"Serial killers think they are frightful. But they've never met a ninja before." Sakura says with a blood-curdling smile. Vina and the Knights Two and Alice and Samas all roll out of their beds. Vina and the Knights making morning prayers.
"Oh, Lord of Hosts, you crushed the skull of the Dragon. Now you send me to battle this avatar, and I am so honored that I can serve you. Only give me strength and wit of arm so that I may smite this insult to your holy Presence. He defiles the world with his breath, your world, O Lord. Give me the power to avenge this ill deed, this dishonor to your Majestic Name. And I thank you for doing so, for I know you fight with every brave man against the Evil. Annoint my comrades with your power as well, O Most High. Show this Avatar that he cannot stand in your Pure Presence...."
It goes on for a while. By the time Roland is done praying, everyone is just itching to find some Evil and put their boot in its face.
As you follow a straight line across the swells you hear in your mind "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash for a minute.
Later as you approach the top of a swell...
You hear in your mind Jim Stafford singing 'Spiders and Snakes' as you walk along.
Computer problem.
Doublepost
*smiles when Sakura says that*
"There is something about a woman who blends violence with subtlety that is absolutely intoxicating." *winks*
*keeps his prayers simple, since he has only started feeling like he has a direct link to Odin*
"Give me the might to do the right thing, and the wisdom to follow through."
*starting to get that Chainbreaker communicates to him through song, noting Walk the Line when he is walking a straight path through something that might be dangerous to walk off the path, the second song confusing him, unless Chainbreaker is telling him Sakura likes him, and starts to steal looks to see if she is looking, respecting her enough to not invade her privacy and read her mind, but curious if there is something there and Chainbreaker is letting me know to look*
Jhiaxus
Its not Sakura, you realize. And then you crest the swell, and see a counterclockwise miles wide circle of three feet tall spiders. The circle's line is forty feet across.
"Its traditional to have three challenges before you meet the end of your quest." Roland says. "This makes getting past this the first. I suppose it would be too much to hope for for these spiders to be non-poisonous."
*looks at all the spiders*
"Just to make a suggestion, maybe Ashe has a fire based pokemon that could clear a path through, spiders don't like fire."
*in either case, making sure he is setting the phaser rifle to the bolt setting*
Jhiaxus
Ash steps up and shouts...
"Rapidash! I choose you!" And he throws down a white and red ball out of which emerges a horse of fire. It charges the spiders and behind it is a line of fire. The spiders scatter, and try to reform, and the firestallion recharges them. He arranges it so that there are two walls of fire with a clear passage between them.
Your team passes over.
You and the rest keep on going toward a tall hill. You see a man in a dark cloak and a broad-brimmed hat with black leather gauntlets waiting in your path.
*sizing up the next man in the path, since I am not the leader, letting Roland take lead, but not afraid to take actions on his own once the situation unfolds. I respect the chain of command, but I also balance it against knowing my and the others abilities, even going so far as physically have Roland in the lead, listening if Chainbreaker is singing a song to him*
Jhiaxus
Elvis is singing 'Devil in Disguise'.
"Who are you that stands in our way? Do you seek to bar our passage?"
Roland asks challengingly.
The man flips up his hat, and snaps his fingers. Roland freezes in position, unmoving.
"Chosen One of Odin, you are aware that Lord Odin says that in the end, he and everyone with him will die, are you not? In the end, the jotun will win. But then, a new man and a new woman will arise,a nd restart things. Presumably better than this stinking mess we have now. So I ask you, why not get it over with, and hit the restart button now?"
*smiles*
"I choose to believe Lord Odin knows that all things in time must pass, and he is sending out people who embrace his spirit and wisdom to make their way in the world themselves, so when he is gone, his message remains. It is not about the destination, it's the journey. I have learned more about myself these few days, than I ever have in a lifetime. A sword is not just made, it is seared through flame, beaten into shape and honed to a sharp edge through battle. Odin gives me free will to do what is needed, and guidance when I ask for it. There was a time where I was selfish and would have hit the reset button out of spite, now I see that the beauty of existence outweighs the negative that I experience. Oh, and I forgot, I don't believe anything is set in stone, and that drives me."
*smiles*
"You asked me a question, and now I pose one to you. You had it all in Vegas, all the evil people in the US, in one place under your banner, and you saw how faith and spirit of 2 doomed men sent all those plans into dust. With all the power you were given, why do you think the creator made man to be collectively more powerful than yourself?"
*waits for a response*
Jhiaxus
((The reference if you didn't get is The Stand by Steven King, it was the first thing I thought of with the man in black))
He smiles.
"You'll be fun to play with later. To answer your question, the Creator is...unwise. So was the fellow at Las Vegas. I however, am not, and I will not be stopped by Odin, or by Odin's pet for I am Loki."
He steps aside and you realize he has no shadow.
"Pass of your own free will, but know, you go to doom."
Roland moves his shoulders, and then jerks his head around a bit, but says nothing.
*grins back*
"Well Loki, if memory serves you are to be killed by Heimdall during Ragnarok. So it is not Odin who will stop you. Whether we go to doom or not we will still go, because it is the right thing to do. As for playing with me, better rethink that, because this mortal is here to stop your death as well as the others. Loyalty is something even you need to embrace."
*walks on by*
Jhiaxus
Loki laughs.
"The thing is, I've known this fate for a million years. I just may have devoted some effort to bypassing that fate. But we'll see how things go. Have to pay to play. And perhaps I am helping you. Perhaps I am here to sharpen your wits, and I am actually your truest bestest friend."
He holds out his fist for a fist bump.
"BFF's?" He says smirking.
Later you advance to near the crest of the large hill you've been headed toward. And in front of your team, you see the Thing.
Its as wide as a mangrove tree without any leaves or minor branches. Its feet are giant snails grafted into its trunk. Eyes, singular, no pairs, open at various changing spots for varied amounts of time on its trunk.
A voice comes to you like the scream of innocent men being tortured.
"We/It Wayopener Being"
"Alice Goddess Part Me Unmake Me Free We Laugh Friends Die Or Friends Die Kill We Or Kill I Kill I No Kill that which comes No Kill then it eats."
Laughter like the sobbing of widows and the cracking of planets, and you feel your ears and nose bleeding.
*thinks about it*
"Perhaps you are" *bumps his fist with his* "We'll go with, we are cool and work from there."
*looking at this thing with pity and concern, and looks to Alice*
"I think they are asking for release from their tortured existence, I know it will weaken you, but I would grant them that mercy."
*listening to Chainbreaker to see if it agrees with that course of action, or did I misinterpret, its words or intentions, while wiping the blood from my ears and nose.*
Jhiaxus
"Its saying that, but its also saying that if I kill it, I will expend my power needed for killing its master. But if I don't kill it, then it will kill us. Its just like with Stalin. I could have killed him in a second, spared Kara, but then I'd be dead to this world." Alice says as she looks with horror on the rest of the team. "This is the part I hate the most. As each of you dies, I get stronger."
*nods*
"I understand, if you need me to die in service to make sure you have the power needed to kill it's master, I volunteer. Do you need me to get killed, or do you need me to be killed by it?."
*Not worried if I am to die here or not, but wanting to know what would be the most effective*
Jhiaxus
She weeps, and then reaches out a hand to your chest, She extends a hand toward the monster. As you die, you see the Thing fall into pieces, and unwind itself from being shoved into corkscrew dimensions. And...
==========
On to the next world...
Newer game http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/jhiaxus-japes