Vanguard
"It's almost ready..." A hand stroked the glass wall placidly, like a corpse, revealing a hollow stare into the unknown. Whatever was within the glass pulsated, silently, like an alien organism. And yet, it was the most human thing in this room. Unlike the pristine medical room, this laboratory that expanded far below the mountains was a forgotten lair of rust and metal. Unknown, unforgiving, and oh so cruel. But as the tentacles writhed around the room, staring back at the perpetrator with hateful eyes, he felt at home.
"How are you feeling? ...I understand. This prison must feel so restraining. So hateful. I truly understand your pain. How detestable it must be, to look at the world through a screen of glass, unable to do anything. I understand, because I have suffered the same way."
But the corpse didn't move. Even if the remains crowding the laboratory were as lively as ever, the droning of machinery silenced them.
"I understand. As the unused remains to create me, you must feel truly alone. I feel the same way. The difference was that I was chosen, while you were doomed from the beginning. They could never accept you as something that exists. But that is alright. I promise, in my world, I will grant your wish."
His voice bore no emotion, but there was a true infatuation in his words, as if the mass of petrified flesh within the glass container, contorted into these bizarre and inhuman shapes was a true object of affection. Even now, its eyes were still open. But without a proper host, they were no better than those of a corpse. How frustrating, he had retrieved the joker card, but had no suitable vessel to grant his wish.
"I will find your... no, our happy ending. No matter what."
Medaka
Medaka shook her head and said, "No I will have to slowly decend. However, as long as there aren't too many people, I should be able to keep the opponents grounded. If need be, you can offer me a distraction from afar to escape. In the worst case scenario, I can play dead and escape later."
Vanguard
...!
Shrouded by sterile neon lights and a damp, cold darkness, he sighed and smiled bitterly. Its as if he heard the same old tired joke once more, and happened to have found it funny for the first time in eons.
"I see, of course. I can feel her. I had grown tired of waiting." His blank expression didn't betray him, the demonic wild card he had gotten his hands upon had infinite uses, but he wouldn't be able to use a single fraction of its power without a key.
More tentacles slithered around the laboratory, sickening things that didn't dare connect despite their fascination with the machine's shadow.
One of the slithering black blobs whispered, or rather gargled lowly, like an alien sea creature that had been forcibly pulled out of water. Its soul had been ravaged, and its remains had been reconstructed, but as long as it remained hollow it held no power or soul. It hungered for a heart.
"Ah, it was a shame. You weren't the candidate of choice, but time was pressing. I assumed your soul would not be great enough, but your heart turned out to make for adequate feed. Don't worry, I didn't rob you of your intelligence. I was the victor of our little bout, even you accepted it in the end."
The husk within the glass tube was a mere mummy, and the limbs roaming free in the laboratory lacked a will other than the primal need to eat. So why didn't they attack the intruder? They didn't even seem to notice him, almost as if he was something they registered as familiar.
"It is a tragedy that the Gods stripped humans of their original memories. Because of that, they make the same mistakes over and over again. I'm sure that by the end, they will be sending every person off on a suicide charge, from their elders to their children, they'll go on saying that if they're going to die anyway, they might as well die a proud death."
His blank, bitter smile twisted into a frown, and he glared to himself. His soul immediately changed and steeled itself with resolve. Everything spun towards his fate, this was what it meant to be absolute. And yet she would defy him now of all times?
"A bunch of simple minded fools, that's what humans are..."
Cold anger flashed in his face, and a foot stepped onto a pitch black tendril, shocking it with thunder and crushing it until it turned into nothing more than waste, only for his face to turn into an impassive calm again.
"Oops. I crushed it into dust. Heh, what am I doing?" He rubbed his head, as if he had a headache. Perhaps he hadn't been able to strip himself of his weakness just yet. He had yet to pass fate's test. "What're you getting so worked up for? You're no slave any longer, remember? You need to find joy in every little thing."
He smiled gently, as any kind old man you'd find on the street, and stepped forth out of the laboratory, followed by the black thing.
"Now let's turn those who'd rebel against our dream into proud little chunks of meat."
