Subspace
     2000?

In a quiet, ordinary-looking if cluttered room, in a not-so ordinary place (depending on how you saw things), great plans were being made, decisions were made that would affect the futures of all those present, a last ditch gamble contemplated...

"Hmmm, I'll tap my last mountain for one red mana and 'Bolt that damned Sprite."

"Hah! Foolish one, I meant for you to do that, now I'll Unsummon that Wall of Stone you've been hiding behind and without that mana, you can't stop me! Now I get to choose the channels for the next week! Hah!"

"Oh drat."

...Of course, considering that there were only two beings there (apart from the cats), this didn't really mean much overall.

"... You okay? You seem... distracted.", the faintly transparent woman at the table's head garbed in Grecian robes asked quizzically, her air of triumph gone.

"Heh, trailing of like that is my schtick, Alyss. But yeah, I think it's time we moved on, eh? Been hanging around here in Subspace too long." Laying down the rest of his cards, the thin Chinese man in robes opposite her rose and started to clear the table. As he cleared the table he continued to speak.

"I mean, it's always fun to come back to the Room and kick back for a bit, but one can only stay here for so long. I guess I miss the experience of visiting new places and picking up new things. It's not like I'm in the middle of anything critical back here, and I think I've got this whole L-Space thing under control."

"True, besides, I'm sure those chimps've stopped searching for you."

"Hey! I am NOT hiding from them or anybody!"

"Whatever you say boss, or should I say 'Reader in Invisible Fanfics'... So where to next? You seem to have some sort of idea by the looks of it."

"Just call me Reader like before, the full thing is too much a mouthful. Anyhow... I was thinking of seeing if I could work on getting my accuracy with dimensional transport to a place I haven't been to before up, head someplace new. I mean, it'd be nice to revisit some of the places I've been, show Mousse or Hsien-Ko some of my new additions to our Art, trade for new stuff at the Bazaar, but I know that I can reach them easily since I've been there already. I'm still a little weak in going someplace new, that why I thought I'd see if I could visit the Thousand ArmsVerse...", trailing off, the Reader in Invisible Fanfics returned the cards to their usual place and picked up one of the many passing tabby cats.

"Looking for MORE weapons?" Alyss exclaimed incredulously, pale blue aura flaring slightly.

Shrugging, the Reader answered "Hey, you can never have enough, and I was thinking more along the lines of getting the ones I've got sharpened. It's either that or try and find some tournament or something where I can work on my skills, practicing them alone here just isn't the same."

"They do need work, going by your last few tries."

"Hey, that was just a fluke, I think I've got the hang of it now. The problem is that all the tournaments I know we could visit tend to have some sort of hidden agenda, and I'm not that eager to get kidnapped for brainwashing or get caught up in some world-conquering scheme," retorted the Reader as he stroked the cat purring in his arms.

"So, then what?"

"Ahhh, I think I'll try for the Thousand ArmsVerse, besides, we're getting low on snacks and cat food." Adressing the cat, "awww, don't worry, I'll be getting lots more num-nums for all of you soon."

*sigh* "You and your appetite..."

"Fine talk from a spirit being who has none, oh Muse of mine."

"Look! Behind you, a three-headed monkey!"

"GHAH! WHERE, WHERE!...Aaargh, will you stop DOING that!"

"Not scared of monkeys, huh? Pretty scared of something you're not hiding from."

"Cheap shot..."

Exit Room
Some minutes after last

Pausing briefly, the Reader glanced about his current surroundings. Similar to most of the rest of the rooms he'd made for his hideaway, it was a simple rectangle, slightly more spacious than most of the other rooms, except the Main Room and the storage areas, 20 by 30 metres wide. What was unnusual about this room, was that out of all the rooms, this one never had anything in it for any extended period of time. Well, that and the almost constant state of disrepair it seemed to be in. [Must remember to fix that crack and clean up the soot marks on the ceiling...]

"You leaving any time this year or should I arrange for dinner in?"

"Alright, just give me a minute Alyss, I'd like to get this one right the first go."

"Good luck... I think you're gonna need it."

"Har har. It is to laugh. Right!" Clearing all other concerns, the Reader began to focus, drawing his Chi about him, feeling the Blinking Rune on his right hand begin to heat up as it always did. While he still wasn't quite sure about just how his powers worked, he'd gained a lot more experience since his first time. He still couldn't jump between dimensions as easily as he blinked between space in them, but at least he didn't collapse for a week after doing so any more. Magic, Chi and... something else that he still couldn't quite define coming together, focusing through the Rune on his hand, a faint distortion beginning to appear in the air in front of him.

"Hah, almost got it, this'll be a snap..."

"Okay, I'll admit, you HAVE improved."

Dimensional Transport is a tricky affair. Especially if you've never been to the place you're going to before, and all you've got for a focus is a couple of screenshots and a few memories. If you're good at this sort of thing, you can probably pull it off even under extreme conditions, but if you're not, then you'd best be concentrating REAL hard on what you're trying to do, and not get distracted.

Which is why a certain mental suggestion or 'invitation' chose exactly the wrong time to nudge it's way into it's recipients mind.

"Huh, a tournament? That sounds kinda-AH SHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTT."

"Why am I not surprised."

The Focal Point
6 days before Round One

An interesting not-oft mentioned rule of dimensional travel, is that if something goes wrong with the transit, the travelers will almost always materialize some height above the ground, generally just enough to allow for a few screams on the way down and mild damage. Not a problem if you're a normally intangible spirit who can hover about at any height, but if you're solid and can't fly or suchlike...

"BLOODY BLOODY BLOODY BLOO"*kerthump*

"Nice going boss." Floating just above the Reader's sprawled form, Alyss lounged carelessly as she .

"Shut up. *groan* Wasn't my fault, something distracted me. Stupid mental message, can't they use the phone or something?" Getting to his feet, the Reader dusted himself off and glanced around. Hmmm, definetly not the Thousand ArmsVerse... oh yeah, the 'invitation' in his head mentioned this... tournament was in some differerent dimension. Weird looking place though, might be good to have a look around...

"Hey, not again! You guys are suppoused to let us bring you here!"

"Huh?"

"What?"

Charnel was clearly NOT enjoying this. First that guy with the eye-straining jacket and his friend with the six-foot sword, and now this guy dressed in chinese robes. Were ANY of the competitors going to come in the expected way?

"Hold on a minute, this... is a fighting tournament right?"

"Yeah, given 6 days, I see you got your invitation", the tech remarked as he looked over the new entrant. Seemed fairly ordinary, Souther had warned that some of the competitors might not even be human, but this one seemed normal enough apart from how he'd been talking to thin air.

"Literally got it a minute ago, but oh well... It's not like I had fixed plans, and this could be a good opportunity, people to test myself against and a new dimension to look around. Right Alyss?"

"Why not, sounds like it'd be good for the Story."

"Pardon, but my name's not Alyss", the slightly confused looking tech said.

"Oh, I wasn't talking to you. So, what ARE the rules of this tournament?"

"So those are the rules? Interesting...", the Reader trailing off as he let it all sink in. This sounded like the perfect opportunity to really cut loose, work on his skills, and if the other competitors had the ability to bridge dimensions as well, pick up some tips on how to control his powers. Plus, the place was offering free snacks.

"Yeah, there's more of course, but those are the basics, and it's not my job to fill you in. Only thing you'll need now is a partner, since it's a two-being fight."

"A partner? Huh. Hrmmm. Hey, what're those rings over there?"

"Oh those, those are the tele-rings, they're what we use to bring in the fighters, or at least those who can't get here on their own", the tech remarked slightly sourly.

"Really, in that case...", wandering over to the tele-rings, the Reader began running his hands over them, mumbling under his breath.

"Hey! Those are delicate pieces of equipment!"

"You were about to bring somebody in right?"

"Huh? Well... yeah, the machines are almost ready, and the coordinates are set, given a day or so to charge and... how'd you know that?"

"No idea, but now that I do...", he replied almost absent-mindedly.It was a lot easier now, the coordinates he'd gleaned somehow from the device were very clear, all he needed to do was focus, gather in his powers and... there! One standard 'purpley-black disk' portal to the intended dimension. And now, one partner, coming right up.

And with that, The Reader stepped through the portal, Alyss following... straight into the middle of the George Washington Bridge at rush hour.

*KTHWHAM*

"I have to admit Reader, even I was surprised this time. Reader? Hope those guys over there know first aid..."

//Sire, there's been an accident on the George Washington Bridge. A pedestrian stepped into the path of oncoming traffic. He's mostly okay, traffic was slow. We've run checks, and he's not registered.//

"You've checked everything?"

//Yessir, all files.//

"Why am I dealing with this?" the 'this is a police problem' didn't need to be stated, and the consequences of interrupting His Majesty's relaxation day were well known.

//The Quantum Mechanics labratory reported a localized disruption on the Bridge, at the right time.//

"What kind of disruption?"

//Previously untheorized, sire.//

"...Keep him under for now, then send him to an interrogation group. Once they're done, bring in Indoctrination."

//Yessir.//

"Reader."

Was someone calling him? "MMmmm... lemme alone..."

"Reader! Get UP darn you!"

There was *something* hovering about the edges of his consciousness... but he was so comfortable right here... "... just five more minutes."

"Reader! If you don't GET UP RIGHT NOW, SO HELP ME I'LL DOUSE YOU WITH NYANNICHUAN AND TURN YOU INTO SAILOR FANFIC!!!"

"GYAAAAHHHH. Okay, okay, I'm up already! You didn't need to threaten me with THAT!"

"It was the only thing that would wake you up, you bum! Unless you want to be brainwashed I recommend you getting up and mobile NOW!"

"BRAINWASHED! Alright, give me a minute. Bloody straps." Quickly producing a small knife, Reader quickly disposed of the straps binding him, standing up. Looking at the knife in his hand he frowned and reached into subspace, replacing it with a naginata. "Much better. Now Alyss, about this brainwashing..."

The Monitor Room

"Hey! He's awake! And he's talking to thin air?"

"No problem, he's still strapped down."

"Yeah, I guess- Shit! He's getting loose! Where's he get that knife from?!"

"Hey! I searched him thoroughly! Besides, who cares that he's got some knife. We've got the guns, right?"

"Yeah, but-What the!... Okay Mike, if you did search him thoroughly, them WHERE THE HECK did he get that fucking NAGINATA?!"

"-so this Emperor found out that I officialy didn't exist, and from my clothes that I wasn't from around here and decided to chemically interrogate me?"

"Yeah, the hypnosis and implanted suggestions were supposed to come after that."

"Why that arrogant son-of-a... Alyss, I think I ought to pay his Imperial Majesty a little VISIT."

"Why not."

"Lets go. Uh, Alyss... You couldn't REALLY turn me into a Magical Girl, right?"

"You'll never know unless it happens, now will you?"

"Why me..."

It was, by most standards, a very beautiful room. It had flawless marble floors, sumptuous furniture, and its floor-to-ceiling windows commanded a 360 degree view of the largest metropolis on the planet. The phone rang, and was picked up. "Talk to me."

//Sire, the prisoner from the George Washington Bridge incident has escaped.//

"How?"

//We don't know, sire.//

"...Find him."

//Yessir.//

"So, Reader, any ideas on how to handle that?" The 'that' in question was a pair of soldiers in Knight-Sabers reminiscent power armour, done in what seemed to be the Imperial colours of red, green and blue, currently searching the corridors, presumably for them(or him, since nobody here seemed to be capable of seeing spirit beings). Both were armed with what looked like advanced rifles, and had some sort of sensors or weapons mounted on their helmets. Teleportation worked wonders for avoiding security, but he hadn't had occasion to practice his stealth skills in a while. Besides, he needed to find out where this Emperor was anyway.

"Hmmmm, powered armour for security. This could be tricky. Let's see what I've got on me that could help... EMP gun? No, too obvious... Dispellado? Thought I returned that... Ah-hah! Almost forgot I had these little trinkets here. Let's see now, //Ast takar-"

Mark Davis was currently bored out of his skull. Some guy that'd been picked up and was up for interrogation had escaped, with the guys watching him swearing at how he'd pulled weapons out of thin air. Which led to the overall level of security being upped, and why he was currently patrolling the halls with his partner in full power armour. The palace was pretty quiet right now, with only the sound of him and Alex's armoured footsteps- hey waitaminute, right now he COULDN'T hear ANYTHING, including his own footsteps-

That was all the warning he got before a gray and black blur silently blinked into existence next to him, disarming him in the blink of an eye, smacking him over the head with an oversized mallet, sweeping his legs out from underneath and pinning him to the floor with what looked like a giant fork all without a single sound being made. From his new viewpoint, Mike managed to get a peripheral view of his partner slumped on the floor, apparently having collapsed in mid-stride.

The Reader grunted silently as he held his oversized trident to the troopers neck and reached into subspace for one of the signs he had prepared, grinning. It looked like whatever weapons that had been mounted on this one's helmet were out of commsision from his mallet strike, and the partner was fast asleep. Any sort of radio link wouldn't matter if the guy couldn't make a sound, now would it? Good thing he'd had those Silence '15 Radius and Sleep scrolls. [Must remember to thank the Old Rogue next time I pass through Faerun]. Now to find out just where this Emperor was...

Strike high left, high right, low left, overhead, incoming deflects off the shield and then his own recovery slices through the opponent's nonexistent neck.

Scene? C'mon, you know this room by now.

The Reader blinked as he looked over his opponent. The guy was built like a tank, and probably eight feet tall if he was an inch. Talk about your extra-large economy size. That sword and shield kata he was doing looked pretty wicked, especially for someone that size. He spoke, "Normally I'd be more sporting about this, but I've had a really irritating time here. Call me oversensitive, but I'm not terribly excited by the prospect of brainwashing on my first day in a new dimension. While I'm not exactly in the business of taking on Evil Overlords, I'm always willing to branch out. Besides, I think the Nerima Martial Artist Code of Conduct allows for these sort of things."

The Emperor stopped his kata and looked at the Reader. "You're the one from the Bridge."

"Huh?"

"Security will be here soon."

In response, he produced a pair of short, curved swords from his sleeves. "Not soon enough for you."

Reader came in quickly, angling one blade to deflect his opponents broadsword strike harmlessly away, then cutting quickly with his free sword. It didn't work, as the Emperor twitched his sword hand down suddenly, catching the smaller blade on the guard.

This left both of them too extended to try another sword strike, but His Majesty knocked Reader back with a simple straight kick.

"Damn, you're a strong one aren't you? Pretty handy with a sword as well. Still, while specialization is always nice, I prefer to branch out a little more!"

Smirking, he quickly leaped back in, striking out suddenly. The Emperor snorted in contempt, anticipating his strike, and simply stepped backwards to avoid the attack, readying himself to counterstrike using his greater reach, only to feel a sudden burst of pain in his side.

"Wha-". Where his foe had once held two swords, he now gripped a plain looking naginata, which with it's superior range, he'd managed to land a solid blow to his side. Working on instinct, the giant parried the follow up blow with his shield and adjusted to compensate for the Reader's new reach, swinging his sword and pressing forward. The same instinct was the only thing that saved him a crippling blow as Reader seemed to slide his weapon back into his sleeve at the last minute, replacing it with a pair of hand axes which he sent whistling at him.

The Reader grinned as he glanced at his opponent. He'd blocked the first axe, but had taken the second one in the thigh. "Time to finish this." Stepping up, he switched to a large mallet, knowing that even if Mr. Oversize blocked it, the impact would shake him up long enough for a good follow up attack. Grinning, he braced himself and swung a powerful overhead strike, seeing his opponent raise his shield to meet it as expected...

The larger man focused, forcing his mind to calm, a wave of mental silence drowning out the hungry demons and the murdered ghosts. Over the center of his shield, a pinpoint of water-blue energy manifested, then sent out streamers of glowing aqua. The streamers twisted, the inside points moving faster than the outside, twisting the entire affair into the tropical storm shape which had given the move his mental name for it.

...And got knocked back as an explosion of blue light met his descending weapon, bowling him over. Scrambling to his feet, he dodged all but one of another series of powerful slashes. The pain seemed to explode in his leg as the last of The Emperor's follow up strikes connected.

"Gaaah... so STRONG... Teaches me to be overconfident I suppose... Right then, time to correct my mistake!"

He blinked as his opponent winked out of existence, trying to anticipate his next move-

"THOUSAND WEAPON ASSAULT!"Appearing with a soft *pop* next to his oppoent, the Reader proceeded to make good on his techniques name, lashing out at Ameguriken speeds with a variety of weapons. Swords, clubs, maces, blunt objects, all sped towards him, swamping any defense he might have raised. Staggering back, he barely registered the Reader vanishing again-

"RAKING HAWK TALONS!"

-Only to appear in the air above him, launching a vicious looking flying kick with shoe blades extended. Batting him away with a swipe of his shield, he readied himself to take the offensive. Bring the blade to the starting position, just so, focus again, _swipe_, the air is forced out of the blade's way, letting his energy flow into the vacuum left a split second behind.

"Wha!" Barely dodging the first blast, Reader stumbled back as a second and third quickly followed. "Dammit, didn't even think about ranged attacks-Whoa! Good thing I picked up how to deal with them." Bracing himself, he ran INTO the path of the next Razor Love, throwing up his arms.

"SPATIAL REFLECT!"

Grinning, he watched as the projectile vanished into the portal he'd thrown up in front of himself, only to emerge headed right back at it's sender. [Let's see how he likes his own attack].

5 minutes later

Both combatants faced each other warily, waiting for the other to move first. Reader had learned to really respect his oversized adversary reach and strength, while The Emperor was wary of his robed opponent's seemingly endless supply of weapons and teleporting.

[Okay, enough is enough.] The Emperor smiled slightly, then sent a Razor flying on its way.

One nice thing about being out of his armor was that it was so much easier to move. It wasn't worth feeling every little bump and cut, but at times it could be very useful.

Like now. He sprinted hard, following the projectile in. The intruder (and what the hell had he meant about the 'Nerima Martial Artist Code of Honor'?) ducked under the flying arc of energy, not bothering to reflect it, then blanched before his shoulder caught the smaller man in the chest and lifted him into the air.

Reader bounced painfully off the armorglass window behind him, then whoofed as all the air was forced from his lungs. The larger man could hear ribs creaking under the force of six hundred pounds at thirty five miles an hour.

He had only a moment to realize how much the coming impact would probably hurt before it happened and the universe flickered. When it restarted, his vision had a starscape, his ribs were screaming in pain, and the lungs behind them were sending definitive EMPTY signals to the main control node. He teleported blind, frantically opening the range.

Wiping his forehead, the Reader surveyed his opponent. The guy was GOOD with that sword and shield of his, his reach and protection meant that he couldn't go head-to-head for too long. Whatever projectile he had wasn't too strong, but it was fast and and complemented what seemed to be rock-solid defenses. [This is taking too long. I might wear him down in time, but this is his turf... and Security must be coming. Gotta finish this soon. Pity, I'm actually enjoying myself...]

"This has been fun, but I gotta run, so-" Winking out again, he reappeared behind Teotl, raising his arms, letting his sleeves fall down to expose them. "-I'll leave you with this! STEEL BLIZZARD!" Cutting loose, he let fly with swords, chains, shuriken, thrown knives, chakrams and a couple of weapons even he didn't recognize, throwing them all at speeds approaching Ranma's chestnut fist. A veritable hailstorm of metal slammed into his majesty, a good majority deflecting off his shield, but the sheer mass meant enough got through to send him to his knees.

[Aw man, he's still up?! Gotta go for the big one then...] Raising his arms and closing his eyes, he began to trace arcane sigils in the air, drawing as much power into him as possible and focusing it all through his Blinking Rune. Reaching out across dimensions, he cast out for one in particular. He could feel the portal opening up in front of him and-

A security guard in a PSL-5 powered armor rose out of the stairwell on fans of blue-white flame. He didn't take time to aim, just fired his boxy weapon in a perfectly accurate snap-shot that had more to do with his skill than the armor's targeting systems.

The projectile detonated five feet short of its target, sending out a visible shock wave of compressed air that caught Reader and lifted him easily off of his feet.

[Maybe I should keep my eyes OPEN next time I do that technique...]

"KOed twice in a day, in under an hour, that has to be some kind of record, even for me." Groaning, Reader sat up. Oh well, at least he wasn't strapped down again. In fact, his current surroundings were downright luxurious. Getting up, a quick check of the door showed that he was still considered a prisoner though. Not much of a problem though, one simple teleport would get him out of here easily enough. Still... if Alyss wasn't here then she probably didn't think he'd be in any immediate danger, and there was a rather nicely stocked bookcase in the corner. Probably best to wait for her to get back. In the meantime, the books beckoned...

The establishment of the World Empire involved, as would be expected,
equal parts persuasion and force. Once it became clear that the UN could not
meet the requirements of the Geneva Report, many First World nations flocked
to join the banner of the then American Empire. With a slim majority of the
world's wealth under unified control, the slow and bloody consolidation of
the People's Republic of China and the British Commonwealth could begin.

[Hmmm...] thought Reader, [locally produced or no, this doesn't read like a partisan text... Or at least, not too much of one. Time to try a different book.]

The current world is divided into administrative districts, which elect two
representatives each to the House of Equals. These Equals may be of either
class. The number of representatives allotted to a district in the House of
the Populace is determined according to that district's population. Populists
must be commoners. The House of Nobles is populated by hereditary and
life-titled Lords, and theoretically serves as a balace against the common
short sightedness of a democracy. Together, these three Houses make up the
Legislative Branch of the imperial government.

Usually, a prisoner will be brought by guards before his captor. The man leaning against the side of the oversized doorway hadn't conquered the world by doing the usual thing. "Feeling stir crazy?"

"Huh? No, I've been doing some reading." The Reader answered. [Not to mention getting confirmation from Alyss], he thought to himself. Looking up from his book, the Reader turned to face his captor. "So tell me, did you really abolish pro wrestling?"

"A test, to see if I could control the entertainment industry."

"Why that?"

"It annoyed me."

"Heh. And I have to admit, for somebody who SEEMS to be a typical Evil Overlord, your subject's standard of living is surprisingly high, and there's very little unrest. I guess I ought to apologize for bursting in like that and trying to beat the crap out of you, but I'm just a teensy bit averse to being brainwashed, call it a quirk."

The larger man laughed. "No shit. Still, you seem like the sort to have read fiction... In an infinite omniverse, there are bound to be a great number of very dangerous things. We couldn't afford to take chances."

Reader accepted the implied apology. "Hmmm, I guess that makes sense... Oh yeah! You didn't perchance receive an 'invitation' to a certain tournament recently?"

"You're a very good guesser."

"Well, I got one too, and it seems that it requires two-man teams. I'm not sure where else to find a partner, and I think we've got some idea of the other's capabilities now. You managed to hold me off long enough for security to take me down even without that armour of yours. So... feel like hooking up with me for the tourney? Okay, we're not exactly the best of friends, but I think we can handle grudging respect and a little teamwork."

"I was a grunt, a long time ago. I can take orders, or work with others."

"Good. I'd hate to have gone through all that for nothing. That being the case, I think introductions are in order. I'm the Reader in Invisible Fanfics, Master of True Hidden Weapons, Nerima Martial Artist & Dimension-Wanderer. Call me Reader though. And you?"

He drew himself up to his full, formidable height. "I... am the Supreme Emperor of the Lobsters, Patron of Humanity, and Ruler of the Earth."

*blinkblink* "Mind if I just call you Teotl?"

He laughed. "I'll let you get away with the lese-majesty."

"Oh yeah, I think we need a name for out team, don't we?"

"The Aquisition of Power. We both seem to be after it, if in different forms."

"... No, power, though useful is not my ultimate goal. Perhaps simply Power & Knowledge, would best describe our aims."

"Or, at least, our distinguishing characteristics."