[1x] I make another minor modifier to the symbiotes(this being easy to do to all of them at once, with Ishmael's distant Symbiote dead)- namely, a special, extremely defended 'control switch' which will only work for me, allowing me to take shut down symbiotes, useful if anyone with such a Symbiote opposes me. The Symbiote can't Possess its owner, but it can inform them that they will have their magic benefits shut down if they oppose me (or don't do whatever it is I ask), which will be quite an incentive. I intend to not use this feature at any point in time where I am still possessing this body.
[1x] I push a fair amount of elemental magic into the Reproducing symbiote I conjured last round, giving it the energy its reproduction would normally obtain from a host's excess, so it will produce more of its kind.
[1x] I shrink the new fuzzball, the same way I shrunk the previous one, and to the same extent. I now have a medium shrunken fuzzball, and a small shrunken fuzzball.
[0x]Since the platemobile is nearly there, and it was my Speed I increased instead of its distance traveled, I wait patiently for the platemobile to finish its journey at its heightened speed.
Auma finishes their ritual, connect to every other Auma across a plurality of planes.
At the Gate to Celestia, one of the mages flying over the battlefield and guiding a small army of undead warriors suddenly stops what they're doing and flies down to the frontlines where @FlamingFlapjacks has landed. While the squad they were leading is disintegrated by laser fire, the mage introduces themselves to the Descended as Auma. "But normally I look a lot cooler. This is one of my weaker bods."
They're the closest thing to a leader on this battlefield right now besides "that dude who died a century ago and the letters he keeps sending us," but that there's no time to waste on this battlefield. As they speak, an Empowered Gate opens on the battlefield leading directly to Boccob and the other Auma.
"You, Descended. Take the Iron Golems with you. We have giants to back up the Iron Gear and our soldiers so don't worry about us. You'll know what to do there."
As the Iron Golems and (presumably) Astrec walk through the Gate to Boccob's layer, Auma reads the Scroll of Foresight, ready for some aggressive negotiations. The Iron Golems all scan Boccob. The Iron Gear scans Cetus.
I cast Command Skeleton on the dumb Sans knockoff, get on its shoulders and fly us both up to the surface of the Shadowfell, ready now for real to make my way to the Raven Queen. While piggy-backing on Sans.
Smirk begins to chant an incantation to the magic circle. The incantation has two purposes. It first installs a zone of truth within the building he is crafting. It secondly will also create an aura of peace, which will effectively work as a hyper version of the sanctuary spell upon all who enter, while also causing them to feel incapable of directly attacking.
Astrec drops down from the sky, landing amongst Nerà's troops. "Don't worry! The Descended are here. Some of us, at least. We got held up in orbit, but we're going to stop the invasion."
He raises the godarm, and summons a spear of light, using it to blast back nearby robots and give the army a chance to breath, for a moment. He tilts hs head to look up at the beast in the sky. He scans it and one of the robots near it. "..who's in charge here? And what do you know about that?"
[1x] I make another minor modifier to the symbiotes(this being easy to do to all of them at once, with Ishmael's distant Symbiote dead)- namely, a special, extremely defended 'control switch' which will only work for me, allowing me to take shut down symbiotes, useful if anyone with such a Symbiote opposes me. The Symbiote can't Possess its owner, but it can inform them that they will have their magic benefits shut down if they oppose me (or don't do whatever it is I ask), which will be quite an incentive. I intend to not use this feature at any point in time where I am still possessing this body.
[1x] I push a fair amount of elemental magic into the Reproducing symbiote I conjured last round, giving it the energy its reproduction would normally obtain from a host's excess, so it will produce more of its kind.
[1x] I shrink the new fuzzball, the same way I shrunk the previous one, and to the same extent. I now have a medium shrunken fuzzball, and a small shrunken fuzzball.
[0x]Since the platemobile is nearly there, and it was my Speed I increased instead of its distance traveled, I wait patiently for the platemobile to finish its journey at its heightened speed.
Auma finishes their ritual, connect to every other Auma across a plurality of planes.
At the Gate to Celestia, one of the mages flying over the battlefield and guiding a small army of undead warriors suddenly stops what they're doing and flies down to the frontlines where @FlamingFlapjacks has landed. While the squad they were leading is disintegrated by laser fire, the mage introduces themselves to the Descended as Auma. "But normally I look a lot cooler. This is one of my weaker bods."
They're the closest thing to a leader on this battlefield right now besides "that dude who died a century ago and the letters he keeps sending us," but that there's no time to waste on this battlefield. As they speak, an Empowered Gate opens on the battlefield leading directly to Boccob and the other Auma.
"You, Descended. Take the Iron Golems with you. We have giants to back up the Iron Gear and our soldiers so don't worry about us. You'll know what to do there."
As the Iron Golems and (presumably) Astrec walk through the Gate to Boccob's layer, Auma reads the Scroll of Foresight, ready for some aggressive negotiations. The Iron Golems all scan Boccob. The Iron Gear scans Cetus.
I cast Command Skeleton on the dumb Sans knockoff, get on its shoulders and fly us both up to the surface of the Shadowfell, ready now for real to make my way to the Raven Queen. While piggy-backing on Sans.
Auma places the Iron Golems under Astrec's command.
Boccob's guards bristle as the Iron Golems enter Nessus. The Archmage himself looks at the battle against Cetus, seemingly intrigued by what's happening.
Sans dodges your spell. * did you think i would just stand there?
* you'll have to do better than that. Harkener descends down to universe, Pipe Orcan in tow.
Dark spears manifest around the Spartoi What was the word... Dory! Those are Dories! Thank you JOE.
The Minotaurs pound away at the Iron Gear's feet, dealing 12k Damage Each. Cetus itself impales it's tail in the Iron Gear's shoulder. 75k Damage. As it does so, small white... teeth? cells? fall from it... Interesting.
The Iron Gear scans Cetus a second time: FEATURES
+ Wide Beam. Strikes multiple targets.
+ Levitation. Immune to ground-based attacks.
+ Cell Carrier. Actively summons new foes.
+ Piercing Tail. Ignores armour.
So that's what they are. Cells. Take them out before they get out of hand.
Meanwhile in Nessus, Boccob watches Astrec and the Iron Golems walk into his tower, and stands up. With a wave of his hand, he dismisses Auma's Gate. "I see how it is," he says. "Very well. Reaving Counterspell."
In a burst of light, Auma's scroll vaporizes into energy, only to be pulled towards Boccob to surround him instead. Foresight stolen. "Meteor Swarm," he continues. Four crystalline spheres swirl about his outstretched palm. As they strike Auma with pinpoint accuracy, electricity arcs Astrec and the golems. 11 Damage to Auma. 8 Damage to Astrec. 3 Golems slowed. Shadowskin destroyed. With their Spiked chains, the Horned Devils pull apart one of the golems.
As Ishmael groans, the remaining golems scan Boccob.
Scan 1: [N][ELITE] Boccob, The Uncaring. 40/40 Hp.
Mhm.
Scan 2:
5 Armour. Immune to Magical Effects, that's known.
Scan 3:
Polymorphed: Assuming the shape of another entity.
Disguise Self: Can appear as a certain specific person.
...This isn't Boccob. No matter how powerful they seem, that's not Boccob.
His spell stolen, Auma's Foresight is invalidated.
Meanwhile in The Underfell, the Skeleton sends a flurry of bones towards Nerà, somehow only dealing 1 damage. *heh heh heh.
Elsewhere, JOE finally reaches M616. Now what?
Itinerary:
Stop Alethea!
Stop The Invasion:
Get Planetside!
Descend to The Planet.
Investigate?
Talk to the Armillaries?
Defeat the Third Praetorian!
Find a way to get to reach Celestia
Defeat Cetus! It's protecting a portal!
FoundationQuest:
Locate The Foundation.
NeràQuest:
Find allies to fight off P3?
Please call off the Dwarf Invasion. Genocide is not the answer.
[N] Horn Devil. x2. [N][ELITE] Not Boccob, The Uncaring. 40/40 Hp. 5 Armour. Immune to Magic. Foresight: 30% Dodge and Accuracy. Polymorphed: Assuming the shape of another entity. Disguise Self: Can appear as a certain specific person.
[N] Clockwork Armillary. 25/25 Hp. 3 AC. 5 Regen. Blast: 2/2. Dispel: 3/3. Not Aligned to Boccob!
[AG-TOG] Ishmael. 1/20 Hp. Magical Pariah. Blind. Unconscious. [A] Rod of Disintegration. +36,000 Attack. 3 Durability. [A] Scroll of Meteor Swarm. [A] Scroll of Foresight. [AG-TOG] Iron Golem. 78,000/180,000 Hp. Glibglobink Shell: 3/3. Immune to Magic. Slow: -20% Dodge and Accuracy. [AG-TOG] Iron Golem. 20,000/180,000 Hp. Glibglobink Shell: 1/3. Immune to Magic. Slow: -20% Dodge and Accuracy. [AG-TOG] Iron Golem. 106,000/180,000 Hp. Glibglobink Shell: 2/3. Immune to Magic. [AG-TOG] Iron Golem. -11,000/180,000 Hp. Glibglobink Shell: 3/3. Immune to Magic. Slow: -20% Dodge and Accuracy. [AG-TOG][ELITE] Auma. 59/70 Hp. Crown of Stars: 7/7. [A] Necklace of Auma. +15,000 Attack. Supplying an Intellect. Worn! [A] Lunar Authority Wand. +4 AC. 4 Regen per round. Worn! [A] Orb of Delphi. Passively Scans on Attack. Worn! [A] Swissarmyknifemodder. +30,000 Attack. Worn! [A] The Shadowskin. +5 AC. Worn! 10 SHP. [A] Scroll of Meteor Swarm. [A] Scroll of Foresight. [AG] Astrec. 11/20 Hp. [A] The Godarm. +50,000 Power. Clockwork. Worn! [A] Death's Ankh. [A] Thistle of Zillywich. +60,000 Power. Durability: 2. [A] Hand of Judgement. +36,000 Power. Ascend: 6/6. Worn! The Underfell
[n][elite] eye of flame
[AG] Nerà. 19/20 Hp.
The CakePlatemobile.
Distance to M616: 90%.
Field Effect: Music! Reduced Encounter Chance.
Terrain Effect: Voidmines. Move slower, or reduce integrity.
CakePlatemobile Integrity: 80%.
Astrec tanks the damage and smirks. They flip the Ankh, on its chain around their neck, and mutters a word to it. The ankh fades out of existence for a sec, and in its place around twenty grey scrolls drop into the Godarm's hand, levitating up. He points at Boccob. Each scroll activates in rapid succession, ten Anti Magic Zones overlapping Boccob at once, and a array of mass produced counterspells countering him. Astrec then draws the Thistles, and slams them into the side of the Anti Magic zones. "See, Corn Cob? Magic is fake as shit."
"..I'll be honest. I don't really know who you are! But Nerà seems to be at odds with you, and I should try helping out my allies for a change."
Conjured from the Thistles, a blade of licorice appears in his hand, which he flings at Boccob, nailing him in the head. Astrec then jumps back and summons them into his hand.
[1x] Having arrived at the universe, I quickly get my bearings, looking around for any of the scenery I saw during the Thanos fight, and fly forwards in my Platemobile, making a beeline for that location. There are some entities Cake Guy would have taken with him, but...
The Laboratory and Voidship are- were- both listed under my command, and CGOC myself put myself into stasis moments later, to await this time. Also, kind of hard to drag a lab around with you. I've done it, but it's not the easiest of tasks. So those, I think, should be here... Though I'm not sure if the Lab's strength would be as high as it seemed before. Science is advancing all the time, after all, and there was nobody to man it and keep pace with the times.
Most important, though? the Voidship. At least, that's what I'm here for. and Cake Guy didn't really have much interest in it.
[1x] Not that I can't take a moment to deal with CGOC, of course. I send an immaterial, and as such incredibly fast, spark of consciousness forwards to tell my other Body it's time to exit stasis, causing it to do so. ...Keeping control of this body while I'm controlling that one is going to be a Pain.
[1x] Before the spark can actually get to CGOC, and as such while I still definitely have control over my own self, I attach the two fuzzballs together, then shove them into a concealed extradimensional space so the other me can't mess with them. He won't even know they're there, I hope.
The Iron Golems charge Boccob, violently grappling him and breaking his ability to concentrate on spellcasting and also forcing a concentration check to maintain the shapechange.
Auma fires a quick twinned spell at both Meteor Swarm scrolls, bringing them to life for a moment before they cast themselves directly over Boccob. The fire damage should heal the Iron Golems while the physical (not magical) source of damage should be beyond Boccob's immunities.
Auma tosses Astrec the Orb of Delphi.
The Iron Gear leaps into the air, grabbing Cetus by its tail and pulling it downwards.
I divine Sans' nature with my truesight, and then I cast the undodgeable Magic Missile spell at Sans, peppering them with darts of magical energy.
Smirk continues the enchantment, making pulling a dove and olive branch out of nowhere, before they seem to fly directly into the staff. This makes the field have a secondary effect of negating people's willingness to attack someone directly while in the zone. To translate, while in this zone, you can think of doing things outside the zone, but it erects a mental block on the concept of attacking people while still within the room.
Astrec tanks the damage and smirks. They flip the Ankh, on its chain around their neck, and mutters a word to it. The ankh fades out of existence for a sec, and in its place around twenty grey scrolls drop into the Godarm's hand, levitating up. He points at Boccob. Each scroll activates in rapid succession, ten Anti Magic Zones overlapping Boccob at once, and a array of mass produced counterspells countering him. Astrec then draws the Thistles, and slams them into the side of the Anti Magic zones. "See, Corn Cob? Magic is fake as shit."
"..I'll be honest. I don't really know who you are! But Nerà seems to be at odds with you, and I should try helping out my allies for a change."
Conjured from the Thistles, a blade of licorice appears in his hand, which he flings at Boccob, nailing him in the head. Astrec then jumps back and summons them into his hand.
[1x] Having arrived at the universe, I quickly get my bearings, looking around for any of the scenery I saw during the Thanos fight, and fly forwards in my Platemobile, making a beeline for that location. There are some entities Cake Guy would have taken with him, but...
The Laboratory and Voidship are- were- both listed under my command, and CGOC myself put myself into stasis moments later, to await this time. Also, kind of hard to drag a lab around with you. I've done it, but it's not the easiest of tasks. So those, I think, should be here... Though I'm not sure if the Lab's strength would be as high as it seemed before. Science is advancing all the time, after all, and there was nobody to man it and keep pace with the times.
Most important, though? the Voidship. At least, that's what I'm here for. and Cake Guy didn't really have much interest in it.
[1x] Not that I can't take a moment to deal with CGOC, of course. I send an immaterial, and as such incredibly fast, spark of consciousness forwards to tell my other Body it's time to exit stasis, causing it to do so. ...Keeping control of this body while I'm controlling that one is going to be a Pain.
[1x] Before the spark can actually get to CGOC, and as such while I still definitely have control over my own self, I attach the two fuzzballs together, then shove them into a concealed extradimensional space so the other me can't mess with them. He won't even know they're there, I hope.
Wait, you were Cake Guy?
You walk where you fought Thanos 62 years ago. The place is empty, cordoned off to prevent visitors from disturbing the landscape. You search for the Voidship, and as you do, a group of soldiers train their rifles on you and your entities.
"So you've finally returned," says a Voice. "Let's have a Quiz: What do you get when you mix Adrian Celstus with The Baker's Dozen? We're about to find out."
The Iron Golems charge Boccob, violently grappling him and breaking his ability to concentrate on spellcasting and also forcing a concentration check to maintain the shapechange.
Auma fires a quick twinned spell at both Meteor Swarm scrolls, bringing them to life for a moment before they cast themselves directly over Boccob. The fire damage should heal the Iron Golems while the physical (not magical) source of damage should be beyond Boccob's immunities.
Auma tosses Astrec the Orb of Delphi.
The Iron Gear leaps into the air, grabbing Cetus by its tail and pulling it downwards.
I divine Sans' nature with my truesight, and then I cast the undodgeable Magic Missile spell at Sans, peppering them with darts of magical energy.
Smirk continues the enchantment, making pulling a dove and olive branch out of nowhere, before they seem to fly directly into the staff. This makes the field have a secondary effect of negating people's willingness to attack someone directly while in the zone. To translate, while in this zone, you can think of doing things outside the zone, but it erects a mental block on the concept of attacking people while still within the room.
Further safeguards added to Zone of Peace. The Grand Alchemiter falls through the Atmosphere, still deactivated. While Smirk builds his Meeting Zone, the rest of the Descended up there do their own thing, I guess. Can't make any of you really do anything that you wouldn't want to....
As the Minotaurs continue to pound at the Iron Gear, the Spartoi throw their Dorys towards it as well, dealing 84k Damage in total. It's incredible how much Armour the Colossus has. Following that, the Spartoi generate another volley of Dorys. Cetus spears the Iron Gear, fishing for a nonexistent core within it's solid-steel chest. Another 75k damage. As Cetus' Cells sprout into Asphodel, more fall from it's scales.
"What do you think? Should I get involved? I really shouldn't be fighting your battles."
Sighing to himself, Harkener pulls himself towards onto one of the Spartoi. Acclerating time in a sphere around him, he takes it out in the blink of an eye, pulling it's mechanical head free. Tossing it aside, he alters the trajectory of a Dory, sending it flying towards a Minotaur, dealing 20k. The Pipe Orcan toots at the other Minotaur, a Spartoi, and the Observation Drone, destroying the last of the third. Grabbing Cetus by the tail, The Iron Gear throws it to the ground, pinning it beneath it's feet. 80k damage.
+2 AG Morale
Down in Nessus, a Horn Devil takes out another Iron Golem, while it's partner summons 3 devils to their side, who prompty charge Astrec and wink out, a result of the Antimagic Field.
From within the Antimagic Field, Boccob glows with an unnatural light. "Did you seriously think this could stop me?" he asks Astrec. "I am a deity," he says, ignoring the counterspells trying to stop him at all costs. With a hand darkening by the second, he makes a finger gun at Astrec and utters a single word: "Hellball."
The sound of the sphere moving through the air made everything else seem quiet in comparison. In the blink of an eye, a miniature sun lives, dies, and goes supernova. And then there was Light. The Heat and Electricity was felt first. They moved faster than the sonic shockwave that followed. The acid came last, the fundamental compounds needed to create life. A blackened sphere drops with a thud where Astrec used to be. 4 Damage to Auma and Boccob. Lunar Authority Wand broken.
Astrec killed.
Boccob's subsequent teleportation with "Dimension Door," generation of a Rod of Construct Control, and subsequent takeover of an Iron Golem seems almost anticlimactic.
The Clockwork Orrery moves to protect where Astrec was. "I have been assigned to maintain balance. That was uneccessary." "I determine what is necessary."
The remaining loyal Iron Golem attempts to grab Boccob only to miss. Taking up Ishmael's scroll, Auma successfully strikes the God of Magic with 6 Meteor Swarm spheres. 18 Damage to Boccob. 20k Hp healed to the Iron Golems. Slowness removed. Because Astrec is dead, Auma fails to toss the Orb of Delphi towards him.
Itinerary:
Stop Alethea!
Stop The Invasion:
Get Planetside!
Descend to The Planet.
Investigate?
Talk to the Armillaries?
Defeat the Third Praetorian!
Find a way to get to reach Celestia
Defeat Cetus! It's protecting a portal!
FoundationQuest:
Locate The Foundation.
NeràQuest:
Find allies to fight off P3?
Please call off the Dwarf Invasion. Genocide is not the answer.
World of Nerà: The Material Plane: Imperial Base of Operations
[N] Transdimensional Safe-based Item Exchange Network. Fortress Nessus, Nessus.
Field Effect: Antimagic. Cannot use Magic. Deities immune to effects. Summons supressed.
[N] Horn Devil. x2.
[N] Barbed Devil. Unexistent due to Antimagic Field. x3. [N][ELITE] Not Boccob, The Uncaring. 8/40 Hp. 5 Armour. Immune to Magic. Foresight: 30% Dodge and Accuracy. Polymorphed: Assuming the shape of another entity. Disguise Self: Can appear as a certain specific person.
[N] Clockwork Armillary. 25/25 Hp. 3 AC. 5 Regen. Blast: 2/2. Dispel: 3/3. Not Aligned to Boccob!
[AG-TOG] Ishmael. 1/20 Hp. Magical Pariah. Blind. Unconscious. [A] Rod of Disintegration. +36,000 Attack. 3 Durability. [A] Scroll of Meteor Swarm. [A] Scroll of Foresight. [AG-TOG] Iron Golem. 78,000/180,000 Hp. Glibglobink Shell: 3/3. Immune to Magic. [AG-TOG] Iron Golem. 20,000/180,000 Hp. Glibglobink Shell: 1/3. Immune to Magic. Slow: -20% Dodge and Accuracy. [AG-TOG] Iron Golem. 106,000/180,000 Hp. Glibglobink Shell: 3/3. Immune to Magic. [AG-TOG][ELITE] Auma. 55/70 Hp. Crown of Stars: 7/7. [A] Necklace of Auma. +15,000 Attack. Supplying an Intellect. Worn! [A] Lunar Authority Wand. +4 AC. 4 Regen per round. Worn! [A] Orb of Delphi. Passively Scans on Attack. Worn! [A] Swissarmyknifemodder. +30,000 Attack. Worn! [A] Scroll of Meteor Swarm. [AG] Astrec. -5/20 Hp. Respawning: 1/2. [A] The Godarm. +50,000 Power. Clockwork. Worn! [A] Death's Ankh. [A] Thistle of Zillywich. +60,000 Power. Durability: 1. [A] Hand of Judgement. +36,000 Power. Ascend: 6/6. Worn! The Underfell
[n][elite] eye of flame
[AG] Nerà. 19/20 Hp.
The CakePlatemobile.
Distance to M616: 90%.
Field Effect: Music! Reduced Encounter Chance.
Terrain Effect: Voidmines. Move slower, or reduce integrity.
CakePlatemobile Integrity: 80%.
Ah, no. I thought my phrasing made things clear... No, I wasn't Cake Guy. you might have noticed his, er, style? of speech? Doesn't really match mine. I can see the appeal for flavour, but I don't write like that. He talks all caps like, you know? But there was someone Else... someone very connected to them, who did speak quite a lot more eloquently, and was quite a bit more reasonable.
No, I wasn't Cake Guy. I was Cake Guy's Cake. And then his Other Cake. If you want the full history lesson on what in the fork happened, I'd like to wait on that until I'm out of combat. Ahem.
[x0] I scan the Bakers Dozen.
Entity Order- FREE: Drone 1, Scan the bakers Dozen. Drone 2, Scan the Bakers Dozen. Clone, Scan the Bakers Dozen. Clone 2, Scan the Bakers Dozen.
Wagda Elemental, Scan the area for anything else I might have to deal with. Fyre Elemental, likewise, same for durt. Especially be on the lookout for a thirteenth member of the bakers dozen, per their name.
[1x] "The Correct answer to your question is 'You get a Bakers Dozen of Cakes, possibly formed from the corpses of whatever was refered to as a Bakers Dozen originally'. At least, That is what I Suspect, considering the recorded strengths and feats of the absent Adrian Celstus- though I've heard he goes by Cake Guy nowadays." "However, it is also a question whos follow-up is devoid of relevance to this context, and likewise itself is such... unless you're labouring under a very specific misaprehension. Ah, and here's a trick I learned somewhere else- Whatever I say in Red is the absolute truth, and where it false I would be unable to say it."
"{I} Am not Adrian Celstus, Cake Guy, Pastry Paladin, or any other alias he's taken up, Nor do I have any sympathy for his goals"
"Honestly, this should be obvious.Cake Guy is not Subtle. They do not give formal and somewhat derogatory answers to thinly-veiled murder threats. They do not inhabit a body with mixed Sanguine and Silvery hair, crackling with oblivion in their veins and outfitted and lugging along a dozen items of weaponry or defence. They do not use words like 'Sanguine'.These are all things which they do not do, to my knowledge, and which you should be able to see I do within this very conversation."
"I suppose what you Could call me is... an opportunist. It is opportunity that brought me into being, an opportunity I would later take. There is no such thing as a Telos, but if there were,mine would be opportunism. I thought there were powerful relics to be found here. And though I know not where they are now, or how strong they are, I believe there is a very good chance I would be able to take control of two thirds, or perhaps all, of them."
"Now that this little misunderstanding is cleared up... I will give you Two real options."
"I am a reasonable man, but I am not a Forgiving man. It seems to me this was all a misunderstanding, and I do not bear ill will for that. So, since I would like to get things over with and not to seek silly revenge, your first option is to simply leave, and not darken my interactions with this world in the future."
"Your second option is to help me locate the threeish objects I seek here, andin this case I will reward you substantially."
"And the Third option, not really an option if you're sane, is, of course, for you to be fools, as fools are wont to do, and to attack me for some reason I cannot fathom. And I must stress one thing is certain: If you do this, you will die. And your Souls, whether ye be good or ill in general, will not be safe in heaven or hell. They will be rent for simple, loyal fuel, like so many pieces of coal. But more then that, no matter what you do when attacking, You Cannot Kill Me. You would waste your lives meaninglessly. And so I must repeat in the strongest possible terms that this third option is a fools choice, and that you should not take it. But for all I can rend your beings, I cannot make sure you will choose differently, not without paying a price. So for that, I have but words."
(The Action portion of this Action is to guarantee the Sanctity of the Red Truth.)
((((OOC Note: this is not a part of my text in the action itself in the update terminal, but is here as a disambiguation about why some of these things are true. the result of mixing adrian celstus to the dozen is irrelevant because he is not here. R!JOE doesn't actually value cakes as a terminal value, so he has no sympathy for those goals. {I} means R!JOE specifically instead of the JOE universe descendant, and is specified because the universe descendant thing might be adrian('s source of power?). Cake Guy isn't Subtle. I genuinely don't know where they are because they aren't where I thought, and I don't know how strong they are in new update terminal terms since science advances ever onwards. Rewarding them substantially is a commitment. Killing them is partially commitment, and partially just a mention that they aren't immortal. They can kill the body or the mechsuit, but killing R!JOE, the consciousness possessing the body temporarily, is impossible for them because he's possessing it, but doesn't depend on it. plus they can't kill descended.))))
[1x- Conditional] If the Bakers Dozen chooses option three, I use Light on the Bakers Dozen.
[1x - Conditional] if the Bakers Dozen is still alive and chose option three, I use Oblivion on the Bakers Dozen.
[2x - Alternate Conditional] if the Bakers dozen has decided to help out, I conjure a variety of useful materials and a bunch of money for them. For the money, I instead teleport all the money that would otherwise be physically damaged into uselessness in the past week to me, and restore the damaged ones to servicability.
[2x- Alternate Alternate Conditional] if they're just leaving me alone, I scan for the energy signatures of Descendancy, the Soul Gem, Conceptually Imposed Materials, or what I remember of the Laboratory.
ENTITY ORDERS: If the bakers dozen chose option 3 and survives my actions, all entities attack, and I purchase 6 drones (and note it's been more then 5 rounds since resumation iirc, so it should have at least 35 points), which will also attack. Drones do not bodyguard me unless the Biosuit goes below 25 HP.
If they don't chose option 3, or don't survive, my entities can probably mostly idle, and the Facility, if it has 40+ Points, will spend them on Clone Researchers.
Smirk pulls out a security camera, a monitor, and a microphone, and begins a secondary enchantment. This one simply informs people when someone breaks the enchantment in some way, generally by circumventing it to lie. It also has several redundant checks for the case of someone tampering with the sensing enchantment, placed far enough apart within the enchantment's energy that one would have to know of all of them to successfully avoid it informing Smirk and any others within the zone.
Iron Gear's face splits open, four pseudo-mandibles separating in a manner terrifyingly alien. Accompanying the action is a monstrous roar that strikes terror into the hearts of all foes. Iron Gear's mouth closes over Cetus' tail. Its hands impale the spine's sides. It begins violently pulling the enemy creature apart with raw, arcane, inhuman fury.
The remaining Iron Golems try again to each restrain the impersonator, not dealing damage but instead guaranteeing the next attack going through.
Unable to case spells, Auma resorts his body's inherent abilities, flooding "Boccob" with the light of 20 suns as channeled through the Swissarmyknifemodder.
[1] The skeleton warriors under the imperial banner focus on clambering onto Cetus' grounded, writhing form. They will be chipping away at its health now over time. It's not much, but it's honest work.
[1] Hey, how *are* those giant reinforcements coming along? At least some should be being directed to the current battlefield once they're ready.
[1] How's that invasion of the Dwarves going, too? Good, I hope.
I cast Animate Skeleton on Sans'... well, skeleton. I get on its shoulders and have it fly me to the domain of the Raven Queen. I said I was getting a piggyback ride. I will not be denied by some common corpse.
Ah, no. I thought my phrasing made things clear... No, I wasn't Cake Guy. you might have noticed his, er, style? of speech? Doesn't really match mine. I can see the appeal for flavour, but I don't write like that. He talks all caps like, you know? But there was someone Else... someone very connected to them, who did speak quite a lot more eloquently, and was quite a bit more reasonable.
No, I wasn't Cake Guy. I was Cake Guy's Cake. And then his Other Cake. If you want the full history lesson on what in the fork happened, I'd like to wait on that until I'm out of combat. Ahem.
[x0] I scan the Bakers Dozen.
Entity Order- FREE: Drone 1, Scan the bakers Dozen. Drone 2, Scan the Bakers Dozen. Clone, Scan the Bakers Dozen. Clone 2, Scan the Bakers Dozen.
Wagda Elemental, Scan the area for anything else I might have to deal with. Fyre Elemental, likewise, same for durt. Especially be on the lookout for a thirteenth member of the bakers dozen, per their name.
[1x] "The Correct answer to your question is 'You get a Bakers Dozen of Cakes, possibly formed from the corpses of whatever was refered to as a Bakers Dozen originally'. At least, That is what I Suspect, considering the recorded strengths and feats of the absent Adrian Celstus- though I've heard he goes by Cake Guy nowadays." "However, it is also a question whos follow-up is devoid of relevance to this context, and likewise itself is such... unless you're labouring under a very specific misaprehension. Ah, and here's a trick I learned somewhere else- Whatever I say in Red is the absolute truth, and where it false I would be unable to say it."
"{I} Am not Adrian Celstus, Cake Guy, Pastry Paladin, or any other alias he's taken up, Nor do I have any sympathy for his goals"
"Honestly, this should be obvious.Cake Guy is not Subtle. They do not give formal and somewhat derogatory answers to thinly-veiled murder threats. They do not inhabit a body with mixed Sanguine and Silvery hair, crackling with oblivion in their veins and outfitted and lugging along a dozen items of weaponry or defence. They do not use words like 'Sanguine'.These are all things which they do not do, to my knowledge, and which you should be able to see I do within this very conversation."
"I suppose what you Could call me is... an opportunist. It is opportunity that brought me into being, an opportunity I would later take. There is no such thing as a Telos, but if there were,mine would be opportunism. I thought there were powerful relics to be found here. And though I know not where they are now, or how strong they are, I believe there is a very good chance I would be able to take control of two thirds, or perhaps all, of them."
"Now that this little misunderstanding is cleared up... I will give you Two real options."
"I am a reasonable man, but I am not a Forgiving man. It seems to me this was all a misunderstanding, and I do not bear ill will for that. So, since I would like to get things over with and not to seek silly revenge, your first option is to simply leave, and not darken my interactions with this world in the future."
"Your second option is to help me locate the threeish objects I seek here, andin this case I will reward you substantially."
"And the Third option, not really an option if you're sane, is, of course, for you to be fools, as fools are wont to do, and to attack me for some reason I cannot fathom. And I must stress one thing is certain: If you do this, you will die. And your Souls, whether ye be good or ill in general, will not be safe in heaven or hell. They will be rent for simple, loyal fuel, like so many pieces of coal. But more then that, no matter what you do when attacking, You Cannot Kill Me. You would waste your lives meaninglessly. And so I must repeat in the strongest possible terms that this third option is a fools choice, and that you should not take it. But for all I can rend your beings, I cannot make sure you will choose differently, not without paying a price. So for that, I have but words."
(The Action portion of this Action is to guarantee the Sanctity of the Red Truth.)
((((OOC Note: this is not a part of my text in the action itself in the update terminal, but is here as a disambiguation about why some of these things are true. the result of mixing adrian celstus to the dozen is irrelevant because he is not here. R!JOE doesn't actually value cakes as a terminal value, so he has no sympathy for those goals. {I} means R!JOE specifically instead of the JOE universe descendant, and is specified because the universe descendant thing might be adrian('s source of power?). Cake Guy isn't Subtle. I genuinely don't know where they are because they aren't where I thought, and I don't know how strong they are in new update terminal terms since science advances ever onwards. Rewarding them substantially is a commitment. Killing them is partially commitment, and partially just a mention that they aren't immortal. They can kill the body or the mechsuit, but killing R!JOE, the consciousness possessing the body temporarily, is impossible for them because he's possessing it, but doesn't depend on it. plus they can't kill descended.))))
[1x- Conditional] If the Bakers Dozen chooses option three, I use Light on the Bakers Dozen.
[1x - Conditional] if the Bakers Dozen is still alive and chose option three, I use Oblivion on the Bakers Dozen.
[2x - Alternate Conditional] if the Bakers dozen has decided to help out, I conjure a variety of useful materials and a bunch of money for them. For the money, I instead teleport all the money that would otherwise be physically damaged into uselessness in the past week to me, and restore the damaged ones to servicability.
[2x- Alternate Alternate Conditional] if they're just leaving me alone, I scan for the energy signatures of Descendancy, the Soul Gem, Conceptually Imposed Materials, or what I remember of the Laboratory.
ENTITY ORDERS: If the bakers dozen chose option 3 and survives my actions, all entities attack, and I purchase 6 drones (and note it's been more then 5 rounds since resumation iirc, so it should have at least 35 points), which will also attack. Drones do not bodyguard me unless the Biosuit goes below 25 HP.
If they don't chose option 3, or don't survive, my entities can probably mostly idle, and the Facility, if it has 40+ Points, will spend them on Clone Researchers.
Everything is silent for a moment. "...Shoot. This isn't him," says the voice. "Forget we were ever here. Silver Cookery Pastries out."
And with that, the Baker's Dozen are gone.
You continue scanning for remnants of the Thanos Decimation Crisis, but there's nothing there.
62 years have passed. I think what you're searching for has already been found and taken by someone else.
...Since you've charted a safe path here, I can bring you back to the battlefield instantly. Do you have anything else you want to do before that?
Also, you add more Clone Researchers. This is the maximum it will go up to.
(I added +35 points. I'm also not entirely sure what to do with the facility TBH))
Smirk pulls out a security camera, a monitor, and a microphone, and begins a secondary enchantment. This one simply informs people when someone breaks the enchantment in some way, generally by circumventing it to lie. It also has several redundant checks for the case of someone tampering with the sensing enchantment, placed far enough apart within the enchantment's energy that one would have to know of all of them to successfully avoid it informing Smirk and any others within the zone.
Iron Gear's face splits open, four pseudo-mandibles separating in a manner terrifyingly alien. Accompanying the action is a monstrous roar that strikes terror into the hearts of all foes. Iron Gear's mouth closes over Cetus' tail. Its hands impale the spine's sides. It begins violently pulling the enemy creature apart with raw, arcane, inhuman fury.
The remaining Iron Golems try again to each restrain the impersonator, not dealing damage but instead guaranteeing the next attack going through.
Unable to case spells, Auma resorts his body's inherent abilities, flooding "Boccob" with the light of 20 suns as channeled through the Swissarmyknifemodder.
[1] The skeleton warriors under the imperial banner focus on clambering onto Cetus' grounded, writhing form. They will be chipping away at its health now over time. It's not much, but it's honest work.
[1] Hey, how *are* those giant reinforcements coming along? At least some should be being directed to the current battlefield once they're ready.
[1] How's that invasion of the Dwarves going, too? Good, I hope.
I cast Animate Skeleton on Sans'... well, skeleton. I get on its shoulders and have it fly me to the domain of the Raven Queen. I said I was getting a piggyback ride. I will not be denied by some common corpse.
As a reanimated skeleton of a reanimated skeleton, Sans never had the ability to fly in the first place, and is thus unable to fly.
I can't stop you from ordering an invasion, but I can refuse to tell you it's results. Once again, the Spartoi throw their Dorys, striking the Pipe Orcan and Iron Gear. 60,000 Damage to each! The Minotaur break down the Iron Gear's feet, knocking it off balance! 20k Damage. Swaying with the wind, the Asphodel washes the battlefield in a glow of red light. Spartoi, two Minotaurs and Cetus healed for 20k! Cetus spears the Iron Gear one last time through the kneecap. Critical hit! 150k Damage. Cells continue to fall onto the Battlefield, those already there maturing into Cerberi.
Harkener orders the Pipe Orcan to attack. One Minotaur, Spartoi and Asphodel each down!
"So uh, I can petrify something. Double its defense, but halve its attack. If anyone has a target in mind, I'm open to suggestions."
With an almighty roar, the Iron Gear tears Cetus' tail off. 120k Damage. Tail-attack removed! On the ground, Cetus takes 10k damage per round!
Meanwhile in Nessus, an Elemental Forms from the Meteor Swarm flame burst. Due to the Antimagic FIeld, it begins winking in and out.
The Horned Devils wrap their chains around Auma. 8 Damage. Boccob fires a Disintegrate at Auma, followed by generating an Arcane Sword. 15 Damage. His Subverted Golem fires a Glibglobink Shell at the other remaining Golem, altering it's magic resistance! 60,000 Damage.
Auma's Iron Golem grabs ahold of Boccob, his spells boucing harmlessly off of its surface. Channelling his body's power, Auma burns Boccob with pure, unadulterated light. The skeleton of a massive fiendish owl burns in a pool of molten iron. Boccob's sword remains. The Parliament continues to swirl in the skies above.
Astrec comes back to life.
JOE's entities do in fact manage to scan the Baker's Dozen. None of them had any identification whatsoever, no entries in the database. They are capable spellcasters, but not Gods.
In addition, your drones successfully scanned their hidden 13th member. Good thinking. [???][ELITE] The Baker's Dozen. 130/130 Hp.
Great googly moogly. That's terrifying.
Itinerary:
Stop Alethea!
Stop The Invasion:
Investigate?
Talk to the Armillaries?
Defeat the Third Praetorian!
Find a way to get to reach Celestia!
Defeat Cetus! It's protecting a portal!
FoundationQuest:
Locate The Foundation.
NeràQuest:
Find allies to fight off P3?
Please call off the Dwarf Invasion. Genocide is not the answer.
World of Nerà: The Material Plane: Imperial Base of Operations
[N] Transdimensional Safe-based Item Exchange Network. Fortress Nessus, Nessus.
Weather: Fiendish Parliament: Owls circle the battlefield. Ominous.
Field Effect: Antimagic. Cannot use Magic. Deities immune to effects. Summons supressed.
[PG] Fire Elemental. 80,000/80,000. Antimagic-Dodge: 50%.
[N-Boccob] Horn Devil. x2. [N-Boccob] Barbed Devil. Suppressed by Antimagic! x3. [N][ELITE] Not Boccob, The Uncaring. 8/40 Hp. 5 Armour. Immune to Magic. Foresight: 30% Dodge and Accuracy. Polymorphed: Assuming the shape of another entity. Disguise Self: Can appear as a certain specific person. [N-Boccob] Iron Golem. 106,000/180,000 Hp. Glibglobink Shell: 1/3. Immune to Magic. [N-Boccob] Arcane Sword. Time Remaining: 1/5.
[N] Clockwork Armillary. 25/25 Hp. 3 AC. 5 Regen. Blast: 2/2. Dispel: 3/3. Not Aligned to Boccob!
[AG-TOG] Ishmael. 1/20 Hp. Magical Pariah. Blind. Unconscious. [A] Rod of Disintegration. +36,000 Attack. 3 Durability. [A] Scroll of Foresight. [AG-TOG] Iron Golem. 18,000/180,000 Hp. Glibglobink Shell: 3/3. Magic Immunity: 50% [AG-TOG][ELITE] Auma. 32/70 Hp. Crown of Stars: 7/7. [A] Necklace of Auma. +15,000 Attack. Supplying an Intellect. Worn! [A] Orb of Delphi. Passively Scans on Attack. Worn! [A] Swissarmyknifemodder. +30,000 Attack. Worn! [AG] Astrec. 20/20 Hp. Alive! [A] The Godarm. +50,000 Power. Clockwork. Worn! [A] Death's Ankh. [A] Thistle of Zillywich. +60,000 Power. Durability: 1. [A] Hand of Judgement. +36,000 Power. Ascend: 6/6. Worn! The Underfell
[AG-TOG] eye of flame. 1/1 Hp. [AG] Nerà. 19/20 Hp.
M616 Fields: The CakePlatemobile.
Field Effect: Music! Reduced Encounter Chance.
CakePlatemobile Integrity: 80%.
In a spurt of anger, I blast a series of runes into the ground, and spill blood into it's surface. A ninth level Divine True Name moves the blood to fill the runes (in appropriate order) that make up the name of The Arbiter.
/RPost
[1x] ah, don't send me back to the battlefield yet. This is still my best lead, even if I know they're not here. Though... If you could transport a replacement symbiote to Ishmael, along with a little something for my own purposes, that would be wonderful. He's been magically crippled by Nera's world's rules, but there are other universes, and the ways to stop their magic can't all be alike. maybe he'll find somewhere better.
The little something for my own purposes? a cobbled together Scanner, ViFi (Void-Wifi) hotspot, and a chunk of crystalized elemental energy of my home's take on the energy element to supercharge it. the ViFi is so it can send its results to me, and the Scanner is to check whether the things I'm looking for have, against all odds, ended up there. If they have... well, I can't say I'll be entirely surprised. So, looking for Cake Guys Other Cake, the Laboratory, or my incomplete Voidship are there.
[1x] I reach into the fuzzball's dimensional pocket and conjure two more fuzzballs, between the sizes of the original fuzzballs. There should only be three more fuzzballs to add in after these...
[1x] hm...
Scrying the future is often impossible (especially your own while a descended, per the early future and my abortive attempt to bootstrap godmodding without even knowing how) and I doubt I can repeat the travel that got me there last time without the conceptual anchor on the other side. But scrying the Past is... pretty easy, I'm going to guess? So I create a 62 spell foci set to target scrying spells one year further back, 11 set up for months back, and 10 for 2 days back. Then I cast a scrying spell to detect the same signals I was just looking for, set to check 62 years in the past; then move drop spell foci until I lose the signal, then pick up the month foci until I regain it, then then drop one and pick up day foci until I figure out when, exactly, my target objects vanished.
In a spurt of anger, I blast a series of runes into the ground, and spill blood into it's surface. A ninth level Divine True Name moves the blood to fill the runes (in appropriate order) that make up the name of The Arbiter.
/RPost
Astrec blinks as they come back to life, trembling for a second as they adjust to the land of the living. "Ah. Death. Not that pleasant, even with the spark of divinity we hold."
He frowns at the Baker's Dozen. "Not even willing to face us head on? Good job dealing with that.. illusioner, I think, JOE."
Astrec focuses, and pulls a syringe from a pouch on their armor. They inject Auma with it, the nanomachines within getting to work healing them up. Astrec then scans the Owls, if possible.
Smirk continues his process of setting safeguards, by setting the voidic protection shield to also be of magical nature, and directly linked to the pole, thus making an anti-magic field the best way to get caught interfering with the device, not the best to get away with it.
Nerà finishes the conversation held in the Discord server with the Arbiter, which I'll probably cut and edit into this post at a future date if we ever come back to this.
"Arbiter. I am not, despite what you likely think, an evil man. I am, I have shown you, a better man than you'll ever be. Where you cower behind a screen or behind the alleged agency of others, allowing those you care for to die by your inaction under the guise of not interfering, I would never allow such a thing. You are a man of empty words about peace, something you desire by your tongue and yet would not move your arm to achieve. Unlike your world, mine saw peace for those that would accept my offering. I created a world free of labor, free of suffering, free of loss for all that live beneath my watch. Born of bloodshed though it may have been, look at the monsters that roam the wilds and barbaric places of this realm and tell me I had any other choice? I tamed the wild and slew the evil. Were it to those like you who decried my actions because of the harm they caused, I could not have saved all I have from harm. Your inaction is death, and on my world it was death until I took action to stop it. And even now I continue to take action to secure peace for my people.
My actions are good, for they are peace. And if you stand in the way of a single action of mine again, you know now that you do not save the innocent but damn them.If you wish to mutter empty words behind your screen then do so, I do not care. But try to stand in my way again and I will make more clear to you the consequences. You got off last time easy, because you were ignorant more so than malicious. I will not grant you the benefit of the doubt again, or the mercy that comes with it.
Show me how my monsters slay the Dwarves."
[1] Giants. How are they doing.
[2] Iron Gear is bombarded with flaming arrows, healing it.
I fly on my telekinetically-endowed, magically-mobilized skeleton to the Raven Queen's fortress.
Iron Gear regains its balance, and then grabs Cetus by the head and slams it, carpet-beam-emitting-part first, into the ground with one hand. It places the other hand on top of Cetus' head, and a spike of Adamantine (great for destroying metal, structures and constructs by the way) shoots out as though from an over-sized nailgun, penetrating Cetus' skull.
Auma grabs Boccob's Sword and stores it away. The lesser devils floating about, recognizing that final death is inevitable if they try and fight, instead join up with Astrec's party. Auma investigates not!Boccob to see what the heck was up with this whole shebang.
The Iron Golems slap the fire elemental around, because they could use the healing.
In a spurt of anger, I blast a series of runes into the ground, and spill blood into it's surface. A ninth level Divine True Name moves the blood to fill the runes (in appropriate order) that make up the name of The Arbiter.
/RPost
[1x] ah, don't send me back to the battlefield yet. This is still my best lead, even if I know they're not here. Though... If you could transport a replacement symbiote to Ishmael, along with a little something for my own purposes, that would be wonderful. He's been magically crippled by Nera's world's rules, but there are other universes, and the ways to stop their magic can't all be alike. maybe he'll find somewhere better.
The little something for my own purposes? a cobbled together Scanner, ViFi (Void-Wifi) hotspot, and a chunk of crystalized elemental energy of my home's take on the energy element to supercharge it. the ViFi is so it can send its results to me, and the Scanner is to check whether the things I'm looking for have, against all odds, ended up there. If they have... well, I can't say I'll be entirely surprised. So, looking for Cake Guys Other Cake, the Laboratory, or my incomplete Voidship are there.
[1x] I reach into the fuzzball's dimensional pocket and conjure two more fuzzballs, between the sizes of the original fuzzballs. There should only be three more fuzzballs to add in after these...
[1x] hm...
Scrying the future is often impossible (especially your own while a descended, per the early future and my abortive attempt to bootstrap godmodding without even knowing how) and I doubt I can repeat the travel that got me there last time without the conceptual anchor on the other side. But scrying the Past is... pretty easy, I'm going to guess? So I create a 62 spell foci set to target scrying spells one year further back, 11 set up for months back, and 10 for 2 days back. Then I cast a scrying spell to detect the same signals I was just looking for, set to check 62 years in the past; then move drop spell foci until I lose the signal, then pick up the month foci until I regain it, then then drop one and pick up day foci until I figure out when, exactly, my target objects vanished.
Let's see... That's strange. I can't bring anything to Nessus. How come? In the meantime, I'll still bring it to Nerà's Universe, aaaand... nope. Nothing here either, hum. When Karp comes back, I could try sending it to him. How does that sound?
You look into the past, rewatching as Thanos and his Black Order battled for the Infinity Gems against people like Mageye, Despara and Neo. You watch as the Pastry Paladin, now known as Adrian Celstus trade the Power Stone for an impossibly powerful cake. Three people pop in- hold up. That's my father. He never mentioned being here. And who's that comparing gunpower to him? Could it be? Sorry, keep going on. Thanos acquires the Gems, became Thanatos, and dies. Okay. Everyone's milling around, doing their own thing, and then- Surtur arrives? What's even happening here? Despara's fighting Surtur, Adrian throws him into space? Woah. Let's see, he stores his things away, and leaves. So what happened next? There's two-month gap where your items were, and where they disappeared afterwards. Your scrying makes out only glimpses of what happens in this period. Masked men in unmarked armour healing the land, surveying the battlefield, picking up artifacts and fragments left behind. Near the end of this strange interference, a man in Yellow can be seen helping out, his aura indicating Descendancy.
Who could this be?
...What happened here?
Astrec blinks as they come back to life, trembling for a second as they adjust to the land of the living. "Ah. Death. Not that pleasant, even with the spark of divinity we hold."
He frowns at the Baker's Dozen. "Not even willing to face us head on? Good job dealing with that.. illusioner, I think, JOE."
Astrec focuses, and pulls a syringe from a pouch on their armor. They inject Auma with it, the nanomachines within getting to work healing them up. Astrec then scans the Owls, if possible.
Axiomatic-Fiendish Parliament: Owl Count: 666. So not only are they "Evil", they're also perfected "Evil" as well?
It's weird, isn't it? Axiomatic, "Lawful" Creatures are said to be perfected versions of mundane animals, but Anarchic, "Chaotic" Creatures are believed to be rougher, unrefined prototypes of said animals. There's some sort of message in that, isn't there?
Smirk continues his process of setting safeguards, by setting the voidic protection shield to also be of magical nature, and directly linked to the pole, thus making an anti-magic field the best way to get caught interfering with the device, not the best to get away with it.
Nerà finishes the conversation held in the Discord server with the Arbiter, which I'll probably cut and edit into this post at a future date if we ever come back to this.
"Arbiter. I am not, despite what you likely think, an evil man. I am, I have shown you, a better man than you'll ever be. Where you cower behind a screen or behind the alleged agency of others, allowing those you care for to die by your inaction under the guise of not interfering, I would never allow such a thing. You are a man of empty words about peace, something you desire by your tongue and yet would not move your arm to achieve. Unlike your world, mine saw peace for those that would accept my offering. I created a world free of labor, free of suffering, free of loss for all that live beneath my watch. Born of bloodshed though it may have been, look at the monsters that roam the wilds and barbaric places of this realm and tell me I had any other choice? I tamed the wild and slew the evil. Were it to those like you who decried my actions because of the harm they caused, I could not have saved all I have from harm. Your inaction is death, and on my world it was death until I took action to stop it. And even now I continue to take action to secure peace for my people.
My actions are good, for they are peace. And if you stand in the way of a single action of mine again, you know now that you do not save the innocent but damn them.If you wish to mutter empty words behind your screen then do so, I do not care. But try to stand in my way again and I will make more clear to you the consequences. You got off last time easy, because you were ignorant more so than malicious. I will not grant you the benefit of the doubt again, or the mercy that comes with it.
Show me how my monsters slay the Dwarves."
[1] Giants. How are they doing.
[2] Iron Gear is bombarded with flaming arrows, healing it.
I fly on my telekinetically-endowed, magically-mobilized skeleton to the Raven Queen's fortress.
Iron Gear regains its balance, and then grabs Cetus by the head and slams it, carpet-beam-emitting-part first, into the ground with one hand. It places the other hand on top of Cetus' head, and a spike of Adamantine (great for destroying metal, structures and constructs by the way) shoots out as though from an over-sized nailgun, penetrating Cetus' skull.
Auma grabs Boccob's Sword and stores it away. The lesser devils floating about, recognizing that final death is inevitable if they try and fight, instead join up with Astrec's party. Auma investigates not!Boccob to see what the heck was up with this whole shebang.
The Iron Golems slap the fire elemental around, because they could use the healing.
...You know nothing of who I am, you understand? Nothing.
Oh, would you look at that! The Dwarves are being overwhelmed by your hordes! Oh, the humanity? That's what you're expecting from me, isn't it? You know that people other than me are watching? I could show what you're like to the rest of the Void if you'd like.
Your Entities have been ordered. As your forces pepper the colossus with flaming arrows, elementals sprout to wreak havoc among the battlefield, skirting around your giga-golem itself. You get your giants to come and help out. 20,000 healing to the Iron Gear.
Surfing atop your skeleton, you fly over trees which get progressively taller and taller. As you near the center of the forest, the mist clears away, and you see a clearing around what may well be the largest tree in existence. Ten Iridescent Globes hang in petrified branches, bringing a splash of colour to the otherwise bleak realm. Getting closer, you see the birds. Countless dark birds. Perched on every available surface. As far as the eye can see.
Welcome to Durghakaka, Citadel of Crows.
Nerà's allies begin to arrive onto the battlefield. Dorys continue to explode against the Iron Gear. 80k. With almighty heave, the last remaining Minotaur dents the colossus's knee, bringing it down even further, a critical 34k damage. Turning it's head, Cetus releases a wide stream of plasma against the newly-arrived Stone Giants, which promptly form into Elementals. 20k damage to each. Laying in the Asphodel, Cetus's tail slowly regenerates, metal flowing like putty. As repairs commence, the Cerberi form a ring around Cetus and the Asphodel, bodyguarding. Finally, new cells metamorphose into Nymphs.
"Really? Nothing? Hmmm..." Harkener scans all these new foes. Thank you.
[PG] Nymph. 45,000/45,000 Hp.
ROLE
Supervisor
FEATURES
+ Fragmentation Beam
+ Cell Incubator
+ Self-Copy Systems
FEATURES
+ Sleek Form Factor
+ Tracking Sensor
+ Paralysis Wave
VULNERABILITIES
-Ineffective at Range
PREFERENCES
Cylindrical Objects, Simple Games
The Pipe Orcan obliterates the new cells. The Iron Gear mashes Cetus' head into the ground, impaling it with a spike. 130,000 Damage. Carpet Beam Warmup increased!
Meanwhile in Nessus, the Devils laugh at the suggestion to surrender, but do nothing.
The Fire Elemental eyes Ishmael and walks towards him. "There you are." Hungry for healing, both Iron Golems, including the one still not under your control smack it about, dealing 35k each and healing for the same amount. Despite this punishment, the elemental remains undeterred. "Your time is up." Reaching Ishmael, they burn out, returning to the Elemental Plane of Fire.
Auma attempts to stow the Arcane Sword, only to get hacked at for 2 damage. Giving up, he instead takes a closer look at the burning owl. Upon examination, the magic left on it indicates that... It was a familiar.
A surge of magic ripples through the air. High-level Transmutation. Someone's casted Time Stop. But wh-oh. Oh.
I think Boccob's invisible.
Meanwhile in M616, JOE's regeneration finally wears off. I think that's the only noteworthy thing to mention here.
Itinerary:
Stop Alethea!
Stop The Invasion:
Investigate?
Talk to the Armillaries?
Defeat the Third Praetorian!
Find a way to get to reach Celestia!
Defeat Cetus! It's protecting a portal!
FoundationQuest:
Locate The Foundation.
NeràQuest:
Find allies to fight off P3?
Please call off the Dwarf Invasion. Genocide is not the answer.
[1x] Well, that's... interesting. since the past is fixed... Alright. I need more information. So I search the voidic internet for records of yellow-colored descendants. What? Scrying isn't the only solution! I don't search just for yellow-coloured descendants- I'm not interested in making a secure connection nobody can spy on, and I don't want to tip off these people. So, instead, I search for descendants of every colour, then ignore all mentions of non-yellow ones. The important part is the yellow ones, but I'm leaving traces analogous to searching for every descendant ever and their colors, like some kind of fanboy. Then, assuming my results are inconclusive, I quickly cast a high-precision force spell, carving deep divots into the ground around me in a particular pattern...
[1x] Assuming I carved divots, I stab myself- well, the Biosuit-in the arm. I don't cut deep, small enough for the wound to close in a few rounds, but that's not important. the important part is that, with a bleeding wound formed, I expend the Blood special, and use the life force and blood I'll lose from that wound to set up this ritual. I don't activate it yet, though- Keeping the power of the special coursing through it in a loop to buy me a few seconds before that fades, I deactivate blood...
[1x] And expend Light, the glow illuminating brightly- though not so brightly, not enough to attract much attention-as I channel the magic, and the lingering power of the Blood special, to power straight through the interference and find out where my items went. Even if I don't find the full timeline, though I still hope I might, I should easily be able to find out which direction they set off in. Plus, this seems like the sort of group to be Interesting. even if the base I find they went to back then has been abandoned for 50 years or something, I imagine there'll be things of worth. (If the items go to different places, I follow up on CGOC first, then check the voidship if I've got power left, and only then the lab. ...how did they pack up a lab? Well, I guess they did have a descended on their side.)
SUMMARY:
1) look up the yellow descended on the voidnet while masking my trail.
2) expend the Blood special to use Blood Magic to power a use of the Light special to power through the interference and track down where CGOC was sent.
Entity Orders: stay on watch, i guess. Oh, and for the scanner, sure, get it to neraverse whatever way you think it'll work. Not much point in sending a Symbiote to Ishmael now, since they're not there any more.
"Well, I guess I'll need to do something while I wait for a response from Avernus on the subject of Alethea's willingness to join the meeting. Probably not going to get any results from the others without Alethea's willingness to actually attend... Oh, yeah, that's an idea. Might be interesting." Smirk then leaves the neutral territory, leaving the staff in place, and exits within the vastness of the plane of Oblivion. He begins to focus as he arrives, and as the caustic, destructive nature of the place begins to affect him, his body begins a cycle of regenerating all material the latent Oblivion energy destroys from him.
[1x] Well, that's... interesting. since the past is fixed... Alright. I need more information. So I search the voidic internet for records of yellow-colored descendants. What? Scrying isn't the only solution! I don't search just for yellow-coloured descendants- I'm not interested in making a secure connection nobody can spy on, and I don't want to tip off these people. So, instead, I search for descendants of every colour, then ignore all mentions of non-yellow ones. The important part is the yellow ones, but I'm leaving traces analogous to searching for every descendant ever and their colors, like some kind of fanboy. Then, assuming my results are inconclusive, I quickly cast a high-precision force spell, carving deep divots into the ground around me in a particular pattern...
[1x] Assuming I carved divots, I stab myself- well, the Biosuit-in the arm. I don't cut deep, small enough for the wound to close in a few rounds, but that's not important. the important part is that, with a bleeding wound formed, I expend the Blood special, and use the life force and blood I'll lose from that wound to set up this ritual. I don't activate it yet, though- Keeping the power of the special coursing through it in a loop to buy me a few seconds before that fades, I deactivate blood...
[1x] And expend Light, the glow illuminating brightly- though not so brightly, not enough to attract much attention-as I channel the magic, and the lingering power of the Blood special, to power straight through the interference and find out where my items went. Even if I don't find the full timeline, though I still hope I might, I should easily be able to find out which direction they set off in. Plus, this seems like the sort of group to be Interesting. even if the base I find they went to back then has been abandoned for 50 years or something, I imagine there'll be things of worth. (If the items go to different places, I follow up on CGOC first, then check the voidship if I've got power left, and only then the lab. ...how did they pack up a lab? Well, I guess they did have a descended on their side.)
SUMMARY:
1) look up the yellow descended on the voidnet while masking my trail.
2) expend the Blood special to use Blood Magic to power a use of the Light special to power through the interference and track down where CGOC was sent.
Entity Orders: stay on watch, i guess. Oh, and for the scanner, sure, get it to neraverse whatever way you think it'll work. Not much point in sending a Symbiote to Ishmael now, since they're not there any more.
Very few instances of Confirmed Descended and their colour signatures exist on the VoidNet. Most of the info on the VoidNet is repeated time and time again by versions of the same person in different universes, and it often gets confusing, as there'd be slight differences between each entry.
Otherwise, there are next to no instances of non-yellow Descended, with the only confirmed example being Nedben, and what we saw clearly wasn't him.
A silver cord ties this Descended to a single star in the sky.
Based on its position and time of year at that point, it can only be one place: Aldebaran.
However, nobody else working on the battlefield points to Aldebaran. Instead, everything else went to... Earth, it seems. They don't seem to have developed teleportation back then. This mystery just gets deeper and deeper...
Thanks to your efforts, you relocate the Iron Gear to a secure spot within the Elemental Plane of Fire, just as your Force Artillery comes crashing down. 1,000 to all PG Forces! Cells Destroyed, Bonus Damage to Cerberi, Nymphs fissioned. Giants assigned to defend Pipe Orcan.
You enter Durghakaka through a keyhole-shaped entranceway, appearing directly before the Raven Queen.
"Well, I guess I'll need to do something while I wait for a response from Avernus on the subject of Alethea's willingness to join the meeting. Probably not going to get any results from the others without Alethea's willingness to actually attend... Oh, yeah, that's an idea. Might be interesting." Smirk then leaves the neutral territory, leaving the staff in place, and exits within the vastness of the plane of Oblivion. He begins to focus as he arrives, and as the caustic, destructive nature of the place begins to affect him, his body begins a cycle of regenerating all material the latent Oblivion energy destroys from him.
It's empty.
Completely devoid of anything.
Nothing's there. A sad single Dory fails to do anything, it's intended target gone. Reacquiring sights, the Spartoi generates yet another. That's literally all it does. The Minotaur turns its attention to the Stone Giants, attacking one for a critical 44k damage! Free from the Iron Gear's grip, Cetus allows the Asphodel to complete repairs on it's tail, before taking to the skies once more. 60,000 Hp restored! The Cerberi howl a haunting, hounding melody, but refrain from attacking. However, the nymphs and Fire Elementals aren't as merciful, and strike the non-bodyguarding Giants for 60,000 Damage each!
Harkener scans the Cerberi and Nymphs yet again to get some more information on them!
Nymph. 45,000 Hp.
ATTACK:
Flurry: 15,000.
PASSIVE:
Fission: Upon being struck, summon a copy. Only the first strike in a multi-hit attack connects. Upon destruction, summon Cells.
Nymph-Copy. 1/1 Hp.
ATTACK:
Flurry: 15,000.
Cerberi. 42,000 Hp. -2,000 Armour. +25% Accuracy.
ATTACK:
Dogpile: 10,000. Lower AC by 5,000. Stacks with further Dogpiles.
Rally: Increase all Cerberi Dogpile Damage by +1,000.
The Pipe Orcan Doots at the Spartoi, Minotaur and a Cerberi for 30,000 Damage, the last of which is destroyed! Making Morale, the Giants restore 30,000 Hp, and lob rocks. 50,000 Damage to Minotaur(destroyed), Nymph, and Nymph-copy!
+2 AG Morale
I detect another Time-surge in Nessus. Channelling the power of Divine Light, Auma shines like a sun upon the battlefield. As was expected, the real Boccob fades into view. Raising his hand, the God-Mage calls an owl to his side. Thanks to the Delphi Orb, you scan them for their basic information. 20 Hp restored to Auma. Itinerary:
Stop Alethea!
Stop The Invasion:
Investigate?
Talk to the Armillaries?
Defeat the Third Praetorian!
Find a way to get to reach Celestia!
Defeat Cetus! It's protecting a portal!
FoundationQuest:
Locate The Foundation.
NeràQuest:
Find allies to fight off P3?
Please call off the Dwarf Invasion. Genocide is not the answer.
Smirk begins looking around, trying to see if any forms of structures composed of Oblivion energy exist, or if it seems the entire plane's nature is the purest entropy, while his body continually stays prepared to regenerate anything taken by the Oblivion essence of the place.
[1x] Alright, well... I'll get to the Aldebaran later. First, time to retrieve my stuff. I rotate my platemobile, and head off to Earth.
[1x]... after a moments thought, I decide I'll also want a lower profile. I don't want to look positively associated with Cake Guy, because some people are hostile to cake guy... but I also don't want to look like I hate cake guy, since people might assume I want to destroy the constructs left behind, and that'll get us off on the wrong foot, too. So... I decide to pick a temporary Aesthetic for my travels entirely orthogonal to Cake Guys. specifically, I replace the texture files for all my present entities with things from Dragon Ball Z. This camouflages me as being very muscular with golden spike-hair, and the rest of my entities like various types of Machine Mutants. it won't stand up in combat, but if I'm in combat things have already gone poorly.
[1x] Right, while I'm in travel, I'll keep working on my fuzz-constructs. Like with every ball, I shrink the latest fuzzballs, squishing these particular ones flatter as I do.
Entities, follow me. All entities have preemptive orders to scan any hostiles or potential hostiles. Facility, if 3 AC is just the Metal Special's cap, spend 20 points on the Steffan Special to increase the AC of the Biosuit to 7.
