Border of Sanity [IC]

[Ranbo]

"So, your master has had a taste of my power and now wants more, I assume?" Reth said, not even bothering to turn around and face the unknown individual standing behind him. There was no reason for him to bother, as he could taste the foul stench of his Orichalcos the moment he arrived.

"You're friend was lucky, since I had only just drained my powers" He continued as he began to summon dark energy that slowly began to swirl around his feet and slowly engulf Reth in a wicked aura, bones slowly beginning to form from condensed packets of dark energy, forming a protective ribcage around him.

"Don't think you'll be as fortunate as that little cunt"

Pulling back his right sleeve, Reth exposed the eyes embedded in his arm once more, having regained their power after a short moment of recovery.

"Oh?"Alistair said,"Valon's girlfriend? Never liked the bastard anyway, so what should I care about her? They use the Orichalcos for actual weapons. Only decent person on the team is Raphael."

He touched his pendant, and a blast carved the tower in half. Looking down at the floor, he lowered himself down to it. His hair flying upwards, the Orichalcos burned on his forehead.
"This will be interesting,"He shouted,"Your greed corupts you. The evil in your heart is the same that those that killed my brother carried!"

---

Dartz's Temple

Lector sat in his cell, the bars glittering with the Orichalcos. He was screwed nomatter what he did. Raphael, stationed outside, grunted, and looked back at him."You might actually be chosen by the Orichalcos,"He sneered,"It may like you. I doubt it though."

Alistair on assignment, and Mai being tended to by Valon in The sickbay, Lector thought about escaping. Then, he thought better of it. "What's the use?"He thought,"If he can still draw power like he did Seven years ago, what's the point. He's even more experienced than Alistair and Valon. And that's saying something."

[Esternial]

"Leave now. I have the power to stop time and kill you with no effort or just erase you from existence, as if you were never born." Reth said, watching his tower get cleaved in half by the power of Alistair's pendant. Rather than let it become an obstacle, Reth used his powers to store it within his own pocket dimension and focused his attention on his adversary, channelling more of his powers until Susano'o was engorged with all the dark energy he could contain, once again donned in his cloak and wielding a bow moulded from dark energy as its body engulfed Reth in a protective cocoon. Much like the prison Mai used, Susano'o allowed nobody to leave and enter the protective shell of his body, but also fought back, unlike what Mai conjured.

Loading an arrow, Susano'o aimed its bow at Alistair and fired, the arrow splitting into a dozen more that seemed to home in on Alistair's necklace. At the same time, Reth started to form a series of hand seals within Susano'o for a rather powerful technique, assured that Susano'o would keep his enemy occupied as he remained within the protective hull of Susano's chest.

[Ranbo]

"Leave now. I have the power to stop time and kill you with no effort or just erase you from existence, as if you were never born." Reth said, watching his tower get cleaved in half by the power of Alistair's pendant. Rather than let it become an obstacle, Reth used his powers to store it within his own pocket dimension and focused his attention on his adversary, channelling more of his powers until Susano'o was engorged with all the dark energy he could contain, once again donned in his cloak and wielding a bow moulded from dark energy as its body engulfed Reth in a protective cocoon. Much like the prison Mai used, Susano'o allowed nobody to leave and enter the protective shell of his body, but also fought back, unlike what Mai conjured.

Loading an arrow, Susano'o aimed its bow at Alistair and fired, the arrow splitting into a dozen more that seemed to home in on Alistair's necklace. At the same time, Reth started to form a series of hand seals within Susano'o for a rather


powerful technique, assured that Susano'o would keep his enemy occupied as he remained within the protective hull of Susano's chest.

Alistair laughed. The Orichalcos opened up, engulfing them in light. "I'm afraid dark magic just won't work in the Orichalcos,"Alistair snided,"It judges what is worthy to fight, and your dark magic has been rejected." The Orichalcos on his head grew, until it encircled his body. "Master Dartz taught me this trick."

His body grew in size, and started bending itself. Where Alistair once was, a monster stood. With dark horns, and gray skin, it had a long snout. With wings, it launched itself in the air. "You like it?"The creature rumbled,"This is the first of many." Grabbing an arrow, he concentrated. Hurling it back at Reth at twice the speed it was originally launched, the monster breathed a jet of air at Reth.

[Esternial]

"A nice effort," Reth said, watching the arrow shatter as it touched Susano's impenetrable shield. Whether its attack was 'unworthy' or not, its defence was more than powerful enough to block anything Alistair threw at him, "but your time is up."

Completing the final hand seal, the distant horizon faded away and the bright blue skies were replaced by a dark purple haze. The sand on which they stood now was no longer present on Earth, but within a whole other dimension. Hovering in a sea of oblivion, both opponents were trapped within a quadrangular barrier.

"I just trapped you in a dimensional cube," Reth explained, generating a small version of the massive prison engulfing them in the palm of his hand, "used to trap a certain area in time until its dispelled. As it stands now, time for us will only progress if I destroy this prison or form the final hand seal, which will destroy anything inside this cube."

While he otherwise wouldn't hesitate to do so, Reth didn't even smirk.

"Of course, since I can phase myself into another dimensional plane, I can escape the effects of the latter."

[The Drone Empire]

Gablex looked around, unsure of what to do. All of the sudden these crazy people of Orichalkos showed up and kidnapped Lector in the name of some weirdo Master Dartz and Tyr and Mendicant were once again speaking in languages alien to him.

"...It's going to take me forever to figure out what is it I have to do." Gablex muttered quietly.

"If you're that slow, you could stop time. Or ask them, it isn't that difficult." The shadow replied. Even though it was a shadow, it sounded rather bored.

"...Bah. Odds are they'll either ignore me or give me an explanation I won't understand. Besides, I don't think even they know exactly what to do at this point." Gablex said.

"Then you could try practicing, you sloth." The shadow suggested.

"...I guess." Gablex replied.

Time continued to flow normally for the others.

Mendicant looked back towards where Gablex was, noticing he was even here. Mendicant was feeling a bit useless at the moment, he having to technology but his own to fight with and with this much supernatural mojo going on there was nothing he could do but poke them with beams of energy an things he could muster up to fling at them.

He floated over to them.

"Ah, Gablex. I was wondering where you were. I've been meaning to ask this question for a while, but we were always so busy fighting and all of that nonsense with Th- Oh, you know. You were there. That aside, I'd like to know, what is this creature?" He said abruptly gesturing to the shadow.

"And why can it talk?" He followed up. It seemed rather rude, but Mendicant got very inquisitive in his down time.

[Ranbo]

"Let's see about this..."Alistair muttered,"Obe thing is, I gain the powers that the creature I take on has. Now, the Orichalcos has spoken: Your energy is unworthy from the start. The Orichalcos has judged that it is evil, and must be dispelled. Or else the seal will do it for you."

Drawing an Orichalcos, he shifted back into his normal self. Smirking, he drew a circle again, and this time, molded into an exact duplicate of Gablex. His voice even sounded the same.

"It appears this man has the power I need,"Alistair smirked."How does it feel to be killed by your friend?" Not waiting for the answer, he threw himself at Reth, using Gablex's power to stop time. "Of course,"Alistair said,"I have limits. I'm sure your Friend has more secrets, but I'm only allowed to copy one."

With time stopped around them, and Alistair hurtling at Reth, he smiled, as he saw Reth's face get closer and closer...

[Esternial]

Thinking his victory was attained, Alistair flew towards Reth, coming closer and closer until suddenly Susano'o moved, grabbing Alistair by his throat. In all his excitement, Alistair had forgotten a very important detail Reth mentioned before that could have prevented him from falling in Susanoo's hands.

...used to trap a certain area in time...

"Seems like you already forgot this realm now exists outside time and space. Any influence on time is rendered void here." Reth said, looking at Alistair through the partially transparent chest of Susano'o. Focusing his right eye, Reth lit a part of Alistair's clothing on fire as if he were using a magnifying glass. However, the fire that started to burn wasn't a mixture of orange and red colours as a regular fire, but feature black flames that started to eat away at Alistair's clothes like an acid, able to consume even regular fire as well. Slowly, it would begin to consume Alistair's flesh and bones as well until he was entirely covered in black fire. Unlike the dark energy which the Orichalcos found unworthy, the black flames were a neutral energy, purging everything it touches except for one thing which Alistair clearly did not possess...

With the little spark ignited, Susano'o hurled Alistair away, loading another set of arrows which - unlike the previous volley - was created out of compressed black flames.

[Ranbo]

Alistair grunted as an arrow hit him. Though the pain throbbed through his arm, an idea hit him. With the Orichalcos, he changed shape again: This time Reth's equal.

"So,"He laughed, in Reth's voice,"How does it feel to be destroyed by yourself? Interesting, I'd say. Let's get rind of this 'arena' of yours. It's such a bother."

Pointing his hands outward, he dissipated the zone. Hovering, he looked Reth in the eye. Smirking, he said a word, and the Orichalcos circle pulsed, throwing green energy at Reth. All the while, Reth-Alistair was laughing.

[Esternial]

"Little problem there," Reth said as he watched the barrier remain untouched by Alistair's weak attempt, "that technique required the use of multiple powers, which you cannot all posses at once."

Once again, Susano'o deflected the bolt of energy using its shield. While it didn't damage him, the blow of the bolt did push Reth back a few steps.

"My turn."

Susano'o fired its arrows, heading straight for Alistair.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"...Yeah, I was there. Thanks for noticing." Gablex said, crossing his arms, looking rather annoyed. He then sighed and looked over to where the shadow was... Being. "This creature, you ask? Remember when we killed SAIDE, when I started going mad or something? This is that." He said to Mendicant. "I guess it's hard to understand, since you didn't really go through that and aren't human or organic to begin with. The thing is that through a certain series of rather fortunate events -Unfortunate for it, I guess-, it ended up becoming my familiar in exchange of releasing him from the need of having a corporeal shell in order to exist."

"I can talk because fuck you I can. I mean, that dragon can talk, and you haven't wondered why HE can? Seriously. And don't bother asking my name, you'd never manage to pronounce it properly." The shadow added.

Gablex seemed to grow a bit more hair throughout this conversation.

[The Drone Empire]

"...Yeah, I was there. Thanks for noticing." Gablex said, crossing his arms, looking rather annoyed. He then sighed and looked over to where the shadow was... Being. "This creature, you ask? Remember when we killed SAIDE, when I started going mad or something? This is that." He said to Mendicant. "I guess it's hard to understand, since you didn't really go through that and aren't human or organic to begin with. The thing is that through a certain series of rather fortunate events -Unfortunate for it, I guess-, it ended up becoming my familiar in exchange of releasing him from the need of having a corporeal shell in order to exist."

"I can talk because fuck you I can. I mean, that dragon can talk, and you haven't wondered why HE can? Seriously. And don't bother asking my name, you'd never manage to pronounce it properly." The shadow added.

Gablex seemed to grow a bit more hair throughout this conversation.

Mendicant made a swift comeback in response.

"I have not questioned his ability to talk because he at least is an establishe creature in my records and has the neccessary bodily parts to process stimulus to being talked to and response by talking back to them. You are a feline shaped mass of energy. I speculate what goes on inside to provide thought, and even life.." Mendicant said, moving abit closer to the creature looking at its structure.

"Hmm"

Suddenly he returned to Gablex

"So your saying this is the manifestation of your alter ego?" He said, referring to death metal.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"...Err, no. This thing wasn't my alter-ego. It CAUSED my alter-ego. It's different. You see, I was trapped for about half of my life in an underground facility. I suppose it had something to do with it, but I'm not going to bring back those memories just for your curiosity, Mendicant." Gablex explained to the robot.

"You, you are a narrow-minded individual, my friend." The shadow said to Mendicant.

[The Drone Empire]

"...Err, no. This thing wasn't my alter-ego. It CAUSED my alter-ego. It's different. You see, I was trapped for about half of my life in an underground facility. I suppose it had something to do with it, but I'm not going to bring back those memories just for your curiosity, Mendicant." Gablex explained to the robot.

"You, you are a narrow-minded individual, my friend." The shadow said to Mendicant.

"Excuse my lack of empathetic emotion. That program is currently non existent in me so I have no extent of sensing where I may intrude upon ones personal self state-of mind. Or for the most part."

"What matter is this.. creature.. made of? And what is its name so I may have reference when speaking to and about it." He said, seeming to continue to ignore how the creature responded to his inquiries.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Gablex sighed. "I understand. You weren't exactly programmed to deal with humans, after all. Neither was the one who programmed you. But it's alright, don't worry about it." He said, showing some empathy for the non-empathic robot. However, when he was asked about the matter the shadow was made of, he looked at it, then back at Mendicant, then back at it, then back at Mendicant again.

"...Err, no idea."

[The Drone Empire]

Gablex sighed. "I understand. You weren't exactly programmed to deal with humans, after all. Neither was the one who programmed you. But it's alright, don't worry about it." He said, showing some empathy for the non-empathic robot. However, when he was asked about the matter the shadow was made of, he looked at it, then back at Mendicant, then back at it, then back at Mendicant again.

"...Err, no idea."

Mendicant nodded his head, in understanding motion, then he actually poked the shadow.

"I would assume its made of some sort of negative energy that actually consumes light.. thus his black color, but what causes him to live.. Oh well. I suppose it is all something we could discover later as a group" He said in an eerie way as if the group would gang up upon the shadow and dissect it on a table.

"So what do you suppose we do now.. talk to Tyr about possibly continuing north to find Sharon and end her life so we may finally return peace to what is left of Europe?" He said quickly.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"Keep guessing."

"Shush. Anyways, I guess we should pursue Sharon up North and put an end to her chaos. After all, she is the most immediate threat. I doubt whatever Mister Darts has prepared is important enough for us to divert our attention anyways. I'm just somewhat worried about Reth. He made Max what he is, after all." Gablex said to Mendicant.

[The Drone Empire]

"Keep guessing."

"Shush. Anyways, I guess we should pursue Sharon up North and put an end to her chaos. After all, she is the most immediate threat. I doubt whatever Mister Darts has prepared is important enough for us to divert our attention anyways. I'm just somewhat worried about Reth. He made Max what he is, after all." Gablex said to Mendicant.

"I agree. I shall go consult with him and the others, though you know, you may join us. Last time I checked, we have socially accepted each other as 'friends'." He said, as he began floating towards Tyr.

"Tyr, I propose we continue north again. We must end Sharon's crusade. While its not as environmentally urgent, we don't want Europe's population to sink even further below its current number,"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"...Join us?" Gablex repeated to himself in his mind. The two words uttered by Mendicant continued to echo on his head. "What the hell? I've been here all along. I've been here since before YOU were here. Bloody hell, I've been here before Tyr was here. I've been following like a god damn loyal puppy and I'M the one who should join in." He thought to himself, crossing his arms.

"Bah, I'll continue practicing." He said to himself. He then started seemingly teleporting all around the place.

[Ranbo]

"Little problem there," Reth said as he watched the barrier remain untouched by Alistair's weak attempt, "that technique required the use of multiple powers, which you cannot all posses at once."

Once again, Susano'o deflected the bolt of energy using its shield. While it didn't damage him, the blow of the bolt did push Reth back a few steps.

"My turn."

Susano'o fired its arrows, heading straight for Alistair.

Alistair; who simply drew an Orichalcos shield, morphed back to normal. Lowing himself to the ground, he closed his eyes. Opening them again, he placed his hands on te ground. The Seql of Orichalcos whirled around him, and he shot up into the air.

Taking his hand up, he aimed himself for Reth. He graves hold of him, and the Orichalcos burned brightly, surrounding them. Hate brimmed in Alistairs eyes.

"It's over,"He growled,"Let the siphon do the talking." Tapping into the Orichalcos, he begun.

[Esternial]

Alistair forgot something very important: surrounding Reth's body was Susano'o, a construct of dark energy, something the Orichalcos found unworthy to fight. However, as Alistair started to drain what he believed was Reth's pool of souls, he instead began to absorb the dark energy that constituted Susano's body, taking in the corrupted energy into the Orichalcos.

"You really are a fool" Reth said as he watched the dark energy corrupt Alistair's necklace before Susano'o hurled him away yet another time. Having been drained of some of its dark energy, Susano's cloak had partially vanished.

"We could do this all day, and all you managed to do was corrupt you shiny necklace with Susano's dark energy"

[Malshan]

"...Yeah, I was there. Thanks for noticing." Gablex said, crossing his arms, looking rather annoyed. He then sighed and looked over to where the shadow was... Being. "This creature, you ask? Remember when we killed SAIDE, when I started going mad or something? This is that." He said to Mendicant. "I guess it's hard to understand, since you didn't really go through that and aren't human or organic to begin with. The thing is that through a certain series of rather fortunate events -Unfortunate for it, I guess-, it ended up becoming my familiar in exchange of releasing him from the need of having a corporeal shell in order to exist."

"I can talk because fuck you I can. I mean, that dragon can talk, and you haven't wondered why HE can? Seriously. And don't bother asking my name, you'd never manage to pronounce it properly." The shadow added.

Gablex seemed to grow a bit more hair throughout this conversation.

Tyr turned toward the shadow. "This form by itself would not be able to talk, as it is naturally a beast. It isn't intelligent, just a bundle of primitive emotions and instincts. What allows me to talk is the fact that I've been around ever since the creation of time, around when God created the archangels. I've lived through the evolution of your species, and have learned many of your languages." He switched randomly through a dozen different languages. I can speak any language you choose to name.. I may not be the guardian of language, but I'm still proficient in about a hundred current languages."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"Yeah, yeah, I should've guessed that. Let's just forget about that and continue making plans for-" Gablex was saying, but was abruptly interrupted by the shadow that began speaking once again.

"Fool. Time wasn't created. Time could not have been created. Time is this everything's constant, along with energy. Everything else is limited. Mortal. Ephimeral. You, me, the sun, this world. But I digress. It's not my place to teach you. Just avoid saying nonesense next time." The shadow said, and then, just like that, vanished through the ground.

"Ooookay... That was weird. Let's just go North." Gablex said.

[Malshan]

"Yeah, yeah, I should've guessed that. Let's just forget about that and continue making plans for-" Gablex was saying, but was abruptly interrupted by the shadow that began speaking once again.

"Fool. Time wasn't created. Time could not have been created. Time is this everything's constant, along with energy. Everything else is limited. Mortal. Ephimeral. You, me, the sun, this world. But I digress. It's not my place to teach you. Just avoid saying nonesense next time." The shadow said, and then, just like that, vanished through the ground.

"Ooookay... That was weird. Let's just go North." Gablex said.

Tyr sighed. "It is useless to try to explain such things to such creatures. My body is ephemeral, indeed...but I myself am immortal. Undying, unending, never aging. Time is fluid. It can be channeled, fought against, can be stepped out of."

[Ranbo]

Alistair forgot something very important: surrounding Reth's body was Susano'o, a construct of dark energy, something the Orichalcos found unworthy to fight. However, as Alistair started to drain what he believed was Reth's pool of souls, he instead began to absorb the dark energy that constituted Susano's body, taking in the corrupted energy into the Orichalcos.

"You really are a fool" Reth said as he watched the dark energy corrupt Alistair's necklace before Susano'o hurled him away yet another time. Having been drained of some of its dark energy, Susano's cloak had partially vanished.

"We could do this all day, and all you managed to do was corrupt you shiny necklace with Susano's dark energy"

Alistair concentrated as he clutched his necklace. Muttering, he opened his eyes, and watched as the necklace unclouded. "The Orichalcos is eternal,"He said quietly,"And light is more powerful than dark. I am surprised Susano'o has not been dismissed yet by the Orichalcos. It is obviously judging you."

He knelt to the ground, and concentrated. Hissing, he molded himself into a whip, and it glowed with the Orichalcos. His voice rang out through the zone. "It appears Master Dartz will see to you personally. Your will is greatly surpassing others."

With a blink of an eye, Alistair created an Orichalcos symbol. Wrapping himself around Reth, he flung him at the Seal before Susano'os dark energy would enter and he'd have to dilute his energy again.

---

Dartz's Temple
Darts was kneeling at the Statue of The Three Serpent Mouths to the Leviathan. Sensing a disturbance, he opene his senses. His realization came just a few seconds before he heard a crash behind him. Tapping the Orichalcos, he scanned the recent uses.

"Alistair,"He spoke without looking back,"And Reth. Is there a reason you have brought the impure to this site. The Leviathan may not be pleased. A worthy opponent, though, you have brought me."

He stood up."Please tell me your reasons, before I incarcerate him with Lector. They will be fine cellmates, I'd presume."

[Malshan]

A rumble shook the area and the sky grew dark. Thunder split the quietness as the sky ripped itself to shreds, revealing a white aura sitting high in the sky. Several meteor-like objects plummeted out of it, slamming into the ground several meters around Tyr. Five of them, evenly spaced around Tyr in a pentagon. Five smoking craters.

A soft whirrring echoed from each of the craters as massive beings climbed out of the holes. The leader at the head of the pentagon stood in front of Tyr, towering over him at ten feet tall. It looked down at him, sensors whirring as it analyzed his waiting face. The front of the suit folded open then, and a figure stepped out, standing in front of Tyr, still towering over him. It then snatched him up in its arms as its facemask folded back, revealing a draconian face. It said, "Tyr! How are you, my friend?" Tyr winced as his wing membranes were stretched. "Not bad, Hel."
"It's been so long."
"It has indeed."
Hel put Tyr down and gestured for the other four to dismount. They did and followed Hel's example, folding back their faceplates. Hel gestured to the others in turn. "Of course, you remember the Beowulf Twins, Asaa, and Agwa." Each of the four dragons bowed deeply to Tyr. He motioned for them to stand back up. He walked over to each and embraced each one in turn, each one bending over to allow him to reach them more easily.

Tyr turned to the others. "So, this is the Na'achtell Spec. Ops force that I called in to help us with our...problems. This is Hel, my lover of ten thousand years. The others are the Beowulf Twins, and Agwa, and Asaa." Each of the dragons nodded when they heard their names. "They are of the Warrior caste. I asked them here to help us out a bit." He turned to Hel. "Did Apollo make it back all right?"
Hel turned back to Tyr. "Indeed. He is now the Marcut of the Library."
"Is he now...quite the accomplishment."