[IC Board] All the World's a Game - Season II

[SUSTIC]

London | Night


As they drew closer to the source of the loud roar of pain all they saw was people screaming... and a strange man in odd armor with wings screaming as though he is in intense pain.

"The hell is that!? Where are the demons!?" Elsword yelled at the sight of the strange armored man.

Upon hearing the sound of the Warthogs, and more importantly Elsword's yelling the man stopped what he was doing and turned towards the two. Once he saw the two Warthogs quickly approaching the man quickly jumped back nearly twenty feet thanks to his wings, but not before roaring once more. After the loud roar the sound of what seemed to be roughly a few thousand demons come out of nowhere charging towards the Warthogs from all directions. There were thousands of them, and they all just came out of nowhere!

"DAMMIT WE'RE SURROUNDED!!!" Raven yelled as he began firing the turret at crowds of the demons. Along with Chung who began firing pot shots from his Destroyer at a few as well.

[S121]

London | Night

As soon as Jack saw the swarm of demons, he smiled inside of his helmet and pulled out his katanas.

"I'm up.", Jack calmly said over his communicator as he jumped straight into the surge of demons and began to quickly slice them apart.

Due to his Ceramic Carbide katanas, coupled with his inhuman strength, speed, and reaction time, the area quickly became a bloodbath as Jack cleaved through armor, weapons, and flesh. As the seconds ticked by, it was as if Jack only became faster. His blades began to become blurs as he blocked, slashed, and spun his way through the crowd of enemies. Within ten seconds, Jack had already killed 53 demons, due to how close together they were.

"Damn!", Lily said as a demon tried to grab onto her, but quickly met Lily's fist.

The Glitter Demon was hit square in the jaw and was thrown back a good 20 feet. As soon as Lily was given the opportunity, she backflipped out of her seat and to the Gauss Cannon in the back of the Warthog. With the Gauss Cannon in her hands, she aimed it at the closest cluster of Glitter Demons and fired.


*BOOM*


In a single instant, a 25x130mm slug ripped through the air at Mach 40 and slammed into a Glitter Demon, blasting straight through and hitting the ground around more of the monsters, where the concussive force injured and knocked them to the ground. AS soon as the turret reloaded, Lily fired again, taking out more of the demons.

Meanwhile, Daniel shifted the gear on the Warthog and hit the gas. The Warthog lurched forward, and before any of his passengers realized it, Daniel was mowing down Glitter Demons with the front bumper of the Warthog. The Warthog was slower than usual, due to how many demons Daniel was running over, but the Warthog showed exactly why it was called an all-terrain, 4-wheel drive vehicle.

[wonderweiss]

Forest of Magic
_______________________

Otori looked at Takoizu's state.

"Yea, it's me. I look different do that I don't stand out and actually blend in. You know, the thing you should've been doing? Anyways, whydid you let yourself get incapacitated like that? Who were you fighting with?"

[S121]

Forest of Magic - Gensokyo | Day

"It would have been a waste of time if I tried to keep my identity a secret. After all, I am dealing with John, Yukari, Renamon, Nera, and a few others that would be able to tell.", Takoizu said to Otori.

"I fought Jack, but don't worry, I didn't hurt him, at least not too much. Thanks to my plan, he thinks I'm dead, and even if he comes back, I know what he's capable of. Not only that, but because of the fact I was holding back, he'll think I'm much weaker than I really am. I won because I lost, and if we ever fight a second time, there will be a greater chance that I'll win again.", Takoizu explained.

John couldn't help but smile in his helmet at Takoizu's plan. He had to admit, it was a pretty good plan, something Yukari would have come up with. It was a dangerous plan to carry out, but she was lucky to have succeeded.

[wonderweiss]

Forest of Magic
______________________

Otori would've been laughing, but...

"You're reckless. You kinda insulted me there. Jack was programmed with the 'memory' of every character on the planet. That means he actually thinks more of you than you're actually old enough to be capable of. He would think you were going easy on you. Question is, he wouldn't kill if his opponent was going easy... Aw hell no, you didn't say anything to him did you?"

[S121]

Forest of Magic - Gensokyo | Day

"Would you rather I killed your son without mercy?", Takoizu calmly asked Otori.

It was a little clear that she did not like being chastised or having her abilities being dismissed. She tried to be polite about it, but was somewhat sharp with her choice of words, all while hinting that she could have taken the battle to the other extreme, where Otori would be saddened by his son's death.

"All I told him was that I was going to change the future, that even you thought it was a good idea, that his logic and morals were heavily flawed, and that he does not have the right to judge people like his mother did.", Takoizu said to Otori.

John simply looked on, a little confused by this turn of events. Just who was this person that Takoizu fought? What did Otori mean by programmed?

[wonderweiss]

Forest of Magic
________________________

Otori put his hand to his head. He was flustered.

"... I'm sorry, Takoizu... But I was hoping you would just consider him an enemy and not spend too much time on him... But now..."

Otori looked at Takoizu straight in the eye.

"Now you have to. You have to kill him soon."

Otori winced at saying that.

"... There's a reason I sought you out. I forgot to tell you a very important part of Jack. John, you can go back. You have a soul to save. Takoizu, let's go to the Yakumo estate... God, I sound bad, but... This is too much for me..."

[S121]

Forest of Magic - Gensokyo | Day

She thought she was getting through to him, but unfortunately, she failed and would now have to kill him. Takoizu understood that it had to be done, no matter how misguided Jack seemed. She simply nodded her head and opened up a gap.


John did not like being in the dark, and ever since this entire series of events started, he had been given virtually no information. It was about time he was let in on what was happening.

"Hang on, who's Jack, and why is he so dangerous? You told me that you were going to tell be what was going on earlier, remember?", John asked Otori.

[wonderweiss]

Forest of Magic
_______________________

"Dammit, you guys, you characters, why?! Why won't you listen, if it that I'm human?! If that it?! Is it because I can't handle it?! It's that, huh?! I could help! It didn't have to end that way! I could've helped! "

It was obvious Otori was having a mental break down. The air began getting heavier. His eyes began changing.

"I may be human, but I could've helped! You didn't have to go out alone! Do you know the pain you caused me!? I wanted to die for some time! I only stayed alive because that's what you guys wanted! You wanted me to stay alive, but why couldn't you all do that!? Why did you lie to me, John!? You said Spartans never die, only go M.I.A., but where the hell are you!? You guys were all I had! YOU WERE ALL I HAD!!!L

[S121]

Forest of Magic - Gensokyo | Day

John was a little angered by the sudden outburst and quickly returned Otori's tone.

"What the hell are you talking about!? What the f*ck does any of this have to do with being human!? All I know is that I died! I don't know a damn thing, and I will never know unless you stop ranting and start telling me what the f*ck is going on!", John angrily said to Otori.

"Stop it, both of you!", Takoizu shouted.

"Otori, you know we never found a body... I don't know why he was no longer present, but there is a chance that he is still alive... You being human has nothing to do with what happened, and you know that. Just ask all the human Characters, along with the countless actual humans that died alongside the Characters... Them dying didn't just affect you. They affected everyone they left behind.... Just tell John about Jack. He deserves that much.", Takoizu calmly said to Otori with a hint of sadness in her voice.

To be honest, Takoizu didn't know what to think when it came to John's body never being found. Perhaps it was because she didn't want to accept that her parents died, and unlike Yukari, who Takoizu found after she died, she had justification for doubting that John was truly dead. It was a meaningless, empty hope, but she still held on to it. At least it got her this far, along with her thirst for revenge against the ACO.

[wonderweiss]

Forest of Magic
_________________________

The air stabilized. Otori stopped moving. He then pulled out a syringe from his pocket and injected himself with it. He then winced in pain. He calmed down.

"... Sorry guys. I forgot to take my syringe. Hehehe, stupid me. Ah, well. Gee, what a scene, hah? Boy, let's talk at the house."

Otori began walking to the estate with a pep in his step.

[S121]

Forest of Magic - Gensokyo | Day

John felt a little confused by Otori's sudden mood-swing, as well as what Takoizu said about him. Just what exactly happened? She said that they never found his body, but then why wasn't he there? After a few minutes of walking, John looked over to Takoizu. Takoizu seemed to be somewhat bothered by the entire exchange. Instead of facing forward, her gaze was somewhere near the ground. Not only that, it also looked like something was weighing heavily on her mind.

"What's wrong?", John asked Takoizu.

"Nothing...", Takoizu said.

John knew something was wrong, but he didn't want to push the issue more than he already had.

"Let's go home the faster way.", Takoizu said as she opened up a gap.

As Takoizu looked down, she noticed a small metal plate on her chestplate. She was a little curious about it, but right now, she had too much on her mind to think about it. She would look at it later.

[wonderweiss]

Yakumo Estate
______________________

Otori arrived, just as peppy as he is.

"Heh, damn... I need tea..."

He knocked on the door.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"Good afternoo-" Ran opened the door to find Otori, standing there with a grim smile. "Ah, Otori-san. Do come in. I was just done making some roasted peanut crackers. Would you like to try some?"

[wonderweiss]

Yakumo Estate
__________________________

Otori chucked a bit.

"I... Would love some. I haven't seen you in a while, Ran. How's the family?"