“You do know it is rude to open the portal into someone’s dimension without asking permission.” A large metallic form covered in yellow cat-like eyes said, “Oh, more people. Sorry about that, just paranoid you know, Anzeik and all that.” The being then shifted into a woman in an ornamental simple black dress with a highly ornamental crown, a large key ring, oily black hair, bright yellow cat’s eyes and smile with a mouthful of needle-like metallic fangs. The being appeared to be in a constant state of decay,and regeneration.
“Ooh! Rot, nice touch,” Violetta complimented cheerfully.
“My apologies for the intrusion sir, madam or thing, we happened upon your abode while my associate here was scrying the void and we were uncertain if you had any means for us to contact you,” Sophia explained diplomatically.
“Look, to be honest I have no clue why you were here but just...tell me your names please.” The being, who psychically placed a thought into Sophia’s mind to introduce themselves as Dodge, said with a hint of exasperation before he turned his attention to the nearby pegasus. “Red, how do you find these people?”
“Hey, don’t look at me. I’ve only met 2 people able to make portals and I’m pretty sure one of them is a nutcase and the other is searching for her brother and dealing with a zombie outbreak,” the pegasus defended, annoyed at his associate’s assumption..
“I’m a nutcase!” Violetta cheerfully proclaimed.
“Not helping,” Red mutters.
“Can I get your names please?” Dodge said
“Please forgive my addled cousin sirs. My name is Sophia ‘Archon’ Craft and this is my cousin Violetta ‘Love’ Craft,” Sophia introduced.
“Any relation to HP Lovecraft?” Dodge asked
“None at all, our names are simply a sort of identification for our abilities,” Sophia explained. “We have known the works though and Violetta is named like that because she has four terrors from the Void imprisoned in her head.”
“Oh, so you have good old squid face in there?” Dodge asked
“More like a mass of flesh and eyes with a giant eyeball on top, a mass with many mouths, a beast with seven heads representing seven gateways to madness and a squid-like being who is good at reshaping flesh,” Violetta explained.
“So you have Yaldy, Frank, Fred, and Squid Face in there?” Dodge asked. “I’ve wondered where they went off to. Oh, how I miss the good days.”
“Oh, so that’s what happened to those crazy guys.” Umbra said as Gelu growled loudly. “They just vanished from hell sometime ago. It was kind of boring without them but at least we were less likely to be torn apart and remade a different species or gender as a joke though.”
“If it’s the same squid head that turned me into a girl, I have one thing to say,” Gelu paused before she giggled. “Thanks, that made it so much easier to come out with how I felt to my brother.”
Violetta looks at the others with curiosity, “I dunno if they are the same as my prisoners, these four are really cranky in their prison and keep talking about reviving their little empire on some world I abducted them from. They never really talk about their past. Nowadays they go by C’thun, Yogg-Saron, Y'shaarj, and N’Zoth”
“Oh, well I can let them out.” Dodge offered. “It’s probably stuffy up there anyway, just imagine the door and I’ll open it.”
“I’d rather she didn’t,” Sophia warned. “The place is already crowded enough with the rowdy dragons here. Last thing we need are the mortal-minded being subjected to feelings of doubt, despair, anger, hatred, fear, violence for the sake of violence and absolute arrogance all at once.”
“Rowdy is an understatement,” Red mumbled. “Less than five minutes here they broke a wall, shattered windows and admitted without shame that they would set me alight given a chance to and...huh, are they related to you Iggy? Sounds like you on a good day.”
“No they’re not and I’d rather not be lumped in with that bunch with my brother,” Gelu snapped before faceclawing as Ignis has a look in his eyes akin to a child in a candy store after Sophia listed the effects.
“It’s not really crowded,” Dodge offered, ignoring Red’s and Gelu’s interruption. “I have the population of at least three different Equestrias here. Also, I could probably make a lot more space if needed. Also, I’d rather they didn’t use their powers here. I’ll have to beat them up until they learn to respect my rules here.” Dodge said with a needle toothed smile.
“I can let them out if I want,” Violetta explained. “I just have to make sure they are on their best behavior if they want me to let them out for our brief visit. I am their jailor after all.”
“Aww, I was looking forward to beating their skulls in.” Dodge grunted as thousands of hammers, guns, screaming souls, normal souls, swords, flaming swords, and various other items fell down into a heap behind Dodge.
“This is your house Dodge, I would rather not behave so untoward to you or our fellow guests,” Sophia assured. “I also make sure those who accompany me act with the same courtesy since they know what happens if I report them to her aunt.”
Violetta shuddered.
“Just to clarify, Umbra and Gelu were joking about knowing them.” Terra says before grabbing Reds by his cloak hood. And you're not even going near those weapons. I know how you think and you were eyeing that foam hammer.”
“I wouldn’t touch those weapons, especially not the hammers if you don’t want to die Red.” Dodge warned.
“Aww, I was hoping I could break my record for sending Umbra flying with a foam hammer.” Red pouted along with Umbra.
“Same, last time we did that I landed inside a roof in cloudsdale,” Umbra explained.
“No,” Dodge stated with finality.
“Sophia can kick someone out of orbit,” Violetta bragged.
“Not the time to be comparing feats of strength, Vio.” Sophia admonished.
“I don’t see why not. I’ve ripped in half entire universes just for fun before.” Dodge bragged.
“Kicking out of orbit which would kill someone violates the game rules of no killing and Dodge, see a therapist. That’s not something to brag about let alone for fun.” Red said.
“I did once, he tried to eat me.” Dodge said
“Get a better non-murdering therapist or ask the crazy one for hers.”
“Oh you said therapist, not therapeutic, and no I will never do that.” Dodge said.
“I’ve done therapy before as a therapist,” Violetta said. “Of course, whether I fix them or spice their brains up with madness is up to my whims.”
“Can you try being less creepy?” Sophia admonished her companion.
“You’re the one being weird Sophie, I know you are trying to butter them up so they can help us but do you have to be such a stick in the mud about it?” Sophia rolled her eyes to Violetta’s comment.
“It would be no fun if we didn’t have someone who was at least semi-sane to see all the insanity.” Dodge said as eyes spread across all the surrounding area.
Sophia shrugged, “I’ve seen worse. One time Vio drove an entire universe into killing each other. This wasn’t simply war, it was every lifeform against each other as she turned everyone into violent sociopaths.”
“Oh, that’s nothing. I can at least get one multiverse to kill itself and I mean that it quite literally, started stabbing a gigantic knife into itself.” Dodge bragged.
“Oh, we so have to go on a multiversal murder spree sometime,” Violetta cheered.
“That sounds like fun.” Dodge said
“Ok we’re getting off topic here and people think I’m crazy,” Red said before looking at Sophia. “You mentioned you came here because of the Anziek right?”
Sophia politely cleared her throat, “Before that, I must ask if our host is providing refreshments before I begin.”
“Oh, sorry, do you like blood or tea?” Dodge said
Sophia placed a hand to her chin in thought, “Are you able to add meat flavorings to a tea mixed in blood?”
“Yes I believe this is possible, is that what you want?” Dodge said
“That sounds lovely, I’ll even make sure Violetta, when she requests blood, drinks hers instead of her using it to write on the walls.”
“Spoilsport,” Violetta pouted.
“Now, what type of blood do you want? I have: dragon, snake, cat, dog, my own, jabberwocky, fish, windigo, siren, bat, ghost, vampire, and goblin.” Dodge offered.
“Any will do, I have devoured many species in my long life for their essence so whatever you serve will be fine.”
Jabberwock it is then, here you go.” Dodge said as a saucer holding a teacup containing a strange brew within it manifested before handing it to Sophia.
“Please tell me you got the Jabberwock blood from the universe where Alice is a complete asylum case?” Violetta pleaded.
“No, I just got it from the neighboring dimension next to this one.” Dodge said. Violetta pouted in response.
“Any blood high in protein is good for me especially if I can keep it in vials for use later. It helps with my healing abilities to have it on me even if I can’t stand the taste,” Red says casually surprising Dodge. Sophia had a feeling he would have unusual tastes since he was a vessel to a bunch of demons.
“Snakes are pretty high in protein.” Dodge offered.
“Thanks I will keep that in mind when hunting, so anything to eat?”
“I only have whispering iron, but you probably don’t want that.” Dodge said, holding up a squirming mass of what looked like red hot iron.
“Interesting I’m gonna pass on that but the crazy girl might want it.”
“Which one are you talking about?” Sophia smirked.
“The one currently poking a fire demon in the eye for fun.” Red deadpanned as Violetta poked Ignis, who tried to bite her hand off, only to fail to bite down as his own mind couldn’t process the command to bite.
“I wanted to see if I could feel what he feels,” Violetta defended.
“Just don’t feed him anger. Last time it took me kicking his ass with the help of an immortal who had access to every known weapon to subdue him and even then it took me two weeks to put him in his place myself and he’s still pissed about it.”
“Or I could have done so by making him think he’s a puppy,” Violetta stated cheerfully.
“Well, best not to do anything to Reds demons, especially Umbra,The spirit of deception itself taught him when he was here last time.” Dodge said
Both Red and Umbra blink as Terra, Ignis, and Gelu look at them both.
Sophia quietly sipped her tea while Red complained about time shenanigans and Violetta had a chat with Dodge’s serpentine companion about deception.
“Anyway miss Sophia, I still want to know what you know about the Anziek seeing as both me and Dodge have had them show up on us as well and, well, I’m lucky some of my people are scattered and that I’m alive but they’re no joke. Even with all the power of my magic and my roommates we lost hard.” Red says getting impatient and a headache
Sophia noticed the frustration growing on the Pegasus’ face and grinned, “Information from me must be exchanged for information of equal value. It’s only fair after all.”
“Well I don’t know much just that they’re capable of killing god type beings and seem to attack indiscriminately seeing as they hit not just my home but Terra’s, Ignis’, Gelu’s and Umbra’s multiple times, barely repelled. Seems killing entire realities has the side effect of sending the damned into different hells. That’s all I’m saying as we’re not allowed to say any more aside that the one that leads them is called the Lord and I’ve never seen the coward, but maybe Dodge has?”
“After decimating half the army that he sent for my dimension, yeah. I’ve met him, a real piece of work, that guy and a pain in the butt to fight.” Dodge said
“Hmm,” Sophia pondered. “It supports my theory that they are travelling the multiverse and I did encounter someone who was extremely powerful that kept me from just moving in and slaughtering the army myself. I ended up evacuating those who wished to do so before I fragged the planet. I also gained knowledge of their biology after eating one of them.”
“Extreme, but useful and sadly one of the only ways to slow them down I fear so the question is what do we do now? It’s only a matter of time before he finds this place and I still have to find my people and a new home while trying not to die in the process.” Red says before lowering his voice as it takes on a somber tone. “And I won’t ever forget that kid’s face when I died for the second time. I tried to save them only for some sick joke of them being the one that dies so I can come back.” Red says, his voice betraying his calm expression as his eyes show regret.
Sophia looked at Red with eyes of sympathy, “So you ended up sacrificing a child’s life so that you may continue? I won’t say anything cruel about that but you know that you must now carry that burden for the remainder of your existence.” Her expression became somber. “Innocent lives are lost in the fires of war throughout the multiverse and it will never discriminate between who lives and who dies.”
“It’s a cruel twist of fate, a life for a life. I died trying to save the kid only for them to take my place. I knew the risks of taking the deal, I just didn’t expect it to happen in front of me.”
“I’m a creature who lives off of suffering and pain so I really have no clue what you are talking about because I really don’t care. I mean I love killing things but I do it in such a way that it’s fun for me at least.” Dodge said.
“Imagine someone you care about and how you would die for them only to be brought back and watch them die as you had in pain and suffering; the fear as they can’t understand what’s happening to them.”
“Oh, oh, oh, that’s one of my favorite things to do. I rip someone’s soul out and put it into an object and destroy the earth and continue until I am no more of that specific object. Then I continue doing it with all sides of others and yes, I know it’s creepy.” Dodge said.
“Forget it Redsopine,” Sophia said. “You can’t teach an eldritch horror to empathize with mortal lives like you can’t teach your demons how to act like good pets.”
Sophia suddenly sensed aggressive thoughts coming from the pegasus. She sensed that he was intending on attacking her in the left shoulder so she quickly deadened the nerves in that area of her body.
“Pets you say?” Red asked, his tone becoming cold with an edge to it as something sharp suddenly digs into Sophia’s shoulder from behind revealing a deformed claw before pulling out as Red brings his bloodied claw out from behind himself. “You best choose your words carefully when talking about my friends.”
Sophia looked at the wound and back at Red unfazed while her tone took on her own edge, “Don’t start something here, boy. We are guests here and I would prefer not to turn this into a test to see how many times you can revive yourself as I rip you apart, limb by limb, organ by organ. I am controlling myself here while you show your immaturity by rising to my jabs.” The wound quickly regenerates and within seconds, it appeared as if the wound was never there.
She made a mental note to pay him back if he should ever find himself on her ship.
“You sure you want to take the risk of the life being chosen yours?” Red asked before calmly dipping the tips of his claws into a couple of vials, storing the blood in them before wiping the rest on his cloak. “Though you’re right that I’m a guest and unlike most of the people here we’re not uncaring monsters.”
Noticing what the pegasus was doing, Sophia was glad that the properties of her family’s blood became permanently inert upon leaving the body or there might have been a problem at some point down the line.
As the exchange was going on, Ignis whispers to his sister. “Did he almost get killed defending us or am I seeing things dear sister?”
“No, I saw it too and we always thought he just saw us as tools or pets. Yet even with the connection muted I think he meant it.”
“Do you please share with the rest of the class?” Dodge said as it walked up behind the draconic demons.
“Nothing, just a family matter. But I think my brother’s temper might have rubbed off on Red.”
“Oh, so you consider Red to be family now.” Dodge said
“No!” Gelu quickly stated. “We were just discussing ideas on how best to ditch him for a better host is all. As we said, it was a family matter.”
Sophia smirked without anyone noticing as she knew what was said between the two dragons.
“Ooh please don’t lie to me. I can hear everything in this dimension. It is mine after all.” Dodge said.
“Want me to repeat what was said?” Violetta asked.
“Yes, please, go ahead.” Dodge said
With a wicked grin, a fanged mouth opened on Violetta’s left forearm.
“Don’t!” Red shouts, interrupting them. “It’s not important, and unlike you two I respect their privacy. We don’t get much from each other so we respect what we can. It's only fair and we’re bound so we need to have trust in each other and despite our arguments, I trust them with my life and me with theirs. That’s all I need.”
The mouth on Violetta’s forearm closed and she pouted while muttering, “Killjoy…”
Sophia sighed, “Entertainment aside, we need to consider our next move if we want to find a way to halt this invasion.”
“There’s only one way. It’s the same reason I bear the burden of immortality: we eradicate them completely so they cannot come back.” Red says grimly. “The question is how do we do it?”
“Well, I mean I have a freaking armory filled with immortal-killing weapons. Oh, did I mention that I have the heads of other immortals that I’ve killed over the millennia?” Dodge mentioned proudly.
“I have considered constructing a virus that would disrupt their reproductive capabilities so they will be more hard-pressed to renew their numbers when they suffer heavy casualties,” Sophia offered. “Sort of like that one from the Mass Effect section of the multiverse but leaving them no chance of reproduction.”
“That sounds like that would be a decent idea but they need to be something more, we need to find the original dimension of the Anzeik and destroy it. That way there is absolutely no chance they are coming back.” Dodge said.
Sophia shook her head. “I stole a few secrets that the Anziek attackers had in their minds. They destroyed their own home long ago. These creatures are nomads; like locusts, they swarm upon worlds and plunder the resources before obliterating it.”
“So that’s out, any other ideas?” Red asked.
“I would suggest you train. It's very hard to be able to use a god-killing weapon without training. It took me thousands of years to learn how to use my dear Saber Cutting Void. So get training, unless you have a better idea.” Dodge ordered as a giant appeared behind them and open revealing thousands of weapons of all kinds, from flamethrowers to ghost-throwers, from daggers to claymores, from pistols to gatling guns, from ghosts to poltergeists, from normal grenades to null grenades.
“I know some swordsmanship but it was only a week of intense training, otherwise I improvise so I wouldn’t know where to begin. On another note, if anyone picks up any information about my people can you let me know so I can find them.”
“I would suggest you improve yourself before you worry about others, kid.” Sophia said. “I might know someone who can be your instructor with the sword, but she will also be helping me develop the plague.”
“While that sounds nice we have Red’s training in various skills well in hand,” said Umbra, smiling before his lips slowly lowered. “Oh right, that was meant to be a surprise. Well, surprise, we’re gonna teach you.”
“Also, since you know in all likelihood there will be a time where Red will have to fight without you guys, give him your powers. I’m going to need to train Red separately from you guys. Same with you, Violetta, the more powerful you are the bigger of a target you are so we’re going to need you to let your eldritch demons out.” Dodge said.
Violetta simply ignored everyone as she inspected the decor.
“Do any of you know of our abilities both open and hidden or the knowledge and experience we all own? Red might be a brawler and a dirty fighter but that was not us who taught him that. He’s been able to use our magic, how could you teach him things that are a part of us and him without us?” Terra asks.
Sophia shrugged, “Everyone’s capable of learning something new every day, even you demons. It’s when you think yourself perfect that you doom yourself to stagnation.”
Red fiddled with the key Dodge gave him and asked, “Dodge, you said this key could go to anyplace I have been before. Is it that one place exactly or one close to it if that place has been destroyed?”
“Correct,” Dodge said
“You're not gonna say which one, are you?” Red deadpans before sighing and standing up. “I’m heading to bed, Dodge, could you make a door for me please?”
“Here you go,” Dodge said as a door appeared in front of Red.
“Thanks, you coming?” Red asked his demons as they nodded, even Ignis, albeit reluctantly, as they walked over next to him and they walked through the doorway which seemed to vanish as they did so before the door closed.
“Well, I’m gonna go to sleep in my bedroom.” Dodge said as a small well house appeared in the distance and began walking toward it.
Sophia and Violetta were left alone as they finished off their refreshments.
“Do you think they will be of any assistance?” Violetta asked.
Sophia took a moment to finish her tea before responding, “Maybe, maybe not. The child has much to learn about fighting and he needs to improve his relationship with his demons if he wishes to avoid death, whether by enemy or the embarrassment of his own demons being his end. The eldritch being has a point though, your little mental prison may make you a liability in the future which is why I would prefer to have you use your abilities carefully from now on. Unlike with mister Dash’s demons, you have a jailor and prisoner relationship with yours and I don’t see that improving anytime soon. Meanwhile, I need to work with Thanatas on the plague and get Ingram to devise a means to distribute it throughout the omniverse. Perhaps in time, our gracious host and their guest might prove helpful to us, but we may have to leave them to their own devices until we have need of them or they come to us.”
Violetta pondered on what Sophia said for a moment then shrugged. “So what now?”
“Back to the ship, of course.”
“You got it.” With that, Violetta opened a maw portal back to Sophia’s ship.
“Well, if you’re going to leave, take these with you.” A voice boomed as a key appeared in each of their hands.
Sophia and Violetta were curious about their new gifts for a moment but shrugged as they decided that they had stayed their welcome long enough and walked through the fanged portal.
“after all this nonsense, I really need a cup of tea” dodge muttered as their drinks parlor.