The Last Oddetsey

[NFX]

"Give you..." Twitch rather froze up at that point. "...but I haven't got a plan!" At this point, Twitch began racking his brains for some ideas, flying around in very small circles, and making some rather distressed-sounding noises. "Right...uhh...just flying in head-on would be daft, so if you guys are able to attack from a distance, that'd probably work...or sneak up on them, then you could just blast 'em......or if you've got a bunch of armour or something that could take a shot from them, you could go in headfirst..." Twitch almost instantly realised he was rambling, and attempted to bring it all together into some kind of coherent plan.

"Okay...i-if you all concentrate on one of them at a time, take them down and move onto the next one, that might be the best way to go..." he suggested, still sounding very uncertain of himself, "But don't clump together, so they can't take you all down in one hit......right, that's not where I wanted to go......uhh......I've tried to get back into the castle, but the teleporters aren't working, so if you could get me in there, that'd be great, but if not, then I'll try zipping around and slashing stuff with these..." The parrot gave a flick of his wings, the leading edges glinting in the setting sun....the parrot paused for a moment, then let out a sigh.

"...look, I'm not the best at fighting, but I have tried!" Twitch began. "I went up against the VHS guy, I did some slashy stuff, but It was Eudial who killed it! I've just got a bunch of stuff in a bag, they'd probably be fine if I..." The macaw stopped his self-loathing for a moment, as he looked down into said bag, almost visibly coming up with an idea the bird believed had merit. "...if I wasn't there..." Reaching into the bag, and after a few moments of rummaging, Twitch (who had become slightly frantic and nervous-sounding once again) pulled out a slightly battered-looking scroll, and - using the bag as a weight to keep one end down - unrolled it along the ground.

"Okay, all of us just wait here a few minutes or so..." he told the Old Worlds Society, as he prepared to begin reading his way through the scriptures, "Let's see if I can do this..."

[alex_holt]

VENGEANCE and SLEAZY LOOKING DEMON

On Aurelia's suggestion (and the opportunity to get out of the Dungeon), the Sleazy looking Demon transforms into Eudial and goes with Vengeance. Upon hailing the main ship and stepping outside the forcefield, a small transport barge arrives, and ferries them to the grandiose battleship that leads the fleet.

Stepping through the archways, the interior of the ship is decked out very much like how Vengeance himself would do it, lots of decadant features. However, close as it may me, it's just slightly off in a way that Vengeance cannot explain. Escorted through the ship by a pair of robots, they are dismissed as they enter the palatial State-room, leaving Vengeance and the Demon alone with a figure who is seated opposite, looking out a huge window in a panoramic view of the Castle and the sprawling city of New Melded going off further than the eye can see.

"I had a suspician that you might be the one to come - only you could have unlocked the castle anyway. I tried you know. But this isn't a Castle for any Professor Reginald Fortescue Vengeance (Esq.). Somehow, of all of the versions of us across the multiverse, only you were able to do it. I'll have to find out why that is at some point."

He smiles unpleasantly.

"Now, to inspect the merchandise"

He walks up to the disguised Demon and peers closely at it from several angles, and then nods genially turns around as if to fetch something from his desk... however he suddenly pivots sharply and the decadant cane he had been leaning on turns inky black as it takes off the Demon's head in a single smooth movement. Eudial's features linger for a second as the body slumps to the floor, and then reverts to it's original Demon form before a fiery implosion leaves nothing but cinders drifting across the room.

"Now, that was not who I was looking for. I guess we'll have to do this the hard way."

The first wave of soldiers attacks...

EUDIAL, MARISA, THE SPANISH INQUISITION, AURELIA, PHANTASMIC SLAMMER, TWO IRON GOLEMS and EPSILON

The battle begins in earnest, and even holding the bottleneck of the courtyard, the fighting is brutal. The group start behind a barricade and manage to take down the Goblin-gun spearmen without any major injuries, despite the courtyard being peppered with lead shot. However, the continuous ressurection of Skeleton Warriors and the huge Mechaboars provide a much more difficult challenge.

After intensive fighting, Goldenloins the Dwarf, wielding a golden dagger and gauntlets that combine his strength with Aurelia and Imogen manages to bust through the ranks of the skeletons and break the neck of the Necro-engineer with a massive headbut. All skeletons that had been ressurected during this fight crumbled instantly, breaking their lines and allowing battle to be won while the torrent of magical energy from Marisa and Eudial manages to destroy the Ghost Tortoise. However, the Mechaboars prove much more difficult opponents, and it takes one of the Iron Golems sacrificing itself by bullrushing the pair off the bridge to take them down.

At the end of the battle, all foes lie defeated, but not without loss:

CASUALTIES:
1 Iron Golem Destroyed
The Outer gates are destroyed
Eudial and Marisa are 30% down on magic.
Imogen has a broken arm.
Phantasmic slammer has cosmetic shotgun holes in his armour
Everyone has minor cuts and scrapes

At this point, George announces he has detected the secodn wave assembling:

10,000 Robotic War Beetles (size of actual beetle with hydraulic pinsirs)
50 Weremoles
20 Rhino-mounted Elven Cavalry
2 Buttermancers
4 Hadrons (see the item earlier)
1 Truck filled with butter (for the buttermancers)

TWITCH
Twitch performs the ritual and asks the question of power
"Do you want to be invisible?"
"I do"
"Yes"
"Yes"
"Errr... yess"
*tree branches creaking*

With that, the Old World's Society vanishes from sight, leaving the room seemingly empty.
"Now" the voice of Spodra says from somewhere. "What is the plan now?"

[NFX]

The parrot gave his wings a shake, before looking around at the seemingly empty room, and taking a look down at his claws. The incantation had worked, Twitch - along with the Old World's Society - was now invisible!

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, before leaping into the air and giving a celebratory loop-de-loop...not that anyone could see it. "Right, now that we're invisible," he began, while carefully coiling the scroll up once again and placing it back into his bag of holding, "It's gonna be pretty hard for them to hit us properly, so if we keep ourselves moving, flying all about the place, then we can keep attacking them while they're trying to figure out where we are!"

Grabbing his bag of holding, Twitch flew up into the air slightly, before turning himself back towards the castle. "...it's already started..." he noted, observing the various flashes of magical warfare. "Okay, if we're quick, we can get there in time for the next lot," he told them, beginning to fly back towards the castle as quickly as his slightly metallic wings could take him. "Remember, focus on one of them at a time, don't clump together, and keep moving!"

[NWOWWE]

Gaunt had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to do, but he decided to wait until Ms Triblos was less preoccupied so he decided to go out and stroll the area. As he was getting ready to return to the company he received a message from PTT. The gist of it was they were beginning an assault on Vengeance's castle. They were recruiting his assistance in the matter.

Odd, Gaunt thought. No one from the castle had attempted to contact him about this. Maybe they were already cut off. No matter. There could be an opportunity here. He accepted the summons to the conflict.

[alex_holt]

OOC NOTE:

Could anyone currently involved in the defending the Castle do a d20 roll (eg. Eudial, Aurelia, Marisa, Epsilon and Phantasmic Slammer, plus Playzooki if he decided to join in. If I don't get one by the next update I'll do it myself)

[majinb]

19!

[kodster]

(20)

[NFX]

(...I rolled a 1.)

(*various expletives*)

(EDIT: I wasn't sure if I needed to make a roll, but apparently I wasn't, so feel free to ignore this post =D)

[playzooki]

i rolled 14

[shadowflare]

(19 for me also!)

[alex_holt]

LELAND GAUNT and CLEO

Making their way to the designated rendevous point, a shuttle takes the pair directly to the lead warship of the fleet along with a trio of other beings: a possessed suit of power armour with a very large gun, a huge half-dragon man with black scaling and a crystalline entity that appears to communicate in morse code flashes of its phosphorescence.

Immediatly as they board, they are ushered into the main hall, where they are confronted by not one but two Professor Vengeances. One appears to be the one Leland knows, but the one who seems to be giving commands is older and less whimsical looking. A talking spider-crab shuffles over to the group as Old-Vengeance strides impatiently across the room.

"We have recruited you all from our contacts to be the personal guards of the Professor here during the fighting, our scans indicate each of you are formidable beings of the sort that will be very useful in the ensuing fight. You will be paid extremely handsomely for this service, and furthermore, will be helping rid the world of a great menace..."

Even as the crab is briefing them, Old-Vengeance gives some commands and the next wave attacks the Castle...

AURELIA, EUDIAL, MARISA, PLAYZOOKI, EPSILON, PHANTASMIC SLAMMER and friends

(OOC Note: Epsilon rolled 10, Phantasmic Slammer rolled 11)

Now seemingly in the zone for fighting, the team seems able to fight as a cohesive team now, and Playzooki emerges from the castle to aid in the battle. Before the heavier opponents attack, the tiny robotic war beetles scramble over the bridge in a tide - covering the entire bridge with the sheen of metal. However, the torrent of magic from Eudial and Marisa burns though them before they can cross the bridge, and the intense fire of their magic leaves the tough bridge coated in a slick of half-melted metal.

At this point however the Hadrons roll in, massive brass dodecahedrons smash across the bridge, breaking through the barricades that have been erected and leave the courtyard wide open, and the Rhino cavalry and the weremoles pour into the breach with the Buttermancers staying on the bridge to control the battle - sending warm butter beneath the feet of the defenders so they slide around mid manouver while blocking projectiles with torrents of butter.

The fight is close quarters and brutal and the defender begin to get tired - Phantasmic Slammer manages to flip one of the Hadrons off the bridge, but due to the butter-coated floor carries on going and plummets over the edge itself, only to be caught by Wentworth the Mammoth. Playzooki manages to take down a small pack of the weremoles - their powerful hands with massive claws flailing dangerously, by levitating them with his nostril hair, but as he turns is caught be a blast of butter to the face and knocked backwards... Aurelia manages to slice through the thick plating of another Hadron with her Sunsword but catches a hit from a Rhino knight and loses some feathers from one wing.

Eventually, however, the fight begins to get under controll - Marisa blast of what is essentially a minigun of beestings turns out to be incredibly effective against the Rhinos, and they charge around, throwing off their riders and smashing through the weremoles. Aurelia blinds the Buttermancers with her shield allowing time for Epsilon to blast one with electricity from his Tesla Gun and Eudial to ignite his own butter around the other setting him on fire.

Even as they dispatch the last few of the Weremoles, George chimes in again:

NEXT WAVE APPROACHING!
20 T-1000 Terminators
1 Elder Blue Dragon
2 Decepticons
12 Mindflayer
140 Nin.....

Error, something is happening to the enemy fleet....

TWITCH
Twitch and the invisible Old Worlds Society smash their way through the armanda unseen - ship after ship falls with ease. Spodra proves to have Herculean strength and the metal buckles beneath her fist sending ships careening into each other. The new star-covered figure unleashes beams of destructive energy which tear through the toughest forcefields like paper, while the Catalyst strides the decks taking down the most formidable opponents with the discomforting air of a being who has practised killing about every being imaginable. Holding a slender dark-steel sword and using telekinesis, Terminators are dispatches in a smooth series of movements that verge on seeming bored. The Botanist however is not immediatly evident and seems to go straight to the courtyard aboard the castle to check if the Timesplitting Oak has been hurt.

No one sees the Night Pine move, but the shadows seem unnaturally dark aboard the ship, and enemies that go into them don't come out.

Twitch himself seems to match these feats with surprising success for a creature that was mere weeks ago an average pet parrot. Invisible wings slice through vulnerable parts of the ships sending them careening off course, while the wings of airbourne foes are suddenly slashed at, severing tendons.

The armanda is decimated as the invisible foes butcher it sending bodies and ships sailing careening down to the City below.

One ship remains untouched. The turrets have been keeping the Old World Society at bay from the main ship, but as the rest of the fleet crumbles, the Star Studded Man, Spodra and the Catalyst turn their attention to the titanic floating vessel. The Star-studded man swoops over while, Spodra leaps and Catalyst disappears to reappear beside them as Old-Vengeance walks up the stairs onto the deck.

A shadow from a beam crossing the path with the ususual darkness that has taken so many enemies is waved aside with the flick of his cane and with a twist of a subtle band upon the cane a blue-purple light in the jewel at the end shines out, making the 3 decidedly visible.

"It's time we ended this" the Catalyst intones in it's weird fluctuating voice.

"Indeed, well past time"

Beforeany of them can react, a bolt of rift energy fires from the cane. Soundlessly, it passes through the head of Spodra, between the eyes and exits the head at the back, leaving a perfectly symmetrical hole the whole way through. A being that had survived the end of a Universe, drops dead on the deck of the ship with a heavy thud.

It feels like there should be a moment of silence, but Old-Vengeance does not grant them that. A torrent of inky black fire impacts the star-studden man full on, all but dissolving him into silvery flecks of starlight drifting on the wind. A spray of black barbs heads to the Catalyst, even as they charge towards Old-Vengeace. The Catalyst cartwheels past them, and brings the too-black sword down towards the head of Vengeance with unimaginable power.... to be caught by the bare hand of this Rift-wielding Vengeance. A grim smile. A slight squeeze and whatever mystic material that blade was made of shatters into shards that embed themselves all across the surface of the deck. "Fuu..." is all that is heard in that weird multivoice speech before the Catalyst disapparates an instand before another torrent of black fire hits the deck they had occupied a moment before...

[kodster]

The enemies were sure strange as all hell, but astonishingly powerful! However, Eudial managed to keep them at bay, aided by the others. She hadn't had this galactic of a fight for years, and in that case she was barely above the rank of a foot-soldier. This was something else... but more exciting. And she had grown far, far more powerful since then. She panted and mopped her brow.

"That old coward!" she hissed. "Why doesn't he show his fa... ?!"

The last word died in her throat.

Something was happening to the rest of the fleet of the evil-er Vengeance. They were being knocked around and utterly demolished by something. What was this something, though?! Eudial couldn't see dick-all!

Wait... there was one ship still visible... no guessing who it belonged to... and suddenly, on that very same ship, three beings were suddenly made visible. So THAT was it... Recovering from previous shock, Eudial growled and readied her lance.

(OOC: I'll edit this if it's rather... off. :P)

[alex_holt]

CURRENT SITUATION SUMMARY

THE TEAM
All of you are RIFT-RESISTANT - which means you *can* realistically fight Old-Vengeance - although it's still not easy, it's essentially the difference between someone blasting you with anti-matter and someone blasting you with normal fire.

Eudial, Marisa, Aurelia, Playzooki, Epsilon and Phantasmic Slammer are aboard Doomforall's Castle. The Shields are still up, and should hold for a while even against the rift attack of Old-Vengeance - this is after all, a Castle designed by the guy who wielded this power for thousands of years.

Professor Vengeance is aboard his counterparts Flagship, currently straddling the line between Prisoner and Guest, and has yet to make a move.

Twitch is still in the air with the remnants of the Old Worlds Society. He can rejoin the others at any time as he is nearby.

Leland Gaunt and Cleo are in the personal guard of Old-Vengeance, who is not aware of their identities.

Khloe has been promoted to a Cardinal in the Church of Vengeance by this point.

Spod drifts through the multiverse in an interdimensional shop, although for his sake better hope the Universe isn't cyclical to the point of symmetry, as his previous universe counterpart just died.

THE ENEMY

OLD-VENGEANCE is a rift wielder of horrific power, and is aboard his Flagship. He has shown enough power to kill two members of the Old World Society with fairly minimal effort, plus break the Sword of the Catalyst, the most powerful member of the team.

In addition, he has some personal guards consisting of:

Leland Gaunt (of your team)
Cleo (of your team)
A crystalline entity of unknown powers
A Possessed Suit of Power Armour with a Giant Laser Gun
A Massive Half-Dragon

THE OLD WORLDS SOCIETY
The Old Worlds Society are NOT Rift Resistant, and can be destryoed by the Rift power, despite their immortality.

The Star-studded man and Spodra were killed fairly easily by Old Vengeance.

The Botanist went straight to the Timesplitting Oak where most of the team are already. He is a pascifist most of the time.

The Night-Pine and Catalyst were both defeated by Old-Vengeance, and are now heading back to join the team.

OTHER CHARACTERS
None of these characters are Rift Resistant, and can be destroyed by Rift power very easily in most cases should they be hit.

Anjushree, the powerful Griffon Mage, is the only character other than yourselves who has any ability to resist the rift, but her speciality is defensive magics.

Somewhere aboard is Katia, Mistress of Kung Shrew. Her allegiances are unknown, but doubtful to belong to Old Vengeance as stealing food is a bit petty.

The entire Spanish Inquisition is aboard, consisting of a primary team of:
Wentworth the Flying Forcefield Bubble Mammoth
Goldsworth Goldenrod Goldenloin the Dwarf
Imogen the Leprechaun
Conesnatcher the Squirrel

A second team consisting of:
Shandra Wolf the 24ft tall woman.
Voxel the crude artificial digital human.
A Trio of Vlobleths - green slime aliens
Mr Rayner the world's greatest master of the piccolo.

Are guarding some civilians, consisting of
Kelpsie the Water Nymph chav.
Kelpsie's Mum.
Sally Streater, former rift wielder and investigative reporter.
Meander, a Donkey who owned some rift books that Kelpsie stole.

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Other Organizations may have an interest in stopping Old-Vengeance:

The Psi-corps, now freed of the corruption of the rift creature attacking their founder, may be willing to aid in the attack on Old-Vengeance and PTT, given they hold him responsible.

Aurelia is owed a favour by the Trans-Solar Host an army of beings made of light.

[NWOWWE]

Gaunt gazed warily around the room as the crab-creature rattled on, but Gaunt barely heard what he was saying. He was most confused by the presence of the two different Vengeances. The older one that was barking out all the commands was clearly in charge, but why wasn't the familiar one doing anything? Something wasn't right about this.

He had caught the bit where the crab-thing said he and the cat were recruited to be the Professors guard and then leaned on his magic staff and blinked. "Personal Guards"? What rubbish was this? Recruiting an elderly looking man and a cat when he already had extremely imposing looking henchman at his disposal? And "extremely formidable beings"? What did they know about them? Apparently not that they were part of the same group that was in the castle that they were attacking. All things considered there wasn't really much choice but to go along with things for the present. Refusing would hardly go over well, the present situation being what it was.

Gaunt cleared his throat to cut off the spider-crab.

"Well... I think we can accept your offer. However I would prefer if you could provide a more direct explanation of what is going on." Gaunt said, doing everything he could to hold together his most business-like tone. "Exactly what threat are we combating here?"

[alex_holt]

LELAND GAUNT

The Crab takes him to one side, and talks to him.

"Let me be frank, I am not entirely sure why you were promoted to this position, it would seem the person in charge of recruiting the personal guard suddenly bought up your name shortly before the battle begun and assured us of your prowess. Honestly, the first three were good picks with solid reputations, and we didn't have time to argue about it. Suffice to say, if you don't live up to your job to the uptmost of your ability, Demon, the rest of your life will probably be short and very uncomfortable.

As to who you are fighting, it is a group of villains who have stolen the powers of the rift. Your job is not to engage the Rift Wielder directly, as that would likely result in your death, but to assist in taking down their supporters while Lord Vengeance engages the powers himself."