C H A M P I O NS - O F - T H E - A R E N A
THE STORY SO FAR
Some time ago, at the behest of peoples unknown, the madman known only as
Arcade set out to create a scene of depravity and wickedness the likes of which the world had not yet scene. His twisted reality show, Champions of the Arena, took dozens of teenagers from across the multiverse and set them at each others' throats for the entertainment of millions of unseen viewers. Instead of playing his twisted game, a selection of Arcade's chosen Champions rose up against him. At the conclusion of their rebellion, they executed Arcade and shut down his island, trapped themselves upon its shores in the process.
Among these rebellious Champions were Jianyu, Conner Kent, Alice Swayne, Eli, Henry Hart, and Laura Kinney.
5 years after Arcade's death, the Champions of the Arena tournament was unexpectedly revived on a backwater planet named Prudence. Corrupt and decadent, the city death-date had been chosen by the mad AI known as P.R.U.D.E.N.C.E., who had once overseen the day-to-day management of the city. The AI once again kidnapped a dozens of strangers from across the multiverse and set them at each other's throats, hoping that the collateral damage from their conflicts would cleanse the city of its faults and clear the path for its insurance-funded rebirth. Another band of Rebellious Champions sought to destroy the games' organizer with the help of a strangely living Arcade. In the process, they plunged the city into chaos, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocents.
Among these rebellious Champions were Chise Hatori, Daniel Diaz, Ouka Namae, Yashamaru Kurama, Samuel Rodrigues and Akuma.
The destruction of the city was strangely absent from the memories of the survivors of the second Arena. The games' conclusion marked Arcade's return to power, and the capture of the rebellious champions. Imprisoned by the corporations who once held stake in Prudence's success, the survivors were blackmailed and brainwashed into trying once again to assassinate Arcade.
After surviving this assassination attempt Arcade banished his would-be killers to Prudence's Victorian Era to play another one of his sick games. Hoping that the Champions would unintentionally erase themselves from existence, allowed the game's participants the wreck havoc across the Old City. The destruction caused on the game's first day caused time to fracture and fold. The memories of the games participants are starting the shift and change. Some of them are slowly being replaced by their other selves. Some have already been erased.
The city itself has started to change. It has been divided into several 'zones', each one stolen from a different era of Prudence's history. With each passing moment, the timeline changes further. A band of Champions have gathered in the Alt Future Zone, under the guidance of an aged cyborg librarian. Having revealed himself to have been an older James Rhodes, a Champion who vanished in the Victorian Zone on the first day, the Librarian is trying to convince this third set of Rebellious Champions to gather their peers before any further damage can be inflicted upon the timeline. But some amongst the party has seen an opportunity in their predicament; some among the Champions plot to alter the timeline for their own benefit. A line in the sand is slowly being drawn; the two factions cannot accomplish their goals whilst the other lives.
Ironically, the Champions are running out of
time. Their histories are unravelling before them. It's only going to get harder from here on out. The line between what is, was, what could be and what could never be is starting to blur.
'Reality' is subject. There's no time for crocodile tears. The world is melting. The Corps and the Corpses are coming.
Welcome back to:
CHAMPIONS OF THE ARENA III: CURSED COMPANY: REDUX
CHAMPTER 3: CORP=RUPTED/// SAVEFILE//
***
[If you
really wanted to die, Hank, you would already be dead.] The Librarian snapped. [You're a smart man,
Doctor Henshaw. You would have found a way. You would have worked it out by now. You're faster than a speeding bullet. You don't need to eat or sleep. You've had more than enough time to solve the
riddle of your existence, and you've barely tried. It's high time that you worked out what you're looking for. Help us, or get out of our way. That's all I have to say to you, 'Super-Man'. That's all I have to say."
[The chasm between
saying and
doing is a big one, you're right...] The Librarian lamented. [Even if the world
wasn't ending, we'd have our work cut out. Prudence is
big, and it keeps getting bigger. As the timeline fractures more and more, we've developed more and more... 'Zones' in the place of the city's districts. We've got a Victorian Zone, a War Zone, A Pre-History Zone, A Medieval One, I think the Murder Resort is back too... If we're going to do this, we need to do it
right and we need to do it
quickly. Split up if you must... but someone needs to pick a zone and start searching before
we start changing too... unless it's already begun...]
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"There were rumors circulating in the Victorian Zone at the start of this little... misadventure..." The Master chirped, still obscured in the shadows of the library.
"Yes... Yes, there was talk of a certain serial killer waltzing the streets at night, if I remember correctly. I'd wager that he might the man you're after."
"That doesn't make any sense..." Brian mumbled.
"If this 'killer' we're looking for was infamous was already infamous when we arrived, them how could it be one of us?"
"You're thinking linearly, Mr.Braddock..." The Time Lord teased.
"Things aren't that simple any more... not that they were every really simple, but I digress. If my theory is correct, and the Serial Killer in the Victorian Zone is in fact that vampiric chap we arrived in, then he could have easy travelled to the Victorian Era via the long way round."
"Which means?"
"Time typically moves forward, doesn't it, Brian? Hm?" The Master smirked.
"You understand that much, at least, don't you? Presumably, our undead friend does not age like the rest us..." He cleared his throat. "The rest of you do. He could have easily set up show in the Medieval Zone and simply waited there long enough for the Victorian Era to come to him!"
"So if we want to catch the Vampire before he becomes this Jack the Ripper-type in the Victorian Era, all we need to do is catch him in the Medieval Era..."
"Quite right. You'd be saving dozens, if not hundreds of lives, no doubt..."
[At the cost of the TimeSteam, Champions...] The Librarian growled.
[If you heard about the rumor Victorian Era, than the Vampire's victims are already dead. Their deaths are part of the established timeline. I want to save them as much as anyone, but we'd be effectively raising them from the dead by undoing their deaths like this... No. We need to catch him in the Victorian Era. His victims will remain dead, but timeline might yet live.]
"You call us out for playing God..." Brian muttered.
"And yet here you are... So very set in deciding who gets to live and who gets to die..."
[We can party once we've glued reality back together, damn it!] The Librarian hissed.
[You're right. This isn't about changing the world. It's not about saving lives. It's about giving the people of this planet a chance to be. If we fail, an entire civilization gets wiped of the face of existence. Save your coins. Save your good-deed-of-the-day. The stakes are too high to get caught up wit the little things. The pointless things. There's a bigger picture here. We don't get to save everybody, but unless we do this right, there won't be an anybody!]
[We need to pick an area and start looking for the missing Champions.] The Librarian responded, alertly, despite his heated state.
[The Master thinks that Vampire might be hiding in either the Medieval Zone or Victorian Zone. If we catch the younger version of him in the Medieval Zone, we could apprehend him before he becomes an established part of the timeline, before he becomes a serial killer, at the risk of damaging the timeline more. If we apprehend the older version of him in the Victorian Era, his victims will remain dead, but we'll be able to capture him without damaging the timeline further. We need to send a team out to find him and bring him back here. Where and when you decide to find him... Well. I've made my stance clear enough, but I'm hardly in a position where I can force your hand.]
[As for the other missing Champions, we don't have a substantial lead on Akuma.] The Librarian sighed.
[But, unlike the Vampire, he won't be lying low. We can send another team out into the city to look for him and look for clues or hints as to his whereabouts; you just need to pick a place to start. Whilst you're gone, I'll be doing what I can to establish a network across the city. The two missing teams won't remain missing for long.]
@Gummi Bunnies @Takumi @Jeremi @Yun Lee
The Prisoner's eyes widened as the invisible hand of Daniel's telekinesis tightened around his throat. His fists tightened until his knuckles burned white. Despite it all, despite the pain, and the fear, and the dread, the prisoner smile never faded. It only grew. Twitching against the force of Daniel's mind, the prisoner responded to his threat a two simple words:
"Or what?"
He unleashed a guttural laugh.
"What are ya gonna do?"
@Yun Lee @Atomic Knight
"And what about you, Deer-In-Headlights?" Arcade snarled with glee, throwing his arm around Eren.
"Where do you want to go? Anywhere in the city. You name the spot. I'll send you there. And don't give me some smart-ass answer like 'home' or 'away from you' or any of that Saturday Morning Hero shit. The only way out of this is multiversal cesspit is through. I want you guys back in the game. I want you guys to start killing each other. So. Please. Accept my offer. Accept my freebie. Go on. Do it. Name a place on the city. Go on. Please. Better yet. Name a person. Name another member of the cast that you want to see dead. I'll send you straight to them. But be warned. This is a limited time offer. I can already... feel... my attention... span... slipping..." Arcade raised his right hand. His fingers started to slowly count down from five.
"And when I get bored... I start... exploding heads... maybe it'll be yours... maybe it'll be a Teammates... mayble it'll be someone you love... or just some random Joe... but regardless... I wonder... will you conscience be able to handle two exploded heads?"
@Ver @Space_Candy @Gummi Bunnies @Capri