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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Gateway (part 4)
Late Summer, IC 687

"Shit."

"Prince Diabo, the dragon may have-"

"Shit."

"-an understanding of language and it-"

"Shit."

"-genuinely wants to comply-"

"Shit."

"-with your instructions, but you do need to actually-"

"Shit."

"-express them coherently."

Diabo merely clutches the hastily converted saddle's reins and stares straight ahead as the dragon he's sitting on flaps towards Alnus Hill. As I suspected, he found it far easier to force it to do what he wanted it to than he would have to beat it down, and right now it's got a glowing Orange Lantern sigil shining out of its forehead. We interrupted it in the middle of 'burninating' an elven village, where the locals were ineffectually trying to kill it with what appeared to be longbows. Fortunately for the locals, Diabo drew its attention almost immediately, and now we have a way to make an epic entrance.


"Shit."

If he can regain sufficient control of himself to actually use this ring.

"I can't really see from here, but from the sounds we were hearing earlier I suspect that the people we are flying towards have a large number of weapons which can accurately hit flying targets. If you can't get a hold of yourself, they will shoot you dead. If you want to live, I can only suggest that you grow some testicles."


"Yes, yes I want to live, but this is insane!"

"I know. You beat a dragon in a fight. Who knew you had it in you?"

"I don't-."

"Oh that's right! Me. I did. And while you're not exactly impressing me right now, I have faith that you can handle this."

"R-really?"

"I could have chosen anyone in the Empire. I chose you. Now, can you work with me?"

"What range do their air weapons have?"

"Want to know, and the orange light will show you."

It takes him a moment, but glowing orange reins appear around the dragon's muzzle and pull it into a circling pattern while Diabo's eyes glow orange. Interestingly, I can see what he's showing himself as the ring picks out infantry fighting vehicles, tanks and gun emplacements owned by the people who now hold the area around the gate. Looks like… NATO standard equipment… Late twentieth century. High rate of fire explosive-driven kinetics for the most part. They don't appear to have any dedicated anti-air, though that may be because they saw that diving wyverns died perfectly easily to automatic rifles. The flag is… Post World War 2/Pre Great Awakening Japanese, though oddly I'm not seeing anyone from America.

The ring also shows him ranges and arcs of fire, and while he twitches he doesn't let his fear of getting shot distract him. I metaphorically nod approvingly as he bards his mount and armours himself in glowing plates instead.


"What should I do?"

"That depends on a number of factors. Meeting up with the commanders of the Empire's armies will firmly establish your authority with them, and allow you to halt any foolish attacks against the Japanese position. Attacking the Japanese directly will allow you to utterly destroy them. You could then use this ring to shut down the gate, or bury it in a hole. You could even use this ring to mentally dominate the Japanese and learn their secrets."

"That sounds risky."

"I'm afraid that there is nothing that can be done here that is entirely without risk. Another option would be to attempt to negotiate with the Japanese. This ring will allow you to understand any language and be understood in any language."

"And they won't attack me?"

"There are no guarantees. But there are ways to indicate that you wish to parley that it would be surprising for them to ignore."

"A.. white flag. We use something similar."

"Though to be honest, establishing yourself as powerful and then attempting to negotiate might be a better idea. Are there any wounded Empire soldiers down there?"

"They-."

And now he sees what heavy machine gun ammunition and canister tank rounds do to people in lamellar armour. Ah… Well, the Empire's army has only just arrived, so those are almost certainly the reserves for the original attack…

"No."

"In that case, I'm going to suggest flying down and landing just ahead of the Imperial army."

"Those are actually.. vassal armies. The Imperial army hasn't arrived yet. Which… Is almost certainly my father's intention."

"They die, he has some spies watching and learns what the Japanese can do without risking any further Empire soldiers and doesn't have to worry about the vassals siding with the Japanese. What a depressingly short term thinker." Hm. "Do you have a personal standard?"

"Yes? I don't.. use it very often…"

"Prince Diabo, you're hesitant. And I understand why. But I'm sorry to say that the only way to overcome these obstacles is to rise to them. To confront them. The only way to stop feeling the constant fear that you feel is to throw yourself into it. If you were now the man you ideally want to be, what would you do?"

He breathes in.

He breathes out.

Then we're diving towards the centre of the battlefield, construct wyvern riders bearing the standards of the Empire and the Imperial family and blowing battle horns. Through his ring-granted sight I see the moment the Japanese soldiers spot us. They're well-disciplined; there's no panic or shouting, just people rapidly talking on their radio. And I see one man… A lieutenant, mouths the words 'raid boss', and I see the tanks and IFVs aim their primary armaments in our direction.

And then we land, the dragon-.

The air in front of us lights up, rifle rounds, depleted uranium anti-armour rounds and heavy machine gun rounds slamming into a construct barrier just in front of us! I see that Diabo has reinforced his own armour. Not to better protect him, but to keep his limbs from trembling as he endures that assault. The wyvern construct escort fall in close by our dragon's sides and are dismissed.

Then Diabo rises off the dragon's saddle, floats over its head and stops just this side of the construct barrier he's using to keep the firepower of the Japanese assault force off him. He stays there for thirty seconds, until an order goes out on the Japanese side and the fire slackens off somewhat. They're still shooting, but it looks like they know that the weapons they're using aren't going to brute force their way through.

Then Diabo lands, creates a construct table and chairs and sits down. Behind him, a construct standard appears with the flags of the Empire, the Imperial family and a third which I assume is his personal device. Next to it, he transmutes a white flag and attaches it to a wooden pole.

As the fire from the Japanese army stops he puts his feet up on the table to wait.


"You were right."

"Oh?"

"Yes. It is very hygienic."
 
Last edited:
local were ineffectually

'locals'

but from the sound we were hearing

maybe 'sounds'

"What range to their air weapons have?"

'do their'


Another way of saying slaves.

What a depressingly short term thinker."

Wait until you meet his other son.

What will the next episode be called?
 
And back to Gate-verse to round things out. Wonder how Diabo's getting on...

"Shit."

"Prince Diablo, the dragon may have-"
Well, I see he's doing well. Needs to remember to focus on Want, not Fear, but so far, so good.

"Shit."

"-an understanding of language and it-"
...Okay, not so good. Focus, lad, focus.

"Shit."

"-genuinely wants to comply-"
"Well, Diabo's gone bye-bye. Any other suggestions?"

"Shit."

"-with your instruction, but you do need to actually-"
At this rate, he's gonna lose control of the dragon. Unless OL is handling it.

"Shit."

"-express them coherently."
I don't know, maybe he wants it to defecate on whoever he's flying over?

Diablo merely clutches the hastily converted saddle's reins and stares straight ahead as the dragon he's sitting on flaps towards Alnus Hill. As I suspected, he found it far easier to force it to do what he wanted it to than he would have to beat it down, and right now it's got a glowing Orange Lantern sigil shining out of its forehead. We interrupted it in the middle of 'burninating' an elven village, where the local were ineffectually trying to kill it with what appeared to be longbows. Fortunately for the locals, Diablo drew its attention almost immediately, and now we have a way to make an epic entrance.
On something much bigger than a wyvern. That would definitely get people's attention, I think.

"Shit."

If he can regain sufficient control of himself to actually use this ring.
At this rate, he may well force himself into Fear enlightenment. He's certainly in no danger of a heart attack, at any rate, thanks to Wholeness Rightly Assumed.

"I can't really see from here, but from the sound we were hearing earlier I suspect that the people we are flying towards have a large number of weapons which can accurately hit flying targets. If you can't get a hold of yourself, they will shoot you dead. If you want to live, I can only suggest that you grow some testicles."

"Yes, yes I want to live, but this is insane!"
Good to see some rational thought at last. Now, back on task, lad.

"I know. You beat a dragon in a fight. Who knew you had it in you?"

"I don't-."
Show some confidence, kid. You're wearing the greatest tool in the universe on your finger, and have the greatest Illustres of the Orange Lanterns advising you.

"Oh that's right! Me. I did. And while you're not exactly impressing me right now, I have faith that you can handle this."

"R-really?"
There we go, he's finally focusing on how awesome he just was. That's a great help to his desire to continue looking cool.

"I could have chosen anyone in the Empire. I chose you. Now, can you work with me?"

"What range to their air weapons have?"

"Want to know, and the orange light will show you."
Given it's modern day military tech, the answer may as well be 'Yes.' Especially when the locals are still wielding spear, shield and bow.

It takes him a moment, but glowing orange reins appear around the dragon's muzzle and pull it into a circling pattern while Diablo's eyes glow orange. Interestingly, I can see what he's showing himself as the ring picks out infantry fighting vehicles, tanks and gun emplacements owned by the people who now hold the area around the gate. Looks like… NATO standard equipment… Late twentieth century. High rate of fire explosive-driven kinetics for the most part. They don't appear to have any dedicated anti-air, though that may be because they saw that diving wyverns died perfectly easily to automatic rifles. The flag is… Post World War 2/Pre Great Awakening Japanese, though oddly I'm not seeing anyone from America.
In other words, there won't be quite as much dick-swinging macho bullshit from their leadership. :p No Americans, after all.

The ring also shows his ranges and arcs of fire, and while he twitches he doesn't let his fear of getting shot distract him. I metaphorically nod approvingly as he bards his mount and armours himself in glowing plates instead.

"What should I do?"
Howsabout not go charging in like a dumb Mob. With Environmental field and Construct Armour in place, you are effectively immune to everything short of a bunker-buster. You have all the advantages here.

"That depends on a number of factors. Meeting up with the commanders of the Empire's armies will firmly establish your authority with them, and allow you to halt any foolish attacks against the Japanese position. Attacking the Japanese directly will allow you to utterly destroy them. You could then use this ring to shut down the gate, or bury it in a hole. You could even use this ring to mentally dominate the Japanese and learn their secrets."

"That sounds risky."
Yes, dominating a sapient being with clearer-defined wants isn't as easy as putting the mind-whammy on a dumb overgrown lizard.

"I'm afraid that there is nothing that can be done here that is entirely without risk. Another option would be to attempt to negotiate with the Japanese. This ring will allow you to understand any language and be understood in any language."

"And they won't attack me?"
Ah, the benefit of OL advising him. Going for the rational, non-combative route. The joy of Diplomancy.

"There are no guarantees. But there are ways to indicate that you wish to parlay that it would be surprising for them to ignore."

"A.. white flag. We use something similar."
It's something of a near-universal symbol, isn't it? Are there any cultures on Earth that don't have something like it?

"Though to be honest, establishing yourself as powerful and then attempting to negotiate might be a better idea. Are there any wounded Empire soldiers down there?"

"They-."
Against modern weaponry? Hamburger would be a charitable description...

And now he sees what heavy machine gun ammunition and canister tank rounds do to people in lamellar armour. Ah… Well, the Empire's army has only just arrived, so those are almost certainly the reserves for the original attack…

"No."
Yep. Not pretty. At least it'll reinforce his desire not to be hurt.

"In that case, I'm going to suggest flying down and landing just ahead of the Imperial army."

"Those are actually.. vassal armies. The Imperial army hasn't arrived yet. Which… Is almost certainly my father's intention."
No wonder people don't like him much. It sound like he's planning to throw his disposable grunts into a meat-grinder.

"They die, he has some spies watching and learns what the Japanese can do without risking any further Empire soldiers and doesn't have to worry about the vassals siding with the Japanese. What a depressingly short term thinker." Hm. "Do you have a personal standard?"

"Yes? I don't.. use it very often…"
I doubt it's ever been seen in public at all, outside of formal occasions, probably. Diabo doesn't strike me as having been given much authority anywhere.

"Prince Diablo, you're hesitant. And I understand why. But I'm sorry to say that the only way to overcome these obstacles is to rise to them. To confront them. The only way to stop feeling the constant fear that you feel is to throw yourself into it. If you were now the man you ideally want to be, what would you do?"

He breathes in.

He breathes out.
Be a badass. You are riding a fricking dragon covered in magic orange light. This is not hard.

Then we're diving towards the centre of the battlefield, construct wyvern riders bearing the standards of the Empire and the Imperial family and blowing battle horns. Through his ring-granted sight I see the moment the Japanese soldiers spot us. They're well-disciplined; there's no panic or shouting, just people rapidly talking on their radio. And I see one man… A lieutenant, mouth the words 'raid boss', and I see the tanks and IFVs aim their primary armaments in our direction.
Whahahahaha. Time to show these rubes what a Lantern can do.

And then we land, the dragon-

The air in front of us lights up, rifle rounds, depleted uranium anti-armour rounds and heavy machine gun rounds slamming into a construct barrier just in front of us! I see that Diablo has reinforced his own armour. Not to better protect him, but to keep his limbs from trembling as he endures that assault. The wyvern construct escort fall in close by our dragon's sides and are dismissed.
And now he sees just how tough his desire to stay safe is. More confidence-boosting.

Then Diablo rises off the dragon's saddle, floats over its head and stops just this side of the construct barrier he's using to keep the firepower of the Japanese assault force off him. He stays there for thirty seconds, until an order goes out on the Japanese side and the fire slackens off somewhat. They're still shooting, but it looks like they know that the weapons they're using aren't going to brute force their way through.
And somewhere inside the ring, OL is smirking to himself about outdated weapons. Good way to show you aren't scared of guns.

Then Diablo lands, creates a construct table and chairs and sits down. Behind him, a construct standard appears with the flags of the Empire, the Imperial family and a third which I assume is his personal device. Next to it, he transmutes a white flag and attaches it to a wooden pole.

As the fire from the Japanese army stops he puts his feet up on the table to wait.
And that is how you make an entrance! Bonus style points for him nonchalance. I wonder how long they'll take before one of the Japanese officers steps forward...

"You were right."

"Oh?"

"Yes. It is very hygienic."
Brick joke! ;) ...because he was literally shitting bricks? Eh? Eh? ...Or... o_O Not shitting them as it turns out.

It's almost a pity we'll not be seeing this scenario again for a while, really. I kind of want to get snippets of Diabo and the Japanese sorting things out through jolly cooperation. Bonus hilarity if he goes through the Gate, and OL pops back into humanoid form because the local gods can't stop him.

You did this multiple times throughout the scenes... Everything I can find says his name is Diabo Sol Caesar... Or maybe Ring-OL just doesn't care enough to keep it straight?
 
You did this multiple times throughout the scenes... Everything I can find says his name is Diabo Sol Caesar... Or maybe Ring-OL just doesn't care enough to keep it straight?
No, a faulty assumption of mine that given the number of punny names his would fit that mould.
 
In other words, there won't be quite as much dick-swinging macho bullshit from their leadership. :p No Americans, after all.

It's almost a pity we'll not be seeing this scenario again for a while, really. I kind of want to get snippets of Diabo and the Japanese sorting things out through jolly cooperation.



This is GATE...that...yeah, that really isn't going to happen, sorry.

Remember this is the series written by what is the Japanese version of a hard-right unapologetic nationalist who included a scene where unprepared JMSDF recruits thrashed veteran U.S. Special Forces. You'll get more restraint on the macho jingoism from a Tom Clancy novel.
 


This is GATE...that...yeah, that really isn't going to happen, sorry.

Remember this is the series written by what is the Japanese version of a hard-right unapologetic nationalist who included a scene where unprepared JMSDF recruits thrashed veteran U.S. Special Forces. You'll get more restraint on the macho jingoism from a Tom Clancy novel.


I wouldn't be too bothered if it was just a squad of special forces, the Jsdf are the protagonists so its expected. No what bothered me was that it wasnt just a single US squad, it was an unprepared jsdf vs multiple special forces from around the world... and it was a one sided stomp.

But then again that is far from the worst the writing gets so...
 
I mean, Paragon's last episode ended with him discovering that the Sheeda have already started their invasion. The next episode was always going to be about that, one way or the other.

Yeah, but I think most people were hoping that it would just have a short segment where he just merges with the Ophidian and eats them, and then just move on to something else.
 
Yeah, but I think most people were hoping that it would just have a short segment where he just merges with the Ophidian and eats them, and then just move on to something else.

Honesty would have been so hard to warp this arc earlier? Is getting TNMT 2003 in the future kind of tedious.
 
Honesty would have been so hard to warp this arc earlier? Is getting TNMT 2003 in the future kind of tedious.

This is basically the end of 'season 4' of this fic (the other major events, going by rough episode numbering, were the canon season 1 finale, the confrontation with Nabu, the Silver City invasion and now the Sheeda) but usually things are wrapped up in two 'episodes,' while we've had three so far (even if one was Renegade). Unless the Crisis of Infinite Pauls was the end of season 4, in which case it seems strange to have a multi-episode arc so soon after, relatively speaking.

Part of me is hoping for some actual Faerie content instead. I'd like to see how Paragon reacts to/deals with Morgaine le Fey.
 
I wouldn't be too bothered if it was just a squad of special forces, the Jsdf are the protagonists so its expected. No what bothered me was that it wasnt just a single US squad, it was an unprepared jsdf vs multiple special forces from around the world... and it was a one sided stomp.

But then again that is far from the worst the writing gets so...
IIRC it wasn't a one-sided stomp. It was a bunch of different special forces teams killing each other in a multi-sided fight while the JSDF hunkered down and shot the ones who came at them.
 
Even if DC Comics is a thing in the Gate version of Earth, I'm pretty sure the protagonist was just a huge anime and manga otaku. Not a geek for American comic books.

So someone else would probably have to inform the Japanese what they're dealing with if enough information got out.
 
My understanding is that Gate appeared in April year 20XX, and we aren't getting the Earth dates in these updates.

So this might be happening before orange lanterns were even a thing in DC comics in Jan 2008.

So "Oh, like the green lantern ring?" might be the response.
 

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