4.1 (RocjawCypher)
Taylor jerked Awake in her hospital bed, body arching in half remebered agony before she collapsed back on to her pillow, panting for breath.
"Nhhegh!" Taylor gritted out with a shudder, desperately trying to purge the memory of her body turning to crystal, molecule by excruciating molecule. The last loop had been a bad one. She'd been in the wards that attempt, trying to help mitigate the damage from the Bakuda incident via search and rescue, only to find one bomb with her feet instead of her bugs.
As she let her breathing slow, a feeling of numbness across her senses as she forced the memory from her mind, she began to consider just how she could avoid that again. Reaching out to her swa-
Her swarm was gone. She froze, still grasping at nothing with a limb that didn't exist. She panicked momentarily, frantically searching for some sign of her powers, as her eyes darted across the sunny, white, hospital room.
This was the one she'd ended up in just after the locker incident, so she should have triggered by now, unless-
She froze again, before relaxing. Different powers. Probably not Queen Administrator, but thankfully not powerless. A moment of silently sensing her shard let her tag it as Imp's based on her scattered memories of the golden morning.
'Useful,' she mused, 'Not overpowered, but a solid piece of work.' With a little bit of planning she could do some serious damage to her opponents, but where to start?
"Bakuda..." the name slipped from her lips unconsciously, as faint twinges of pain wracked her once more. With a decidedly unpleasant smile, she began to consider just how quickly she could piss off Bakuda bad enough to bring down her base on top of her own head, slow and measured steps taking her towards the door as she whistled the tune to the ghostbuster's theme.
She was going to enjoy this.
4.2 (Solaris Requiem) (No Time For Games, pt 2) (3.6 cont)
The Horror, as Ciaphas had called it, was a literal fear aura that gnawed at the minds of those around it with its inhuman and utterly alien presence. I broadcast it through Hermes in order to send the message across loud and clear. The fact that the Swarmlord was 20 feet tall, armed, and armored to the teeth also helped.
The people nearby scattered almost immediately as the psionic wave took hold in their minds. Some screamed, some wept, some wet themselves, but they all ran from Hermes. They ran from me.
There was a single road out of the castle and back into the city proper. Said route was, probably, being used by the Buddy Police as they made their way here in the first place. Downside of having the club take place in such a remote location.
"What kind of monster is that?" Suzaku frowned. I tilted my head as I noticed that he was still coherent despite taking The Horror straight on. It looked like he was stronger than he looked. I took partial control of Hermes once more and used his vocal chords to speak.
"I am Hermes," the Swarmlord spoke with a voice that shook the very air in its horrific might, "Lord of the Swarm. The Devourer and the Conqueror."
"So you're one of Yamigeddo's 100 Demons," Suzaku sneered before he turned to me. "I'm surprised that the World Eater took the form of a human girl. I knew we shouldn't have let humans watch over the seal. Typical human incompetence," the man sighed.
I had no idea who the heck this Yamigeddo was, but I could see him set on edge. I could work with that. But there was something about that last sentence that caught my attention.
"We?" I tilted my head. Suzaku chuckled darkly.
"All that time behind that seal of yours must have made your memory rusty. Allow me to remind you," he said as he snapped his fan shut. There was a swirl of power and light and an explosion of power as a star descended onto the stadium floor.
Massive wings, pulsing with a rainbow of energy unfolded. Gilded scales that shimmered with latent energy shone brightly despite the stadium lights. Weapons of energy and armor that was beautiful and deadly sang with light and sound. He stood taller than Hermes and glowered down at me in utter contempt. Several other monsters, most likely his personal bodyguards, manifested beside him.
"I am Variable Cord," the dragon spoke, "the Sixth of the Eight Omni-Lords. The ones who sealed you away countless centuries ago. I will also be the one to destroy you,"
Well, crap. God-awful name aside, it looked like he didn't just share his attitude with Lung. Now I had to deal with a rainbow robot dragon that was clad head to toe in tinkertech armor. Oh well, I wasn't looking to fight him to win. All I had to do was to stall for time for the police to arrive. It was… weird to be able to say those kind of things. I wasn't used to working with a reasonably powerful and competent police force.
I called forth other members of the Tyranid Hive to match their number. Tyrant Warriors with their bone sabers and Acid cannons and Tyrant Guards with their heavy weaponry and armor stepped forth. For every dragon Variable Cord had called, a Tyranid met them bearing weapons and hissing with wrath. I connected each one to the Hive Mind and to the network of the surrounding Tyranids. With each connection, the collective Tyranid force grew stronger and stronger as their minds resonated with each other in perfect harmony.
Now Cord's minions looked cautious and reasonably nervous at an almost intimidating fight force now that I was no longer outnumbered. I scoffed. Did they play so many games that they had forgotten how to fight? The Tyranid Hive Mind had eons of experience and power to back them up. The Hive had devoured galaxies and created a force that was the stuff of nightmares back in the 40k Loop.
They showed a brief moment of hesitation and I took advantage of it. Hermes roared with fury and charged at Variable Cord, and then the battle started. In the chaos of the battle I entered stealth, managing my Tyranid troops as I did so, and left behind an insect double.
I still had work to do after all. There were still monsters imprisoned here and I needed to make sure they got out before the building inevitably collapsed.
-x-x-x-x-
"Please save me!" a man in a suit babbled as he clutched an officer's uniform. His eyes were manic and wild with fear. "Please, I won't attend the club again! I'll pay back my debts! I'll go to jail! Please just take me away from that thing!"
The officer looked unnerved and he wasn't the only one. The road was packed with countless people and Monsters alike, desperate to get away from whatever had happened at the castle. It was something that sent a shiver down Tasuku's spine.
"Tasuku, do you feel that?" Jack growled as his armor and cybernetic augments hummed with energy. The Looper looked towards the path that they had come from and shuddered. He could definitely feel… something coming from the direction of that the throng of people had come from. Something very, very wrong.
Tasuku's communicator buzzed before he brought it to his ear, "Tasuku here."
"Tasuku, you need to go on ahead. All of the officers are currently tied up arresting and keeping the member of the Buddyfight Club from escaping," the communicator buzzed. "Intel suggests that Skitter either IS an Illegal Monster or she had back-up from them. And you know how dangerous they can be."
Tasuku frowned. Illegal monsters were monsters who came to Earth without registering with the Buddy Police. Such Monsters didn't have the necessary safeguards and restraints that kept their powers under control. Those restraints were what prevented Monsters from utilizing their full power outside of Buddyfights. Without them, Illegal Monsters could easily wreak havoc and destruction within seconds.
"Jack and I will keep that in mind. Anything else?" he asked. The communicator buzzed briefly before a reply came.
"You have full authority to use Future Force as you see fit. You can use it to manifest whatever cards you find to be necessary into reality. Don't take any chances."
"Roger," Tasuku sighed with relief as he activated his deck case. The device morphed into a hovering star that scattered sparks of light in the night. Two wheels of light materialized on the sides of his feet, allowing him to take to the air alongside his partner.
"Command must be spooked to have granted you the authorization off the back," Jack huffed as the two made their way closer to their own destination.
"They're scared of Skitter," Tasuku replied. "None of us had to deal with a vigilante before: they don't know how to deal with her."
"Drum dealt with a few during his time in Hero World," Jack reminded him. "Unfortunately neither he or Gao are part of the police force yet. We can't call on them for help."
"Right. Do you have the Emblem?" Tasuku inquired. Jack nodded and pulled the Omni-Lord Emblem out of his Pocket. Jack had obtained Suzaku's emblem in a previous Loop and had taken it when the Omni-Lord had turned rogue several Loops ago.
"I will use it if I need to. But with your help it won't be necessary," Jack grinned. Tasuku smiled as he patted his partner's side, reassured by his partner's presence.
"We need to hurry. Skitter doesn't stand a chance against Cord in a Buddyfight."
-x-x-x-x-
I found my way to the prison-tower, augmenting my body and armor with my psychic abilities. The battle between Cord and Hermes was still underway. Although the forces were even in power, strength, and numbers, my Tyranid troops had veritable millennia of combat experience and prowess to draw from. They were united under my will, and the previous stalemate slowly began to become weighted in my favor.
Maybe if they hadn't wasted time playing games all the time they would have been more prepared for combat, I thought cynically. The real world didn't work like a TV show: card games didn't solve everything. If things were solved by something as childish as that then the world would have been a much simpler place.
Perhaps I was projecting my thoughts onto this new Loop, but I honestly couldn't bring myself to care. I wasn't about to let this world become like Brockton Bay and Earth Bet.
"What do you think is going on?" a voice called out as I approached the entrance to the tower.
"Beats me, the boss told us to not move from here," another replied. I frowned as I stopped moving, quickly calling upon my insects to scout out. There were two monster standing guard just inside of the prison complex. A dragon in battle armor as well as a robot with sleek weapons.
"Just being around this place makes me sick," one dragon sighed as he glanced back towards the prison block. His scales were pitch black and his eyes were a light blue, "It just feels… wrong you know?"
"I don't like it either but orders are orders. All of the monsters here were abandoned by their partners," his partner, a robot with blue armor and a large halberd spat. "Humans are scum, as usual. They didn't even glance back when we took them away. They're better off here then with them. At least they have a chance of getting a better partner when they get a buyer."
I tilted my head as I watched them bicker to each other and chatter, oblivious to my presence. But perhaps those attitudes could be put to use. I decloaked and walked straight in, keeping my swarm around me in a buzzing storm of wings and shells.
"Heads up, we've got company," the dragon growled as I approached them. I made no overly aggressive maneuvers, but the threat was still present.
"I'm not here for a fight," my swarm spoke. "I'm just here to free the other Monsters. Neither of you like working here, correct?"
"Cord will have our hides if we let you through," the robot replied. "We're both Illegal Monsters. If either of us so much as breathe wrongly we'll have to fend off for ourselves from the Buddy Police."
"The Buddy Police are already on their way. They're already rounding up the people who ran away from Hermes," my swarm buzzed. Both of the Monsters tensed as I continued, "But I'll make you a better deal than Cord. The Buddy Police already think that I have insiders within the club working for me. Act the part and you'll be able to get some leniency from the Police."
The dragon frowned, "What's keeping you from stabbing us in the back, Skitter? I've heard all about your reputation."
"Because unlike him I keep my word," my swarm buzzed. "And what other choice do you have? Cord will either be dead or in custody by the end of the night."
"She has a point," the robot drawled. "Look at it this way Tyris, she can't be worse than Cord."
The dragon looked conflicted before he finally sighed, "Fine, you win Caduto." The dragon pulled out a glowing device from his armor and tossed it to me.
"There's a lot of monsters here so we're going to need your help to if we're going to let get all of them out of their binds. That's the master key to the west tower. Take care of the monsters locked up there and we'll meet you outside in the courtyard."
"Very well," my swarm buzzed as I left them behind to move on. I watched them delve deep within the prison block, complying with my proposal even as I quickly made my way to the other side of the castle.
A low rumble shook the ground as I saw Cord fire a blast that shook the foundations of the castle through the eyes of my Tyranid troops. Hermes was beginning to push Cord into a corner while the lesser Tyranids were slowly making their way through his advanced guard.
I had to hurry, lest Cord decided to bring down the castle roof down on top of my swarm.
4.3 (Harry Leferts)
The gentle clacking of fingers against keys could be heard as Taylor worked inside the workshop she had set up inside of her Pocket as she continued to work on a pet project of sorts. If one of a few people from her loop were there, they would have recognized the programming on the screen depending on what point in the loop they were at. After so long, the coding was familiar to Taylor herself from all the work she had done on it...
Dragon's coding.
Pausing for a moment to sip her tea, Taylor hummed as she allowed herself to drift off into memories for a moment in regards to when she had decided to work on unchaining Dragon. After a number of attempts at changing how things went had lead to worse outcomes, Taylor had despaired of ever being able to mitigate as much of Golden Morning as possible. A number of times, she had been locked up because she was an obviously insane Parahuman, a slip of her tongue causing the PRT to come down on her, or Cauldron deciding to use her in some way. It didn't help matters that Thomas Calvert, Coil, sometimes had her taken out. Or Contessa showed up to do something similar as she was going to reveal too much. Alternatively, she set things off too early and had to see those she cared for die.
Hence her falling deeper into despair.
It was around this point that when she looped into other Branches, she would spend her time pretending to be whoever she looped in as. Not stealthing like some loopers, outright submerging herself into the persona like one time she had done so as Twilight Sparkle. Mainly because it was both easier to forget her failures and because it gave her a taste of the type of life she had wanted from the start. Thankfully, some of the other loopers noticed what was going on and gave her both an ear to talk to as well as someone to help. Strangely, Gendo Ikari was one of the more helpful ones at that as he pointed out that if she has a large endgame with a global conspiracy involved, to start small and work her way up.
A laugh escaped from Taylor as she shook her head in amusement. No one would in their right minds would ever claim that unchaining Dragon would be something small or easy. But spending some of her free time during her loops on the project had helped both pass the time and given her something to do besides testing what changes she could make before they got too problematic. The fact that her relationship with Dragon was usually good no matter the loop helped. Sometimes the AI was a good friend, more then once she was like an older sister figure which Taylor liked having...
Other times she was the mother figure that part of her wanted.
Even if Dragon never looped, Taylor would be happy just freeing her. A glance to the side where a number of Saint's armors were caused the Anchor to snort as she was reminded that she needed to track him down again this loop. Right then though, her attention was grabbed by a ding and she opened her Pocket just enough to get a signal through and waited. On her screen, there the video of Sophia, Madison, and Emma walking down the street. Raising one hand, Taylor slowly counted down as above the three, a small drone flew. Then it dumped it's load of purple slime on all three of them and, as she watched the three screech as they slipped and slid in the goo, Taylor let herself have a small smile of satisfaction. Sure, she might not really care about the three anymore, but she was willing to prank them from time to time as a form of revenge. A flash of light showed her Clockblocker in costume staring at the three before he had to support himself from laughing too hard.
Tapping one finger against the desk, Taylor just hummed as she saved the video and nodded before glancing at the bag of Haribo sugar free gummie bears. "Now who should I slip you to..."
4.4 (BIOS-Pherecydes)
I Awoke to the pleasant sensation of my arm being reduced to a pulpy mass of flesh and bone fragments. As the ceiling collapsed overhead and I was thrown towards the entrance to Cauldron's 'garden of Eden' I had time to reflect that it probably said something about the Loop that I still consider this a better Awakening point than the never to be sufficiently damned locker. Getting to my feet I stumbled slightly and braced myself against the wall, experience having taught me that Sveta was just as capable of doing what she had done to my arm to the rest of me. Not a pleasant way to end a Loop.
A quick examination proved that I still had Pocket access and I spent the next few moments going over My Loop memories as I waited for Sveta to recover enough to leave as she always did. No discrepancies that I could see so far, which was both good and bad. Good because I didn't have to worry about any unexpected variables popping up, bad because it didn't exactly leave me much time to try and kill Scion. I may have gotten better at convincing the world's cape's to fight together to take down the Golden Jackass, but it was typically a lot easier to do if I had time to set it up properly.
"I'm going to leave. I'm going where there aren't any people." Sveta spoke up. I couldn't help the pity I felt once again at the girl who had been unfairly forced into Cauldron's experimentation and was now little more than a backseat driver. As much as I wanted to though I couldn't help her, not yet, so I said nothing and waited for her to go.
Only once she was gone did I dare to move again, reaching into my Pocket and grabbing a small needle which I stuck into my nearly jellified arm. Suppressing a hiss as I felt my arm restoring itself, I sent out a Ping as I moved into the open space where Scion floated unmoving. The response was immediate and I smiled to myself as I reached out with my swarm, which by this point covered most of the planet, to try and locate the Looper.
Sadly it didn't look like any of the Undersiders were up and about this Loop, nor Golem further in Eden's tomb. However there was an unusual movement around Eden's corpse that caught my attention. Picking up the pace I soon caught up to Lung, Rachel and her dogs; they having crashed through any obstacles in their way as past experience had taught me they would, I had planned my course accordingly. Rachel offered me a hand up and I accepted the offer, taking a place on Bastard's back; Lung just tossed me an irritated glare and grunted. Beats having my ruined arm burnt off, let me tell you.
Accepting the unconscious Canary from Rachel, I turned my attention to the others. Golem, Cuff and Imp were doing fine at the moment, but I sent over a few bugs to direct them away from the more twisted geometries of the second Entity's corpse. Likewise, the remaining Cauldron capes, Harbingers and the Case 53s were safe as well; the bugs I sent over to them had a much higher proportion of venomous insects, just in case. If nothing else they would provide me with early warning in case they got any funny ideas.
Wordlessly I guided Rachel around the falling debris and towards paths which her dogs could use, Lung following in his loping gait as we moved towards the other groups. In short order we had regathered, and I passed Canary back to Rachel as I slid off Bastard. Turning to survey the area I froze.
Throughout the journey I had caught several glimpses of the unknown things which had caught my attention earlier, but always out of the corner of my eye or the edge of my currently limited swarm. Now however I finally had a chance to see them clearly. Small and white, deceptively cute with long ears surrounded by golden rings and unfeeling red eyes, they littered the entity's corpse like lice; freely passing back and forth between the fractal spaces where Eden disappeared into the well. "Incubator."
As one they paused from eating the remains of Scion's partner, turning to look at me, before returning to their feast. I caught the Number Man give me a speculative glance and I turned to look at him. "You know of these creatures?"
I considered not answering, but decided it didn't matter. "Sort of. What are they?"
He shrugged. "We aren't actually sure. They've been here since the beginning of Cauldron's formation, ever since the Entity's death. Until now I had assumed them to simply be parasites. The nature of their response to that title just now suggests that isn't accurate."
-I suppose that isn't far from the truth. Although perhaps symbiotes would be more accurate. After all, we Incubators were the source of the one's you call Entities.-
I stiffened at that, involuntarily, and the Incubator which had taken the time to approach us and speak turned to face me. -At least this Loop. I assume you are Awake correct? You needn't fear the others can't hear us right now.-
"Whoa, these little cat things are Scion's parents? How does that work? Do you think we can calm him down with some catnip?" Imp asked, picking up one of the Incubators.
"Put it down Imp, trust me you don't want to be anywhere near them. Golem what's Scion doing?" I asked, mentally responding to the Incubator. «What do you mean you're responsible for Scion?»
"He's just floating there, in front of that other one." Golem answered.
-It's quite simple really. Our race discovered the primordial ancestors of these creatures and developed an entirely different methodology for salvaging the universe. Instead of the Magical Girl system, we created this Entity System. The creatures gained the ability to evolve and continue to survive, and in return we were given the ability to follow alongside them and benefit from their life-cycles in our desire to avert the universe's Heat Death.-
«So then, in this Loop, Scion is...»
-A Witch yes. Or a form of one anyway, the Entities are more accurately defined as a mix between Magical Girls and Witches. I admit the idea is rather fascinating, We Incubators would be very interested in seeing whether we could replicate the process in other Loops, unfortunately the time expenditure is far too demanding to provide any conclusive data more often than not. I suppose this is just one more method to be placed in reserve for after the Loops end. The recovered material I've assimilated from this Entity is more than sufficient to reproduce the effects at a later point.-
"Alright, then while he's distracted we should try and find a way out of here."
-That won't be necessary.-
Everyone turned back to face the Incubator, so I guessed that that meant the private conversation was over.
-There is nothing more to be gained from this part of the cycle, and it is likely that even with all of my bodies I won't be able to consume the entirety of this creature within the next few days. The one you call Scion is of no further use to us and so I will offer you this.- Another of the Incubators appeared holding a small black object in its mouth. -This is what is known as a Soul Gem. Think of Scion as being a puppet controlled by his true self; his, for lack of a better term, soul. Destroy the soul and the body will die.-
Without ceremony I stomped on the Soul Gem, and Scion dropped from the air like a bag of rocks. It was both oddly anticlimactic, and remarkably satisfying. Literally crushing Scion beneath my heel; whatever else happens this Loop this is going in my Top Ten favorite victories.
The Number Man gaped. "That's it? After all these years, that's all we had to do?"
-Essentially.-
"Why didn't you ever tell us?!" he growled.
Kyubey tilted his head. -You never asked.-
"...You know, aside from the whole 'being ultimately responsible for every bad thing that happened to us and the near genocide of humanity' I kinda like this thing! Can we keep it?" Imp asked, holding one of the Incubators like a plush toy.
I couldn't help it; I laughed. Definitely top ten.
4.2 cont (Solaris Requiem) (No Time For Games pt 3)
How long had he been here? Khalon thought to himself glanced back to the stone wall and the bars of his cell. It was hard to keep track of time from the depths of this hellhole that he found himself in.
Trust your buddy, his father had told him. The dragon scoffed bitterly; some advice that was. He had trust his partner when he was led into this place. He had trusted his partner when they had participated in that god-forsaken tournament. He had still trusted him when they took him away bound in chains.
The betrayal still hurt even after all this time. His so called, 'buddy' hadn't even bothered to look back at him as he left. Not a single goodbye, not a single word. All that was left was a dragon that had been disposed of like a piece of trash.
The former buddy monster was shaken out of his thoughts by the shaking of the walls and castle. Things that were common around here, especially since monsters were able to go all out during Buddyfights. But for some reason those tremors and shockwaves had been going on a lot more frequently.
"What's going on?" his cellmate, a lion armed to the teeth with Danger World augments and cybernetics, asked. "It's not normally like this."
"Cord's probably going up against another challenger," the dragon sighed. "So another monster's going to be thrown into the pit. Just like the rest of us."
"Has anyone even won against him?" the lion asked as he placed his head in his hands. The glowing rings that pulsed with light restrained him into a much smaller and weaker form. Kha scoffed.
"No. Everyone who has went against Cord in a Buddyfight has lost. Why would this time be any different?"
"Because," a buzzing voice replied, shocking the two monsters and causing a ruckus amongst the other prisoners, "I'm not going to follow his rules." Kha's eyes, long having adjusted to the dark long ago, noticed a shadow outside of their cell. The light from the cell window cast a dark window on upon the new arrival. The figure was slender and tall; the black armor they wore was segmented like a shell of a bug, and golden lenses met the dragon's eyes.
"Let me guess, you're the new jailer?"
The lion seemed a bit more apprehensive as he sniffed the air, "No… she's human."
"What?" he hissed, as he got up from his seat from his seat.
"He's right. And I'm not your jailer. In fact," the figure pulled out a digital key and held it up for both of them to see, "I'm here to get all of you out of here." The room fell silent.
"What good will that do if you free us?" the dragon asked bitterly. "None of us have any other place to go. Don't you know? We were all discarded like items to be sold to highest bidder. Even if we CAN get out of here there's nothing left for us."
There were murmurs of agreement amongst the monster imprisoned. The figure tensed her posture shifted. The buzzing around her died down as she tilted her head and reached behind it, undoing a few clasps and pulling the mask from her face. Kha could see pale freckled skin, long hair, and two deep brown eyes that seemed to burn.
"And what will you do here? Rot away? To spend the rest of your lives in the darkness?" the figure's voice had changed. It was the voice of a girl; soft and quiet but burned with a cold flame. Even though her previous voice was loud and grated against the ears of every monster present, the figure's true voice was still heard just as well.
"So what if your buddies abandoned you? Are you going to give up just because of what a single kid did? I know all of you feel betrayed, I know all of you are hurting. Life is like that. Sometimes Murphy decides to screw you over and you end up in a place like this."
The figure's voice reached a fever pitch, slowly rising in volume and power, "I will be the first person to admit that people, humans especially, aren't the most moral of folks. They're stupid, forgetful, selfish, and power-hungry. But then you find that one person, that group of friends, the people that help you keep getting up in the morning. Sometimes you clash, sometimes you argue, but guess what? The world doesn't care. You just pick yourself up off of the ground and put one step in front of the other."
The murmuring of the other prisoners was growing louder as the figure continued to speak. Kha couldn't help but to find himself… drawn to her words and he listened without so much as making a single sound.
The girl held fire in her voice that slowly grew to a fever pitch; weaving words like a spider would weave a web. Her charisma hushed the crowd but paradoxically began to fill the entire building with a rising tide of sound.
"If you let yourself fall behind, to drown, then you'll be back where you started. So no matter what happens, no matter how many times you get hurt or how many times things happen over and over again: pick yourself up and keep moving. Because the moment that you give up, the moment you let the world bring you down: then you'll lose everything."
The girl held up the key to the cell door and unlocked it with a soft beep. Now she stood in front of Kha, her hair and armor glimmering in the light of the stars and the moon. The key pulses in her hand and she hands it over to the dragon, who almost dropped it with his shaking hands.
"Now," the girl's voice softens to a whisper that seemed to echo throughout the prison, "Are you going to let the world win? Or are you going to fight against it?"
There was a moment of silence, a moment of baited breath. And then the entire complex erupted in a roar of defiance. The prison was filled with sound, might, and wonderful defiance.
Kha could see a triumphant grin on the girl's face as he undid his own shackles. The pieces of tech fell to the ground with a clatter as the lights and circuitry turned dark.
"Who are you?" the dragon asked. The girl was pulling back her hair to put her mask back on, but she gave him a kind and gentle smile that made his body feel warm and filled with energy. It felt a lot like hope.
"You can call me Skitter," she replied.
-x-x-x-x-
The mind of Hermes, of the Swarmlord, was highly intelligent but lacked the one thing that would make it an individual. It was sentience without sapience; awareness without thought. It had no need for such things; the Queen provided anything that would be necessary for victory.
The Swarmlord was designed to be an answer to the problems that normal Tyranid tactics failed against. As such the number of times that the Swarmlord was called were few in number: but countless millennia of slaughter and conquest had granted it a veritable wealth of combat experience. It's opponent, although stronger than the rest, would not be able to stand against it.
The Swarmlord could feel the Queen's suppressed wrath through the Hive Mind, and the feeling of cold rage was broadcasted to every Tyranid around it. Their strength and vicious fury doubled as the robotic Dragoarms that Cord had called forth. Every time a Tyranid fell, rent apart by energy weapons or felled by blades and light, another one took its place with sharpened weapons and unbridled fury.
In contrast, Cord's minions could not be so easily replaced. A fatal blow would reduce the Dragoarm into a motes of light that would return to Cord. The dragon's forces were slowly beginning to dwindle while those of the Tyranids were only growing stronger with each loss.
Hermes felt the will of the Queen touch its mind. It bowed to Her will and let Her speak through it.
"Skitter told me to leave you alive," Hermes stated, the Queen speaking through its mouth. Cord fired a blinding beam of energy towards the Hive Tyrant, only for two of its bone blades to scatter the attack into motes of light. The Biomorph weapons glowed with psychic energy that energized and honed the blade. "But she didn't say that I couldn't make you wish that you were dead."
"You haven't been able to hurt me once," Cord rumbled, his digital voice now a clarion of digital noise and sound. His floated in the air upon wings of light with dozens of weapons orbiting around him. Several of them fired upon Hermes, only for the colossal abomination to vanish, teleporting behind Cord to strike again.
"I don't have to hit you to hurt you," Hermes growled as a burst of light and energy sent the Star Dragon to the other side of the arena. The dragon's natural abilities of flight were annoying to deal with. The feral, yet intelligent mind of the Swarmlord was beginning to become irritated.
Paroxysm
Every single nerve, or augmented equivalent of such, was struck at once by the psychic attack. Cord toppled to the ground as the sensory overload of complete agony wreaked havoc on all of his senses. His conscious systems failed, sending the dragon crashing to the arena floor.
The dragon was unable to even vocalize the pain, unable to even turn off his pain sensors. But something told him that it wouldn't have helped.
The Dragoarms attempted to get defend their lord, but a wall of Tyranid flesh and chitin blocked their way. Hermes slowly approached the fallen Omni-Lord, his sabers glowing with harnessed light and latent energy.
"Do you yield?" he growled as he stopped the psychic attack. The dragon glared at him with the crimson visor that served as eyes. There was a build-up of photon energy in the dragon's maw before the attack was silenced by another wave of crippling agony.
"I said, do you yield?" Hermes repeated as the beam was extinguished. The dragon growled in defiance.
"What kind of monster are you?!" he spat. "How are you able to defeat me so easily? Me, one of the 8 strongest monsters in the Worlds?"
Hermes chuckled, a haunting sound, "I have fought against creatures that could destroy entire cities in seconds. I have seen entire cities and continents drown under the tide. I saw cities and planets fall into rot and decay endless times."
Hermes could feel the Queen's complete and utter contempt surge through the Synaptic link, burrowing down into the dragon below him.
"How could you, a slave dealer who only plays games all day," Hermes spat, "ever hope to match me? How can you hope to fight against countless millennia of combat and conquest? You have forgotten how to fight and I have just proven that to all."
Cord growled, still defiant but refusing to meet Hermes' disgusted gaze.
"You don't have the right to call yourself a warrior, much less an 'Omni-Lord'. All I see is a spoiled brat who treats others of your kind like pawns. Like merchandise to be traded and given away like prizes." Hermes snarled. "Had Skitter not wanted you alive, I would have already cut your body apart and fed it to the Hive."
"You have no right to judge me. You're one of Yamigeddo's monsters. How many innocent people have you slaughtered? How many worlds has you master consumed?" Cord bit back, "Hypocrite."
Hermes laughed, shaking the ground with the force of its voice. It echoed through the arena and out of the castle, "Did you really think someone like Yamigeddo would waste time with dealing with a criminal organization? If Skitter was Yamigeddo then why would she turn you over to the Police? Why not kill you instead?"
The Tyranid shook his head while the smaller ones hissed at Cord's minions to stand back, "I don't have anything to do with this 'Yamigeddo' but I will tell you this. If these other 'Omni-Lords' are as strong as you are then this world is doomed."
Hermes rolled his shoulders before two more Tyranids emerged, one bore wings and a fanged maw while the other was around the size of a human with two pairs of bestial arms. The winged one screeched before it flew out of the window with a rush of air and sound. The smaller one walked up to Cord with a predatory gait while Hermes restrained Cord with a burst of Paroxysm. It made eye contact with the dragon before its eyes flashed.
Hypnotic Gaze
And Cord knew no more.
4.5 (BIOS-Pherecydes)
Leet sat in his workshop, the sound of music and soldering echoing back from the walls in all directions. He and Über had just finished up one of their broadcasts, a Tron style smash and grab that had actually worked out pretty well for a change, and he was currently checking their webratings. Up from last week, he noted; but a frown tugged at his lips as he noted the current number one. They'd shown up the previous week and taken the rating board by storm, all of his and Über's efforts were going unnoticed and it was starting to bug him.
"Hah! Take that you cheating bastard! Yet again I reign supreme!" Über's voice called out, jerking him from his brooding. With a chuckle, he figured what the hell and clicked on the link to the latest episode.
-x-x-x-x-
The lights flickered on a darkened space, a very creepy vibe emanating from the monitor. The doors creaked ominously, while the darkness seemed to move almost like a living thing, and a dog howled in the background; the noises somehow muted. A roach scuttled quickly across the lens of the camera abruptly before the view zoomed in on a darkened figure sitting in a chair; just barely visible in the shifting blackness which surrounded it. Slowly the miasma began to thin, shafts of sunlight shining through and illuminating a rather nice room.
In the far corner a figure wearing a bike helmet and emanating shadows played a racing game with another person in a ren faire getup. They didn't bother acknowledging the camera, too absorbed by their game, but the previously darkened figure in the chair turned her masked face towards the camera with a vulpine grin. "Hello all, and welcome back to your new favorite webshow. I'm Tattletale."
A tall, lanky figure in a dark costume came into the shot; taking a seat on the couch, and high-iving Tattletale in the process. She leaned back confidently as she face the camera, an amused tone in her voice as she spoke. "And I'm Skitter."
"And this, is Skit For Tat!"
"As always, don't bother trying to trace the broadcast; because as you know," She leaned in closer to Skitter as the spoke in unison.
"Tinker tech is bullshit!"
"Now some of you may recall that, contrary to PRT reports, our good friend Skitter here played a major role in taking down Lung about a week ago."
Skitter faced the camera straight on and spoke in a deadpan. "I made his crotch rot off. Accidentally."
Both the boys in the background flinched, and Tattletale laughed. Turning back to the camera, she continued with a grin. "What you may not know, is that a dear friend of his decided that she was going to try and break him free again. And guess what folks? She's here with us now!"
A canned applause track played for a few seconds.
"Say hello to our special guest for the night: Bakuda!"
The camera shifted to show a figure, clearly bound to a chair despite being covered in a layer of insects and struggling violently with her head covered in a cloud of darkness.
"Grue, if you would?"
The darkness parted briefly, revealing a blindfolded face covered in a modified gasmask of some sort. "inished the fucking Endbringers won't come near the stains on the wall that used to be your fucking faces! You hear me you worthless piec" The darkness closed back in.
"Give her a hand! Bakuda everyone! Skitter, would you like to explain to the people what our guest was up to before being invited onto the show?"
Skitter nodded her head, an air of amusement somehow radiating from her. "Bakuda decided to start recruiting while Lung was away. The PRT recently found themselves with a influx of ABB members happily turning themselves in after we let them know that their boss was coming on the show."
Tattletale spoke up. "For those who don't know, Bakuda's recruitment methods tend to have a zero percent refusal rate. Either you say yes, or you go boom. She likes to put little bombs in people's heads so they can't back down, and then set them off for shits and giggles. And her bombs do a lot more than just blow up. Some of you may have noticed Brockton Bay's newest iceburg, that's all her."
"And us." Skitter added.
Tattletale just grinned. "Luckily for all her conscripted troops, the Undersiders decided to pay a little visit to the ABB when they attempted to capture our good friend Bitch; who you may know as Hellhound."
Skitter looked at the camera again. "Don't call her that though. That's not her name."
"How right you are Skitter. And luckily for out adoring audience, we just so happen to have footage of our little counter-ambush from earlier. Let's take a look."
The video shifted to a monstrous four armed creature standing in the shower wearing a shower-cap that didn't do very much at all considering it's lack of anything resembling hair. Catching sight of the camera, it appeared to panic; pulling the shower curtain shut hard enough that it ripped off the bathroom wall.
The image switched back to Skitter, Tattletale and the Undersiders; the latter of which was stood with arm outstretched, staring down at the former who held her head in her hands with a shit-eating grin on her face while Grue and Regent laughed loudly in the background. Looking up with a wink, Tattletale smirked. "Whoops. Wrong footage. Let's try again."
The view changed to a high ground image of a deserted part of the Boat Graveyard. Bitch could be seen walking two of her dogs, pulling on the leash once when the lead animal strained ahead and then waiting while it calmed down. Abruptly roughly a dozen figures rushed her, apparently catching her by surprise and pinning her to the ground as her dogs began to swell in size. A new figure stepped into the picture, resolving into a clear shot of Bakuda.
"Ah ah ah ah, can't have that now." She pulled out a small object with a dozen blinking lights. "Order your mutts to heel or I spread them across the side of the building."
Bitch snarled furiously, but gave a sharp whistle. Both the dogs obeyed the command, sitting in place as a pair of goons warily stood guard.
"Good. Now then—"
That was as far as she got before being blindsided by a third dog, roughly the size of a small horse. Before she could recover she was swarmed by what looked like the entire city's population of bees, including hundreds of ridiculously
large wasps, and dozens of foot long centipedes. Around her a living tide of ants carried her bomb off the pier into the water before crawling over the exposed areas not covered by the bees.
Skitter and Tattletale calmly moved in, as Regent and Grue quickly dealt with the minions holding Bitch hostage. Tattletales voice sounded out. "I'd quit struggling if I were you. The bugs on you right now are the asian giant hornet, tarantula wasp, amazon giant centipede and a nest of bullet ants. Every one of those has a bite sting that measures at the top of the chart and can bring down a full grown man. I'd think pretty hard about my next move if I were you."
Smirking, she blew a kiss towards the camera before kneeling down by Bakuda's feet; the ants moving aside for her like a living carpet. Pulling off Bakuda's left shoe, the captured villain began struggling yet again. Regent waved casually and she stiffened tensely, long enough for Tattletale to remove a pair of toerings from her foot. Displaying them with a wide grin to the terrified men being held by Grue and the newly freed Bitch, she waved to get their attention. "See these? This is how she was going to blow up the bombs in your necks. Spread the word, she's got no power over you anymore. Maybe head into the PRT, see if they can get the bombs out."
The men's eyes widened before they sagged with relief, tears running down their faces as they thanked her profusely.
Tattletale shrugged casually. "No problem. It's what we do. Grue?"
The area rapidly swelled with darkness before the feed switched back to the Undersider's lair. Tattletale smirked. "In and out in five minutes. Final results: one supervillain captured and immobilized, one supervillain still behind bars, and the ABB gutted as half their conscripted army turns themselves in to get their bombs removed."
"Yeah, too bad you forgot to deactivate the bomb." Regent added in an amused tone.
Tattletale's grin slipped for a second before she shrugged. "Eh, maybe the iceburg will finally get the people in charge off their asses to clean up the junk in the Boat Graveyard."
Skitter snorted.
Tattletale put on a imitation of affront. "What? I can dream can't I? It's not like they'll just leave the dockworkers to try and clean up the mess again. They are supposed to be the protectors of the city after all, it would be pretty bad PR if they just left potentially dangerous Tinker affected materials lying around. Just think of the scandal!"
The amusement in her tone was blatantly obvious to everyone.
"I doubt they're going to just jump at the bait like that." Grue chimed in, his voice ringing with a hollow echo.
Skitter shrugged. "Even if they know she's baiting them, it's true. They can't take the chance that something might be leftover from Bakuda's explosion, and since it's right on top of the scrap in the Boat Graveyard they'll have to clean up the whole mess if they want to be sure."
"And that's just a coincidence, I'm sure. It's not like you could have had your creepy crawlies take the bomb somewhere else." Regent replied.
Skitter just shrugged again. "I have to live here too. Maybe I want my hometown to not be a slowly decaying wreck. If dropping a tinker tech bomb somewhere the authorities have to pay attention will do that, why not?"
"Why not indeed. After all," she shared a look with Skitter.
"Fucking Tinkers."
Turning back to the camera, she gave a wide grin. "That's it for today folks. We've got to see a scarily competent woman in a suit about having a blast with a multiversal space whale. Bakuda, say bye to the viewers."
The darkness surrounding the still struggling Bakuda split for a second, "testines down your nec" before closing in again.
"Or not. Ladies, gentlemen and undefined others, I'm Tattletale."
"I'm Skitter. And this has been,"
"Skit For Tat!"
-x-x-x-x-
Closing the browser with leaden fingers, Leet shakily glanced at the job offer pinned to his corkboard. He and Über had shown up at the meeting place at the right time, a spare costume ready for their temporary ally, only to be stood up. Über hadn't minded so much, seeing as they'd been paid in advance with the knowledge they wouldn't dare back out and Leet had grudgingly agreed. That was one less invention he could make after all, and it hadn't even been used!
Now though, he was counting his lucky stars. He made a mental note not to get on the bad side of the Undersiders if possible. If the ABB had been taken down that easily, he didn't even want to know what his and Über's chances were.
4.6 (Harry Leferts)
Looking across at the girl on the other side of the booth, Sprog raised an eyebrow as she sipped her tea. "So... Taylor, right?" At her blink, he continued as she reached up and fixed her gi. "If you don't mind, can I ask you something?"
Taylor glanced over to where Minerva, in her human form, was getting some snacks for them before nodding. "Shoot."
Slowly tapping his fingers against the table, Sprig hummed a bit before he shrugged. "You're from one of those superhero Branches, right? So why exactly are you interested in learning martial arts?"
Raising an eyebrow, Taylor set down her tea and then leaned her chin against her fist. "Why wouldn't I be?"
With a snort, Sprog shook his head and then sighed a bit. "Normally superheroes and the like don't bother. Don't get me wrong, both Minerva and I like having a fellow looper around. But it's still kind of odd, the two of us at least use it as a way to spend loops."
For almost a minute, Taylor was quiet before she answered, just as Minerva set a slice of cake in front of her and took a seat. "Baseline, my power is mainly controlling bugs. It's pretty amazing what I can do with it, but... I don't like relying on just that. My body is just a normal squishy human for the most part, so anything that can help me out I'll go for."
Raising an eyebrow as she swallowed her own bite of cake, Minerva frowned a bit. "I would have thought that there would be means in your home Branch..."
All Taylor did was shake her head with a chuckle as she waved around a fork. "I don't have all that much time to learn unfortunately. So Hub-Loops and near Hub-loops like your own I spend picking up skills like different ways of fighting."
More then a little thoughtful, Sprog tapped his fork against his plate before nodding. "Well, just ask and I can teach you what I know. We still got about four years before this loop ends after all."
That caused Taylor to perk up and smile a bit. "That would be helpful. Any ideas in particular?"
Rubbing his chin, Sprog shared a look with Minerva who shrugged a bit before he turned back to Taylor. "Considering what I know of your Branch... You learn any parkour yet?"
Interested, Taylor leaned forward with a grin. "No, but I've been meaning to."
Just snorting at her expression, Sprog grabbed one of the napkins and quickly wrote down some information before handing it over to Taylor. "That's some names and numbers for some guys I know that do parkour and free running as well as where they like to hang out."
Blinking, Taylor looked it over in thought before draining most of her tea. "There's a difference?"
As he shook his head, Sprog let out a chuckle. "Yeah, there's a difference between them. Just don't ask that bunch unless your ready for several hours of explanations and arguments over which is better. You'll walk away more confused then when you began." For a brief moment he paused and then shook his head and continued. "Anyways, I'll put in some good words for you with them. They got several 'training' areas and if your lucky, they might take you to their yearly trip to some meets. Some of those places are just nuts."
While nodding, Taylor put the napkin away as she was already making plans. "Thanks, I really appreciate the help."
Minerva just chuckled and waved her off. "It's not a problem, dear. Neither me nor Sprog mind helping anyone out."
That done, the topic soon turned toward various bits of gossip and the like they had heard.
4.7 (Harry Leferts)
Raising a hand, I knocked at the door which opened a few moments later letting me peak my head in. "Sir? I got the new information that you wanted."
Inside the office, the centaur blinked as he shifted the carrot he had been eating in his mouth to the other side and adjusted the tin foil hat on his head. "Just put them... somewhere, Taylor."
Even though internally I was smiling, I didn't show it as I quickly found a place to drop the data sticks off. As I did so, I noticed my reflection in one of the screens and placed a bit of hair over my pointed ear. Sure, I had gotten used to my looks over the years, but that didn't mean that I wasn't self-conscious at times. Sue me. I was still me but was an elf. I was even tall for a female elf, not that meant much when "Tall" is still less then five feet. Still, I was looking rather good for someone who was in their eighties by this point in the loop.
That said, I had been enjoying this loop. Sure, there we gangs running around like the B'wa Kell, but compared to the Empire 88 and Azn Bad Boys? I'll take them any day of the week. Heck, I'd take them over the Merchants as well. Which said something considering that I thought that fire chucking goblins were less of a problem then what I dealt with back in Brockton Bay. Though the image of Lung licking his eyes like goblins gave me both giggles and a shudder of disgust.
Shouting down the hall caused me to blink though and raise an eyebrow. "Who is Beetroot shouting at now?"
Foaly just choked a bit on his carrot stick before gave me a mock stern look. "You shouldn't call the Commander that, you know. What if he overhears you?"
All I did though was shrug a bit and grinned. "No worse then you at times."
Softly scoffing, Foaly shook his head as he adjusted the cameras. "However, I am irreplaceable, Taylor. Unlike you." Rolling my eyes, I just shook my head in amusement. I still didn't have much respect for authority, though even I admitted that Root was better then some I'd met. "And... it seems that he's shouting at Holly, again."
Facepalming, I could only shake my head at that. Sometimes I wondered who had it worse in regards to authority, Holly or I. "Again?"
With a shrug, Foaly turned away from his monitors and looked down at the data stick I had given him. "Again... is this the upgrades for the DNA Cannons?"
Now a grin crossed my face. "Yeah, I managed to get a small boost in power from the plasma without causing issues elsewhere." That was yet another reason that I loved this loop, thanks to years of working with Tinker technology, some of it mine in those variants where I was a Tinker, I had a good feel for high technology. And the stuff that the People used? Sure, it was advanced in comparison to normal human technology from my baseline, but nowhere near as bad as Tinker tech which meant it was a lot easier to figure out. Heck, I even had some ideas from what I've worked on that I could use back home. I was so going to reverse engineer Opal Koboi's wings to use, they looked a lot more insectile then most while I could fly. And with some modifications, I could fly around the world without stopping, especially if I hooked up the miniature nuclear reactors... Blinking as I noticed Foaly saying something, I gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I was deep in thought."
Shaking his head with a snort, Foaly sighed. "I kind of noticed... I was asking if you've been to the surface to recharge your magic recently?"
A soft smile spread across my face as I nodded. "Three days ago during the full moon as a matter of fact. So I'm fully recharged." I snapped my fingers and a blue spark shot off. The fact that said magic could heal myself or others, even reattaching limbs, meant that I hopefully kept it after this loop if nothing else. Having proven that, both Foaly and I soon slipped into conversation about other matters.
4.2 cont (Solaris Requiem) (No Time For Games pt 4)
"What's going on over there?" Jack grit his teeth. He could feel the oppressive weight of… something in the air. It felt like some sort of static and interference, one that was more mental than electronic.
"I don't know, but it can't be good," Tasuku replied as the duo made their way closer to the castle. As a precaution he pulled on the power welling within him. A card flew from his deck and burned with golden light It flashed and coalesced into an armored hilt with a blade of light.
The two left particles of light in their wake as they made their way closer to their destination. Both of them hardened their resolve and pressed on towards the eerie castle. Tasuku looked forward and fought back a wince as he remembered some… painful memories from baseline. But before he could dwell his closest friend had already flown close to him, giving the younger Looper some much needed emotional support.
I will always be here for you; the dragon spoke with his actions. Tasuku gave Jack a small smile before a creature approached them with its beating wings. It bore no weapons, but its posture appearance made Darkness Dragon monsters look tame.
Tasuku did not recognize the shape or type of monster; nor did he even remember seeing anything like the flying Monster in front of him in Baseline. Its body was red and misshapen with bone-white armor and jagged plating. It looked at them and Tasuku could not help but feel a shiver down his spine.
"Tasuku Ryuenji and Jack-knife Dragon?" the creature asked, its voice loud and guttural.
"Yes. What do you want?" Tasuku asked with his sword at the ready. Jack already had his weapons charged up and ready to fire. The creature tilted its head before it spoke once more.
"Skitter is waiting in the courtyard with the monsters that the Club had imprisoned. Lord Hermes has Suzaku Kenran, or rather Variable Cord, restrained and in custody inside of the castle."
"Lord… Hermes?" Tasuku asked, somewhat shocked that Suzaku was defeated that easily. "How did he-"
"You'll see when you get there," the winged messenger interrupted. "How long until the rest of the Buddy Police get here?"
"They're busy rounding up the people trying to escape," Jack explained. "Neither of us know when they will be able to assist us."
The creature nodded before changed directions with a flap of his wings, "Follow me. I will lead you to Skitter. Then we can deal with Variable Cord when the time comes."
"Thank you- sorry, but I don't know your name," Tasuku replied. The creature looked back at Tasuku before shrugging.
"I don't have one. Only a handful of Tyranids, such as Lord Hermes, were given a name by our Queen."
"Your Queen?"
The creature grinned, revealing razor sharp teeth as he did so, "You'll meet her eventually." The creature looked forward and flew forwards, making sure to lower his flight speed for the two people he was guiding to follow him.
-x-x-x-x-
Keeping my Cape identity and my non-cape identity separate had some perks that I had not realized until I had begun establishing the Tyranids, or rather the Tyrants in my home Loop, as separate entities.
None of the Hive, save Hermes and other special Tyranids, were even capable of basic thought much less being able to hold a conversation. But over time I had become very good at staying "in character" whenever I controlled a member of my swarm to talk to another person. I suppose that my time as the Tyranid Queen helped me understand their base natures had helped somewhat, but the separation between Skitter and Taylor had helped me practice my acting.
Once Tasuku and Jack had finally the large gathering of monsters I had the Tyranid Gargoyle put itself back into my Pocket. I really, REALLY, didn't want to cause any unnecessary panic onto the newly freed monsters. They had enough bad experiences as it stood.
I frowned as the officer and his partner slowly descended onto the stone floor of the courtyard; that problem would have to be something I rectified… Perhaps I could modify a Tyranid Prime to look a bit less nightmarish and use that as a human-sized proxy. I couldn't exactly bring out Hermes every single time I went on patrol. And even then I could probably play up the modified Prime as an independent Cape in and of itself.
I pushed aside the thoughts as the cybernetic dragon touched down with his partner landing softly on his two feet.
"Are you Skitter?" the boy asked. "I'm-"
"I know who you are, Tasuku Ryuenji," I replied as I looked at the blue-haired teen through my mask. "Let's get straight to the point. Cord is currently incapacitated and his troops have withdrawn forcibly. It'd probably be best that we secure him as soon as possible or else they might end up trying to free him."
"What about the monsters here?" he asked as the large group of freed prisoners began to chatter excitedly to themselves.
"We'll watch over them," one of my two newly recruited 'spies' spoke up. "Skitter contacted us earlier and we made a deal with her. We gave her the keys to the west tower and helped round up everyone here."
"Very well," Jack rumbled. "Now then, Tasusku, shall we be off?"
The officer looked a bit hesitant before he acquiesced, leaving the three of us to walk towards the Coliseum.
I felt two Pings go off immediately at the same time before I turned back around. I cautiously pinged back and that was acknowledged with a nod from both Tasuku and Jack.
"Which one of you is the Anchor?" I asked.
"Neither of us. Our anchor, Drum, and his Buddy haven't joined the Police force yet. Neither of them were able to assist us," Tasuku explained. Jack frowned as he looked at me.
"Why didn't you answer our Ping?" the dragon asked. I blinked in confusion.
"You sent out a Ping?" I asked dumbfounded and a bit embarrassed, "Must have missed it."
"How do you miss a Ping?" Tasuku inquired, "It's pretty obvious."
"I'm still new to the Loops," I admitted, "I haven't done enough fused Loops to get the hang of identifying it quite yet."
"It's impressive that you beat Cord at a Buddyfight as a new Looper," Tasuku remarked as he tried to be friendly. "He's pretty good at it."
I sighed, "Like I told the Monsters that asked me, I didn't beat him in Buddyfight. I didn't have time to play a 'children's card game'."
"Then how-"
"How else?" I replied, "I beat him in a real battle. He's been playing that game for so long that he forgot how to fight." I rolled my eyes at the absolutely flabbergasted look on Tasuku's and Jack's faces.
"That just raises more questions," Tasuku hissed. "How did you manage to beat one of the strongest non-Loopers here?"
"That was one of your strongest non-Loopers?" I raised an eyebrow. I suppose that he was a bit stronger than I thought. But compared to Scion, Leviathan, and Behemoth, he was a nothing more than a dragon-shaped nightlight! "How the heck did they handle this 'Yamigeddo' thing in Baseline then?"
"Gao and Drum beat him in a Buddyfight," Tasuku explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world. I stared at the blue-haired officer.
"You can't be serious."
"It's how we solve most of the problems in the Loop," Jack shrugged. "Yamigeddo was too strong in baseline for the 8 Omni-Lords to defeat normally. But it's a different story for Buddyfight. That was the only way that we had a chance of winning."
Tasuku nodded, "I managed to talk my way out of a losing battle by convincing a Monster to play against me rather than to fight. I know it sounds dumb to other Loopers like yourself but it works for us."
I really envied them. I seriously did… If my world worked like that things like Scion and the Endbringers would have been resolved so much quicker and cleaner. Millions of people wouldn't have had to die so pointlessly.
"You have no idea how lucky you are that your major problems are so easily solved," I sighed. "If my world worked the way that yours did then it would be much simpler."
"How bad is your Loop?" Tasuku asked. I shook my head. I didn't trust him just yet, but I supposed giving him some information wouldn't hurt.
"Let me put it this way: during my entire time here as a vigilante I stopped a drunk monster, a few mugging incidents, and a kid that tried to rob a candy store." I replied, resisting the urge to laugh or facepalm at the sheer ridiculousness of the last crime as I did so, "Back at home I usually end up dealing with hostage situations, armed robbery, looting, drug dealers, gang-warfare, gunfights, and other things like that."
I could see both the dragon and his human partner wince with every single word I said. I could sort of sympathize with them: fused Loop culture shock was a bitch.
"In the grand scheme of things, you two lucked out with the Loop you lived in," I replied as the three of us finally arrived at the ruined stadium. "Compared to my world yours is pretty much heaven. Back on my world, you couldn't solve things with just by playing a game. The cleanest solution to some of our problems still ended up with a lot of people dying. You have 10 worlds, filled with millions of people and monsters, all living together in peace without so much as a single comment of racism or species hate. Trust me, you don't want to take your world for granted."
Tasuku seemed lost for words but and Jack wanted to say something but kept his mouth shut. I did a wonderful job at killing the conversation, go me.
"We're here…" I stated as I stepped over a few fragments of debris. The Tyranid Warriors and Hive Guards stood at attention, still keeping formation around Cord. I had a Broodlord keep the dragon's human form under control and sedated with Hypnotic Gaze.
"Skitter," I had Hermes grunt. "Took you long enough."
"I was busy freeing the rest of Cord's prisoners, sue me," I deadpanned. It was really weird talking to myself through Hermes, but this sort of act was something that I practiced constantly. If anyone knew my full capabilities, a kill order would be the least of my worries. Normally I would abandon the charade but I needed to keep up the act until Cord was in custody.
"That's your Buddy?!" Tasuku gaped as he looked at Hermes. I could see his grip tighten around his blade while his partner stood at the ready. I would have to correct him later but for now I'd let him draw his own conclusions
"In a way," I replied as I pulled a pair of shackles and the master key I got earlier from my Pocket. I had snagged it from Cord's prison cells since I figured that they might come in handy. I handed it off to Tasuku who finally seemed to manage to convince himself that Hermes wasn't going to attack him.
"Thanks," he replied as he took the shackles and the key in hand. I had my Tyranid troops part to let Tasuku through as he went to officially arrest Variable Cord. I kept an eye out and my guard up as he did so.
So far so good. But knowing Murphy I was waiting and ready for the other shoe to drop.
4.8 (wildrook)
What. The f**k.
"Of all the things for Scion to arrive to," I muttered, "it's Dubstep."
And it wasn't just ANY Dubstep. It was the kind of dubstep that signaled the arrival of an ultimate being in all his glory.
Or an attacking vampire squirrel.
Or a vampire squirrel created by an ultimate being that can manipulate life at will and considered copulation between others completely useless.
...Where the hell were these tangents coming from?
...Oh sh*t. He's staring at me.
"My apologies." Huh? "That always happens when one of us is in the area. I take it you aren't familiar with this?"
Endbringers arrive via destruction and dubstep this Loop. I knew they were out there, but this?
"Not as much as I should be," I replied.
And I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Contessa showing up and enhancing my shard to take him down while losing my humanity. Coil looking at the right timeline to see whether or not his chances of him killing Scion would succeed, although how I'm able to feel it might be related to the Time Loops as a whole. Him looking for the wedding between Dad and the Simurgh as he's the latter's best man.
...And I did not need the mental image of Scion in a dress!
"Oh, there you are," a male voice said, catching my...attention... "I take it you're looking for directions to the nearest town?"
What the hell was Jack Slash doing here?
"Ah, Jackie!" Scion said. "I got lost and the step started flaring. So, are we still on for Friday?"
Urge to kill...subsiding because Scion called Jack Slash Jackie.
"Oh yeah," he said. Jack then looked at me and said something that was worse than all of the thoughts I had combined. "Sorry about the noise. My boyfriend tends to get lost when he arrives, so I usually look for fellow supers as a focus point to see if he's nearby. Thanks for the help."
And with that, they left, leaving me horrified.
It's not the relationship part that bugged me. What was horrifying was the mere concept of Scion and Jack Slash dating. The guy who's going to destroy the world and the man who held the freaking trigger to unleash the golden bullet...are dating this Loop.
The moment they were far enough away, I started screaming. And I did not stop until morning.
4.9 (Solaris Requiem)
"This is completely unfair..." I groaned as I stared at the character sheet that Dragon sent me. Although the AI wasn't Awake yet I still enjoyed talking with her. After a few chats on the PHO forums I eventually got invited to the weekly online Tabletop game that Dragon had hosted.
"That's what you get for trying to break the system," the AI chided. I could hear the smugness in her voice.
"Yeah Skitter," Narwhal chimed. "Tin here was mad that you ended up killing the big bad during his first appearance."
"There was no way the developers could have missed that!" I protested. "It was so obvious that those two abilities would make it able to-"
"Hit a single person for infinite damage if you rolled enough successes," Dragon twitched. "Yes, I know. I also took the liberty of sending it to the publishers. They're very interested in seeing how you found that kind of exploit."
I blinked, "Wait, so THEY were the ones who kept sending me job offers for playtesting games? I thought that those were just spam. There were at least 10 different companies offering to pay me to check their game systems."
Narwhal laughed, "Oh that's hilarious. Now you can get a full-time job trying to break tabletop game systems. How are you going to balance it out between school and crime-fighting now?"
I glanced back at the Hermes, shrunken down to human size, poring over the rules of the game I was currently playing and I grinned. "Oh, I think I'll manage."
4.2 cont (Solaris Requiem) (No Time For Games pt 5)
As I left school the very next day I was still waiting for said shoe to drop. After I let Tasuku make his arrest I quickly left the scene in stealth. But not before the Looper had given me some information on where to meet up to talk about the more delicate aspects of the current Loop. Said piece of info was the address of a certain house that he told me to come visit today.
After the arrest of Suzaku Kenran the Buddyfight club had scattered, leaving nothing behind. The media had a field day talking about it with various interviews and reports about the freed Monsters. Majority of the monsters there had declined to stay in the human world and return to their own native dimensions. Others decided to give humans another chance and would try to choose another Buddy again.
I had done my part in freeing them. The other monsters had to choose what to do with themselves. People, monsters included, were stubborn if nothing else. Whatever their decision was, I mentally wished them good luck with whatever path they chose.
With those thoughts out of my mind I glanced down at the note that Tasuku had given me and double checked the street I was on. The house before me was a pretty large two-floored house with windows and a fence. It was much more decadent than the small house that I shared with my dad, myself, and my… step-mom.
Dad had gotten remarried to a Japanese woman after my own mom had died. To be blunt I hated her. It wasn't her fault of course: she tried to fit in and to be kind to me. But it was hard, no impossible, for me to even consider opening up to her. The Loops must have had a sick sense of humor to replace my real mom with this… fake.
But I was willing to deal with her and bite my tongue for Dad's sake, even if he hadn't been Activated yet. If I hadn't known him as well as I did, I would have thought he forgotten about her. But every so often there would be a brief moment where I knew he thought about her.
I cleared those thoughts from my head before they caused the Tyranid Hive to go into a panic and began to walk to the door. I looked at the door, double-checking the address as I did so before I rang the doorbell.
"Coming!" a boy's voice called out as I heard the patter of feet on wood. The locks on the door were unlocked as the painted slab of wood swung open. The boy was around a good couple of years younger than me: around 12 or 13 years old. He still had his school uniform half-on with the jacket open and a black school cap over his blazing red hair.
"So you're the new Looper, huh?" the boy looked up. "Tasuku said that you'd drop by."
"And you're the Anchor?" I inquired. He sure looked like one: especially with that red hair of his. I had seen enough cartoons to be able to tell stuff that he'd probably be the main character.
The boy grinned before he pumped a fist in the air, "Alright, Drum owes me tray of Takoyaki!"
I blinked, "What?"
The boy chuckled, "Oh nothing. Drum and I made a bet that you would think I'm the Anchor. I'm not though: Drum's the real Anchor. I actually was the last person to Awaken."
"I see…" I replied, "And this 'Drum' person is your Buddy I'm guessing?"
The boy nodded quickly before he stepped aside, "Come on, he's training in the dojo right now. Come on in and we'll talk you through what basically happens during this Loop. I'm Gao by the way."
I was taken aback by the teenager's bombastic behavior before I realized that I hadn't even introduced myself, "I guess you can call me Taylor," I fumbled as I took off my shoes and went inside.
The walkthrough of the house was pretty brief, but I could tell that Gao's family was somewhat wealthy. His mother worked overseas while his father stayed at home. It was no surprise they could afford to host a Monster for so long.
I managed to drown out about how Gao gushed about Buddyfight after the first few seconds, giving only a few nods and acting like I was somewhat interested. I organized the various bugs within my range to set themselves up in certain areas, as well as tag Gao with a couple of bugs in the meantime.
The red-haired teen led eventually led me to the dojo in the house before I finally stopped tuning Gao out. "Yo, Drum! We've got the new Looper here! You done training yet?" he called out. The shifting of feet, the clattering of metal, and the sound of a person in the middle of a martial arts kata filled the air, suddenly came to a complete stop.
"Come in!" a voice called, one that was a bit older than Gao's. It sounded like someone who was in his early 20's or late teens. Gao pulled the door open and I stared at the person, or rather the Monster in the middle of the dojo.
The dragon stood at a good 6 feet tall and was covered in what looked like light metal armor with a mane of golden hair. He had one of those open Chinese vests along with those pants you saw in those kung-fu movies. It… didn't actually cover that much and I was able to see his well-built arms and scaly abs that made Brian's look plain.
Dear god, those could sharpen swords, I realized in a daze. Those strong arms that had just the right amount of muscle without being plain gross, and the glorious 6-pack that could-
"Oi, my eyes are up here!" Drum called out, snapping me out of my beef-cake, or rather scale-cake, induced trance. "I'm flattered, but I prefer ladies with scales," he quipped.
Lisa and Alec must never find out about this, I thought to myself as I shoved those images into a dark corner in the back of my mind. Who knows what might have happened if they did find out about this… incident. Of course knowing Lisa, she would find out within seconds of me meeting her. The last thing I wanted was Alec to think I was a furry or something. He and Aisha would never let me hear the end of it if they found out.
"So," Drum began. "You're the new Looper, huh?"
"Yep! And she thought I was the Anchor," Gao cackled. The dragon groaned.
"There's still other bet that we made though," he pointed out. "If I win then they cancel each-other out."
"Other bet?" I asked. Gao beamed at me.
"What do you think of Buddyfight?" he asked. I blinked as he almost seemed to vibrate in place.
"I… think it's okay?" I tried as I pretended to be interested. Gao's face fell and Drum grinned.
"Told ya," the dragon grinned. "Now we're even."
The boy visibly slumped as his mood plummeted into the depths of despair.
"Is he going to be okay?" I asked as a literal rain-cloud seemed to hang over him. The dragon didn't seem bothered.
"He'll bounce back eventually," he shrugged, "But don't worry, most of the Loopers don't like Buddyfight that much. It's actually how we usually tell if someone's a guest Looper or not."
"I… see," I frowned as Gao finally managed to bring himself back from the pits of despair.
"Alright then," Drum began, "So basically there are three different things that go on in our Loop: the Gaen Cup, Yamigeddo, and the World Buddy Cup."
"You don't have to participate in the Gaen and the World Cup if you don't want to," Gao replied. "Drum, Bal, and I have got it handled."
"Is this Bal one of your Buddies?" I asked. Gao nodded while Drum looked a bit sulky and irritated.
"I end up getting called back into Dragon World for the World Buddy Cup on. Bal ends up replacing me for that time," he explained, gritting his fangs. "He's from a pretty recent expansion and I have no clue how long it will be before he Awakens."
"We'll be fine, Drum," Gao reassured him but the dragon didn't look convinced.
"He's a newborn dragon! He literally hatches out of an egg when you first meet him!" Drum growls, "Until he Awakens I refuse to trust your safety to him. If something like Yamigeddo happens again then responsibilities to my clan be damned, I will come over to help."
"We're getting off-topic," I cut both of them off. "What happens during the Loop?"
Drum and Gao shared a glance before they stopped bickering. "Essentially Kyoya Gaen is trying to take over the world," Drum explains. I blinked.
"You can't be serious."
"Dead serious. He sees society as corrupt and that he and his buddy, Azi Dahaka, will be able to rule the world better instead once they destroy everything and rebuild it from scratch."
It took me a bit of time to process the bit of information before I decided that to not try to think about it too much. This was straight out of a cartoon show! But considering how powerful Monsters were, something like this wasn't exactly out of the ballpark.
Was he willing to destroy everything, to kill millions of people just because he thought the world was corrupt? It this childish way of thinking that made my stomach churn.
"Alright," I grimaced, "Where is-"
"No, you can't kill him," Drum cut me off. "He's one of the wealthiest people in Japan and almost everything in Japan is reliant on his company. If he dies the nation's economy will collapse. The one time that he actually did die made things much worse."
"He's not a bad person!" Gao shot back, "He just needs someone to show him the right way."
"Gao," Drum warned. The human clenched his fist and remained silent before the dragon continued. "We'll give you more info when the time comes. But considering how much damage you did to Cord you should be fine. Just whatever you do, don't accept a Dark Core. Kyoya will bring you under control that way."
I nodded in response before I pressed on, "What about this Yamigeddo thing then?" I asked
Drum sighed, "Well basically here's it goes. A long time ago the strongest eight monsters in all of the worlds were called together…"
After it was all said and done, I finally left the house feeling rather frustrated. I was definitely stuck in a children's cartoon, I realized. Somethings just didn't make sense to me. Others were too childish for me to even acknowledge.
The problem was that I understood Drum's point. Even though it was Kyoya that caused a lot of problems, just killing him made more problems than they fixed. My hands were tied in that respect: all I could really do was sit in school and do nothing. It was starting to drive me insane and stir-crazy.
This Loop had an actual shortage of crime. My recent patrols had turned up nothing within that past month: a blessing and a curse in a way.
For now, I guess I would just keep doing what I was doing earlier. At least Gao and Drum would let me know when the major events would get started. Drum mentioned an invasion from Darkness Dragon World would arrive soon, so I figured might as well get started preparing.
If nothing else it would be enough to keep myself from going completely and utterly insane.
4.1: Skitter? I don't think she exists.
4.2: Tyranids OP, please nerf [Future Card Buddyfight]
4.3: It's good to have a hobby
4.4: Kyubey: Not the worst thing in every universe. [Puella Magi Madoka Magica]
4.5: Turns out being a web celebrity pays better than being a crook
4.6: Picking up new skills, a Looper's favourite pastime [A Dinosaur Named Minerva]
4.7: She's got the magic touch [Artemis Fowl]
4.8: Taylor's first Weird Loop. They happen.
4.9: Taylor is a total munchkin