Off chapter

Off chapter. Of Mooks and Chessmasters.

The man had taken a long ride to this.. Place. The very air in here invoked the feeling of malice and paranoia. And let us not start with the architecture. Before entering, one had to go through a singular path through a large desert. A wasteland would be more proper, as nothing grew and nothing would ever grow there. The sands were not the common color, they were rather.. Beige. And the skies took a shade of red, mixed with black and brown as you went through. To some, it was sickening. To some others, like the man at hand, it actually brought no bother. The reason was simple. He had to take this path once in every three months. An abnormality as this, existed far to the east of Rollp Lay. It wasn't even a fully explored location. With all the technologies, nobody could go this deep, except a select few. And the reason was exactly , because one of these select few, had utilized his much resourceful mind to forestall, or perhaps he would have forever halted the progress with this wasteland's discovery... Had he lived longer. The event of his death, was today's hot topic in the strange realm. The man moved to the center of the anomaly. An anomaly, because most of the wasteland was a mere desert, but a single , circular area, had the above traits. This... Was due to different reasons. The man, escorted by what seemed to be a series of .. They appeared to be robots. Human shaped, metallic constructs. The plating seemed to be of some brownish metal. The robotic servants wielded no weapons though. They only had their bodies. The man himself, was tall, although nowhere near to the towering 3 meter tall robots. Yet, his 1.88 m length , the muscular build, the focused sight, with his pitch black irises, and the clothing... The dark purple hood, and the black raiment, together with the similarly colored belt.. And the robot followers... Yeah... He was of the Chessmaster, Manipulative Bastard... Or worse.. Magnificent Bastard variety. And indeed... Where he was heading, was a place for such people. The Anomaly was caused by the very presence of that place. All it took, was a 5x8 (in meters) portal, which slowly spread out the aura, corrupting the ground and atmosphere around, twisting even the light that entered, making everyone who entered, wearing any color past black, seem... Otherwise. And indeed, once they reached the flat mass of purple energy, surrounded by several, closely placed finely cut rocks taking the shape of a nigh perfect cube with certain runic inscriptions, placed in a rectangular formation around the portal. As a fragment of the robots numbers entered, about seven or eight, the remainder let their master enter, before following themselves. The hood and sash were blue in fact, and the robots metallic cover was blue as well. Most likely coloration given to them, in order to tell from other bodyguards. The entire robot force, about fifteen or sixteen (a proper count could reveal they were precisely sixteen) , surrounding the man, advanced in the new dimension. This place was as well twisted, only far more. It was only clearer, this entire place was not obedient of most common ideas. The entire background is not white. But in this place, it is. There was again, a single , black road, which continued from the one outside the portal, before reaching a certain point where it split, it spiraled and went up. The spiraling pathways, led to cylindrical black structured, which had somewhat conic shapes on the upper and lower bases. There was but a single entrance, of ...again, 5x8 , in each tower. The only thing leading to it was the black path. The sizes of the buildings varied by only a little to the distant onlooker, but there was one, several times bigger. And that is where the spiraling black paths rule, made an exception. That is where, a single, straight diagonal of the black path, taking no other direction, never branching off or altering in shape and direction, that is where this path headed. The gate to this larger building was sixteen times larger, it being of 20x32 size. There was a reason for that as well... 3 m tall minions were nothing. Giants, were not unseen... At a former time, when the size of the gate had changed, they even became popular as escorts. Of course, giants had grown less popular, to the new hype... Demons. These guys, were the new thingie. Of course, the ones mixed with machinery implants were even better. There was a thing with demons though... They had sapience... They could decide against their rulers... But why this fear of mere mooks? Nowadays , nobody dared say that work. Minions, servants.. No mooks. The man had been considering this during his trip, repeating it over his head several times until he reached the door. Taking a look to the side, he noticed a small note.
"23/19/4530 F.D.
Requested presence of : Chessmaster Classified members. Manipulative Bastard classified members. Magnificent Bastard Classified members.
Order of the day:
1. Removal of several minion services.
2. Rollp Lay, Fagland and Noobland exploration expeditions
3. Change in members of following categories: magnificent bastard.
Session spokesman: Theodore Rictus Monil. "
The man was in thought. F.D. Foundation Day of Rollp Lay. Why did they add it? It was supposed to be common sense... But then, he was reminded of the simple fact. The Council had been up for ...too long. Nobody knew the real year. Heck, nobody even knew the millennium it was founded. Removal of minion services. The word was "mook". But it seemed even the official documents begun ... Diverting from its use, to put it mildly. The exploration expeditions were another issue. A serious one. Should the Council's location be found... A horror to most people in there. He did not care though... He was just a minor figure. At times.. Better than being one of the big fish. And the third point... Exactly why he felt luckier. No magnificent bastard had come to power... But he had heard rumors of one having been killed. That happened, once in a hundred years? Thousand years? It was quite a rare event... THAT everyone agreed on. What if the first and third points were related? There was also some shock and change when a magnificent bastard died, but... Complete removal of the very backbone of their system... The mooks. He let his hand out as one of the robots handed an oval white object.. A mask, with spaces only for the nose , eyes and mouth, which he put on before entering. The inside was strange... A series of seats, in the inside of the entire place. The man proceeded to his seat, which was never taken or changed, unless he... Passed on. The place was very well lit, strangely none of such light making it outside. Theodore Rictus Monil. A fake name , most likely.. Rictus... Rictus Mo... Oh. Of course. The incident. The Moslen incident. Rictus Monil was a name much whispered back then... Faulty of causing the death of three quite possible action heroes , one manipulative bastard and one magnificent bastard. Some said, whoever did it was a magnificent bastard if an entirely new level, beyond anything seen in millennia. And this man, blatantly utilizing the name of this... Legend.. Myth? Whatever that was.. It alluded the man at hand. And so, in the wait, a man, in a large, flowing black robe and a similar mask came. He had no escort. Our friend looked around to see the other escorts. Skeletons.. Zombies... Demons.. Machinery... Golems... All, lifeless constructs. The few who had a mind of their own seemed... Dull. Controlled? Of course... There was a general fear lately, of mooks and their... Similar, sapient classes. Nobody held human escorts anymore. The spokesman begun his speech.
"We are all here... For three good reasons. One.. Mooks. They have turned on us. They are becoming a legitimate threat. They... Have a ruler. Batias is his name.... They see him as a savior.. A leader... A hero if you will. "- silence. If the attendants were common people... Then the entire building would have exploded in a storm of conflicting emotions. But nobody did show the slightest sign of emotion. Only.. Grave.. Silence. Revealing any opinion on any matter was a very strong declaration. It could net you some of the mightiest enemies, some of the most ferocious foes. Foes who could end you and you would not even know. The man continued. His voice was.. Dull.. Cold.. Distant.
"This... "Hero" , however is also guilty of another feat. Of killing... Dr.John Smith. "- of course.. Nobody knew who he was. John Smith? What was that... "Also known as Dr.Sonnemuz. A member of our council... With the rank of Magnificent Bastard". Outrage! Ire! Inconceivability personified in its most grotesque apparition. A mook had slaughtered a magnificent bastard. Heavens falling... The ant had felled the dragon. The fly had slaughtered the titan. Impossibility! Such were the thoughts of the most zealous attendants. "Dr.Sonnemuz... As you know, had been leader of Rollp Lay for a long enough time... And it was his effort mostly, that had stopped common folk from... Exploring this area. This will be addressed in future notes. Currently... A few of our more distinguished members are dealing with the issue of the mook uprising"-he said. The brief meeting had ended. Care for one another, was nothing familiar to these people. They were let to fend on their own. Our friend left the meeting and proceed to make his way out of this world. Why would mooks rise? Was it not their natural order of life and work to ... Serve? As cannon fodder? Then why would they rise against their masters? Challenging their very nature... Why would they? It only brought pain? But perhaps senseless death brought more? He could not understand or support such choice... But perhaps it was right? Moral ambiguity was not unfamiliar to him...

The clash between the skelebots, undead mixed with robotic implants, and the mooks was not seeming to have an end.  Minions battling minions. But the difference was.. One fought for more noble reasons. The other had no reason at all, not being sapient. A company of mooks was firing on some skelebots, taking down most of them. A few skelebot squads assaulted from the sides, smashing the mook team. Blasts were being fired, which ended up killing allies and foes alike. Two elite mooks were running, clad in heavy armor, as they jumped upwards, before lunging down on the gigantic skelebot. One plunged his sword deep within the beasts chest, as the other assaulted the head, bringing the entity down. The robotic implants held the control unit for their mobility, which were located on the head and chest apparently. Sending the elite mooks flying, was a massive group of skelebots, assaulting from behind. As the skelebots were about to end them... Something... Hit. Like a meteor, leaving behind a disastrous crater, the skelebots were exterminated. The elite mooks, being at a safe distance were not harmed. Their savior... Was certainly not human. His hair was long, red and spiky, reaching down to his back. The ends of the spikes were... Purple? His eyes were black and the irises red. His forehead was covered in some white ... Bone cover? It had horns extending from the front though. The lower jaw had a similar bone cover, with sharp indentations in the top, a projection of what would be his teeth. The man was 2.3 m or possibly taller. He was quite muscular, but not that one could see.. Past that monstrous armor. Heavy, dark purple, covering his entire upper body. The shoulders had heavy plates, which ended with three upward, slightly curved white horns on top. The hands ended in sharp bony claws. The elbows had some spiky protrusions as well... The chest had.. A large, open mouth. The teeth, grand , white, and mostly.. Beastly. The mouth was quite monstrous. The bottom was no better with some additional plated around the waist and somewhat below, and heavy armor around the legs, with sharp bony talons at the end of the feet. All of this accompanied by an axe, at least 3 or 4 meters long, with a fairly large blade. This man... Batias Vacant... Had the appearance of rage. Pure rage, channeled through millennia . The rage of the mooks, not oppressed, not enslaved... They were neither. They were more like toys. Neglected, mistreated toys. And revenge was to be theirs. Batias charged forward in battle, swinging his axe, as from the blade, a purple wave of energy was sent, exterminating an incoming group of skelebots. More came though...surrounding Batias. Yet his followers were no less zealous, if not more. And so... Where many were about to be killed, our hero spoke.
"Skelebots. I know you hear me. Your fight, I do not command or judge. Those who follow me... Do so with their free will. I am not going to force you. I am going to give you a choice. Fight for your current masters... Fight for them, and have it their way. Slaughtering... Battle to the end, until one side is exterminated. Or.. Fight for me. I promise several things. One. You will be free to make whatever choices you see fit. Two. You will not be manipulated into the service of me or anyone else. Three. You will be granted a peaceful life should we defeat our foes. Four. You will take no orders, from foul masters any longer. Weight your promises and aspirations. Weight your present, past and future... And if you want make a choice."- he said, waiting for a bit... As the skelebots exploded into exalted shouts of agreement and joy. He had gained the support of even those without conscience, as he charged forward. This world... Had a series of highly devoted and "honorable" orders of warriors. The Kinetic Soldiers, had since the time of Lone... The name given to a legendary hero of the rebellion, developed their own techniques and ideologies. The Mook Elite, were a newly founded order. The Asurans had let a legacy behind, harvested by the most zealous of mooks. The Common Mook Elite, wore metallic plating over the chest, heavy shoulder plates and armor, and a heavy axe. The armor was grey, polished grey metal to distinguish from any foe. The Mook Elite focused on mad rushes without much tactic, in order to disrupt the foe's very strategies. The more you think and plan, the more time you have wasted against these ferocious foes. But the reason we mentioned these particular two, at these particular moment, was because ...well... Let us take a look some miles away. A massive axe swing had thrown away the skelebots, now in halves or pieces. A group of them assaulted as well... About eight, which... It seemed as if some sort of black , thin strings attached themselves to each of their chests, releasing some explosive content. The axe, belonged to a large warrior, in equally large grey armor and helmet, as he charged forward, the remaining few skelebots, being nothing difficult to deal with. At his side, was a man in a tight, black suit, armored areas, and four thin blades attached to his back, with mechanisms on the inside of the hand as well, which were used to release the strings with the explosive charges. The two advanced forward, as the skelebots were not much. But... Something else was. The Nerdkaiser. Highly technological white armor, with enhanced movement implants, several control units to help maneuver every single weapon or function of the high-tech miracle. A sword with a laser edge... Yes.. They all had freaking lightsabers. And not to mention the guns. Oh.. The glorious guns... Even the thought of them was enough to induce a nerdgasm... And since we are on the subject.... The Nerdgasm was the most powerful ability the Nerdkaiser had... And it was right in front of our heroes. He charged forward, with the sword at hand. Against a foe such as the Mook Knight, the Nerd Rage Tactical Maneuver , one of the many, many different programs installed on that fine ass armor, which involved..well... The Nerdkaiser charged forward, its run quick and swift. The weight of the armor did not impair movement apparently... The robotic implants were enough to have it not only remain at proper speed, but even help exceed that of the average or even quicker human. Holding his sword with both hands, the knight proceeded to have it make a downward strike at the Mook, who could only try and defend with his axe, which suffered some minor damage, before attempting a counter attack. The Nerdkaiser was often accompanied with an equally impressive helmet, with proper visors and data. Nerd Reflex Tactical Manuever. With a quick duck, the Nerdkaiser made a very quick run forward, for those few steps, and in the last, jumped upwards, his fist extended towards the Mook Knight's jaw. However...he had underestimated the brutal strength of the Mook Knight... Who lowered his body, closing the gap between the fist and the jaw, as in the end, both were stuck in the position of the hit... Neither having sustained much damage, before the Nerdkaiser would try and slash at the Mook Knight's head.. Only to have his body tied by the ten strings of the Kinetic Soldier. It was a lost battle... The strings were to release the energy and... Get slashed in a very quick motion. As the slasher stood still.. One could bear witness of this new kind of foe. The long trench coat, the wide-brimmed hat , the shades.. And the hair... The muscular build.. The lack of any other supreme weapons and tech, except his single sword... All told towards one conclusion. This.. Was a MagnifiBastard. How had those two factions ended up fighting for the Manipulators cause? Let us take a look to a past.. Which will remain unknown for some time, to our heroes or villians... Or Anti-Heroes and Anti-Villians.
Long ago... Dr.John Smith... Known to many as Dr.Sonnemuz, had enrolled a faction of let us say, users of a not so liked form of magic into aiding him with several delicate issues of not the most peaceful nature. To cut the crap... He hired necromancers to kill people and fight in wars for him. This was not unsuspected from the usually indecently informed masses. The people knew he had shit going on under their nose. Of course... The need for the safety and calm of the mind, a feeling of security... A guarantee, an insurance of peace after that fated moment that led them to the world of those no longer alive... Was what kept them from being truly convinced about this dark fate awaiting them. You don't want to think much about the fact you'll be a zombie once you die, do you? Anyway... The issue with these necrofellows was that, they... They were old. Freaking old... And they had caprices.. Lots.. And lots of caprices. And requests. Lots and lots of requests. Around that time, there was the need for certain action to be taken. Dr.Sonnemuz was advised on the matter, and he had received a very clear and firm statement. "Drop the oldfags. Get some of these newer kids. ". But no... Our magnificent bastard was much wiser than that. "I ain't leaving them oldfags. Theyre awshum!" He replied... (Not in that way. He had far better grammar and ability to make a point and express opinions). Then his advisors got back at him. "But they are evuuuuul!" Which proved to be very true... But they were mistaken about one thing. Dr.Sonnemuz was not the focus of their evil. "I dun care. Fuk u guiz!"  He said and removed them from their posts, making the High Asurans , Nealon and Batias, into the new higher leaders. The oldfag necros though... They lived. And remained in fairly decent posts. The true leaders of their order, never revealed themselves. Never made themselves public. And with time, they made changes, that only benefitted them. Dr.Sonne was blind to it. He was above in the command chain... But the oldfags did not even care. He could live with his lies... He could still believe he was worth something. In the end... His death had come just as they predicted. While Dr.Sonnemuz removed Upper Rollp Lay float, the Oldfag necros managed to penetrate the foundation grounds of Upper Rollp Lay and seize the last instrument of their plans, before leaving .. And this is how the Rollp Lay administration became vacant. The high Asurans dead, the mooks and Batias rebelling... Nothing was normal now and the future was grim. That was all until... Until the news of a plan came in. Long ago... There was a meeting. Between a future anti hero, and a Glass blade user.. A true glass blade user. Sonne... The future badass, had encountered a guy who introduced himself as "The Aetheral"  and asked him a favor. To find a willing benefactor. And so they did. The first encounter of the two, which had been made clear before... Was exactly this. Finding the new supplier. Not many would accept... But the information gathered pointed to a possible source. Aria. Who was she you'd ask. Well.. Let us say, a less ancient necromancer, but also a fairly achieved merchant. She could finance the rebuild of the city... The finding of skilled administration. An army. She had plenty of potential for the job... And hopefully, she would be ticked off after learning of the oldfags and how they had their day. And so... Aria had accepted. There was need for a lot of diplomacy...and she was kind of into torture. The last part wasn't really needed. However... What really kicked it, was... Aetheral... Somehow having... Accidentally revealed the existence of the Nerdkaiser... And his very own version of it.. The Melodramachina. And this... Gave birth to the skelebots. The military force of the future. Easily rebuildable, precise enemies, also numerous. Their perfected versions were never made public or mass produced. Aria got a tip off, that certain people were to exploit them as a means of war for personal profit. And so it happened. Luckily, the skelebots of that time, were only of a slightly above level than that of the common mook. And so... Who had used them? Simple... The Manipulator Council. The gathering from the beginning of this chapter. The Nerdkaiser was of course, an invention of the Nerd League, which had been entirely overtaken by the Council, in their actually smart tactic of gaining full access to the Nerdkaiser force. And so... The Nerdkaisers of today, were no longer true nerds... They were twisted, controlled by the Mangificent Bastard heads of the Council. They were in fact Pseudo-Nerds, the real ones having been appalled by the act of the Council and their brethren being cheated, and having become reclusive and ascetic. The MagnifiBastard force was of course, made of the very members of the council. That is the reason, why both sides had said members in them. Ah... And the Kinetic Soldiers.. They went for any "rebellion" cause, just like that. And looked awesome while doing it. Let us visit then... Several members of this cause.
Batias was in his tent, observing the many battle plans laid ahead to him by the smartest mooks he could find. Of course.. It took the approach of a singular, muscular man with white hair, and a fairly large gun in his hand, who started pointing out the mistakes in the plan Batias was currently examining, for the Hero of the Mooks to turn his attention towards the newcomer.
"And you are...?"
"Don't you remember me Buttmunch? I've been kicking your ass all the time..."
"...Sonnemuz"-Batias said with a growl
"Yeah. Well... I am here on a mission. I believe you understand the importance of exchange in this time? Anyway, I and the heroes have decided to help you. Provide you aid and military help. I was sent here, to tell you that you need to get us a Nerdkaiser armor"
"Nerdkaiser? What would you do with that..."
"Replicate it. Make mooks mightier, help you win"
"I see... Very well then. We shall abide for now. Try tricking us... And our wrath will not spare you"
"K. Whatever helps you sleep at night"
"I know you use medications for one... "-Batias returned the line, as Sonne turned his back, smiling for a bit and then leaving through the camp, escorted by two Mook Knights, in order to show that he was either welcome, or at the slightest, not to be attacked. As he made his way out, and after faring some miles in the nearby plains, he met up with those who had sent him. One... Was a man... Nah.. He looked about twenty or maybe even less. White, slicked back hair, slightly spiky... Glasses.. Black outline.. Thin glass... Blue eyes. The man was in some fairly large black armor, resemblant of the Nerkaiser. The sword was glassy though, with some tech stuff on the hilt and the armor itself had clearly been worked on. It was black, had red outlines and a red cape as well. The Melodramachina. The one in his side, was a girl... About 22-24 years old. Dark brown hair, black eyes... She was somewhat thin, and her skin tone was a bit pale... And she had bags below her eyes... She clearly had not slept enough. She wore some sort of dark blue ceremonial robe... Of necromancers apparently. That could easily be found out by looking at the staff with the skull on top she was wielding with her right hand.
"So... Sonne. Good news I assume?"-The man, Aetheral asked.
"Yes... They will secure a Nerdkaiser"
"Oh... That is great.."-the woman responded. This was Aria it seemed... Their current source of income and financing.
"In the meanwhile... I will have to deal with their leader"-Aetheral said, before Sonne would protest
"But I am supposed to.."
"Better not witness this... Believe me."-Aetheral said as he moved off. Aria did so as well, leaving Sonne with some questions in his head... To be answered much later. Aetheral made his way to the confrontation with their leader. The Melodramachina Edge... The new and improved armor was going to help. Aria had done a pretty good job with enchanting it with her powers... He assumed he would win... Of course.. The opponent was no less than the spokesman. Theodore Rictus Monil... Known by his real name of ...no. We are not giving his real name. And this foe... Had also come prepared. In the meanwhile...
The man who had attended the meeting of the Manipulator Council, was a Magnificent Bastard himself. Dink... A name, not unknown to the higher circles of the Council. He had come in there disguised. Why though? What pushed him? Let us take a look. Dink was making his way out of the Council's realm, followed by his robots, as he made his way outside. The outside was the same... Constant, unchanging. That was a bit upsetting. After all.. Why did these rules, this entire place have to be so rigid? Wondering about those things, Dink made his way outside of the outer borders of the wasteland, back into the scorching heat of the desert. His robots would be easily willing to carry him, yet Dink was aware that was not their job. But it was not right. Not right to do such things. After all..why should the way things were done be changed or defiled? Why should things be different from what they are meant to be? For higher reasons, of course, much higher than mere comfort during an unpleasant trip. So.. After hours and hours, Dink and his escort had reached a small city in the desert. Entering the main road, he proceeded to walk into the nearby store, to buy some water of course. But at the moment presented the money, he heard something, which had him dodge quickly, turning himself to the side, as a bullet went right past his chest, into that of the shopkeeper. Dink went outside, and held his hand out, as one of the robots handed some sword. A normal sword with a slightly curved blade. A scimitar it appeared. Dink walked forward, as the shooter... A man in some strange , heavy armor proceeded to shoot once more. Dink swung his scimitar once, sending the bullet back at the Mook Knight's neck.. Which was uncovered by armor. Ordering his robots to remove the armor and analyze the body, he went back... The death of the shopkeeper really was not necessary. A painful consequence of his actions. What if he had been more careful? What if he had asked for scimitar before he entered. He would have saved the man... Who was not even supposed to die. Would he even remember this later? It did not matter right now... Dink went out of the store, as the robots presented him with the analysis.
"Rollp Lay conflict huh? Mook war... Sent to... Hmm.. I see. "-he said, before hearing another something which made him turn around. It appeared, the necromanctress, Aria was there, followed by two, rather large skeletons, armed with large axes, armor pieces, a plate mail, shoulder plates, gauntlets, all kinds of things, and spiked shields. They were edgy as hell to look at. The girl proceeded to stay there.. Still.. For a few moments. So did Dink, for a while, until, he broke the silence.
"Yes?"
"Lord Dink Dumper of.."
"Drop it with the titles and all honey... We both know what you are here for.."
"We do?"
"Indeed we do. Now... The bar will be a far more generous environment for discussing our deal, won't it?" -he said, as they both made their way to the bar. Elsewhere... Aetheral was faced with this stranger. He had a silver colored Nerdkaiser armor, with two light saber like weapons instead of one, a wide-brimmed hat and long coat... Yes.. The Uber Trollkaiser. Armor of legend.. As Melodramachina Edge was indeed.. Now, they would both face one another, in this deserted wasteland, away from the eyes of others... There, one of them would die, and the other would continue to live forever. Yes.. It is a version of the quote of the very first and very weak Final Fantasy boss, Garland. He ended up a whole lot tougher than he started for one. Aetheral proceeded to swing his sword, releasing a wave of mixed red and black flames, as the enemy crosses his swords, before rapidly swinging them, forming an X shaped blue defensive field. The battle had just begun... And it would keep going.