, he sucks."
Metal Man (GM): Then, some sort of bluish dragon figure chimes in with a harsh voice.
Valron glances at the person who said that. Dillinger... Dillinger. Not ringing any bells, no.
Ryll: "I was the one leading before he got here. He just messed it up by reviving."
Omnus: "Yes, Ryll and Dillinger are right. You failed, Ael. Get out of here."
Ael: "..." *He looks to you nervously.* "Uh... but... I have... Illian's side behind me. Right, Valron?"
Valron: "...My apologies for interrupting, but it seems that I've missed quite a bit."
Omnus: "Who is this interloper? He resembles a Quester! I thought you said they were dead!"
Ael: "They WERE dead but..."
Omnus: "NO MORE EXCUSES! Explain yourself, interloper!"
Metal Man (GM): He points at Valron furiously.
Valron: *He hisses* "I'd rather you not compare me to one of those thrice-damned idiots, thank you. I may have used to been one, but times have changed."
Omnus: "I'll compare you to whatever I want! Until I have an explanation, I have perfect reason to throw you AND Ael out of here!"
Dillinger: "He was a Quester, last time I checked... one of those who helped kill us, y'know..."
Ryll: "He wasn't like the others though. But he never really did anything."
Valron: "I deserted them."
Omnus: "If you have any sense, you'll desert Ael too, then."
Valron: "Decided to join up with Illian's side."
Omnus: "This Illian is a fool. So are you. You cannot do our job better than we can. Desert Ael and we will not bother dealing with you."
Ael: "This isn't that simple. I've been working on a process--"
Omnus: "To cause more of those favored 'temporary setbacks' you love?"
Ael: "..."
Valron: "...What is all of this about anyway? I heard mention of complete and utter annihilation. If you don't mind me asking, in any case."
Omnus: "Your world will be destroyed! And good riddance! You've utterly failed. Xavier Ridgecrest, the Time Bandit, has ripped the spine of your dimension to pieces!"
"Soon it will fall inwards on itself, killing all sentient life."
Valron: "How did he break things this time?"
Omnus: "We will make a Time Rift and evacuate all the non-stupid people, then laugh as people like you die horribly."
Valron: "Charming."
Ael: "Well, I have reports indicating he allied with Ivan Robotnik and has The Void and Kuja under his possession, and perhaps even control. He's warped history in his world so much that the future that made Alsa may not even happen in his world."
Valron: "...I heard mention about The Void, but Kuja and Ivan?"
Omnus: "Right after we cleaned up that joke of a fake world Illian made, that huge hole began to rip. YOUR FAULT!"
Ael: "Apparently Kuja was around in the past of your world, and Xavier captured him. Ivan Robotnik has subverted his original fate and appears to be altering time and space... he is AWARE that he dies at your hands... and is averting it..."
Omnus: "He is a fool. He cannot stop it without destroying this world, but he doesn't care. He is a thing! Not a person. He can survive it, he must plan to rule the destroyed world that results!"
Valron: "...Mm. That's certainly rather problematic, to say the least."
Ael: "Let's not be too hasty here. We can simply tell him he loses either way."
Omnus: "Worthless! We will evacuate all sentient life and end this!"
Valron: "So you're just gonna put on a shiny gold star sticker that says 'we tried' in some obnoxious font and just leave it at that?"
Omnus: "What can you do? You are the only person on Illian's side. You do nothing but fail! You colonize a planet of idiots for no reason! I have seen your files. You make Ael look intelligent."
"You are a joke!"
"In the time you have taken to accomplish nothing, I have saved more people than you have ever met in your entire life!"
Valron: "...I don't even remember that colonization part."
Omnus: "You don't even remember your leader building a settlement on Alsa? Hahahahahahahaha!"
Valron: "Oh, that. I figured you meant something else."
Omnus: "I shall have to keep you around after your world ends, to laugh at your follies!"
Valron: "Do you ever do anything aside from sound as pompous as possible? ...Regardless, I did not come here to get into a pointless argument. There's other times and places for that."
"Now is not one of them."
Omnus: "Agreed, we shall end this farce and move on to work. You are the only representative from Alsa, so, you tell us what your pathetic position is, so we can then laugh at it. What say you to this, fool?"
Valron: "I wanted to hear what Ael's 'process' was before you so rudely interrupted him, first. My position on this whole matter shall come once I have reached a conclusion."
Ael: "There is a way to simply clean this realm up, but no one has ever wanted to listen to me. Instead, they tried to rewrite the universe or kill people."
Valron: "...So, business as usual?"
Ael: "The world is actually very simple--it consists of the Nintendus everything came from, and the Alsa that destroys all that comes to it. The flaw is Ivan not dying, and Xavier rewriting history."
Valron: "Well, the first part sounds simple enough, but then there's the whole matter of Xavier."
Ael: "But if Xavier is defeated, then Ivan can be reprogrammed and everything proceeds as normal. Or if Xavier is persuaded to not let Ivan do what he's doing... then that. But persuading him is a bad idea. He won't settle for anything less than reality-destroying mayhem."
Omnus: "You can't kill him. YOU don't even know how!"
Ael: "I almost succeeded. That damn owl--"
Omnus: "Another temporary setback, eh? Priceless!"
Valron: "Are you just going to interrupt him every other second?"
Omnus: "See what I mean? He's hopeless. Yes, because I can do whatever the hell I want. I haven't utterly failed at everything I've done!"
Valron: "Oh boy. One of those types."
Omnus: "My proposal is so much simpler it cannot even begin to be compared to such a stupid solution. All sentient life worth saving flies out through the nice huge hole that's been ripped in the world."
"Everything else dies from the realm being destroyed."
"The end!"
Valron: "...Stuff it back down your craw."
Omnus: "Pffft, insults from a failure. I'd sooner be bothered by a crawfish poking me in the ankle!"
Valron: "Says the man who's quitting before the first bell even rings. ...In any case. I shall be siding with Ael on this."
Omnus: "Pft. Your grave, not mine. If I am right, both of you will die in the Time Bandit's Time Rift. I just came here to help clean up shop. The Time Cops are leaving."
"We were going to stay, but you clearly know more than any of us."
Valron: "Oh, really now? I thought you were the all-knowing one, here."
Omnus: "Of course! I know that your action has doomed your realm to destruction."
Valron: "...Heh."
Omnus: "You will not allow anyone to evacuate to safety, so I shall let you be the one who takes responsibility for all sentient life. When they all die alongside you, it shall be my pleasure to note it was Valron and Ael who doomed trillions of lives to death."
Valron: "I see. Just gonna leave them behind because I disagreed with you? Cute."
Omnus: "You represent them. Clearly, they were stupid enough to put their voice in your hands. You have decided on their behalf. They don't want to be saved. Or they think they can save themselves. It is amusing. Just like the look on your face when your realm crunches into a ball and implodes."
Metal Man (GM): Dillinger and Ryll would start getting up and taking their stuff, while Ael would... go pale.
Omnus: "What's the matter? Did you expect a stupid fight, Ael? I'm not like the morons in this realm. I fight with words, not bullets!"
Ael: "No, but..."
Valron: *He glances at Ael, taking note of the look on his face, before glancing back at Omnus.*
Omnus: "But what? You and your temporary setbacks are in charge now! Your friend has done you a great service, letting you try your stupidity. Oh... by the way, the security guards come with us. They're too valuable to lose in the inevitable cataclysm"
Ael: "You..." *...He just stares.*
Omnus: "You should have thought about this when you let Autumnus get away! He was the only thing keeping us from just abandoning this mess on your head. Or Ryll's, but he saw the light and let you come back to life to take the blame."
Valron: *Ponders mentioning that whole battle of wills thing he had against Autumnus, but... decides against it. Besides, this guy seeems to be a great big fuck-off know-it-all anyways, so.* "...Let him come back, huh? Interesting."
Omnus: "Ael had failed utterly. His soul was trapped in endless suffering. We decided that allowing him to live again would be an even better punishment."
Valron: "Because you'd get to laugh at him more, I'm guessing."
Omnus: "The Time Bandit forced our hands, but we do not care. He has terrorized us for longer than you know. Now it seems he has picked this as his pet realm. Enjoy his influence, for you will probably be corrupted and destroyed along with this realm."
"We had intended Ael to merely be stuck in an empty post full of garbage with nothing to do, but now he has this greater-than-him assignment. Him failing that will suffice."
"We would never help such a fool."
Valron: "You don't say."
Omnus: "Any last remarks before I leave? You might want to call me more names. Those will be the last words anyone outside this realm will ever hear from you, after all."
Valron: "I'm surprised you haven't left already, honestly."
Omnus: "I have to enjoy the stench of failure before I leave it to die. Otherwise I might become like you and die a pathetic death of my own creation."
Valron: "I figured you'd have wanted to be gone as soon as possible seeing as I've damned everything to eternal oblivion."
Omnus: "I have to have records. Otherwise someone else might try this again. Now we have records, so they can be dissuaded."
Metal Man (GM): He would smirk.
Omnus: "Farewell, Quester Dragoshi and Fool Aelibar." *He would then wink out.*
Metal Man (GM): As would the other Time Cops, and... the lights would dim.
Valron: "...Mm. I'd be more irked about that, but we have infinitely more pressing matters to attend to. ...Hideously unfortunate, but." *He shifts his attention to Ael. Here's hoping he doesn't explode or anything because this doesn't need to be rocketing any further into one of those days than it already is.*
Ael: "They... they stripped me of my status. I am only a Time Cop in this realm, so I can't leave. And once again, Xavier Ridgecrest has turned my life into nothing."
"I have no choice... but to accompany you back. But first..."
Metal Man (GM): He would point out the window.
There's a huge hole in reality outside.
Ael: "That is the rift."
Metal Man (GM): The station would shake a bit.
Ael: "Every hour, it grows a little larger. Every time Xavier does something, it increases the amount it grows."
"If he is not stopped, the entire realm will be destroyed."
"It is no longer a question of Illian's silly grudge, but whether you fancy being... annihilated."
Valron: "...I figured as such. In any case, they assumed that your plan involved killing Xavier. Kind of a silly thing to assume. Beating him up is a lot easier."
"If only slightly."
"...Bit of a gaffe using 'a lot' and 'if only slightly' in such short span of eachother. Regardless."
"We've got a hell of a lot of work to do, and I doubt we've much time to do it."
Ael: "Yes. I'm going to take what I have with me, and we're going to leave this station. Without Time Cop resources, it will be eaten by the hole and destroyed in about 2 hours."
Valron: "Want me to help? Or have I 'helped' enough with that whole mess of a conversation that happened?" *He sighs.*
Ael: "This began before you. Xavier is why my life went to hell."
Metal Man (GM): He would pace the room, showing an image of Erastia--the homeworld of Xavier's.
Ael: "This was a fairly simple world full of evil fascist lunatics. In this world, there was one man who worked with the government to do research."
Metal Man (GM): He shows... Illian???
Ael: "He made a time device, but that is illegal. We shut down his project. Well. The Erastians did it for us."
"But then this happened."
Metal Man (GM): It shows Illian escaping into another version of Erastia.
Ael: "Illian went back in time and then saved a younger version of himself from his fate."
Valron: "...Huh."
Ael: "But by moving through time, he created a parallel universe. So the person he saved wasn't himself anymore. This self had been a deranged lunatic who worked on self-mutilation and replacing his parts with machinery."
Valron: "...And that's how Xavier came to be."
Ael: "This self then encountered me when I went to deal with that realm. Illian had told him to simply escape. But instead, a future version of Xavier came back in time and tried to explain the situation to me. Then both of them escaped at once, destroying that world with a massive time hole."
"Guess what's outside that window."
Metal Man (GM): He shows the two time holes. They're the same.
Ael: "He's gone back in time to rescue his past self again."
Editor's Note: The funny thing about this, is unlike say, past obsolete backstories, parts of this are true... and parts are not. It will be up to the reader to decide whether Ael intentionally lied to try to trick Valron, or whether reality itself was modified to make this backstory a temporary version of reality that was replaced by the warping of reality Illian and Xavier did! This also humanizes Ael a bit, since... Ael is a horrible person, but still human, despite that.
Valron: "...Well, then. This is the worst time for history could repeat itself." :T
Ael: "Yes. The problem is, this time I won't get a warp out as the world implodes."
"And neither will you--they will see to it."
"Unless you decide you're Xavier's best friend, Xavier is the only person who could probably escape now. Or... well... the others wouldn't help us."
Valron: "Like they really cared, anyways."
Ael: "..." *He puts a hand to his chin.* "This means the Dweezil will have to escape or die, as well."
Valron: "...Indeed."
Ael: "..." *He drops his jaw.* "They might trap them in here with us! ...That's why Omnus left. He wins just by leaving!"
"He wanted the Dweezil dead. I was the person who felt we could use them, once."
"That was before everything fell apart."
Valron: "...Well, then. ...We should probably pack up and leave. I'm sure we can discuss this somewhere... well. Not near a supermassive temporal hole."
Ael: "Agreed."
Metal Man (GM): He would open a warp, sending in a bunch of things, even a ship or two.
Then one to go back to your HQ with.
Ael: "It's about time I faced it. I'm no Time Cop. I'm too persistent and intelligent. They give up and take cheap solutions to everything."
Valron: "No shit. Maybe you should consider working with us?"
"At least we actually try."
Ael: "Where else am I going to work? It is already decided. I work with Illian."
Metal Man (GM): He would then walk into the portal.
Valron: *He smirks, before entering the warp.*
Metal Man (GM): Aaand brb one moment.
Valron and Ael would return to HQ. A hologram of Illian would appear.
Illian MacGregor: "Hm. Back so soon? What is up? ...Apologies, but I'm still trying to figure out why the Gray Mann isn't attacking, but also not responding to offers of a peace treaty."
"Over at Borne's area... by those huge Smash Energy factories..."
Valron: "Huh... In any case, ah. Bit of a problem. I believe Ael would be able to sum it up better than I could." *He looks over to Ael* "If you wouldn't mind?"
Ael: "Xavier is going to make this realm the next Erastia."
Illian MacGregor: "..."
Metal Man (GM): His visor seems to positively beam with hatred.
Illian MacGregor: "...Then we shall simply make him not able to make it like Erastia."
Ael: "I'm not so sure that--"
Illian MacGregor: "No. That will simply be what happens."
Ael: "...Right."
Metal Man (GM): The glow fades.
Valron: "Then how do we go about doing that? He's not exactly the kind of person you can outright kill."
Illian MacGregor: "First, we need to secure this planet. The Gray Mann appears to actually have gone into a lull to do... something else. His forces are dormant. His lair is undefended."
"It screams trap as loud as possible. That's why we're going to go in and flush him out."
Valron: "Figures..."
Illian MacGregor: "I have no specialists other than you, Valron, though... Red Text claims to be neutral. You could get him to help or--"
Ael: "I will come."
Valron: "...Ah, right. Ael. That reminds me. Do you still have that Robotnik clone lying about somewhere?"
Ael: "Yes. He is in his ship. I have sent him to your shipyard."
Valron: "Excellent. I have plans. And he still owes me that weapon he promised for keeping him alive. I think I can tie both of those in. Remember those Phase Cannons on that one ship?"
Ael: "Yes. I almost used them on Omnus. Had he not been so quick I might have done it."
Valron: "He fixed the super-obvious flaw with them, yes? Seeing as he's no longer chained to Borne."
Ael: "Yes."
Illian MacGregor: "Be careful, we can't let Borne know you have him or those. I have Borne offering his own 'help'... including his own, intentionally flawed ships."
Valron: "...Fair enough. I suppose we'll have those as one of our 'secret weapons' of sorts."
"Probably for the best."
Illian MacGregor: "Usable anywhere not near Borne. Good enough."
Ael: "Now we should consider how to deal with this Gray Mann. I have no data on him."
Illian MacGregor: "File footage suggests he isn't nice."
Metal Man (GM): *Video of the Gray Mann stabbing Garrick in the face.*
Valron: "Very agile fellow, too."
Illian MacGregor: "In fact we should probably beware of sudden face stabbings."
Ael: "I'm tempted to bring a mask."
Valron: "In any case... Hm. I'll bother Robotnik about the weapons and my own personal projects later."
Illian MacGregor: "It's up to you, Dragoshi, but two people should accompany you."
Valron: "...Do we even have a third?"
Illian MacGregor: "It could be me. Or Red Text. Or... ... ...Well, Borne is still here... ...Marley is somewhere at my base too. I've heard rumors of the Mask Salesman being somewhere, but you'd have to search the arctic wastes."
Valron: "Hm. Either RT or Marley, then. I don't feel like getting caught up in Borne tape. ...Mask Salesman is another possible venue as well."
Illian MacGregor: "Borne is stronger than either, probably, but as you might guess also much less likely to help."
Valron: "Speaking of the wastes. Spectrogeists still a thing there? Just curious."
Illian MacGregor: "You'll just need to convince Marley. Red Text may be harder to convince, he's... up to something. Spectrogeists are still a problem, yes. Just an easy to ignore one."
Valron: "Figured as such. May as well go bug Marley first, then."
Illian MacGregor: "He's sitting by the unfinished edge of the base. Here's the map."
Metal Man (GM): Your badge would project an arrow pointing the right way to go before you.
Valron: "Unless you have any better ideas?" *He looks at Ael for a moment.*
Ael: "Hmmm."
Valron: "I want to make sure I don't miss anything and regret it horribly."
Ael: "There is a possibility..."
Metal Man (GM): He would wave a finger around in the air.
Ael: "If I could find Aribar... or if you could get the Arbiter to come with us... ...or Lyx... None of these are particularly easy to find, though."
Valron: "...Lyx is still extant? Impressive. In any case, those three would also be interesting. The real problem is... Last known locations."
Ael: "Only the Arbiter has one I know of. Lyx... would involve going back in time."
Valron: "...I do worry about contributing to the gaping time hole, though."
Ael: "That is the problem."
Valron: "And Aribar... wouldn't he be in Xavier's side of the playing field? Or do you know of another Ari?"
Metal Man (GM): He shows you an image of two Aribars.
One is the younger one. The other is the old, weary one.
Valron: "...Aahh."
Ael: "We'd be looking for the old one, who... left this realm. Or so it seems. We'd need to get an exception. Omnus would probably allow it just to laugh at him joining our deaths."
Valron: "Think we could abuse that? Omnus' hubris, I mean."
Ael: "Yes, that's how we'd get him to allow us to look for Aribar."
Valron: "...Usually, I don't say this sort of thing, but. That is absolutely delicious. I approve of this idea."
"It may not be the easiest route, but!"
"The payoff would be worth it."
Ael: "Hm. Very well. We can go to Omnus' desk and ask for this after waiting a bit. For now, I'd suggest you look for a different ally for this mission."
Valron: "Right! Like I said, we still have Marley on the table and we could search for the Arbiter, though he'd probably be cross with us after we shunted him off to some far-off corner of the universe."
Ael: "Yes. I shall follow you for now, and you can get the next ally. Shall it be Marley or the Arbiter?"
Valron: "Arbiter. I'm sure if we explain the situation to him he'll be a bit more pliant."
Ael: "Very well." *He'd open a portal for you.* "Ready to go?"
Valron: "As I'll ever be." *He nods, walking into the portal.*
Metal Man (GM): Ael walks in, and brb one moment as I grab a drink.
And back.
You'd appear on a distant, dead planet.
The Arbiter sits there, staring at a dying sun in the distance.
The Arbiter: "You have come, but both of you lost your way. You wish for my help, but you do not know what you are asking for."
"Tell me your empty sayings and demands. I am not going anywhere."
Valron: "...Oh, well that's fantastic. Should've figured you'd have already known about the whole 'everything's going to explode' deal, I guess."
The Arbiter: "I know everything, including the future. I have only restricted what I reveal to ensure that what must happen comes to pass."
"Otherwise I would not be here."
Valron: "Mm. I see."
Ael: "...That doesn't make sense. If you know the future, then you either escaped it or were destroyed by it or saw us win. Why are you here?"
The Arbiter: "You do not know the extent of that which will happen. Anything is possible. There are only milestones that cannot be changed. What Xavier did is change a milestone, but more shall be altered in time."
"I can serve as a guide, but you must listen to what I have to say."
"Otherwise it shall be as useless as I have foretold."
Editor's Note: Heh. Ironically, while an entirely different future than what actually happened was forecast by the Time Cops, The Arbiter seems to know more that time will be, well, more like what actually happened, given his lack of suddenly leaving.
Valron: "...I'm willing."
The Arbiter: "The path before us is difficult, but I have seen a path in which it becomes true. I could destroy all before me with powers you would not understand, but that would imbalance time itself worse than the so-called Time Wrecker."
"I shall present you the path to sanity, and smash enemies with my arms of metal."
Ael: *Shrugs* "Whatever kills off the bad guys."
Valron: "Whatever keeps things sane, too... At least, whatever passes for it in this realm."
The Arbiter: "You do not behave as I recall. That is welcome. I was about to say that you had no hope, but perhaps you do. Let us get to this work you must do."
Ael: "Illian sent me the warp coordinates, so we can go straight there." *He opens a warp.*
Valron: "Aye. I've been striving to better myself in that regard, at least. So I guess I'm doing somewhat decently." *He smiles a little, before walking into the warp.*
Metal Man (GM): You'd walk in... and we'll pause, because I aim to think about the Cave of the Gray Mann before we continue.
+...Uhhh... 8 EXP to Valron.