Roleplay:The Cult

his Roleplay is Closed, Sorry!

Overview

Lost in a timeline that is not their own, the Mythic Knights begin an investigation to locate the Reaper , however as the investigation continues, the Mythic Knights learn that not everything is quite what it seem here ,and that those who they have chosen as their allies might possibly be their enemies. In a battle of Order vs Chaos, the Mythic Knights must choose what they value more of in this world.

Involved Chracters

Zero Evol (Neo)

Leah Dubio (Neo)

Paragon (Neo)

Aero Facade (Neo)

Silicon Evol (Neo)

The Reaper (Neo)

The Warlock (Neo)

(Alternate) Zero Evol (Neo)

Lexi Acer (Zap)

Zak the Kirby (Zap)

(Alternate) Zak (Zap)

Part 1: Noble

(As a reminder, Masako still has the on-going Tales Decision. Which will last until the end of this Roleplay. Use it whenever you want, or not at all if you so choose. -Neo)

The Mythic Knights, now joined by Aero Facade, now stand outside of Silicon's building. They find themselves in some strange forum, with groups of people crowded all over. Judging from their clothes, these people appear to be some sort of nobility, or at least are livng the high life in the Black Blood Society.

"Feel free to talk to anyone. The Ace Bloods gossip so much, you might be able to find news anywhere." Aero said.

"Just how big was Visor's death, anyway?" Lexi asked.

"Very." Aero answered. "Visor is considered a hero by the entire Black Blood Society. His death rung out over the entire city before anyone could determine how he died."

"Speaking of which," Leah said. "Can we get a look at the autopsy report?"

Aero quickly pulled a folder out from his coat and handed it to Leah.

The report read that Visor had been killed in his home roughly two days ago. The cause of death was 'near-beheadmeant' and there appeared to be no sign of a struggle. However there was something wrong. Anyone who has been around Zero enough would know that a scythe cuts in an arc, leaving the opening wound in a crescent shape. The report states that the opening wound is a solid line, like that of a sword. The Reaper couldn't have made that cut with a scythe.

Zero seemed confused. "Aero, are you keeping information from us?"

Aero stood up a little straighter, he was silent for a moment before he answered. "Any information that I could tell you, I would."

"Then if it could help us solve this case, why not tell us?" Lexi asked.

"...Do you have any other enemies besides The Reaper?" Masako asks.

(Sorry, I couldn't think of anything to say and college is kicking my ass. -MHS)

(Understandable, college is hard -Neo)

"Besides the Reaper?" Aero pondered. "Not anyone important. I mean there are the other territories sure, but none of them can harm a member of the Black Blood Society. Unless they have Black Blood themselves or have a Celestial Steel weapon, there isn't a thing they can do."

"Well, what're the chances of them having a Celestial Steel weapon?" Zak asked.

"There isn't. There's two Celestial Steel weapons still around, the sword and the scythe. Reaper has the scythe, and the sword was last used by the Mad King." Aero explained.

"I'm not ready to rule anyone out just yet. Looking at these reports, Visor must have allowed them into his home... which means it had to have been someone he trusted," Masako claimed.

"In any case," Zero said. "Let's get started."

The Mythic quickly began to make their way through the forum, whether by evesdropping on conversations or by joining them, no one seemed to have any leads to give. They knew almost as little as the knights themselves.

However by some strange amount of luck, they did discover something of interest. It seems as though there is a 'light' unaccounted for.

Upon meeting back up with one another, they began to share their information.

"What exactly is a light?" Leah asked.

"A Light Joker." Aero explained. "Joker bloods are very volatile and unstable. Most of them supress their Black Blood and a Light Joker. If one of them fails, they become a Dark Joker, unstable and unfit to continue living."

"So, do you think you a Dark Joker had something to do with Visor's death?" Zeor asked.

"Doubtful, Visor was part of the Mad King's personal squadron, if anyone should have been able to kill a Dark Joker, it'd be him." Aero said.

"But that looks to be the only lead we have." Leah told them.

"Well, before now, we didn't even know where to start lookin', so that's a win in my book," Natalie said.

"We basically have no other form of information." Zero pushed. "Take us to the temple."

"..." Aero responded with nothing and walked away from the group.

"Don't walk away from us!" Zero told him.

"None of you are of any help. I'll solve this myself." Aero said simply.

Zero reached out, grabbing Aero by the back of his shirt and punching him in the jaw. His mask flew up and landed on the ground beside him.

Aero had golden fur with deep blue eyes. A large scar on the side of his cheek took some fur, but for the most part he was a handsome young man.

"This is our job now." Zero said simply. "You'll let us do this."

Zak would immediately know that something was wrong. As he saw a very long time ago back in Station Square, he, Zapor, Leo, Echo, Leah and Aero had worked together to solve a crime (A Childish Venture, if you recall). Back then, Zak would have seen that Aero had green fur, not yellow. Knowing that a Mobian's fur couldn't be dyed like hair, that would mean that this man; Aero Tranquil, was not Aero Facade.

"Wait a minute...Aero Facade has green fur. You aren't Aero!" Zak said.

Aero gave a very heated glare to Zak, then scooped his mas up. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"They're...not the same...?" Paragon asked.

"A while back, Aero helped me, Zapor, and a couple of others solve a crime. When he took his mask off, he had green fur, not yellow. And his eyes were a different color too." Zak told Paragon.

(Oh yeah. I really liked that one. I think Leo might be dead though.)

"So who are you, really?" Zero asked.

"Listen, I have no idea what the hell you are talking." Aero told them. "But in case you have forgotten, there's a murderer out there that needs to be stopped. So either you can come with me, or I'll do it on my own and leave you stranded here."

Lexi sighed. "He has a point. Whatever basis you have, it might have to wait until after we find this murderer."

While all of this was happening, Masako had other things on her mind.

She needed to get Zero alone with her.

"Fine." Zero huffed. "Lead the way then."

Part 2: Monk

Finally, the Mythic Knights had been taken to a very large monastery, with several gold and red colors adorning the walls and pillars. Several of the monks wore different color gi's, red, orange, and purple. The atmosphere here was completely different. Everything was calm and serene, the people sat in quiet meditation. A much older bear mobian approached the group as soon as they entered. "Ah, welcome." He said in a tranquil voice.

"We're looking for someone." Aero said quickly. "By chance would you know about a missing Joker blood?"

"Missing?" The man asked. "No, I don't believe we know of anyone like that."

"Have you seen anything strange then?" Aero asked.

"Strange? Well, perhaps.." The man said. "Recently, we have noticed some mobians coming and going from the sewers here."

"The sewers?" Aero asked.

"If I might be so bold, are you working with the other man who asked about this? The one with that scythe?" THe man asked.

"Where did he go?" Aero asked.

"He left for west of here." The man told him.

"You all check the sewers, I'm going after Reaper." Aero quickly pulled his katana out and left.

"Well, isn't that...something?" Paragon said.

"Come on then..." Zero huffed.

Upon entering the sewers, there were three paths to take. One to the left, one in the middle, and one on the right. The group agreed to keep a majority together in the middle, but to send others to the side, leaving Masako, Zero, and Paragon to the left, Lexi and Leah to the right, and the rest in the middle.

(There isn't really much to find in the middle part of the sewer, so that will be happening off-screen.

Part 3 (A): Believers

Zero, Masako, and Paragon walked through the right path, so far nothing of note could be found, and Masako could easily talk to them if she wanted to. Though Paragon was there, it has been established that he can be trusted.

With Paragon around, however, Masako found it difficult to determine if this was the right time to tell Zero about her discovery. Instead, she started asking other questions to pass the time. "So, Paragon. What was that back there when Reaper attacked? You were like a man possessed."

"O-oh...um...well...that was a...something..." Paragon said.

"Yeah, it was something, you were awesome back there!" Zero tried to cheer Paragon up.

The wolf seemed to perk up a little at that. "I...uh...the words that Reaper said were...familiar..."

(I'm so bad at this... -MHS)

"Familiar... how?" Masako made a sudden realization. "Tell me everything. We might get closer to figuring out who Warlock really is."

"Well..." Paragon took a breath. "I'm from Soleanna. There isn't really a lot of equal rights between Mobians and Humans. My family was blamed for a crime that the governor had commited, and as a result...they were executed...I was out of the town at that time, and came back to see my dad being beheaded. Instead of helping them, I ran away..."

"...I'm sorry to hear that. That must have been before OmegaCorp ordered the night raids." Masako shakes her head. "Anyway, where did you hear those words before?"

"That was what the executioner said before-" Paragon started to say.

As the group progressed, the came to a large drop int the sewers, revealing a large open room, with church pews lined up all to face a portrait of Mad King Zero. Candles were lit all over the long halls, and people in robes gathered around the picture. It looked like they were just beginning their worship.

Masako puts her fingers to her forehead, and took a deep sigh. "...Zero. I think it's time you knew something about this world."

"What is this?" Zero asked. "You knew? And you didn't tell me?"

Masako shakes her head. "Not in front of the entire group. If anyone needs to be the first to know, it should be you. So, you wanna know why they call you 'Mad King Zero' in this world?"

"Yeah, since they look like they're worshipping me!" Zero urged.

Masako nods. "Under Silicon's leadership, the Black Blood Society is more akin to a fanatical cult, worshipping the image of a murderer... a man with nothing left to lose." She sighs. "I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm simply telling you what I found when I briefly peeled away from the group."

"That puts a new perspective on things..." Zero was very obviously creeped out.

"W-we should stop them..." Paragon noted.

"We could, but then we risk losing our only way back home," Masako said. "Not everything has an alternative solution."

"Perhaps not, but these people are worshipping a false messiah!" Zero urged. "We can't just...

"I-I...G-Guys!" Paragon said, very startled.

Paragon pointed out that the group had dragged a cross out into the room, with Aero nailed to it. There was notably a hole in his stomach.

Zero recognized the tactic used on Aero, he had learned while he worked for A.R.T.E. It was a wound from a heated bullet, that would cauterize any wound it made. The shot was aimed at a location that would cause no pain to the victim, but would disable them from the waist down. Often it was a tactic used to keep the victim alive but subdued, only for them to be tortured later.

Part 3 (B): The Castle

Leah and Lexi at first, found nothing in the tunnels of the right path, but after some time, the two found something very strange under the ground, a large white castle entrance was sitting in the middle of a large room. It seemed at first that only the first floor was there, but upon closer inspection there was a strange magical outline to the building. A large clock hung above the main entrance, currently set to Midnight, and looking as  though it was stuck there.

"This is...void magic..." Leah said.

"What does void magic have to do with the building?" Lexi asked.

"I'm not sure..." Leah looked over it.

There was something about the building that would have been almost mezmerizing to Lexi. Something that was drawing her to open the door.

Lexi, seemingly mesmerized by the building, opened the door.

Upon opening the door, Lexi would find a pure white room, with no real discernable features, white tiled floor with white walls and a white ceiling. At the end of the room was a white staircase leading somewhere higher up. In the middle of the room however was something of interest. Sitting there was an unconscious Treasure, Lexi's sister.

Lexi soon made her way up the stairs and saw her unconscious sibling. "Sis?" She quickly ran to her and knelt down, gently shaking her. "Tori? Tori, it's me, Alexis! Tori!"

Upon getting in close contact with her, Lexi would find that Treasure had disappeared. Faded, like she was a mirage. Standing now in front of the stairs was a man in dark grey rags with silver eyes. He was the figure from before.

"Your heart is burning..." He reminded Lexi.

"Your the guy from earlier." Lexi said.

The man gestured to where Treasure was. "Her soul is a crater. It is empty, hollow, in need of some purpose. He will choose to fill it." Large amount of Black Blood oozed out of the man's hand, forming a puddle on the floor. "She is led by a feeling of dread, it molds her path, scarring her at every turn. She will fall to him. She will become trapped in a place much like this. You must choose to enter it. Only a burning heart can rescue the empty princess."

"But you cannot be alone." In almost an instant, the man was now inches behind Lexi. "Your path is dark, twisted, you too will fall. Your path needs a light. A living spirit who knows the cards, the cards that represent life. The cards that so many moons ago, man entrusted their fate into."

"But of course, you might be wondering, why are you here?" The man returned to the stairs. "You hold a unique gift, Alexis Acer. Most of your peers have accepted their destinies, but you hold the unique ability to choose. To choose your fate, no matter what may come." The man slowly presented a deck of blue cards. "Do you believe in Fortune Telling?"

"Uh, sure. It doesn't sound that fake." Lexi answered.

The man shuffled the deck and laid several cards onto the floor. "Each reading is done with the same cards, but the result is always different..." He mumbled to himself. "Such is the way of life, such is the way of your life."

"I will flip five cards to read your fortune," The man explained to Lexi. "After that, I will flip a final card, one that represents you."

"The Tower, in the upright position, represents the near future. It would seem that a horrifying catastrophe is imminent, and you will not be able to stop it, all you can do is try to lighten the load that it may carry."

"The card proceeding that is...The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents Mystery and hesitation. It seems that you will have a mystery to solve, but the solution is not a pleasent one."

"The next card is Temperence, in the reverse position. This card represents relationships, family, friends, lovers, and collegues. In the reverse position, it represents a falling out, and a feeling of isolation."

"The Empress, in the reverse position. This card represents attention, and someone of importance watching. This is attention that you do not want, and should not want. What could this possibly mean?"

"The Fool, in the reverse position. This card represents some sort of change. In the reverse position, it means a change that is coming whether you want it to, or not, it will happen, and you may resist."

The man sat up a little more. "It would seem that in the coming days, something horrible is about to happen. It will be a mystery to you, one that you will need to solve. The solution though, may not be good. You will have to make a decision, and the choice you make will disrupt your relationship with others, friends and collegues. They will leave you, and you will be alone for some time. You will gain attention by...possibly two others. One that you do not want, and one that you should not want. Finally, a change will come because of your actions. Something that you may want or something you may not want will happen. It will be a great change, one that you cannot stop. You simply must let it happen."

Lexi could already guess that horrible event that would soon happen would be a death of presumably someone close to her, though she strongly wanted to avoid that death, but what about the other things she was told. "Well, what mystery do I have to solve, and who's attention do I not want?"

"It is impossible to say for certain. I am not a resident of this place, I am merely a guest, only those few living spirits have enough clarity to see with certainty." The man said. "The Death card was not drawn, however, so the mystery does not involve death. Perhaps there will be a missing person?" He asked. "Or, is there already a missing person?"

"A missing...? Wait, Kala. Kala's missing!" Lexi said.

A creepy smile grew on the man's face, not that Lexi could see it. "Of course, that is only one theory. It is possible that the mystery could involve something else entirely. An item, a situation, anything is possible." The man drew three more cards, laid them out and flipped each over. "This first one represents you, the second represents the Living Spirit, and the third represents the Mystery. Let us see if we can narrow down what will happen."

"You are represented by the Knight of Swords, in the upright position. This card represents activity, accomplishment, travel, and energy. It represents good news, and brings with it a good future. Staying true to your beliefs and values is important. Stay vigilant, and don't let yourself be tricked. This card can also represent being cheated and lied to, it is possible that someone will be trying to disrupt your mystery."

"The next card is the Page of Pentacles, in the upright position. This card represents lazy-thinking, and boredom. However this card can also represent focus, and courage. The living Spirit may be bored or lazy when you first meet them, but once given a task, they will focus on it, and may give you the courage you need to continue your journey."

"The card representing the mystery is...oh dear..." The man looked at the last card inquisitvly. "The Queen of Wands..." He paused for a moment. "This card represents multiple things...in terms of a person, it represents a woman, someone of higher power who you may look up to, possibly a friend or a sister.  Someone who may appear to be self-absorbed but is completely on your side."

The man looked up at Lexi. "If it's not a person, it represents Fire, War and Death."

"A woman who's self absorbed but on my side?" Lexi thought aloud. "And if not, war and death...."

"This mystery could represent a series of Arson cases." The man suggested. "Unless you can think of a woman like that in your life, I would plan for the worst Burning Heart."

Lexi thought about it for a moment. "I mean, I have an idea on who it could be, but it's only a small hunch."

"No matter what your hunch is, it will happen soon." The man reminded Lexi. "And it's all tied to this place. The Living Spirit, the Empty Princess, the Burning Heart, and this Castle."

"Speaking of this place, what is this place supposed to be?" Lexi asked.

"A place between mind and matter. This is Midnight Castle, a place outside of your dimension, in something called the Void." The man told Lexi. "To put it quite simply; this place takes the memories of those who dwell inside it, and makes them into their reality."

"Makes people's memories into reality?" Lexi repeated.

"Indeed." The man told Lexi. "If you were to ascend to the floors above, you would find that most floors are based on the memories of people who have been here before. The way someone remembers something can be different from the way that something actually happened."

Lexi took a moment to think about what he said, and looked up the stairs. "Has my sister been in here before?"

"Here?" The man asked. "No. There is not a single person who you know who has been here. Whether they have been in a place similar to this, I can not say. I am no resident of this place, only a guest."

"You are not from here, are you Burning Heart?" The man asked. "No, our Burning Heart is not you. This is not the castle that will exist in your world. There will be a different castle, it will be exactly like this one, and yet completely different."

"Alright...while we're on the subject of your 'Burning Heart', where is she?" Lexi asked.

The man gave a small laugh. "I killed her."

Lexi's eyes opened wide and her expression quickly changed. "I'm sorry, you did what?"

"I don't expect you to fully understand, nor do I expect forgiveness." The man told Lexi. "Some time ago I fell into a maddened state due to the loss of my love. I was furious at everything, at the world, at myself, at Destruction. I fell into madness and kill thousands of people. Our Burning Heart stood up to me, and I killed her. Once Destruction was dead, I finally realized what I had done." The man raised his hood down finally revealing his face. His blue fur was unkempt, his hair was long and clearly needed some grooming, his face was weathered and old, but it still looked like him. This was Mad King Zero.

"Z-zero?!" Lexi gasped. "You're the hooded guy?"

"I am me, if that is what you mean." The Mad King told Lexi.

"But.. I don't get it. What are you doing in here?" Lexi asked.

"Waiting for you." He said. "My world is dying, and no matter what happens, in a few years we will all be dead. Nothing matters anymore." Mad King raised his hand up to his sword and pulled it out, dragging it as he walked toward Lexi, towering over her now. "You don't know what I've done, what I will do. You've never watched what happens when someone's life drains from their bodies, watching the horror of their faces, the cacophany of their screams as they plead for their lives. Nothing you ever do will make this world better. Nothing you do will ever change a thing about this world, where everything is set up against you. It. Doesn't. Matter. But you know what?" Mad King kneeled before Lexi. "I can take as many of these fuckers out as I want. And that feels good." It was clear that there was something wrong with Mad King Zero, he was, well, mad.

"How far would you go to save your sister?" Mad King asked. "Would you burn a town for her life? Would you steal from the sick? Would you kill a man? Would you kill a friend? In your world, the Empty Princess is a light in the darkness, one needed to defeat your Destruction, but how far will you go to save her life? What would you do if it meant you needed to kill someone you knew?"

(Not really a Tales Decision but; Would Lexi kill a Mythic Knight to save Treasure's life? -Neo)

"Kill someone I know...?"Lexi muttered. She wanted to save Treasure a lot, but deep down, she knew she wouldn't be able to push herself to kill one of her friends. Everyone on the team were almost like family, and she couldn't bring herself to intentionally harm any of them. "N-no! I won't kill any of them because I know it won't come to that!"

"And if it does?" Mad King asked. "You cannot save everyone. You are a group of children, some of you haven't even completed school yet, and yet you believe that you can somehow make it with no one dying? You are more foolish than I believed. Not even I could save everyone and I had years of experience."

"Then I...then..." Lexi uttered. She held her head low. "I.....won't be able to save her then..." Lexi uttered quietly.

"Pathetic." Mad King raised his sword to Lexi's cheek. "Do you realize what you are saying? Your world has something incredibly more powerful than anything we have! A weapon designed to kill Destruction, and you're just going to let her die? Your friends are expendable, you are expendable! The only people who matter are the seven lights in the darkness! If any of them die, then your world will die just like mine has! So, let me ask you once again; will you kill your friends, to save your world?"

Lexi shuddered and pushed the sword away from her cheek. "Nngh..Fine, I'll do it!"" She shouted.

"Good..." Mad King put the sword on his back again. "Because it might come to that."

"So, if it does happen to come to that, who will I have to...?" Lexi asked.

"The reaper." Mad King said. "The phoenix, the experiment, the betrayer, the knave, the spy...the mage. It does not matter if they all need to die, or if only some need to die. They are unimportant. If they stand in the way of the light, you must strike them down. If you fail to stop them, than you are damning the lives of countless people. Families, children, everyone is gone." Mad King stood up. "We're done here, burning heart." Mad King walked through the front door, out of the castle.

But Lexi was not done here yet.

Something was drawing her upwards, something dark, primal, and sinister. Yet something about it felt very important.

Something was telling her to keep going, something important. Lexi continued upwards to see what it was.

The stairs felt as though the lasted forever, constantly circling around until finally they lead up to a small room. A few couches sat in one corner, while a desk sat opposite to the them. At the other end of the room was a door, begging Lexi to be opened.

However strange whispers echoed around Lexi. Some of them understandable.

"How do you tell someone you like them? More than a friend, I mean."

"Literally no one could take me down."

"Stalk her, but don't cause her any harm. Got it."

"I'll take everything from them."

"Why is everything burning?"

"It's my fault this happened."

"I don't want to be mean, but someone needs to drive them forward."

"If I die, I don't have to expire."

"I just want you to be proud of me."

"No one should have to go through what I did."

Lexi heard the whispers, but shook her head and stared at the door. She moved across the room towards the door on the other end and opened it.

Upon opening the door Lexi found herself in the woods. There wasn't a single cloud in the bright blue sky. The woods were particularly familiar. Upon turning around, Lexi would instantly recognize where she was. In front of her was Station Square. Not some dark, destoryed version, or some fake evil version, the real Station Square. Full of people driving, or walking down the busy roads, the hum of chatter from people sitting in the nearby cafes, the familiar scent of coffee. Hart's coffee shop actually wasn't that far, Lexi could clearly see Hart pouring cups as carefully as possible. Sitting in a chair talking to Hart was another familiar face. Fey was there.

"How do you tell someone you like them?" She asked Hart. "More than a friend, I mean?"

Hart gave Fey an estranged look.

"Oh don't look at me like that." Fey told him. "You should know who I'm talking about."