Welcome to Gaia! ::

(( Okie-dokie ))

The replicas disappeared, leaving the original. "You had no such obligation." The Stranger turned to leave.

(( Last chance to attack him ))

(( Okay... crying ))

The energy glowed brighter, and soon dissipated, as expected. What was NOT expected was the Stranger still standing there as if nothing had happened. The Phantom Stranger turned around, looked X in the eye, and said, "You cannot kill me. You are not powerful enough, and I doubt that the Universe would allow such an event to transpire, anyway." With that, there was no fog, just the Stranger disappearing, until he was gone. But even still, his voice was heard one last time. "Stop while you still draw breath, lest you realise the concequences of your actions too late. Vengeance shall befall you, and it is in some ways much more powerful than I..."

[exit the Phantom Stranger to Fisk Towers]

X sat at his throne and continued to sit and stare at the pit in the middle of the floor in front of him, still stewing over the little meeting he had with the Stranger. The longer he sat, the angrier he seemed to become as he thought. His eyes did not change color, yet they gradually became darker.

Not powerful enough…

Stop while he still drew breath…

Meagerly defended…

There was another loud and sharp crackling sound from one of the many invisible columns inside the room. Slowly X stood and made his way towards the pit, pausing in front of it to stare down at it. After a few moments, his eyes turned pure black.

”I’m the one in charge here.” he said in a gravely dangerous tone.

ENTER Sholeh from Chooser's Realm.



Sholeh entered X's realm in her usual fashion. A bright flash of light just appearing inside the 'room'. Though...she didn't have her usual bright and cheery expression. She actually seemed fairly annoyed.
After a moment though, she smiled and sighed. "Peace and quiet at last..." she mumbled to herself.

Then...she noticed something quite different in the room. X...had visitors....or prisioners. And he never brought anyone here unless he really wanted them for something.

There was a large pink symbiote creature...Greed. The 'Blood' creature from the other world, Rapture. The man who'd gained immortality through experimentation...Kenji. And the human that called himself Phantasm. Or something...she didn't really pay attention.
Each were standing, almost zombishly, behind X's throne, staring deadly at the ground.

Sholeh hesitated a moment, staring at the small group, then glanced back over at X. "Um...you don't mind if I hang out here for a while, do you?" she asked. "I need a bit of peace and quiet."

No response...or even an acknowledgement. He was obviously ticked about something. Jeeze, she hadn't seen him be this mad this long in...well, she'd never seen him this mad for so long.
"Um...anything you wanna talk about?"

Still nothing.

Sholeh took another glance over at the group, feeling a bit uneasy, then moved towards a broken column and sat down against it. Well, it was still better than listening to her 'bosses' chew her ear off.

X's eyes shot towards the Stranger, glaring almost murderously at him. He didn't say a word...nor did he move. Honestly it almost seemed like he was too angry to.

Sholeh turned and looked over at the Stranger. She wanted to ask him just what it was this man would do to her again. How it could be any worse than what the others had planned for her if she refused to bring the heros back. But...he was talking to X. And it might be better to leave if X snapped again.

Sholeh watched the Stranger dissapear again, and hesitated a moment before turning to look at X. He was, as expected, still angry. If not more so now. But...there was a bit of a different look in his eyes. Sholeh couldn't quite tell what it was. Surprise? Rage? Confusion?

After a few moments, she stood. Taking another nervous look at the others, she made her way over to X's throne and paused beside it. Still unresponsive. "Why won't you stop?" she asked quietly. Knowing she wasn't going to get an answer, or so much as a glance, she continued. "You...it sounded like you actually have a good choice. He said...my job might actually get me in trouble. And, I can't stop. I can't quit or they'll...I don't really have a good way out."

Still nothing. Being this close to him now, she could get a better look at his eyes. He was still clearly angry, very angry. But...the look behind them...wasn't.

"Don't you care that you might get killed? That you'll leave Al-"

"She's already left." X cut her off, his voice unnaturally calm, even for him. The small group behind him slowly vanished from existance, and Sholeh could only guess that he had sent them all back to Earth. "And so should you."

Sholeh stared at him a moment, a bit unsure of what he meant. She left? As in mad at him, or literally gone? Was he angry enough that he was just going to push everyone away now?

"Should he find me, I wouldn't be anywhere near Exodus. And if he's looking for you too, then you shouldn't be in a place he's looking for." he said before moving back in his chair, relaxing a bit. At least his position was more relaxed. Even the air around him was suffacatingly tense. And his eyes were now fixed on 'Earth', and again there was something different behind them. He was either debating something...or plotting something.
"You say your kind are threatening you if you don't do your job? Then stay around Alcina as much as you can. You might as well be a daughter to her. She won't let them touch you."

Sholeh's eyes widened, and tried not to let her mouth drop open. She wasn't expecting that. He wasn't mad at her or anything. In fact, he was semi trying to protect her? It was a little...well it wasn't what she was expecting.
"O...okay." she said quietly. "Um...what are you going to do?"

"Does it matter?" he asked, his tone still unnervingly calm.

"It does to me." Sholeh replied after a bit of a pause. "And I know it does to Al-"

"You should go." he said, again cutting her off.

"But..."

Somewhere behind Sholeh, another column quite loudly cracked and busted, it's chunks bouncing off the floor.

"Go."

Sholeh did as he said. She knew better than to stick around, even if she wanted to. She wanted to actually talk to him, but it was clear that he still didn't. He wasn't going to change his mind. Or...if he was, he was having a very hard time doing so. Perhaps she should find Alcina and talk to her instead.


EXIT Sholeh to Unknown

X sat in his throne and stared down at the world below him. His arms resting on the ends of the chair, and his hands folded under his nose, staring intently and thoughtfully. Not quite at the Earth, but at the small rock that moved around it.

After a few moments, after the group on the moon had left, he glanced back and stared at the darkness behind him through the corner of his eye. ”I know you’re there. Come out.” he said. His voice still as calm and emotionless as it was before.

”Took you long enough” someone said from the darkness. Then, the man stepped out of the darkness and towards X. A very large and very tall being in heavy gold and red armor lined with spikes and skulls. Part was made from metal, and the rest was made from the bones of some of his most prized kills. More notably the front of the helmet that was a frighteningly demonic skull. There was even a black fur-like cape attached to the back of the neck of the fully protective suit. A pelt...though from what his ledged says...pelt wasn't the right word. More like a skin. Like how Earthly Indians would scalp their prizes. And the weapons...oh the still blood stained weapons. Maces, swords, guns, arrows, tridents, hooks, almost anything one could imagine.
The skull's mouth moved, and a barely visible red mist floated through the shark-like teeth of it. "You're either loosing your touch...or your nerve."

X said nothing at first, but simply turned back around to stare down at the Earth now. ”What do you want, Khorne? Here to complain about the delay with your firework show as well?”

”Of course not. Unlike the child, I know you’ll keep to what you’re supposed to do.” the man said, looking down at the world once he was close enough. ”Spineless little mutt.” he mumbled.

X frowned and glanced over at him. ”She is just a child. One with very little power.”

”And one who’s leading that being right to our home planet. Pathetic. Cowards are only good to be practiced on. She should have just stood there and accepted whatever death the man had for her. She knows what’s awaiting her once we have her.”

”And you can’t cut her a break for being a frightened child?”

”I might for that. But for being a traitor. Death is too good for her.”

”Not that you were going to give her one anyway. The law was to be chained in the games until death, then brought back to life to be used as practice for various new techniques until the next game. Then repeat until her soul’s so broken that she’s nothing more than a shell with no response to anything around her. THEN she’s given to every champion. Both past and future.” X said, a very small hint of anger lacing his tone. ”If the being can protect her from all of you, then don’t you think the instinct of survival would kick in rather than loyalty?”

The man in armor casually turned to look back at the newcommer, while X turned his attenion back towards the world below him...his fingers now digging into his hands.

"Of course not. X does this all on his own free will. I simply encourage that he keeps it up." the man replied. "The others don't like taking mortals from thriving planets. So X is a rather great help to that."
He then turned his attention back to X. "So this is one of the mortals that's made you so tense? The one that your woman has her eye on?"

X said nothing.