Main Event Fighting of the Spirit

[Hahli Nuva]

As Ben looks at Will, he allows the miasma and despair of Silent Earth seep into him as he digs up thoughts of some of his greatest enemies who bested him previously - Vilgax, Aggregor, Khyber, Ghostfreak, and then some.

"You got anything to say?"

@Hahli Nuva

@Yun Lee​

Will clenched her fist, letting the bitter tears fall from her eyes. Half from pain and half from her failure. She couldn't even look at Ben. Even if she could see him through the net, she knew he was angry.

Her voice was broken and defeated, a far cry from the arrogant tone she had last been heard with. A bitter undertone could also be inferred.

"You should have left me behind."

@Crow @Yun Lee

 

[Crow]

"Maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I thought of it, maybe I didn't. Whether you're friend or foe, jeopardizer or jeopardizee, you're still a teammate and a person," Ben says, "and saving people's just what I do. It's just how heroes work, plain and simple."

@Hahli Nuva​

 

[Jeremi]

"I know how to work animal hides," the Hun replied, takimg one of the little red emblems and starting to sew it on Frank's jacket. "I can't remember if it's technology or magic that makes these work, but it's a shame we have to use them at all."

@Jeremi @Sark

---

"What's up?"

There was silence on there end. Then suddenly...

"Now!"

All of a sudden, a net fell over the soldier Ben was camping out on. The Omnitrix would give out, bringing Ben back to his normal state, and as it did so the solidier ducked out of the net before it closed up. Both then drew guns on the net

"How in the world did you manage to catch onto that?" One guard asked.

"Infared senses are common in my world," the other replied. "Even with him being so small, I was still able to detect something. And he'd gotten smaller just now, confirming it." He grabbed the net on one side, motioning for his companion to do the same. "Come on, let's toss him in with the others."

Ben was dragged over to Shan Yu, who grinned. "Let me guess...one of those allies she spoke of?"

"Most likely. We caught him listening in on our conversation."

"Oh my...I certainly hope the two of you weren't talking about anything too important." Though he said it rather sarcastically, the two guards shrunk back in the presence of their topic of conversation. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. He won't be relaying the information to anyone."

Down in the hold, the girl didn't answer. But someone did, looming over the Guardian.

View attachment 3951

"Will...don't you get it? The Heart can't break through the net."

Another joined her.

View attachment 3952

"You can try to communicate with your friends, but they haven't heard a word you said."

And another.

View attachment 3953

"You have nothing down here, Will. Nothing. You're alone."

And another.

View attachment 3954

"Your friends, your allies...they've all abandoned you."

All of them spoke as one now.

"Powerless, alone, deserted by everyone..."

The four girls turned into shadowy wisps, merging into one form. An all-too-familiar face, grinning down at Will.

"You're going to die here."

Nerissa laughed maniacally, fading into pulsing black energy that shook Will to the core just as the shadows among the plants had. Though Nerissa was gone, her laughter echoed through the room, fading away only as another net tumbled down into the building beside Will.

@Crow @Hahli Nuva​

"You know what, that seems like it's going to take awhile." Frank used a bit of his hellfire and Power Cosmic to etch it into his suit. "Saves you and me a lot of work. Now!" He got up from the chair clapping his hands together as he did. "Those other guys are a bunch of squares and losers. You guys on the other hand look like you can have a good time."

He looked around and then whispered into the Huns ear. "Where's the booze?"

@Yun Lee @Sark

 

[Hahli Nuva]

"Maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I thought of it, maybe I didn't. Whether you're friend or foe, jeopardizer or jeopardizee, you're still a teammate and a person," Ben says, "and saving people's just what I do. It's just how heroes work, plain and simple."

@Hahli Nuva​

Will's pain turned to anger, her voice taking on a new sharper edge as she narrowed her eyes.

"Is it, Ben? Is that really it? Are we even still heroes when we fail at even the simplest of directions!? When we let mass murderers go free because they said sorry!? When we can't protect others because we can't see the villains walk right by us? Where do we draw the line, Ben? Tell me!"

@Crow @Yun Lee

 

[Crow]

"I won't, because there's no straight answer to that," Ben starts, "every hero thinks differently, at the end of the day. Maybe you find it OK to go on a rampage to murder reformed villains, and maybe I'll be out there protecting them to see through to it that good people can be made from the bad...

... funny how I use those words, yet I realise that they're pretty... well... arbitary. This isn't a black and white world, after all. It's a world of colour, a world Jiren would be proud of."

@Hahli Nuva​

 

[Hahli Nuva]

"I won't, because there's no straight answer to that," Ben starts, "every hero thinks differently, at the end of the day. Maybe you find it OK to go on a rampage to murder reformed villains, and maybe I'll be out there protecting them to see through to it that good people can be made from the bad...

... funny how I use those words, yet I realise that they're pretty... well... arbitary. This isn't a black and white world, after all. It's a world of colour, a world Jiren would be proud of."

@Hahli Nuva​

"I was so young back then. I remember when I was first chosen, and how I still worried about trivial things like homework and boyfriends. Funny how priorities change as you get older. Everything becomes grey. The lines are blurred and suddenly you aren't sure what side you're on."

Will slowly stood up, leaning back against the same pillar and folding her arms under her chest.

"Othinus changed me, Ben. I felt every single life she took, all for her own amusment. Dying countless times, and having to hear their screams in my head as their light was snuffed out. I don't know why I haven't gone mad from the experience."

@Crow @Yun Lee

 

[Crow]

"I was chosen when I was ten. Got my start early. Good times, good times...

... you're still on the whole Othinus ordeal, huh? The way I see it, she's doing what she can to help us after she learned from it all. It was a pretty terrible catastrophe, but it's clear that fate has brought her another path aside from death, and I intend to keep it that way...

... truth be told, maybe I would feel anguish against her if it weren't for what Jiren told me. I mean, not a kill-her kind of thing, more of how Giorno feels about her."

@Hahli Nuva​

 

[Yun Lee]

"The what?" The Hun was distracted by Frank's little magic show, narrowing his eyes at the display. "If you're so good with magic, then why weren't you-"

"Hey, watch it!" A Hun the same size as Frank's "buddy" pushed said fellow from behind. He turned, glaring at the other.

"What's you're problem?!"

"You bumped into me as I was walking! I saw you!"

"How could you see me if I was standing here the whole time?!" The Hun shoved the other back, and a small crowd was now gathering.

Unbeknownst to everyone else, said Hun had actually walked into the invisible Guy Gardner...but the only person who knew the truth of the situation was Guy himself.

@Jeremi @Sark

---

Severa inched closer to Touma, hand on her lance out of pure instinct. She had no idea who this guy was or why he was here, but she certainly didn't trust him. She honestly didn't trust anything in this creepy place, and now being out and about like this made it even worse.

@Atomic Knight @Ver @Lucky​

 

[Hahli Nuva]

"I was chosen when I was ten. Got my start early. Good times, good times...

... you're still on the whole Othinus ordeal, huh? The way I see it, she's doing what she can to help us after she learned from it all. It was a pretty terrible catastrophe, but it's clear that fate has brought her another path aside from death, and I intend to keep it that way...

... truth be told, maybe I would feel anguish against her if it weren't for what Jiren told me. I mean, not a kill-her kind of thing, more of how Giorno feels about her."

@Hahli Nuva​

Will was silent for a few moments. She thought long and hard, closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ben." Will said softly.

"I know everyone probably thinks I'm crazy. And maybe they're right. But all I know is that I took an oath to keep The Multiverse safe. I hope you understand now the lengths I am willing to go to in order to keep that promise. If that makes me look like a crazy woman then so be it."

@Crow

 

[Crow]

"That's the thing."

Ben sternly looks at Will.

"I understand them. But that doesn't mean I can respect them. Acting like a madwoman is precisely what got you here, what broke the barrier around the Spirit back there, and it's precisely why I consider you a threat to the team as a whole."

During this, Ben continues to let dark thoughts of his enemies into his mind until he was able to see them.

@Hahli Nuva @Yun Lee

---

The Hun that Guy Gardner bumped into just so happened to be the same one that stepped on the sphere. The sphere rolled off the soles of his fur boots and bumped into Gardner's Lantern uniform-covered feet, basking in the bent light to stay invisible as it expanded to an observable size, visible only to Gardner.

@Sark @Jeremi @Yun Lee​

 

[Hahli Nuva]

"That's the thing."

Ben sternly looks at Will.

"I understand them. But that doesn't mean I can respect them. Acting like a madwoman is precisely what got you here, what broke the barrier around the Spirit back there, and it's precisely why I consider you a threat to the team as a whole."

During this, Ben continues to let dark thoughts of his enemies into his mind until he was able to see them.

@Hahli Nuva @Yun Lee​

Will scoffed. Ben couldn't have been serious.

"I'm not a threat, Ben. And I don't recall asking for anybody's approval. But I do know this. Everything I do is for a reason."

@Crow

 

[Jeremi]

"The what?" The Hun was distracted by Frank's little magic show, narrowing his eyes at the display. "If you're so good with magic, then why weren't you-"

"Hey, watch it!" A Hun the same size as Frank's "buddy" pushed said fellow from behind. He turned, glaring at the other.

"What's you're problem?!"

"You bumped into me as I was walking! I saw you!"

"How could you see me if I was standing here the whole time?!" The Hun shoved the other back, and a small crowd was now gathering.

Unbeknownst to everyone else, said Hun had actually walked into the invisible Guy Gardner...but the only person who knew the truth of the situation was Guy himself.

@Jeremi @Sark

---

Severa inched closer to Touma, hand on her lance out of pure instinct. She had no idea who this guy was or why he was here, but she certainly didn't trust him. She honestly didn't trust anything in this creepy place, and now being out and about like this made it even worse.

@Atomic Knight @Ver @Lucky​

"The thing you drink that makes you feel fu-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence as the Hun squabble began. "Hey hey fellas, no need to fight." He stopped himself. "On second thought, yeah! That was inconsiderate of you! You should like, settle your differences!" He was hovering over his Hun friend like a boxing coach. "You just gonna let him treat you like that?"

"That's the thing."

Ben sternly looks at Will.

"I understand them. But that doesn't mean I can respect them. Acting like a madwoman is precisely what got you here, what broke the barrier around the Spirit back there, and it's precisely why I consider you a threat to the team as a whole."

During this, Ben continues to let dark thoughts of his enemies into his mind until he was able to see them.

@Hahli Nuva @Yun Lee

---

The Hun that Guy Gardner bumped into just so happened to be the same one that stepped on the sphere. The sphere rolled off the soles of his fur boots and bumped into Gardner's Lantern uniform-covered feet, basking in the bent light to stay invisible as it expanded to an observable size, visible only to Gardner.

@Sark @Jeremi @Yun Lee​

Frank usually tried his best to keep his cosmic awareness as dulled as possible. He was after all only a man. An undead man with the Spirit of Vengeance and the Power Cosmic. A deadly combination that left him rather loopy and unpredictable. But at times he caught glimpses. Thoughts. "Yeah you can't bash yours skulls in here, think of the children!" Frank did his best to shoo the crowd away from the scene. "You guys gotta have an arena or something right? You seem like arena guys to me."

@Sark @Yun Lee

 

[Crow]

Will scoffed. Ben couldn't have been serious.

"I'm not a threat, Ben. And I don't recall asking for anybody's approval. But I do know this. Everything I do is for a reason."

@Crow

"No one ever sees themselves as the threat," Ben says. "Reason and action are two different things. It is very clear to me that you are not at all a team player, Will. I suggest that you resign from the mission after we leave this planet. It would benefit you and the remaining team."

@Hahli Nuva​

 

[Hahli Nuva]

"No one ever sees themselves as the threat," Ben says. "Reason and action are two different things. It is very clear to me that you are not at all a team player, Will. I suggest that you resign from the mission after we leave this planet. It would benefit you and the remaining team."

@Hahli Nuva​

Will clenched her fist, anger rising up in her again. yet, she couldn't deny what Ben said. She hadn't been acting like a team player at least.

"You know I can't do that, Ben."

Will desperately tried to call upon her powers, only to recieve nothing once more. This net had just about gotten on her last nerve. She let silence fall over the room before she spoke again.

"I used to be a leader myself, once upon a time. I was young like you were, maybe 14 or 15. I wanted to be the best leader I could be. Then something happened that changed all of that."

@Crow

 

[Crow]

"..."

Ben decides to continue listening.

@Hahli Nuva​

 

[Hahli Nuva]

"..."

Ben decides to continue listening.

@Hahli Nuva​

"One day, my team was summoned to Kandrakar to see The Council. They were enraged. We had been put in charge of liberating the sacred realm of Meridian from the tyrant Prince Phobos and his enforcers. He was draining the realm's life force using dark magic while searching for his long lost sister, the rightful heir to the throne. We managed to defeat Phobos and imprision him, but it seemed Kandrakar wanted him dead."

Will shighed as she relieved her older battles against Phobos and now Nerissa, bracing herself for a dark retelling.

"Then on top of all of that, the previous Keeper breaks free from her prision and starts attacking me and my friends. We eventually manage to defeat Nerissa too and imprision her, but again, Kandrakar wanted her killed. These two offenses were seen as a great misstep on my part, because I was responsible for my team's actions. They had threatened to strip me of my rank and powers, but an old friend begged The Council for one more chance."

Will took a deep breath. Now came the hard part.

"We were given one last chance. A man named Ari lived on a desolate planet named Arkhanta. He was a very religious man and prayed to Kandrakar daily. He had a son, a boy named Maqi who was very sick. Kandrakar sent us to Arkhanta to demand that Ari stop praying for his son's ailment."

@Crow

 

[Crow]

"... and?"

@Hahli Nuva​

 

[Hahli Nuva]

"We go, of course. Ari wasn't too happy to see us even after I tried to heal his son and summoned a powerful spirit to banish us from his planet. The Oracle took this as an act of war, and now ordered me to personally silence Ari once and for all by killing his only son."

@Crow

 

[Yun Lee]

"So let me guess. You killed him, didn't you?"

A voice spoke up, and a figure emerged from the shadows. Inverted in coloring, Ben would recognize him right away...and so would Will, for different reasons.

View attachment 3955

"How'd you do it? Slice the child up with your sword? Use that Quintessence of yours to obliterate him into dust? You did at least force his father to watch, did you not? If this truly was traumatic enough to turn you into the sociopath you are today, I assume his death by your hand must have been truly gruesome indeed."

@Crow @Hahli Nuva​

 

[Hahli Nuva]

"So let me guess. You killed him, didn't you?"

A voice spoke up, and a figure emerged from the shadows. Inverted in coloring, Ben would recognize him right away...and so would Will, for different reasons.

View attachment 3955

"How'd you do it? Slice the child up with your sword? Use that Quintessence of yours to obliterate him into dust? You did at least force his father to watch, did you not? If this truly was traumatic enough to turn you into the sociopath you are today, I assume his death by your hand must have been truly gruesome indeed."

@Crow @Hahli Nuva​

"Of course not. I healed Maqi. I stopped Ari's plan to invade Kandrakar and nobody had to die. But The Council found out. They sent assassins after him. I had to protect them both, even when my friends had abandoned me."

@Crow @Yun Lee