[Twi] Twilight IV: No More Heroes! (Now also lynching Sword of Truth!)

[industrious]

Jenny Sparks

"I'll take Tinkerbell Unpronounceable." Jenny notices a scorch mark on her Union Jack tee.

"Oh brilliant. Anyway, I don't think there are any civilians to be found. None that I've seen anyway. As for the Medieval bit...no idea. Something about a cosmic keystone and magic...not my strong suit."

[Colesign]

Sanya, Agent of A.C.K.C.E.D.

The Knight of the Cross nodded.

"Then I take the Outsider."

He turns to Heinkel.

"When it's time, please teleport me a small distance from the Outsider. I make big beacon of Light with my Sword, get beast's attention, lure it in. When it's close, we teleport small distance away, rinse and repeat until it's next to Nrvnqsr Chaos. We let them fight, and run off, maybe find Anderson or Midnighter, figure out how to undo Medieval Times."

He hesitates. "What do you think best location for Fight of Century is?"

[industrious]

Jenny Sparks

She shrugs.

"Here is good."

[Colesign]

Sanya:

"Right." He looks at Archer. "Do what you can to help."

He turns to Heinkel and Jenny.

"We start when you are both ready."

The two cries of the two monsters sound, both louder than before

[Cracklord]

Sanya, Jenny Sparks, Archer, Heinkel Wolfe, Sylar/Bob
First to appear over the horizon are a woman and man, both with wings. Archer spots them a good five minutes before everyone else, as they come close. As odd as seeing Bob is, and particularly the fact that he seems to have learned to fly, what is of rather more interest is two of the things pursuing them.
Their is a cloud of perhaps a hundred birds, but you ignore them. Smething else has captured your attention.
At first, when seen it in the distance, you could be forgiven for imagining them to be particularly large birds. But they flew oddly for a bird, and as they came closer you begin to get some sense of the scale of the thing compared to its surroundings. And the shape was wrong too, it was too long, and the wings were like those of a bat, not to mention the long, lizard-like body, the enormous snake like-tail, the serpentine neck supporting the massive head, the massive shield of bone, the double row of sharp spines that run down it's long neck, the great jaws, and you think why not. It is a medieval world afterall. Who are you to say different.
Below come a hoard of animals, and the blue coated figure.

But the Blood Beast that Zedd and the sisters of Light summoned is nowhere to be seen.

Ghost Riders and Jules
There is a snuffling sound, and a huge, chaotic mass of limbs pushes itself through a doorway much to small for it, reaching for you.
The creature was summoned to kill everything but certain specific people, and so it will. After Heinkel got away, the three of you became the nearest targets, and now it's going to do it's very best to kill you.

Light, Midnighter, Ozymandius, Anderson
Richard is in the throne room, sprawled carelessly on the chair, scowling petulantly. There is a naked blade across his knees, and his hand is toying with a pendant lazily. A gorgeous woman in the slinkiest white dress you've ever seen is standing beside him, her brunette hair coming all the way down to her knees in a silky wave. And the pink priestess who threatened Midnighter is sitting on the floor, her legs crossed, looking bored.
There is nobody else anywhere to be seen.
Richard clears his throat. "I don't really feel like fighting." He says. "So go back wherever you came from, and you won't have to die."

[doliest]

Light
Light's eyes twitch between all three to get their names, "I wouldn't be here if not for you. We can't get home while you live, so unfortunately, you're going to either give me a way back home, or die."

Sylar
Sylar turns back and attempts to hurl the lightning from the storm at the dragon, hoping injure it, or atleast slow it down. He can see Jenny and a group with her, hopefully they can help him take this....thing down, all six-hundred and sixty-six of it.

[Cracklord]

Light
His name is not Richard Rahl. It's Richard Cypher. And he doesn't have a time or cause of death. You wonder what that means.
Hers is Kahlan Amnell nee Rahl. She dies in two hours, eleven minutes.
The woman in pink goes by the name Nicci, and her last name is Narev, although she doesn't know it. She is scheduled to die in twenty minutes.

[nanobot_swarm]

In desperation, Travis tries to suplex him.
***
In terror and desperation, Jules shoots at the mass of chaos, backing away as he does.

[darkblade]

The Bride

"Either of you happen to have anything flamable?" The Bride asks as she catches her sword and backs away from the seemingly invincible vampire.

***

Ghost Rider

"Never a dull moment." Johnny says as he joins Jules in the shooting, only he has a hellfire shotgun. It may be more effective.

[Colesign]

Sanya:

Some quick reconnaissance by Sanya and Heinkel has revealed that the beast is nowhere to be seen, and that Nrvnqsr Chaos can apparently unleash a dragon.

Sanya pales at the sight of the reptile. "Very bad! Slaying dragons is Michael's thing, not mine. Therefore I think we should run to more defensible location, uh, that way, da!" He points in a direction, that unbeknownst to him, leads straight to where Jules and the Ghost Rider are, and the blood beast as well.

"Heinkel, can you teleport more than one of us?" he asks, gesturing towards Jenny.

[Cracklord]

Ghost Rider and Jules
The hellfire seems to hurt it, it backs away for a second. Then it gathers itself and rushes you, flailing limbs scything the air with deadly intent.
There is no room to maneuver your bikes, the dungeons ceiling is low and walls are only thirty feet across. And the portal that leads to the carrier is still open.

The Bride, Sam and Travis
He staggers back at Travis's unexpected move, but again it doesn't really hurt him.
Sam has the power of Hellfire now, although at the condition he is in he could barely light a match. You're best chance is Travis's Lightsaber over there.
The place is ark and Gothic, but those heavy drapes look like they'd go up like Guy Fawkes.

[darkblade]

The Bride

With little else in the way of options the Bride goes to pull the curtains off the walls and to grab Travis's discarded weapon. Once she has them both in hand she throws the curtains over top of the vampire and places the blade of glowing energy on it until it lights up.

"Come on, burn mother****er, burn."

***

Ghost Rider

"Danny, new guy! Come on!" Blaze yells as he backs his bike, into the Door and gets back onto the Carrier.

[industrious]

Jenny Sparks

"Dragon. Big, fire-breathing dragon. Bugger playing the damsel in distress."

Jenny waves her companions off, as she faces the dragon squarely.

"Alright, big boy. Just you and me. No electricity, no power, no plan. Well. A little one. Come on."

Sam Oliver

Sam can't really do anything at the moment. He can only watch as the Bride attempts to slay the vampire.

"He he. Sorry. Ow!" he manages to gasp out.

The Midnighter

"You hurt my friend. And you're keeping us from getting back to our world. Return the world. Or we start breaking bones."

The Midnighter extends his staff once more. Time to end this. His computer begins rolling possibilities.

[doliest]

Light
Light look up at the man for a moment at the lack of a death date or cause of death before attempting a mental communication.

'Master? What exactly does a a lack of a death date mean?

[Cracklord]

Nicodemus
Inky blackness swirled around him. It felt cold against his skin, like a gritty, rasping fog. In such shadow no light could exist. This was the void, the darkest reaches of existence, the furthest point from the light of heaven in all creation, the place of shadow were the demons called home, and where dark beings whose cruelty knew no bounds were born. This darkness was like nothing you have ever experienced, blocking not just your sight but filling your ears and nostrils, leaving him nothing to affect the world in any way. He was truly alone.
The darkness was like nothing ever seen in any other world, for darkness is not anything more than the absence of light. But this was shadow so thick it seemed like a roiling sea, crushing the life out of any who dared enter it. He could not breathe, for there was nothing to fill his lungs. Nothing but an endless ocean of utter dark, that trapped him, kept him from living, kept him for dying or moving in any way.
So this was hell. No fire, no brimstone, just tossed aside from the light of heaven, never to see paradise. You are not sure you prefer it to pain, somehow, the sadism you see in Anduriel would have been preferable to this endless, ceaseless emptiness.
You try to move and realize you can’t, you have nothing to move. No longer had any form, any substance, any being whatsoever. Smaller then the meanest ghost, less then the most insubstantial of spirits. You are nothing, held in check only by the terrible, endless dark.
How long have you been here? You can’t know. How could you? There is no way to measure time. But what does it matter? What’s time to an ageless being? You have no need for sustenance, or rest, and there is no reprieve for the void that burned in his soul, defying his attempts to master it. And the darkness was constant, neither growing or receding.
Suddenly the darkness feels claustrophobic, and you know you have to get out, go anywhere, escape this prison. Heedlessly you flail your limbs, ignoring the lack of sensations and your earlier discovery. Nothing moved, for there was nothing to move. You fight back a scream, then remembered he had nothing to scream with.
Then you sense something beyond the darkness. You are aware of it in your mind, there is nothing in the darkness. You can feel it's immeasurable length on either side of you, it's immeasurable depth below, dark beyond black, cold beyond ice.
In your mind you sense tendrils moving to inspect you, playing over where your body would be. It stops, and withdraws.
Of course. The demons. Here's one now. You suppose you're about to be tortured after all. But to your surprise, the thing speaks in your mind.
Well, Nicodemus, what happens now?

Light
Either he will never die, or this. He has no fate. His destiny is his own. He can kill people before their time, act in ways against fate. Anomalies like him are rare.

The Midnighter
Unless you close in now, he'll start flinging magic. Which would be bad, as you can't fight back, and it seems the demon was telling the truth. He can unmake you.
The fight itself does not look good. If his wife touches you, or holds eye contact, the calculations abruptly stop, which can't be good. And you have to fight ****, who has not lost any of his skill or speed. Worse, he seems to have miraculously recovered from Hawksmoors beating, so you can;t even be sure he'll stay dead.
"You started the fight, if I remember correctly." You remember something about being taken prisoner and frogmarched over to his throne room, but Richard doesn't seem to be bothered by accuracy.
"You see, every man is the master of his destiny, free to take the choices that define him through life. Their decisions and actions are what defines them, regardless of circumstances or conditions. However, it falls to each individual to make these choices themselves, and ultimately must stand on their own. You, free of any outside influence, chose to strike me, and so I chose to respond in the appropriate manner. Neither can truly be said to be at fault, for we both simply made a choice and accepted the consequences, defining ourselves. For example, lets say I decide to fix a set of stairs..." He stops, and gives a small chuckle. "No, wait, that doesn't work. OK, lets say I want to go to the market and buy some oranges..."

The Bride, Travis, Sam
He catches, and he doesn't try to put out the fire. He simply sits back and lets it consume him. Two elders are dead. One remains.
You remember, in addition, the little gadget the metrosexual carried. Might come in useful.

[industrious]

Nicodemus

"Where..." he breaks off. He hasn't used his voice in what appears to be ages. "what is this?"

The Midnighter

He has to move quickly. Faster than he had moved before. He could do that.

The Midnighter is little more than a blur during his approach. His fingers are extended and together, his staff in his opposite hand. Magic A is Magic A. And most people need to speak to use it.

He strikes, his fingers jammed into Cypher's throat. If he crushes the man's windpipe, excellent. If not, he'd be hard-pressed to give any more monologues.

The wife presented a trickier problem. He'd let Anderson focus on her.

Sam Oliver

Sam is still lying on the floor.

"I need a hand here. I think."

[doliest]

Light
Then the Death Note will have no effect on him?

[Cracklord]

Light
I did not say that.

The Midnighter
His esophagus is crushed under the impact, and his speech breaks off in a sort of messy, rattling wheeze. Blessed silence.
Of course, moving like this, left you open. You already know what's coming, but it doesn't make it any easier to except. Your universe shrinks to a tiny, private world of pain as he kicks you between the legs and shoves you away. Getting to his feet he twirls his sword and advances on you, eyes narrow.

Nicodemus
Within me. The voice replies. The devils three mouths hold King Herod, Judas Iscariot, and you, Nicodemus. I chose to end your suffering. I even removed your memory of it, and gave your memories back. Now tell me, do you want to live again?

[industrious]

Nicodemus

"Of course." What more can be said?

The Midnighter

The cup was a good idea. Otherwise, they'd be broken, not bruised. Bending over, he uses the opportunity to transfer one of his switchblades up his sleeve.

The Midnighter steps back, and holds his staff defensively.

[doliest]

Light
Interesting

Light turns his back to all three of them and starts walking away, slipping his hand into his pen protector to find another piece of paper. His last one, funnily enough, not counting his watch. He takes out a pen and starts writing Nicci's name, followed by 'In a fit of rage attacks Father Anderson, then dies via massive internal injury.'

[Colesign]

Sanya:

Sanya, seeing that Jenny is refusing to run, shakes his head ruefully, exhales, and then takes out the sack of coins and the noose, passing it back to Heinkel.

"If fight goes bad, use teleport ability to withdraw, to ensure that no one gets their hands on the Denarii. Ah, and one more thing."

He reaches into the duffel, and draws out a classic European broadsword, a long iron nail worked into the cross-hilt. He passes it to Heinkel.

"If fight goes really bad, get this out of here as well. As long as Ammoracchius is always used for the right reasons, it will be secure."

He steps forward, then pauses with a smile. "But I do not think fight will go badly."

He raises up Esperacchius at the approaching Dragon, and it's glow spreads out through the evening light.

"Allo, Gospodin Chaos."

[Cracklord]

Nicodemus
This is not a gift bestowed lightly. It will cost me, and worse, he will do the same. He can undo the death of any single being who has died. Do you understand now?
The being, that you presume to be Lucifer, grows agitated. If he so chooses, his son could walk the earth again.
Then it stops, and stills. But I will. In return. however, I will expect your obedience, Nicodemus. And I will keep your soul.

The Midnighter
His first stroke cuts your staff in half. His second you have to throw yourself back to avoid, and his third comes perilously close to bisecting you.
He is on the offensive, and intends to remain there.

Light
The Deathnote flies out of your hand, tugged y some invisible hand, and lands at the feet of Nicci, before you can finish writing. She shakes her head slowly, her intent clear.

Archer, Sylar, Jenny Sparks, Heinkel and Sanya
The dragons come closer, the more conventional birds fluttering around it's head, and the ground below trembles as an entire zoo smashes into the castle.
Swift and Sylar are both slightly faster then it, so they are safe so long s they keep moving, but Sylar's bolts are not having any effect.
As you draw the sword, it shines brightly, feeding of your hope and defiance like a beacon.
But it doesn't halt the incoming monsters.

[doliest]

Light
Lovely. Simply lovely. The Death Note pieces were useless; the enemy was telekinetic.

How does Darkness work, Master? I don't think I can kill her without it.

Sylar
Sylar sighs, staring in anger at the dragon, before flying directly towards it. If he couldn't simply fry it, he'd rip the memories of how to kill it right out of it's head. He really missed the days when he could use telekinesis to bind his enemies; if Nicodemus wasn't already dead, he'd pay him a visit.

[Cracklord]

Light
The room is too bright. They would have little power. But it matters not. You don't need the notebook anymore. The demon observes.

[doliest]

Light
I don't? Is she about to die and you're being glib, or did I get something else from this deal?

[industrious]

Nicodemus

"Then, master," drawls Nicodemus. "I'll simply do as you commanded two millennia ago. Befriend him, learn from him...and betray him once again. As for my obedience...we both know that it a moot point. Have I not always strived to do your will, even when I did not know it was your will?"

He pauses. "I would be of little use to you without Anduriel. Or my noose."

The Midnighter
His first stroke cuts your staff in half. His second you have to throw yourself back to avoid, and his third comes perilously close to bisecting you.
He is on the offensive, and intends to remain there.

His fourth stroke, on the other hand, is deflected, the flat of the blade pushed aside by the remnants of the Midnighter's staff. And as Richard's sword slides down towards the ground, the Midnighter flicks his wrist, and takes his switchblade to the mad king's wrists.

Jenny

"Closer..." Jenny mutters. "Just a little closer. Sanya, keep the nasties off my back until the dragon comes. I'll send it at Alpha Centauri. But I need to time this right."

[Cracklord]

Midnighter
You only get his left one, he moves his right one back in time, and jumps back. He tries to speak, but only manages a hoarse whisper.
A muscle tics over his eye, and he presses his wrist against his hip, still backing away. Then he stares at his sword. It begins to glow.
The man has more powers then Seth Cowie, and is about to reveal another one. He swings his sword, and an arc of light shoots at you, tracing the path of the blade along the room towards you. And again, and again, the arcs cutting through anything caught in their way.

Light
"I am never glib." It replies. It's unfunny tenancies are really torture, and what's worse is it doesn't even seem to enjoy baiting you like this. With Ryuk at least you know one of you is having fun.
One of the arcs of light is coming your way.

Nicodemus
To think I feared you had changed, Nicomedus. But some things never do. I am not returning you your body. You will be born again. Satan replies. Patience.
The darkness swallows you up.

[doliest]

Light
Light, while agile, is not exactly a pro athlete at anything except tennis, a sport that does not teach you to dodge very well. That's probably why he simply runs to the left while still screaming in his head;

Ignore the glibness comment, Master, and answer the question! I took this deal to die later, not sooner!

[industrious]

Midnighter

The Midnighter relies both on his enhanced reflexes and his battle computer to dodge the array of arcs. He isn't perfect, though; one of the lights clips his thigh.

Nicodemus
Nicodemus waits once more. He begins humming to himself, a tune his daughter had told him about.

I will return, and live again; reincarnate, and play again. and again. and again...

[Cracklord]

Light
"Death flows through you." Sammael replies. "Ingest a drop of their blood, and you dictate their fate."

Midnighter
You stumble, and Richard stops using his sword as a gun. In truth, it was less efficient, as you had plenty of time to see his blows coming (easy as dodging bullets, ha ha).
But it did buy him time. He points his sword at you again. In a weak, strained wheeze, he says "Dance with me death, I am ready."