The Fall of Gods: Book I: Chapter II: Act III

[The Alice in Wondeland]

Cain's smile grew even wider. "Hello Harold. Almost had my 30 dollar bill here paid too. You had thirteen more seconds." Cain took another sip from the cup. "Well don't just stand there, sit down." Cain fished into one of his pockets and pulled out two badges he'd gotten forged at the Field Operations office of the Inquisition in Frankfurt.

[Apostledom of chaos]

Post Moved

[Agadar]

"Two things:

As I'm sure your aware, Omega saved seven entities better identified by the biblical reference, The Seven Deadly Sins. There are also several powerful families on Earth.

For your part, I need assistance acquiring the bloodling of the house of Bardarus. Also, if you can somehow get ahold of the bloodline of Melody Booth, that would be of tremendous assistance, I don't want to have to get her mother and father seperately, when their there so neatly combined in one teenager.

I'm also looking for the blood of The Cain Bloodline if you happen to come across them, and I'm sure I can secure the blood of the Reznov dynasty on by own.

The point being, under the category of my personal research, I'm going to see what happens, when I combined all those bloodlines, plus my own, and all seven deadly sins, into a single entity. Such a person, would be well worth studying. I think I'll call it, the Eighth Deadly Sin, Corruption. Since nearly every version of Rome once considered an eigth sin by the same name it seems appropriate." Zeta said.

"His power mad fantasies aside, we've also decided this Earth should be marked for Long-term preservation, and as such have decided to give it a more helping hand. For now, in secret, in the future, in public.

Zeta will soon unveil our educational methods in Japan. Your other task is to get Rome to adopt them. Amalgamation Corp will help spread it to the USNA. With the three largest powers adopting it, the rest of the world will fall in line and adopt it. The point being, current educational methods are lackluster at best, students remembering 50% at the most of everything they learn. Our methods have been proven to take that figure to 99%. We don't want a world of uneducated dolts fumbling other benefits we'll extend to this interesting and unique place in the future." Number 3 said.

"I'm not power mad, infact, according to nearly every psycho I've spoken to I'm perfectly normal." Zeta said, jokingly.

He got up and moved around to Janner, calculating the code which would turn Janner into a Beta.

"Oh, before you go, make sure you also put in for a mini-Quantum Reactor, unless you can already support the power requirements of Replicators and Maturation Chambers. I'd suggust you think about those Lab assistants too, since they could do most of these side projects for you, allowing you to concentrate more fully on Neostigma.

I wonder which is more corrupting, the ancient and legendary Hellfire which will soon be seen at its best, or the modern and continually improving Neostigma?" Zeta said as he came closer.

He didn't need to say it, having his own Genetic Replicators and Maturation chambers would allow Janner to produce clones of himself directly now.

Janner smirked at what he perceived as a challenge suggested by Zeta. In Janner's mind, there was no doubt that his research of the Neostigma would result in a weapon many times more powerful than the old and dusty Seven Sins. His Neo-Weapons were already capable of increasing a single superhuman's power tremendously, as well as being capable of practically turning a normal human into a superhuman merely by wielding one of those weapons. And yet, Janner considered his Neo-Weapons to be low-tech. They were but prototypes: test cases to discover the limits and applications of the Neostigma. He had already went one step further by creating the Neo-Humans, but even these were considered mere experiments by Janner. His true goal, the ultimate weaponization of the otherworldly virus, laid far beyond those petty creations. Slowly but surely, Janner was becoming a master at Neo-technologies. In fact, he was already considered to be the authority on all things Neostigma related within the Collective. Especially his latest invention had been looked upon with envy by many of his fellow clones: the mysterious black shards, the first of which had been used by Alexander Theosus during the Second Battle for London, which had the power to control Neostigma seeds and manage their energy flows. The applications for the shards were practically endless.

"I have no need for any more assistants," Janner said while Zeta approached, "But I shall gladly accept a Mini-Quantum Reactor. My experiments require enormous loads of energy, which the frail human infrastructure can barely deliver." The Roman scientist looked out of one of the windows of the ship, overlooking planet Earth. "Director, why do you desire to share the knowledge of the Collective with these primitives?" Janner asked boldly but genuinely curiously.

[Warhaven]

"They are unique beyond unique. Our records go accross billions of worlds, if you look at them both individually, and as a group, there's a predicable pattern. This world escapes the patterns and charts entirely. Despite their primitive state, there is clearly something worth preserving here, so it shall be. Whether it be something of a tangible physical nature, or an intangible nature is yet to be determined." Zeta explained.

He pointed a scanner at Janner, and transmitted the upgrade program he had put in.

"Physical appearence won't change. But ascend any higher, and you'll begin to appear more like me, due to the increasing amount of genetic change. I've also secured your equipment for you, having already placed them in ideal spots within your laboratory via teleportation. Of course, your free to move them around. You simply need to remember to turn the Reactor on." Zeta said.

The privacy field lifted.

"Anything else, before we part company?" Zeta asked.

Of course, once Janner got back to his lab, he'd discover a surprise from Zeta.

Indeed, Zeta had placed the Genetic Replicator and a pair of Maturation Chambers in ideal locations. The Reactor placed in an out of the way spot where it wouldn't be disturbed.

However,

In another spot, was a normal Replicator. One of Zeta's personal Z-Class Replicators.

"Conhgrats on your promotion. This is a secret machine kept to higher than Alpha ranks. You are the tenth person to have access to a Z-class Replicator. For reference, you can use it to create damn near any substance you can possibly think of. I look forward to the future. ~Z"

[Agadar]

Janner nodded. He was receiving so many gifts, it almost seemed as if it was his birthday. Not that he ever received presents on his birthday. Hell, he never even celebrated his birthday to begin with. When Zeta talked about mankind escaping the predictable patterns laid out by other sentient races, a smirk appeared on Janner's face. He knew exactly what Zeta was talking about: it was the very reason why he was on Earth and why he was providing Rome with Collective technologies and his Neo-Weapons. The Z-class Replicator could potentially be very useful to Janner. Thus far, his weapons had incorporated mere synthetic soulstone. Though strong, these stones were nowhere near the effectiveness and efficiency of the real deal. Unfortunately, the supply of the Earth-bound material was so incredibly low, that the great majority of it had been used ages ago to craft a specific weapon, which was currently in the hands of Dugal Cain. All Janner had was a few milligrams of soulstone, which wasn't even enough to enhance a needle with. But perhaps, with the Z-class Replicator, he would be able to simply replicate it completely, instead of having to rely on the synthesized version. When Zeta asked whether there was something else Janner, required, the latter shook his head. "No, I'm good. I shall return to my laboratory immediately to set up the new machines I have been given, and then continue my work on the Neostigma as well as the new tasks given to me." Janner bowed slightly to Zeta and the Board of Directors. "Science prevails."

In a small cafe in Frankfurt, Harold Payne looked at the two badges Cain laid down on the bar. They were the identification cards used by the German National Detective Agency, the highest military police force in the country. Payne smiled approvingly. "What have you been cooking up, Cain?"

[The Alice in Wondeland]

In time, Harold. In time. Cain whispered in Payne's thoughts. He slid one of the badges over to Harold. "You know your way around a national detective database, correct?" Cain intended to find the cleaner for the Red Hand. Someone like that to know what the intricacies of the gang.

[Albertasby]

Snowflake and Melody entered the city, looking around in awe and wonder. It was such a marvel, and a spectacle to see, and was such a positive thing to see in such a negative place. The pair looked like tourists wandering around the city, exclaiming how nice everything was as they walked passed it. "Its as if there is a whole civilisation down here, how long does it go on for?" Snowflake asked, but before she could be answered, the group had taken their seats in a cafe.

Both mother and daughter looked at each other, and left the cafe whilst the males discussed the past events. Snowflake didn't recognise the two brothers, and so there was no need for her to be there whilst they discussed their history. The two of them wandered around the city, noticing its similarity to ancient Rome. There was fountains, piazzas, markets and farms. After conversing with a few locals and Melody receiving a purple amulet necklace, the two returned to the cafe as the group stood up.

They were heading towards a temple-like building that was absolutely magnificent. It seemed as if it was a landmark, on par with that of St Paul's Cathedral, and the temples of ancient Egypt. Melody felt a feeling of accomplishment at seeing such a spectacle. As they entered, the interior lived up to the exterior. It was awe-inspiring, and gave both Snowflake and Melody a feeling of wonder and amazement. The pair thought it best to leave Dugal to do the talking, but Melody still smiled sweetly at the elderly man.

[Jedi8246]

The Labyrinth
Dugal found the temple to be most interesting. He was facinated that an entire city such as this was underneath Italy. It looked ancient. Dugal wondered if it had been used in the times of his ancestor. As they walked into the back, an old man sat. It was the Keeper. Dugal found the man most interesting indeed. He possesed a certain intution for sure. Then the man asked him a question. Dugal was shocked to hear that word again.

"I am here to seek the Will of Peter. But I must ask, why did you call me Sheperd? Someone else called me that as well. What does it mean?"

[Agadar]

In time, Harold. In time. Cain whispered in Payne's thoughts. He slid one of the badges over to Harold. "You know your way around a national detective database, correct?" Cain intended to find the cleaner for the Red Hand. Someone like that to know what the intricacies of the gang.

"The inquisition has enough people within the German police forces to ensure a smooth entrance into their databases, if that's what you mean," Harold said. He turned his head to the barkeeper and nodded to him while he pointed at Cain's cup of coffee, indicating that he himself would like one as well. Harold then turned his head to look at Cain again. "Now, are you going to let me in on your plan, or are you going to continue withholding it from me?" He leaned back and took a swift look around the cafe. "This place is clean. The sweepers made sure of that. I checked. So, what's the plan?"

Deep within Abaddon, Melody smiled sweetly at the Keeper, who briefly looked at her with an annoyed look on his face. He was certainly not the kind of person fond of younglings such as her. So inexperienced and unaware of the greater things and dangers in life. He loathed them. "I am here to seek the Will of Peter. But I must ask, why did you call me Shepherd? Someone else called me that as well. What does it mean?" Dugal asked. The Keeper's gaze switched to Dugal. He frowned. "That is what those aware of the legends call people like you. Mortal hosts of the 'divine' Apostle's Wills. I would almost consider it funny, if they weren't actually serious about it." The Keeper did not smile at his own sarcastic remark. Instead, he maintained the annoyed and almost angry look on his face. "But I digress. You say you're here for the Will of Peter? What business do you have with that traitor?"

[Albertasby]

Melody scowled when the Keeper hadn't returned the smile. "Manners cost nothing you know!" she blurted out. As soon as the words had escaped her lips she regretted it. She'd just insulted the one man who could possibly guide them in the right direction. She sighed deeply, but refused to apologise. She could feel the whole group glaring at her within their minds, but she stood her ground. It was about time the group began to realise who she was.

Snowflake, on the other hand, was trying her best to be polite and gentle to the Keeper, and she knew he could help them. Her daughter's outburst had embarrassed her, and she turned on the spot to glare at her. But something the Keeper had said caught her attention. He called the will a "traitor". 'Forgive me sir, but why do you refer to the will as a traitor?'

[Agadar]

The Keeper leaned back in his chair. He let out a big, annoyed sigh. Dealing with Snowflake and her allies seemed to be a waste of time to him. "The Will of Peter and his chosen Shepherd tried to do something that was forbidden. That is all I shall reveal." The Keeper looked at Bismarck. "Why have you brought these ignorant people in front of me, Bardarus? You and I both know that I shan't release the Will of Peter until the end of its sentence, no matter how impressive the champions which you bring down here are."

Bismarck looked at the Keeper with disbelief. It seemed he had no idea what the Keeper was talking about.

[Jedi8246]

Dugal was suprised by all he heard.It was all very interesting. The Keeper adressed Bismarck, apparently very aware of Bismarck's plight. Suspicion entered Dugal's mind. How was it that the Keeper already knew that Bismarck was in the owl. Furthermore he was keeping the Will of Peter trapped. Dugal was very prepared to use force, but maintained his cool. He would get the answers he wanted. He activated the Spirit Circle again, revealing the spirits. Dugal turned to the soul form of Bismarck and the Keeper.

"All right, I want some straight answers. What's going on? What did Bismarck try to do?"

[Albertasby]

Snowflake joined Dugal's side, and added her input to the situation. "What exactly did the do that was forbidden? Because as far as I am concerned, you are just coming up with unjustifiable statements to use as an excuse to not tell us what we want. Give us the answers, and give us them now. We don't want to hurt you, but boy we will."

[Agadar]

Strangely enough, when Dugal activated his Spirit Circle, no soul came forth from the Keeper. It did not seem to affect him at all. He simply remained seated in his chair and looked at the souls of the heroes in front of him. He chuckled briefly and mockingly when Snowflake threatened him. "Calm yourself down, pup," he said with a seriousness which could almost be felt, "Your threats are meaningless to me." The Keeper looked at Dugal, then at Bismarck. "Keeper, I have no clue what this forbidden thing is you are talking about which the Will of Peter and I supposedly tried to do. Can you tell us exactly what happened fourteen years ago?" Bardarus asked. The Keeper remained silent as he stared intensely at Bismarck's soul. The mysterious head of the City of the Damned was thinking, or rather, observing. After a few seconds, the Keeper relaxed again. "You speak the truth. How... peculiar," he said. He took a moment to think. "Very well. For the sake of getting to the bottom of this, I shall tell you what happened back then." The Keeper opened one of the drawers of his desk and took out his private journal. He opened it and skipped through the pages until he reached one of his writings from fourteen years ago. It took a moment for him to read through it, after which he looked back up at the heroes again, closing his journal as he did. "On the third day of March fourteen years ago, an Apostle's Will and his chosen Shepherd came to me here in the City of the Damned. With him were Bardarus as well as the Will of Peter. Bardarus was unconscious, while the Will of Peter was... sleeping. The Shepherd and his Apostle's Will informed me that he had been forced to seperate the two in battle, because they had been planning on breaking one of the Forbidden Acts. The Shepherd dropped the two of them off, after which I locked them safely away and began counting the years until their release."

[Jedi8246]

Dugal eyes widened. Then one of the traitors within the Roman government had an Apostle's Will!! This was an interesting turn of events. Clearly Bismarck wasn't planning on breaking one of these acts. It was also curious that the Keeper's soul didn't come forward. Either he wasn't effected by Dugal's powers or he had no soul. He didn't ponder this too much. Dugal quickly asked some questions.

"Who was the other Shepherd? And what are the Forbidden Acts?"

[Agadar]

The Keeper eyed Dugal and inhaled through his nose. "It is too early for you to gain the knowledge of the Forbidden Acts, Shepherd. You are yet to fully mature." The Keeper's gaze switched to Bismarck. The two stared at one another for a brief moment, as if they were discussing Dugal's progress without words. The Keeper then looked back at Dugal again. "The other Shepherd was a young man not much older than the girl." He nodded towards Melody. "His name was Harold... something. I have forgotten his last name. The names men appoint to the Shepherds have never really interested me all that much anyway." The Keeper inhaled deeply and sighed. "This boy was the host of the most dedicated amongst the Apostle's Wills; that of Iscariot. Quite an honor for such a young pup."

[Jedi8246]

Dugal remembered exactly who that was. He had nearly forgotten about him. So much had happened in recent months.

"Harold Montego is his name. He is a traitor of Bardarus and works for that fiend Bartolt. But Payne is not who is in control. When I fought him months ago, I noticed something. Iscariot has completely taken over that body. He has full control of Harold, whoever he used to be."

Dugal allowed the words to register with the Keeper.

[Agadar]

The Keeper smirked with disbelief. "Listen, boy. I do not know who this 'Bartolt' is, but if you are implying that the Will of Iscariot is purposely controlling the body of its host, then I proclaim you mad." The Keeper was visibly annoyed by the apparently outrageous accusation. "Iscariot has always been the untainted guide of its younger kin. To claim he has done wrong is to doubt the very nature of the Apostle's Wills."

[Jedi8246]

Dugal grew frustrated with the man.

"I don't know how long you've been down here for, but you are clearly out of touch. The Will of Iscariot has been willfully malicious towards all Shepherds. He has attacked me twice now, through someone know as Demetrius Reznov and through Harold. The Will has been out to get personal power for itself and seks the destruction of myself and others. If you are the Keeper of these Wills, as you seem to be, then you know my Will's powers. I saw with my own eyes what Iscariot has done to it's current hosts soul. It has completely enveloped the soul and mind of it's host. The man Bartolt has taken over Rome, ousted Bismarck from his own body, and currently leads Rome on a path to destroying everything!! WE came down HERE RISKING OUR LIVES to get the WILL OF PETER BACK! Without Bismarck in his proper body, Bartolt's path of destruction lays unchecked!! You must believe me, for it is our only hope!"

Dugal's soul form flared slightly, with energy radiating from him.

[Agadar]

The Keeper looked at Dugal. He seemed unmoved by Dugal's passionate display, but the Shepherd's words did reach him. He leaned backwards in his chair.

"I am not the 'Keeper of the Wills'. Such a position does not even exist," he said. He raised his head slightly and remained silent for a brief moment. "I'd like to speak to Matthew directly. Could you... wake him up?" the Keeper finally asked.

[Albertasby]

Melody and Snowflake stared intently at the Keeper, and his interactions with the group. He was relying a story that particularly stung a nerve with Snow. Iscariot. As Duagl continued his conversation about what that will had done, she had an outburst. "Excuse me, but that Iscariot hospitalised me, and almost killed me. he has completely taking over its host, and the only reason it didn't completely kill Dugal and his will here is because I sacrificed myself!" She calmed herself down and stepped back, noticing she'd gotten slightly angry.

[Jedi8246]

Dugal gave Snow a look at her outburst. He made it clear that she wasn't helping. Although it was slightly hypocritical, considering he had just had his own outburst. The Keeper then asked to speak to Matthew. This was unexpected. He didn't have much choice other than to comply.

"Very well."

Dugal called to Matthew, the entity laying dormant somewhere. Dugal asked him to come forth and speak to this man. Dugal closed his eyes and shuddered. His eyes reopened and were glowing a bright blue. Matthew could speak through Dugal, while Dugal's conscious listened in the background.

[Agadar]

A blue glow enveloped the Keeper. He and the possessed Dugal stared one another in eachother's eyes. They said not a single word, but simply stood there, gazing. The silent conversation lasted a total of thirty seconds, until Dugal regained control of his own body, the bright blue color vanished from his eyes, and the glow around the Keeper vanished as well. The old man sighed. He closed his eyes and remained quiet, but then suddenly, he stood up and with an angry roar swiped the scrolls and books off of his desk, sending them flying and tumbling on the floor. His behavior and face revealed that he was furious. The Keeper quickly calmed down however, as he leaned forward and rested his knuckles on the desk. He was again silent for a brief moment, after which he looked up at Dugal. "Forgive me for my outburst. This revelation infuriates me to no end. I still find it hard to believe that Iscariot, the first of all Apostle's Wills, has actively been breaking the very laws it created. Had I not received the memories of Matthew, I still would deny even the mere possibility." The Keeper sat down. He covered his mouth with his hand and thought for several seconds, after which he looked at Dugal again. "I have been deceived. How ignorant of me to have held such trust in Iscariot. If only I had read the memories of the Will of Peter back then, I would never have locked it and Bardarus up. But that is the past. We must look towards the future." The Keeper touched his chin. "Do you know why Abaddon is supposedly inescapable?" he asked the heroes.

[Albertasby]

The two girls stood and stared as the blow glow enveloped the bodies of both Dugal and the Keeper, and noticed how strange it seemed. There was no words muttered, and the whole band fell into silence to observe what was happening. It was the outburst of the Keeper that concerned both Melody and Snowflake. Why would someone who had been so calm and collected suddenly react in this way? Soon, it became apparent.

When the Keeper asked his question, Melody looked at her mother. "Abaddon is a labyrinth, surely that answers the question? It is one of the world's biggest mazes, and surely the purpose of a maze is to deceive all who enter as to where the exit is? Although, I'm sure the some backstory, so please, go on and tell us!"

[Agadar]

The Keeper stood up and walked towards one of the bookcases. He seemingly began to look for a specific book or scroll. When he took one and continued searching, it became apparant that he was collecting multiple books. While he did so, he replied to Snowflake. "Abaddon's size is definately impressive, but that is not the reason. Let me begin my explanation by telling you that I am known by many different names. The people here in the City of the Damned know me as the Keeper. The justiciars from Rome know me as the Warden. The dungeon masters know me as the Guide." The Keeper returned to his desk and picked up a leather bag from the ground. He began putting the books he had collected in there. "You could say I'm quite a prominent figure within Abaddon, but my relationship with this place goes far beyond merely that. Abaddon as a whole is under my spell. I control everything in here. Nearly everything. There are some things even I cannot manipulate, but those things are few." He closed the leather bag. "The reason Abaddon is inescapable is because I prevent anyone from leaving using my powers over Abaddon. I can manipulate the memories of those within, their devices, their senses, even the structure of Abaddon itself. Some people and... other kinds of creatures... I keep imprisoned in here because they are a danger to mankind. Others I keep here because it's actually safer for them to be down here than to be above ground." The Keeper offered the leather bag containing several old books to the heroes. "I shall however no longer manipulate your memories and senses. Dugal, you should be able to find the true location of the Will of Peter much more easily now that your senses are pure." The Keeper paused briefly. "In this bag are several books I believe you may find helpful in some way on your quest to send Iscariot back to where it came from, and to defeat... whatever else may cross your path. You may have them."