"Where Ahm Ay?" (Open House)

[Fainis the Sadistic Pansexual]

"Oh, I don't know who replaced me. I was shooed out before they had decided on that, but last I heard there were whispers about adopting a democracy." The demon guffawed. "Please. Like that'll ever work. As to who was behind my exile, it was, well.. everyone, I'm afraid. I'm sorry to say that my people are not at all as civilized as myself and not as willing to let go of grudges as Flor here, so when our invasion of Earth failed, they blamed me. Not entirely falsely, mind you, it was my miscalculation of the human's abilities that ultimately lead to our defeat, but that was hardly the only reason."

"Damn right, he miscalculated," muttered Oscar to Alex under his breath. The titanoologist merely continued looking confused.

"You see," continued Dar. "Our world... the Outer World.... is a microdimension that exists between several larger planes of existence. Since it is technically comprised of shed portions of these larger worlds... that is why I hold such a close resemblance to what the human would call a 'demon' and why Fainis is a giant hound, yet both of us have innate magical abilities that are from other places... their basic makeup share similarities and too much interaction brings on the risk of permanent connection. Becoming trapped, if you will, to one world or another. We have existed for eons floating between these worlds by spacing out our visits to them. Outer Worlders as a whole are excellent warriors, but poor craftsmen. We must steal to uphold a proper society, I'm afraid. But, during Fainis's rule, we became anchored to Earth. I will not say that it was her fault alone, because it was not, but she certainly did not help by visiting Earth so often and mingling the base essences of the two realities. This caused our people to become angry with her and, despite how much they feared her, they eventually revolted. I lead them. Once she was cast out, I became king and began work on a way to free us, using portals and long-range teleportation spells as a substitute for free motion in the mean time. The only permanent solution I could find was to go to Earth and literally detach ourselves. The 'tethers' holding our worlds together were physical places: the places that Fainis had frequented when she was queen. The plan was to destroy these places... as well as make up for all the looting that we had missed out on while trapped- and then leave. The humans interfered. With Fainis disappeared... to here it seems... along with other powerful guardians like Quetzar and Kedos missing, we believed that victory would come easily. We were wrong. The humans, lead by our very own Oscar and his mechanical stead, repelled us and I suffered the same fate as Fainis when I could not answer the rage of my people."

A feral growl came from Flor. Turning his head to her, Dar chuckled. "I suppose you're right. It was the fate I earned myself. Still, you have to realize, old girl, it truly wasn't personal. I was merely doing what had to be done to get what I wanted." The dark eyes of the demon glinted. "Knowledge. My people are not curious ones. They do not wonder and want. Seizing the throne was the only way I could ensure that learning would not become stagnant in the Outer World. But here... here where worlds intersect and cross... I do not think anything like that will be necessary. I do not need to search for knowledge here, to hunt for it, to steal might for it. I only need to let it find me. I can tell already... these halls are brimming with knowledge. The knowledge of infinite worlds."

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

The voice- obviously belonging to Persephone- rang loud and angry, but also from a distance, and was soon replaced by footsteps. Having apparently had a run in with the disgruntled Queen of Hell, a short blonde woman appeared from around a corner and stopped dead when she saw the gathering that she had walked into. Her eyes grew wide when she saw Alex and Oscar and even wider when she saw Dar.

"Sam?" asked the two men as one, one voice purely joyful, one half-hesitant and half-hopeful.

"What is this place?" asked the woman in a deep, unamused tone. Her voice was thick and husky, though not necessarily unfriendly or hostile. "And why the hell is he here?"

"It's a... long story," replied Alex slowly. He ran his hands over his curly hair and shrugged. "Er, two long stories really."

"Quite," agreed Dar with a smirk.

[OmegaBearBeast]

As Persephone trudged off angrily, looking behind her to shoot an angry stare at the group she was leaving, she failed to notice the air growing distinctively warmer. She stopped cold when she turned around, coming to a halt as she noticed a pair of clawed, armored feet planted just a dozen of meters in front of her. She, of course, recognized them, and her rage only amplified. This was one of the monsters that had recently mauled her, and one of the titans that had conquered the Contender match for the Tag Team. Kitamura was out for a stroll in the Hub after training before the upcoming Tag Team match.

The Fire Master was not accompanied by Isaarker, as she had told him to stay with her cubs - they were more important than her if anything happened. The ursine had heard Persephone's previous shouting, but did not recognize the voices of anyone she was talking with.

Persephone's teeth bared in an enraged grimace. With her normal size, Big Mamma Bear - standing a tremendous 130 meters tall - was even more towering. More intimidating. Her tiny green gaze was looking right back at the High Queen of Hell's. There was no malice in her, but the same could not be said about Persephone.

"NOW DON'T YOU SAY A DAMN THING, YOU STUPID BEAR!"

With this, she continued stomping forward, leaving Kit raising a spiked eyebrow.

"Wow..." the old mamma bear said at the intention of the group Persephone had just left behind, her deep voice reverberating in both the walls and the people's chests.

"I wasn't even tryin' ta tick 'er off!"

[The Merry Lambfish]

While the rest of the group had been conversing, Kadru seemed to have vanished without a word. Conversation was not on her list of priorities right now; and no way in hell was she going to lose Persephone this time. Sweeping underneath the huge mass of Kitamura, Kadru silently followed Persephone's trail. She wasn't going to let the egotistical bitch out of her sight.

____________________________

Soon another pair of eyes found the gathering of humans and demons. She remained hidden from sight, tucked away in a shadowy corner, concealed within the protective embrace of darkness. Recognizing the curly chestnut hair of Alex instantly, she felt the soothing feel of relief wash away the grip of fear she had felt since Orsa's rampage. He was safe.

With this knowledge secure, the tight grip of fear returned, but this time it was for her own safety. She vanished into the darkness itself, away from the group, and the only thing to suggest she had ever been there was the subtle flicker of shadows.

[Tenshi the Sunkern]

With the two delusional crazies and the Ophorus gone, Mima sighed. Oh well. There went tonight's main portion of humor. But with Kitamura here, she let a genuine smile on her face. the bear had a talent to fight, and as far as the ghost knew, she was a damn good one at that. Not to mention her little skirmish with Yuuka in the forest. Few people could just warp in, trash her, and warp out like that... but the bear definitely had things going for her. "Of course you weren't, Kitamura. But it seems Persephone is in a very bad mood. I'd recommend ignoring her and just focusing on what is going on now. A pleasure to meet such a fine specimen of a monster as yourself."

With that, she turned back over to Dar. "I see. Such history in war and politics can be rather chaotics. I'd know that better than most, since I myself have suffered losses during a particularly long war that I staged. It was fun while it lasted, but the end result was I am now a mere shadow of the being I once was..." And with that, her eyes drifted over to Sam. "And definitely no longer among the living or youthful."

[Fainis the Sadistic Pansexual]

"Yeah, don't worry about it," said Oscar only somewhat warily after being assured by Alex that Kitamura was okay. "Ay just got here, but something tells me that yah don't hafta be tryin' to get on that one's nerves. Hell, she was jus' one big ol' nerve herself, exposed to the world and hurtin'. Almost feel sorry for 'er if she wasn't bein' such a brat about it."

Sam, no stranger to the weird and wonderful, yet still not at all a fan of them, sneered back at Mima in what seemed to be a fair impersonation of Flor and her animal snarl. "What a shame," she mused slowly and without any compassion in her voice. "It seems that failure finds itself then."

Dar smiled easily. "It would seem so, my dear, although that there is a certain liberation in losing, isn't there? Look at the three of us." He gestured to Flor, Mima, and himself. "All on the losing sides of one war or the other and yet all free of care and worry. It seems the most successful of us demon types has just stormed off in frustration, so I suppose that says something about the true value of winning."

[OmegaBearBeast]

The Martial Master's smirk enlarged slightly, her lips drawing over ivory fangs. She acknowledged the words given to her with a nod, before she introduced herself properly.

"Ye can call me Kit. Heh. Not much folk know how ta pronounce m'full name properly anyways."

While she figured that she was at least known by some, she wanted to introduce herself formally. Her fist clenched, raising her armor plates up; the motion, usually an aggressive one, took some of the individuals in the group aback, but Kit meant no harm. Before anyone could comment, she slammed her fist into her open palm of the opposite hand in front of her chest. A jet of flames sparked between her paws and traveled throughout her forearm, and she followed this by bowing deeply. The distance between her and the group was enough for her to display a bit of her firebending without harming anybody - she had not just introduced herself by name, but also shown parts of who she was; her sense of honor, her affinity with fire and hinting at martial arts.

"Likewise, youn' lady," the grandmaster said at Mima's intention, her telepathic voice sounding like thunder. "I like meetin' new faces. Shame I don' have much time, though. Tag Team in just a bit, ya see."

[Fainis the Sadistic Pansexual]

Alex spoke out now, shouting up to Kitamura with a smirk. "Go easy on our Quetz now! He can be a bit prickly, but he's a good guy. Or, erm, a good alien... dragon... thing. No, no, wait, he gets offended whenever we call him a dragon." The man shrugged sheepishly. "Well, whatever he is, he's a good one of them is what I'm trying to say. So don't tie him in a knot too hard, huh?"

"A tournament, you say?" asked Dar with a thoughtful stroke of his thin, pale face. The demon had apparent retaken his human shape while attention had been shifted away from him. "Interesting... I shall be watching closely then." Flor growled from behind him, his hazel eyes shinning meanly. "Oh," the devil in man's skin sung with a laugh. "You have a title to defend yourself? Busy, busy. From one throne to another."

He chuckled. "Just don't lose it this time."

A blow to the back of his head sent him flying fifteen feet forward, his body spinning limply through the air before he crashing to the ground in a tangle of long, bony limbs. Despite the unnatural way his arms and legs were bent together, he only laughed. Not even the mean, rueful laugh that Fainis or Kedos sometimes let out, but bright, genuinely laughter from his gut. His body was also miraculously free of blood to boot.

"Okay, okay," he relented. "I deserved that."

[Tenshi the Sunkern]

Mima shook her head at Dar getting what he deserved. She knew better than to purposely torment and antagonize someone who could easily do damage to her... which was why she stuck with tormenting Persephone and co. "I know you are busy with what the UCA has planned. Trust me, we all are. Your foes will be doing their best to win, and you shouldn't be holding back either. I can tell you have great potential... I'm rooting for you."

With that, she turned back to the humans and demons. "I wish I could say my loss was a result of my own folly, that it was a mere messup on my part... but really, I was blind sided by things I never thought would happen. I had entire kingdoms, kings and emperors, lords and even gods under my sway, doing my bidding as I staged both sides of the war I started. It was a gamble to proclaim myself the ruler of the earth, to wipe out any who could dare try to harm me.... but in the end, the actions of an outside party were my undoing. Blindsided, and stripped of a true mortal body, here I am, a ghost barred from the Afterlife, still powerful in my own right, but unable to regain the former glory I once wielded..."

[Fainis the Sadistic Pansexual]

Oscar smirked. "Guess we're your outside party then, eh there, Red?"

Smiling, Dar picked himself up off the ground and wiped the dust from the shoulder of his suit with a flattened array of pale, bony finger. "Yes," mused the fallen demon lord. "Something like that I suppose, but if you'd really like to assign glory to the forces that helped you repel us, then you must paid the most mind to all the giant creatures that arose from the wood works to trump us. Aberrations, I believe you call them locally? I must say, it was quite remarkable. We were aware that a few of them were allied with you and even foresaw the cooperation of our former queen with your forces, but to think that so many wild beast coordinated themselves to save their home: well, it was simply incredible. I mean, I certainly didn't think as much at the time, but it is not a fact to be glossed over now."

"Ah," chuckled Alex. This was his territory now. "So that's what did you in. First Strider, then you." He elbowed Oscar with a cheeky grin. "And to think some of us don't like monsters."

The bigger man scoffed. "Oy, I did all the real work. The beasties jus' took out the small fry that I couldn't bother with."

"I'd hardly consider some of the greatest warriors and generals that the Outer World has the offer to be, 'small fry,'" drawled Dar dryly.

Before Oscar could shoot back a response, Flor straightened herself with a low growl, silencing all conversation. The enormously tall woman began walking silently away, brushing shoulders with Dar and Oscar as she did. The demon in human form only smirked as he was shoved aside by the much larger frame of the other Outer Worlder, but Oscar was seized by a shiver of equal fear and rage that materialized as a breathy sneer across his reddened cheeks. As the woman walked, her sour mood seems to evaporate and a broad, murderous smile that showed all her perfectly white teeth formed. She let out a canine huff of laughter. Her pale eyes glowed yellow and her outline seemed to stretch and swell subtly. A bolt of raw arcane expression tore through the shape of Flor, making her body burst and become replaced by the slinking form of Fainis.

Without a sound, crazed grin still present, the chimeric hound sunk into her own shadow and vanished with a ripple of darkness.

"Oh, leaving so soon?" pouted Dar. "Boo! We had just begun to have fun." He crossed his arms and sighed ruefully. "You know, she used to be far more talkative, but far as I've heard she hasn't said two words since being cast from the Outer World. In fact, I think it might have been her expulsion itself that quieted her. I'm afraid that the little world-of-mouth campaign that I launched against her in the final days of the rebellion might have have made the spoken word taste bitter on her tongue. She was always a queen of action rather than diplomacy anyway, but at least she used to be good for conversation. Now it's like talking to a brick wall. Shame, she had such interesting- if archaic and brutish- things to say."

"Of course," said Sam slowly with fists clenched tight. "That's how she could always disappear into cities even when we had eyes on her. We were looking for her teleportation trick while she was using a different one entirely. Clever bitch..."

[OmegaBearBeast]

"I appreciate it, young 'un." the blue bear addressed to the intention of Mima, nodding slightly in recognition.

"And ya dun have to worry about me slackin' off in battle. Heh, I was born ta fight! An enemy holds back on me, I get disappointed. Friendly bouts are fine, but there are none here. I'm glad my foes are healed after battle, though. I already dislike fighting for entertainment, but killing for it is even worse. Back home, we Beasts only killed when necessary. Fought when necessary. Of course, I'd much rather be back there than bein' housed here, having to fight in some 'Tag Team Championship'..."

Her thoughts turned to Colossus - had it created new Beasts to protect it in she and the rest of the Beasts' absence? Before she could follow this with something else, an announcement sounded, halting her train of thought. Kit's muzzle raised.

"Requesting presence of subject "Kitamura" for the Tag Team Championship. Step on the telepad for transport if you need it."

"Speakin' a which... I'd better get movin'. Another time, perhaps."

As soon as her massive paws stepped on the telepad, the old Fire Master was engulfed in a flash of electronic light. When it faded, the mamma bear's form was gone.