Heavenly Retribution.

[arahabaki]

As if to answer Infini's question, Shakou took another sip. He listened as Cowboy was trying to provoke a god...'Seriously man? One would think I would be the volatile one, coming from the Military Nation after all. Well, coming from a generally calm clan does help.' He sat there quietly as if in thought as Infini, then Horyo talked. After Horyo finished, he just had to add his own two cents in. "And here I was hoping to have bacon for breakfast tomorrow."

[DragonMasterX]

"Sure." Infini closed his eyes when Horyo spoke, the ties and gag disappearing from the little piggy's body, before it jumped down and hurried to the party's side, squeaking.

"G-guys!" the piggy said, "I can't believe you would try to roast me without thinking!" it scowled, bloating slightly as it huffed.

[Masquerade]

"Give it a rest, hog," Thanatos spoke angrily. "Now is not the time. I'm tired of this endless dabble. For an eternity--if you even believe in that--could be spent of us tossing around our ideas, but it would not get us any closer to the end. No matter what we may think, there is no way to break through this impasse without action that will take us to a future that may or may not happen."

Glaring at the god, he gripped his sword tightly and whispered something inaudible. The sword disappeared. "Now listen, Infini," Thanatos regained the little bit of composure that he had lost. "The question is: what now? What do you plan to do? We are not a hostile group here, though that may be proven incorrect at times. What are your goals? Do you plan to exterminate all humans? Honest questions, they are, I might add."

[DragonMasterX]

"Exterminate is a very harsh word." Infini responded, as if deafening towards Thanatos. "I just merely wanted to have some fun, didn't you have fun too? Here, do you like chess?" he snapped his fingers, causing the table with the drinks to whisk away and to be replaced by a rather large chess table, Infini's side had the Whites, and in the rows were four pawns and a king, while the black side was a full table, except with no pawns. "My 'intentions' could be resumed in this game. What do you make of it?" he asked, closing his eyes as he awaited responses.

[Frisk E. Coyote]

"Are you alright? How in Amaterasu's name did you end up here?" Horyo asked the pig, hopping off the chair and sitting on his haunches. "No matter, tell us later. This will have to be settled as soon as possible. There is no telling what our host's next idea of fun might be." He added, tilting his head toward the chess board. He was familiar with this game, though where he came from, it was called Shogi. This one had incomplete pieces. He gazed up from the chessboard and up at Infini's unnatural visage. Despite what he was, how old he may be, how clever or two-faced, or even treacherous he was, he seemed to have the mindset of a child. A very patient, calm, collected and sharp one at that, but a child nonetheless.

The canine inspected the pieces, considering each piece's significance. "The white king... represents you, does it not? And your pawns... there are four of them, one for each of us... You're saying that in this game, we are merely your pawns, on your side." He interpreted. "And the black pieces... are the other side." He added quietly. "At least... that's how I interpret it. Am I close?"

[DragonMasterX]

"Close enough!" Infini's face seemed to express amusement again, "This was just the start of the game though!" He said, his right hand making several swishes as the pieces started moving on their own, save for the Kings and the single Black Champion.

As the game progressed, one could see how one by one, all the powerful black pieces were one by one captured by the less threatening pawns, finishing with all four of them on the other side of the board, in line with the Black King and the Black Champion, and just next to the later. "This was the middle of it." He said, re-opening his eyes and glaring daggers all of a sudden, "And this," his right index finger prodded forwards at the air, making the Black Champion fall of the table, and all four Pawns, now transmogrified into Champions due to reaching the final spaces, surrounded the Black King "Is where you guys are at the moment." He said, his voice sounding like the hissing of a snake.

[Frisk E. Coyote]

Horyo furrowed his brows at the board, naming the pieces they captured one by one after the powerful opponents they defeated in a sequence. Finally, the Champion, Ignus himself was the only one left, it all played over again in his head, their battles, their victories both complete and just barely. After all that... they still had the king left to capture.

He lifted his gaze up at Infini, his suspicious eyes slanting into a glare. Slowly, he tilted his head toward the beads wrapped around his right foreleg, clamped a fang around it and jerked his head sharply, causing the string of beads to snap, and the many beads to scatter, the round beads rolling on the floor, arranging themselves around him in a circle, the magatama shaped beads fell in a smaller circle around him, and the biggest bead, a clear one with a tomoe inside it, hovered just in front of his chest. The beads floated off the ground and hovered around the dog, circling him, one type clockwise, the other type counter clockwise. The got off his haunches and lowered himself onto an attacking stance, ear pointed back, muzzle curled up in a snarl, tail swaying left and right.

"Very well. If its a game you want, its a game you'll get!" He snarled, the brown patches of fur on his body turned white, and his whole body emitted a soft blur of light that seeped through his bright red and gold armor.

[DragonMasterX]

"Oh?" Infini said, "Now you've suddenly gone and started immitating your friends... How curious!" He leaned forwards, "But you cannot entertain me on your own, I'm afraid." He arrogantly sweeped a hand over his head, closing his eyes and falling back onto his sitting place as if in disappointment.

"You did well, but only because you were my pieces; in other words, I was the conductor who guided you along this game. You won't be able to do it again with no Conductor, silly. It's like jumping down a cliff with no methods of going back up or anything to soften your landing." He started explaining again, "The White King decides its army's movements, who they capture, and their role in the game. You guys are mere Pawns, had I willed it, anyone before Ignus would have destroyed you, but I wanted to see the how the hectic, last conflict would turn out..." a pause, "...And while I'm not completely pleased by the outcome I had foreseen, you guys still played greatly. However... you still are pawns, your lives are not yours. Defying me is like fighting against yourselves, either outcome, you will die." He stammered.

[Frisk E. Coyote]

"I know." Horyo said through his bared fangs. "But I am tired of being manipulated. The Reijuu are followers, not pieces. The black king, the white king, regardless of which side you stand on, we will sever this chain of fate." He growled, shifting his eyes toward his comrades to see if they feel the same. Probably not. Acting rash was an acquired trait from them after all. "So produce this black king now, so we may end this game of pawns and kings!"

OOC: I should really stop and wait for the others, despite this just being a conversation. Last post! XD

[Bee]

Cowboy stood up again, and glared at Infini.

"I am NOT a pawn." He snarled, his ears laid back, "I rose from the depths of poverty. I fought my way to where I am today. I am a king, with a throne built out of the bones of my enemies. And before this is all over, your bones will be added to it."

He walked besides Horyo, and cracked his knuckles through his reinforced metal gloves. The cybernetics that littered his mind and body pulled up the information he needed, the proper way to fight in hand-to-hand combat.