Day 1

[Anders Nazret]

Anders found himself traversing a jungle, not unlike The Hinterlands of his home planet. It was an unexpected surprise to find anything remotely organic here. It was here that he decided to take a moment to rest. While his feet were numb from travel he was far from exhausted. He intended to keep it that way. This was as much a test of endurance as it was of ruthlessness. So with longevity in mind he squatted against a tree and took a draw from his canteen. Though his portion of the island had been largely quiet he still kept his weapon within reach.

It was during this moment of quiet reverie that he became aware of a simple fact - he could hear the ringing in his ears. Tinnitus, developed from a lifetime of combat and low-grade explosion magic, plagued him. Normally it was quite unnoticeable, easily drown out by ambient noise. And, that was precisely why hearing it put him on edge. The jungle was dead quiet. There were no chirring insects or distant birdcalls. Even the gentlest of breezest seemed completely absent from this sterile world. Anders grabbed his weapon and stood. The sound of his boots crunching the underbrush sent shivers along his spine.

Weapon in hand, he called out, “Hello?”

There was no response. As his own voice faded and the tinnitus started back up he realized that he was completely alone. There was no devious beast waiting in the shadows, there wasn’t… anything. Deep down he understood that there were likely thousands of spectators watching him. But - separated by that screen - did they even really exist? He felt naked. Exposed. And, in a way he was. Stranded on a dead world, with his only escape being so far from his reach. If Karl grew bored and decided to cancel the entire thing, there was little doubt in his mind that the magnate would abandon him there.

He had been abandoned before. What was he, if not the abandoned child of an era long since dead? His people had forgotten him, just as they had forgotten proper magic. His monarch, the true heir of Arcadia, had been dead for eons. The dead carried no memories, and that’s all he was - the memory of dead men. Even if he were to win the Abyss, would Arcadia even care? No, he decided, not a single soul alive would care. He was championing a cause that no one even knew existed.

But, did it matter? Is the acknowledgement of others a prerequisite for justice? A tree without a witness would fall just the same. He exhaled slowly, allowing his breath to fill the soundless forest with noise. There was no path to follow. No guideline on how to raze an empire to the ground. All he had was decades of training in service to a crown that no longer existed. He was stumbling in the dark. That was fine. If there was no fire to light his way, then he would start his own.

 

[Izaneus Phortea]

Strangely enough, there were still certain areas of the islandish place where they were dropped, that were still relatively unaffected by the unmaking, Well, probably not unaffected more like... less affected. Even there, there were still areas of malformation, or decay. Splotches of Ichor dotted the ground, and vein-like systems traversed the forest floor and treeline alike, making it look like one big organism ready to pounce at any moment.

Yet if you looked to the sky you could see a clear blue, and clouds of heavenly white. A solemn wind coursed through the infected leaves, like the land itself was sighing sadly. Making Shiki do the same. How could things have come to this? She'd never realized things had gotten this bad. It... really put things in perspective. How horridly the crossroads was being attacked. How infectious this disease was. She'd never quite thought about it until now. Her eyes followed the clouds as she walked, watching a small yellow bird tweet it's little way to a branch, thankfully not destroyed by the unmaking.

It seemed so innocent, so unaware, yet all the same worried for it's little self. Shiki walked forward, her eyes softening as she did so, slowly raising her finger to the small being, who jumped back a bit. small beady eyes looked at her, she smiled, slightly nudging her finger forward, " It's alright, You'll be okay little guy. You just gotta get away from this place. It's not safe for you here." She whispered, as the bird slowly and gently pecked at her finger, before shaking it's head, and flying away.

She smiled more at least one creature got away from this place safely, she hoped it was flying far, far away. Somewhere where it could settle down.

In a way that bird reminded her of Izaneus, innocent, and caring, yet frightened and left to suffer. After all, who would care for a little bird? Who'd just begun learning to fly? She hoped he was okay, wherever he was. She hoped no one else was exploiting him for his gifts, and that he was finding a motivation to begin again. Settle down somewhere...

Honestly, Iza being Iza, he probably let himself get roped into something stupid. He had such a hard time saying no.

The wind brushed by her once more, the lands sigh becoming more apparent than before, as though it was resigned to it's death. She truly wished she could help, but she needed to get through this, and find Iza first.

and the first step to that was FINDING someone, she'd heard the strange tell of crashing, and explosions fairly far off. But she still couldn't find anyone.

Maybe she should camp out here, for the time being, wait until someone found her, and then see if they knew anything about Iza.

The best she could do was hope as she trudged on through the unmade wasteland.

 

[Rogue]

Takes place before the Easter Egg event.

I Set the cup down on the table and sat back in the chair, staring dead-expressioned at the trio of men across from me. The Maloc brothers, four of Kraw’s most wanted. Well, three of them now. They had guns trained on me, nice ones too. They were sitting too close for them to actually be a threat though.

“That shit won’t fly.” I stated simply.

“Don’t play games with us Riddick! You said you could fly anything we brought you!”

“I said I could fly any -ship- you gave me. That thing is a coffin. Spacious though.”

“It worked fine to get us here!” The one on the right was panicking now, he’d have shot me if he could afford to, “Zykes flew it in from Kraw without a problem!”

I kept my tone level and low, laying out the situation for them.

“Two days ago, right? Since then your engine’s been guttered, your coolant lines have been twisted in three separate places and your exhaust is feeding back into the regulator. It won’t fly.”

“What? How do you even know that? You barely glanced at the ship!”

I leaned forwards with a smooth grin.

“It was easy to rig, Maloc. Your ship isn't leaving."

Now they were catching on. Kraw’s most wanted couldn’t even pay me enough to match their prices. Just before they could shoot I kicked the table up into their faces.

***​

“It’s more of a conditional, but… myself.” came the voice.

Now that was something. I turned around to face the kid, expecting that she’d at least have a good explanation. I listened silently as she detailed the situation. She wasn’t counting on the unmaking when she got entangled in the Abyss. Okay, simple enough. She wasn’t scared of them. Rather, she was scared of what she could be. I frowned further. It was respectable in its own sort of way, but she was going about it wrong. She thought I’d only do something like that for the money? I couldn’t help but smile.

“Tell me the account number.”

***​

Ah reeled about wildly, half expecting the sucka to shrug off the effects of my touch and slice my neck while ah was still disoriented. Everything was purple. What was this? Ah needed distance, needed a moment to thank an’ collect my head. That Riddick musta felt the same way, ah didn’t see any sign of him in this sea of purple hues. Ah settled into a sort of kneeling crouch, blinking a few times as the world started to reorient itself again. It was a pretty way to look at the world, in its own sort of way. Everything fit together nicely, not so much noisy color. Ah could still see pretty well even now when it was almost night too…
Ah made the mistake of glancing towards the sunset and near shouted out again from the pain, clamping my hands over my eyes and hunching away from the scalding brightness. That bozo had been wearing goggles when we’d fought, hadn’t he… if my stolen eyesight hadn’t faded by the morning ah’d be in real trouble out here.

Ah chuckled at my own line of thought. A muscle-bound skulk of a man nearly shivs me and ah’m worryin’ about tomorrow already? First things first, surviving the night. There was about to be a grand old group of folks here for a prize of some kind. Ah’d been planning to lie in wait for ‘em. Riddick had the same plan. He had vanished off somewheres now, but ah figured he wouldn’t go far. He was looking to hunt, and there was still a challenge to be had here.

With a new eye for the darker places of my surroundings ah slunk into a shadowy corner of the battlefield to wait for the easter egg to appear. Come to mamma.

Takes place after the easter egg

It was almost right. I nudged the pew to one side, considered it, then moved it a few inches back the other direction. It wasn’t quite right yet. I continued to fiddle with the arrangement, stubborn bit of wood, this. Despite everything I thought things were going quite well. The temple would open soon and the will of Gal’skap could then be spread to Uruk in earnest. There were only a few of us here yet, and they might not all see one another as brothers and sisters in madness quite yet, but the cult now had fervor to match what it lacked in size. I was confident the Mad God would soon draw others to us. There was little doubt in my mind about our course.

Things were finally starting to come together truly. Now… if I could… just… align… this… pew…

***​

“Praise be to the Madness!” my voice echoed up amongst the faithful, its volume swallowed by the chorus of Amygdala’s faithful. After the chant was hailed thrice more we turned our eyes to the Mad God’s chosen Scion, my father Erik. He was a true master of the Mindbreaker’s arts. At the head of our congregation he beseeched the great Gal’Skap to grant us madness, that we might share it with the pretender gods.

This was to be my role one day, it had been foreseen. I redoubled my voice, but the great collective of amygdala was too grand for my striving. There was a… correctness in this. Gal’Skap was not of our ken, and to change the whims of his madness was not within us.

“Praise be to Galk’Skap! Grant unto us the void and the blighting of eyes, of mind!”

***​

The book called to me even before I entered the room. The Manic Codex was ready and waiting as I returned from the experiment. It was a mutual draw, as I could hardly contain my excitement to record the results of the test. The mind had not fully broken, but had instead fractured at precise places! I could actually break the mind into shapes as Gal’skap desired! Imagine the possibilities! I giggled despite myself as I swept into the room, startling Amethyst as she tidied one corner of the place.

“Erm… good morning, High Priest!” She made the customary greeting, but I only giggled once more, bobbing my head as I crossed to the pedestal the Manic Codex rested upon.

“Is it morning? Marvelous!” I grinned, “I had no idea. Is it Thursday then?”

She hesitated, then shook her head. “The weekend.”

“Truly? My, my, my, my, my!” I shook my head, already feverishly scrawling into the book with a quill and ink. The Codex was eager for my discoveries, the ink sinking into the page hungrily.

“Weekend you say? What are you doing here on a weekend, Amy?” I clicked my tongue vaguely. “That can wait, I am sure. Spending one’s weekend working? Madness!”

***​

Ah stumbled away from the battlefield, one hand clutched to my forehead. See? Ah could handle this place just fine, Chara! Ah blinked a few times, the purple tinting of the world was fading now, only slightly illuminating the darkness of the coming night. it wasn't ideal, but it was enough for me to pick my route through the wilds for the time being. Ah wasn’t being followed was ah? It sure felt like there was someone talking back there…

Ah whipped my head back and forth, stowing the prize away as ah searched for the source of the sound ah was hearing. A murmuring, whining sound that ah had to strain my ears to hear for more than a word or two. Ah started to move faster, putting some distance between myself and whatever strange voices were lingering in that old battlefield. It was common knowledge that the dead lingered in a place like that. In fact ah could suppose that ah’d picked up a lodger or two hanging about there for so long. It was fine though, they’d lose interest when they realized I simply held knowledge of their ways, but no actual magic. After all ah’d left my codex back…

Ah stopped, frowning. That wasn’t right… How far had ah gone now? Ah glanced about in the small glimmerings of purple outlines that were lingering. The power ah’d absorbed from Riddick was almost gone now, ah’d have to be careful if ah wanted to go much further tonight. What was my next course of action? Ah dug into my bag to find the map, then froze. The whispers had just said the same thing all at once. Twelve different voices tellin’ me what ah wasn’t alone anymore.

Ah whirled around, squinting up into the darkness. There, on top of the rocky outcropping ah’d stopped beside was a familiar silhouette and a pair of shining eyes.

“Boo.” Riddick said with his same gravelly monotone.

“Hey Sugah, Looking for another go?” Ah dropped into a ready stance, adjusting the position of the duffle bag on my back. Ah wasn’t about to let this guy get the drop on me again.

“The fact you saw me coming should answer that.” he responded, crouching down on his perch.

“Praise Gal’Skap, then.” Ah squinted slightly. He had a point, but this man had tried to shiv me only a few hours back. Ah'd have ta be born yesterday ta take him at face value. “What’re ya here for, then? Ah don’t have a bounty.”

“You owe me answers.” Riddick dropped down into a closer range than ah’d have liked. The whisperin’ was confused again, but more than one o’ them said ah should back up. Ah refused. Ah was gonna have to be able to stand up to this kind of opponent out here in the Abyss. He was trying to scare me off or to bait me most-likely. It wasn’t all that different from myself an’ Chara when ah thought about it.

Fine. Ah’d play his game.

“Likewise Sugah!” Ah grinned widely, “Wha’ does a lady have ta do to get eyes like those?”

 

[Kopaka]

"Gotta kill a few people…" Riddick started. He spoke slowly, walking in an arc around the periphery of Rogue's reach. His right hand dangled over his cargo pants-pocket, where the thieving tome lurked.

Memories came back. Memories of a scared boy on a pitch black planet. A nobody desperate to be somebody. Riddick didn't know the woman had borrowed his killers' instinct, and he didn't know much about her past. What he'd seen was a young buck eager to try their hand at murder. See how it felt.

Be like me.

I gotta stop making such a good impression.

"Ah'm game for a bit 'o that." Rogue grinned in return. A strand of her snowy bangs dangled in front of her nose, making her look like some sort of feral dog.

"Bullshit. Ready to pop that cherry? Get some real blood on those hands?" Riddick said. Rogue gave him a practiced scowl.

"Don't go makin' this weird. Ah'll-"

"This whole thing is fuckin' weird. You showing up here, actin' like this is tryouts for hard livin' is weird." Riddick barked. His normal, cool demeanor had vanished in an instant. Now this towering meathead was directly squaring up, raising his voice, and the Belle of the Abyss wasn't really about it.

"Some of us live here. What do you want so fuckin' badly that you-" Riddick continued, but the feisty Hinterlander cut him off.

"Well it's a choice you keep makin', so what's your damn excuse?" Rogue shouted. Riddick shot a silvered glare at her, and saw his own copied eyes glaring back. The Unmaking simmered all around them, oppressively silent as the very rocks sublimated into the ether.

Riddick didn't have an immediate answer, which indicated to Rogue that she'd struck a nerve.

It felt good. Now break his mind. Put some paranoia in him. Gal'Skap wills it.

"You know I ain't just a pretty face caught up in the TV lights. You know I got some skills to get me through this. But maybe yer right. I reckon maybe I don't need to cut throats to get to the top." she taunted, placing one hand on her hip. The other pointed a condemning finger at the pacing convict.

"...but you don't have that option. Killin is all you know. So maybe don't come talkin' to me all high 'n mighty…like I'm the idjit. Yer here cuz you ain't good at nothin' else, Riddick." Rogue said. Her voice had lowered to a slinking, hissing whisper…daring him to do something about it.

This, of course, was madness, because she knew he was perfectly capable of conjuring a fuck-off plasma cannon on a whim. But something was compelling her to push this envelope a little too far.

Boy howdy, it worked.

Rogue squawked as a spray of black, glassy sand was kicked in her face. She reflexively raised her hands to deflect the incoming grains, which Riddick immediately wrapped his meaty claws around.

She could feel the arm-lock coming, and put her weight low to shoulder him off-balance. Riddick responded by putting his foot behind her dominant leg, and they both tumbled into the grit.

Through sheer luck, Rogue put her elbow right into the merc's fresh stab wound, causing him to flinch just long enough to get out from under him. That's when she felt the shiv go under the strap of her rucksack, and pull free.

She whipped around, all hair and sweat, to see Riddick triumphantly retreating with both duffle bags. Something seized her in that moment - madness again, clearly - and she pounced right back into the melee with a manic grin.

"You thievin' sumbitch!" she cackled. She wasn't exactly sure why she was laughing, but it was infectious. Riddick received her tackle with practiced grace, and the two tumbled into the smoldering dust again in a giggling, smirking pile.

Eventually Rogue got her hands back on her bag. Maybe Riddick had relinquished it, maybe she had won it back through force. It was hard to tell. The only thing that was clear was that both contestants were panting and too tired to carry on.

"I didn't…think I'd ever hear a man like you laughin'." Rogue breathed. Riddick sucked up his mirth immediately, and set about re-dressing his wound. Apparently he didn't consider the woman to be a threat anymore…and Rogue had to admit that…in the act of getting in his head, she had maybe unlocked some sympathy for him.

Still…

"...yer gonna stab me in the back at some point. Don't think I ain't forgot." Rogue scolded him as she took a small ration of water.

Riddick shrugged.

"Keep me interested."

 

[Josuke Higashikata]

Dusk settles upon this continent of Cevanti, already making this land even more unsettling. The stand user traverses into an area starting to become less unmade compared to the badlands he just left. Soon he began to hike up a mountain with dead trees, shrubs, and plants covering the natural landscape. Seeing how much space was in his survival bag earlier, Josuke stores his layers of fashionable tops inside the duffle bag. He picked out a specific style that seemed to fit his mood for the current time.

The pompadour stand user currently styled himself to be a greaser to fit his impressive groomed hair. A black leather studded jacket keeps him warm during the chilly night. Josuke's shirt is a navy-blue simple t-shirt that remains the first layer of cloth covering his torso. For now, he remains to wear the layers of pants that entirely cover his legs. With weight shed, it felt better for him to move around more and become sufficiently prepared if coming across another stranger that still doesn't want to play nice.

Trying to stay on a specific path was becoming difficult at the current time of night. Even walking for a long time is starting almost entirely to drain his energy. Finding somewhere safe to acquire some shut-eye could help him, but a place where Josuke can feel comfortable knowing someone couldn't easily sneak up on him. A yawn escapes his mouth while stumbling through the eerie darkness. He looks anxiously for a spot that could help get him to sleep.

After wandering, the stand user accidentally missteps and slides into a cozy hard rock crevice.

"Guess that worked out just fine." He mumbles to himself while pressing his hands around the rocky environment to judge how much room he has. He discovered it wasn't a spacious area, but at least he could lay himself within the aperture. "I might not get the best sleep in the world for not having a mattress, but it's something. Better to hide in here instead of just sleeping out in the open just for someone to kick my ass while dreaming."

Josuke loosens his duffle bag strap and drops it on the rocky surface that will be his temporary bed. He slowly lays down on the ground while clutching the badass grenade launcher. Just how stuffed the survival bag became, it became the only thing to be a pillow for his head to rest. Laying in a position with his face looking up at the stary night sky, Josuke gazed at the beautiful stars that heavily painted the nightly heavens. The night sky remains the single most pleasing sight that Cevanti offers.

With no artificial civilization lighting present, his gaze can see numerous shining stars. To sleep easily, Josuke started to count the stars above him to make him feel relaxed. The bombomb launcher remains wrapped in his arms for Josuke, preparing if awakened by something unwelcoming. After getting heavily involved with counting, the pompadour teenage boy finally eases himself into a pleasant sleep.

Dreams of pleasant Morioh consume his mind, being comfortable and safe back in his hometown.

 

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#01 Slurt & #11 Jester vs #08 Aster vs #17 Nearl​

Slurt and Jester had left the safety of the bunker when they were cut off by Nearl, who strode out into the path in front of them. Instinctively, the little goblin stepped behind his companion, who casually rested her hand upon the grip of her holstered weapon.

“I mean you no ill will,” the knight declared as she kept eye contact with the cleric. “I will venture in your stead, hand over your weaponry and retire to the bunker.”

“Is that a question or a threat?” Jester replied.

“You can also hand over your weapon, and I will gladly protect you.”

“We’re okay.”

Nearl scowled. “I insist.”

Suddenly, Slurt let out a yelp, and Jester and he spun to see Aster standing a few feet behind them. The wolf-girl smiled at the hat in her hand. “This is a nice shiny,” she remarked as Slurt jumped to try and retrieve his hat.

“Don’t, that’s wude!”

Without even meaning to, Aster gave nudged away the goblin with the butt of her trident, but she wound up catching Slurt midair. The child landed awkwardly on one of his knees and cried out in pain as the wolf’s expression shifted from snark to clearly feeling unease at the situation.

Her attention diverted; Jester wasn’t prepared when Nearl rushed her. While forceful, the knight didn’t necessarily intend to injure as she shoved the tiefling to the ground. Jester wrenched Caster out of its holster and fired.

A smoldering Nearl vanished into the darkness as Jester scrambled to her feet. Aster had started to make her exit when she heard the rush of footsteps following her. Caught between flight or right, she heard the gunshot and pivoted just in time to avoid losing her skull. In one fluid motion, the sassy scrapper stepped forward and drove the business end of the trident into one of the tiefling’s boots.

Screaming, Jester fired again, and Aster blocked this one, but in the process, the concussive burst of electrified air sent the shaft of the trident smashing into the wolf girl’s forehead. Vision immediately doubling and blurring, Aster scrambling into the night.

On the ground, the hat and its glimmering prize caught the light of the falling moon.

Spoiler

Nearl’s Saiyan Armor has broken, rendering it useless
Slurt’s got a bruised knee (Minor Injury)
Jester got trident stabbed through the foot (Minor Injury)
Aster has a concussion and likely a hairline skull fracture (Minor Injury) that’ll result in some disorientation for the next six-ish hours

This was a really awkward one to write, because I don't think any of you are, like, heel-ish characters, so I apologize. Chalk it up to in-character amassing of trauma.

 

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#05 Chara vs #02 Trevor O’Skully​

Chara had been unsure how long she’s stumbled across the horizon when she spotted the man advancing upon her. Even in the darkness, it was clear the see that the human walking toward her was heavily armed.

Was it a snap judgment? Probably.

After being battered around for the last few hours, Chara wasn’t in the mindset to sit and talk when someone came at her with a loaded weapon.

For his part, Trevor O’Skully had been tailed by feral unmade creatures throughout much of the night. He’d been nearly caught unawares on more than one occasion, so she’d taken to simply having the high-tech firearm always primed and ready.

A line of knives snapped into existence behind Chara. The Proto Buster light up the night sky. Scurrying to the wayside, Chara leashed the projectiles at their target, but they crashed harmlessly into the barren earth.

Most other contestants in Dante’s Abyss, when they slip soundlessly through the shadows to get the drop on their opponent, would have punctuated the moment with something condescending or humorous. ‘Trevor O’Skully’ merely materialized from the shadows a few feet from Chara and blasted the young woman with the Proto Buster. A forearm wreathed in fire magic swung up to shield from the blast, but the force drove Chara half a foot into the formerly compacted soil.

As the shadow fell over her, Chara hoisted the nailgun and fired.

The first nails crashed savagely into the assassin’s chest as he wavered.

Chara lifted her other arm as a fireball formed in her palm.

His damage done, Shinku committed the face to memory and vanished into the shadows.

Spoiler

Chara’s right arm has extensive second degree burns and using it will result in a great deal of pain (Major Injury)
Trevor received a number of nails across his chest (Minor Injury). His lungs and ribs were spared, but these need to be removed and tended to.

Trevor was pressured into using one application of Focus.