LIBRARY
Mercedes was too busy covering his blushing cheeks with her view to prove a swift response to Valkyrie's bow. A sweet, yet sheepish, 'thank you' was all she could muster, given the circumstances. Even as the Godless started crowding around the book, the bishop kept the Asgardian in the corner of her eye, he cheeks curled into a slight smile.
"Now that is a sentiment I can get behind..." Yuri smiled, rushing to Rei's side to get a better look at the Tome's contents.
"I respect a man who knows his loopholes..."
The book slowly creaked open. It's contents were revealed. It contained....
Nothing. It's pages was blank.
"Funny..."
Yuri flipped through a few more stained pages. The book contained nothing but cobwebs.
"'Tome of Spiders'?" Nina sighed.
"More like the 'Tome of Jack Shit'..."
"Are you sure this is the correct Tome, Lady Von Martritz?" Ferdinand stroked his chin with the back of his glove.
"There's not chance that it might have been put back in the wrong place?"
"No... No, I'm sure of it. This is the book you're searching for."
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"Aww... Then 'the Boss' must have given us the wrong title." Balthus grumbled.
"That blows..."
"What were you expecting?"
"Prophecies and junk," The King of Brawling shrugged.
"CORI was being kinda ominous about the whole thing... Hey, maybe the real Tome of Spiders was the friends we made along the way?"
"This is not time for jokes, Bal." Nina slumped her shoulders.
"We've just risked our necks for a load of garbage..."
[Garbage? Pfft are all the women on this planet as odious as you?]
"Still..." Yuri ran his fingers through his hair.
"Eli wants the book. We might as well deliver it to him. The book might be worthless, but the look on his face when he finds that out? You can't put a price on that..."
[Oh... so the men of this realm are even worse? I've been asleep for the past 3 and a half years and this is the wake up I get? Complaints and whines?]
"Yeah, you're right, Yuri. Might as well hit the road. Maybe he's just looking for a book to level out his copy table or somethin'..."
[BOOOOOM!]
The Temple was shaken to its core. Clouds of dust descended from the Records Chamber's ceiling. Books were sent tumbling from their places on their shelves.
"DAMN!" Balthus exclaimed.
"What kind of Earthquake was that?"
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"That wasn't an earthquake, Bal..." Ferdinand muttered, leaning against his shield.
"That was a explosion... A Tarnax Explosion."
"Are you sure?" Yuri squinted, reaching for his sword.
"Ferdinand, are you sure?"
"I'm certain. That sound has been keeping me awake for the past 5 years." Ferdinand replied, coldly.
"Tarnax bombs haven't been deployed since the Secularists fell. The Empire decommissioned the last of them a few years back. If they're being used again..."
"Then we're trouble..."
[You can say that again...]
"Because there's only one species in the galaxy that can produce a weapon like that... there's only one species in the galaxy that could sneak one past the Inquisitors... Are they're supposed to be extinct... We need to get back to the museum... We need to move! Now!"
MUSEUM
Pym took the recording device from Alice's hand and held it in his.
"Remarkable... It's truly remarkable..." Doctor Pym smirked, raising it to his eye.
"Micro-technology..."
"It must truly be impressive to blow you away, Doctor Pym..." Crimson cautiously reached for his belt.
"Especially considering that micro-tech is one of your fields of expertise..."
"Hm? Oh, yes..." Pym shook his head.
"Yes... You're right. It's especially impressive. Thank you, Allison. I'll review your recordings in due time..."
"Allison..." Crimson repeated to himself.
"Do you want to try that one again, Doctor?"
"You know what?" Pym rolled his eyes.
"I don't think I will..."
Hank closed his hand into a fist, protecting the recording device from harm.
"What would the point be? I've got what I've what I came here to secure..." Pym's eyes grew dark. His smirk twisted into a grin.
"Thank you, Alice. You've done my people a great service today. I think this is the start of beautiful alliance, don't you?"
Pym slipped the Recording Device into the device he had been tinkering with. The Audio from Alice and Crimson's underground conversation was streamed across the Temple. The Museums exhibits flickered and flashed, just as they had when George Sear's message had played earlier that day.
"I mean, the Godless and the Secularists fighting for the same cause? It was meant to be..."
"Doctor Pym?" Xander clenched the hilt of his sword.
"Doctor Pym what are you saying?"
"Doctor?" Pym hissed.
"Doctor? Don't insult me with such a title. My rank is far higher than that of a primitive physician!"
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"You're standing before a Queen!"
Pym raised his device to his eyes. He fired a quick blast of plasma into the King's forehead. He was dead before he could cry out in pain.
"You are relieved of your duties, false king!"
The next few seconds seemed to crawl on forever.
The museum goers turned and ran. Their screams filled the Temple.
Crimson turned and cried out for his guards.
The Kanzuki Foundation volunteers opened up the crates that had carried in from their ship. They removed their blasters. They opened fire upon the Inquisitors before they could aid their beloved Priest.
A green second-skin slowly crawled across Hank Pym's face. His stretched across his chest and arms. It smoothed out ever feature until he was completely unrecognizable.
"Your demons are coming back to haunt you, Goddessian."
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"My God is a forgiving one, Crimson..." The Skrull smiled, finishing up her tinkering.
"Even after all you done to Him... Even after all you've done to my people... He still loves you... can you say the same about your Goddess?"
Queen Veranke dropped her Tarnax Bomb. An explosion gutted the museum with flames.
BOOOOOOOM!
SECOND FLOOR
If Katara squinted, she might have been able to make out the outline of a small, decorative fountain sitting in the center of the courtyard bellow. Beyond that, the courtyard was voice of anything soft enough to break their fall, just as Jeff had theorized. If they took a leap, they could probably walk away with a few broken bones
if they were lucky. Perhaps jumping wasn't the best---
BOOOOOM!
An explosion on the floor bellow sent shock-wave rippling upwards towards Katara, Jeff and Flayn. The trio were straight through the stained-glass window. Flayn let out a terrified cry she and her new friends were sent hurtling towards the stones bellow...
@Capri @Takumi
MUSEUM
"It's good to be me again..." Veranke muttered to herself, finally lettering her long, raven hair flow freely.
"Wearing a face of a traitor such as he for so long... I'm surprised that I managed to keep it together..."
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Veranke strutted across the ruins of the museum and placed herself beneath the enormous statue of the Goddess that watched over the hall.
"Where are you now, An'Lu'Munus? Where are your all seeing eyes? Even as your followers burn you continue to cower in your heavens? Strike this blissful sinner down like the mongrel she is... deliver your people!" Veranke closed her eyes and waited for some divine intervention. It never came.
"That's what I thought..."
The Skrull Queen turned back to face her allies, the Kanzuki 'Volunteers'. They formed a line before her and bowed in her honor. Half a decade on the run had killed her love of ceremony. She dismissed their respect and got down to business.
"Alpha Team: Sweep the floor. Locate Crimson. Put. Him. Down. Ms.Swayne might have helped us to destroy his reputation, but he's a host onto himself. He'll continue to be a thorn in our side, whether he has his Parish or not."
"Beta Team: Place the remaining Tarnax Charges at the base of the High Council Tower. We're sending the world a message it can't ignore: Nowhere is safe. Send my old office crashing down to the ground. Bury the past."
"Charlie Team: Sweep the museum survivors. Inquisitors. Pilgrims. It doesn't matter. Send them to their Goddess. We're building a legend here, boys. Survivors will only lessen the impact of this tragedy."
"Delta Team: Secure the Chosen's statues. Drag them outside. And move quickly... the Empire's Reinforcements could be here any minutes..."
"You have your orders. Now go!"
The Foundation's soldiers got to work. Their rifles armed and ready to fire, the Alpha and Charlie slowly shifted through the rubble.
Alice and Henry lied buried. From their places on the floor, they could make out that concussed body of Father Crimson. His ring had saved his life, but even he couldn't shake of a Tarnax blast at such close range. Bloodied and beaten, his was barely able to remove the wooden beams from atop his chest. The Foundation's Volunteers were getting closer by the second. If they reached Crimson, his miserable life would surely be at an end. He stared up at Alice with hate burning in his eyes.
@Takumi @Lucky
BASEMENT
The chunks of meat that could have formerly been described as 'Blackheart' lopped against the floor. The Maggots weren't designed to repair severed limbs and simple bullet wounds. The mangling the Slayer had inflicted upon their host, however? The Nest couldn't keep up. Confused to the point of madness, the insects frantically drew whatever lumps of flesh they could grab hold of into a single location. The result was a lifeless, bloody pulp twitching and wriggling at the Slayer's feet.
The three additional demons hesitated for a moment or two. They traded looks of surprise and terror as the
true Demon before them welcome their approach.
The wooden creature pleaded in some long forgotten language, its hands raised before its chest.
The flaming creature was less cautious. In a flash of green, it charged towards the Slayer, its great arms stretched wide. Initially lacking the strength to tackle the Slayer as it had intended, the demon redouble its efforts with a furious scream. It's flesh burned brighter. It's form grew larger. Slowly, the Slayer would find himself skidding backwards across the chamber and towards a horde of Gray Men. The Undead assisted in the Flaming Demon's assault. Seeking to overwhelm their foe by force of numbers alone, the Gray Men clambered over the Slayer's metallic form. Thin, twitching fingers clawed at his face. Eyes. Mouth. Ears. Any exposed flesh was clawed at and tugged upon.
The Gray Men made no distinction between friend and foe. The flaming demon was forced to cease charging to swat away a Gray Man or two from its person before they could claim a mouthful or two of its own flesh.
The Hole-Riddled Beast ran its fingers across its chest. Its fingers extended into grotesque, dripping blades. With a scream, it charged towards the Slayer. It drew back its claws, seeking to impale the Slayer's recently-reattached arm. It appeared as if- for some twisted reason- the Pale Demon wished to preserve the Slayer's head.
@Crunch