Ortu Diabolus(Open)

[rob]

It was all a nightmare...

A nightmare he could never wake up from, the words she whispered still echoing in his mind like a repeating chorus that broke his soul each and every time... 'Sparda... Sparda where are you? I need you.' Each time the entire scene would play out in his mind, the sounds of lightning cracking against his sons. It destroyed the devil who hung chained to an obelisk for all to see within the Netherrealm. Most would think him a corpse of a mere human being who had ventured too far. Thousands of years had passed, and they were none too kind. Though the Netherrealm nourished him it didn't do much to slow the passage of time. His once clean cut, white hair now dirtied and tangled hanging past his feet.

The once bare, strong chin now covered in a full beard that reached past his solar plexus that was pierced by his three blades. 'Sparda...' There was a call to him from his wife, he told himself to ignore it. His mind playing tricks on him, even after so many years had passed but didn't. Something was different, it was possibly the warmth he felt or maybe even the brilliant golden glow he had been seeing out of the corner of his eye that seemed to uplift his shattered soul? Nevertheless he slowly lifted his head, his neck creaking. The act of the stiff muscles becoming used again after so many years caused a small wince of pain before shock over took his body.

"E..Eva?"

Before him, from the shining golden light stood the figure of his long lost wife. So long had it been since he last laid eyes on her that just her beauty alone caused tears to swell within his eyes and his dry voice to crack even worse as he tried to speak her name. Her straight, golden locks of hair gingerly caressing her shoulders. A vibrant red scarf draped over her shoulders to cover her features that the black turtle neck sweater she always wore did little to hide. 'Sparda...' Her alluring voice a musical chorus within his ears once more. 'Sparda honey. It's time to get up.' Sparda's head dropped back into the same hung position. "But I... I failed, I was able to defeat him... but... I couldn-" A ghostly index finger pushed softly against his cracked, bloodied lips hushing him softly with a faint cooing. 'That doesn't matter anymore, you tried. That's what matters. But now...' Her finger slid away from his lips which had been healed by her spectral touch, replaced by her long missed lips.

When the kiss was broken, Eva spoke once again, finishing her sentence as he would feel refreshed. His strength regained. 'Genesis needs you. The Netherrealm has broken free and none have been able to stop them. They need you Sparda. Genesis needs it's Legendary Dark Knight once again.' Her final words, the glow was fading as was her image. "Eva! Don't go!" Sparda began to struggle against the chains that held him in place, 'Goodbye my love... no matter what, we love you.[/color]' A deep throated roar rushed from Sparda's throat the metal of the chains stressing and screeching before finally popping as Sparda had feed himself. "Eva!" A firm hand gripped Rebellion grunts of agony and pain rose up from the devil before he released the blade from his chest.

His regenerative abilities kick started, healing the thousand year old wound. The sword hit the ground below with a loud thunk before the Force Edge, Yamato, and the devil quickly followed. The impact was hard, and he certainly wasn't ready for it, he sat there stunned before slowly, shakily standing. His legs slowly getting used to baring the weight once again... They would need to get used to more in a few minutes. There was a rumble in the sky above him as a rift opened. Plucking the blades from the ground he crouched down, if his strength was really restored... then this shouldn't be to big of a feat for him. He shot out like a rocket, a flash of red and white and his human form was cast aside in replace for the true devil he was.

He had just managed to get through the rift. The fresh, clean night's air greeted him as his feet hit the pavement. The devil was quick to drop to one knee. It would seem not all of his energy was returned to his body just yet... and he had just pushed his limits. The scene around him went black and he soon passed out...

When he came to, his beard was gone along with his extremely long hair. He looked around in confusion, he was resting on a bed somewhere in a house... no one was here though. As he sat up and looked around the room he could see his weapons, nicely sheathed and leaned against the wall closest to the door frame on a table sat a wooden display with his wife's oldest gift sitting inside of them along with a fresh change of clothes. The old demon wasted no time in changing from his rags before opening the case and taking his guns in hand. They had been modified... heavily... His attention was drawn to a sound outside, it wasn't until now that the presence of the Netherrealm was overbearing. Was he in Esscrot? He rammed the firearms into their holsters before quickly closing the distance to his bladed weapons and equipping two of the three swords as Force Edge was now in his hand while he kicked the door from its frame and walked out into the over taken city, looking around for what exactly had made that noise.

[/font]

[Sparda]

The sound outside was a slaughter being brought to the Netherrealm's home turf. The moment Sparda stepped outside, a flaming azure blur shot past him, sweeping through numerous shrieking Lizards and smashing them into the wall of a nearby building. The road milled with masses of seemingly distorted air; cloaked Lizards advancing on the enemy. Just as quickly, the blur of movement danced back across the street, whirling among the gathering fodder as if it could see them perfectly. Rent bodies and fountains of blood were all that was left in its wake.

From the skies descended a squadron of flying demons, screeching shrilly as they dove at the city's assailant. It slowed its movement just long enough for Sparda to glimpse it properly - a towering, armour-clad figure clutching a massive sword - then swept its free hand in front of it, launching a volley of azure bolts of energy that roared upwards towards the fliers, seeking them out and blasting them out of the air.

As the charred corpses thudded to the ground around him, the hulking armoured warrior turned his burning gaze upon Sparda, raising his jagged blade to stare down its length at the Dark Knight.

"Friend or foe?"

[Cap'n Failz]

Amidst the slaughter brought on by the armored juggernaut on the ground below, there was equal chaos and slaughter brought to the air above. A series of glyphs erupted into sight in a zig-zagging formation through a group of winged demons, and a split-second later they simultaneously erupted in a dazzling display of gold and purple energy, shredding and desintegrating the demons caught in the blast with the blast of Order magic.

Through the residual magic haze and dust from the blasts, Doctor Fate shot forth, like a bullet from a gun. Magical flame streamed from the eyes of the Helmet of Fate, aglowing white raidance in stark constrast to the golden helm. He spun about, rocketing backwards in his flight. His left hand came up, and a large glyph formed, at first only the size of his outstretched hand, then rapidly growing until it was twice as large as he was tall. And from this glyph there launched a countless barrage of lance-like blasts fo magic. They speared through all in their path for several dozen meters before dissipating, and the Servant of Order dropped toward the earth below.

His hands lit up with a pulsating aura of gold and violent energy as he touched down, and immediately launched himself into a martial bout with a small group of four of the lizard-like beings. It was over as soon as it started, his magic-imbued hands slicing through the creatures as easily as if they were air. He turned his gaze to spare his ally of the time a searching glance, as well as the one whom he was confronting, before returning his attention to the welcoming committee which had met their arrival. "I can sense no immediate malevolent intent toward either of us from our guest," he began, fending off an attack from a lizard, hurling the creature through a nearby wall. "Though it is difficult to be certain, with all of this hostility about."

[DC Comics]

Thunder interrupted the three conversation as legion of yellow eyes had been watching the prior confrontation between these two warriors and the demon guarding Moon Valley. Rain began to fall from the heavens and wet the ground, the rain coming down gently at first before it grew harder and turned into hail falling upon the Genesis warriors as lightning blasted from the sky and set ablaze the buildings around them. Up ahead the cause of the weather disturbance.

The Prince of Edenia; Rain. Behind him was the Oni, the demonic beings who made up most of the Netherrealm. To his left was the Oni Moloch and to his right, the Oni Drahmin.

"The Legendary Dark Knight Sparda," proclaimed Rain as he took a single step forward from Moloch and Drahmin who stayed at the ready alongside the rest of the Oni. The demons destroyed in the previous slaughter had already returned from the Netherrealm twice as strong as they were before.

"How appropriate that it would be I who comes across you. We'll see what the Queen thinks of me after I bring her your head."

[rob]

"If you need to ask, do you really want to know? I'm on your side for now unless you do something that goes against my code." The entire scene played out slowly before his eyes. Camouflaged reptile humanoids springing into action. Memories of his younger days atop the Temple of the Dark Prince leaped from the back of his mind of how many of these creatures he used to cut down in the past. His body went through the actions it had taken in the past as several revealed themselves and launched their surprise attack.

Force Edge's freshly sharpened blade cleanly swiping through the neck of three who decided to attack his front. There were only three days to deal with demons from the Netherrealm... decapitation, obliteration, or destruction of the heart. Another jumped out from behind, but the creature had already defeated itself as it had speared itself against the Force Edge. The body slid in half under the sharpness of the blade as it's heart was still pierced to the tip of his blade.

A thump, followed by a wet squash and the creature's heart was smashed underneath his foot just as he appeared. A purple and black clad ninja. The outfit was rather entertainingly elaborate, like a Halloween costume. The Devil only chuckled as the being spoke rather imposingly. "You talk big for someone..." An outward hand elaborated what his eyes scanned. "Who's dressed like that." When an oni lashed out as the Legendary Dark Knight, it was quickly struck down by a vicious vertical strike which pulverized the creature more than it cut it.

"I have no time for little children who want to make a name for themselves." His free hand raised to behind his right shoulder ripping Rebellion from its scabbard. "If you wish to die, then all you need to do is step forward and I will happily assist in your suicide." His opponent was carefully placed only two feet outside of Rebellion's range.

[Sparda]

Finally, the captain of the defence decided to rear his head. Demetrios turned, surrounded by the audible pitter-patter of the hail against his armour, and the flames that seemed to make up his eyes narrowed slightly at the tall-talking ninja before them. A trio of oni dashed forward, snarling angrily and swinging their claws at the Dread Seraph; who scowled and swung Diabolus, promptly disintegrating his assailant's bodies with the pressure wave unleashed from his blade.

"Sorry to disappoint you," the Ajerian drawled, stepping forward. "But we'll be taking your head to Quan Chi. Then I'll go right ahead and take his as a personal trophy."

In Doctor Fate's mind, the rasping voice of the Shadow of Darkbroode echoed. "Remember the mission. We'll be better off drawing this out and finishing him inside the Netherrealm to tie all the loose ends at once, rather than killing him off here and risking having to deal with him a second time."

[Cap'n Failz]

The sudden crash of thunder brought the servant of Order to a screeching halt. His gaze whipped around to stare at the source of bizarre energy he could sense as the cause of the sudden disturbance in the weather. Straining to hear the whispering of the Helmet of Fate over the sudden noise of the thunder and rain, his eyes narrowed. This had just become far more interesting than it was mere moments ago.

The newcomer spoke boldly as he made a challenge of a sort. His confidence would seem well-placed, with the allies at his call and his own powers. Doctor Fate could only glimpse the full extent of the powers this man possessed, but he could easily tell he had reason enough to confident in his abilities. It was a misplaced confidence, to be sure, when confronted with the forces arranged before him, but it was justified in a certain sense of the word. He returned his attention to the matter at hand, just as a group of the oni with this new arrival leapt into the fray toward him.

Despite knowing full well that destroying them was a futile excercise, given their ability to simple spawn anew, even more powerful, it was a necessary task. He launched himself at his foes, and at the last instant, his eyes flashed white and he turned transparent, the oni simply passing through him. He whirled about and speared it through with a lance of order magic, and then returned his attention to the battle.

As the voice echoed in his mind, the sorceror's focus momentarily wavered as he listened to the words, before returning outward as he responded in kind. "Yes, I shall not forget. It would be a troublesome task to have to fight such an unduly confident lout more than once. Once is more than enough."

[DC Comics]

Doctor Fate would find himself becoming solid again as soon as he became transparent, not by his own power but by the very realm Genesis was battling against as the second he was corporeal Drahmin's club collided into the ground and sent a powerful shock wave into his path.

Rain and Moloch stepped forward, Moloch going before Demetrios while Rain stood before the Dark Knight himself.

"Now we'll see if the man can live up to the legend."

[rob]

The Devils head shook slowly side to side, "You must have not been in the netherrealm for long... Devils born of the realm always have much more power when in their surroundings than those who have been cursed to the fate of their previous actions." He didn't waste a single second, this person could easily be faster than he lead on. Force Edge was struck into the corrupted soil, a firm reserved grip clutched the hilt of the broadsword.

"Allow me to demonstrate my point you pajama wearing fool." Sparda, and Force edge exploded with violent power that shook the area the two combatants before a amethyst flame erupted around the devil. A flame that was sucked into the blade of his weapon and displaced into the soil. A moment later a violent flash of raw force began to break apart the ground underneath Rain before rising up in a deathly pillar of destruction.

[Sparda]

Demetrios, too, was keeping his mission in mind. The first step would be to link up with the party Kain had sent ahead. They would need to be briefed on the Ajerian's plan, and hopefully enlisted to help him. He could sense a few out-of-place auras that gave away their position, but getting to them with a large and irate oni on his tail would be a hassle.

Still, a hassle he could deal with. Smirking inside his armour, Demetrios raised his off hand and began a slow backstep, beckoning Moloch forward.
"Catch me if you can." With that, the armoured warrior turned and broke into a sprint down the street in the direction of the approaching Kari team, confident Moloch would follow close behind.

[Cap'n Failz]

The disruption of his magic and his return to solidity caught him momentarily offguard. Had he been prepared for the interference of what he recognized almost immediately as the Netherrealm itself, he would have perhaps not so easily been reverted to his corporeal form. In the current case, however, his distraction and surprise was such that he was only just able to thrw out an arm and release a shockwave of raw force of his own, tearing through the ground and air to nullify the one Drahmin released toward him.

He spared a glance to the other warrior that seemed to be on their side, and then to Demetrios. He knew what the armored warrior was planning. They needed to get to this other party already sent here. He let fly a crescent wave of magic toward Drahmin to distract him for a moment before he launched himself backward, hovering swiftly over the ground and toward the Kari team, while keeping his eyes on what could potentially be a very unwelcome obstacle.

[DC Comics]

"I know."

Rain allowed the pillar of destruction to lift him up into the heavens, unphased by the destructive power at his feet and treating it like a real solid pillar while displaying perfect balance. He outstretched his arm into the heavens and grabbed lightning into his bare hands casting it down upon the Legendary Dark Knight's head.

"Good thing I was born in the Netherrealm then."