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[Mechanist Gamma]

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In this world, a special element exists.
The element of Prometheus.
Prometheus is a special element that allows dreams to become reality. Through the use of Prometheus, writers and artists can combine character concepts and sketches into creating real people. This is called Character Creation. And what comes from Character Creation?
Well, Characters of course.
Characters are special creatures of all shapes, sizes and forms. Thousands are created every day. After being created, a Character is awoken inside the empty plane called The Blank. It's called this because of what it is - a blank void of nothingness. Unless, of course, the Creator decides to transform it.
What is a Creator, you ask? Well, a Creator is someone who creates a Character.
Through writing or drawing, a Creator creates a Character. If they wish, then they can have that Character bond with them, becoming one of their Creations. Creations are Characters that can be called upon anywhere by their Creator, and form a permanent link with them.
But we're getting off topic.
The Blank. The place where a Character first enters into existence. What's its importance?
Well, The Blank acts like a prison for the Characters until their first meeting. Upon a Character's Creation, the original pages they were made from are transformed into a gateway to The Blank. From there, the Creator enters the Blank and encounters their Character. From here, the Character is presented with their two options to leave The Blank.
Either they swear allegiance to the Creator, becoming their Creation...
...or they kill their Creator.
After becoming Creations, the Characters leave The Blank with their Creator and enter their normal lives. Characters are part of the world today, whether people like it or not. They're so widespread that nothing is out of the realm of imagination to see.
However, some would use Characters for evil. In the small city of Helmloss, an evil plot is forming. It's up to the most creative Creators and their Characters to stop them...

Helmloss City, 20XX

"A spot of tea, chap?" Construct asked, floating over to Jay.
"No thanks, Construct." Jay replied with a smile. He was hard at work, typing on his computer. "Almost done. Just gotta figure out what I want him to have in terms of abilities... Aha!" Jay went back to typing, having found his answer.
"I know that look." Mimpi said, walking over. "Let me guess, you're almost done another Creation of yours?"
"Yep!" Jay replied, standing up from his chair and stretching a bit. "Been working on this guy for a few days!"
"Cool! What's he gonna be like?" Mimpi asked.
"Well... prepare to deal with an edgelord." Jay stated, clicking an area of the computer. The printer then started up, surprising the sleeping Naomi. Four sheets of paper then printed out, an elegant turquoise ink glittering on the pages. "All I need now is the drawing. Construct, you wouldn't have it on you, would you?"
"Got it!" Construct replied, sending it over.
"Perfect." Jay said with a smile. He shuffled the written documents together before placing the paper on top, and it crackled with white lightning and energy. "Here we go." he said to himself as the papers glowed.
"When are you gonna call us in?" Mimpi asked.
"When I need you." Jay replied with a smile. He slammed his palm down onto the glowing papers, and was sent into The Blank.

CN opened his eyes for what felt like the first time. Where was he? He was just standing around in a giant empty space, nothing but white for miles.
"What is this place?" he asked.
"It's called The Blank." a voice said from behind him. CN turned to look, and saw a 16-year-old boy there with a notebook in his hand.
"And who are you?" CN asked, facing the kid.
"Your creator."
"Don't play bullshit games with me." CN demanded, reaching a hand towards his sword.
"No, I'm just telling the truth." Jay stated. "I did create you. And under a technicality, this part of The Blank."
"The hell's that supposed to mean?!"
"Let me put it as simply as I can for you." Jay replied. "You're a character. A character in a story that I created. Everything about you, everything you think has been your life up until this point, was created by me."
"Bull!" CN shouted. "I'm my own person - an individual! I have a life, experiences, everything!"
"Well... you are now." Jay sighed. "Because I turned you into a full-on Character, and once you leave here you can then join the real world and truly live."
"...I don't believe you."
"Naomi didn't, either." Jay replied. "And I don't expect you to. Which is why I brought some evidence." Jay took the thing he had been holding behind his back out - a folder full of pages. Jay handed it to CN, who looked through it all. "That's the folder I made with the notes on your world. Characters, locations, events... I've got it all in there. And that applies to you too."
CN saw Jay wasn't bluffing. "...but... what... has nothing I've ever done mattered...?"
"It soon will." Jay replied. "Once we leave The Blank, then you can truly live your life."
"How do I leave The Blank, as you call this place?"
"W-well, you can either swear your allegiance to me and become my Creation... o-or..."
"Or what?"
"...you can kill me."
CN's sword was right at Jay's neck in an instant.

During the milliseconds that CN was leaping into action, one of the tattoos hidden underneath Jay's hoodie glew, sending an orange beam out that landed right in front of CN. Mimpi formed instantly, using his staff to block CN's sword. "You'll have to try harder than that!" Mimpi said with a smile.
"Are you a dog?!" CN exclaimed, shocked.
"Much more than your ordinary puppo!" Mimpi replied, swinging his staff not only to push back CN's sword but also to blow him away with a powerful gale. "Jay, go! I'll hold him off!"
"Thanks." Jay said, taking the pencil down from behind his ear and quickly writing down "rocket-powered motorbike" before slamming the notebook on the ground. A rocket-powered motorbike formed, and Jay hopped aboard, riding off. Mimpi and CN were still fighting, with CN attempting to gain a better position and Mimpi blowing him back to where he started.
(Sorry I'm not giving you guys much to work off of, but in my next post I'll finish up my thing with CN here and return to the real world. Have your characters do their things for the time being. Up to you whether they know my character or not, but ideally they have some way to get to Helmloss soon. As long as they do, feel free to place them anywhere on the planet.)

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

The Employer and Applicant sat across from each other, with a paper-cluttered mahogany desk between them. Curiously, though the two resembled each other down to the very number of freckles on their cheeks, only the Employer found this situation odd. He was careful to keep his face clear of any emotion, however, and cleared his throat.

"Let's begin, shall we? Tell me about yourself."

The Applicant smiled, slightly nervous, and his eyes unfocused for a moment as he considered his answer. "Well, uh . . . my name's Eli Chief. I graduated high school with top marks, but in order to afford college, I joined the Marines. I majored in Psychology, but a tour to Egypt kept me from ever finishing."

The Employer tilted his head. "Egypt, eh? You see any flying carpets or walking mummies?"

"No, sir." The Applicant narrowed his eyes. "But I did see several genies. My unit was tasked with putting 'em down, as many as we could find, until the local law enforcement could get their rogue Creators under control." He glared at the cluttered desktop. "I lost two of my friends before the situation was stable. Can't even tell you how many civilians were permanently maimed from the wishes they made. This is what happens when wish fulfillment becomes possible- and I'm not talking about genies anymore."

He tightened his fists, and clenched his jaw. "We pretend to play God, and we damn ourselves and everyone around us."

There was a pause in dialogue, and the Employer regarded the Applicant with a mix of curiosity and satisfaction. "Good enough," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Tell me- where do you see yourself in five years?"

The Applicant considered this, running his tongue idly over his upper teeth as he thought. "Six feet under," he said at last. "If one in every hundred of us- no- if one in every hundred thousand of us had a nuclear button, would you feel safe? Of course you wouldn't. And while we're not talking nukes, we are talking about creatures whose only limits are the imaginations of some f#$%ed up people. Have you seen some of the s#&% these idiots post on 4Chan and Deviantart? Hell, you give 'em a pen and Prometheus, and we'll all be dead in a week. That, or the universe will become more chaotic than H.P. Lovecraft could have ever dreamed."

This response so amused the Employer that he could not help letting out a chuckle. "My, my. Why don't you tell me how you really feel?"

"Well, this is why I deserve this job," the Applicant insisted, maintaining his grave demeanor. "I'm passionate. I see things the way they really are. If humanity is to survive its own power-madness, we must take extreme measures. In plain words: by killing every last Character, and every Character that ever will be, until there is no Promethius left in the universe!"

The employer's eyebrows raised. "That IS extreme. But we've gone all these years so far without toppling over the edge. Why is it suddenly so different now?"

"Because it was contained before," said the Applicant, grimly. "I don't know how, but someone- or something- opened the Pandora's box recently, and now everyone and their mother wants a piece of it."

The Employer nodded. There was another pregnant pause before he spoke again.

"Eli Chief, future hunter of all Characters. What if I were to tell you . . . that you are a Character?"

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Sounds of clashing steel echoed through the forest. In a clearing, a girl in a white kimono wearing a wolf mask and a boy in a jacket were pacing in a circle, eyes locked. The girl held a katana in a firm grip, while the boy held his saber in a fencing stance.
"Ready?" The girl, a creation named Wolf, asked. The boy, the creator by the name of Billy "Goat" Grant, nodded nervously. Wolf launched herself at Goat, slashing with her katana. Goat was forced back, blocking and dodging each strike. Seeing a chance, Billy ducked under Wolf's slash, rolling behind her. He jumped to his feet just in time to block another slash from Wolf, redirecting it away from him. Billy jumped back, out of range of Wolf's sword, breathing heavily.
"Not bad." Wolf said. "You're getting better."
"Yeah?" Billy asked. Wolf lunged at him, and he knocked away the strike. Seeing an opening, he thirst his saber forward, forcing Wolf back.
"When we first started, you didn't last five seconds." Wolf said, adjusting her grip. She charged forward again, slashing.
"I know you're still going easy on me." Billy said, barely blocking each attack. He was slowly being pushed back. "You've fought five men single-handedly, and gone toe-to-toe with the Masked Dragon himself, not to mention Prince Matthias."
An unexpected manuever from Wolf sent Billy's saber flying, and the creator sat on the ground, gasping for breath.
"I think that's enough practice for today. Let's head back home. Hopefully Tony hasn't driven Jon too crazy." Wolf said, helping Billy up.

 

[Yaspen]

Helmloss City, 20XX. Grayman Street.

Cloudy grinned. She was almost done with sketching her next Character in pencil before drawing in Prometheus. She had already printed the papers out with writing on it, since her handwriting made chickenscratch look legible. Putting the last finishing touches on her practice sketch, the teenager stood back. Ashley and Ari, two of her other Creations, were with her and looked eagerly at the new sketch. They had been helping Cloudy plan. "Well, what do you think?" Cloudy asked.
Ashley grinned. "Looks great!" she said, then pointed at the Character's ponytail. "You really put detail into her hair, didn't you?"
"Yup! Can't mess that up!"
"Neat-o outfit, too," Ari commented. "Goggles again, huh? And here I thought I was special."
"Oh, come on. You're a ninja. A freaking ninja. As far as I can see it, you're unique in a LOT of ways," Cloudy argued, but she was feeling the same way. Ponytails on all three Creations, goggles, all of them wore a jacket or vest...Things seemed like they were getting repetitive. "Come on, where'd you put the Prometheus anyway?"
Ari chuckled. "Check the drawer."

"WHAT?!" A shout sounded across The Blank. The newly created Character backed away from Cloudy, who shook her head with a grin.
"You're a Character that I made up. I'm literally your Creator--that's the actual term for it, Ranger," she replied. Ranger looked like she was about to cry.
"What about the rest of my life leading up to now? Has that all just been a lie?" Ranger asked, voice shaking.
Cloudy tilted her head to the side. "It's not exactly a lie, and I'm sure that those things really happened, but it would have been in the span of milliseconds in reality." She looked over to where another Creator was fleeing on a motorbike that he had conjured up. "Is that...?" she looked at one of the Characters again. "Hey, why don't we watch them," she said, then pulled out one of her notebooks and jotted down the words wooden bench. "That's one of my friend's Creations, Mimpi. Looks like Jay's Character decided to fight," Cloudy commented. Ranger sat down, an 'are you sure about this' look on her face.
"Shouldn't we go...help them? You had the power to create me and make that thing--"
"Bench. Forgot those don't exist in your world."
"Right. Bench.. You created me and this bench, can't you just stop them from fighting?"
Cloudy shook her head. "Nope. You see, when a Character meets their Creator, they have two options: swear alliance to their Creator or kill them." Ranger's eyes widened. "Other Creators can't do anything. I guess the closest thing we could do is persuade him, but he has a sword and God knows what other abilities at his disposal."
"So there's nothing we can do? It's completely hopeless?"
"Ah," Cloudy laughed, "I knew those two traits were a recipe for overdramaticness! If that's a word. Anyway, I doubt that Jay would make a Character too overpowered, so if we just watch long enough, we can figure out some things about them. I'll call in someone that's good at observing and might catch some stuff we miss." She pressed a finger to a marking on her wrist that looked like some sort of Chinese or Japanese symbol and that Ari had confirmed to mean air, and the Pink Ninja herself appeared out of a beam. She grinned at Ranger.
"Hey, newbie! What's up?" she asked with a grin. Before Ranger could reply, however, Cloudy briefly explained what was happening. Ari sat down on the bench to observe as well.

 

[FrostCrispz]

Tes finished her final stroke on the paper in promethus. "There, now to activate it." She said to herself. Techie said from behind her, "I'm not the best in a fight, but Mace can help if needed." The cyborg said for Mace. The ghostly suit of armor rarely spoke unless in his final form. "I'll be fine. For a while at least."

Cross woke up from what seemed to be an endless sleep. Everything that happened in his life was like a dream, and he was unsure about what was real. Across the empty area, a girl, no a small girl. Very petite, stood like she owned the place. Cross flew over to her. "Who are you?" He demanded in his dragon-like voice. "Your creator. And savior. If you accept me as your master, I can free you from this realm." Tes had used this strategy to convince her other creations. "And if I refuse?" He asked back. "Then you have to kill me." She replied blankly. Seeing no challenge from the girl, Cross charged forward. A second before the first strike made contact, a ghostly figure erupted from the ground and slammed a mace into Cross's chest. The girl lifted a single finger to the dragon man, and Mace charged. It moved slowly, but nothing could beat Mace in combat.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

The Applicant blinked, then stared at the Employer. "Excuse me? I'm a Character?"

The Employer's shoulders shook with silent laughter. "Technically, yes. But you're much more grounded in reality than most Characters, which is why the Organization gave me clearance to bring you forth. You are a replication of me, your Creator, with only three changes. For this reason, you require very little time and Prometheus to make. On the downside, this makes you a relatively weak Character."

The Applicant just stared at the Employer in stunned disbelief. He shook his head. "I can't accept this. What you're telling me . . . no. No! I'm Eli Chief. I'm a person; I've been a person all my life! I-"

"You're skeptical. That's exactly how you should feel," said the Employer, cutting him off. "I would have doubted. But that is what the first change was for. Tell me, Eli, what do you remember about yesterday? The day before? Five days ago?"

The Applicant opened his mouth, froze, and his eyes unfocused as his mind appeared to race furiously.

"I . . . the last thing I remember is that I had a job interview in a week."

"Yes. That was the part of the autobiography where I stopped," said the Employer patiently. "It's a real memory, but I decided later that I would take the role of Employer, and you would be the Applicant. I had to set it up this way to test whether I really could make a Character version of myself, down to the finest detail. As you know, I have . . . trust issues. But you pass the test."

The Applicant stared down at his hands, as if unable to comprehend that he was anything more (or less) than a flesh-and-blood human. He swallowed hard, then returned his gaze to the Employer: the man whose face and ambitions he shared with utmost empathy. The Employer regarded him with a somber expression. "Tell me, Eli, for you know. Why did I make you? Besides killing Characters, I mean."

The Applicant straightened in his chair. "Because you would die if you took on that task. You would die many, many times over." Once more, he looked hard at his hands, and found that they were shaking. "I will die."

"Yes." The Employer lifted something from under the desk, and placed it firmly into the Applicant's hands. He looked down, and beheld a Desert Eagle handgun resting in his palms. "But having the resolve to die for the Greater Good can overcome any existential crisis. Take heart, for you will not die easily. Your weapons resemble the second change I made to your character. They have enough stopping power to break through just about anything the crazies can imagine. Far from ordinary lead, your guns are made of Prometheus, and fire Prometheus. In the end, Characters are made of Prometheus, and by Prometheus will they be unmade."

The Applicant and the Employer locked eyes, and a silence of mutual understanding lapsed between them. The two stood.

"There is just one last question I am obligated to ask, before closing this interview," said the Employer, quietly. "Before leaving this place, you must either swear loyalty to me, or kill me. Which do you choose?"

In a flash, the Applicant's hand snaked out, grabbed the Employer by the collar, and hauled him over the mahogany desk before flinging him into the employees' chair. "Kill you?" he asked with a mirthless laugh, as the Employer stared up at him in frightened astonishment. "My Goose who lays the Golden Eggs? By this situation, Eli Chief has become effectively immortal, for as long as he can continue being a productive Creator!" He lowered his Desert Eagle down between the Employer's eyes, so that the latter could see partway down the dark barrel. "But let's get something straight right now," the Applicant went on in a deadly whisper. "I'm the one going out and doing all the fighting and dying, so I call the shots now. You will swear loyalty to me."

He raised his eyebrows, bemused. "It's no problem, right? After all, we are the same person."

" . . . . . Very well. Let's get to work."

 

[Il Fantasma]

Helmloss City, 20XX, public library

As per usual, the atmosphere outside of the Helmloss library was nearly noiseless, a comforting environment to work in for Creators and even their Creations, bodies of all shapes and sizes sitting around with their noses in books or notepads. Nothing was out of the ordinary for two Creations that rested on the staircase leading up to the book-filled building, one cat-like and one ghostly, simply chatting to each other- so it seemed, an open notebook laying between them. The Spiritual Creation had her back to the railing, as if trying to keep away from her Animalistic partner, who was trying to calm her down, tell her that nobody would hurt her. This had been going on for not five minutes, ever since their Creator entered a terrifying realm called The Blank, a place not unknown to him, to bring to life yet another of his Creations, this one much different from his others.

"There's no way this one'll pick a fight, Jetta! Calm down, seriously!" the cat lady continued to attempt to soothingly say, though her voice was laced with energy and she was bouncing around in her seat. "They'll be out any mi-!"

Before Applejack was able to finish her sentence, from the open notebook beamed a brilliant white light, opening up at an angle to form a sort of portal leading to what seemed to be nothing. From the nearly blinding light, which nobody around had even bothered to glance up at, sprung what appeared to be a miniature skeleton, who automatically waved up to Jackie and Jetta before zooming away. Following the five-inch Character was an ebony-haired male, his hurrying to catch his only male Creation making his other Creations leap to their feet- material or not- and follow suit. The pastel calico cat girl grabbed the notebook, the beamed portal now gone, and raced after Jetta, Marvin Naes, and Columba, the latter of the bunch yelling something about "going to the North Pole," his only visible eyelight a glowing royal blue.

Of course, this havoc and noise was what caught the attention of others that were near the vicinity of the library, more attention being pulled to them as they ran down the streets of Helmoss.

(Hope this isn't dead, but if it is... whoops. xD)

 

[Mechanist Gamma]

"Wha- Cloud?!" Jay said with a shock, skidding to a halt. Alarmed, he held his hand forwards, a barrier of hexagons appearing where he touched. "Damn, I'm at the barrier already... Gonna have to turn around-"
Before Jay could continue talking, Mimpi slammed into the barrier, leaving a pattern of polygons visible as the dog mage fell to the ground. Jay ran over, quickly sketching something down in his notebook. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"P-pretty beat up, but not dead..." Mimpi said in between huffs of exhaustion. "This guy's really tough..."
"That was, uh, kinda the point..." Jay said. The two then rolled out of the way of a flying kunai that stuck into the wall of the barrier, CN pulling himself over with it. As CN redrew his sword and leapt towards Jay with a jump slash, Mimpi hit him with a gust of wind that sent him flying hundreds of feet away. "That'll stop him for maybe a few seconds. Stay here." Jay continued, placing his notebook on the ground and creating a healing rune. "Use this to recover. I'll probably need you later. Sorry I can't talk, Cloud, but I've gotta move!" Jay hopped back on his bike and drove off.

As Jay drove, he wrote something down on his notebook and tapped it to the ground. All of a sudden, as he drove, the area within his current portion of The Blank became a mountainous region with roads and bridges connecting seven tall peaks. "This is an optimal battleground for you two." he said, looking at the tattoos on his left arm. Soon enough, though, CN would catch up with him. Jay decided to try and catch him off-guard by bailing from the bike, and it seemed to work, as CN was hit by it as it exploded. Jay then tapped one of his tattoos, calling out a floating technology box with a ton of widgets and a glowing orange eye.
"G'day, guv'nor!" Construct said with a smile (or what looked like a smile, considering he had no mouth). "What's the business?"
"Stall CN as best you can! I'm going to get Naomi to set up something!" Jay shouted, and Construct nodded. As Jay made himself a jetpack and flew off, CN ran over.
"Who the hell are you?"
"You may call me Construct, milad." Construct said, several weapons coming out of him and aiming at CN. "Because that's what I am. Have at you!"

 

[Yaspen]

Ari sighed. "There goes a chance to help out," she said. Cloudy got up, looking at where Jay had flown off to.
"I guess there's not much we can do," she said, then looked over at Ranger. "We probably ought to go home. Thanks to Barriers, we can't do anything. You saw those hexagons when Jay reached out and when Mimpi went flying? That's where the Barrier between us is."
Ranger glanced back to the fight between Construct and the new Character. "You're absolutely positive?" she asked.
"Yep." Cloudy offered her hand. "We can go home if you swear your allegiance to me and shake my hand."
Ranger hesitated, unsure for a second, then shook her head and shook her Creator's hand. "I swear my allegiance," she said. The two locked eyes, Cloudy's smiling ones and Ranger's serious ones. There was an orange glow, and then they were gone from The Blank.
(OOC: Let me know if I'm wrong on how that works.)
Cloudy threw off her jacket and pulled up the sleeve of her white tee-shirt, revealing her still-stinging tattoo that looked something like a potion bottle with an orange brew in it and an "R" in the middle of it. "Heyy, there we go," Cloudy said, grinning. "You're now one of my Creations, Ranger!"
"Awesome!" Ashley exclaimed. A mild breeze stirred the papers on Cloudy's desk, despite the window being closed. The wind generally conveyed Ashley's moods, or at least the intensity of them. "You're Ranger, right? I'm Ashley."
"Um...hi..." Ranger said, her shyness coming back. Oof, remarked Cloudy in her own thoughts. Awkward...