- Location
- Tarn-Vedra
You're welcome Poe and have a Happy Thanksgiving!!! 
One Foot - Another Multiverse SI
- Thread starter Ars Poetica
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy Alt. History
Chapter 215
Ars Poetica
ULTIMA RATIO NEMO OBLIGATUR
- Location
- The Kingdom of Fiore
- Pronouns
- He / Him / His
If only to celebrate the awesomeness, let's have an anniversary chapter where the dice just hate Poe. Because why not?
-x-
By now, I shouldn't have been so surprised. Whenever I forced a villain of the setting to spring a trap prematurely or act before they were ready, things tended to go poorly for everyone involved. But weren't the oldest habits the ones that died last? Something like that I guess.
It's hard for me to wax poetic when a man standing inside a wall has just gone stock still at the realization that he'd been busted and even harder when I can hear the sound of man-eating butterflies slowly drawing themselves out of his palms.
Tykki Mikk, a Noah with an ability that basically amounted to meta-intangibility, had been sent to assassinate the president. And though the assassination was a failure due to Valentine's Stand, it was me announcing the Noah's name that made the entire operation on his end a failure.
If I were in his shoes, I knew exactly what I'd do to salvage the whole thing. The secret was out, acting in the dark was impossible, so now everything had to be exposed for better or for worse. How fortunate, then, that he had an army of Akuma in and outside the building waiting for his order.
With a signal I couldn't perceive, bodies began to bloat. The stench of rot already putrid started thickening the air, making it grow denser with odorous rot. Normally, I'd have clenched my nose shut with my hand, but the Level Three Akuma that once was the governor of Texas already had his sights on me.
Mikk was gone, having fled in the immediate chaos after giving a final order. Somewhere in the background, I could hear a man laugh as he slipped on brass knuckles. "In hindsight," he murmured, "A train is considerably faster than a bear, and Washington is a great distance away…" What the hell was he even talking about? "I've come this far, though, so somebody is going to get punched in the face!" he practically roared as he leapt at a Level One Akuma and punched it as hard as his body would allow. It fell from its height, knocking into a nearby balcony, "Onwards!"
I had forgotten. This was as much a world of D. Gray Man as it was a world of JoJo. Of course there would be badass people to fight monsters made from the dead. Of course they would somehow exhibit strange, unbelievable physical feats in the process.
My hands were fast to draw my swords to block the Level Three Akuma. I crossed the blades and felt his fist impact them, sending vibrations through my arms. There was an explosion as an Akuma high above us detonated while firing bullets into the men and women in the building. One such bullet, I was sure, was deflected and blew its way through a nearby wall. I heard the sound of something metal being twisted from its position in the distance.
A Stand of copper lunged at the Level Three holding my attention, batting him away. Valentine's fists were clenched, an American flag cape hanging from his shoulders. "Careful now, Poe," he said to me, "You're in no condition to fight."
"Doesn't mean I shouldn't try," I practically growled as I surveyed the area for people in need of help. If I could Konso even one Akuma into a Knight, we'd be better off – wait a second. Knights could Konso, too. "Maybe now would be a good time to call in our special forces."
Valentine didn't bother dignifying the suggestion with a response. Instead, his Stand was already in the process of launching shining light towards the suddenly open ceiling. Gaseous blood left behind from a broken Akuma was eradicated as the golden beam passed, exploding into a massive signal flare above the building.
If that was how he was going to call his Rainsing Corps in, then I guess it worked. Not to mention the fact that the Knights wouldn't be able to miss such a blatant call to arms or call for help.
And speak of the devil, I heard the sound of armored Knights of Stars breaking through the doors and charging in Konso guns blazing. The screams of falling Akuma suddenly gained presence as a burst of Innocence in the form of a slash cut out from a butcher's knife cut down and disabled a soaring Level Two Akuma.
Kanda Yu stood in front of me, Marika Merika behind me, each aiming for Akuma as they aimed to strike at me or Valentine. Valentine, meanwhile, needed no such defense. Instead, it was as though the air around him was turning to earth as his Stand struck down incoming forces.
"Get him out of here!" the president called to the Exorcist and Knight standing with me, "I have a vice president; I can be replaced; he can't!" I felt a coldness drift over me once more. What?
"We're handling this just fine!" I called back to him, "Don't worry about me!"
I know I'd spoken too soon the moment the words were impossible to take back. A blast of crimson energy flew through the air and tore through Valentine's defensive wall, launching him backwards. Ripple energy as hot as plasma from the surface of the sun melted the air turned to rock around his body and sent him tumbling towards the center of the conflict.
Tykki Mikk, the Noah of Pleasure, watched with a somber gaze as he let his hand slowly fall. He stood on thin air high above Valentine – above the building we stood inside. A red stone was embedded in his palm, red lightning bursting from it. I saw the cross on the front and knew what it was – a memory came to me.
Darude Baby… while I was fighting him, didn't I see something like that? Wasn't that the Red Stone of Aja? But there was a greater familiarity to it now that I could actually see it. Something about the energy it gave off was enough to give me flashbacks to a time that felt so far in the past now.
Why? How?
Did it matter?
"Fuck me," I growled. "Marika, Kanda!" I snapped at them. They glanced at me, startled at my tone, "I don't care what Valentine says; if I die, that's fine. I have a contingency for that!" If one could call Danny and his friends a 'contingency', then sure. They were smart for their age. I left my plans behind in New Orleans. If the worst came to pass, between them and my Knights I was sure the Pineapple Confederation would be able to survive. "I'll deal with the Noah."
To Marika's credit, she was reluctant to move. But my order was absolute. Even if she wished to help me, for once that will was superseded. So, with swiftness befitting a Knight of the Second Star, she launched herself to defend Valentine's vulnerable body from an attacking Akuma, countering by firing a Konso-enhanced bullet at the offender.
My body rippled as Kanda left my side, rushing to help Daisya from his position of support while Marie deafened a Level Three Akuma. Conversion to Knight or destruction from Innocence – either would be better than just letting him act to harm everyone around us.
Wings shaped like a mighty hand emerged from my back. Pain filled my body as I shifted into a chimeric form and pushed myself into the air, a sword in either hand. The world tinged grey as I left the ground. "…Ars," Medusa said to me, her back to a wall I couldn't see as she phased through walls that weren't there to her. "You're not ready to fight him."
"I know I'm not ready…" I trailed, "But who is?" There was no Allen Walker to fight Tykki Mikk. Kanda, Noise, and Daisya were too low-level to think about it. The Rainsing Corps and the Knights wouldn't be able to stand up to Tykki Mikk. His ability to selectively turn intangible or turn tangible what he was touching made him a nightmare to fight.
Combined with the fact that he now held a Red Stone of Aja and knew how to use it… for obvious reasons, I was terrified of him. Even Valentine, despite his Stand's unusual and terrifying power, could be beaten handily by the Noah. But I had two advantages… well, one and a half.
The first was iffy in that my Zanpakuto didn't care about that intangibility… or, I hoped they didn't. It was the second I was banking on for managing a surprise attack. And as I flew towards Tykki Mikk, standing on air above me, he put his palm down and red lighting soared around him. A beam of superheated death aimed straight for my face.
I opened my canine maw and let it hit me. The force of the blast didn't even push me back as I continued to charge forward. His eyes widened in shock and awe when I came close enough to bite down on the hand the stone was embedded in. He drew back, his hand and the stone it held phasing through my head as he did. A passable sneer crossed my face.
See, apparently, I was fireproof. If my ability to be fireproof was able to include lethal doses of radiation why would it not the power of the sun itself? My wings flapped as I spat below me. I felt energized for the first time in a long while. Sure, I didn't manage to grasp that incoming energy with the alchemical formulae on my palms, but I did basically eat it… I guess that totally counted according to whatever bullshit laws my powers abided by.
Feeling that charge coursing through me, I silently released my Zanpakuto and – pain-pain-PAIN – my eye widened, my heart surged with agony. I gasped, almost losing control over my own flight. Tykki patiently stood on the selectively tangible air and watched as I suffered.
I looked to each of my Zanpakuto and saw that neither had changed. "…What?" I murmured.
"The Earl's seal," Medusa said to me as the world partly lost color again, "For a moment, it looked ready to break." Helpful, but not helpful… absorbing fire was part of the key, but something stopped it from going forward. Was the seal linked directly to my Zanpakuto? It made sense if it was stuck to my soul, becoming stronger over time.
Swearing, I swung up one blade and set free my eye patch. My Ultimate Eye blazed as it glared at Tykki. Now I could rely not just on my sense of hearing to know where he was, but my impossible sense of mathematical sight to know when he was becoming transparent. Molecules of Nitrogen and Oxygen flowed around his body, indicating solidness… so he wasn't intangible right now?
A flash of color filled the world and suddenly Tykki was right in front of me, a butterfly in his palm. I saw the gnawing skull on its front aiming to eat flesh, just as I saw he aimed to press it into my chest. I doubled back, flapping hard to avoid the attempt on my life.
Rolling in the air, I faced him once more. The remains of sunlight glistened behind him – he'd jettisoned himself forward using the power of the Red Stone of Aja. But his body was solid at the time, so surely there had to have been some injury from the act… and I saw it, sparking away at his legs. Red sparks, like the sun… red sparks like something else I knew very well.
"I was hoping you would allow me to do that," the Noah said with a slight smile, "It would have made my life a lot easier." His tone carried friendliness, unlike his hands that carried literally at least a hundred different ways to kill me.
My Zanpakuto spun in my hands. With a swift motion, I sheathed them and descended upon a sturdy rooftop. We hadn't even managed to move more than a hundred feet from the center of the fight. Even so, I readied my hands. If my Zanpakuto wouldn't work, I had bending. I had alchemy.
Speaking of…
"That stone in your hand…" the memory came to me, unbidden. "I remember a temple full of them, you know?" I raised an eyebrow at him, "I fought a vampire that had access to several – enough that he managed to overcome his own weaknesses." I sighed and shook my head, "He was a bitch to fight."
"You wouldn't happen to be talking about Darude Baby, would you?" Tykki raised an eyebrow, "I thought he was killed in South America. Something about a meteorite and a superorganism," I looked at him in surprise, "That's what gets you? Not the fact that I have this stone, but the fact that I knew that lunatic?"
"Knew him how?"
"Skulls were based on Stone Masks. Stone Masks had to come from somewhere, and we first found out about them when a conquistador working for the Earl up and vanished. Turns out, Darude Baby was the cause. We were never able to deal with him directly and assumed that problem fixed itself… but I guess that's just something we have to thank you for, isn't it?"
I scoffed, "Yeah, thanks is one word for it. Fuck that guy! And fuck you for not cleaning up your own mess… and a bunch of other things, too!" I must have sounded petulant, but I just didn't care. "But you know… those red stones, they hold a lot of energy…" and the Pillar Men had access to so many sacrifices, Kars especially. Maybe the red wasn't quite right, maybe it was artificial and truly based in energy from the sun, but there was a basis to it.
Universal-multiversal constants; I'd seen something a lot like this before. It stood to reason that it could appear somewhere else as well. Why not here, after everything else had happened so far? Even if it wasn't the real deal, it held enough superficial similarities. A red stone that could store and expel vast amounts of energy, one that could heal its wielder in sparks of red.
"You're wrong, though," I said to him, "About what gets to me. See, it's that stone." I briefly broke my stance to point at it, "How the hell did you get a fake Philosopher's Stone?"
But Tykki only glanced at the thing confusedly. "Is that what you call it?" he asked before shrugging. "It doesn't really matter to me. It's just something to enhance my abilities… and my chances. All of our chances." He glared at me, "You changed things, Poe. Akuma, Skulls; they're not enough. Now we need to fight directly, and we need every advantage we can get." His other fist clenched, the butterfly within that palm disappearing. "All the time we can spare, and all the weapons we can find."
My body fell back into its stance. "That's it, then? You don't even know what you're holding…" I let myself drift off, "Fuck it. It's not like it matters, anyway." My foot swung up as I kicked, black material soaring from the limb in sharpened pellets that appeared from nothing. They didn't even touch Tykki, flying through him harmlessly as he blasted himself towards me with the power of the sun.
I clapped my hands, aiming to slam my gauntlets against him for some alchemical bullshit. But he slid back on a frictionless surface. My eye predicted the motion, turning my grab into another clap that shifted the black material around us into a super-electrical charge as it all surged within me.
Still, it felt sluggish somehow. My fist swung out and, for a second, it held the illusion of impact. Slowly, like moving through molasses, it drifted through Tykki's head. He watched unfazed as I realized my first advantage was garbage and followed up with shoving a butterfly at my arm.
But it only splattered against the gauntlet.
I smirked. I could phase through him, but he couldn't phase things through me. I could take advantage of that. My wings flapped, forcing my body to swing around as I tried to land another punch on him. This time, he saw it coming and let loose an explosion of energy from the red stone in his opposite palm. Somehow, it had gone through his entire body to embed itself into his other hand.
This time, the explosion forced me to step backwards. But there was nothing to step on. The roof collapsed as I fell backwards into the street. My descent turned into a roll as I fell, my wings folding back into my body but my canine features not quite fading. I panted, suddenly exhausted.
Wait a click; how was I bending at all? Wasn't this a world where alchemy had more dominion than bending? Or could I always bend in this world? Things felt fuzzy to me… why… why could I fight like this? This was… I looked to the sky and, for a second, could have sworn the stars were shifting, winding. Was it my Ultimate Eye playing tricks on me? Was I going nuts?
My opponent gently descended in front of me, unharmed. I stood from where I lay, unfettered. My swords jostled at my sides as I did, and I glared at Tykki. "I don't get it…" I trailed. I couldn't be sure if I was stalling for time or if I was genuinely curious. "Why? Why all of this?" this was a world where a biblical flood occurred, where God killed a massive section of humanity.
This was a world where all humans were descendants of Noah, where all humans could become a Noah, so why were they acting to wipe everything out? It didn't make sense to me. But Tykki, he shrugged once more. "Who am I to say?" he asked, "If the Earl wants us to act against humanity, we will."
"Is that all?" I asked, "You don't even know?"
He shook his head, "Even supposing I knew; why would I ever tell you?" he asked, "The original plan has clearly failed. So, this is Plan B… and I know even less of it than the original, anyway." My Ultimate Eye darted to the side. Painted in red, white, and blue, a fire hydrant stood. A stray Akuma bullet from only moments before had horribly dented it, pushing it out of the ground and exposing the pipe beneath.
"Ahh…" I exhaled, mentally mapping a plan of attack. "That's a real, damn shame." I clapped my hands, "But at least I won't have any regrets kicking your ass!" I felt black material flee from my body at Tykki. He reacted, firing a jet of red sunlight at the incoming material.
I altered the trajectory, letting the substance fly over and bounce from a nearby wall. The ricochet let it strike the dented hydrant, and water plunged out from the broken thing in a focused wave.
Red energy impacted the water before it could touch me, and I was suddenly reminded of what ripple energy – of what black material – did on contact with water. There was a mighty explosion all around us as potential energy and sunlight was harshly released.
My wings burst from my back once more, rushing forward to cover me in a makeshift shield. Through the smoke, I saw Tykki standing – this time, I'd hurt him. Red sparks burst from a ruined arm he held with his good hand. The Red Stone of Aja he'd held had exploded with the sudden introduction of water.
He was waiting for the smoke to clear before he could attack. But I wouldn't give him that chance. Flying through the smoke swiftly, immediately, I threw out a fist to impact Tykki's solid body. He wouldn't have time to turn intangible before my attack hit him – a crackling sound, like thunder, echoed throughout the sky.
Light fell upon me with noticeable weight as I was blasted away. Though I absorbed the energy harmlessly, the smoke had been cleared and Tykki could see me clearly. Steam rose from his injured arm as his own healing factor as a Noah worked to undo the damage. It was slower than it should have been, my eye told me, but I couldn't focus on that.
I could only focus on the other man with grey skin, standing above Tykki Mikk and glaring down at me. "You don't think…" Tykki trailed, "That the Earl would have only sent one of us to fight you and a known Stand user, do you?" Bo – Skinn Bolic – looked at me from on high without an ounce of recognition. My hands clenched in fury.
"…" I whispered something angry and hateful, but said little else. Were there tears at the corners of my eyes? A painful feeling said yes. "So he sent two of you…" I tried to keep my emotions in check. I was failing to keep my emotions in check, "Instead of showing up personally?"
"No," the voice came from behind me and I could barely react in time to avoid incoming strings. They reminded me of Noise Marie's Innocence, but I saw them impact the ground. I watched as it moved, as though a puppet to some other power. I dared look behind me and saw two more figures with grey skin. "He sent four."
Sheril Kamelot, the Desire of the Noah Clan… and dancing in the rain of a twisted hydrant just to his left was his daughter, Road Kamelot, the Noah of Dreams. "You really messed up if he sent all of us just to deal with you." The girl giggled, and my Ultimate Eye watched as all Euclidean understanding faded from the world around us.
-x-
One Foot on the Platform
OR: One Foot on the Train
End-215
-x-
By now, I shouldn't have been so surprised. Whenever I forced a villain of the setting to spring a trap prematurely or act before they were ready, things tended to go poorly for everyone involved. But weren't the oldest habits the ones that died last? Something like that I guess.
It's hard for me to wax poetic when a man standing inside a wall has just gone stock still at the realization that he'd been busted and even harder when I can hear the sound of man-eating butterflies slowly drawing themselves out of his palms.
Tykki Mikk, a Noah with an ability that basically amounted to meta-intangibility, had been sent to assassinate the president. And though the assassination was a failure due to Valentine's Stand, it was me announcing the Noah's name that made the entire operation on his end a failure.
If I were in his shoes, I knew exactly what I'd do to salvage the whole thing. The secret was out, acting in the dark was impossible, so now everything had to be exposed for better or for worse. How fortunate, then, that he had an army of Akuma in and outside the building waiting for his order.
With a signal I couldn't perceive, bodies began to bloat. The stench of rot already putrid started thickening the air, making it grow denser with odorous rot. Normally, I'd have clenched my nose shut with my hand, but the Level Three Akuma that once was the governor of Texas already had his sights on me.
Mikk was gone, having fled in the immediate chaos after giving a final order. Somewhere in the background, I could hear a man laugh as he slipped on brass knuckles. "In hindsight," he murmured, "A train is considerably faster than a bear, and Washington is a great distance away…" What the hell was he even talking about? "I've come this far, though, so somebody is going to get punched in the face!" he practically roared as he leapt at a Level One Akuma and punched it as hard as his body would allow. It fell from its height, knocking into a nearby balcony, "Onwards!"
I had forgotten. This was as much a world of D. Gray Man as it was a world of JoJo. Of course there would be badass people to fight monsters made from the dead. Of course they would somehow exhibit strange, unbelievable physical feats in the process.
My hands were fast to draw my swords to block the Level Three Akuma. I crossed the blades and felt his fist impact them, sending vibrations through my arms. There was an explosion as an Akuma high above us detonated while firing bullets into the men and women in the building. One such bullet, I was sure, was deflected and blew its way through a nearby wall. I heard the sound of something metal being twisted from its position in the distance.
A Stand of copper lunged at the Level Three holding my attention, batting him away. Valentine's fists were clenched, an American flag cape hanging from his shoulders. "Careful now, Poe," he said to me, "You're in no condition to fight."
"Doesn't mean I shouldn't try," I practically growled as I surveyed the area for people in need of help. If I could Konso even one Akuma into a Knight, we'd be better off – wait a second. Knights could Konso, too. "Maybe now would be a good time to call in our special forces."
Valentine didn't bother dignifying the suggestion with a response. Instead, his Stand was already in the process of launching shining light towards the suddenly open ceiling. Gaseous blood left behind from a broken Akuma was eradicated as the golden beam passed, exploding into a massive signal flare above the building.
If that was how he was going to call his Rainsing Corps in, then I guess it worked. Not to mention the fact that the Knights wouldn't be able to miss such a blatant call to arms or call for help.
And speak of the devil, I heard the sound of armored Knights of Stars breaking through the doors and charging in Konso guns blazing. The screams of falling Akuma suddenly gained presence as a burst of Innocence in the form of a slash cut out from a butcher's knife cut down and disabled a soaring Level Two Akuma.
Kanda Yu stood in front of me, Marika Merika behind me, each aiming for Akuma as they aimed to strike at me or Valentine. Valentine, meanwhile, needed no such defense. Instead, it was as though the air around him was turning to earth as his Stand struck down incoming forces.
"Get him out of here!" the president called to the Exorcist and Knight standing with me, "I have a vice president; I can be replaced; he can't!" I felt a coldness drift over me once more. What?
"We're handling this just fine!" I called back to him, "Don't worry about me!"
I know I'd spoken too soon the moment the words were impossible to take back. A blast of crimson energy flew through the air and tore through Valentine's defensive wall, launching him backwards. Ripple energy as hot as plasma from the surface of the sun melted the air turned to rock around his body and sent him tumbling towards the center of the conflict.
Tykki Mikk, the Noah of Pleasure, watched with a somber gaze as he let his hand slowly fall. He stood on thin air high above Valentine – above the building we stood inside. A red stone was embedded in his palm, red lightning bursting from it. I saw the cross on the front and knew what it was – a memory came to me.
Darude Baby… while I was fighting him, didn't I see something like that? Wasn't that the Red Stone of Aja? But there was a greater familiarity to it now that I could actually see it. Something about the energy it gave off was enough to give me flashbacks to a time that felt so far in the past now.
Why? How?
Did it matter?
"Fuck me," I growled. "Marika, Kanda!" I snapped at them. They glanced at me, startled at my tone, "I don't care what Valentine says; if I die, that's fine. I have a contingency for that!" If one could call Danny and his friends a 'contingency', then sure. They were smart for their age. I left my plans behind in New Orleans. If the worst came to pass, between them and my Knights I was sure the Pineapple Confederation would be able to survive. "I'll deal with the Noah."
To Marika's credit, she was reluctant to move. But my order was absolute. Even if she wished to help me, for once that will was superseded. So, with swiftness befitting a Knight of the Second Star, she launched herself to defend Valentine's vulnerable body from an attacking Akuma, countering by firing a Konso-enhanced bullet at the offender.
My body rippled as Kanda left my side, rushing to help Daisya from his position of support while Marie deafened a Level Three Akuma. Conversion to Knight or destruction from Innocence – either would be better than just letting him act to harm everyone around us.
Wings shaped like a mighty hand emerged from my back. Pain filled my body as I shifted into a chimeric form and pushed myself into the air, a sword in either hand. The world tinged grey as I left the ground. "…Ars," Medusa said to me, her back to a wall I couldn't see as she phased through walls that weren't there to her. "You're not ready to fight him."
"I know I'm not ready…" I trailed, "But who is?" There was no Allen Walker to fight Tykki Mikk. Kanda, Noise, and Daisya were too low-level to think about it. The Rainsing Corps and the Knights wouldn't be able to stand up to Tykki Mikk. His ability to selectively turn intangible or turn tangible what he was touching made him a nightmare to fight.
Combined with the fact that he now held a Red Stone of Aja and knew how to use it… for obvious reasons, I was terrified of him. Even Valentine, despite his Stand's unusual and terrifying power, could be beaten handily by the Noah. But I had two advantages… well, one and a half.
The first was iffy in that my Zanpakuto didn't care about that intangibility… or, I hoped they didn't. It was the second I was banking on for managing a surprise attack. And as I flew towards Tykki Mikk, standing on air above me, he put his palm down and red lighting soared around him. A beam of superheated death aimed straight for my face.
I opened my canine maw and let it hit me. The force of the blast didn't even push me back as I continued to charge forward. His eyes widened in shock and awe when I came close enough to bite down on the hand the stone was embedded in. He drew back, his hand and the stone it held phasing through my head as he did. A passable sneer crossed my face.
See, apparently, I was fireproof. If my ability to be fireproof was able to include lethal doses of radiation why would it not the power of the sun itself? My wings flapped as I spat below me. I felt energized for the first time in a long while. Sure, I didn't manage to grasp that incoming energy with the alchemical formulae on my palms, but I did basically eat it… I guess that totally counted according to whatever bullshit laws my powers abided by.
Feeling that charge coursing through me, I silently released my Zanpakuto and – pain-pain-PAIN – my eye widened, my heart surged with agony. I gasped, almost losing control over my own flight. Tykki patiently stood on the selectively tangible air and watched as I suffered.
I looked to each of my Zanpakuto and saw that neither had changed. "…What?" I murmured.
"The Earl's seal," Medusa said to me as the world partly lost color again, "For a moment, it looked ready to break." Helpful, but not helpful… absorbing fire was part of the key, but something stopped it from going forward. Was the seal linked directly to my Zanpakuto? It made sense if it was stuck to my soul, becoming stronger over time.
Swearing, I swung up one blade and set free my eye patch. My Ultimate Eye blazed as it glared at Tykki. Now I could rely not just on my sense of hearing to know where he was, but my impossible sense of mathematical sight to know when he was becoming transparent. Molecules of Nitrogen and Oxygen flowed around his body, indicating solidness… so he wasn't intangible right now?
A flash of color filled the world and suddenly Tykki was right in front of me, a butterfly in his palm. I saw the gnawing skull on its front aiming to eat flesh, just as I saw he aimed to press it into my chest. I doubled back, flapping hard to avoid the attempt on my life.
Rolling in the air, I faced him once more. The remains of sunlight glistened behind him – he'd jettisoned himself forward using the power of the Red Stone of Aja. But his body was solid at the time, so surely there had to have been some injury from the act… and I saw it, sparking away at his legs. Red sparks, like the sun… red sparks like something else I knew very well.
"I was hoping you would allow me to do that," the Noah said with a slight smile, "It would have made my life a lot easier." His tone carried friendliness, unlike his hands that carried literally at least a hundred different ways to kill me.
My Zanpakuto spun in my hands. With a swift motion, I sheathed them and descended upon a sturdy rooftop. We hadn't even managed to move more than a hundred feet from the center of the fight. Even so, I readied my hands. If my Zanpakuto wouldn't work, I had bending. I had alchemy.
Speaking of…
"That stone in your hand…" the memory came to me, unbidden. "I remember a temple full of them, you know?" I raised an eyebrow at him, "I fought a vampire that had access to several – enough that he managed to overcome his own weaknesses." I sighed and shook my head, "He was a bitch to fight."
"You wouldn't happen to be talking about Darude Baby, would you?" Tykki raised an eyebrow, "I thought he was killed in South America. Something about a meteorite and a superorganism," I looked at him in surprise, "That's what gets you? Not the fact that I have this stone, but the fact that I knew that lunatic?"
"Knew him how?"
"Skulls were based on Stone Masks. Stone Masks had to come from somewhere, and we first found out about them when a conquistador working for the Earl up and vanished. Turns out, Darude Baby was the cause. We were never able to deal with him directly and assumed that problem fixed itself… but I guess that's just something we have to thank you for, isn't it?"
I scoffed, "Yeah, thanks is one word for it. Fuck that guy! And fuck you for not cleaning up your own mess… and a bunch of other things, too!" I must have sounded petulant, but I just didn't care. "But you know… those red stones, they hold a lot of energy…" and the Pillar Men had access to so many sacrifices, Kars especially. Maybe the red wasn't quite right, maybe it was artificial and truly based in energy from the sun, but there was a basis to it.
Universal-multiversal constants; I'd seen something a lot like this before. It stood to reason that it could appear somewhere else as well. Why not here, after everything else had happened so far? Even if it wasn't the real deal, it held enough superficial similarities. A red stone that could store and expel vast amounts of energy, one that could heal its wielder in sparks of red.
"You're wrong, though," I said to him, "About what gets to me. See, it's that stone." I briefly broke my stance to point at it, "How the hell did you get a fake Philosopher's Stone?"
But Tykki only glanced at the thing confusedly. "Is that what you call it?" he asked before shrugging. "It doesn't really matter to me. It's just something to enhance my abilities… and my chances. All of our chances." He glared at me, "You changed things, Poe. Akuma, Skulls; they're not enough. Now we need to fight directly, and we need every advantage we can get." His other fist clenched, the butterfly within that palm disappearing. "All the time we can spare, and all the weapons we can find."
My body fell back into its stance. "That's it, then? You don't even know what you're holding…" I let myself drift off, "Fuck it. It's not like it matters, anyway." My foot swung up as I kicked, black material soaring from the limb in sharpened pellets that appeared from nothing. They didn't even touch Tykki, flying through him harmlessly as he blasted himself towards me with the power of the sun.
I clapped my hands, aiming to slam my gauntlets against him for some alchemical bullshit. But he slid back on a frictionless surface. My eye predicted the motion, turning my grab into another clap that shifted the black material around us into a super-electrical charge as it all surged within me.
Still, it felt sluggish somehow. My fist swung out and, for a second, it held the illusion of impact. Slowly, like moving through molasses, it drifted through Tykki's head. He watched unfazed as I realized my first advantage was garbage and followed up with shoving a butterfly at my arm.
But it only splattered against the gauntlet.
I smirked. I could phase through him, but he couldn't phase things through me. I could take advantage of that. My wings flapped, forcing my body to swing around as I tried to land another punch on him. This time, he saw it coming and let loose an explosion of energy from the red stone in his opposite palm. Somehow, it had gone through his entire body to embed itself into his other hand.
This time, the explosion forced me to step backwards. But there was nothing to step on. The roof collapsed as I fell backwards into the street. My descent turned into a roll as I fell, my wings folding back into my body but my canine features not quite fading. I panted, suddenly exhausted.
Wait a click; how was I bending at all? Wasn't this a world where alchemy had more dominion than bending? Or could I always bend in this world? Things felt fuzzy to me… why… why could I fight like this? This was… I looked to the sky and, for a second, could have sworn the stars were shifting, winding. Was it my Ultimate Eye playing tricks on me? Was I going nuts?
My opponent gently descended in front of me, unharmed. I stood from where I lay, unfettered. My swords jostled at my sides as I did, and I glared at Tykki. "I don't get it…" I trailed. I couldn't be sure if I was stalling for time or if I was genuinely curious. "Why? Why all of this?" this was a world where a biblical flood occurred, where God killed a massive section of humanity.
This was a world where all humans were descendants of Noah, where all humans could become a Noah, so why were they acting to wipe everything out? It didn't make sense to me. But Tykki, he shrugged once more. "Who am I to say?" he asked, "If the Earl wants us to act against humanity, we will."
"Is that all?" I asked, "You don't even know?"
He shook his head, "Even supposing I knew; why would I ever tell you?" he asked, "The original plan has clearly failed. So, this is Plan B… and I know even less of it than the original, anyway." My Ultimate Eye darted to the side. Painted in red, white, and blue, a fire hydrant stood. A stray Akuma bullet from only moments before had horribly dented it, pushing it out of the ground and exposing the pipe beneath.
"Ahh…" I exhaled, mentally mapping a plan of attack. "That's a real, damn shame." I clapped my hands, "But at least I won't have any regrets kicking your ass!" I felt black material flee from my body at Tykki. He reacted, firing a jet of red sunlight at the incoming material.
I altered the trajectory, letting the substance fly over and bounce from a nearby wall. The ricochet let it strike the dented hydrant, and water plunged out from the broken thing in a focused wave.
Red energy impacted the water before it could touch me, and I was suddenly reminded of what ripple energy – of what black material – did on contact with water. There was a mighty explosion all around us as potential energy and sunlight was harshly released.
My wings burst from my back once more, rushing forward to cover me in a makeshift shield. Through the smoke, I saw Tykki standing – this time, I'd hurt him. Red sparks burst from a ruined arm he held with his good hand. The Red Stone of Aja he'd held had exploded with the sudden introduction of water.
He was waiting for the smoke to clear before he could attack. But I wouldn't give him that chance. Flying through the smoke swiftly, immediately, I threw out a fist to impact Tykki's solid body. He wouldn't have time to turn intangible before my attack hit him – a crackling sound, like thunder, echoed throughout the sky.
Light fell upon me with noticeable weight as I was blasted away. Though I absorbed the energy harmlessly, the smoke had been cleared and Tykki could see me clearly. Steam rose from his injured arm as his own healing factor as a Noah worked to undo the damage. It was slower than it should have been, my eye told me, but I couldn't focus on that.
I could only focus on the other man with grey skin, standing above Tykki Mikk and glaring down at me. "You don't think…" Tykki trailed, "That the Earl would have only sent one of us to fight you and a known Stand user, do you?" Bo – Skinn Bolic – looked at me from on high without an ounce of recognition. My hands clenched in fury.
"…" I whispered something angry and hateful, but said little else. Were there tears at the corners of my eyes? A painful feeling said yes. "So he sent two of you…" I tried to keep my emotions in check. I was failing to keep my emotions in check, "Instead of showing up personally?"
"No," the voice came from behind me and I could barely react in time to avoid incoming strings. They reminded me of Noise Marie's Innocence, but I saw them impact the ground. I watched as it moved, as though a puppet to some other power. I dared look behind me and saw two more figures with grey skin. "He sent four."
Sheril Kamelot, the Desire of the Noah Clan… and dancing in the rain of a twisted hydrant just to his left was his daughter, Road Kamelot, the Noah of Dreams. "You really messed up if he sent all of us just to deal with you." The girl giggled, and my Ultimate Eye watched as all Euclidean understanding faded from the world around us.
-x-
One Foot on the Platform
OR: One Foot on the Train
End-215
- Location
- NYC
Khawy
TITANNNNNNNNNNN
- Location
- The United States of America
Authorial fiat?
Illusion
Behold the power of the Ultimate Idol!
Surprise pillar men interrupt? Poe awakens his stand? Things are looking pretty grim for Poe...
- Location
- The Z-Cave
Off the top of my head Tykki has Poe phase into the Earth meaning it's Rider time or Road uses the Dream to create a dimension of pure darkness meaning its Rider time. I honestly hope it's the second one. I'd really like to see that bitch get her due. I'm sure she's already very Guilty.
Ars Poetica
ULTIMA RATIO NEMO OBLIGATUR
- Location
- The Kingdom of Fiore
- Pronouns
- He / Him / His
Considering she's one of the Noah who escaped the Fourteenth's judgment and has had thirty five years (in canon) to do horrible things to people, depending on which continuity you follow she's either very evil or hugely evil -- no matter what, she's fucking evil. Actually, consider: Humans don't get to choose whether or not they become Noah. Yet, after becoming Noah, if the Noah doesn't automatically overwrite their humanity they will be offered a choice.
With Bolic, I think his humanity was overwritten considering how fast the switch from "works at docks/shipyard" to "wants to kill humanity" was. With Tykki Mikk, he clearly wants to keep his human and Noah sides separate and deliberately created a personality for his human self so he could indulge in that part of his person. I can't say this is the case for all the Noah, but there is clearly a relationship between the emotion they represent and how much humanity they might retain.
So it says something that "Pleasure" is the most autonomous and "Wrath" might be the least autonomous from Noah. It makes sense. Noah was, at least according to the bible, a very angry and very bitter man. So when it comes to Road, I can't say how much of it was her human half behind the wheel versus the Noah half. After so many years, though, I'm willing to bet it might be both. But the Rider might not see it that way.
If the Rider uses a Penance Stare, would he be burning the soul of the human side of the Noah that might be innocent? That's something he can't really do. If both the human and Noah sides were at fault, no problem. If it's just the human side, still no problem. But if it's only the Noah side? Well, Noah's genetics, his will, his whatchamacallit is apparently such that he (or it) can use humanity as a literal human shield. Its ability to transfer from host to host and lay dormant for several years to regenerate implies that the only way to truly kill the Noahs is to wipe out humanity... and this Rider's Penance Stare can cause death so... yeah... there is something of a problem here.
Not that the Penance Stare is the Rider's only weapon. It's just his go-to weapon for shit like this. The idea of using so many Innocent human shields to avoid it is just something that's never been considered a possibility before is all.
In the end, I guess it just depends on the dice rolls since it could go either way. Unless that's just what I want you to think.
- Location
- The Z-Cave
While that's interesting information, I was more so thinking of Road as that annoying shonen anti-villain that's going to get away with everything at the end of the series because the author says so. I'm sure you know that type.
Ars Poetica
ULTIMA RATIO NEMO OBLIGATUR
- Location
- The Kingdom of Fiore
- Pronouns
- He / Him / His
Oh I know the type very well. Though, I've always thought of Road as the anti-villain with a "tragic" backstory who dies at the end to save the day, thus "redeeming" herself. I mean, sure, she's dead and good riddance, but why does everyone have to remember her fondly and holy fuck I hate that so much hate nope nope nope!
SoothingCoffee
Umumumu
- Location
- The Library
Dice, the most tsundere of things.
Anyway, am I the only one who's thinking that there is going to be an interruption? Well, that, or it's Rider time.
Anyway, am I the only one who's thinking that there is going to be an interruption? Well, that, or it's Rider time.
- Location
- The Z-Cave
They tend to overlap. I'm sure you know who I'm thinking of.
Godzillaslayer10
I am ready for this quest!
- Location
- Somewhere
The dice are rolling bastards who roll and they hate Poe...no seriously da fuck dice
- Location
- The Z-Cave
I'd actually be fine with that. When you really think about it being a part of Poe's life is a punishment. You go from powerful foe to being forced to work together with other megalomaniacs to stop the this doomed ship from sinking. At this point, Desiree is the only person who doesn't deserve to be in Poe. Medusa, Lust, and Wrath are paying their dues. It would be awesome to see Road be at the bottom of the totem pole of Poe's soul.
...I just realized that Poe's head is really similar to the emotions from Inside Out only even more crazy.
Ars Poetica
ULTIMA RATIO NEMO OBLIGATUR
- Location
- The Kingdom of Fiore
- Pronouns
- He / Him / His
Hmm... Okay, everybody! Roll four six-sided dice. Then roll three twenty-sided dice and flip a coin. If the result is Heads, roll the twenty-sided dice again and flip a coin. Repeat until you get tails. Ideal result should be as follows:
1: X/6, X/6, X/6, X/6
2: X/20, X/20, X/20
3: Flip coin; if Tails, skip to step 5
4: If Heads, do steps 2 and 3; repeat until Tails
5: There is no step five. You're done.
Okay, so, uh, who wants to influence the story?! Anyone?! Because this can only end well.
1: X/6, X/6, X/6, X/6
2: X/20, X/20, X/20
3: Flip coin; if Tails, skip to step 5
4: If Heads, do steps 2 and 3; repeat until Tails
5: There is no step five. You're done.
Okay, so, uh, who wants to influence the story?! Anyone?! Because this can only end well.
Ridiculously Average Guy
I'm you, but stronger
- Location
-
Ass you command Grand King.
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RadioactiveSpoon
Rudimentary creature of blood and flesh
- Location
- Beyond the Black Stump
Huzzah, participation!
- Location
- 'Straya
Since our politicians were just embroiled in an Akuma attack, how about some reactions?
Kingsley, GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER!: "Ha! Lord Hamfist! You look like a man who enjoys a good brawl. How about a contest, whoever beats down the most Akuma wins?"
Later, when Kingsley gets serious: "Jeffrey, pass me my blunderbuss. It's time I show these fiends what I'm made of!" Said blunderbuss may or may not be an ancient oversized weapon retrieved from some ruins on an adventure.
Later, when Kingsley gets serious: "Jeffrey, pass me my blunderbuss. It's time I show these fiends what I'm made of!" Said blunderbuss may or may not be an ancient oversized weapon retrieved from some ruins on an adventure.
The as-of-yet-unnamed Lyrebird Agent assigned to Washington: "Ah, sir? Things are... kind of going to hell here. The Akuma have shed their disguises and are attacking the politicians. Grand King Poe intercepted what looks to be their leader and has taken their fight elsewhere. What are your orders, sir? Do we intervene?"
...
"...Understood, sir."
...
"...Understood, sir."
Greg the Goat: [Disgruntled goat noises]
Theodore Johnson, cowering in terror: "Oh dear, oh dear, this is not good, not good at all..."
Lyrebird Agent interrupt: "Hello there! Sorry if this is a bit impromptu, we'd planned to start up a dialogue before attempting this but circumstances mean we're kind of in a rush. So, Greg, nice to meet you, please hold stil for a moment." *Jabs Greg the Goat with a syringe* "Places to go, things to do, I suppose I'll be back to talk to you later. Bye!"
Greg the Goat, Uplifted: "Well, this is new." *Stands upright, showing a surprisingly defined musculature* "Theodore, take yourself to safety. I have some unruly offenders to teach. Lesson one, how hard a goat can kick."
Theodore: "...What?"
Theodore Johnson, cowering in terror: "Oh dear, oh dear, this is not good, not good at all..."
Lyrebird Agent interrupt: "Hello there! Sorry if this is a bit impromptu, we'd planned to start up a dialogue before attempting this but circumstances mean we're kind of in a rush. So, Greg, nice to meet you, please hold stil for a moment." *Jabs Greg the Goat with a syringe* "Places to go, things to do, I suppose I'll be back to talk to you later. Bye!"
Greg the Goat, Uplifted: "Well, this is new." *Stands upright, showing a surprisingly defined musculature* "Theodore, take yourself to safety. I have some unruly offenders to teach. Lesson one, how hard a goat can kick."
Theodore: "...What?"
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