Opening File: The Spiral Gems
The Spiral Gems are the physical manifestations of the twelve gifts left behind by Six-Founding Spiral known as Heart, Creation, Strength, Destruction, Form, Soul, Mind, Nature, Bond, Sight, Youth and Ability. Each is believed to contain immense power and if all twelve were brought together they could change the world as we know it. The Elementals were the original guardians of the Spiral Gems but when they were destroyed almost all knowledge of the gems were lost. As time passed the Spiral Gems were protected by secret groups to keep them out of the wrong hands and some were even used by those chosen by the gems themselves.
Though their true power is unknown records have been found that explain the basics of their power:
Gem of Heart: Whoever is found worthy to have this gem will gain natural empathy, allowing its user to detect the presence of any living being and can even summon help from animals by influencing their emotions. Its ability is centered on sensing and altering the emotions of living beings. For example it can turn the most cowardice man into the bravest hero, change hate into love and share one person's emotions with anyone close by. It is possible it can also enhance the natural healing of organic bodies.
Gem of Creation: Anyone who has bonded with this gem will be given the knowledge and power to create almost anything from whatever materials and resources they possess. With the right creativity and mind a single being could create the most advanced kingdom or the most deadly weapons in the world.
Gem of Strength: Sometimes called the Gem of Might it endows its user with unlimited strength and power, virtually making them stronger than any living being. Depending on how much the wielder can handle the gem will virtually double their strength, speed and durability as time goes on.
Gem of Destruction: Considered to be the deadliest of the Spiral Gems whoever wields this gem will be given the power to destroy absolutely anything they touch, leaving behind nothing as remains.
Gem of Form: This gem gives whoever it is bonded to the ability to transform anything into a new form the owner desires, even changing the target from solid to liquid.
Gem of Soul: Perhaps as deadly as the Gem of Destruction this gem is able to grant its owner the power of life and death. It can summon life back from the dead, induce death and can even modify souls, allowing them to bond and fuse with other souls.
Gem of Mind: This gem is able to grant its owner with absolute knowledge, sometimes showing them visions to answer any and all questions the owner has. This gem is considered to be possibly sentient in a way, choosing when to share its knowledge and can enhance the mind of its owner, giving them a form of telepathy and super intellect.
Gem of Nature: The power of this gem connects with the elements of nature itself such as Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Whoever finds it and is found worthy of its power will gain the ability to control and manipulate forces of nature. It can even allow the user to wield sub elements such as lightning and metal.
Gem of Bond: Anyone who finds this gem will be able to teleport to anyplace through an invisible network that bonds the universe and possibly even the multi-verse together. In addition to this they are given the ability to manipulate molecular bonds of anything solid, giving them a form of telekinesis.
Gem of Sight: Whoever holds this Gem gains the ability to see both the future and past in anyone or anything the wielder sees and also gains cosmic awareness.
Gem of Youth: This gem grants eternal youth to the one who holds it.
Gem of Ability: The gem allows its user to give a single unique ability to anyone they choose. For example it can give enhanced vision to a blind person, allowing them to have x-ray vision or give someone who is deaf hearing so powerful they could hear even through space or even giving them what could be considered super powers like the ability to fly. It can even be used to enchant objects, giving them a form of power that can be used by anyone in possession of the enchanted objects.
Together these Spiral Gems are considered the greatest source of power in the known worlds and unfortunately they are also considered to be catalysts for mass destruction in the wrong hands. It is believed these gems can even be combined together, forming new and more powerful gems. Regardless the Spiral Gems are considered the ultimate power in the universe and thus many people have worked to ensure they would never fall into the hands of evil beings and those who would use them in ways that would harm others.
Close File
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Opening File: Benedict Wigglestein Uno, Sr.
The patriarch of the Uno Family, one of the most prestigious families in Britain and is believed to be the eldest human in the world. It is believed that he was born before the Victorian Era of Britain and has somehow remained alive well into the twenty first century. Benedict Uno was believed to have delved deeply into the dark magical arts and learned how to extend his life force by drawing power directly from the Pit of Hate itself, giving him unnatural long life. By harnessing this power his mind and body were warped, turning him into a living shadow with the ability to control fire.
With this power he sought to take over the world and almost succeeded. However a single boy rose up, declaring that even if the monster crushed his home he could not crush the boy's heart and the power it had. Others were inspired by the boy's courage and came to join him, watching as the boy somehow summoned a blizzard, turning the demon's kingdom into a winter wonderland. Eventually all of Britain rose up and the dark lord was defeated, forced to flee but not before swearing he would one day return along with his descendants.
The boy in turn claimed that one of his descendants would inherit the power of winter and end the chain of evil in madman's family.
He eventually resurfaced, apparently forgotten by the rest of the world and having fathered two sons: Monty and Benedict Jr. At first the children seemingly followed his teachings of hate, their Semblances manifesting as fire while he kept the source of his dark magic secret. However his eldest would eventually reject his teachings and leave for America with his new wife and soon to be born son while his youngest would obediently follow on his footsteps but the patriarch would always consider him a disgraceful and cowardly. When he learned of his grandson's existence he arranged for Grimm to be set loose in the park where his grandson would be and see if he had inherited the Flame Semblance through a Trial of Fire.
He learned that his grandson manifested a fire that froze instead of burned, thus making him wonder if his grandson was the one to inherit the power of winter and end his evil legacy. Only time will tell if it is true.
Close File
Xxx
Despite how he acted Wallabee Beatles was far from stupid.
If he was stupid he wouldn't have survived all those fights with those stupid kids back home in Australia. If he was stupid he wouldn't his uncle wouldn't have chosen to train him how to fight like a Hunter. In fact his uncle believed one day he could be a Hunter so powerful he'd be stronger than even those Justice Friend blokes.
And Uncle Lou never steered him wrong.
Sure, he didn't come up with any fancy strategies like Nigel did or was as skilled at sneaking up on people like Abby was. He preferred the straight up approach. If he sees an enemy he takes them down, right on the spot. Sure he has a temper but it never slowed him down.
He was strong, brave and he was never going to let anyone stand in his way of saving his friends. Still he had to struggle to look like he was brave in front the…dude that was nothing but a holographic image. Whether it was his Faunus instincts or something else Wally could tell this bloke was bad news. So he needed to make sure this guy knew that Wallabee Beatles was not afraid of him and he was not going to back down.
Right now he was offering a big deal, saying that he could save Wally's friends and that got his attention. Still Wally was not about to trust, especially if he was who Wally thought he was.
"You're that Sam guy Abby was talking about, aren't you?" Wally questioned.
The image raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "So, little Abby told you. She must trust you a great deal to tell you."
"She trusts me because I'm her friend and you sure as crud aren't." Wally glared. "So why should I believe a word you say?"
"Perhaps my guarantee of the safe return of your friends is not enough. You're wise not to take my word at face value. Fortunately I have no wish for your friends, only their powers, but those can be retrieved at a more…appropriate time." Sammael replied. "I am not sure what you know about the ones who abducted your friends but they are in a place only very few can reach. A race of beings that look down on organic life, seeing them only as recourses."
"Cut the fancy word play and just tell me where they are!" Wally snapped.
"The Gem Homeworld, in another galaxy." Sammael smirked. "They are a civilization which spans entire galaxies, parasites who harvest the composition of entire worlds to feed their endless growth. They once sought to bring Earth under their control and coveted the Elementals. Like children who found a new toy they developed a sense of entitlement towards the Elementals for their unique abilities, now they've taken them to the heart of their Empire, confident that none will contest their claim."
"Well I sure contest it!" Wally's hands balled into fists.
"And you are not alone in that." Sammael chuckled. "The Gems are long lived, but their memories are selective. They like to forget that they have been humbled in the past, that there are ways to strike back at them in their own territory. You will have a role in that as part of a rescue team, slipping in under cover of a larger assault to retrieve your friends."
"And I'm supposed to buy that you'll just let us walk after that?" Wally crossed his arms.
"As I said: I can retrieve them at a more appropriate time. For now my only interest in your friends is simply keeping them out of the hands of the Gems…and removing the Gems from the board entirely." Sammael's smile shrank. "Too many times they've threatened my interests. Now I'm going to do what the All-Father should have done before he lost his spine and eliminate this…pestilence before it can do any permanent damage."
"Hm…" Wally rubbed his chin. "Alright, I'm in. But if you or any of your goons so much as blink at me or my friends weird…" He pounded his fists together as his aura visibly flared. "I'll kick the crud outta the lot of yah and those gem-things too!"
"I certainly can't help but admire that enthusiasm." Sammael chuckled again. "Then we have an accord. Welcome to Team CROW, Wallabee Beatles."
Xxx
"So wait. You can make copies of anything you touch, including living people?"
Candy nodded and held up a hand. "Want to try?"
Fanny stared at the hand for a second and then shrugged, holding out her hand. "Meh. It'll probably be the only exciting thing to happen at this party."
Candy giggled and touched Fanny's hand. There was a small flash of jade green light that surrounded Fanny and a complete copy appeared next to her. Fanny and her copy stared at each other, both holding up their hands at the same time, completely mimicking each other's movements.
"Amazing." Fanny said but when her copy opened her mouth no voice came out. "It doesn't speak?"
Candy shook her head. "I copy image, not sound."
"Make sense, I guess." Fanny said as the image vanished. "Still, pretty good. I might need something like that."
"Oh, you should see my friend's Semblance." Candy snickered, momentarily forgetting her argument with Grenda.
"Oh really?"
"Yeah." Candy nodded. "She can make herself invincible. She once slammed a rock into her face and it broke against her teeth."
"Really?" Fanny looked really intrigued now.
"Oh yes!" Candy nodded happily again.
"And she's not a…" Fanny trailed off.
"Fancy rich? No." Candy shook her head.
"Seriously?" Fancy almost couldn't believe it. "Wow. Are you two training to be Huntresses?"
"Kind of. We don't have a lot of Grimm around here." Candy said, suddenly looking a bit nervous, shifting on her right foot.
Now Fanny was even more interested.
Xxx
"And this is the traditional Hula dance." Lilo said, preforming the dance and helping Mabel as she tried to mimic it.
Mabel was actually a quick learner as she danced with the young princess. "This is so much fun!"
Lilo laughed a bit, actually feeling happy for once in the kind of party she usually considered boring.
"So, why does a princess need to learn this?" Mabel asked, continuing to dance.
"It's a tradition going back to the time of Moanna herself. This dance has helped our people stay happy and hopeful in dark times, especially since feelings of sadness and anger are what bring the Grimm." Lilo explained. "My mom was an excellent dancer. She would have a family night for all of us, performing this dance and singing lullabies and she liked to make up constellation. My dad played a ukulele and he told us about important his Ohana is to him."
"Ohana?" Mabel stopped dancing.
"It means family and in family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." Lilo explained. "That's our family motto."
"I like it." Mabel said happily. "I wish my family had a motto like that."
Lilo smiled in agreement, believing everyone should have a motto like that. Just before she could say anything about it the ballroom and possibly the entire mansion started shaking, followed by an explosion from the fireplace. From the fire appeared the Lumberjack Ghost, letting out a maniacal laugh.
"GENERATIONS LOCKED AWAY, MY REVENGE SHALL HAVE ITS DAY!" From his hands came blue beams of light, striking several party members and turning them into lifeless wooden statues.
"Ah, the grim reaper! I'd been wondering when you would arri- Aaah!" A beam hit the mayor, turning him and his wheelchair to wood and fell over.
Guests began running and screaming in every direction while the ghost fired the beam at everyone he could see. As if this was not enough dead taxidermy animals came alive and advanced on the guests.
"LILO!" Queen Nani screamed, searching for her sister.
She finally spotted Lilo taking cover under the food table with another girl. She rushed over, punching an ostrich that tried getting in her way. In the meantime Fanny was kicking away raccoons while Candy was hiding behind her.
"Now this is a party!" The red haired girl laughed, punching a deer in the face.
"A CURSE ON YOU ALL!" The ghost shouted, firing a beam at Nani who jumped out of the way. "MY VENGEANCE SHALL NEVER RELENT!"
"Well, now we see something interesting." An elderly cultured voice with a British accent said, sounding amused.
The Lumberjack Ghost watched as an old man with a silver grey goatee and bald head, wearing a dark suit and long coat with white gloves and dark boots, approached it with his hands behind his crooked back. He appeared overall as a feeble old man and ghost assumed as much when he tried to turn the man to wood.
Only for the man to hold up one hand and block the curse with an invisible barrier.
"What?!" The ghost gasped at seeing his curse blocked.
"How pitiful." The elderly man spat. "A spirit, who has cursed this wretched house, reanimated the dead and it seems you can't even put up a decent challenge."
The Lumberjack Ghost roared, orange flames blazing around it. "YOU DARE MOCK THE POWER GIVEN TO ME BY MY FELLOW LUMBERJACKS TO INSURE OUR REVENGE?! FOR THAT INSULT I WILL BURN YOUR WOODEN CORPSE!"
"Then by all means," The man said, darkness and fire suddenly surrounding him. "Come and try."
The ghost roared and lunged at the man.
"LILO!" Nani lifted the table, seeing her sister was safe. "Thank Moanna you are all right."
"Nani!" Lilo quickly hugged her sister. "What is going on?"
"I don't know but we are getting out of here." Nani said, looking to the doors that were just kicked open by Dipper, soaking from the rain, agape in shock at what he saw.
One of the guests reached out towards him, slowly turning to wood. "Please, help me!"
Too late to do anything, Dipper could only jump back as the man turned to wood. "Whoa, that is messed up!"
"Dipper!" Mabel called out. "What's happening?!"
"Mabel!" Dipper ran towards his sister but stopped when he saw the fight between the ghost and the old man.
The Lumberjack Ghost roared as he tried to punch the man with a flaming fist who disappeared and reappeared behind him, his hand blazing with fire as he laughed. "Fire? Of all things, you try and use fire?"
The Lumberjack Ghost spun around pulling his axe out of his head and swung it at the man who casually dodged and struck the ghost with a blast of his own fire.
The ghost screamed out in pain, hands over its smoking chest. "You…You can touch me?!"
"That's not all I can do." The man said before a burst of darkness exploded out from the man, throwing the ghost into the wall.
The ghost growled as it floated back up, hovering in the middle of the room and glaring down at the smirking old man.
"Come on, let's go!" Nani said, leading her sister and Mabel to the doors, only for them to slam shut just when they were almost out. "No!"
"A FOREST OF DEATH, A LESSON LEARNED, AND NOW THE NORTHWEST MANOR WILL BURN!" The ghost laughed as the manor set on fire. "JUST ONE WAY TO CHANGE YOUR FATES: A NORTHWEST MUST OPEN THE PARTY GATES!"
"A Northwest?" Dipper suddenly realized what he needed to end the curse. "Pacifica!"
"Now I am getting bored." The man said, turning around. "To think I wasted my time for this. Clearly Preston does not know how to keep his house in order. Benedict, we're leaving!"
"NO ONE LEAVES!" The ghost barked, summoning wooden tendrils and lashed them at the old man.
He spun around, batting the tendrils away like an annoying bug. "Clearly you don't know who I am. I am Benedict Uno Sr. Patriarch of the Uno Family, the King of Evil and Grandfather of the Flame. I walked this world long before you died and I will long after you've been banished to oblivion."
The Lumberjack Ghost roared again, gathering flames into his axe as he fell towards Benedict Uno Sr. who raised his hand…
And the room was lit in a blast of light and fire.
Xxx
"An agent of the Fallen stopped them from leaving."
Master Monk Guan nodded. "Yes. The temple and the portal were both destroyed in the ensuing fight."
"This is troubling news." Grandmaster Tam Sung sounded concerned. "We knew that it was possible that Sammael would attempt to stop them from returning to their reality. If so we cannot hope to rely on other sacred portals such as the one in the Salamander Temple, possibly bringing his minions to them."
"If they cannot return home what can we do?" Monk Guan questioned.
"There might be alternatives." Tam Sung answered, his voice sounding thoughtful but worried. "If relying on a portal from our allies is out of the question then we may have to resort to tracking back to the ones who brought them here. Or…"
"We consider using that which we swore to protect."
"You mean…" Monk Guan trailed off. "You sure we can trust them?"
"I've spent enough time sensing their chi to know they would never abuse the power of the gems." Tam Sung replied. "Of course we would have to introduce them to only ones who could possibly find what they need. Summon them."
Several minutes later Artemis and Connor were accompanying Monk Guan back into the Grandmaster's sanctuary.
"Artemis Crock and Connor Kent. It was a tragedy to hear what happened at the temple. It is good to see you were not hurt." Tam Sung greeted warmly.
"Thank you, Grandmaster." Artemis replied. "You…have any idea who that robot was?"
"Likely an agent of the enemy."
"He said he was working for Sammael." Connor crossed his arms. "He destroyed the temple to keep us from leaving."
"Sammael most likely wants to ensure no knowledge of our world reaches others, believing it might cause others to come here. Others he cannot control." Tam Sung surmised. "Fortunately the portal was not the only one capable of returning you home. However we still have a problem."
"We usually do." Artemis whispered.
"Other portals we know of are in sacred locations across the world and if Sammael is watching your movements the risk of him finding other portals in temples like the one that was destroyed would be found. And these temples are not abandoned like the other one was. That leaves us with two options: the first being to track the ones who you brought here and to reverse the process or to seek another source of power that we have sworn to protect." Tam Sung explained and used his powers to project twelve glowing gems. "These are the Spiral Gems."
"Long ago, the Six Founding Spiral forged twelve Gems as gifts to mankind, each with incomprehensible ability to bring prosperity…or death. Heart, Creation, Strength, Destruction, Form, Mind, Soul, Nature, Bond, Youth, Sight and Ability." As he narrated each Gem glowed as its name was uttered. "The one that you would need to return home is the Gem of Bond. With it, you can forge through time, space and even dimension a path to those whose hearts you hold a place in and vice versa. The stronger the bond, the stronger the portal…and yet this Gem has eluded all attempts at discovering its location for centuries. Rumors always spring up among those who know of the Gems, yet few if any have even come close."
"That doesn't give us a lot to go off of." Artemis said. "Isn't there anything substantial about this Gem?"
"I have only a…theory." Tam Sung replied. "Whereas many of the Gems are always in one place at any given time, the Bond Gem holds a…unique place among its brethren. I believe that the bonds which it taps into also act as anchors for its physical form, grounding it much like an anchor would a boat against the tide. Without any bonds to hold it down it does as all lonesome souls would: it wanders aimlessly, appearing long enough for rumors to crop up regarding its sighting only to vanish before it can be claimed."
"Great, a lonely Gem." Connor took a deep breath. "Is there any way to pin down where it will appear next? A pattern that it follows? Anything?"
"That leads to my next theory: it can be found through another Gem: the Gem of Sight." Tam Sung smiled. "Fortunately for the both of you, this one has been found and rests in the safest hands, also those that would be most willing to assist you in your quest. You must go to the city of GrimmFall and seek out Phil Ken Sebben, the Mayor and Headmaster of Nevernest Academy…and wielder of the Gem of Sight."
Both young heroes masked their reactions to this revelation better than most.
"Wield?" Artemis raised one brow. "How does Sight help us find it?"
"Sight allows its user to see across space and time, including possible futures." Tam Sung explained. "The more instabilities there are, the more futures there are to view…yet the Gem of Bond is not affected by any force I know of, save its own. Without any external factors to interfere with its pilgrimage, it may be one of the few things in all of creation with only one future ahead of it, allowing for Sebben to narrow down its next place of emergence."
"There's our plan." Connor said. "Now we just need to get all the way to America."
"Perhaps we might be of assistance in that." Tam Sung offered. "I have sent for someone who can deliver you to America immediately due to his ability to move faster than any other living thing in the world."
"Wait, you mean have a Fl-" Artemis was cut off as the doors opened.
"And there he is now." Tam Sung said as the man walked into the chamber. "Artemis, Conner, I introduce to you, Living Bullet. The Fastest Man in the World."
"Gee, where I have heard that before?" Artemis mumbled.
Still this Living Bullet was completely different from the Flash. For starters he looked like a walking golden bullet with eyes , a mouth and complete with arms with legs. Still he surprised them both when he took one step…
And appeared in front of the young heroes!
'Fast!' Both Artemis and Conner thought in surprise. 'He's faster than Wally and maybe as fast as the Flash.'
"Greetings." Living Bullet held out his hands, offering a handshake which the two slowly accepted. "I hear you two were in need of quick transportation to GrimmFall and fortunately I was on my there as well."
As he spoke the two heroes tried to perceive his movements. With the Flash he could at least slow down so as to interact with people normally, but with the Living Bullet…when he raised his arm it was like watching a movie skip several frames at once. His arm was down by his side, then faster than either could blink he was extending it towards them, then back down again once the handshake was concluded.
"Uh…yeah…" Artemis nodded. "Yes! We'd appreciate it."
"Very well!" Living Bullet beamed. "But you may want to wear some proper protection."
"Protection?" Connor asked.
"Against wind resistance. If I try to take you both at full speed you would…uh…best not ponder that, but I can take you at a significant speed which will only carry the risk of hypothermia, oxygen deprivation and…on one occasion excessive damage to clothing but the lady was kind enough to forgive me for that seeing as the alternative was drowning at sea." Living Bullet explained sheepishly.
"Don't remember Flash or Wally having that sort of trouble." Artemis murmured.
"I'm guessing that your powers don't come from a…Speed Force then?" Connor ventured a guess.
"Speed Force? Never heard of it." Living Bullet shrugged. "I'm basically powered by a form of Dust that…literally speeds me up and slows down my perception of time. For example-" His hand shot forward…and plucked a fly off of Artemis' shoulder. "Yoink! Buzz off." When he flicked the fly there was a brief…explosion of air as he ended up leaving nothing of the insect. "That was annoying. You barely hear it unless it's up against your ear but I hear it at full volume and it just drags on for me. Now anyways: protection!"
He vanished and reappeared just as quickly, carrying some thick jackets, goggles and oxygen masks. "Everybody suit up! Next stop: GrimmFall!"