Private/Closed Dimension Games

[ArmedBlue]

Zed
​

It was one death after the other. Their terrible plan was falling apart, yet they were still making progress thanks to the sacrifice of others. Omega’s surprisingly selfless actions had gotten Leon, Eitri and subsequently Zed even higher into the air. Beyond the top of the barrier. Into the unknown.

But the barrier was not done yet. The crimson lightning only seemed to become stronger and more frequent, even following beyond the arena’s reaches. In a flash of light, a lightning bolt struck Leon—but the number didn’t tick down. He’d survived by some miracle, barely hanging on. He had to hand it to Leon, his tenacity was incredible. That willingness to fight on, trying to secure a better future…

They weren’t so different after all.

Scarlet energy swirled around Leon’s unconscious body, Zed’s Golden Trillion manifesting. A small yet durable barrier enveloped the agent, carrying what little momentum he had left. Barely a second passed before more blasts of lightning pounced at them. One of them headed for Leon, striking the barrier, cracks spiderwebbing along the surface, and it shattered. Another four revolved around Eitri and Zed, aiming to obliterate them. But they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Zed was swerved into the path of two of the lightning bolts, powerful flames bursting from his front, golden clashing against crimson as fire and electricity flew everywhere. The pain was incredible, Zed putting his focus solely on his attack, not noticing that Eitri had called forth a Summoned One, the monstrous figure letting out a scream of agony as it took the bolts headed for Eitri, being quickly blasted apart. The lightning didn’t stop, however, now clashing with the sage’s Divine Recreation, the barrier absorbing part of its energy, red lightning crackling along the surface.

Some of the absorbed lightning arced over to Zed, who grunted as he was knocked slightly forward, Septima at its limit. He knew his odds of living were next to none. The power of the sun could not overpower this lightning. He would have to leave ATEMS and his country up to his Knights. The fate of the world still at risk, but he trusted everyone to handle Moebius’ power. All that mattered was that Layla’s Djinn could manipúlate Astral Order for the better.

“Layla…!”

He felt terrible for not being able to keep protecting her. He was the only one who truly understood her, and they’d stuck together through so many struggles…

All he could hope for was a bright future for her.

The lightning finally pierced through Zed’s flames, pain coursing through his body as he seized up, body charred by the direct hit. The electricity soon relented, the Adept unconscious but barely alive. In an instant, his limp body swerved around midair, blocking the lightning still assaulting Eitri, the girl having used him as a human shield just in the nick of time.

Zed’s body was blasted apart, leaving nothing but golden dust crackling with blood-red electricity that quickly spread through the air. Eitri was silent for a moment as she winced, the combined use of her abilities and sacrifice of Zed having just ensured her survival, though she was not unharmed.

The end was fast approaching.
​

4​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Eitri​

The Sage felt the familiar pressure of her hat landing on her head once again, guided back to her head by the seiðjárn eye hidden within. She glanced back curiously as Belowski called out to her.

"Hey. Try looking up at the sky sometimes when you get back home, okay?"

The truck was annihilated by a massive blast of lightning, and Belowski was gone. A pity, she was growing to like him. But from the lighting, a figure emerged. Omega, badly damaged but pushing on with the power of the Gullinbursti. He grabbed her and Leon, flying beyond the barrier. Eitri couldn't help but to smile. Even when the Gullinbursti was jury-rigged, badly damaged, and made from otherworldly parts, it still worked. With parting wishes of continued destruction, Omega too was destroyed. Leon was blasted away, somehow holding onto life as well.

But they were out. They had cleared the barrier.

But they could not rest yet. More blasts of lightning lashed out, more than before. This lightning was out for blood, and would not be held back by their shields from before.

So Eitri would give the lightning the blood it so desired.

The sage activated her shields as she flew after the falling form of Leon. Zed by her side, she could see the officer trying his best to fend off the lighting. But to no avail. With the slightest thought, Eitri placed Zed between herself and two of the lighting blasts. They overwhelmed his defenses, and with the scream of a name he was destroyed. At the same time, Eitri fired her prototype Breidablik at the remaining two blasts of lightning honing in on her. The lightning struck the Summoned One she had called forth, annihilating the creature so quickly that Eitri could not see what weapon it brought with it.

That left one last thing. Leon. Who knew what had happened to the pink creature and the blue creature. If they were still inside the barrier, they would be dead soon. Eitri reached out towards Leon, closing the distance just enough to 'catch' the police officer with her Pair Up ability. His fall was abruptly stopped, the magic preventing any harm that such a sudden change of inertia may cause, and the blast of lighting that had been racing towards Leon quickly overshot the man. Eitri flew on, trying to put as much distance between herself and the barrier as she could.

 

[Gamingfan]

Sonic&Kirby
"Uh, hey!" Sonic was taken a bit off guard by the random greeting, but recovered quickly. "And, thanks."
Kirby nodded happily, before the crackling of the barrier reminded them of the task at hand. Both Kirby and Sonic took turns looking at the lightning following them and barrier exit. With the lightning nipping at their heels, Sonic knew he had to act.
"I've got an idea!" he said, boosting upward, just out of reach of a bolt of lightning. Kirby squeaked in surprise by the sudden jerk, before his eyes sparkled as he understood the assignment.
Kirby spread his wing, allowing his flight to be boosted while he guided, avoiding any large bolts too close, and his shield blocking the smaller ones. The two were a streak of blue, pink, and gold as they soared. At their speed, it was only a short time before they escaped the barrier.
Kirby's looked back in awe, surprised they actually managed to escape. But clearly the barrier influence wasn't limited to those within it. Kirby and Sonic kept up the speed, managing to catch up to Eitri, who thankfully managed to save Leon.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

The barrier had begun to overexert its lightning, the remaining four contestants lurched out to vacate the boundary of the game. It was almost too late to stop them. Only one more attempt could be made. But perhaps that's all it needed.

Suddenly, the barriers all around were suddenly sliced apart into neat, thin, rectangles. No bigger than a foot. All these slime rectangles made of the rest of the barrier's energy. The lightning flowed into these rectangles, a red aura aglow around them. As the team rose through the air, a distant glitched space could be seen. One that the simulation hadn't intended to be visible. One past the blue sky.

BRRRRRR

Hundreds of thousands of rectangles, now turned projectiles hurled their way, several of them arriving much faster than their kin. A single touch meaning death. most approached, albeit slower than lightning, were far more dangerous to be hit by. Several of the first responders were hurled past Sonic and Kirby, flying right past them, before forming together right in front of them in a miniature 10x10 barrier, aiming to catch them in a disintegration field.

As for Leon and Eitri, ten rectangles would revolve behind them in a ring formation, periodically shooting a rectangle out every other second like a plasma blast at them.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Eitri​

Eitri saw it. Not too far away, a patch of space that was different from all the rest. One that shimmered and waved in a strange pattern not so different from the portals of Askr. Eitri changed direction, flying up towards it.

BRRRRRRRR

Glancing back, Eitri saw that the barrier was not yet done with them. No longer resorting to lightning, the barrier launched chunks of itself at them! The first rectangle launched itself at Eitri. The Sage took in all the information she could, noting its speed, its velocity, its vector of attack. She evaded it, feeling its energy as the chunk of barrier flew past. Then the second piece of barrier launched towards them. Eitri began to calculate. At this rate of fire, with this accuracy... With her normal evasive maneuvers, Eitri would not be able to reach the anomaly before she was cut down. Using Leon as a shield was also out of the question. These were pieces of the barrier. It would cut through Leon to hit her.

If only she had Grim Brokkr, the Gullinbursti within would have given her the boost she needed to succeed. Her eyes fell upon the prototype Briedablik she held. Using it more than twice, so close together was a sure sign of danger. Not to mention, using a normal Summoned One as a shield would merit the same results as using Leon. That was, unless... Eitri began to tinker with the prototype, evading yet another attack.

Months earlier...

"Fáfnir and Reginn are still oblivious to our little plan?" Eitri asked. The Sage sat in the center of her sanctum, sunlight filtering into the garden-like room as she tinkered with the prototype Briedablik. A pale young man with black hair and a scar on his cheek approached. The armor he wore was black and streamlined, and he had sword at his side.

"Of course. They're preoccupied with Gullinbursti upkeep for the time being." The young man said. He was Ótr, younger brother of King Fáfnir and prince of Niðavellir. Eitri finished the repairs, looking up to Ótr with a grin.
"Excellent. Let's get on with the test, then." Eitri said. Ótr frowned, sighing as Eitri walked to the center of the sanctum.

"Does this attempt seem any more likely to succeed? I'd rather not have to clean up corpses again." Ótr said. He shifted uncomfortably. "This experiment of yours, trying to recreate Askr's divine weapon, Briedablik... Though you've demonstrated your ability to bring Heroes here from other worlds... Thus far, they have lost their minds and been reduced to ruin."

"That, or their memory is wiped clean and they wander the land, failing to fulfill their purpose, yes." Eitri clarified. Ótr's expression darkened.
"Are you referring... to Fáfnir?" Ótr asked. Eitri waved her hand.
"Never mind. You can trust that I have made adjustments that should increase our chances of success. Heroes from other worlds are not always of stable body and mind. There are so many worlds, you see. The occurrence or non-occurrence of specific events can drastically alter their personalities." Eitri said.

"What are you getting at?" Ótr asked.
"If our problem is that Heores we summon lose their minds and their usefulness... I thought, why not summon Heroes who have already lost their minds?" Eitri said confidently.

....

The modifications to Briedablik were easy, as she remembered them quite clearly from before. The sage pushed towards the anomaly, glancing back as the barrier launched another chunk at her and Leon. Using this modification in the arena was too risky of backfiring. When she had tried this months ago, it had nearly cost herself and Ótr their lives, and had only been by some miracle that Reginn and Fáfnir had not found out. But in this instant? It may be the saving grace. A mad smile on her face, Eitri fired the prototype.

A massive light, even brighter than before, lit up the sky. And from this light, a screamlike roar rang out. A massive white dragon, surrounded by a sickly purple energy, burst from the light.

RHEA: THE IMMACULATE ONE
- BEYOND CONTROL -​

"Those who resist... Enemies of the church..." The white dragon roared. It screamed as one of the rectangles slashed into it, but the massive beast was much to large to be taken down by an attack such as it. Red lighting and energy seemed to corrupt the wound on the dragon, but the sickly purple energy was holding it at bay.

The enraged dragon turned it's attention to the pieces of barrier following Eitri and Leon, letting out an enraged roar as it blasted the chunks of energy with an explosive blast of purple flame.

The massive dragon focused on the barrier, Eitri flew with all her strength towards the anomaly in the sky.

 

[Gamingfan]

Kirby&Sonic
They were almost there! Where, Kirby didn't know what there was, but it looked different, and that was good enough for him.
However, their troubles weren't over.
"Uh...Kirb? We've got trouble." Sonic warned, looking down.
Kirby was about to look for himself, but the barrier saved him the troubles, splitting into multiple deadly fractions of itself and speeding past them, before condensing into a deadly wall, cutting them off!
This time, Kirby had an idea. His wing glittered with power, which formed into a flaming sword as Kirby launched it at the mini-barrier.
Predictably, the barrier was hardly affected, the flame blade simply exploding upon colliding without damaging it, leaving a cloud of smoke.
Smoke that covered Kirby's actions as he tossed Sonic over the wall, while he dived below it!
Sonic boosted clear over the barrier, while Kirby went under, teleporting just enough to reach Sonic before he could fall, and catching the hedgehog once more.
There was no time for a quip. Sonic and Kirby boosted forwards towards the glitch, covered in a gold glow.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

The ring that was chasing her had completely been destroyed. Several bits of the barrier were displaced by Eitri's sudden dragon summon, shattering into thousands of pieces, flying down below, and then reforming seconds later into a rectangular shape once more. This happened with a surprising amount of the rectangles that flew after Eitri, and to an extent Sonic & Kirby.

However, it wouldn't stop it all. The main storm had arrived. Thousands of the barrier fragments flew to and through the dragon, slicing it into ribbons and then into not even a spec of dust. It was catching up quick. But so we're the four of them, as they approached the glitched surface. It getting closer and closer.

In a last ditch effort to stop them, two branches shot out from below. They raced past the four of them, and stretched like limbs to obstruct the rift ahead, trying to act like hand to cover it before they could reach it. Two thick branches like prison bars ahead, trying to bar them long enough for the wave behind them to reach them.

 

[comic]

LEON​

(auto-perms from Cardboard)
​

He could feel his body swaying about, like caught in the gentle lashing of waves.

Energy made the hairs on his arm and neck raise.

Cracks of power muddled his thoughts.

His mouth felt dry.

The lights in Omega's eyes winked out.

Belowski disappeared in a flash of energy.

"GAH!" Leon's eyes shot open to find a strange void had surrounded him. No... he'd entered it. He was caught in Eitri's Pair-Up. He had to rub at his eyes as she summoned a literal dragon. The memories came rushing back, and he quickly deduced their situation. They were still fleeing the strange barrier.

The dragon held... then broke. He could see Kirby and Sonic catching up with them. Was that all that remained? The four of them? Zed was missing... Leon was in his place. Despite his reservations, he still felt a pang of pity in his gut.

They were nearing some strange anomaly in the air, like television static in Leon's eyes. It reminded him of his first night in Raccoon City. The abandoned homes within the dead city, some televisions displaying static, with no channels to pick up. The sight made his guts churn uncomfortably. The barrier, however, seemed to erect a small wall ahead of them while more of it came from below, attempting to sandwich them.

Attempting to stop them.

He was reminded of his words to Eitri before. His theory that someone or something was behind all of this. That it wasn't just fate in the multiverse. That it wasn't just a coincidence. They were fighting back against this higher power. They were winning.

They just had to bust this last block in their path.

"Eitri! I've got something that can help," Leon told the girl, procuring all of his explosives. A hand grenade, an incendiary, and two flash bangs. It had to be enough. But maybe it wouldn't. "These explode. I throw these, you push accelerate them with your wind, maybe add in your own attack for added effect. It should be enough!"

"Do it!" She yelled back over the roaring sound of the barrier, like a rushing tidal wave. Hopefully they could blast open this last blockade, slip through it, and maybe Kirby and Sonic could as well before it closed.

With no time to spare, Leon activated and hurled all his explosives at once. They beeped, carried by Eitri's wind as she propelled them. A moment passed. Bated breath was what he held as he watched.

Tick...



Tick......





Boom.





He and Eitri shielded their eyes from the eruption just ahead of them. The crackling energy of the barrier split, splintering like glass.

But it held.

"No!" Eitri yelled. They were too close. She couldn't summon a new attack quickly enough. She was drained, using her energy to keep Leon with her, and both of them moving.

From behind him, Leon pulled out one last hope.

Maybe it was idiocy. Maybe it was hopelessness. He didn't expect it to do anything. Just as a final "fuck you" to the god that had erected this deathmatch. But he threw the brown chicken egg.

It hit.

And the barrier shattered, against all logic. Against all expectations. The egg splattered and broke the shattered wall. It splintered away.

"Holy shit that worked!?" Leon breathed. Eitri didn't reply, instead waving her hand, using her magic to blow the shards out of their way, letting them fly through the hole, but behind them, it started to reconstruct itself in the hopes of stopping Kirby and Sonic.

Leon didn't know what came next for them.

He and Eitri both disappeared inside of the strange portal. It consumed them.

What came next was completely and utterly impossible for the DSO agent to predict.​

 

[Gamingfan]

Sonic&Knuck-I mean Kirby
Really, only Elfilis matched this barrier in stubborness. But Kirby surpassed it, and he'd do the same to the barrier. Even as it blocked their way again, even as it barely remained after Leon unloaded all his explosives onto it. Even as...
What was that Leon held?
Was that an egg?
...
HOLY CRAP IT WAS!
Suddenly reminded he hadn't eating in a solid while, Kirby flashed brilliantly as he had his fully attention focused on Leon and his pocket treat. With fervent determination fueled by infinite gluttony, Kirby slammed the gas, speeding up fast enough to catch Sonic off guard, all without looking away from the egg that Leon threw.
Right into the barrier.
The barrier shattered.
The egg shattered.
Kirby's heart shattered.
"Woo-hoo! Nice going Leon!"
Sonic cheered, oblivious to Kirby's heartbreak. Until he felt the puffball slow down, that is.
"Whoah, hey! Get your head in the game Kirby! We need to move!" Sonic reminded Kirby, kicking with his legs. Sonic booms were sent flying, boosting the duo to make up for the lost speed, and striking some barrier shards.
His words snapped the puffball out of his brief depression. Right, they were in life threatening danger.
With Sonic propelling the duo forwards and Kirby straining the Golden Trillion as far as he could, the duo just made it past the shattered barrier.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

It was a race against time. Right as the bars broke before them, the storm was not but seconds behind. Stalling time was its only purpose. As the remaining few flew inside of the glitched gateway, the flood of rectangular attacks flooded at it before-

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

They had found themselves in some kind of...skybox? It was just a black void, with a miniature version of the land they were fighting on for all this time just before them. Hardly football sized. It felt as if they weren't supposed to be in this area. Not even the boundary set foot in there.

.
..
...

•Error: 12-684 Game Crash.
•Why are you seeing this issue? <-
Entity or entities no longer present in combat area yet have not confirmed killed. If you wish to restart the game, contact yourself, Master Hand.


The error message displayed briefly before them before the entire place vibrated, their bodies beginning to glow a bright white. It felt as if the world was pulling them apart. Atom by atom. Before them, they saw the dark room trickle and fade away, along with every other contestant. The terrain was replaced with familiar colors and textures. From green hills for one to fluffy dream clouds for another. The only difference was...the other three were nowhere to be found.

Seems as though whatever game crash that had just happened had reset them back to their positions they started in. One where they had no way to locate the others they had just survived with. At least for now. All that remained was their experiences and their memories.

What was all that just now? They couldn't just leave it at that...could they? After all, they had just survived tooth and nail with three others that put their trust in. Surely there was some kind of resolution? Justice? At least lasting allies? The questions were sent to the void, but the void has a way of ignoring them.

But perhaps one day. One day they could see each other again. One day they could put whatever started thing thing to a permanent stop.

.....
..........
.............

"Almost show time."

"Eh? A notification? What now?"

"..."

"Wow."

"...Did I leave that running?"

"...Huh."

"Well, guess that's some fun footage for later. For now, I have something else to attend to. Ahem!"

"Time to welcome the new guests..."

...of BOOTLEG BROS 6