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The kupos aside, Mayaa lifted her head when the king returned, and started to make her way towards him when she heard a loud chime, and froze.
No... not... not again... not another one...

She sank down to the floor, dejected.
Memories of the silver kingdom crumbling flashed through her mind, and she shut her eyes, trying to block out the image.
No, she didn't want to see a kingdom fall, not another one, not this one.

When the voice finished, the harpy got up, trembling slightly, but she knew what must be done.
Arms lowered, she stood before the king and bowed.

"Your Majesty... let me offer myself as tribute. I came to your kingdom seeking refuge from my plight, and though you barely knew me, you were nothing but kind, letting me stay, offering me protection. All you asked of me was to contribute, but I've only returned empty-handed. I am nothing but a burden to your people. So please... let me make it up to you, to thank you for all you've done..."

A hand gently touched the gem around her neck.

"I would gladly lay down my life, if it meant your protection and the kingdom's."

Awaken from his pass-out, the young Tiefling heard the sound of the Voice again. As he expected, the arrival of it never bring good news. This time, it asked for combat performance. The Black Kingdom has fallen, following the Silver. AJ didn't suspect that it wasn't because of the Voice.

Was there any choice? Nope. A King or two Pawns who were their friends? It wasn't a choice at all. The Voice is merciless, it told lies because it wanted more entertainment, from their sufferings. His tail poked the ground beat by beat, in a quite heavy manner.

Damn it! Either way they have to lose something that they unwilling to give. How hard the decision would be for his majestry! AJ turned and looked at their King for a bit. Their Kingdom needed him, no matter what. He had been doing good as a King, bringing happiness, order and peace to the whole kingdom. He can't be taken, no one should.

He was pondering over the whole matter and spaced out, then Keel, Eva and Mayaa volunteered themselves. No way. No way to let the girls and the Silver remnant to sacrifice. If it had to be someone, it would be someone who didn't bring back any miasma, someone had been giving troubles to the whole kingdom, someone liked him-

-Yep, he should be the one who goes.

The young Tiefling went straight forward, stopping Eva and Mayaa. He clapped his hands to draw their attention. "Such a touching story, Eva, but I am sorry dear, your wish can't be granted this time." AJ then turned to Mayaa "As for you- " He patted the harpy on her shoulder and winked. " -There are more wonderful things in Om, you got to experience all of them, so you. have. to. stay." A bright smile on his face to tell that he was telling the truth.

In front of the King, he knelt down the first time, or maybe the last time also. His eyes looked into Mort's eyes very sincerely and began what he wanted, or maybe needed to say. "Your majestry, my clever and rational king. Please bestow the glory to your pawn. As a peaceful and lovely kingdom like ours, there's no way that we are gonna to let the ladies to be tribute. It's so unacceptable. Eva and Mayaa are the treasures of Om, the kingdom itself brightened a lot with their existences. More importantly, Om can't lose you, it was such an unbelievably heavy cost to all your beloved denizens. A kingdom can't lose their king for even a moment, so you have to stay and maintain the order of Om."

He paused a bit and changed the tone lighter, as if telling a joke. "On the other hand, who needs a thief like me? There's Alex who I am sure will do the job quite well as to entertain everyone, bringing happiness and excitement to the whole kingdom. There's nothing to lose if I go."

AJ's tone changed again, back to a more serious manner. "I feel so sorry and frustrated that I didn't bring back any miasma for the kingdom, please give me another chance, to show my loyalty to Om. I would like to do something big for the kingdom, which I might never have the chance to do as a thief in my life. Please grant me that glory. Considering the comparative importances, I trust you will make the wisest decision, your majestry." The Tiefling was determined, he made the most sincere bow he can ever make.

No one should sacrifice, besides him.

The world was suddenly clear again, his mouth half-open as if he was going to say something. Sin was there, she, good lord, she'd just finshed saying something to him. How could that be? What he had just experienced, had it been that short? Was it... not real?

No, he was kidding himself if he for one moment thought that this world was reality, no matter how much fun it could be. And it might have been. This world, this kingdom brought back so many fond memories, of late nights in Andor's room with Mum, Cyrus, and two of Andor's old school buddies, all gathered around a grid board, Andor reading out the next thing he was having happen to their characters. Julian always did play this king of character. A leader, a guardian. Someone stronger in both mind and body than he ever thought he could be. If it wasn't real, why would he ever want to be the shut-in little mama's boy who bigger kids picked on until he ran to his older brothers?

Something nudged him and he turned to see the dire wolf staring at him, her ears pinned back against her head. For a second, his eyes widened, wondering if she didn't look the way she did because of him, because of his own memories. Tears started to fill his eyes as he buried a hand in her fur and clenched it tight. A whine snapped him out of the minor stupor he'd put himself in. He couldn't cry, it wouldn't make sense. If he was to kill the king... kill everyone who was a copy, he couldn't act out of the ordinary. It helped that few really knew this character of his, but that didn't change what little interaction they'd already gotten. It would be tough, but if he just kept telling himself to pretend it was a RPG, maybe he could pull it off.

He watched as Belladonna left Sin and him, running to the king, the fake-Mort. Sin... A glance at her made him grit his teeth. That wasn't Sin. She barely even looked like his friend. Sounded like her, sure, but this wasn't her. He was furious with the Voice for taking his friends from him.
He could do this. For them.

Julian bit back a hiss when the Voice echoed around them. Blah, blah, blah, it certainly liked to talk. Another kingdom down, but the king hadn't fallen. Just one more they needed to kill. Oh... Huh. No wonder Silver had fallen, if Medea had been the king of it. Perhaps the Voice had figured it out.
A tournament on the battlefield. Lovely. One big free-for-all. And the kings could participate.
Wait.
The kings. Could. Participate.
That... would make what they had to do so much easier. In theory.
It didn't look like Belladonna was handling this all that well. The other two... Alex and Sophie, that was their names. He'd never met them before. One was nowhere to be found and the other... Was cuddling with two of the girls.

As people started coming forward, offering their lives as tribute to keep the king from battle, Julian watched in silence. What would this fake-Mort do? Show how compassionate he'd tried to be in the past and refuse anyone volunteering to be sacrificed, instead heading into battle himself? Or would he take the coward's way out, use their eagerness and stay behind where it was safe?

((No break-down for Julian, kthnx.))

The king listened to Aiden's description with an intrigued look. A cavern beneath the castle? Interesting . . . "Thank you," he said with an inclination of his head. "Seven items you say? Mrrr . . ."

But before more could be said, the chime of a bell sounded around the area and The Voice spoke. Mort could not hide the sigh of relief at the news that the Black Kingdom had fallen, wondering if Aymet had foreseen his own destruction just moments before or . . . No. It would not be Om's fate as well. He would see to that. The king listened to The Voice as the crowd stood enraptured and deathly still.

The party was, for all intents and purposes, quite dead.

As the heaviness lifted and The Voice grew silent, Mort turned introspective. The Final Tournament. There was an ominous ring to it beyond simple death - no, it felt like the ruin of the world as he knew it. An apocalypse. The final battle with a multistage boss, plenty of cut scenes, and most certainly feels.

But to walk among them, or to stay behind? After years of staying mostly within the confines of his kingdom, the itch to fight in battle, while frightening, was also tantalizing . . .

As he pondered, he felt something tug his sleeve and blinked owlishly at Keel. Despite himself, he offered them a small smile. "Of course. It's never too late to give someone a second chance and never too late to fight for your home." There was no intricate gesture accompanying Keel's conversion like the others - the king simply touched their shoulder, and from that spot their gray aura became visible and turned green, enveloping them in a soft light to conform them to the kingdom's culture. In their hand they would find a small green jewel as a sign of their new rank, incorporated into their new outfit in one way or another. "Welcome, Keel, as a Soldier of Fortune in this hour that I need many to stay strong."

Mort turned to the others, conflicting emotions flitting across his face. It was odd not to see a smile there or hear a joke. It was no longer a game. And for once the chatterbox of a ruler did not immediately launch into a patriotic speech to rile them. Instead his gaze flitted from face to face, seeming to linger even a few seconds after he had moved on. Some he knew, some he was only beginning to learn about. Who would step up for their king, if any?

And would he accept their deaths just to save himself?

Mort stood attentive as several stepped forward, his carefully neutral face cracking as they spoke, folded hands at his back and clenching. Had his guards not been stunned and rooted in place, there would have been a small outcry at how close the king was allowing people - pulling at his sleeve, prodding his nose like a child. And in a way, he did feel like one: just standing there listening to Imagineers tell one another everything would be alright, the king would be alright, just as long as they themselves died instead.

Eva's words punched a hole in his heart he hadn't expected, and though she slid a bit of humor in the king could barely keep up a semblance of a smile. Mayaa too struck an unexpected chord, the keen of one who felt useless and only of import to get rid off. And even AJ's proclamation to stand in the place of these women only further pushed a nail into that newly opened hole in his heart, for he hadn't expected the thief to be so noble. Mort swallowed when the tiefling finished and his sister moved to oppose the decision, raising a hand to calm her. "Your decisions have been noted -"

And then he heard his name. His actual name, not some form of reverence or title. The king look visibly surprised as his moderator rushed forward, even more so when she buried her face in his sleeve. Had something happened? Several of them looked as though they had just woken from an awful hangover, but . . . "Yes?" he asked softly, laying his other hand on her shoulder. "What is it?" If this was her way of trying to keep him from going on the field, it was doing a good job . . .

[Stats:
Kingdom Heals: 3/5
HP: 25/50]

Sin blinked and shook her head a bit startled still by what the Voice had said and she frowned as Belladonna rushed over to the King. Her teary breakdown made Sin chew her lower lip worriedly and she glanced at Julian. Truth be told the harpy was looking at him oddly? She touched his shoulder lightly one champion to another and offered him a tiny smile, just a faint twist of her lips.

"It will be alright...we'll protect the King and Kingdom from anything the others can throw at us. I'd best go to her...excuse me." She moved away from Julian and up towards Belladonna.

Sin gave a deep curtsey and then lightly placed her hand on Belladonna's shoulder to give her another bit of healing worried for her.

"Forgive me your majesty...but I agree as painful as it may be to lose two of our own it would be better than loosing you and Om altogether." She looked at Mort trying to see how much convincing he would need to stay and let others go. Then she glanced at Belladonna trying to see how much help her small healing touches had done. With a faint sigh she stepped back to a more appropriate distance and tried to turn her grimace of pain into a more neutral expression.

The position he had soon found himself in was greatly enjoyed as the thief soon found himself sandwiched between two women, warm and content. He was so tired, his hands and arms still stung from the miasma flowers he had held. If only he could just have a little nap.

The rumbling purr might have helped to move things along, or maybe it was something else entirely....

Alex jolted awake with a hiss of breath, finding himself still residing in the arms of Ofelia, still with a viera named Eva pressed up against him. It took everything he had in him not to shout, not to give his sudden burst back into consciousness away. He gritted his teeth, kept his eyes shut, and just forced himself not to think about it. Not to think about who he really was and who was currently holding him. Not to think about what he was going to have to do to get out of here, and to save his friends. And so he waited. Waited through the chime of the voice. Waited as one warm body slipped away.

Waited until he was put down.

Then he slowly opened blood red eyes to stare at the fake sky of a fake world where he had been living under a fake identity. Everything was there, the memories of what he was when he had been here as well as the memories of where he really belonged. He'd already had his moment of shock and dismay in the dream world, now was a time of action.

Rising up from where he lay, Alexander smoothly turned his legs so that they dangled over the stage and hopped down to the ground. He still felt weak, tired, and in pain, but he reminded himself that none of it was real, that it was just a dream no matter how real it all felt. That seemed to help at least a little.

This body he moved in felt so foreign, the way everything was so well put together, moving with grace and fluidity like all of his joints were oiled. He realized quite quickly that in order to pull this off, he still had to behave as though he was Alexander the thief, had to pretend, had to play the game like he had immersed himself in an actual RPG.

......If that meant he had to continue to be an egotistical smooth talking creep that apparently flirted with just about everyone...then he would just have to do his best.

"Hail, King!" Alexander grinned, at least finding that gesture to be easy to pull off since he was a very smiley sort back in the real world. "Now what is this I hear about a sacrifice, hrm? Is that really any way for a true king to rise to the top?" For just a second, Alex's eyes flickered towards Belladonna, the Moderator, who was openly weeping and begging for Mort to stay. He didn't quite know what her plan was, but it seemed to him that the best way to kill the king would be to get him on that battlefield, where they would have help from the others who had come here with them.

"I think you need to be looking at the big picture here. Think of the stories that would be told of the brave and noble Green King, the Ruler of Om, who would not hide behind the his palace walls like a coward nor spill the blood of his own people to accomplish it. Think of the tales that would be spun into history and into legend. Think of the songs that will be composed and sung in your honor. The horned King, striding valiantly out into battle, defeating his foes with his own hands, proving to be a warrior, a true king." Just as the voice had said.

"Think of the final cutscene, oh horned King. Think of the end credits writ in green."

Oh dear jack that was so corny. Only Mort would seriously have a video game related Kingdom.

"No." Ofelia's voice cut in as everyone started to plead their cases, most of all Alex. Ofelia had been pretty sure that he and the King were best friends if their interactions meant anything and so the Tiefling strode up to the whole set of people gathering around Mort with a heavy look on her face. "He's not going to go out onto the battlefield - he's going to stay here." The look she shot Alex probably would have peeled paint from a wall if any way nearby, and the glare stayed long and hard. "The whole point of protecting a Kingdom isn't to let your King die a death like a common soldier out on a nameless battlefield."

The Tiefling hissed and cracked her knuckles. Was she...threatening Alex, or anyone in general? Or was she just venting her frustration about AJ offering himself to die? "If you're so into stories and honor and everything else, kill yourself Alex. Offer yourself to the greater good but don't take the King down with you." Her point was clear there, so she turned to Belladonna. "Beedee, stop weeping. You're shaming yourself, you're our Moderator. Act like one and support the King from afar with your actions and not your tears."

Maybe she really was more upset about AJ offering himself up to die than she previously thought possible. "We're his court - it's our job to fight for him on the field. If you don't think you can do that and would rather have your King die because you weren't willing - go away to another Kingdom."

And then Sin went and punched Alex in the face. Ofelia might have raised an eyebrow but that was it.