private Whisper II: Kingdom of Darkness

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

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Passing another gaggle of devils, there was a large crowd of various races gathered together, listening to a speaker, dressed in red, emblazoned with a skull, lecturing the crown about embracing your inner devil, you finally arrive at a store. It's sign was emblazoned with rubies and emeralds, proudly proclaiming "Jewels and Finery". The door is intricately carved and painted a dark black.

 

 

 

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((Seriously, Nightmare... Do not continue to tempt fate, or I'll ask baman to come up with a sadistic end for you. Not joking. And it'll be fun for him.))

When you touch your hoof to the liquid, you get random flashes of memories- memories that you can't remember after they left. You can see now that, deeper into the pool, it turns red...

((Make your own conclusions. Whether they're right or not is up to you.))

 

 

 

@@Psych Ward,

 

 

((Your special somepony just fell down the pit, swearing. What do you do?))

 

 

 

@@ActFast231, @

Edited August 6, 2013 by Thunder Knight

[Lume WMj 228]

@@ActFast231

 

They held that kiss for a little longer. Lume's thoughts during that moment were almost entirely blank: she could think of absolutely nothing but the colt that had his arms around her. And how she loved him. And how she wished they would never let go. Unfortunately, at some point, they were forced to pull back in order to regain their breath.

 

"I love you too." The goofiest, yet happiest smile pasted on her face as she spoke those words. It had been an impulse after all: from the stories of the books, she simply figured that a kiss would be the appropriate move in that situation. But she couldn't know since she had never done it before - and never even loved anypony that way before, for that matter. What if she messed up? What if Nexus didn't want it, and hated her for trying it? Gladly that hadn't been the case. And at the end of the day, she couldn't be more satisfied with the outcome of taking those risks. Their eyes just kept romancing each other for a while longer after that.

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

@, @@ActFast231,

 

 

 

((Commence dimensional instability))

 

And suddenly... alarms.

 

A voice came over the loudspeaker. "Dimensional breach detected on floor 32. Please-" The rest of it was shorted out, replaced with a frantic Karma. 'Everyone! Clear out of levels 28 to 36! A lesser demon lord broke through and we literally have Tartarus leaking in! Containment squads Alpha, Beta, and Gamma , move in! And, Lume, Nexus, Klarix..." His voice became calmer, but obviously forced. "If you aren't busy or anything, do me a favor and meet me on level 28." The loudspeaker cut off, the sirens muted, but obviously still active in some parts of the facility.

 

((Broken up. And rudely. Ready for a glimpse of what your fighting?))

 

 

[BlackShardNixium 277]

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Klarix stiffened slightly, lifting her head, eyes darting around warily. Heart pounding uncontrollably, she stood, albeit a bit shaky, before taking off full gallop towards level 28. She grimaced, getting a strong, instinctual feeling she wouldn't enjoy what she was about to see.

Edited August 7, 2013 by BlackShardNixium

[ActFast231 432]

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Nexus was jolted out of his love struck stupor by alarms going off and warnings flashing. Before Karma was even done with his loudspeaker announcements, Nexus had his armor and weapons on, equipping them with an unusual speed. Like he knows how to get suited up in a hurry. His PDA was tucked in the usual place in his armor, and he was back to where Lume was, just as the announcment was finished.

 

"You heard him. Be swift, we need to get to Level 28."

[Senor Citizen 516]

DEETDEETDEETDEETDEETDEET! "Dammit, what now?" Garrison pulled out the PDA and whistled. Looks like the grocery run's on hold. Let's get back to base and figure out what the hell's going on. Agreed. Garrison poked at the PDA and jumped to a (mercifully empty) hallway and started looking around.

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

@, @@ActFast231, @,

 

 

As the three of you meet outside of the elevator, the doors open and you go in. Strangely, The elevator seems to be slower than usual, and getting slower...

 

The elevator grinds to a stop around level 30. The doors try to force themselves open, but they spark and break about hy. The entire place appears to be a laboratory, with vials, computers, and test tubes adorning the walls and desks. One of the desks has Nexus's alchemy book, wide open. Vast masses of swirling black energy whirl carelessly about the place, randomly destroying sheets and corrupting test tubes. Several large beings, all with yellow and red eyes, maws full of razor sharp teeth, and oversized claws lumber around the room, flipping over tables, trying desperately to find something... and, by the excitement in their babble, you can tell they're getting close. A slightly bigger one, seemingly made out of some sort of slime, growls out something in a language you can't understand while lazing around at the door. Nothing seems to notice you yet, though...

 

((The first real combat encounter for you guys.))

 

 

 

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There is  a large sign that says 32 on the hallway. Coming out of one of the rooms in the hallway is a ominous orange glow. A small patrol of demons come marching through. Their body's design- sluggish and somewhat slimy, with large, amorphous masses instead of feet-  proclaims that they are from layer forty-three, a layer of the abyss ruled by a obstinate, rude demon lord that is almost literally a pile of jelly. He's usually in charge of getting Resh materials for his work- so why is he and a strike force of demons here?

 

((I assume you did teleport to the Inquisitonal HQ, yes? If not, I'll edit the post.))

 

 

Edited August 7, 2013 by Thunder Knight

[Lume WMj 228]

When the alarm went off and Nexus almost immediately rushed away, Lume lost her balance and fell out of the couch with her back against the floor, shocked.

 

A voice came over the loudspeaker. "Dimensional breach detected on floor 32. Please-" The rest of it was shorted out, replaced with a frantic Karma. 'Everyone! Clear out of levels 28 to 36! A lesser demon lord broke through and we literally have Tartarus leaking in! Containment squads Alpha, Beta, and Gamma , move in! And, Lume, Nexus, Klarix..." His voice became calmer, but obviously forced. "If you aren't busy or anything, do me a favor and meet me on level 28." The loudspeaker cut off, the sirens muted, but obviously still active in some parts of the facility.

 

She frowned, still lying sprawled on the ground. "Tartarus leaking in?... I suppose that's way too serious to ignore, right?" She directed a question to her loved one, but since he was already fully equipped and ready to leave, she just assumed the answer was a simple 'yes'.

 

"You heard him. Be swift, we need to get to Level 28."

 

"Fine..." She said in a tone of voice that resembled a teenager rebel being told by their parents to do the house chores. Not like she hadn't done what she wanted yet, but that whole romantic scene made her forget about their duties as the Tarot holders for a moment. She got back up on her hooves, put her armor back on as quickly as her unwilling body permitted and followed Nexus outside the room.

 

---

 

As the elevator stopped and the door opened, Lume carefully looked around the mysterious room which seemed to be a laboratory of some sort. Upon noticing the monsters in it, she backed up as silently as she could and readied her weapon, looking back and forth at the creatures and her partners.

[BlackShardNixium 277]

@ @ @@ActFast231

 

Klarix gaped openly at the creatures, eyes alight with a mix of awe and terror. She'd kept the staves she'd taken from the bag back in Delvia, now gripping them tightly. It seemed they hadn't been noticed, as the creatures were far to busy ransacking the lab to notice the three of them standing in the elevator. She scanned the lab, looking for a clue as to what the creatures might want so badly.

[ActFast231 432]

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Nexus walked in, and noticed a group of demons ransacking the lab. They have yet to be spotted.

 

"Merda" Nexus cursed under his breath. He ducked down behind a table, and signaled everypony else to do the same. He peaked over, looking at the demons from cover. They are looking for something, and whatever it is, it can't be good. He noticed the alchemy book still lying on the counter a desk in front of you. Carefully he creeps along, and silently slips it back into his armor. He turns to return to cover, when he bumps into one of the demons, who appears startled at first, but then grows angry, growling at Nexus menacingly. 

 

"Celestia above, you are one brutto figlio di una cagna." He said before ducking under a swipe.

 

(That's Italian. See OOC thread for more info.)

[Senor Citizen 516]

@, (I did indeed. And have they not noticed me yet?)

Two bits says that slime is hazardous and this is a stupid plan. Two bits indeed. Let's do this. Garrison lunged out of the shadow and grabbed the weird slime-guy in front, drawing a knife and sticking it under what was debatably the thing's throat. "I hope you schweinhunds understand English, because zis is going to be short und messy othervise."

Edited August 9, 2013 by Monsieur Buttmad

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

@@ActFast231, 

 

 

((You didn't just call mah demon a son of a beach ball, boi.))

The demon's growl deepened as it slashed at your breastplate. However, the armor's resistance to dark magic caused it to recoil as it hit. It backed off slightly before assuming a more suitable fighting pose.

 

The other two demons crept around Nexus, effectively flanking him.

 

 

 

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((You dare call my demon a pig-dog! D:<))

The demonic being slid backwards in surprise as the blade was driven into the creature's neck. It recoiled as the blade entered its neck, but as you pulled it out, you noticed that the blade had started to corrode, and also the slime that had touched your skin was beginning to burn as well. The three demons start lumbering towards you, hands outstretched, the slime eating away the floor.

 

 

[ActFast231 432]

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Nexus extended his claws put, electricity sparking out from them. He eyed the three demons surrounding him, thinking of how to effectively deal with them, forgetting that he has companions with him.

 

"You sure you guys want to do this?" Several growls were his answer. He cranked his neck to each side, a satisfying crack accompanying each.

 

"Fine, bring it on you bastardi demoniache." The demon to his left charged Nexus with what appeared to be a sword of some sort. It looked evil as hell whatever it was. The bat pony moved forward, dodging the lunge, and the ting continued to attack. The one that he initially encountered joined in too, and Nexus ducked to avoid two oncoming attacks. He lunged forward, going under the legs of the first demon, holding his claws up to cut up and into it's belly. It cried out in pain, and fell to the ground as a black substance poured out of its underside. It's companions grew even more angry at their comrades defeat, and lunged at him quicker than before. The force of impact caused his helmet to fall off, and the creature began to claw madly at his face. It clawed the hunters left eye, creating a large scar and blinding that eye. Nexus recoiled back, his voice booming in a painful yell.

 

Nexus twisted his body so most of his torso faced away from the demons, and as the culprit of his injury got close, Nexus swung his claw and got it in the temple. The third one was quick, and grabbed Nexus by the throat and lifted him up, so he was no longer touching the ground. He couldn't get a decent angle or hit on this demon, and it smile wickedly at him, almost as if to say that it's over. Nexus looked down at it, his face bleeding badly as the thing prepared what looked like a blade.

 

(Someone save him, then I can demonstrate Nexus' Tarot power.)

[BlackShardNixium 277]

@@ActFast231 @

((Here goes nothing...))

 

Klarix gulped before creeping forward. She'd only get one chance, and if she messed up, it would more than likely end with one of them dead. If she could distract the....whatever the hell it was, then maybe it would drop Nexus. Maybe they'd have a chance. She was close enough to smell the thing, and great Celestia, it was foul.

No turning back now!

Eyes clenching shut, she adjusted her grip on the stave before leaping forward and plunging it like a sword through the demon's left leg.

[Lume WMj 228]

(( OOC: Ohh, but I so ain't havin' Kalrix save mah prince by herself!!  ))

 

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@@ActFast231

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Still slightly terrified, Lume stood perfectly still by the door carefully watching the creatures. She noticed Nexus beside her moving in, silently. She widened her eyes in worry and, if she wasn't trying so hard to stay quiet, she would have shouted something in the lines of 'be careful'. Even though he being the tough guy he was, the earth mare's concern for him was just too much. The bat colt managed retrieving his alchemy book, and clumsily bumped into a demon afterwards. Lume gasped.

 

As soon as the creatures surrounded him and started the battle, she ran inside for Nexus' assistance, colliding against two or three smaller enemies on the way - thanks to her tank-like armor, she could tackle away some of them without staggering too much. Jumping over obstacles and making her way through the destroyed lab, she watched as Klarix arrived for his aid and attacked the monster's leg.

 

"Good one!" She exclaimed, getting closer to the beast. She sped up considerably upon finding a straight path towards them and headbutted the aggressor holding Nexus with all of her might.

[ActFast231 432]

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Nexus fell to the ground, rather unceremoniously, coughing and gasping for air. He wasn't sure if he was going to get stabbed or have his wind pipe crushed. Maybe both. Blood dripped from the left side of his face, his left eye grey and dead looking. He had damage to his throat that made breathing difficult, and several more deep gashes that also bled. Evaluating his situation, Nexus realized that he was going to die. He would either get deprived of oxygen or bleed out. Just as he felt all was lost, he felt something within him. He couldn't tell what, and in no condition to fight, he crawled over to their original cover, where his Tarot power began to restore his body, healing the wounds.

 

(Level 2 power activate. You know Level 3 is here when Nexus has his final transformation.) 

[Senor Citizen 516]

Corrosive. Brilliant. Garrison levelled the first demon with a punch to the face and then hoofed it around the corner. Dammit, this stuff burns! And it's not coming off, either. I think this might be it, bud. I'm all out of plans. You have anything? Nope. Whee. Oh yeah, we have about ten minutes until the goo eats through our leg and we bleed out. How do you know that? I dunno. Magic.

Edited August 7, 2013 by baman

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

@@ActFast231, @, @,

 

 

 

The demon growled as Klarix's staff hit his leg, causing him to fall down to one knee. He dropped Nexus and reached behind him for Klarix. He grabbed the staff and snapped it in two. And then Lume headbutted it, and it stumbled backwards, landing on Klarix. It glared and swiped at Klarix, working to it's feet, before hurling himself towards Lume.

 

The slime demon stood up and growled before lunging out at Klarix, dripping goo that hissed whenever it touched the floor.

 

 

 

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The demon that you punched around the corner slowly picked itself back up. The other two, sensing victory, began to close in, grinning evilly at you. One of them swings its fist forward, just barely missing your face.

 

 

Edited August 7, 2013 by Thunder Knight

[Senor Citizen 516]

@, Garrison dodged and backed up. This is i- what are you doing? Having an idea. One brown hoof raised and pointed at the lead demon. "Ze doctor says... die!" The demon's lip curled in a snarl, and then its eyes widened in surprise. It fell over, something black leaking from its mouth. "HA HA HAAA! DIE, MY PRETTIES! DIIIEEEE!" And with that, the fight was over. "How... did you do that? Do vat?"

(Phase one, part one of DA POWAS has manifested.)

Edited August 7, 2013 by baman

[Psych Ward 377]

(Sorry.  Completely forgot to tell you.  I have (had) band camp all this week.  It start Monday, goes to Thursday, and by the time I get home I feel like passing out on the floor.  I decided to skip the rest of it.)

 

Arianna looked around frantically as Midnight disappeared into the floor.  "M-Midnight?" she frowned, nearing the hole.  She peered in, jumping back once she saw the multiple mutants.   She watched the scene fold out, shaking in terror.  Once the floor was cleared, she silently hopped down.

[Prince Midnight 817]

midnight pulled his hoof back and frowned, "interesting...." he looked back as arianna landed and galloped over, "hey...you okay?" he held out his hoof to help her up, "did you fall for the same thing i did?" he tried to move his wing, " trap surprised me...and schiesse it hurts" he shook his head.

[BlackShardNixium 277]

@ @@ActFast231 @

((OOC: Now's as good a time as ever to incorporate Klarix's Tarot power in...))

 

Klarix shook her head and staggered to her feet, blinking back the waves of dizziness that came with having a demon land on you. The back of her mind vaguely registered the ominous hissing noises before she opened her eyes completely and saw the slimy thing looming over her. Backing away, her eyes darted around until finally landing on the two broken halves of the stave she'd been using. It was more or less useless now...

There was really only one thing left to call on, and Klarix wasn't even sure it would work. She centered her body and stared straight into the demon's eyes, letting the battle going on around her fade. She imagined a door withing its eyes. A door to its Inner Voice.

Great Celestia, please let this work!

Sleep. she murmured softly, voice distorted and wavering oddly, You want to fall asleep. Just rest now. You don't want to fight. Just go to sleep...

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

@, @@Psych Ward,

 

 

The dozen remaining mutants are all cowering in a corner. A few of them made a break for the stairway, moving surprisingly fast...

 

White Rose called down. "Do you want me to help you up, or should I come down?"

 

 

 

@, @@ActFast231,  @,

 

 

From what echoed from the creatures inner voice was an aura of pure darkness...

 

The creature swayed for a bit and stumbled back, swaying precariously, obviously somewhat confused and... drowsy...?

 

 

 

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The monsters dissolved into piles of goo, which dissolved into a black energy, which then dissipated.

 

 

Edited August 8, 2013 by Thunder Knight

[Lume WMj 228]

Lume shook her head after having charged onto the demon: despite its massive size, she didn't quite predict that the impact would be so solid. Her eyes still slightly out of focus, she looked up to see that the beast had landed on top of Klarix.

 

"Crap..." She silently mumbled. Nexus had already crawled most of his way back near the elevator, looking severely wounded, when Lume noticed him. "Crap!" She exclaimed again, a little louder this time. But before she could take any action, she noticed some of the wounds being slowly mended. She took a deep sigh in relief, looking up to thank Celestia for the Tarot of Justice.

 

She was about to turn back to check on Klarix when the beast got back on its feet and attacked again. "CRAP!!" She shouted, jumping as far as she could out of the way of the assault, knocking over and breaking several lab items. After that, it went after Klarix again.

 

Lifting herself back up and pulling out her sword, she prepared to swing it against the demon, but it had stopped just a few inches away from the pegasus mare. Lume watched as the creature got suddenly weak on its legs and its expression showed just as much confusion as herself. Is she... hypnotizing it or something? She thought to herself as she tried to understand the scene in front of her.

 

Lume then noticed a large crowd of demons forming around them. Obviously, the group had called way too much attention with all the commotion from the fight. The earth mare rapidly leaped past the sleepy-looking demon, stopping near Klarix, and assumed a defensive stance.

 

"Stay behind me! And, uh... keep doing that thing you're doing!" She said as she stared down each one of the menacing creatures surounding the two mares, holding the enormous blade with her mouth.

 

"Bring it on."

[ActFast231 432]

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Nexus had his back against the desk, amazed that his wounds were healing. His blood was regenerating as well. The scars on his face were gone, as was the damage to his throat. He waited a little longer after it finished to see of it would heal his left eye to heal. It didn't. He still couldn't see out of it. The eye itself was now grey in color, and clearly dead. Though it still moved in sync with the other eye, the retina was damaged enough to blind him. 

 

With a groan, he got to his hooves to see how things were going. It looked like demons surrounded Klarix and Lume. He remembered those two saving him. Guess it's time to return the favor. He crept up to the group, oblivious to his presence. He also returned his helmet to his head, the patch now covering the blinded eye. When he got close, Nexus took both claws, got up on his hind legs, and stabbed two demons in the back of their heads. The fell to the ground, the demons looking over in shock, Nexus simply grinning.

 

"Sorry to keep you all waiting."

Edited August 8, 2013 by ActFast231