*WHAT* INSERTION?
by Curtis Wildcat
PROLOGUE
Part D
"So be it... Jedi."
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Location: Phibrizzo's palace, Sairaag
Time: After midnight-early morning
Phibrizzo's eyes widened a bit at Curtis's suggestion. Why anyone would suggest such a thing to him- - -to him- - -was utterly absurd. Why even bother? Following through on this idea would mean that he would have to leave everything he knew behind. Granted it wasn't much; the only keepsake he had was a bracelet left over from some prior event, and he was never too fond of his surroundings. The fact remained nonetheless that he wanted to stay where he was and carry out his race's ultimate goal, even if it mean his death. Especially if it meant his death.
And yet if he went through on his plans... "Go on," Phibrizzo urged reluctantly. "Just how do you propose we accomplish this...'ultra-dimensional teleportation'?"
"Inter-dimensional. First off, you do what you were originally planning on doing," Curtis told him with trepidation in his voice, shivering. "You drive Lina to desperation and force her to resort to the Giga Slave."
Phibrizzo blinked. "I'm not sure I get it. You're asking me to do what you basically told me not to do."
"I thought about it some and changed my mind. Like I said to you earlier: the Lord of Nightmares shows up right after you disrupt Lina's control of the spell. I'm planning on having her send us on our way."
There was a pause as Phibrizzo considered the implications of this; such a maneuver would be extremely risky and stupid. For all his claims of knowledge, the fat human didn't know what he was getting them into. The Mother Of All wasn't just a person to be spoken with face to face, and Curtis had probably never had a single encounter with anything magical, or worse, in his life. He had never known true fear or looked death in the face.
But after a few moments of thoughtful silence, he decided that it would be worth the risk... hopefully. It isn't like I'd have much choice in the matter if things run their course. "Go on..."
"She'll know something is wrong when either Inuyasha or myself switch places with you and ask to talk to her. It's likely she'll be willing to help us out; to her, having you exiled to another universe will be just as good as killing you off altogether. Even if it isn't as good, I'm going to take a chance and try to reach her through words. I understand what we're getting into, sort of, but it's pretty much the only chance we've got."
"You really think its worth a try, huh?" Phibrizzo murmured, turning over and staring upwards. "You're either the most idiotic person I've ever met, or the bravest... maybe even both. I don't know why I'm trusting you with this. I'm probably making the biggest mistake in my race's history... so why do I feel like this is the best move to make?"
Neither of them answered, which turned out to be the right thing to do. After a moment of silent introspection, he nodded. "All right, I'll chance it. Now, you said Inverse was coming tonight, right? Not 'tonight' as in 'this night', but tonight as in... well, you know what I mean."
"Yeah. They'll make an attempt to enter the palace during the day, fail in a very comical way, then succeed during the night." There was a brief pause. "I don't have much else to do until then, so I'm just going to sit back and rewatch some the material I've recollected here. Whether you want to watch or not at some point is up to you."
Phibrizzo nodded, and continued staring at the ceiling. Very soon, he and his unwitting companions would be blasted clear into another universe... if things went the way the chubby human seemed to think they would go. And if they didn't...well, at least all of them would be going out with a bang.
The mazoku didn't even bother trying to wipe away the silver drop that brimmed on the edge of one eye, even though his race weren't supposed to possess such things.
Very soon.
/-/-/-/-/
Just as Curtis said, Lina Inverse and two others- - -the priestess and the rival swordsman- - -were able to penetrate the palace's outer wall and enter the throne room. For the sake of appearances, Phibrizzo kept up the act until Lina finally started to gather power into her hands. Smiling outwardly, he directed a minor blast into that point and caused a tremendous explosion.
When the dust cleared away and the localized winds lashed out at him, Lina was still there- - -only she was shining gold and throwing waves of power around solely by existing. When Phibrizzo questioned her, the voice that spoke to him wasn't entirely her own.
She had arrived. The dark lord fought the urge to flee as the air burned with mightiness, filling to the brim with chaos.
Tensing himself, Phibrizzo turned his thoughts inwards. Alright, you two. If you're going to do this, now's the time!
He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or nervous when he saw Inuyasha step forward and press that button.
/-/-/-/-/
She knew what she had come here to do. She knew that the one known as Gourry Gabriev was to be restored to life; such were the thoughts of the form she inhabited. She knew and expected that Phibrizzo would attempt to oppose her.
What she didn't expect was that there was someone else in the area: one that was keeping the aforementioned mazoku from attacking her outright. And it wasn't until the change occurred that she finally noticed that Phibrizzo was not entirely himself.
"So you're the Lord of Nightmares, huh?" the voice of Phibrizzo uttered. "Aren't you supposed to be taller than that?"
There was a short pause as her power cascaded around her, destroying portions of the domed palace. She stared at the person that stood before her, studying him intently. "You are not the one I'm seeking to destroy," she finally intoned. "You are not of this reality. Who are you?"
"My name's Inuyasha," 'Phibrizzo' said, folding his arms away from the sword that he now possessed. He spoke as if he recognized her strength and the severe advantage she had over him, but not seeming to care about it. "We=ve encountered a slight problem, and I think your intended target's not very happy about it."
Focusing a little, she could faintly hear a child's voice say: "That's an understatement, dog boy." This was followed quickly by another voice that replied in a deadpan: "You really know how to tick off the hanyou..." Further concentration revealed two rooms where her target was trapped, plus a human who watched the proceedings nervously. Interesting...
Finally, she spoke. "Continue, please."
"See, my unwilling companion and I are more or less permanently stuck inside this little psycho's head. We know what Lina wants you to do, but obliterating the runt will kill us too. If you don't mind, I'd much rather stay alive and see another day."
There was another pause. "I'm under no obligation to listen to you. When Lina Inverse brought me here, she had two intentions: to defeat Phibrizzo, and to rescue that which she values the most. I must accomplish those goals, and soon. My time here is limited."
After a second or so, there was another change. This time, the eyes changed to those of a human's; the hair turned brown, the sword disappeared, and the figure's waistline expanded slightly. She knew that she was now confronting the human, "Curtis" this time. So they can assume control at any time. I wonder just how long this has been in effect.
"Actually, I have a proposition for you," the human, still with Phibrizzo's voice, told her. "You d-don't suppose you would mind transferring us to another universe altogether? Do you have that ability, I=m hoping?"
Transfer between universes? That's an odd request. "As I've said, I don't need to listen to you. Why should I do this?"
The human gave his explanation to her, stuttering and shivering some at being in her presence and trying mightily to stay calm. "Reason #1: p-putting Phibrizzo- - -and us- - -into another universe would probably sever his connections with this world, and he would no longer be able to k-keep Gourry and the others imprisoned. That's one goal accomplished. At the same time, transferring him there when there's nothing he c-can really do about it would still qualify as a death, at least in a more symbolic sense. That's two goals. Reason #2: like he said, Inuyasha and I would really like to stay alive. We were b-both brought into this more or less on accident, but we would stay like to stay within Phibrizzo's mind. For now, anyway... I don=t think we have any real long-term g-goals at the present time."
It's a gamble, and he knows it... but they seem to be legitimate reasons, and their intentions are good. "Very well, then. Be warned, though: once Phibrizzo is transferred, you can expect no further help from me. There is no telling where you will find yourselves, and all connections to this world... this UNIVERSE... will shatter like you stated. That means that you and the others will be out of my reach completely. Do you understand?"
'Curtis' nodded. "We talked it over, and we decided to chance it. Y-you'll be able to do this then?"
"Indeed. Be thankful and count yourself fortunate, little one; if it weren't for the memories I absorbed from Inverse, this wouldn't be taking place."
Curtis shrugged. "Whichever's the case, thank you."
You're more than welcome. Although I won't be there to see it, knowing that the two of you will be reshaping his demented views pleases me on some level. Raising the hand that didn't have the black sphere hovering above it, she zapped Phibrizzo (Or the human; it really depends, she mused) with an orb of yellow light. She could feel the crystal prisons of the humans behind her destabilizing, releasing their captives. Over the course of twenty seconds her target faded and disappeared, not even leaving cursory traces behind.
Hearing a startled gasp behind her, she slowly turned and prepared herself for the explanation that was to follow.
/-/-/-/-/-/
The shockwave of displaced energy that marked Phibrizzo's disappearance rippled across the entire planet. It was not enough to do any harm to anyone, and those not properly attuned to its magics didn't notice it, but it left its mark wherever it went.
With one of the four primary energies gone, the barrier that had stood since the War of the Monsters' Fall was no longer able to support itself.
Some of Ceiphied's followers felt the disturbance and sent their fastest scouts to investigate what transpired. By the time they reached the area, however, everyone had left for other locales.
And elsewhere, a waitress figured that someone would be paying her a visit sometime in the next year or so. She shrugged and went about her business, wondering briefly if her wayward sister had something to do with it.
/-/-/-/-/-/
Many miles away in a hidden palace, an aqua-haired young woman floated within the clutches of insanity. Her eyes were wide open, seeing blackness where marble walls were standing. She muttered and shouted sayings that she could not hear, her very words making the walls and pillars tremble.
The wave of energy rolled through the palace. When it reached the woman, something about it seemed to soothe her heart and mind. Slowly but surely, whatever had been troubling her for centuries disappeared. As it did so she collapsed on the floor, the exhaustion of many a rant overcoming her as the shockwave moved on. The deep pit of blackness that unconsciousness represented had never been so inviting.
And for possibly the first time in her life, the mazoku dreamed.
/-/-/-/-/
Certain others did not find being surrounded by pitch blackness as pleasant.
As it was, another switch had violently taken place when the Lord of Nightmares' blast initiated the transfer. Phibrizzo had regained control, and Curtis had been forcefully thrown out of the "Switch" area and nearly clear into the hallway. After first giving control to Curtis, Inuyasha had stepped clear, but this didn't stop him from needing to jam Tessaiga into the ground and holding on tight. He wanted to be awake when things started happening again, and being blown away wouldn't help at all.
As for Phibrizzo himself, the unhappy mazoku had lost consciousness immediately; this caused all sources of illumination in the room to shut off. Although there wasn't any way to tell what time it was, Inuyasha felt that it had to have been at least a half-hour since it started. Finally getting upset, he yelled: "I can't see! Where're the stupid lights already?!"
The metallic ceiling panels glowed a soft white, surprising Inuyasha for a second. Not what I had in mind, but it'll do, Inuyasha thought. At least now I can navigate.
Looking outside, he confirmed that it was still dark. He could hear some voices outside, so that meant Phibrizzo's hearing was functional. Stepping closer to the viewport, he strained his ears so he could tell who was talking.
"Hey! Is he okay?" "There's another one over there!" "This must've happened at the same time." "I wonder who did this?" "Wake up, kid. Are you alright?"
Apprehensively, he loosened Tessaiga from the ground and sheathed it, then walked over to the panel of buttons on the wall. "Better 'wake up, kid'," Inuyasha growled, pushing a button labeled 'Wakeup Call'.
The exterior view began to brighten, and Inuyasha walked over to see if Curtis was watching this. After confirming that the human hadn't been jarred into the same unconsciousness Phibrizzo had been under and was instead forcing himself to his feet, he gazed outside and wondered what random universe the Lord of Nightmares had placed them in...
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Conclusion of Prologue
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Author's Notes
(New Note 9-8-2014:) It has been suggested to me that I include a brief synopsis showing which characters came from where at the end of the chapter that they appear in. I will not do this, for one good reason: it's unneeded. It should be fairly obvious which settings are front and center in this story, so if anyone wants to know who the characters are or what their true personas are like, they can do their own research elsewhere on the Internet.
If the characters come from outside the main crossovers or are wholly original, I will make that much clear in the Author's Notes at my forum.
(New Note 9-8-2014:) That's it for the prologue. If you weren't put off by it, brace yourself: it'll only get worse before it gets better. Ciao mein, everyone, and remember:
I'm here to make life just a little more surreal.