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 Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 3:58 pm
And then the last two kings entered at last. Wilson offered both of them acknowledging nods before he zeroed in on the phone in Harrison’s phone. He scrutinized it silently. Such outdated technology, but the appearance made him tempted to pull out his PDA to fool around with the simple tools and functions.
The cryptic answers hardly surprised him. He stiffened at the mention of the True King. Wilson couldn’t say he would be this king, but he would never betray his kingdom and he would never want to see his crewmen scattered to different lands. They were his crew. If he could’ve he would’ve glared at the Voice, but instead he scowled while reluctantly rising from his seat. He blankly stared at the mirror, but again his eyes narrowed when the image shifted into something else.
It shifted into…a gate? With a familiar-looking crown placed on top. At the Voice’s words, he tried to take in the shape of the structure in front of him before he shuddered at the sudden wave of powerlessness. He curled his hands into fists, the nails pressing into his palms. Fear naturally followed, but he refused to let the emotions flicker across the face. Hand shaking slightly, he pulled his goggles over his eyes and took a deep breath as the feeling began to subside.
[[ alright Tig what chu got B| ]]
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 4:45 pm
Aymet was up to speed on the general idea of crowning a True King. As if he hadn't thought about it before. But despite his best efforts to build an army out of pure nothingness for just such a purpose, the Voice had upheld a truce between them all. The other kingdoms wronged him, mocked him simply by existing, and remained unpunished. How could it expect him to stand idly by, when revenge was the core of his very being? And then, something changed. Gone was the false sense of peace and righteousness. The laughable diplomacy was cast aside like the garbage it was. No more words, just action, and everlasting victory to the most ruthless of them all. He liked the Voice a lot better now. But the answers to the questions the others posed seemed to go on forever. Who cared what happened to a kingdom of fleshy weaklings? Not him. Good riddance. Not even the Voice seemed to want to acknowledge they had even existed. Already bored to death of the history lesson, Aymet found other ways to occupy himself. With a grin, the Shadow jabbed an unsubtle finger in the direction of the White King, then slid a clawed finger across his throat in one quick motion. It had a very universal meaning. But he stood when the others did, and his throne was replaced by something entirely different. The gate that the Voice showed him was fitting, all black twisted metal and sharp spikes, like jagged teeth. It seemed to shift for a moment. The edge's of the king's silhouette went razor sharp as he felt something rare and dangerous stir in him -- Fear. It subsided in moments, but the echoes of feeling powerless and lost lingered and plagued him. He composed himself quickly. " The Voice has been clear: we fight to the death. A glorious battle lies ahead for my kingdom, if your weapons are as slow as your wits. You've wasted your questions," he jeered. " I ask: What is on the other side of my gate?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 5:25 pm
Mort stroked his chin. "'Pleased' might not be the word, but all of that free Miasma was certainly something, no? A timed quest, but at what cost?"
"Did they now?" Mort passed Harrison a curious look. Then again, he hasn't had the time to ask his new recruits...that would be priority when he returned. "Shame this must come to pass though. I was enjoying the idea of figuring out how that worked," he lamented, eyeing the device in the blue king's hands.
The white king added his question to the lot, and Mort nodded slightly at him in agreement - would their subjects suffer the same fate or be allowed to flee to the remaining kingdoms? The very idea of any Imagineer somewhere else repulsed him, but if it meant survival instead of death...He could live with that. Well, unless they fled to the violet kingdom, he supposed with a wry smile; then it was a moot point.
Loud? Loud? "'Tis the only way to have you listen, what with your nose so high in the air," Mort answered Mengyao with a grin and a thumb flicked across his own nose, jus in case he didn't get the picture. Or maybe Mort spoke so much he often forgot about the volume button. Either or. As the other kings fell in, he stayed true to that statement by greeting them most cheerfully and resoundly, "And with them there are seven. Hail, Locksmith, Sunshine. Radiant as ever." He looked particularly delighted when giving Aymet a small wave, quite easily feeling the animosity emanating from him but being a cheeky b*****d about it anyway.
What did it matter anyway? They would all have to duke it out at some point.
As the Voice spoke, its first words frustrated him. How could they all merit one answer? Why did it basically repeat itself to them when it had asked for questions? Nothing was mentioned of the silver kingdom to boot, and the green king began to lose his Cheshire grin and replaced it with a frown. Who accidentally hit 'yes' on the tutorial box? Of course there could only be one king, so why was it acting like they didn't - gods. He pinched the bridge of his nose by masking it as an attentive push of his glasses. To be allowed one question only to have it ignored was riling the king up more than it should. Was this just another playthrough for The Voice?
He didn't care. He wanted answers and always had because his curiosity demanded it. If they couldn't learn this way, he'd find some other route.
Mort turned to face his throne when prompted, straightening up as the mirror showed him a vine entangled gate of brilliant greens, the familiar horn-like protrusions of his crown sitting at its peak, its gem gleaming at the center. Simple but unmistakable; it did nothing for him literally, but the sight of it calmed Mort's heart some. There was something to physically protect, and knowing so was more soothing than the equally important need to protect his citizens. The throne he could promise himself; but so many faces looked to him for protection it might have been overwhelming had he not taken a breath.
That was probably why that breath was exhaled more sharply than needed when that soothing symbol suddenly became infused with doubt, fear, and helplessness. The vulnerable moment was brief but powerful, and when the mirror had whisked away the image he had to stare at it for a few moments. Everyone...Everyone would die if he failed.
So this was the platinum challenge. S rank mission. Five star difficulty. Hardmode.
Mort turned away in time to catch the odd pairing of a hardened expression and calm smile from Mengyao before he left - glided more like with all those robes - along with the red king following suit. The green king pinched the bridge of his nose again, this time not bothering to hide the action. "Well then...Quite a little animation there." Sucking in another breath, he exhaled and clapped his hands together, once again smiles. He wanted to leave and get back to his kingdom immediately, but Aymet's question kept him rooted to the spot. Though his silent threat to the white king -
"How precious. Will you write me a death note next?" he asked pleasantly, almost wishing the black king would. Then he could put it on his kingdom's equivalent of a refrigerator.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 5:48 pm
The answers given to his fellow Kings hardly seemed like answers at all, and Thackery wondered if he'd missed something. His gaze moved from one face to the next, studying each expression carefully, finally carrying him to the conclusion that yes. Yes, he had missed something.
There was hardly any time to consider this, their next instructions handed to them without hesitation. It was a simple request, at least: just turn to face his throne. He slid from the place where he sat and inspected the mirror that had once been behind him, his stance straightening with surprise when they proved not to be mirrors at all.
Frowning, he reached towards the gates, curious to see if he could reproduce that rippling effect by touching it. His fingertips had almost brushed the surface when the sensations of weak and useless surged through him. He snatched his hand back with a yelp, staring wide-eyed at his gate. Yes. That thing needed to be carefully guarded.
It was then that the question finally pushed itself to the front of his mind, demanding an answer.
"You're right about the kingdom and the subjects and all of that. But, my subjects and I...we'll be together always, won't we?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 5:52 pm
Sure. Same old, same old.
Like a broken record.
He didn't know why they'd even bothered asking. The Voice was in this to find the True King, that was its goal, its drive, and all it wanted to talk about. So it gave them power, put everything that mattered to them on the line, and then...
B0nez stirred, groaning, "Are we there- ohshit," he squeaked, pulling his hoodie over his head and shrinking low when he noticed the other Kings. "What are they doing here?"
"Hosting a QnA," Harrison said, warily, "come on, we been away long enough as it is. Thanks, uh, your Voiceness-"
The Voice gave a command, and Harrison stood rigidly to obey. B0nez followed suit. There, in front of them, were the Gates.
B0nez seemed very interested at that. He adjusted his glasses, looking closer, than looking at the other Kings. "Weakpoints," he muttered to Harrison, under his breath.
Gold and Red went to attend to their Kingdoms.
But two of the Kings hadn't gotten their questions yet, and Black, who'd always been kind of a killjoy, asked something interesting. Maybe it'd get an answer worth hanging around for.
Harrison pocketed his phone (which was on the clunky side) and waited.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 5:55 pm
"Turn, Black King, and face your gate, to see what lies on the other side."
At first, Aymet saw himself, and what he was, his Kingdom. Then slowly, behind the mirror, his visage began to crumble, his crown shatter, bits and pieces of him, his Miasma crackling and splitting until all faded to nothing. In response, his Kingdom too split in half and then fourths, and finally gave way to nothing. An opaque mirror was the only thing that remained through the gate.
"The gate holds your demise. It is the fall of you and your Kingdom and thus, you have right to fear it. All Kingdoms will end, though that is your fate and your fate alone. That is your battle and your legacy. As long as you fight, you will be together."
Silence. And then, nothing, not even a presence. The very being of the Voice had retreated. OOC - All Kings may now return to their Kingdoms. As they exit from their rooms where they hold private council with The Voice, as they turn around they see it. The mirror, the gate. It is an ominous omen of their demise.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 6:16 pm
"Like the goddamn sword of Damocles," Harrison grumbled, ignoring the shiver that went down his back.
"Euuurgh, game over, no thanks," B0nez grabbed Harrison by his fancy tie. "In the mean~time, I've been planning on this for aaaaages, and now that I've got some sleep, I'm ready to start it up."
B0nez wiggled his fingers in a wave at the Green King, and then he and Harrison were also gone.
[exit]
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 6:21 pm
Well, that was not the answer he'd been looking for at all. Thackery was more interested in responses more in the 'yes' sector of things, but the one he'd received left him feeling like he'd missed something, just like all the other answers had.
If The Voice claimed they'd need to fight to stay together, though...that was what would have to be done. He would move it up the priority list until it surpassed even keys, because without them, why would anything else even matter?
With a half-hearted wave to those who remained, he shuffled from the room, all the energy that had once been focused on his excitement now relegated to thinking.
[exit]
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:17 pm
The gesture from the Black King didn’t go unnoticed by Wilson. He pulled down his goggles to reveal the moving swirls in his eyes while he quirked an eyebrow at Aymet. There were no words from the White King as he eyed the other as he attempted to formulate a response. It shouldn’t have meant anything; this was a free-for-all, but Aymet was specifically staring right at him. He figured this threat was specifically geared toward his kingdom, but chose to remain mute as he posed his own question. Quite an interesting inquiry, Wilson thought as he turned toward the others. Perhaps he would wait just a bit more.
But he couldn’t help but snerk at Mort’s response. “Sounds like a wonderful gift,” he mused as he crossed his arms. “Maybe he can write me a dirge afterwards.” For a short while, Wilson was in a good mood—even the Violet King’s question was cute, in a way—but then the voice answered back. He frowned. “Good grief,” he sighed as he pulled out his PDA and swiped his fingers across the screen. “Why am I not surprised?”
He cast a lingering look to the remaining kings, but managed a grin at Mort before he left at last.
[ exiting ]
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:34 pm
Oh you, Wilson. If they didn't eventually have to kill each other, think of all the fun things they could have talked about - him and B0nez, really. The three levels of magic and technology - past, present, and future . . . Ah, he could just imagine it. Mort gave them both a small grin in return as they left, a small gesture to keep the shadows Aymet's question had revealed at bay.
"All Kingdoms will end, though that is your fate and your fate alone. This is your battle and your legacy."
Rather chilling words he'd have to mull over.
Returning Thackery's wave, he turned to Aymet and hefted his compass. "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss also stares into you, no? I hope you saw what you wished, King of Shadows."
And with that the green king took his leave. Creation could only ever move forward, afterall.
(( Exit ))
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