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One Foot - Another Multiverse SI

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Ars Poetica said:
For this fight, the gloves come off.

-x-

"He was getting high. At that point, everyone knew that was what he did… he'd go to the tunnel, get his shots from that fucker with the van, and he'd either just stay there until the high was over… or he'd go home with new marks in his arms," I sighed.

"And that day… that cold day… he was definitely at the tunnel. It didn't matter that there was snow. Some people always go to get their fix, so that son of a bitch was there – dealing." I shook and shuddered, but I didn't cry. There wasn't any point in crying again.

"They needed to divert the freight car onto unused tracks. They thought they could put it somewhere it wouldn't cause a disaster. No matter what, it was going to crash… so why not have it hit a place where nobody was likely to be?

"Why not have it aim for some old, abandoned tunnel… right? Who the hell would be there, anyway?"

The House of the Rising Sun was silent, save for a gentle pitter-patter of rain. But there were no clouds. It was a brief weather pattern sort of thing – a freak sun shower. That was all.

"I… I guess it's obvious what happened next, right?" I looked at Desiree, "Should I keep going?"

"Do you want to?"

"No." I answered, "…But we've had this talk before, right? I need to say it. That train car… it just… oh god the explosion was enormous."

-x-

The chains rushed against the edges of my swords, each link clinking against my Zanpakuto. As I lifted my arms to throw the chains away from me, I heard them ringing like little bells – then they started turning towards me again. The ends of them liquefied, forming serpentine mouths that opened wide.

I saw their fangs drip with fire, and they lunged at me. But the paths they took were predictable, and I was able to pull up my swords and start swinging at them. Each strike was one aimed to decapitate. My Zanpakuto slid through their open jaws, slicing their "heads" apart as they continued lunging.

Yet they suddenly lurched. Terumi pulled the chains back, wrapping their forms around my swords in an attempt to pull them from my hands and disarm me.

The tassels held strong, wrapping around my wrists as I was dragged towards him. My heels dug into the ground, and I started diverting strength to my legs. At best, it would be a partial transformation… but it was enough to hold me steady.

Support came in from above as blasts of energy soared through the air to strike at Terumi. To him, they must have been a nuisance. He didn't seem harmed by any of it… but still the energy struck him, one such blast holding enough power to stagger him when it struck his kneecap.

His chains loosened, and I swung my swords out to shatter them.

Terumi didn't growl, or cackle. His skeletal face just seemed to widen its twisted grin as the chains dissolved to flames. He charged towards me, his every step burning the ground he walked on.

Now wasn't the time to hold back.

"[[AAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL ABOOOOOOOARD!!]]"
"[[GRAND CENTRAL KING'S CROSS!!]]"​

Without my shotgun, I knew the end result would probably be a little weaker… after all, this was a composite of all my combined powers. But as waves of flashing color burst away from me, and as armor formed to cover my body, I tanked Terumi's charge through the melted dark material.

He splashed out of it so hard the ripples looked white to me. Then there was no time to think, he was right on top of me. Weapons formed from the fluid, falling into my hands as swords that I held up to block him.

I altered the sound around us, forcing it to pulsate at him and run through his body. Every bone of his vibrated as I snarled, drawing the dark material towards us to drown him, to hold him in place, to – "Useless!" He announced, "Useless, useless, useless!" The fires that lit around him burned brighter, scorching my skin beneath my armor as he roared.

The black material seemed to jump away from him, as though it somehow developed an understanding that if it kept going, he'd corrupt it. I channeled it, feeling the black material drip down the hole Terumi left behind as waves of the stuff stayed on the surface.

A plan formed.

One of Terumi's hands reached down, wrapping around my ankle as he lifted me and threw my body like I was some kind of ragdoll. I spun through the air, forcing wings to grow in order to halt my momentum.

He anticipated that.

A spear of concrete and metal suddenly pierced my gut and carried me out of the air. I fell, crashing into a building as I was pinned in place. He was already marching towards me as I clapped my hands, wrapping the gauntlets around the javelin that held me.

I didn't bother turning it into something interesting. I just made it explode in his general direction.

Shards of metal and rock, turned red and white hot, flew at him from above as though they were meteorites. And he just kept walking, letting them crash against him uselessly as he started to cackle.

There was another crack, another boom – and suddenly half of Terumi's chest was gone. His left arm was falling to the ground, now lacking anything connecting it to his body. Slowly, he turned around to face where the shot came from.

Godo stared back, already preparing another shot with the Black Barrel. "Oh." Terumi's tone was almost comical as he brought up his remaining palm to his forehead. "Of course! That's how you've been hurting me!" Then he turned fully away from me and started in the other direction.

No.

I slid off the remains of the makeshift javelin, flew through the air, and hit the ground – it cracked around me, my body already shifting to its chimeric form as I started charging towards Terumi.

He was so far away…

I pulled my eyepatch free and watched him pursue Godo with my Ultimate Eye. I heard the vibrations, saw him based on the alterations of the air. I saw their positions based on probabilistic locations. Terumi tore his way into the building, kicking the door so hard it flew to the other side of the open space.

He charged up the stairs, fire lighting the way as he broke wood and metal beneath him. Godo was on the third floor. He didn't just have his Black Barrel – he still had another gun. I didn't recognize it, but I could hear its rapid tapping as bullets sprayed out of the barrel.

Terumi walked through them, letting the lead bounce off on contact with his body. Some of the bullets just melted. Godo tried climbing another flight of stairs, going higher as though it'd help him.

So, the emerald rider let loose his chains, swinging them out and ripping through the entire first floor. For a moment, there was silence as the old apartment building seemed to jump from the motion.

Then, the first floor collapsed.

I watched as the building fell towards me, going on all fours as I felt black material coalesce beneath my feet to build a road. I charged, lights shining behind me as I jumped through a closed window, glass shattering as I rolled on the floor and charged.

The building continued turning, a wall became the ground for me as I continued running towards Godo's location. He'd fallen into a closet while Terumi continued rushing towards him.

…Impact.

The building struck the ground, cracking it wider and opening it further as a massive crevice formed. It was little more than a bridge now, and I could hear Godo panting from the exertion of his run.

But Terumi didn't become tired. He didn't bother with such a petty thing anymore. He burst through a wall, tearing his way towards Godo.

I heard another heartbeat.

With a bestial roar, Laura fell on him. Her adamantium claws ripped through Terumi's back as she stabbed at him, aiming for each bone she could see. "Godo!" she shouted, "Move!"

He didn't need to be told twice as he rushed out of the confined space. Laura moved to follow him – Terumi's hand wrapped around the claws of one of her arms. "No. You get to stay." She was looking him dead in the eye when he said that.

Then she started screaming.

I was on the other side of the building, vaulting over broken pieces of furniture and debris in a desperate bid to find my way to them, to stop this. But I could hear the tell-tale sound of adamantium being corrupted by the power of a rider. Her bones were being warped and twisted against her.

From where I stood, with all the conflicting noises, it suddenly became too hard to tell what was dripping off of her. I couldn't tell if she was crying, or if her flesh was being melted off.

But I could tell when his bones started tightening, and when his flames became hotter. I heard Laura scream as her indestructible bones were shattered. There was another shot as the Black Barrel fired, going straight through Terumi's head.

He slumped backwards as Godo took Laura by her remaining arm. They were trying to escape… I heard Tiff flying overhead, firing off energy to make a hole so she could swoop in and save them. But Terumi was still moving.

I was going as fast as I could, but I was too far away.

Tiff flew in, taking Laura and Godo with her as she began flying out. But her speed was inhibited by the extra weight.

…How could she have dodged the chains that suddenly leapt out of the broken building and wrapped around Laura's waist?

She whispered something to them, and then she let go.

…I heard Terumi laughing as he tore her apart. Now I was close enough to actually see Godo reaching out to try and catch her, Tiff flying faster to escape. He was shouting.

Blood pulsed in my ears as I didn't bother rounding any corners and just barreled through every obstacle in my way. There was no elegance in my motions as I finally found my way to the room that Terumi stood alone in… save for scraps of adamantium, and ruined, cooked flesh that spattered the walls.

He laughed as he saw me, his head reforming. "One down!"

I didn't think. I just charged him, hoping to get one good shot in on this complete fucking monster. Sound wrapped around my hands as I swung at him with blades he couldn't possibly block. But he easily took the attack as he strode towards me, lifting an arm and backhanding me out a window.

Terumi didn't wait for me to land before he climbed out and jumped towards me. Emerald fire formed behind him, turning him into a rocket mid-flight that soared through the air. He somersaulted, launching his feet against my stomach. I vomited – it was little more than blood and stomach acid that flew past him.

When my back impacted the ground, I thought my guts would fly out of my mouth next… mercifully they stayed in place as he stepped off of me… then started stomping. Each strike causing me to wince, his foot coming up, then down, then up… he quickened his pace, laughing wildly. "Pathetic! You and her, all of them…! Hahahahaha! You're fucking worthless!"

The joy he took in saying that… it just pissed me the hell off. My hands came up and grabbed his foot as it came down to deliver another blow. A pulse of sound left my gauntlets, the tuning fork blades on either side of them bursting out and impaling the leg to hold it in place.

With a shriek, it was torn free from below the knee. Terumi hopped backwards, looking at the lost limb while swinging his arms to balance himself.

I rolled over and stood, tossing it away. Fire was already coming out of his stump to reform a leg. Meanwhile, I started forming a bow. Black material shining with all the colors of the rainbow formed the arms of the bow as I drew back a string of raw, spiritual energy.

An arrow of noise and fire formed. But still, Terumi grinned as he watched me.

My fingers let go… and the arrow soared, cutting through air and ripping into his body with immeasurable force. He flew backwards as the arrow exploded… then the next arrow struck him. I just kept firing, my Ultimate Eye guiding the path of each arrow as I screamed at him. My howls were wordless, animalistic…

That was fine. I wasn't in the mood for sounding human.

Just as I drew another arrow, I felt something in my heart give out. I shuddered, coughing as I fell to a knee. Liquid silver dripped from my mouth as I felt my Zanpakuto split… without all the elements that made my Nijikai complete… it was going to fail, eventually.

I shuddered, feeling a slight high coming on… but the pain that racked my body was enough to keep me in check as I watched Terumi roll through buildings and hit the ground. Before he could so much as stand, Tiff was already firing lasers at him.

"D-Damn…" I sputtered, "Come on, Kokonoe…" I pleaded with her, though she couldn't hear me.

My vision was fading, but still I stood. I felt my blood pump and rush, my skin hardened once… twice… Blut Vene and Hierro thickened my skin as my body sparked. I was drawing on some of the ridiculous amount of energy I'd stored for god knows how many years at this point.

Within seconds, I was standing and ready for another round. But my Nijikai… it was automatically dispelled. I couldn't just summon it up again.

I smirked. Good thing I had more tricks up my sleeve, right? After all, I had other Quincy powers to draw on.

Eyeing my gauntlets, I took another stance as though I was forming a bow. I could hear Tiff holding Terumi off in the distance. She was doing a damn good job of it. Her swords were sufficient to keeping him off balance at mid-range, her lasers were hindering him at long range… but she couldn't do this forever.

Godo had been let down somewhere, he was watching for a new opportunity to shoot Terumi with the Black Barrel. How many times had he fired that thing, now? I'd already lost track.

My body was shining with light as I drew on more and more power. Terumi paused in his fight with Tiff, firing up a chain to climb higher and reach a point he could see me. I was his real target; I was the real threat. At least, that's probably how he viewed it.

So it wasn't a surprise at all when he started swinging towards me with the intent to unleash hell.

I was glowing brighter, brighter-still… and I grinned. It was a vicious smile, but if Terumi noticed he didn't show any sign of it. His feet hit the ground about a hundred yards away before he started walking towards me. His chains swung beneath him in an ominous pendulum as he approached.

And high above, Tiff was still firing at him. Circling in the air and dropping lasers each chance she had, it was finally starting to piss him off. He spun on his heel, firing a chain up to knock Tiff out of the air – but she turned around it, letting the strike harmlessly pass her by.

Mentally, I thanked her for the distraction. It was all the time I needed… and I felt the world turn grey. Lust and Wrath stood on either side of me.

"You're sure about this, Poe?" Lust asked me.

"It might not knock him out for long, but every second he's spending here is a second he isn't spending on Kokonoe." I answered her.

Wrath eyed me, "That doesn't answer her question."

"It doesn't need to. I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't sure."

He took a deep breath, crossing his arms. "You've never had a chance to use my full abilities outside the House of the Rising Sun. We have no idea how long you can keep using them."

"What better time to find out?" I smiled.

Lust shut her eyes and sighed. "…If you're dead set on this, then at least do me a favor and make it count."

So much light was pouring off of me I was as blinding as Terumi was at the start of our battle. My power was clashing against his in waves as Tiff found her way to the roof of a nearby building to take cover.

Terumi eyed me as color returned to the world. "Wait. What is this?" he seemed concerned, "What the hell is this?!"

My smile widened as a bow began to form between my hands.

There's a reason why my Quincy powers took the form of gauntlets, after all.

"[[Letzt Stil.]]"​

The look of shock on Terumi's face was deeply satisfying.

-x-

One Foot on the Platform
OR: One Foot on the Train

End-298
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I just had the wackiest idea of turning the entire timeline into a "Ride" and bashing into another or something
Maybe repairing it using GR's natural healing abilities and connect to the broken branch

Either that or going back to where the broken timeline was and instead merging his inner world with the timeline and forcing it to have a past and connect it to one of the branches

Both are weird and wouldn't happen but its an interesting thought
 
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LackOfUpdates said:
I just had the whackiest idea of turnong the entire timeline into a "Ride" and bashing into another or something
Maybe repairing it using GR's natural healing abilities and connect to the broken branch

Either that or going back to whwre the broken timeline was and instead merging his inner world with the timeline and forcing it to have a past and connect it to one of the branches

Both are weird and wouldn't happen but its an interesting thought
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You might be on to something. It doesn't even have to be a metaphor, the earth orbits the sun, the sun orbits the galaxy, the galaxy orbits it's supercluster, and the supercluster is moving through the expanding universe towards a super attractor. The whole universe is one big ride!
 
Chapter's 95% done -- just tossed it over to the Betas, so it should be up tonight or tomorrow at the absolute latest.

Get hyped, ya'll. :)
 
Ah yes, The Hype.

I've kept it on a shelf far too long. I shall retrieve my jar of Hype. I'll even bring enough for everyone else.
 
As one of @Ars Poetica's Betas I'm here to tell you do to busy schedules and dissatisfaction with the chapter which has been decided to be in need of heavy editing the next chapter of One Foot will be delayed by what is projected to be about two days. We're sorry for this delay but we all believe that quality is paramount.
 
The Zog said:
As one of @Ars Poetica's Betas I'm here to tell you do to busy schedules and dissatisfaction with the chapter which has been decided to be in need of heavy editing the next chapter of One Foot will be delayed by what is projected to be about two days. We're sorry for this delay but we all believe that quality is paramount.
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Don't worry about it man
One time I just revised 5 chapters more than 40 times over the course of 6 months. I can tell you right now, I'll never be able to achieve that level of awesome. I sadly, just don't have the time or the energy to do something like that anymore....Q-Q
 
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What a busy week this has been -- the chapter was supposed to come out Sunday, then it was pushed to Tuesday, and now it's Saturday. If six days hadn't passed, would this count as time travel? Probably not. But still. That being said -- let's get the show on the road. Thanks for being awesome, everyone. And a big thanks to @The Zog and @Mizu for helping out with this chapter.

-x-

The first mischief of rats that tried to get a chunk out of me went down easily enough. A punch here, a kick there, and they were smashed against the wood and crushed into a chunky paste that dribbled down to the floor. The problem came with the second wave.

Far from being content with doing the same thing over and over again, they adapted quickly – as I tried to punch one of the leaping rats, the creature forced itself into a spin and latched onto my forearm. I winced at the feeling of an inch of teeth stabbing into my bicep.

Another pair jumped for me from my left as the walls of the house turned inside out. I could just briefly make out tens of thousands of little, beady eyes glaring at me from an almost endless crawlspace. They were like bullets, but slower and more prone to gripping me.

I lifted my right arm and felt the tassel of my Zanpakuto wrap around my wrist as one of my blades was unsheathed. But as it spun and swung to cut down another set of rats lunging at me from the right, it stopped suddenly.

My arm wouldn't move. In fact, it couldn't. My eye widened as I stared at my stiffening shoulder. Polished wood was overtaking skin and flesh – and before I could react, the pair of rats from my left finally reached me. They died quickly as my other Zanpakuto readily swung through them like a hot knife through butter.

But at least I understood what the hell I was dealing with.

Reaching up, I tore off the rat clinging to my right arm and squeezed until I felt it pop.

"None may escape the Rat House! NONE! You hear me, fool?!"

Oh, I heard him alright. His voice was nasally, he breathed heavily in between incoherent screeching, and I could feel his footsteps as they impacted the ground outside the house itself. More urgently, I could feel rats scuttling beneath the floorboards in numbers that dwarfed what I'd observed.

For a moment, I considered pulling out my flare gun – my hand was halfway to the fanny pack before it stopped, and I sighed. Right… I didn't have that right now…

I'd get a replacement later.

The flesh on my arm continued to shift and warp as it turned to wood. My eye became half-lidded as I looked around, embracing a dull expression and suppressing a yawn. Oh sure, how scary, I was being turned into a part of the house… but as quickly as the wood grew and shifted from my flesh, I could see sparks forming beneath the wood. It rotted, dropping off of me and thunking onto the floor.

If I stood around long enough, just cutting down rats as they came, then eventually I'd be able to win a battle of attrition. I was one hundred percent certain of it. But I wasn't in the mood for that shit, and I had other things that needed to get done.

"Soon, you too shall become one with the house and all its glory! I shall make from you a throne to sit upon! For I am Sternritter "R"… THE RAT HOUSE!"

I sighed, sheathed my Zanpakuto, and took a step away from a group of a dozen or so rats as they seemed to fly up in an attempt to eat my face. Multi-colored light formed from the fingertip of my reformed gauntlet. "Cero." And the rats were suddenly on fire.

"WHAT?! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF MAGIC IS THAT?!"

His reaction was over the top. I took a breath, and past the oak and iron, I could smell him – he was coated in a fine layer of sweat. From the way his feet pressed against the ground, I estimated he was about five foot two, over two hundred and ninety pounds, and trembling in fear even though he had a clear and obvious advantage.

I waited for him to just swarm me already and throw all these rats at me simultaneously. But instead, he threw another two or three at me and I cut them down before they had a chance to reach me.

What a terrifying power.

And what a fucking shame it was in the hands of a blatant incompetent. For the life of me, I couldn't think of a single reason why he'd be holding back against me now. I took a deep, deep breath, gave one last look around me, paused, and then I stared at what used to be a window before it had been replaced with more planks of wood. My ears twitched and I got a bead on him. "Okay, yeah, I'm bored now."

"BWAHAHAHA! FOOL! You think the Rat House cares for your emotions?! Soon, you shall–" All the false bravado in the world wasn't going to save this guy from me.

I clapped my hands, pointed a finger at a wall, and let it extend. There was no point making a claw out of it to hook him in, I just needed to touch him. And as I watched the armored finger burst through the wood at a little over six hundred meters per second, I felt a satisfying thunk as it impacted soft, gelatinous fat.

"…Huh?"

Sparks burst and I pulled my finger back. I clapped my hands again, ignored the wood-spreading rats, and fired my fingertip at him a second time.

"What are you–?"

This time, he exploded into a shower of shards of petrified wood shaped like a person, and hundreds of rats. Almost immediately I could tell he was reforming his body, but even as he did I felt the phantom remnants of petrification wear off in my arm. The house began to lose coherency, wood boards almost melting as more rats began pouring out.

But that didn't matter to me as I just clapped my hands and tore a hole out in a shower of alchemical sparks. By the time I'd stepped out of the house, he was already reforming his body. I was sloughing bark and rat blood off of myself as I stepped closer towards him.

"Credit where credit's due, I can totally see why Meds would have problems dealing with you." I said to him, my eye half open as, without much care, I grabbed him by his front and slammed him into the ground. "An inviting cottage in the middle of the woods, a sudden attack the moment someone closes their eyes, and bam. They become part of your little trap. She'd probably go in to see what you were planning, you'd catch her by surprise, and then she'd be constantly dodging your nonsense for god knows how long… and she'd have no idea where the hell you actually were." I was monologuing, sure, but I felt the need to fill the air with something that wasn't this guy's annoying, screechy voice.

He squealed like a pig, and much to my disgust the layer of sweat I'd smelled was worse in person. It was a thick, salty grime that indicated he'd gone without showering for weeks – if not months. But under the odors of shit, salt, and other personal stink, I could make out hints of lead and mercury, anti-septic, and grease. In a way, that made tolerating his odor worth it.

"M-Meds…?" He asked with his eyes wide in shock and horror. "Who are you?"

"I'm her boyfriend. And I know you've met her – scary looking eyes, blonde hair, has a thing for snakes and arrows…?" I raised my eyebrows, watching as he grew more panicked with each description added. "She probably kicked your ass, realized she couldn't kill you for some reason, and threw you away for me or someone else to deal with."

"…Oh." His voice became very small.

"So I've got two questions for you, and depending on how you answer this it can either end very well for you, or very badly. First, how was she?"

"…Um…"

"Just basic stuff, like," I gesticulated with one hand while still pinning him to the ground with the other. "Was she eating alright? She doesn't need food, but I mean I'd feel kind of bad if she didn't have something, you know?"

"…" He grew very quiet, just watching me with beady eyes.

"So that's a no? Okay, I'll treat her to something nice when this is over. God, fuck me – I don't think we've ever gone out together. Not out as in just walking around, but I mean an actual date." I sighed, "She's too good for me, sometimes. Anyway, uh, question two… how many people have you killed with that fucking house?"

Things ended very badly for the Rat House, and I walked away pinching the bridge of my nose.

Fucking Quincies.

Ignoring the horrifying, multiversal implications of their presence here, the fact that there were Sternritters just added another degree of problems to an already fucked up situation.

And the fact that Meds was fighting Sternritters when she originally left to find Ivan and rescue Laxus just made matters that much worse. So Ivan was probably a Quincy too, almost certainly a Sternritter, and Meds had likely decided to deal with this problem by killing all of them.

By itself, this might not have been a problem if it wasn't for the fact that, before I'd… well… left my home world, Bleach was still updating. Yhwach was still a major threat, and nobody knew how he was going to go down. I still don't know how he lost in canon – and let's be real, he definitely lost.

It's a Shounen battle manga, he wasn't going to win.

So that said, we were in kind of a pickle. If I didn't know how Yhwach lost, Meds probably wouldn't know either. While that kind of thing had never stopped us before, we'd never ended up against someone of that kind of scale before either.

…And yet, if Meds was hunting down Sternritter and she felt alright, that raised another host of questions.

This fight was way too easy.

And Meds was having a really easy time fighting these guys. There's no way she wasn't. I'd be able to tell if she was badly hurt, right? No, I'd definitely be able to tell.

"Perhaps," I heard Wrath say to me, "It is not a matter of them being weak, but a matter of you being strong?"

"No," I shook my head. "Fairy Tail's a series that operates on One Piece-style rules. Flash over physics, more often than not. The people here ought to be batshit powerful and should be able to go toe-to-toe with mountain busters. The Sternritters aren't slouches when it comes to a fight – they can't afford that if they're gonna invade the Soul Society. So for that guy from that group in this world to go down so easily… It's setting off a lot of warning bells."

I took a moment to sit down on a rock.

"…Why are there Quincies here? The Organization's island used to be a part of Lordran before it fell out of the sky… so Lordran was a part of that world's afterlife, which implies a connection to the Soul Society… But I haven't seen the folks here do any of that wacky Dark Souls sorcery and miracles. It's all unclassified. We're missing something here, and I don't like it."

"You think Ivan's the key?" Lust suggested, "If he's got an in with the Quincies, he'd probably know a little more about this world."

"Probably. If Meds finds him, she'll be able to figure it out. But on that note, there is something else I've been thinking about. See, in the original story, Fairy Tail deals with its own more often than not. Why would they send Meds after Ivan? I mean, she could probably take him, but the point is that she's not a Fairy Tail mage. Sending her makes no sense."

"Maybe they are testing her…?" Desiree supposed aloud, "She has a great deal of potential as a recruit."

I barked a laugh. "No. Haha, no. Hell no. I love her, but god no. She's not Fairy Tail material. Meds kills people as a first response way too often for any Guild to consider her, even for a heartbeat." I shut my eye in melancholy and smiled, "You can take one look at her, and no matter how happy her smile… there's an edge to it. She'll cut you, and she'll enjoy it." I shuddered. "Nobody here would want her." Not like me.

"Then she was sent after Ivan to test her self-control – not to have her as a member, but to see if she can be trusted."

For a moment, I considered it. Then I shook my head, "Nah," I waved my hand, dismissing the notion. "She showed plenty of self-control at the Guild while she was caring for me – what's the point in searching for something like you don't know it's there when it's right in front of you? If that's true, then Makarov's playing dumb when he's got nothing to gain from doing so."

"If Medusa was sent after Ivan, and if Fairy Tail deals with its own," I heard Herman consider aloud, "Then perhaps the latter was the goal, and the former was the means?"

"…Can you elaborate?"

"Medusa is brilliant – so much so that you could speak of her brilliance without evidence and others would be inclined to believe you. She is also prone to causing harm to things she doesn't like. Fairy Tail is headed by a man who can recognize both of these things. So, suppose his son and grandson leave one day. He knows that Ivan kidnapped his own child and fled the Guild… and he doesn't know where they might be? This is doubtful. He knows Ivan has fallen into a bad crowd, how can't he? He knows Medusa is intelligent, and it would not be beyond him to assume she is sadistic – not Fairy Tail material, as you say, but perfect for hunting a Dark Guild."

"So, what, you think he sent Meds after Ivan knowing she wouldn't find him? And that she'd just end up going after the Sternritters instead?"

"…It would provide plausible deniability. "Fairy Tail didn't happen to kill anyone who ended up in the way, it was Medusa Gorgon instead," they would say. "She is not a member of any Guild, she is exclusively targeting a group that this country is better off without," leaving unsaid that if she perishes in the process and you decide to avenge her death… and die as a result…"

"That's cold." I said. "Way too cold. And I haven't done anything to indicate I'm a threat."

"Perhaps, or perhaps not."

"…"

"Fairy Tail deals with its own. You said that first, not me. If Medusa were sent to find Ivan and save Laxus, she would certainly kill Ivan. She would kill Makarov's son. Of course it would be a cold thing for him to do, but Makarov is a family man isn't he? At worst, he chose to banish Ivan. Not kill him. Never kill him."

"But we haven't done anything to them."

"No. You simply showed up, injured, covered in blood for them to care for you… and then, mysteriously, Medusa appeared from the ether to help you. Nothing is suspicious about that, I'm sure."

"…So let's suppose just for a moment that the little old man lied to my girlfriend, sent her on a wild goose chase to kill what he thinks is a Dark Guild, and is secretly trying to confront Ivan and Laxus without someone interrupting him. I was in a comatose state. He'd have to have been harboring Ivan for a month, right? Hell, Cana said I was asleep for three weeks."

Lust blinked, "No she didn't."

"Huh?" I looked towards her in the greyed out world.

"Cana said you were asleep for a long time, but it was Makarov who said you were asleep for three weeks. And it was Makarov who claimed that Medusa told you to assume the worst." Lust stared at me.

"…Herman, you mind passing me a book from the library on that?" I asked – but I could already see he was searching. Somewhere, deep in the bowels of the House of the Rising Sun, I could see Amit happily passing Herman a red-bound book just as I could see him flipping through the pages as he walked along a winding staircase made of endless, vast shelves.

The grey world seemed dense with fog as he emerged once more. "Volume Twenty-six, chapter three-hundred twelve," Herman stated aloud. "It's all there in black and white."

I took the book from him and grasped solidified ideas and memories. I saw myself there, watching as Cana's face fell. She was uncertain. She looked like she was realizing something.

"Oh…" she said as if something had suddenly occurred to her, "Oh, you wouldn't know."

She was about to say something about Meds, then she stopped herself. She said I was asleep for a long time… And then Makarov answered my question before she could. He was right there with Cana, he told me I was asleep for three weeks…

"…No," I said aloud, watching as Makarov took a deep breath to steady himself. "He wouldn't. He's got too much of a moral compass, right?"

But Herman said nothing, flipping another page as the scene continued playing itself out in front of me. I could see Makarov trembling, and I could see how shaken he was as he delivered the news – "This…" I stopped myself, "This can't be accurate. I'm just remembering it wrong."

"It's real." Wrath spoke up once more. "Every last second of it, and we were all there as witness. These aren't just your memories of the event, Poe. This is a consensus, and your memories are the driving force."

"…She asked us to tell you when you woke up that if she wasn't here then we were to assume the worst. We don't know where she is… I'm sorry." There was genuine remorse in Makarov's tone.

I watched as Horace took his hat off his head as if to wipe sweat from his feathered brow, and he stared at me as he leaned on the stiffened memory of Makarov's form. "What was the last thing he said? I'm not sure Poe heard – hey, Herman, play it back for a moment?"

He complied.

"I'm sorry."

"And one more time… a little louder."

"I'm sorry."

"You getting it yet, Poe?"

"…" I exhaled. My teeth were clenched and my eyes were staring ahead at nothing. I could feel the grey world fade. Makarov… he wasn't apologizing to me for Meds, he was apologizing to me for Meds. He sent her out – to protect his family, and to hurt the people who led his son astray… he'd fucked us.

We'd been had.

I took another breath, looked up at the sky, and checked to see if my wings were stable for flight. I felt calm – calmer than I'd ever felt before. That was probably a bad thing. My eye looked up to the sky, and I flew.

-x-

The Perspective's Story​

I checked the mirror again – my eyes were definitely not that shade of amber yesterday. Were they getting yellower? God, that'd be, like, so sucky. I was not in the mood for another check-up.

Someone knocked on the door. "You done in there, Pereknorn?"

"Oh. My. God," I spat, "Like, what the fuck, Orvolio? Call me Perry! For real! I mean, like, how often do I gotta tell you, huh? Huuuuh?" I stepped over to the door and hit it with my hand a few times, making sure to be louder than him. "And I'll be done when I'm done, like, fuck. God. Ugh."

He stepped away from the door, one foot heavier than the other. "Fine. Be that way. Bitch."

I stuck my tongue out at him. Even if he couldn't see it, it was… you know, like, the principle of it…?

…I stopped moving.

For just a second, I thought I saw something in the mirror. It looked black. Was that… armor? Or was it skin…? I couldn't tell. There was just so much ash. And its eyes were all white, like a…

…Needle teeth or open ventilation for a mouth that wasn't a mouth and it was smiling exactly what one would expect from a proper hero – my head hurt. Is something… is someone bleeding again? Everything smells like iron.

Bells?

…What bells?

The air smells like lightning. It's all burning – what's burning? I can't… I can't tell… I blinked again. Something dripped from my nose, and the mirror just showed me exactly what was supposed to be there you haven't seen anything. "Fucking gross… I got a nosebleed? Ew…" I whined, pulling out a tissue.

And my eyes are totally not that color. Fucking mirror. Like, fuck everything! Ugh.

-x-

One Foot on the Platform
OR: One Foot on the Train

End-322
 
Seems Medusa is going the possession route with these Bleach characters. Didn't know it resulted in pain for them, though.
 
Sometimes Poe leaves a castle and respectable military that lends aid before leaving a world. I don't think this setting deserves more than the chaos he leaves in his wake.

It also looks like we have a lot to learn about what truly happens to those that permanently join The House of the Rising Sun. Thanks for the heartbreaking update, Ars!
 
Ars Poetica said:
"…" I exhaled. My teeth were clenched and my eyes were staring ahead at nothing. I could feel the grey world fade. Makarov… he wasn't apologizing to me for Meds, he was apologizing to me for Meds. He sent her out – to protect his family, and to hurt the people who led his son astray… he'd fucked us.
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Oh for fucks sake! Fuck you, Makarov!

Ars Poetica said:
…Needle teeth or open ventilation for a mouth that wasn't a mouth and it was smiling exactly what one would expect from a proper hero
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Well, fuck me. That's not good.
 
You know, I remember the time when he transmuted all the air in the submarine to suffocate all his foes cause he does not need to breathe. And than some time later I remember him asphyxiating in the van while underwater cause he ran out of breath.
 
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Edifier said:
You know, I remember the time when he transmuted all the air in the submarine to suffocate all his foes cause he does not need to breathe. And than some time later I remember him asphyxiating in the van while underwater cause he ran out of breath.
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Krazyfan1 said:
"Your mind makes it real" maybe?
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Keep in mind, Poe was a traumatized idiot at that point.

It's entirely in character for him to forget that he doesn't need to breathe.

He's a hell of a lot scarier now, but back then he was just a chump with flame powers.
 
I'd actually like the whole "no need to breath" thing to come up later...


tackling a foe who does need to breath off a cliff and into the ocean, then grabbing them and swimming down.
standing on a sinking ship with a pinned enemy and sinking down with them, eye to eye, and waiting...
 
Krazyfan1 said:
I'd actually like the whole "no need to breath" thing to come up later...


tackling a foe who does need to breath off a cliff and into the ocean, then grabbing them and swimming down.
standing on a sinking ship with a pinned enemy and sinking down with them, eye to eye, and waiting...
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Even better, is if he opens his mouth, and takes exaggerated deep breaths, just to taunt the other person.
 
I was thinking, when going by Jojo rules, that being a homunculus is a lot like being a vampire that is immune to the sun. Except you have all the hamonculus powers. I remember how that pillar man became perfect by channeling their version of a philosophers stone trough his body.

But than Poe is more of a chimera than a hamonculus, even outside his chimera transformation. Alternatively, all these additions to his homunculus form can be just upgrades towards perfection.
But Poe rarely explores or takes advantage of his unique physiology. This goes back to his over reliance on the ghost rider, yeah, as do all things. So nothing lost here.

curiosity said:
...I don't remember that. When did it happen?
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In the ghost zone he went to the submarine for sustinence after finding out where the frost ghost got his undead food. But he got ambushed by those hugable snow men who suck all the fuzzie heat out of you. So his brilliant plan was to just transmute all the air in the sub and take away their breath before they could take away his flames.
 
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