Powerpuff Girls V.2 IC thread.

[Iris]

"Megaville park." Ignatius dully repeated, trying to remember the location, "I'll be there within the hour, I'm not too familiar with the area on a whole... for understandable reasons, so you'll have to find me."

He chuckled softly, "I won't be too hard to find, considering my choice of... clothing."
He was wearing practically full uniform now, thick carapace armor that covered his chest, knees, shins and forearm.
All that was missing was his helmet and his weapons but they weren't too far, safely locked inside the trunk of his car was an arbites shotgun, las-pistol, a combat knife and finally a power maul.

Most of the weaponry came from a fallen comrade who died of his wounds after arriving on this planet. So far from home yet he had died the manner he wanted; In the service of mankind and the Emperor, protecting his followers and believers..

Ignatius snapped out of his memories, "Just as a heads up, I'll be armed so feel free to bring your own backup should you feel uncertain about my character. Until then, questions will have to wait, Ignatius out."

Even as he disconnected his phone, he felt he had just betrayed his ally once more, using an alias he no longer believed in. He'd make it up to tFab when he he'd meet up with him.
As he walked to the bushes, the soft hum of an anti-gravity engine sang quietly in the background and a small white object floated towards Ignatius, the hum went up several notes as though it questioned it's master's motives.

"It's nothing III, it's time we paid homage to V sacrifice and purge ourselves of our failure." Ignatius whispered to one of his familiars, another small trace of his legacy he had accidentally brought with him, "Has V's engines been repaired? I fear I'll have to ask the both of you to aid me once more."

With that he entered his hidden ride, while his alternate was known for his bikes, this Ignatius wanted nothing more to do with that illusion and had was now using a 3rd hand car, rusted and barely road worthy.
Nothing better for the likes of his driving skill.

As the memories of the why's and how's to his current situation and the time long ago, when he first fell into this world.
And with him, his reflection.


(Lots of nods for Tom, since we are both 40k fans. So he'll know most of my references. )

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

“Within the hour…” tFab repeated back to Ignatius. “Heh, clothing…and wait, bring my own backup?”

Ignatius ended the call just then and tFab was left staring at his phone.

“Do I even know anyone who could or would want to help me? It might take me more than an hour to find Butch and Brute and I highly doubt that Brat would want to help me. I haven’t done anything remotely helpful for her except for that blanket thing and asking her for a favor now would only get me a smack across the face, or worse…”

tFab sighed and stuffed his phone into his pocket.

“If only Bell were here and knew me; she would be excellent backup, the best I could ever ask for. Stupid three year time span…”

He glanced at his plant and checked behind it to make sure his case full of gold bars was still there. After taking a quick peek inside and seeing the yellowish glimmer of the 79th element, tFab closed the case and pressed the down arrow button on the wall. The elevator doors opened with a ‘ding’ and he stepped inside, faintly hearing the sounds of crying coming from Brat’s room down the hall. For a split second, he considered checking on her, but ultimately let the doors close.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure she can deal with it on her own,” he sighed as the car took him down to the lobby.

After the doors opened, tFab exited the building and made his way to the park. On the way there, he passed the hotel where he was registered at and decided to make sure his Lamborghini was still alright. After telling the valet that he wished to see his car, he was shown where it was parked and made a startling discovery. Inside the glove compartment were two Walther PPs and three hand grenades.

“…I think I’ll save those for a rainy day,” he said as he eyed the grenades appreciatively and shut the glove compartment door.

He then stuffed the two Walthers in his pants and left the parking garage all the while thinking what kind of person would own such weapons. The park was at least a twenty minute walk from his position and tFab hoped that the two semiautomatic pistols would be enough for his encounter with Ignatius.

[Iris]

The soft yet constant clanging of the gear box filled the cabin of the car, it was the only noise that was made during the trip from the church to the park.
Ignatius' two familiars were resting on the backseat, their pale white forms made awkward by the decaying and neglected leather covers, had he been a gear head he'd probably have fixed most of the problems that plagued his ride but for all his cleanliness with his weapons he tended to forget to repair other the machinery he owned.

Ignatius drove with little regard for the safety regulations of the city, too preoccupied with his own thoughts. Apart from the odd turns and gear changes he made no other movement save for the odd look into the mirrors.
Time seemed to ignore the car for it flew by minute-per-minute without notice or perhaps it was Ignatius that ignored time itself for he had no patience for it.
After all he had stated that he would meet with tFab within the hour so he'd have enough time to get there.

Soon he neared Megaville park, as the tree covered roadway came into view his familiars came to life once more, their red glowing eyes bathed the cabin and reflected off their master's grim face.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

As tFab neared the park, his stomach was letting him know that he hadn’t eaten for hours and that he better do something about it soon. He had no idea where that hotel was where he had swiped the trout and he didn’t really want to go on a hunt for it when he had more pressing matters to attend to. Suddenly, his sharp hearing picked up the sounds of scurrying feet in a nearby alleyway. Turning to the entrance, his yellowish-green eyes focused on a large black rat that was running back and forth between the dumpsters and tFab quickly changed before pouncing on the unfortunate rodent. After changing back, he walked out of the alleyway holding the rat upside-down by its tail before promptly lowering it into his mouth and biting off the head. A couple who had been walking down the sidewalk stared horror-stricken at his actions before he turned to them with a devious grin.

“What? They always taste better when they’re fresh.”

The couple slowly backed away in terror before turning around and running as fast as they could, screaming all the way. tFab chuckled and swallowed the rest of the rat whole before continuing his walk to the park.

“Ah, full belly sure feels good.”

[Iris]

"Stay out of sight you two" Ignatius whispered, "I'd rather not startle the man from the get go and for Feth's sake disable your weapons."

Even though he had been trained to fight and expect the worse, Ignatius still found himself incredibly tense, waiting for someone he wasn't 100% sure of would come.
Or at least come unguarded or unsuspecting. But the biggest problem was that he'd have to debrief tFab about EVERYTHING, something that would not sit too well with either of them, for its implications were dire.

"Or at least, annoying." he curse under his breathe, sweat was beginning to catch and subsequently pool along his back.
He hadn't been in perfect condition after all.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab finally reached the park and sat down on one of the many wooden benches lining the gravely walking path. The sun was shining and the air was fairly warm, but he failed to hold back a shiver trying to assure himself that everything was fine. Everything was not fine though as tFab had no idea what to expect from this meeting. This was Ignatius here; the one who had entered his mind three years into the future and now was leading him around town to collect clues from some really old guy’s journal that was supposed to change the future or something.

“Heh, maybe the Ignatius I know now wasn’t the same one I saw in my head. There are so many different versions of him I’ve encountered that I’ve lost track of who’s who. Maybe this one will be different still.”

He still wasn’t 100% sure what Brat and Bubbles had to do with any of this if anything other than to help them face their inner demons. tFab considered bringing it up in conversation, but only if the opportunity presented itself. There was no reason to get them involved if they weren’t that important to the overall plan, whatever that really was. He had a strange feeling creeping through his body and mind that he should help out Brat regardless if she was crucial to Ignatius’ plans or not. Was he really starting to fall for her?

“That damn kiss she gave me must be messing with my mind… I wonder if I should do the same to her to mess with her mind…? Bah, I’m talking crazy here…”

Partly out of sheer boredom and wanting to keep Brat out of his thoughts, tFab starting drumming on the back of the bench with his fingers.

“Anytime now, Ignatius.”

[Iris]

Ignatius surveyed the area, trying to see who was approaching most were simply folk just enjoying the park and those that took notice of him either moved faster or just shook their heads in disbelief.

"Phesh, how little respect they show." Ignatius thought bitterly, "The moment one of those fools even tries to mock me, I swear by throne I'll rip out his tongue and feed it too him."
His displeasure came from a mixture of nerves and pride, long before he came here, he and many like him had sworn to protect humanity from countless nightmares.
But like most well placed and well meaning duties, there were always those that mock and dishonored the God-Emperor's works.

Now on this planet, the inhabitants thought of him as crazy and outlandish. The very thought made Ignatius clench his fists.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab was becoming impatient. Ignatius still hadn’t shown up and it was getting late. He better not have tricked him. Getting out of the apartment building was good, but coming all this way for nothing would not sit well with tFab.

“Dammit, where the hell are you, Ignatius?”

tFab turned around in his seat to see if maybe he had missed him coming in and spotted his form over by a group of trees. He sighed thinking that he probably kept the guy waiting for a while and quickly got up from his seat before walking over. As he got closer, he saw that Ignatius was by himself and quickly looked him over for any bulges that would indicate a weapon of some kind. After not seeing anything unusual, he then patted the area where the Walthers were concealed and addressed the man.

“Heh, sorry to keep you waiting, Ignatius. I probably should have been more specific as to where in the park we should have met, but here is fine. You said something over the phone about bringing backup and I decided to come alone with some concealed weaponry.”

He patted the two pistols again for emphasis.

“Are you alone yourself, or did you bring some friends along with you? And what exactly did you want to discuss?”

[Iris]

Ignatius gave a small grin, "Oh you didn't keep me waiting too long, I should've been a bit more specific." His voice was slightly strained, "And no I've got my own backup, they're out of sight right now, as they have a tendency to unnerve people."

He pointed skywards, "They're up in the trees right now, once you're ready I'll request them to come back down, no worries, I've told them to turn off their weapons just to make things, less tense."

He sighed finally, "I wanted to discuss the fact we were lied too, the fact that one of my 'alternatives' was in fact a reflection." He paused realizing that it would have no meaning to tFab, "Let me explain, in my world we don't travel in lightspeed or activate the hyperdrive when we need to go into a new star system, we have to activate the warp-drives and tear a hole in the fabric of space."

"But not only in space but in reality and open a pathway into a world that can only be discribed as every combined nightmare dreamed up of every living being, every sin, every bit of anger, deception, every death and every lust we feel.

All those emotions we cast away is taken into that dimension and after countless years festering, it formed into a living hell.
Everything we felt is reflected in that realm and twisted into a mockery.

Do you understand what I'm talking about? The man with no true reflection, the man that can see the beyond, the man I thought was a seer, is no more than a disguise of a daemon."

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab craned his neck upwards to stare into the trees trying to use his sharp vision to locate Ignatius’ comrades, but he couldn’t see anything. They might have been well hidden amongst the foliage or even invisible for all he knew. It didn’t take long for Ignatius to explain what the meeting was for and tFab’s eyes grew wide at the revelation.

“Geez… And I thought the stuff I encountered including that shadow dog was scary. I guess whatever is in that world would not be the least bit intimidated by a flaming cat assassin, huh?”

tFab attempted a chuckle, but it came out as more of a strangled sigh. He had a strong feeling ever since he got the call from Ignatius that this meeting was going to involve the supernatural somehow. Almost all of these meetings did in some way, shape, or form. The last statement from the man caused the cat demon’s eyes to widen.

“Are you telling me that the guy who wrote the journal you’ve been looking for and had its pages scattered all over the place, the same pages that I’ve been collecting as clues, is really a daemon? Dare I ask if he’s a good or bad daemon? Or am I missing something here?”

[Iris]

"If only, found out that the bastard stole my alternative's form and.. well obviously used it too his own ends. I still haven't been able to find out what he's after or more importantly why?" Ignatius replied, "I tried to discover the previous Ignatius' past but it looks like it's been tampered with, no date of birth, no school record, no military record and no death certificate. So I got pretty much nothing of his distant past."

He paused to catch his breathe, "But, I did learn he was active a few years back, like he came out of nowhere and set about his business as if he lived here all his life."
"Turned out he was wanted by the MIB and the JL, whatever those are."


Suddenly one of his familiars descended from the canopy, its white form bounce off one of the branches and hit the tree's base before rolling to a stop.
Though it appeared unharmed a dark revelation came; it was the form of an augmented skull, both sockets were filled with sensors that had a red glow and at the base, its gravity defying technology.
The final defining feature was the roman number on its forehead; V.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab listened to Ignatius explain the situation with rapt attention. From what he could gather, someone had altered one of Ignatius’ pasts significantly to the point where it was pretty much wiped. tFab knew that there was more than one Ignatius, but he didn’t know exactly how many there were or will be, for that matter.

“Wait, if only he was the same guy, if only he was a good or bad daemon, or if only I was missing something, or maybe all three?”

tFab expected that Ignatius would be conveying his open thoughts as obscure riddles even in the most dire of situations, but this time he probably didn’t mean to. Maybe he just couldn’t help it, but tFab didn’t want to dwell on such trivial things. Ignatius’ next statement caught the demon off guard and he widened his eyes in shock.

“Did you just say that the MIB and the JL have been trying to find this particular Ignatius and that he had been active a few years ago? He must have been doing some weird shit if the Men In Black and the Justice League were after him.”

Suddenly, there was a noise up in the tree and tFab noticed that the branch above the two of them was oscillating. Something had bounced on it and whatever it was came to rest in front of them.

“What the hell…?”

Before them was a large skull with glowing red eyes and the Roman numeral for five on its forehead. It was also hovering several feet above the ground and tFab involuntarily took a step back.

“…Is this one of your friends you mentioned earlier?”


(Slipping a little reference to Thromnambular in there? The Wishing Skull from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.)

[Iris]

((Actually a bit of both, here's an image and here's the info))

Ignatius gave a short grin before he looked at his familiar, "II, I thought you told me his grav-engines were stable" He looked at tfab and shrugged, "Technically he's a former friend, tFab I'd like you to meet Scholarus or what is left of him, due to his predicament we refer to him as V and above you is II, formerly known as Tech-priest Agustein, died some 40 years ago..."

"You see back in my world when those who served with distinction die or are dying, their skulls or replicas depending on their, ummmm, situation are allowed to be honored by augmenting their skull with an AI." Ignatius turned as II slowly hovered down, small cables danged from it's base and a mechanical arm and drill examined V, "Or in their case, a rather forbidden technique of turning their brain patterns into data. You see the three of us all served one master, each of us have a different background and duty, thus a digit is giving to us."

"Agustein was a member of a priesthood that devoted themselves to technology and he was rather good at repairing the impossible, unfortunately he died at the hands of a traitor, he was the first to die I'm told.
Scholarus was a member of the policing force known as the Adeptus Arbites, joined my master a year before me, he didn't survive the crash when we first arrived here. Had to do the augments myself."

He sighed finally, "But back to the matter before hand, the information I did get was somewhat contradictory because I found out there were two of them active at one point, it was during what appeared to be a daemonic invasion. And afterward only one was active for a time before he too disappeared."
Ignatius' brow sweated now, he was too focused on explaining the tale to tFab, "I don't know what the daemon is after because he left me out of the loop, that was until I stumbled upon a secret hideout.

About a day after I first met you I decided to follow my alternative's footprints, so too speak, and found a run down mansion, only small sections are still intact but it was all that was needed because I found his log book. And with it I learned what the daemon's human form looks like, pale skin, white hair and no eyes.

The exact image of a seer."

[TheTimeSweeper]

(Awesome.


-tFabikcalcer-

tFab stared at the floating skull of Scholarus and tilted his head to one side. Granted, he had never seen anything like this before in his life so it was understandable to be a little curious about it.

“Uh, pleased to meet you, Scholarus -- uh, I mean, V.”

Making a bad first impression towards any of Ignatius’ associates was something that tFab did not wish to do. He wasn’t sure if the skull could even talk back to him, but he figured that it could at least understand him. The skull known as II descended from the tree just then and tFab watched as it inspected V with a mechanical arm and drill. He greeted it as well, but it didn’t return the greeting and tFab wasn’t surprised. Ignatius continued with his explanation with what these skulls are assigned to do and who they once belonged to. It was actually kind of fascinating and tFab was listening to every word. The mention of the task at hand though caused him to frown until the revelation that the log book had been found in some old house.

“That’s great, right? I mean, if it’s the one that we’ve been looking for all this time.” The frown returned and he asked in a serious voice, “So, now that we know what he looks like, what do we do?”

[Iris]

"Actually we refer to the dead by their digit, as their former selves now rests with the God-emperor, rest their souls, so they only have brain patterns of what they would likely do in certain situations and advise those who are in need." Ignatius explained, "Unless its specifically asked by the higher up, we aren't allowed to give an AI human intelligences... it's taboo you see. We've enough blood thirsty machines as it is."

As tFab finished asking his questions Ignatius was left to think very carefully about the best course of action, "To be honest, I'm not sure, I'm more inclined to wait for his move and gather some allies than rush him, after all the bastard would likely have set up enough traps to annoy us for a lifetime."

"Got anyone in mind?"

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab listened to Ignatius as he explained that the skulls should be referred to by their assigned numbers and not by their former names and why this should be done.

“I see. Alright, I’ll make sure to do that next time.”

The cat demon was actually a bit surprised when Ignatius announced that he had no idea what their next course of action should be. tFab had thought that he would have at least some idea, but to gather some allies first rather than attack head-on with no help would be a much better plan.

“Hmm, allies to help us… Well, there is Butch and his new girlfriend Brute, but it would take a while to find them because I have no idea where his place of residence is. Bell would be a great candidate, but she will not recognize me because I don’t officially meet her until three years from now. I could try to convince her to help, but it will take a hell of a lot of convincing and I also don’t know where she is. My sister would also be a great help but again, I have no idea where she is. Well, this is just great… Everyone that could help either doesn’t know me or I have no idea where they are! The only other person who could help us would be Brat and I do know where she is, but why on earth would she offer her help? I could also try to persuade her, but unless there’s something in it for her she’s not going to help, much less be within fifty feet of me.”

tFab sighed and rubbed his temple.

“Unless we can somehow convince random people we meet to help, it looks like it’s just you and me.”

[Iris]

"Truth be told, I don't really know too many people in this world, been kinda isolated. After al- wait, what do you mean in three years from now?" Ignatius was worried about that, "Please Understand that this is not the only time I've come across time distortion. You see, the warp exists outside of 'normal' time conventions."

"I've heard tales of entire fleets disappearing in the warp only to return a 100 years after traveling through that hell-hole and none of them aged a day. Heck they even stated they were only there for a day..." Ignatius was concerned about this little piece of information but he had to know, "If you can tell me about your past, present... and anything else that may enlighten us."

[charli]

-Demongo-

A circle of blue glowed on the floor of the appartment as a spectre rose from it, head bowed dramatically. Once he stood on solid floor, Demongo opened his bright blue eyes and smiled down on the girl next to him.

"I have not seen you for some time, Bubbles," he hissed, a slight laugh in his high voice. "I have been sent by my master to aide you."

He turned his grinning countenance on the sleeping redhead. "I presume this is the one in need of... assisstance?"

[TrickyLA]

Bubbles and Brat

Bubbles stared at Berserk for a few moments, irritated. What gave Buttercup the right to walk out on her like that? They were talking weren't they? She growled, petting Berserk's hair absently. She didn't really care if Berserk minded or not. She needed something to do. Still, she didn't have much longer to wait as Brat suddenly appeared in the room. She looked as if she was crying and Bubbles almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

"....welcome back Brat."

Brat stared at her through watery eyes. She sobbed a few times, not looking at Berserk due to the shame of it all. She wanted to tell Bubbles what she had just found out. She wanted to know what Bubbles knew too. She reached her mind out to Bubbles but was stopped at the last second.

Another time.

Bubbles wanted to know everything, but now wasn't the time. She was waiting for an answer from HIM afterall. Not even a moment after she had thought that, the floor glowed a brilliant blue color. Out of that circle stepped one of her most well known, and perhaps liked, allies. She smirked.

"Hello Demongo, better watch out who you consider a Master here. You know how HIM feels about me, someday soon you could be taking orders from ME."

She sighed, happy at the thought, but shrugged it off with a light chuckle. Demongo made for good company where it counted, she enjoyed teasing him this way. After a moment, she nodded to Berserk and sighed.

"Yes, that's Berserk. She's had her powers wrongfully stolen from her....I was requesting of HIM giver her back her powers....and then some."

Brat regarded Demongo with a silent curiosity. He bore some resemblance to someone she knew back in her world, so she could only guess that this was that creature's mirror counterpart. She quickly dried her tears and flashed a bright smile.

"Hello, I'm Brat."

No need to be rude afterall.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab blinked at Ignatius. The guy didn’t know what had happened to him? Well, maybe not. This probably wasn’t the same Ignatius who had entered his mind three years into the future on that day Ardon cursed him.

“You want to know about my past, present, and anything else that would be of relevance? Alright…”

tFab figured he might as well start from the beginning. Well, the beginning that he at least could remember.

“Three years from now, when I will be twenty-six-years-old, I work for a young woman named Bell as her personal assassin. I had done assassin work for other people prior to meeting her, but I stuck with her because her pay is extremely good. She works, or will work, in the high-end fashion industry, and my job is to take down her opposition. Bell dresses in all white and has white hair and pupils. She claims to be the lost ‘sister’ of The Powerpuff Girls, a trio of crime-fighting superheroines. One particular day, she requests that I leave her fashion headquarters in Townsville and head to Megaville, here, and eliminate one of her rivals, a woman by the name of Tracy Cutler. I carried out her deed by the use of my demonic cat powers and then Bell calls me shortly thereafter. She wants to know the locations and doings of her ‘sisters’, The Powerpuff Girls, and is willing to increase my pay if I find them and get the information she wants. I then meet Butch, one of the teammates of The Rowdyruff Boys, male counterparts of The Powerpuff Girls, whom Bell is familiar with. Butch is working as a cop, but we hit it off and become friends. I ask him where the Girls are and he has no clue, but he’s eager to join me in my search because he has unfinished business with them, namely Buttercup.”

tFab sighed and continued.

“It wasn’t long before we met up with a necromancer named Daniel and his pet dragon, Fal. He also wanted to know where the Girls were, but to destroy them rather than to obtain information from them. Butch and I could not let that happen, so we engaged in combat. Way into the fight, another foe showed up in the form of a red demon thing named Ardon, also bent on destroying the Girls. Things went from bad to worse when Butch became possessed by one of Daniel’s friends who just happened to show up and I get a curse put upon me by Ardon. My curse causes all of my senses to go kaput except for my ability to think and then that’s when you come into the picture; well, one of your versions, at least. ‘You’ enter my mind and converse with me while trying to make sense of the past events with Daniel and Ardon and prevent me from dying. Just when I think things couldn’t get much stranger, something happens. This weird-ass time-fuck thing sends me back in time three years to where I am now. I wake up in my apartment in Townsville with the memories, or really premonitions, of what happened or what is to come. As I slowly realize that I’m in the past, I know that no one from my future will remember me, including Bell, whom I have not met yet, and Butch, who does not remember me either, but I somehow convince him that I’m from the future and we become friends…again.”

tFab shook his head in bewilderment and continued, surprised that he actually remembered all of this.

“I’ve yet to tell you that I have a fraternal twin sister. She lives in an apartment in Townsville and before I drove to Megaville after the time-fuck I went to go see her, but she wasn’t there. I was hoping that she would be home because in the past, which I guess would be right now in the present, I was an ass to her and basically put her out of my life. I want to reconcile with her and after searching her apartment in Townsville I came to Megaville looking for her, as well as answers to what sent me back in time. I haven’t found her yet or my answers and other important matters such as in-town explosions, superheroines akin to The Powerpuff Girls from a mirrored parallel universe, and more versions of you have been holding my attention. As you can see, my life is pretty screwed up right now, but I figure I can probably top it with the current task at hand – namely, finding this seer with you.”

tFab finished with a deep breath and waited for Ignatius’ response. He hoped that he had covered everything that was important enough to their current situation.

[Iris]

As tFab finished the first part of his tale, Ignatius gave a soft shrug, "We've all got a job to do, personally I don't mind an assassin just as long as he or she is on my side. And provided he isn't a Culexus temple bastard."

He nodded as the demon continued explaining the reason to the powerpuff girls existence and their role in this story but barely could hold in a chuckle when he mentioned the name 'Buttercup', "She must've disliked that name and copped a bit of slack from it."

But that would be joke fell flat when tFab told of the 'future' and this other-self. As he began to brief him about the present events, Ignatius' right hand began to shake uncontrollably, he managed to steel himself as he explained, "That so called 'Ignatius' is-is not what it appears to be, my counter part never had the ability to communicate through any form of sorcery. Because he was afraid that by doing so he'd risk his soul..."

He swallowed finally, "Mr. tFabikcalcer, what did this man look like... because we now know what the daemon looks like in his human form."

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab raised an eyebrow at Ignatius at the mention of the words ‘Culexus temple bastard’.

“Well, whatever one of those is, I’m certainly not one of them. My assassin work is done with the utmost swiftness and effectiveness anyway.”

He shrugged when Ignatius mentioned that Buttercup must have disliked her name for more reasons than one.

“You know, I’m not too sure about that. Bell never made any mention of the meanings behind the names of her so-called sisters. I just always knew from her that Buttercup was the toughest fighter out of all three of them and that she was not to be messed with.”

tFab then put a finger to his chin and tried to think about what the others forms of Ignatius looked like when this Ignatius asked him to describe them.

“Let’s see… The version of you in my head when I had that curse was wearing a black, hooded cloak that obscured most of his face and body. I got a phone call from another version who told me to meet him in a building under construction. This Ignatius was wearing a black and white business suit and he showed me what was going to happen in the future if certain events were set into play. City-wide explosions and a demonic incursion, if I remember correctly. The only way to avoid these catastrophes was to find the torn out pages of a journal belonging to a seer. These pages are clues to the future and the whereabouts of the journal and I was assigned to locate these clues. In return for my services, I was paid handsomely with gold bars kept in a small, silver case. This Ignatius handed me a clue that he found three years ago that explained just how valuable the information in that journal really is. I put it in the case for safe keeping and left the building to find the rest.”

tFab paused to take a breath and continued.

“I found one of them at the literature museum behind a case where they keep ancient texts. As I approached it, it turned into this shadow dog thing that kept thwarting all my attacks. I was forced to accept my fears of it and once I did that, I ended up in a bright void that made me feel like I was staring right into the sun. It was so painfully bright that shutting my eyes as tight as I could was not enough. There, I met another version of you that was just a disembodied voice, but kept asking me all kinds of weird questions in the form of riddles and wanting to scan my soul for signs of worthiness for the location of the next clue. I then found out that I needed to help two people in this world with their demons. Inner demons, outer demons; it was not specified. The voice told me that everything would make more sense once I found the next clue and helped those people. Megaville Park was my next stop and after I left the void and got some food in me, I thought about who could be the ones I would need to help. I narrowed it down to one of The Powerpuff Girls’ mirrored parallel universe counterparts named Brat, but I couldn’t figure out the other one until someone I wasn’t entirely expecting showed up at the park. The voice had said that once I figured out the person, Brat, then the clue would reveal itself, but I didn’t know that the clue would be a person, or so I thought. This person dressed in a military uniform told me that the explosion that ‘Ignatius’ showed me at the construction site was not going to happen and that Brat was somehow more important to this whole thing than what I originally thought and that she’s my responsibility. This man then asked me about the Ignatius’s that I had met and to describe them to him. I told him that their faces were usually obscured in some way whenever they made their full presence known or that they were nothing but a disembodied voice.”

tFab sighed and massaged his temple knowing that he still was not done explaining everything.

“From what the man told me and what I could gather on my own, the other person whom I must help is Ignatius, the real one and/or the only one, who I can only assume to be you. He told me that this Ignatius is also battling demons and that he needs to be saved from himself. How I’m going to do that I have no freakin’ idea. He then handed me an old, brown, plain envelope with what I assume to be the next clue inside. I put the envelope in the case with the piece of paper from before and left the park to find Brat and confront her. The man in uniform never did reveal his name and he kinda just disappeared after he gave me the envelope. After I confronted Brat, which turned out to be a mistake, not because she was a dead end, but because she is so stubborn, I went to sleep and woke up when you called me. We talked about where to meet and here we are.”

He finished with a deep breath and hoped that he covered everything. Even the tiniest detail that he might have left out could prove to be detrimental.

[Iris]

((Epic post bro, just epic! Time to show you how far the rabbit hole goes.))

As tFab debriefing ended Ignatius could no longer stand, the weight of what had been said was too heavy even for a seasoned soldier, he had to rest his back and sat again a nearby tree.

"Emperor's throne.....no......" Ignatius started wiping his brow, "When I had first called you I had thought that I'd be aiding mankind. I never thought it would be my actions...."

He took a deep breath, "I called you on that day because I had found information regarding the future of this city, it was the very same hologram that I showed you. But there was also a unique image for me... It convinced me that this was the truth for only my lord and myself knew."

His fist grew clenched at the thought, "Needless to say my role in this has in fact led us to this predicament... But that is in the past now, I'll pay for my stupidity and carelessness in time.

tFab what you have learned may lead us to discover this daemons plan, but for now I think we have to remain wary of any visions because the man you saw was my lord, General Belkar, who DIED during my last mission when his ship was sacrificed along with the rest of my squad."

He stopped realizing that he would inadvertently confuse his ally, "tFab would you like me to explain my past and present? So that YOU can understand my words, just as I now understand yours?"

[charli]

"Brat and Berserk," Demongo mused. "I have never fully understood the alliteration of X-ite names."

He took a moment and compared Brat and Bubbles. "Long lost twins? No, that's not right..."

While he made small talk, he combed through his inventory of essence. He didn't want to surrender a single hair from any of them. They were his. But orders were orders. Now which would best suit an X-ite...?

[TrickyLA]

Bubbles and Brat

Bubbles gave out a short laugh at Demongo's comment. Truthfully, she never really understood that either.

"Well, my sister's and I were named for our personalities....except Buttercup. I guess everyone must have followed after us."

Brat was silent, a similar story spinning in her thoughts. They were named much the same way, except for Brute. The Oppressor didn't really care about what to call her at that point.

Bubble shook her head at Demongo and smirked.

"Close, but not quite. Mirror counterparts."

She was curious as to what Demongo would do next, though she didn't show it. She merely glared at the dark figure and huffed in annoyance. She wasn't one for patience anymore and she had been waiting for a response for awhile. She was a little peeved that HIM couldn't contact her himself.

She'd chew him out for that later.

Brat was a bit confused, but she wasn't about to interfere. She was going to help everyone, right?

Right.

[charli]

-Demongo-

"Yes..." Demongo sighed contendedly, finally. He had found essence suitable for the girl and that he was willing to part with. "This one will do quite well." Brushing his cloak aside, Demongo reached into his torso and pulled out a ghostly skull. Peering into its eyes for a moment, he saw the warrior within, sitting patiently within a circle of blue fire. The Arabian woman's long black hair tumbled down her back, covering the dark bare skin between her small top and baggy trousers. Through years of study, she had acheived phsical enlightenment and with it, the ability to bend the laws of nature to a degree. Her primary powers were flight, heightened senses, and energy beams from her hands or eyes. Not too different from an X-ite, though Demongo was unsure if the magnitude of the powers were comparable.

Lifting Berserk's head with his free hand, Demongo held the skull to her face. For a second it quivered and shimmered before adjusting its size and shape to match Berserk's. Then, Demongo slowly pushed it through Berserk's skull. The process wasn't painful, but it was just as well that Berserk was unconscious as it was... disconcerting. Light blue sparks flew as the phantom skull fused with Berserk's own, as the essence the skull contained fused with Berserk's own.

And then it was over. Demongo could sense Berserk's augmented essence, wonderfully powerful and tempting. Like the essences of several others in the appartment building. But Demongo was under strict orders to claim no one within the building. How dissappointing. "She'll know her power when she awakes," Demongo told Bubbles and Brat, "but no more. The essence of a warrior contains only skills, not memories or personality."

With that, Demongo vanished in a puff of smoke. Gone to sniff out a warrior worthy to fill the recently vacated void.

[tomaszavenger]

Berserk

Something's scratching me! Something's scratching me! Get it off! Can't anyone here me? GET IT OFF! Ah... it hurts, please somebody... I want it gone. I don't like being powerless, I can't make it stop. I can't make it leave. Stop it! You stupid pain, you can't beat me! Stop it... go away! Please?

Ah... thank you. Oh, now something's tickling me. Won't you stupid feelings make up your mind! Ah... hahahaha... okay, that hits the spot... okay. Now that's gone... oh damn it, now I'm bored.

[TheTimeSweeper]

(Thanks, Iris. )

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab watched as Ignatius slowly sat down against a nearby tree.

“Damn… I hope I didn’t cause him to go into shock or something. What I just told him might have been a bit much to handle all at once though…”

Ignatius’ mention of when he called tFab a few days prior snapped him out of his private musings.

“So that was you in the building under construction... Nice suit you were wearing. And again, thanks for the gold bars.” He raised an eyebrow when he found out that the man he met in the park actually had been dead for quite some time. “So, your general friend is a ghost? That would explain how he was able to appear and disappear so fast…”

tFab glanced back at Ignatius when the man asked if he would like to explain his past and present, just as tFab had done.

“Yes, I would like that. It would be most appreciated as it would put us on the same plane of understanding because quite frankly, I’m going to need all the understanding I can get.”

[Iris]

"Initiate exploration file M41.d section 8." Ignatius commanded sternly to his familiars, both skulls floated above his head and activated their historical records creating a small field of images.

He checked to make sure that no one was getting to inquisitive before he started his side of the tale, "Forget technological progress, forget the expansion in to the next world and forget peace amongst the star... It is the forty-first millennium and there is only war..."

The once blank images now filled with war scenes, of gunfire and screams, "I was bred into this world to serve but one true purpose, to serve the master of mankind; the god-emperor. For ten thousand years he has watched over his kingdom and guided his flock from the golden throne, crippled by the betrayal of his most beloved son; Horus, he now sits immobile upon the throne.

But even in this state his presence inspires the countless billions that live under his rule.
It was this presence that gave me purpose, for I was born on the battle-stricken planet known to many as Armageddon."

The images of faded and were replaced by buildings that reached high into skies, larger than any on this planet. The image moved back revealing that only miles away the scarred landscape of an thinkable battle. Black smoke rose from the city and hide the sun.
"My first years were hard as both my parents perished during an uprising within one of the hive sectors, leaving me alone until the priesthood found me. It was they that brought me to honor the Emperor and protect his people and for my devotion I was given a great honor; to enter the rank of the Storm Troopers.

We were trained to do more than what the regular guardsman could offer, infiltrate far beyond enemy lines, capture impossibly defended buildings and hold them until our dying breathe."

He paused to allow the information to sink in and to allow tFab to ask any questions he might have at this point. After all it was important that he understood his reasons and... mannerisms.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab listened intently as Ignatius began his tale of where he came from and what his purpose was. The floating skulls still creeped him out a bit, but he was getting used to their presence.

“Wait, wait, did I hear correctly? The forty-first millennium?”

tFab blinked in surprise. Ignatius was from that far into the future? Or was he showing the future that is to come? tFab couldn’t tell at this point and Ignatius continued before he could ask any questions.

“But even in this state his presence inspires the countless billions that live under his rule. It was this presence that gave me purpose, for I was born on the battle-stricken planet known to many as Armageddon."

“Armageddon? There really is a planet with that name? Well, maybe not in this universe, but what do I know? Heh, kinda fitting for a place constantly ravaged by war.”

tFab took a few steps back when the towering skyscrapers came into view. They reached up into the clouds and he couldn’t see the tops of them, yet he was fascinated by their sheer height.

“I’d give anything to have an apartment way up there so I could see for miles all around me.” The image then moved back to reveal the end results of a huge battle that occurred several miles away from the buildings. “On second thought, maybe not…”

Ignatius paused in his explanation and tFab took it to mean that any questions he had could be asked now.

“So after years or maybe even decades of devotion, the Emperor allowed you to join the ranks of the Storm Troopers, which are a group of elite soldiers trained to do the near impossible. Was the daemon that we’re trying to find also one of these soldiers and then he went rogue? Or was he someone you were trained to fight in battle? And when you mentioned the forty-first millennium earlier, is that the same one of this world or of Armageddon?”