Consulting the Fates (a Temple of the Seal aside)

[nascent]

Hades groaned very loudly and began massaging his forehead, small flicks of red making their way into his hair. "Well then... that went even worse than last time. And that last bit seemed vaguely familiar to boot."

He slumped down into his chair, still massaging his growing headache. "Ok Hades, c'mon, THINK! There's got to be some kind of clue in what they said, because there's always a clue, right? Ugh..." He beat his fist against the table in a brief fit of rage, then turned to Dante. "Thoughts? Cuz' right now things aren't looking any clearer."

[Dante]

The warrior leaned against a wall, his hand spread across his forehead. To tell the truth, he didn't know what to make of what the Fates had said either. He replayed the small tale through his mind for a while, trying to get a grasp on what point these ladies were trying to make. When five spirits fall, One attempts to rule all. The battle fought, the attempt made, The ultimate price shall be paid. This story had a meaning, and it was in bold letters. Dante removed his face from his palm and turned to face Hades.

"There's an obvious point to this tale. 'When five spirits fall'? That's the easiest to decode. 'One attempts to rule all' reads out to be 'Oryth wants to rule all'. 'The battle fought, the attempt made' means 'We will make war easily against Oryth'." The last bit, the caviat to this tale, was what bothered the young warrior. He walked over to his chair and took a seat, sighing loudly.

"The warning is pretty blatant. If Oryth chooses to fight, our attempt to fight would be worth nothing. If I'm decoding this correctly, all of the Temples will fall and Oryth will begin his conquest with the Heartless, but we will fight against him and the Heartless... Then, if Oryth fights, we will surely lose. I can't make anything else out of this."

[nascent]

"Yeah... sadly, I already figured that much." Hades answered. He proceeded to crack his knuckles. "Unfortunately for the universe at large, though, I don't believe in no-win scenarios. Fates be ****ed!"

He stood up, gesturing dramatically as he spoke. "I know one thing for sure, kid: nothing ventured, nothing gained. Sitting on our rumps ain't gonna save jack-squat, and this ain't the first time I've been in a battle with supposedly 'unbeatable' odds. You think the Titans were pushovers? HAH! Those freaks had more power than you could shake Mount Olympus at! But in the end, who won the Titanomachy?"

Walking over to the window, Hades looked out upon the gloom and doom of death itself -- his dominion. "Take it from someone with eons of experience: when the rubber meets the road, almost nobody's willing to just roll over and die. Every living soul, immortal or not, knows what it means to fight to the last!" He turned to Dante. "We ain't beat! Not yet! We can't be the only ones willing to stand up to this guy, so we'll rally whoever's willing to fight and take him head on!"

Hades clenched one fist in determination. "You with me?"

[Dante]

The warrior grinned. He copied Hades' final hand gesture and looked in his direction. "Why wouldn't I be? Lets take this guy down!" They were finally getting somewhere that led to some action. There wasn't a doubt in Dante's mind that him and Hades would win this. You've got one undead overlord and a teen that had control over Darkness; What else could you ask for? Not to mention all of the others who are prepared to stand and fight alongside the two.

"There's no turning back now, so lets do this!"

[OOC: It's short, I know. I haven't been able to reply lately. I've just felt too tired to. Maybe I'm losing the interest in Rp... Meh.]

[nascent]

(OOC: If you need to step out, just lemme know. I know what it's like to get burned out -- give yourself whatever time you need.)


"BINGO! We're gonna win this, and win it BIG!" Hades announced, then folded his arms across his chest. "Unfortunately, we're gonna need as much help as we can get. Especially any heroes we can find... and there's only one place to go if you're looking for heroes."

He cast a sideways glance at Dante. "Ever wanted to see Olympus Coliseum? Well, for today only, all your travel expenses will be covered by me." With that the grim lord walked out the room's front door and, with a snap of his fingers, summoned a winged ebony chariot pulled by a jet-black griffin. Hades stepped in and gestured for Dante to follow.

"Please keep your hands and arms inside the chariot at all times. Exits are directly behind you and anywhere you can jump over. In the event of a water landing you will be expected to swim." He paused, pulling what looked like a small piece of steak out of the folds of his toga and tossing it to the griffin, then added. "Also, do not feed the hellion. Ready to go?"

[Dante]

Dante held his breath, a bit frightened by the chariot that just screamed death in your face. Mixed in with that bit of fear was awe, his eyes wider than a grapefruit as the warrior stared into the eyes of the beast latched onto the terrifying chariot. Senses returned to him when Hades began to adress him. "Uhh... Yeah. Of course!" These words were drizzled with a bit of awkward laughter, but Dante still made his way what you would call a "vehicle" and awaited further orders.

Looking down, Dante could see the abyss that he knew he would be visiting one day. Along with this deadly trench of souls would be Hades, or at least one of his drones, welcoming him, or whatever they did. The Ex-Apprentice would never again come back here as a living person. This thought dawned on him just now and it brought some saddness, because this place was pretty interesting. Much more interesting than what he was used to, at least. "So, Hades. How many monsters do you have at your command? I've seen Pain, Panic, The Fates and now this thing. I was just wondering, that's all, Dante sighed.

[nascent]

As Dante asked his question the griffin reared up, beat its wings, and suddenly shot forward as it pulled the grim chariot into the air. Hades grinned for a moment, then glanced over his shoulder.

"Lemme put it this way: when it comes to monsters, I've got no lack of choices. Living, dead, doesn't matter to me. And before a certain wonder-boy got involved in my affairs, I had quite the force of nasties at my beck and call."

"Ever heard of the Gorgons? Medusa? The Sirens? And let's not forget the Harpies." Hades chuckled. "Yeah, I've got connections. Not as many as I used to... but trust me when I say I've got a big, bad monster with Oryth's name on it."



(OOC: Story continues HERE. This thread is now locked.)