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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 17, 2013 23:18:26 GMT -5
The Human Realm Los Angeles The Dead Of Night
The group found themselves in the middle of a barren street, surrounded by small buildings in a large city. The sky was completely black with only a few gray clouds visibly passing by. The moon was the only source of light and even that was rather limited. Small pieces of trash, such as plastic cups, pieces of paper, empty bags of chips, and the like, rolled across the ground as the wind blew. Some of the nearby buildings had lights within their windows, but they all looked rather dilapidated. Worn brick, cracked wood, and rusted metal.
The area did not look inviting in the least.
All the way down the street was a modest-sized brick building. it would have been difficult to even see the place within the night's darkness if it were not for its flashing neon sign, which read:
Devil May Cry
? ? ?
There was nothing here but darkness. Not a single source of light. Not a single recognizable objects.
It was simply nothingness. The only two things within this space were four men. An older man with gray hair and a floating white book next to him. A man with blonde hair wearing black torso armor and brown pants. A ninja wearing black and blue clothing. And a tall man standing a few feet in front of him, covered in a black coat that completely concealed his identity within its hood.
"You have wasted much time. They are here now and you have not yet given me an answer to my proposition. Despite what hope you may have, deep inside your heart, you know accepting is in the best interest of you, your allies, and your worlds."
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 17, 2013 23:50:39 GMT -5
Hellboy felt as if he had been dropped out of a plane and was plummeting towards a painful and very regretful death. Then he felt solid ground beneath his feet and found himself standing in some rundown city. If he wasn't told before by Amuzi that they were going to a different world, he would have assumed this was his own. But she said that, for the most part, this place's locations were the same to some of theirs. So, maybe there were some similarities to his own world besides the crappy architecture of these slum areas? And the sour taste of the air?
"Honestly, this place looks like a bunch of cities from my world. New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and all those other places. This area doesn't exactly look familiar to me, though..."
He looked at his allies.
"Anyone got any idea where we are? Or where to start looking for this Dante guy?"
----------------------------------------------------
Nier looked at the cloaked man in front of them. This man had been with them since they escaped. He had come to them after they lost half their team on their last mission and convinced them that Amuzi wasn't doing things right. Honestly, he had difficult disagreeing. As their friends and allies were being beaten to death, the woman with self-proclaimed "god-like power" didn't even lift a finger to help them. Upon their return to the Sanctuary, managing to complete their mission regardless of their losses, the witch didn't even offer any kind of sympathy. She had simply looked at them, shook her head, and gave them their next assignment, along with two days of rest before heading out again.
On top of all that, the witch hadn't even mentioned any progress on his daughter's condition. He had only joined her cause in the first place because she promised to help Yonah. Yet, there hadn't been a single mention of progress on her despite him and his team completing three missions in three different worlds. Amuzi flaunted her power around, yet seemed to do very little work herself. He never saw her fight the creatures breaking into other worlds. He never saw her struggle against a stronger being like so many of them did. All she did was sit in her own dimension, in her safe Sanctuary, and order people around.
Nier had had enough. He and his remaining allies had abandoned the Sanctuary and left for another world, where this cloaked man greeted them once again. Weeks ago, he had given them an offer.
This cloaked man was a part of yet another group that was trying to end the dimensional crisis. Yet, unlike Amuzi, the man had given them an actual solid plan. He said he simply required a tremendous amount of power, particularly the kind designed to contact dimensions, and could use it to find whatever was responsible for this situation and destroy it. There was one condition, however.
One member of his group had to surrender their body, their very soul, to this man. Such a thing brought up a few red flags within Nier's mind and, at the time of the initial offer, they had refused the cloaked man and said they needed time to think.
But now the witch had sent another group after them. Their time was running short.
But could they truly trust this man? He basically wanted a sacrifice, but it would be only one life to save the countless others in all of reality.
Was that truly so much better than the witch? Or so much worse?
No, there had to be another way. After all, that was what the group had been doing during their time in this world, right?
"I'm still against it right now." Nier finally said, folding his arms. "We still have time. There could still be another way to do this and we might be able to find it if we spend whatever time we have left searching."
He then looked at Sub-Zero and Ramza, waiting for their responses.
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Post by Jisui on Jun 18, 2013 1:06:35 GMT -5
As she fell through the dimensional rift, Ciel realized that she only had a slight feeling of vertigo, and inwardly thanked her frequent leaps off lamp poles and street buildings back in her own world. Hitting the ground gracefully as her surroundings began to clear up, the Church agent silently began looking around at her surroundings, her emotionless expression showing a tiny bit of disdain at the condition of the place. The architecture however, was familiar, as she had been to America once on a mission. Or, at least... wrinkling her nose at the smell of the air and trashed streets, it looked like America, she thought dryly.
"Anyone got any idea where we are? Or where to start looking for this Dante guy?"
...It was a good question. Being asked to find a group that was hidden on an entire world, with their guide being someone that was also hidden, was a huge stretch. But, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night, used to it because of her nightly patrols, the red neon sign ahead caught her attention.
Devil... May Cry...
"...This Dante. The witch said he was a demon hunter, correct?" Ciel questioned quietly, her eyes still staring at the sign.
The blonde-haired young man with black torso armor frowned slightly, as if not enjoying where the conversation was going. By his appearances, mainly his boyish, round face and delicate looking hands, he merely seemed like a young boy. But there was something odd stored inside his eyes that was immeasurable, as if he had seen things that most people did not see in a lifetime. But Ramza was not most people. He had seen enough betrayal, political corruption and loss that would normally break most people. In that sense, that was why he made such a good leader. Because he knew the pain of being used as a pawn in another's plans, he would never knowingly sacrifice a person for the greater good of the many. It was this quality, that allowed him to think clearly in this situation.
Waiting for Nier to finish speaking, he felt the older man's gaze pass over him, and the young man returned the gaze as he began speaking.
"I would gladly offer this body of mine if it meant saving those I care for." He began, his voice soft and quiet, but with a slight hint of determination and forcefulness in it. He spoke in a slight accent, and his words were similar to the style of old, medieval English, but no doubt his companions were used to it by now. "But does thou give one sheep to save the flock entire? If we sacrifice one hapless soul for our own means... tell me, does that truly make us any better than the witch we escaped from?"
He paused, gauging the reactions of his companions, before falling silent and glancing at Sub-Zero for his opinion.
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Post by Advix on Jun 18, 2013 1:38:45 GMT -5
Oswald was about to open his mouth and ask whether or not Amuzi knew why their targets deserted the Sanctuary, but he found himself cut off, and falling before finding himself in another one of those bizarre "modern" cities. "I hate it when she does that," he spoke up. In the end, he didn't care either way. Their mission was made clear; neutralize the threat the deserters pose to the Pearl Sanctuary, be it by negotiation or assassination. Personally, if they were willing to make actions that could jeopardize every living soul in existence, he had no qualms with slaying them. After quickly scanning his surroundings, he stood by Satsuki as she found herself in another world so quickly after hearing Ciel's bad news. All he could offer her was a simple question; "How are you?"
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 18, 2013 2:10:27 GMT -5
"Cut the chatter," said Piccolo, looking to Oswald. "Every second that we spend standing here is an opportunity for the defects to get away. Get yourselves together and follow me."
With that said, Piccolo moved up to the door and opened it slowly. He scanned the area for peculiar energies. Truth be told, they were everywhere. Strange, dark energies.
This place had been touched by something. It stank of the denizens of HFIL.
"So, we're in that kind of world..." he muttered to himself.
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"Unacceptable!" shouted a muffled voice. The man with the blue mask over his face breathed heavily, each exhalation accompanied by a cold mist. The frozen air around him was indicative of his attitude toward their supposed benefactor.
Sub-Zero had come here hoping to get away from all of the manipulation. Be it Lin Quay or Amuzi, he had allowed his talents to be used for the benefit of people who had no honor. People that he couldn't trust. He abandoned the witch in order to seek an alternative to her questionable methods. But...
"I did not abandon Sanctuary so that I could dishonor myself with more evil witchcraft!"
Sub-Zero looked to his comrades one at a time. His eyes pleaded them to reconsider.
"This is madness. You all know this! Do not let your hatred and fear of Amuzi cloud your judgment. There must be another way!"
Sub-Zero looked to Nier. He knew that deep down, there was a father in there. A father who put his daughter first.
"Nier, you can not allow this! You mustn't!"
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 18, 2013 11:05:14 GMT -5
The Human Realm Los Angeles Devil May Cry
The inside of the shape was fairly average. Wooden floors and walls with little furniture. A couch against the right wall next to a classic jukebox, a few wooden chairs sitting around, and a large mahogany desk near the back. However, the left wall was extremely unusual because it was, in fact, covered with the severed heads of dozens of different kinds of demons. Each one had a different sword stuck into it. It was pretty obvious this was a kind of trophy collection.
The mahogany desk near the back of the shop had an opened box of pizza and a black old-style rotary-dial phone. Leaning in the chair, his head bobbing to the jukebox's music, was a man, appearing in his 30s, with short white hair. He was wearing a red trench coat with a red vest over a black shirt and black pants with red boots. It took a few moments after Piccolo opened the door for the man to notice him. He raised an eyebrow at the unusual visitor.
"Well...never seen anyone like you before. 'Course, in my line of work I'm expecting just about anything to walk through the door nowadays."
Hellboy walked inside after Piccolo, looking at the trophy wall. He whistled, obviously impressed.
"Damn. You've been doing this for a while, haven't you?"
The white-haired man chuckled. "Lots of years, yeah." He then looked at Piccolo again, assuming the man was in charge of the group.
"So what do you guys want? Your group looks weird as hell, so I'm not even gonna bother asking for the password. Need me to clear out an old castle full of demons? Stop another lord of Hell from breaking into the human realm? What?"
-------------------------------------------------------------- ? ? ?
"I'm not." Nier answered the blue ninja. "There has to be other ways. I'm not letting any more of my friends sacrifice themselves." He looked at the man in the black cloak.
"We're gonna have to refuse your offer."
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Post by Jisui on Jun 19, 2013 18:17:27 GMT -5
As a demon hunter herself... Ciel couldn't help but be somewhat impressed by Dante's large collection of trophies stored on the wall. Of course, she didn't exactly agree with the practice of it, but she had seen demon hunters who had kept far worse things then severed heads as trophies. Looking over the collection and somewhat marveling at the huge variety of creatures slain, she then turned her attention to the silver-haired demon hunter himself, casually leaning against the back of his chair.
...It take a genius to figure out that this was no ordinary human, if he was human at all. This man... for some reason, Ciel felt on edge while he was near her.
Waiting for Piccolo to respond to him, the Church woman casually leaned against the wall, folding her arms against her chest as her gaze turned back to the wall of demon heads.
Ramza smiled at both the passionate response of her ninja companion, and the answer of Nier. Nodding in approval, his mind wandered back to his two allies that were waiting for the three of them back at their camp, and then to...
"...Regardless of thy choice, Nier. It appears we must make haste, to prepare ourselves." The swordsman noted. "We will have company soon."
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Post by Greed on Jun 19, 2013 19:21:59 GMT -5
-Zelos-
Zelos casually followed Piccolo, Ciel and Hellboy into the unusual looking building, whistling as he glanced around at the surroundings. Inside, a dude in a red trenchcoat, and a wall full of demonic trophies. The fact that the swords hadn't even been removed from the heads gave Zelos a little bit of a laugh. Like the hunter over there couldn't have been bothered to pull them out. Of course, that was probably the case. The Chosen couldn't help but grin as the demon hunter went through a list of possible things they could ask him for.
"Uh... nah, none of the above. You seen a guy with a funky mask and an icy ninja guy?" Straight and simple.
... kinda forgot to ask the guy's name too. They were kinda in his joint, after all. Eh, this was probably that Dante guy, right? Amuzi did say he was a demon hunter...
-Outside Devil May Cry-
-Satsuki-
Oswald's words snapped Satsuki back to reality, as she quickly realized she was in another world. At the very least, this one seemed similar to her world.... the city was a little grungier though.
"I-I'm... I'll be okay." It was a lie, and a bad one at that; if Shiki was really dead... was there any real reason for her to be here? She... still had to decide.
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Post by Advix on Jun 19, 2013 21:31:24 GMT -5
Oswald begrudgingly ignored Piccolo as he talked to Satsuki. Time was of the essence, but even Oswald had the heart not to push Satsuki so soon. He stood outside with her as the others walked inside, and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry that your world was attacked, Satsuki," he spoke up. "If I had learned that my home and loved ones were attacked as well, that Gwendolyn was slain, I may have lost my mind. I gather you must be wondering if there is any point for you to be fighting anymore. I wish I could give you a better answer, but all we can do is continue to fight for those who are still alive. All we can do is fight on and hope we're not too late. I know that doesn't sound like much, so please believe me when I say... I'm here for you." The hand on Satsuki's shoulder rubbed it gently, sincerely. It was a truly odd thing for most to see such a side from a man who seemed so fierce, but for those who knew Oswald as not an ally but as a friend, few were kinder.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 20, 2013 23:06:17 GMT -5
The owner of the establishment had the swagger of a man who was confident in himself. It was likely for good reason too. The heads on the walls made a convincing case for that.
There was no doubt in Piccolo's mind. This was the contact that Amuzi had told them about.
"So, you're Dante. Amuzi sent m-...us to investigate some defects from the Realm Agents in your world. She needs you to help us out. You up for it?"
'He'd better be' thought Piccolo. He loathed the thought of pandering to this man in exchange for his assistance. Capable fighter or not, he had the look of a buffoon about him. Piccolo had no patience for wise-asses. At least, not for any that he'd met after the-...
Piccolo immediately stopped himself once he realized where his mind was going. He focused his mind on the task at hand. That was convincing this ruffian to assist in their search.
...And keeping the group together. Speaking of which.
"Satsuki! Oswald! Get in here, now!"
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That was the Nier that Sub-Zero knew. In the end, he did was best for his daughter. He did the honorable thing.
"We will not partake in your foul magics. If the assassins come for us, then let them! We will fend them off ourselves."
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 21, 2013 8:59:51 GMT -5
? ? ?
The man in the black coat looked at each of them, then shook his head in disappointment. It was not a surprise, of course. All three of these warriors were valiant and honorable. He was not sure if even desperation would cause them to accept his bargain. But such a thing would become clear in time.
"Very well." He said. "However, if any of you change your mind...all you simply must do is call me out." The man then sank into the darkness, black and purple flames consuming him as he vanished.
The darkness surrounding Nier, Sub-Zero, and Ramza faded away like a dream and the group soon found themselves back at the entrance of the forest near their camp.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 21, 2013 12:20:46 GMT -5
The Human Realm Los Angeles Devil May Cry
Dante's laid back expression immediately faltered when Piccolo finished. He sighed and stood up from his chair, closing his pizza box and turning to the wall behind him.
"Y'know...I heard that name before. Amuzi, I mean. Ran into a group a little while ago that escaped from her place, maybe the guys you're looking for, maybe not. Some all-powerful witch or something that has her own private army of fighters from all of reality, right?"
Hellboy was disappointed, but not surprised to hear Dante knew all this. This simply meant the rogue agents already encountered him. Whether he was on their side or not, however, remained to be seen.
The demon hunter kept talking. "Do you know why those guys left? Why they abandoned the witch's big ol' quest to save all of reality?"
Amuzi said the group's reason for leaving was completely pointless. So the red demon had no idea. He folded his arms and looked at the demon hunter.
"Nah, she said it wasn't important. Is that gonna be a problem?"
Dante said nothing, most likely waiting for the group's leader to answer.
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The Island of Fortuna
Nier found himself outside the large woods near their encampment. Weiss floated down towards him and released a sigh.
"For a moment there, I was afraid you'd accept the man's bargain. Happy to see this situation hasn't robbed you of all your sense."
The man looked at the grimoire for a second before shaking his head. "I'm not gonna lie. I was considering it. I kept thinking, what would I do to help Yonah? Absolutely anything. But she'd be pretty upset if I went and killed myself to help her..." A concerned look overcame Nier's features, his mind obviously dwelling on his decision. Weiss noticed this instantly and offered a comforting word.
"I am sure there's another way to go about this."
"...Yeah."
Nier began to make his way back to the camp, walking more slowly so his allies could hurry and catch up.
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Post by Jisui on Jun 21, 2013 13:28:38 GMT -5
"..." While listening to the group, Ciel wasn't entirely enthused to find out that Amuzi had left out information that might have been useful to them during their mission. Of course... if this reason was actually important, and this demon hunter knew of it...
...Then it meant that he was potentially sympathetic to the rogue group. Which would make things a lot more difficult.
Ciel glanced over at Piccolo, awaiting for his response. If he knew, and didn't tell the rest of them, she was going to be rather irritated...
"Show a bit of cheer, my friend." Smiling, Ramza gave his older companion a friendly slap on the back, intending to lift him out of his somber thoughts with the feeling of cold steel running across his back. Truthfully, if Nier had accepted, then Ramza would have lost hope in the cause altogether. After all, if they had to resort to the witch's methods to resolve their problems, then there was no point in abandoning her in the first place. Thankfully however, he had declined, as Ramza had suspected he would. Although a bit weathered, Nier was a good man and father, and there was no doubt that Ramza trusted him. The knight slowly began following his allies, a bit eager to return to camp and see his other companions.
"We need only take things one step a time. First, we shall see whether Mustadio has burned our encampment to the ground." At this, he grimaced a bit, remembering that the engineer had told him that he was going to "experiment" with some chemicals while they were gone. "Then we may grab some nourishment, and discuss our options more then."
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 22, 2013 3:48:49 GMT -5
So, Dante wasn't officially a Realm Agent. Amuzi seemed to trust him at least enough to believe he would be helpful though. Still, the fact that he wasn't directly working for her meant that he'd need some kind of incentive to cooperate. Piccolo didn't want to resort to pandering, but if that's what had to be done...
"I doubt they all left under the same circumstances. Regardless, we're gonna find them and we need your help. So what's it gonna take to hire you?"
Hopefully it would be something reasonable. Money, information...anything he could offer that wouldn't result in loss of integrity. He wasn't going to dance for this man's amusement, that was for sure.
Piccolo's own stubbornness reminded him a little bit of Vegeta and his ramblings about preserving his pride. This must have been what he felt like most of the time. Thankfully, Piccolo could say with confidence that he wasn't nearly that egomaniacal.
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Sub-Zero nodded in agreement with Ramza. Mustadio...his machines were not always...safe.
While checking on him was their immediate concern, there were other things that Sub-Zero believed the group needed to keep in mind as well.
"We should relocate once we ensure his safety. We may be able to lose the Realm Agents' trail if we move quickly. I am no coward, but it would be preferable to delay our encounter for as long as possible."
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 22, 2013 12:15:31 GMT -5
Dante shook his head at Piccolo's response. So, the reasons their rogue agents went rogue in the first place didn't matter? They were just going around, blindly following the witch's orders without even asking why? It was something that Dante had seen before. Blind loyalty. It was a pretty admirable thing, but also pretty damned stupid.
"They left because your boss is, honestly, a pretty big bitch. Hard to follow a heartless person with god-like power. Might as well be following a demon wearing an angel's clothes. Looks nice and pretty on the outside but is complete crap on the inside. So, I have a better offer. A counteroffer."
The demon hunter took his large silver sword from the wall and held it out, pointing it at the group.
"How about you guys get the hell out of my shop, get the hell out of my world, and leave your little rogue agents alone? They came to me for help before, and I set them on the best path they have right now. If you do this, I'll let you all leave without holes in your heads."
Dante's expression was serious and he had an uncharacteristic frown. He wasn't messing around and was fully prepared to fight this group.
Hellboy sighed and cracked his knuckles. He was hoping it wouldn't come to this but, in all honesty, it wasn't a surprise. "Damn. Was sorta hoping for this to go better."
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[[ We'll get back to the rogue group later. Their first part's over now. ]]
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