Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Why am I a God? (PenGryphon2007)

Dia opened her mouth for a retort and stood back up again as the shimmer blinked out of her peripheral vision. She looked at the space it was previously, then looked around herself. She almost though she had lost track of it entirely, but glancing back at the guy she caught the shimmer again. "Yooou...I don't like you..." she said to the shimmer, quite annoyed. One would wonder if that was her only state of being. They would be right.

She didn't hesitate to tell him about herself, as it wasn't worth keeping a secret in the first place. "My name is Dia Hawkins. I've been searching for eight years as to where my ability to - from what I can tell - control space came from. That thing that follows you is the first and only supernatural being beyond ghosts and so-called "spiritual hotspots" that I've come across. Therefore, its the only lead I have. You are the only lead I have. And I apologize for threatening you, but it was the only way I could be sure that you wouldn't do something stupid. Something so paltry as guns would do nothing to help you if you decided to fight me."

Seeing Dia's reactions to the Legion made Cody smirk. He couldn't help it. How many years had he been tormented by this creature and had people looking at him like he was crazy? It was kind of nice not to be the only one.

"You get used to it after a while," he commented ruefully, then heard her story out. He was surprised by her intensity, though he understood why. He twitched his shoulder in the Legion's direction, not wanting to draw attention from anyone who might be observing them. "I've spent eight years terrified by my inheritance, I guess you could call it. And another eight trying to deal with it as a hallucination. After a while, I realized it was protecting me and I've tried to ignore it ever since. As for the guns...it's a habit regardless of the threat--they don't work against the incorporeal, try as I might."

Under its breath, the Legion muttered: "Ungrateful mortal." Then it turned its attention to Dia, sizing her up and taking a brief interest in the mortal female who could potentially bring about the end of the world. The Legion's gaze flickered to the area around them before it settled, folding its six lengthy wings against its back. "We are safe, for the present. I sense no Fallen nearby."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Fantastic."

She noted that the shimmer seemed to contract, and she imagined its wings folding, unless it was simply shifting dimensions. That would only solidify her belief that their powers were related. It was dangerous to make assumptions like that right now.

"Inheritance? Well, crap. So really, you don't know anything about its origins anymore than I would know about mine? Great. And you can talk to it? I can't hear it without entering its dimensional space. I find it fascinating that it can show itself to you and no-one else, and even speak without anyone else hearing it. In fact, I'm pretty sure it can see and hear our world while residing in another...remarkable." She was genuinely surprised by this ability. That kind of power was certainly something she could learn, but was not sure how to go about it. The stealth applications such a power could have were literally infinite.

When she wasn't brooding or playing pranks with her powers, she was learning different ways to apply them. Up to that point, her powers were only limited by what her mind could comprehend, so she was more or less trapped by her own scientific logic. Without breaking through that, her power would forever be limited.

She looked at his tire and closed her eyes, placing her hand on it and refilling it with air. If he couldn't answer her questions, its unlikely there was anything more to learn from him. "Well, sorry I risked critically injuring you. If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure I could have fixed you up...I think. You know what, nevermind, I never paid attention in Anatomy class. Later guy...good luck with your bird-man-thing." She stood, resolving to continue her search again. For a second, she thought she had been so close...she didn't realize how tired this journey was making her.

Cody glanced at his fixed bike and then at Dia. "W-wait! Dia..." He ran after her to catch up. "Look, it's true I don't really know all that much about it, but I've never tried to...interact with it on purpose. It mostly just stands there watching things for threats. Besides, even if you had tried to injure me, I don't think it would have let you. But if you can get into its dimensional space or whatever, maybe you could-" he trailed off as the Legion suddenly butted its way into the conversation.

"Let her ask me what she wants. I find myself curious about her as well." The Legion spoke gruffly, as though embarrassed to want to converse with a mortal.

"What? Why?" Cody demanded of the hallucination.

"She is different," was all that the Legion came up with. "And I cannot shift into your world without your help."

"No! Absolutely not." Cody took a step away from the creature before turning back to Dia. "The Legion says if you want to ask it questions, you can. He can understand us, but he can't take on a material form unless he possesses a person and he won't do that. I won't let him," muttered Cody belligerently.

"Somehow, I don't feel entirely comfortable with knowing an interdimensional being wants to speak with me. I ask that you not go anywhere, because I can't follow you. If I take a small step in a different dimension, its possible I could end up on the other side of the galaxy when I come back. I won't be long."

She closed her eyes, secretly excited and feeling more energized than she had her entire life. She formed the dimensional pocket around herself and disappeared from view in Cody's viewpoint. Reappearing right next to the angel-like figure, she stared at it, almost in awe.

"Re...remarkable...eh, all right Birdman, question one...I can manipulate space...I want to know the origin of this power. Do you have any idea where it comes from? I kind of need to know so that I might - if its living - tear it into tiny pieces." She wasn't sure whether to remain nervous or excited by this opportunity. What if this is God?

I just called God Birdman in this case...

What have I done.

Cody jumped as Dia vanished right in front of him. "Uhhh, sure. I'll just, uh, wait here." He sighed and went to look over his motorcycle. He could eavesdrop on the conversation if he wanted to, but he doubted he'd understand anything.

When the woman appeared before him, the Legion's six wings snapped apart, increasing his size three-fold. He looked down at the mortal woman before him, his grip on his shield and sword tightening briefly, before relaxing. She was not a Fallen, he reminded himself. She was not inherently evil and she did not mean his mortal harm.

His voice, when he spoke, was inscrutable but deep. "I am a Legion, not a bird," he corrected quickly enough. "As for your powers and their origination, you use them as a Fallen might. However, you are able to manifest in physical form at any time with no known side effects?" He paused then added, "The Fallen are only able to do so when they possess a host in a pre-existing mortal body."

She stared at him for a full second and then looked down for a bit, her hand resting on her chin as she thought momentarily. "I can do all sorts of things. I can manipulate matter, create something from nothing, see dimensions and make a portal from one place to another....I theorize that there is no limit to this power, and that I've only discovered a small portion of it. What's a Fallen?" She imagined she must sound ridiculous to this bird-...Legion, as she knew so little despite knowing her own abilities to a reasonable degree.

"Never mind, I have a better question. Where do they come from? Maybe I'm just a special one of these Fallen...?"

The Legion contemplated for a long minute. He hadn't heard of any of the abilities she described. But he was only a Legion. Surely the Archangel had at least the power to create something from nothing? But that wouldn't explain how the ability could travel into a physical body. Even possessed mortals, once released from their Fallen counterparts, retained no ability.

Unfortunately he found himself needing to explain the hierarchy of angels yet again. "There are three types of Angels: Legions, Guardians, and Fallen. The Fallen come from either Legion or Guardian who take a host. They Fall when they do so. The archangel oversees the balance of the war, but accidents do happen."

An idea occurred to him suddenly. "We cannot die, but we are reborn--not in physical bodies, but immaterial ones. Perhaps..." It would be the nearest explanation he could give her, that made any sense to him. The possibility was nearabout impossible, but he wouldn't put it past the possibility of happening once in several millenia--like mortals being able to see him. His six wings lifted briefly in an awkward shrug. "Perhaps one such death was translated into a physical body."

Dia could see what seemed to be a connection clearly in his explanation, but it was a longshot. "...I gathered that my powers have some connection to my mother's death. Once I gained them...she died soon after. I never learned why. Are you saying its possible that my mom was of your kind? The only clue I've ever had is the title I apparently inherited. When I gained my mom's bank account, I was told that I had become the Magesse of Space by the man overseeing her Will. Neither of us understood. What does that mean to you?"

Her confusion was obvious, but at the same time she hoped that she had hit the nail on the head with her deductions. She was sick of always coming up empty. That he seemed genuinely surprised by her abilities did not bode well for him knowing anymore about her predicament than Cody did.

"It may be that your mother was one of us; certainly the link between you gaining powers and your mother's death seems that way. But to be the Magesse of space-" The Legion looked at her sharply. "How far do your powers extend? How much can you control?"

She shrugged and nearly threw together a cop out, but then she stopped to think about it. An easy way to describe her powers was formulating. "Uhh...hm. Oh! I seem to have the ability to sense and control both dimensional space and solid matter within that dimension. I haven't tried to manipulate matter from different dimensions yet, because I really don't want to blow up the galaxy or something. Physics is complicated like that."

"That is probably for the best," the Legion replied grimly, before seizing another idea. "You mentioned your mother, but what of your father? Would he not also be important in the source of your powers?"

This was why he avoided mortal affairs--they were much too messy for his liking. Give him a horde of Fallen any day--he'd gladly slay them.

"My...dad? I don't know, dude, I never knew my father, nor did my mom ever talk about him. As I got older, I just assumed that I was an accident, but I don't know..." The subject made her visibly uncomfortable, and horror crossed into her eyes as she came to a conclusion she'd have never thought of on her own, despite her powers.

"Am I even human?" she whispered, predictably bothered by the concept.

The Legion's eyes glittered behind his face-concealing helmet. "Perhaps it is your father you must find for answers. I may be a Legion, but I am not omniscient. And yes, you are human--have no fear. Were you not, I would not have hesitated to slay you."

Back in the physical world, Cody was feigning sleep, propped up against the fixed rear tire of his motorcycle.

Dia snapped out of her stupor when he reassured her and scoffed. "Pff, as if you could. I can do this!" She shifted dimensions again, appearing back in Cody's reality. "I'm like a magician! Oi! Wake up, are you awake? Excellent!" She stretched out her back, popping a joint somewhere and seeming relieved for a second. She gestured towards the bike. "All right, either I steal this bike or I'm traveling with you. I need to get places faster. I would make my own, but I would literally have to know everything about motorcycles. And you wouldn't believe how much dimensional travel takes out of you."

Cody jumped at her sudden reappearance and then cracked an eye open to look at Dia. "Oh, so you're back and raring to go." He yawned and got to his feet. "I take it you actually learned something from my..." he made a face. He couldn't call it 'his hallucination' when other people were able to talk to it.

"Whatever. You steal my bike and you'll regret it." He recalled that second saddlebag with a twitch. "Besides, I already offered to drive you somewhere earlier. Before you popped my tire. Anyway, where would you like to go?" By this point he had swung his leg over the motorcycle. No one was going to steal his motorcycle anytime soon.

His glance at the Legion proved entertaining and he chuckled a little. The Legion's wing feathers stuck out at weird angles, like he'd literally had his feathers ruffled. "Whatever you did to the Legion, he's really not happy."

She shrugged with a grimace, having had more emotional ups and downs in the last five minutes than in the last year. She felt more or less back to normal now. Essentially, her objective hadn't changed. She was still looking for the origin of the powers, but now that answer may rest with her origin.

What a giant pain in this ass this is going to be.

"I called him birdman. He'll get over it," she said with a sarcastic smirk, and sat on the back of the motorcycle. She had never ridden on one before, so she was not entirely comfortable with it. "As far as destination, wherever you're going I guess...We can go anywhere except backwards."

Cody laughed. "I'll have to remember that one." He sobered a little as the Legion glared at him, but he still wore a wry smirk. "Backwards isn't hard...but it's entirely too much work." He started to propel them backwards using his feet, before pausing to restart the motorcycle's engine again. It had died after the blown tire incident.

"Alright, so forwards it is with no place in particular--my favorite. You may wanna hold on." He adjusted his jacket a little, making sure it fell over the two revolvers at his waist. He revved the engine for fair warning, before peeling out onto the road.

Dia shivered as the engine rumbled to life underneath her. She could only describe it like it was a much louder, more powerful horse, and it was a friend of nobody. Her heart skipped a few beats at the sound of it firing to life. This was nothing like a car, but that was exactly how people liked it, she imagined. She was so entranced, she didn't hear his warning, and the bike's back tire squealed in excitement and pushed the bike forward.

Now her heart flew into her throat as she was thrown backwards. Only her hand reaching out to grab his jacket and pull herself close to his back kept her from flipping off the back end. She clung to him, her arms around his waist. The strangest sensation of moving so quickly forward without a windshield or a seatbelt was frightening. For a while, she only closed her eyes tight and refused to open them for longer than a couple seconds.

Cody slowed the bike a little, recalling that while he had his Legion to watch his back, his rider didn't. The rumble of the motorcycle made conversation possible, but only from his passenger speaking into his ear. Him shouting back might or might not be heard.

"Just holler when you wanna stop," he said anyway over the roar of the engine; though he figured she would let him know one way or another. He looked around, trying to figure out where they might or should be heading. Should they remain in the city or head to the outskirts? It all depended on what Dia was looking for. He paused at a red light and called over his shoulder, "Into the city or not?"