[IC] - All the World's a Game

[S121]

Ancient City

Jack took one look at the pond and slumped his shoulders.

(Sh*t...), Jack thought to himself.

The MJOLNIR armor was designed to shrug off bullets and plasmafire, orbital drops and small explosions, but if there was one thing it could not do, it was float. Jack would have no problem catching the robot down below, but it would be very hard to get back out. At last he still had his energy shield. His shield would at least make the mud and water slide off as soon as he would exit the pond.

Jack walked into the water, waiting until he was completely submerged before going after the robot. As soon as he was submerged, Jack pushed towards the robot as hard as he could, rocketing him towards Bubble Man.







Isaac gave a slight smile at Lujuria. It was mind boggling that not even a couple of hours ago, they were enemies, but now, they were sitting together, talking and having a good time.

"Well then there's a first time for everything... and I'll admit, I had my doubts about helping you, but I had fun too.", Isaac said to Lujuria.

[NeoFox]

Ancient City
____________

Bubble Man immediately noticed Jack as he rocketed towards him. Bubble Man FREAKED out by all means of the word. He tried to swim out of the way, but due to how he was designed he looked like he was jumping repeatedly towards the surface.

That's when Bubble Man quickly remembered his Bubble Lead. Almost instantly Bubble Man was surrounded by a thick bubble made out of a strong and durable substance with similar properties to lead. Yet the bubble looks like any ordinary bubble. Jack would most likely just bounce off of it unless he used something sharp to pop it. Bubble Man was laughing at Jack who was outside of the bubble barrier.

[S121]

Ancient City

Jack saw the thickness of the bubble and quickly thought about the possible outcomes. A small bubble would be easy to pop, due to it's thin membrane, but this bubble, it had a much thicker membrane, one that Jack doubted he could penetrate by simply ramming into it. Jack then figured that the best course of action would be to use one of his Katanas to pierce it. There was a chance that he might not rupture the bubble, but either way, he would be inside with the robot.

Putting his plan into action, Jack pulled out one of his Ceramic Carbide katanas and pointed it in front of himself, ready to pierce the bubble and tag the robot inside. As soon as Jack penetrated the bubble, he reached out with his other hand and tried to tag the robot.

[WriggleRid3r]

Higan

---

"Shikieiki isn't the one to be blamed for this." Yukari coldly replied. "It was a clever plan, rused by Flandre Scarlet and Seija Kijin, both who have enough potential power to challenge me or Shikieiki. They used a loophole in your laws, admit it."

[NeoFox]

Ancient City
_______________

Bubble Man kept laughing, but as soon as Jack popped the bubble barrier around him Bubble Man began to freak out again. His muffled screams could be heard as Jack tagged him. "F*&%!!" He cursed as he was finally tagged, however much like his screams beforehand his voice was muffled by the water. Afterwards Bubble Man swam to the top of the pond in disappointment.

[wonderweiss]

"... True..."

Lujuria looked up.

"... take off that damn armor. It's distracting. The war's over... you don't need to protect yourself from anything anymore...

That's when she thought of... someone. She began accidentally reciting the phrase.

"You don't need to shut yourself off... the armor... you no longer need it... because I'll... protect..."

Lujuria snapped to reality.



King 2: The problem is not your revival. It is the fact that Shikieiki watched the event unfold before her and did nothing to stop it.

King 3: It would be much different if she were to have been away from the scene, in which case she would have to hunt the revived and put them back to rest.

King 6: As a matter of fact, you, Ran, and Meiling are all technically in pending trial as far as whether or not you should continue to live.

King 8: It's nothing personal, but death is something you have to deal with, and being revived is like throwing off the balance of the world. It's simply a matter of panic suppression and safety.

King 4: Yes, if word were to get out that someone has been revived, panic would ensue. The worry of death will decrease, at which point the foolish humans would kill without worry of murder for they think that the murdered will revive. It may be exaggeration, but that's the way it is.

[S121]

Ancient City

After a couple minutes of sitting at the bar and speaking, John decided that it would be best if he looked for Yuuka now. He didn't know where she was, so he needed as much time as possible to find her.

"Well Six, I have to go find someone, but I'll be back soon.", John said to Six.

"Ok. I'm going to be here for a while anyways.", Six said after taking another drink from the sake dish in front of him.

John stood up, put his helmet back on, and began to walk out of the bar, but before he left, John turned to Six and said one more thing to him.

"Oh, and if Komachi and Yukari return before I do, tell them I went to go talk to Yuuka.", John said to Six.

"Got it.", Six nodded at John.

John left the bar and began his search for Yuuka. He knew that she didn't like to be the center of attention, so that quickly narrowed down where she could possibly be. The entire city was bustling with activity, which meant that she would not be there. John didn't think that she would leave the party, so she had to still be underground. The only place that wasn't crowded was Chireiden.

With Chireiden in his sights, John activated his thrusters and flew towards the large building. John looked searched the area, flying around the giant palace until he saw something green, red, and white up on top of the palace's roof. John zoomed in his HUD's vision until he could get a clear image of who was on the roof. It was Yuuka, sitting alone. Changing his trajectory, John turned towards her location and flew towards her, slowing down and landing 10 feet away.

"What are you doing up here?", John asked Yuuka.






Jack smiled inside of his helmet as he put away his katana and landed at the bottom of the pond. Now it was just a matter of getting out. Putting all of his strength into his legs, Jack pushed off and surged through the water, getting closer to the edge of the pond. As soon as Jack landed, he pushed off again, this time bringing his head above the water. Now that he was closer to the edge of the pond, he simply walked out. The murky water and mud slid off of his energy shields as he exited the water, leaving him in pristine condition when he was back on dry land.

(Only a few more to go...), Jack thought as he sprinted towards the bridge, paying attention for any dots that might have been along the way.








Isaac looked at Lujuria in confusion and concern. It was strange to see Lujuria suddenly lose touch with reality, but he had seen people do the exact same thing before.

"Are you okay?", Isaac asked Lujuria.

[wonderweiss]

She stared off.

"... I don't know... Where did that come from..."

She then got a flash of memory. It was of her hugging an armored warrior.

"... Am... I..... remembering...?"

[NeoFox]

Ancient City
_____________

Meanwhile at the bridge Shade Man was hiding in the shadows. He was hanging upside down much like a bat would. He was using something similar to echo-location to detect any possible oncoming people that might tag him. Either way if anyone were to get close he can just use his Noise Crush to temporarily stun any possible threats...

[S121]

Ancient City

After Lujuria spoke Isaac nodded in understanding. He knew exactly what was going on. She was seeing repressed memories. Isaac remembered when he began seeing his own. It was right after the Ishimura Incident, when Isaac was told that his entire search for Nicole was for nothing, than she killed herself before the Necromorphs could get her. She sent him a suicide video, explaining why and saying that she cared about him, but his mins suppressed her death. That's when Isaac's descent into madness first started.

Isaac continued to watch, concerned, but knowing that it would be best if he didn't interrupt the flow of memories.

[wonderweiss]

Then, she saw one more. It was one of her by a grave... and she knew exactly which one...

"... take me."

She looked at Isaac with a determined face.

"You can go fast. I want you to take me here," She said as she pulled out a map of the world. She circled a desert in Australia.

"Please..." She said as she looked Isaac with pleading eyes.

[S121]

Ancient City

Isaac looked at the map in complete confusion. It was a very strange request, but it seemed important. She was pleading for him to take her to the desert. It had to be at least 4,000 miles, which meant that it would take Isaac around 40 minutes to reach the desert. It was a lot to ask of Isaac, but he saw that it was important.

Isaac closed his eyes and let out a small sigh.

"... I can get us there in less than 30 minutes if I go slightly above my suit's threshold.", Isaac said to Lujuria.

"Before we go, are you heatproof, maybe fireproof?", Isaac asked Lujuria as he stood up off of the barstool.





Jack was now at the bridge. He knew that this robot was like a bat, thanks to the hints some of the robots gave him. Because of that, Jack simply laid down on the floor of the bridge, quietly making his way towards the robot's location. The sonar of this robot may have been able to pick up his surroundings, but the sondwaves would not be able to reach Jack, thanks to the side railings of the bridge. As soon as Jack was right above the robot, he quickly flung himself off the bridge and grabbed the floor, swinging him at the robot.

[wonderweiss]

Well, I can stay here. You can use the card I gave you after you get there. As a matter of fact, I can get you to Earth, on Australia. It won't take long at all. Just don't freak out okay?"

Suddenly, a giant snake came up and put Isaac in it's mouth.

"I'm sorry, but the snake will take you to earth. But only to a certain place in Australia. You'll be traveling from there."

The snake dove down and began traveling to Australia.

[S121]

Ancient City

Isaac's helmet quickly formed over his head before the snake put him in his mouth. Isaac absolutely hated the idea of being submerged in snake spit. The entire experience reminded him of the time he was swallowed up by a Nexus Necromorph and had to suffer through going down the monster's esophagus and into its stomach. It was dark and wet, but luckily Isaac had his suit. The only thing Isaac could now do was wait for the god-awful trip to end.

[wonderweiss]

At last, the trip ended. The snake released Isaac.

"Okay, now simply go to the destination. And, uh... thanks."

The snake burrowed under.