JERICHO: INTO THE BREAK OF DAWN (DC City Boy / Worm)

[Anansi]

Canberra, Australia.
24th February 2011.

[The Simurgh]

Ziz, Simurgh, Ulama, Israfel, and the Third of the Endbringers. These are titles given to her by the inferior host species of this planet, that did nothing to justify who she really is: [CONFLICT_ENGINE_03/COORDINATOR]

As the name suggest, she is the master planner of her brethrens, bestowed by her [MOTHER/EDEN] with the power to see into virtually every branches of the future ahead of her, along with additional ones like the ability to copy technological schematics belonging to every shards for her own end, the gift of matter manipulation, and of course, her personal favourite: trillions of years worth of experience in psychological warfare.

Which she, as usual, is planning to use against these feeble primates who dared considered themselves divine, when really, they are just nothing more than a bunch of small little guppies in the grand scheme of things.

'Typical little guppies' she thought to herself. If it hadn't for her inorganic nature, she would've smirked as she slowly descent towards the city below. 'Go ahead then. Show how strong and brave you are, against I, Coordinator, the harbinger of hope's end.'

Then, she begin her song, and the battle begins.

Oh, these "humans". They never gets old with their acts of bravado and their iron-gripped holds on hope, a concept which she had proven, time and time again, to be a fool's errand. Nothing short than a mass coping mechanism that which she gladly disrupted yet again.

Take that one host, for example. The one who titled himself as Magnus. Chosen host of [MAGNETISM], a shard specialized in magnetism in all forms, was an idealist who is also a blurry mirror of [HIGH_PRIEST]'s host, Eidolon, in terms of his addiction to the belief that maybe, just maybe, that if he and his fellow morons hit her and her two awakened brethrens hard enough, then the road to victory is more than guaranteed.

What. A. Fool

So now there he is, charging up his homemade railgun before using it against her well-made barriers made out of buildings and vehicles. Not that it concerns her, for thanks to her precognition, she had staged a domino effect that not only cause his own railgun to malfunction and explode right to his face, but with the building he's standing on being a firework store, well....let's just say that nobody will ever look at the 4th of July the same way ever again.

Anyway, to put it into summary, it was obvious as to who is the winner of this battle. Most of the hosts are all but have their live scattered into the wind, her song manages to infect some of them, and now, before she make her leave, she decides to look into the future once again in order to plan out yet another despair-inducing—
.
.
.
No.

No..

[NO!]

What happens to her precognition?! It was fine then but now, it's blank!?!?

[DENIAL]

[ANALYZING ISSUE WITHIN FUTURE CALCULATION SOFTWARE]

[ERROR: FUTURE CALCULATION SOFTWARE IS SEVERELY DAMAGED. REPAIRMENT VIA {SHAPER}, ×{THINKER}× OR ×{WARRIOR}× IS REQUIRED]

[PANIC/CONFUSION/ANGER/QUERY?]

[IDENTIFYING THE CAUSE OF THE FOLLOWING ISSUE]

[WARNING: UNKNOWN ABERRATION WITHIN THE CONFLICT ENGINE HUB IS DETECTED]

[WARNING: UNKNOWN ABERRATION HIJACKS {CONFLICT_ENGINE_05/FORTIFIER} AND HAVE TAKEN FULL ADMINISTRATION OF IT]

[WARNING: UNKNOWN ABERRATION ASSIMILATES {CONFLICT_ENGINE_05/FORTIFIER} AND IS NOW IN PROGRESS OF SKTH3KSO4IWLVEIEK-------------------:]

Oh, by Zion.

This is bad.

She had to warn her creator.

She had to sound the alarm–

Suddenly, every thoughts that ran through her mind, or at least, the closest thing she gets to it, are instantly silenced by a presence of an unknown energy emitting from the north of this city. She turns her head towards where the energy is emitting, all the host's fighting against stops what they were doing and follow suits upon noticing her strange behavior.

What she saw was frightening.

Standing in the north lives a giant 23 feet tall camel spider made out of the very city itself. Buildings, roads, bridges, you named it! It is as if the city have had enough of her bullshit and decides to take matters into their own hand, and it shows. It really shows how tired they are of the latter when you look into the spider's two piercing eyes, staring down at the winged homewrecker. Then, to the shocks of many, it talks.

<INTRUDER_COORDINATOR>

<YOU HAVE BEEN SOWING ENOUGH DESPAIR UPON OUR WORLD SINCE THE DAY YOU FIRST ARRIVED AT LAUSANNE'S DOORSTEP, AND NOW, YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO LAY YOUR FILTHY STEP UPON MY VERY BEING?! PATHETIC!!>

<LEAVE ME AND THEM ALONE!! CALL OFF YOUR SONG FROM THEIR MINDS AND MAKE HASTE FROM OUR WORLD, OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!>

'Face. The. Consequences....' In a speed akin to that of sound, her mood went from being afraid to being absolutely PISSED at this sheer act of defiance against her.

[INDIGNATION/REFUSAL]

[DEMAND: IDENTITY]

Natural selection must have been feeling very delightful at this turn of event because just a few seconds before she make her first move, a spike appears below her and stabbed through and into her core.

Then, the spike begins to grow out branches from itself, and all of them sprouts out of her like a cordycep fungus. No word can do justice to describe how AGONIZING the process is. For the first and last time in her life as a conflict engine, she finally begin to experience how it's like to feel as if every single drop of hope within her soul disappears one by one, just as she had done to many host throughout her as the Hope Killer.

Just a few seconds before she died, The Simurgh, with her remaining strength, succeeds in hearing out the identity of her adversary.

<MY NAME IS CANBERRA, OH RUINOUS MANIPULATOR. MAY YOU NEVER KNOW PEACE IN YOUR NEXT LIFE, IF THERE IS EVEN ONE FOR YOU. NOW, TO OBLIVION YOU GO!>

And thus, the end of the Simurgh's tale. All by the hands of Canberra, and the one who awakens them...
​

---

Author's Note: Australia's the Florida of Oceania. Enough said.​

 

[Anansi]

Spoiler: Day One

This, as you can see, is my first time writing a journal. This is due to my therapist, Dr. Oakley, recommending me to do so as part of my therapy, and y'know what? Who can blame him?

Even after one year had passed since Canberra, I still can't get over those nightmares of the day I gain this "gift" of mine living inside my brain like like brain-eating amoebas. They're just that fucking clingy!

The screams, the devastations...all of them, I've bear witness to, and I fear that they'll forever follow me all the way to my grave.​

​

[Sodom & Gomorrah (Part One)]​

Brockton Bay, USA
4th November 2012

Welcome to Brockton Bay, the Sodom and Gomorrah of the 21st Century. Here in this wretched hive found standing on the American soils lives some of the most vilest of all humanity.

The Empire 88, a group consisting of Neo-Nazi sons of bitches still coping to this day of Germany's losses during the Second War World. Womp womp.

The ABB, who claimed themselves as protectors of the Asian community in the Bag when really, it's the exact opposite when you have Puff The Angry Death Lizard as your leader and his undead Dollar Store Naruto his enforcer.

Then, you have Coil and the Merchants. One is a James Bond Villain wannabe who lives in a bunker under some building while the latter being a small gang of druggies and muggers. I mean, obviously.

I could go on but I prefer not to waste any time and just stick to the point. Said point is now dismounting himself out of his car.

5'6" in height, built like a swimmer, wears a fit that really screams "QUIRKY XD", the curly black-haired fellow is having a lot on his mind as he walks himself into a steakhouse to get something to eat.

You see, he forgot to pay his rent in time, and as a result, his landlord make him choose between having the AC cut off for the week or get himself kick off his apartment. Unsurprisingly, he picked the former and boy, is everything so hot. Not even his two electric fans are enough to cool him through his sleepless night. And the less we speak about how much impact it had on his important biology assignment and his side hustle schedule, the better.

In short, he isn't having a good day. Which is why he's now in the steakhouse in the first place. He really wants to consume in order to blow his stress away, for nothing can truly ease his mood other than a good meal for him.

"Good morning, Mr. Einarsson!" He greets the steakhouse's owner and head chef, Gunnar Einarsson. Once lived in Iceland, this jolly giant of a man decided to move to America in order to find new life after Leviathan's devastating attack on Reykjavik that left millions drowned in his wave.

As always, every greetings made will end with a pat on the shoulder by Gunnar, his smile is enough to lessen the heavy cloud inside the lad's head.

"Morning to you too, Samson!" Gunnar greets back as he leads Samson to his table. "How are you feeling this very week?"

"Well, besides the fact that I was feeling kinda down thanks to my landlord being an asshole who indirectly caused my assignment to get an F while my part-time job almost went down the drain, yes I'm feeling fine this week."

"Bah! That landlord of yours needs to get his head out of his head for once. Lord have mercy upon us all, even after all these years since the Marquis' departure to the Birdcage, that barrel of lard still hasn't changed."

'Man, most people in this city truly loves that guy, eh?' Samson thought to himself. "Based on the way you mention him, I assumed that he's a great guy, right?"

"Aye, for despite his ruthlessness, the Marquis was fair and honourable. Any promise he make, he'll fulfill it at all cost." Gunnar answers back, though with a slight tone of wistfulness indicating a longing for the time long gone. "But enough chit chat! Now, tell me. What would you like to order?"

"Can't I get the usual? Chocolate smoothie, medium rare steak and jalapeno cheese fries?"

"Anything for you, lad!"

As Gunnar walks back to the kitchen to prepare making his order, Samson looks at the window and begin to open his eyes.

His own third eye.

Samson knew that his life is no longer the same as it was before, all thanks to the late Simurgh's attack on his former home, Canberra. So many lives lost during her onslaught, either killed or cursed to be Ziz bombs.

Unfortunately for him, his entire family, consisting of his parents, his younger brothers and his grandparents, were amongst the casualties, killed by fallen debris and also large fire spreading throughout their entire streets.

This, along with the fact that he got stuck underneath a mountain of bodies and broken asphalt, is the final straw that broke the camel's back. This is the moment that he triggered...into one of the most powerful parahumans on the planet.

For one minute, he was trapped and then the next thing he knew, he was riding on top of a giant camel spider made out of everything that made up the very city itself, standing on top of what remains of the Hopekiller herself. Thus, marking his first debut upon the world, with his identity laid bare in front of millions of capes involved in the fight.

'Yet, even fame does not stop my landlord from being a dick, let alone, preventing any organizations from trying to kidnap or even assassinate me...' He chuckles self-deprecatingly. 'But no matter. No point of crying over spilled milk. I have a job to do.'

[CONNECTING {HOST} TO {BROCKTON_BAY}]

[BEGIN COMMUNICATION]

[YES/NO]

'Yes, begin communication now.'

[AGREEMENT]

{HOST} —— {BROCKTON_BAY}

[CONNECTION COMPLETE]

"Ok, here goes nothing"

'Salutation, Brockton Bay.'

[SALUTATION @SAMSON_ARLINGTON]​

 

[Anansi]

Full Name: SAMSON ARLINGTON

Official Cape Designation: JERICHO

Aliases: KING OF CITIES, DAEDALUS, HOPEBRINGER, SAVIOR OF CANBERRA, BANE OF THE FALLEN, LORD OF CAPITALS.

Age: 23

Alignment: GOOD

Nationality: AUSTRALIAN-AMERICAN

Classifications: MASTER 15, SHAKER 12, BRUTE 5, MOVER 7, THINKER 11.

Power: URBAN SYMBIOSIS

Power Description: Samson is able to connect himself into what he called "The Simulacrum", a metaphysical dimension in which the collective consciousness of every urban areas in every Earth resides. Through this connection, he can do a number of different abilities in relation to his symbiotic relationship with cities:
​

— MASTER 15: Able to create and coordinate with living "avatars" that holds the "will" of whatever city they originated from (if not cities, than any urban areas like for example, towns). One notable example of these constructs is that of Canberra, that took the shape of a camel spider (Arachnida solifugae) with the height of 23 feet tall.



— SHAKER 15: Able to alter the interface of any urban areas, regardless of their size, and the structures within them correspondingly to his imagination and will. He is also able to generate and design his own personal metropolis out of thin air and vice versa, which is useful in environments too far away from civilizations (look at File 987767 titled "Operation Ogun")



– BRUTE 5: Has shown to possess enhanced strength and endurance, as well as regeneration. After further testing, it has been shown to be caused by an unknown energy, possibly from The Simulacrum.



– MOVER 7: Has shown to be able to run faster than any movers except for Legend when in areas near or within cities, teleport himself and others from one location to another, phase through solid matters and jump to about as high as Medhall building.



– THINKER 11: Can communicate with cities and towns, locate anyone and anything even from thousand city blocks away, see through any matters of any kind and finally, can read the "memories" of the cities, which in turn, allows him to see the past of anyone and anything.

​

Contingency Plans: IT IS VERY MUCH ADVISABLE TO KEEP HIM AT HIS GOOD GRACE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. REFER TO HIM BY HIS CIVILIAN NAME OR HIS CAPE NAME ONLY. DO NOT ANTAGONIZE HIM IN ANY WAY. AVOID QUESTIONING HIM OF THE CANBERRA INCIDENT, THE HALLOW TOWN MASSACRE OR ANY OTHER EVENTS THAT CAN AGITATE HIM AND HIS POWER. ​

 

[Anansi]

[Sodom & Gomorrah (Part Two)]​

[PoV: Mariana]

Mariana had hoped for her days to not get any worse but at least, the universe decided that she's undeserving of any ounces of happiness whatsoever.

For here she is, amongst the unlucky few who got caught in the conflict between the heroes and the Empire, with her being stuck inside her overturned car. She try to get the safety belt off of her, but to no avail.

"Fuck. My. Entire. LIFE!" She lets out her cries high up into the heaven. "All I ever wanted is to have a few minute of peace, but NOOOO! Seems that being yelled at by my boss was not enough–"

Never fear anymore. Your misfortune ends here!

Just then, the street around them all begin to distort; physics goes out for a picnic as everything around them turns into a mosaic display before an army of cat-sized manta rays made of scrap metals appear out of nowhere, with Scheele's green light emanating through the cracks between each metal "cells" that made up their very being. Then, emerged from the ground, she see none other than the Savior of Canberra himself, Jericho.

Standing tall like heroes of Greek legend, Jericho was a figure spoken in the same tone as the Triumvirate themselves. Indeed, with him in his cape outfit being a futuristic reconstruction of those worn by Roman generals of old, it is not rocket science to know that Jericho means business.

A very serious business.

"It's been 67 years since the Second World War had finally made its conclusion." Jericho spoke first, his levitating manta rays orbits a few feet above him. "Yet still there are still idiots who chose to cling themselves to the dogmas of the long dead regime"

"Oh, you think you're hot shit, Jericho!?" Alabaster, one of the most prolific members of the Empire, let his tongue lose. Behind him, Cricket, and Krieg are slowly turning their back on the heroes behind them. "You may bring down the Simurgh, but you can't bring down our great Fuhrer's way!"

"I'm very much aware of that, chalkface!" said Jericho, who goes into a fighting stance. "So I decide to teach people how stupid it is to fanboying a dead guy with a toothbrush for a mustache"


"YOU FUCKING SAY WHAT–"


WIth a snap of his finger, his manta ray army flies into the battlefield, and thus, so begins the ultimate beatdown.

Cricket is the first to get folded. Just when she's about to screech, a manta ray appears behind her and knocks her down. It then reconfigure itself to form a sheet of strong metal before binding her down to the ground.

Then, there goes Krieg. The fucking manta rays, as he soon found out, can shoot a pebble out of themselves at the speed of bullet. Two goes right through the hole of his rifle's nozzle and his left shoulders, then two more hit his right foot.

Finally, Alabaster is the next one. Though unlike his two fallen compatriots, he have enough endurance to lay a sucker punch on Jericho's face. Alas, as expected, not even the immortal Alabaster can remain on top forever.

BONK!!

A brick appears out of nowhere and fall on top of his head, knocking Alabaster for good.

"Need a hand?"

"OH MY GOD!!"

Fuck. She was so distracted by the fight that she forgot that Jericho is even well-known for his mischievous streak. At an impossible speed, he instantly teleport from there to her side! God, she swear that she may have shit her pant brown!

Fuck. My. Entire. Life
​

---

Author's Note: Yeah, even I feel conflicted by this part of the story.

Anyway, I'll be moving and re-titling Quest For [FUN] into Creative Writing section. So before that happen, do me a favor and go vote there on who's gonna be the main protagonist of the story.​

 

[Anansi]

[Sodom & Gomorrah (Part Three)]

Yuku ressha no chiri wa sakyuu ni moji wo kaku,
"Hyakunen kanata no sora yori mimamoru" to.​

Haldyn Hotel. What a great song to listen to. One that is written and sung by the great Susumu Hirasawa himself, who's also involved in the soundtracks of the Berserk series that his father loved so much.​

Airisu ga saku nagai ame no yoru,
Inoru you ni kimi wo sagashite machi wo kaketa.​

Back when things used to be so beautiful for him, his little brother would always come to him for the sole purpose of wanting to do a karaoke with him together, especially on this particular song.​

Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN, Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN, Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN,
made issho ni ikimasen ka?
Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN, Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN, Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN,
made ikimasen ka?​

He remembered how much they enjoy doing their merry activity, with the song helping them in their charade of their make-believe parade. Samson and Samuel, the two leaders of the great marching parade of Canberra! Bringing merriment and wonders throughout all of Australia as they fight bad guys and shits!​

Kumo ga kesu hoshi ni odo no hi wa kataru.
Pendyuramu sora ni kazashi kimi wa yasurage yo

Kage wa mezamete fuchi e no michi wo sasu
Yakudatsu uchuu wo kono te ni furase ima koso

Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN, Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN, Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN,
made issho ni ikimasen ka?
Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN, Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN, Toruhiiyo no HARUDIN,
made ikimasen ka?​

But alas, some dreams can never be fulfilled. The Battle of Canberra had took away their chance of making theirs come true. Even with his absolute authority over every known cities and other urban areas around the world, it's not enough to be able to turn back the clock, to save his family from the chaos unfold as they either buried under rumbles or burned by the fire. Their screams for salvation is all in vain, their screams for salvation is all in vain, their screams for salvation is all in vain, their screams for salvation is all in vain, theirscreamsforslavatjnfnwjsn—

[SAMSON/WORRY]

[QUERY]—[HOST: SAMSON]

"Wot, what..?"

It isn't long for him to realize that once again, he is going through another recollection. Again.

The dinner table is now standing upside down on the ceiling, along with the sitting pad that he bought from the Internet. The mattress on his bed was ripped to pieces, and his TV grew legs. Such is the curse of being the King of Cities: whatever nightmares or other shits you're going are guaranteed to get manifested into the real world.

[QUERY/WORRY]

"Normally, I would say that I'm fine, just as always." said Samson, before snapping his fingers to restore everything back to normal. "But y'know what? Fuck it! I'm not alright, and I wish I was."

[QUERY: COMFORT?]

"....yeah, alright." In a nick of one second, he can feel numerous phantom arms wrapping around him. Looking to his right, he can see his friend, smiling at him yet also looking worried at the same time. "Thank you, Eridu"

[WELCOME/COMFORT]

At least he have someone there for him. It's good to have a friend by your side.
​

---

Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter tho. It's just that I've come to the realization that I'm good at making short chapters over long chapters.​

 

[Anansi]

I've look into the vote results, and now I can see that 75.0% of you voted for "Fuck No". So, I re-edit the entire chapters to go back to being default.​