(That...was a major disappointment. Actually, he should've expected it, but you have to keep trying things when in a situation like this or else you never learn anything. Still, as the Ani-Iron Orb reformed back into its normal state of things, Canti grumbled irritably. What'd it take to deal with these damn orbs? When he found those hackers, he was gonna burn them seriously. This was intolarable. A steam-like hiss escaped Canti as black plumes of smoke rose with his impatience, then ceasing altogether as he saw Zan figure it out. It should've been obvious to him, but who's to say, really? Nevermind. The dark Twin Blade saw, however, that there was a reaction. Immediately, all of the orbs flew at the wolf, killing him. Dammit, they seemed to get murdered awfully fast. Well, still, at least the orbs were being taken down, albiet with great difficulty. Dien had, for instance, done some of the work...and gotten himself killed over it...again. The fatality rate of these things were high... Not constant, but high. The trick was that you probably had to have healing items on hand or something, like Senna. Or maybe... Maybe speed...)
Canti: Huh... Only six...no. Just five to go now. Guess I'm up.
(He was the next to go and...there was only one he COULD go after, really. Canti ran it through his head several times and came up with the same answer. The only orb that he could actually destroy was, in fact, the Ani-Iron Orb. Heh. Fair enough. Fact is, if he'd known that his scrolls were gonna backfire before, he'd have them now for this, but that sort of shit was completely unpredictable with no reason behind it at all. In any case, Canti used a Speed Charm on himself, then turned to Senna, tossing a Resurrect her way with a smirk.)
Canti: For the trip.
(All of that aside, he headed off 'behind' the orb in question. The Twin Blade considered it to be behind because it was currently zooming the other way at someone else. That was the moment when he struck. First, Twin Darkness from the Bloody Twin he'd been using this whole time, stripping it of its metal shell. Then, switching to his Fuse Blades, he unleashed Thunder Dance, and dissipated the cloud, 'killing' the orb of darkness. The World stopped.
Canti: Uh oh.
(Not really stopped. It was just that the 'fun' part had approached. A slightly lull, and then the five other orbs shot his way before he was able to move. The Speed Charm put up his reflexes and evasion, but not enough to actually AVOID anything. The one remaining iron orb bounced off of the ground and struck Canti into the air, and then went around and slammed him at the base of his spine, causing him to tumble across the ground before the glass orbs came in and exploded like shrapnel bombs as Canti tried to propel himself away. Glass cut into him terribly before the three orbs reformed and went about their business. However, after a few seconds of being motionless, his leg twitched, and then an arm moved. Plumes of black smoke rose from his body where all the wounds were as his eyes shot open. He wasn't dead! HP was in the red zone, naturally. He'd been done over nicely, but not nearly as nice as Dien or Zan had been before. Oh no. They had taken the full force of enough orbs to kill them, but now the reduced number made it so a healthy player can survive. However, none of this seemed to matter to Canti right now. He seemed to be a little lost...in more ways than one. A deranged-looking grin passed across his face as the Juk-Iron Orb came by. Well, it went and tried to ram him and-)
*PING!*
(A sudden kick from Canti's boot sent the orb flying! It didn't do him or the orb any harm, but the orb began to ricochet around the room for a moment, then spin dizzily as it regained proper flight control. The Twin Blade laughed. No... That was not the word for it. That was too mild a term for this sort of thing. He cackled... Oh lovely. He's gone and lost his mind again. Well, not totally. This was more like one of those lucid moments of intense focus. However, in this case, he still recognized that there wasn't much he could do right now, and focused on healing.)
Canti: Repth...
OOC: Okay, now for a scorecard. As far as I can tell...
LIVING - Canti, Senna, Zan, Nall.
DEAD - Dien.
ORBS REMAINING - Juk Iron, and Glass for Ani, Rue, and Vak.
Moderator: Nighthand
-
Lord Canti
- Exalted Player
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 3:58 pm
- Location: In da' plains of hell, natch.
I'll have a doozy of a sig later, I swear. It'll reflect ".hack//CODE" an' everything.
Hey look! A profile! It's got items and stats and things! Cool! If it isn't fully up to date, it will be, so don't worry 'bout it.
Hey look! A profile! It's got items and stats and things! Cool! If it isn't fully up to date, it will be, so don't worry 'bout it.
Zan was fortunate for a second time upon his death, the lycanthrope's mind not whisked away to the dark and unstable 'field' of Malfaes. No, like before, he simply stood with annoyance clutched tightly to his aura as his friends used his discovery to slowly take out the spherical army about them. By the time he was revived and reclaimed his sense of balance, only four of the little devils remained. But which? Eyes taking on the orange-amber glow of the wolf, narrowing into slits, the Heavy Blade took note of the obstacles that remained. The Juk iron orb, the Rue glass, the Vak glass, and the Ani glass were all that stood between the Freedom Fighters and whatever else the Rai room had to throw at them (if anything at all). With only four orbs left, Zan was fairly confident that obliterating one wouldn't lead him into the phantom plane for a second time. That confidence instilled, his eyes traced their still-sporadic movements and chose a target. The Rue glass orb was like a fragile breath just waiting for the lycanthrope to suffocate it back into nothingness. He would be more than happy to oblige.
"Rue Zot!" Zan's voice bellowed, commanding pillars of ice to lance upward and skewer the orb into nothing by a gaseous shadow of itself.
The appropriate weapon was pulled into hand and the Vak Smash that followed ripped the cloud into oblivion and pinned Zan, yet again, as the target for mutual collision. Tightening tendons and expanding muscles to accommodate a quick leap to Clabro, Zan quickly covered his face and could do little more than grimace as the three remaining spheres folded in upon him. When they managed to peel themselves away from him, bruised ribs and sore flesh were left in their wake. It wasn't as bad as the death he had experienced at their hands (or their deviantly round surfaces) and he still had the will to keep his heart beating. Whoo hoo. The Life Sword that found itself in his palms indulged him in a quick and waveable healing before the blade that had showed the most use in his battles so far, the Horse Killer, became its replacement. The additional weight was oddly comforting and the wonderful way that Hirameki made short work of the Juk iron orb did even more to set his mind at ease. The Gan Zot that followed suit left the orb count at two and issued another death warrant on the Lycan's head.
Luckily, two orbs did even less damage than three and, sore as he was, Zan was able to shrug the damage aside. The things that whipped by above, a mere duo of glass and color, no longer registered as impending threats on his personal radar. He's watch out for them, sure, but he had no more scrolls or attacks that would take either of them out and he knew all that he could really do at that point was keep on his toes and wait for the rest of his companions (probably Nall, really) to finish the job. Zan now had time on his hands to consider what could possibly come next. To all of those with a brain that even half-worked right, it was obvious that the archway rooms were steadily increasing in difficulty. Personally, the Ani room seemed far more devious than a handful of shiny smashy things. Of course, having thought that would be enough for God to make something sinister and nasty spawn in the room. Come to think of it, the colliding doom aside, the Rai room had been laughable next to the blades of the Blackest Knight. If things truly were getting worse...and they were...what could possibly await the Freedom Fighters when the present puzzle was solved? Shit.
Well, worrying was pointless. The best thing to do at that point was simply wait for Armageddon to come.
-------------------------------------------
Fist raised, Conner held the snibbling Upper by the collar of his cliche-white shirt and waited for the meeting of his knuckles to the kids face to produce some answers. The kind of beating he was giving the boy, only a year so younger than himself, wasn't supernatural. It wasn't the sleek and graceful maneuvers that he could pull off in front of the Downers, oh no. It was some good ol' fashioned back alley brawling. Had the Upper actually been anything to fear, Conner would have had his ass handed to him minutes ago. The soreness of his knuckles and the kids blood-spattered t-shirt from the leak of his broken nose made the kid out to be exactly what one could expect from the closest thing to an earthbound angel: pacifism. The curly blonde never fought back, never called out insults, and never made any move to defend himself. At first all he got was grunts from his punches, from his questions, but the pain had broken in one of God's supposed Hosts and pained sobbing was Conner's reward.
Reward? Hell. The high school student was hating this, every fucking second of it, but he had to know why the Upper had killed one of the neutrals. If he was going Down, then any guilt he had felt up to then about assaulting the helpless creature would magically disappear. Each punch, each union of fist to skull slowly became a downfall into an inward prayer that the boy would simply lie to make the whole thing end. Conner had agreed to 'get rid' of the threat, in the end, but never planned to follow through. He just wanted to meet the Upper, get answers, and get it out of town before Dust could send someone else. It wouldn't be easy claiming murder, Conner was a shitty liar, but if it could keep someone who seemed innocent enough alive then...well...so be it. A small noise, smaller than that of even a mouse, stirred the high school student from his violent stupor and offered the Upper a chance to gather himself. Setting him against the wall with a shove, forearm pressed to the kid's throat, Conner asked for clarification. Would the kid finally admit what he probably didn't do?
"I-I said, you d-don't see what's r-right t-there." Cryptic, but...
"What are you talking about? What's right where?"
"D-Dust. He isn't walking the line of Twilight anymore. He isn't balanced. He isn't n-neutral. Big people w-want to s-see me dead. I'm not a violator of our laws. I'm a mark. D-Dust gets money, power, s-something if his p-people do me in and y-you're the h-hitman." Each syllable slowly painted a picture, a picture that Conner couldn't believe but knew, in his core, was true.
Slamming the kid harder against the wall, his arm tighter against his esophagus, Conner spat his words. "Liar! One of the neutrals is dead. You killed him and I want to know why!" Good. That sounded semi-confident. Point for Conner.
"H-Have you ever s-seen the body of the g-guy I supposedly killed?" A pause. Silence. "Didn't t-think so."
Something happened then, something that shouldn't have. An unnatural clarity befell the student, opened his eyes to a calm and reasoning that hadn't been there before. Conner knew that the Upper was playing tricks with his head, allowing the anger and the guilt to wash away for the time being, and he didn't really care. The kid wasn't forcing him to see anything, merely allowing him to think straight. It was true. Dust had turned him from a walker of the Twilight line into a lackey, an assassin, a hitman. Downers weren't exactly free of evil deeds, but how many of those he had pounded into the dirt had really acted their crimes? His hands suddenly shaky, Conner stumbled back, turning his palms up so he could gawk at the red stains that had trickled through the cracks between his fingers. A quick recollection of Leo's offer to get away, to get the hell out of Dodge and get tucked into college, and Conner knew what he'd do. He was done with this life. Fucking done. No more late night brawls, no more of Dust's orders, none of it. A week till graduation and he'd tell Leo to pull the necessary strings. It took his hands, stained with the blood of the closest thing to an angel he'd ever see, to set him back on his path.
Conner would run, far away, and take what was left of his life and build anew.
------------------------------------
((OOC:
Orbs Remaining: Ani/Vak Glass.
:OOC))
"Rue Zot!" Zan's voice bellowed, commanding pillars of ice to lance upward and skewer the orb into nothing by a gaseous shadow of itself.
The appropriate weapon was pulled into hand and the Vak Smash that followed ripped the cloud into oblivion and pinned Zan, yet again, as the target for mutual collision. Tightening tendons and expanding muscles to accommodate a quick leap to Clabro, Zan quickly covered his face and could do little more than grimace as the three remaining spheres folded in upon him. When they managed to peel themselves away from him, bruised ribs and sore flesh were left in their wake. It wasn't as bad as the death he had experienced at their hands (or their deviantly round surfaces) and he still had the will to keep his heart beating. Whoo hoo. The Life Sword that found itself in his palms indulged him in a quick and waveable healing before the blade that had showed the most use in his battles so far, the Horse Killer, became its replacement. The additional weight was oddly comforting and the wonderful way that Hirameki made short work of the Juk iron orb did even more to set his mind at ease. The Gan Zot that followed suit left the orb count at two and issued another death warrant on the Lycan's head.
Luckily, two orbs did even less damage than three and, sore as he was, Zan was able to shrug the damage aside. The things that whipped by above, a mere duo of glass and color, no longer registered as impending threats on his personal radar. He's watch out for them, sure, but he had no more scrolls or attacks that would take either of them out and he knew all that he could really do at that point was keep on his toes and wait for the rest of his companions (probably Nall, really) to finish the job. Zan now had time on his hands to consider what could possibly come next. To all of those with a brain that even half-worked right, it was obvious that the archway rooms were steadily increasing in difficulty. Personally, the Ani room seemed far more devious than a handful of shiny smashy things. Of course, having thought that would be enough for God to make something sinister and nasty spawn in the room. Come to think of it, the colliding doom aside, the Rai room had been laughable next to the blades of the Blackest Knight. If things truly were getting worse...and they were...what could possibly await the Freedom Fighters when the present puzzle was solved? Shit.
Well, worrying was pointless. The best thing to do at that point was simply wait for Armageddon to come.
-------------------------------------------
Fist raised, Conner held the snibbling Upper by the collar of his cliche-white shirt and waited for the meeting of his knuckles to the kids face to produce some answers. The kind of beating he was giving the boy, only a year so younger than himself, wasn't supernatural. It wasn't the sleek and graceful maneuvers that he could pull off in front of the Downers, oh no. It was some good ol' fashioned back alley brawling. Had the Upper actually been anything to fear, Conner would have had his ass handed to him minutes ago. The soreness of his knuckles and the kids blood-spattered t-shirt from the leak of his broken nose made the kid out to be exactly what one could expect from the closest thing to an earthbound angel: pacifism. The curly blonde never fought back, never called out insults, and never made any move to defend himself. At first all he got was grunts from his punches, from his questions, but the pain had broken in one of God's supposed Hosts and pained sobbing was Conner's reward.
Reward? Hell. The high school student was hating this, every fucking second of it, but he had to know why the Upper had killed one of the neutrals. If he was going Down, then any guilt he had felt up to then about assaulting the helpless creature would magically disappear. Each punch, each union of fist to skull slowly became a downfall into an inward prayer that the boy would simply lie to make the whole thing end. Conner had agreed to 'get rid' of the threat, in the end, but never planned to follow through. He just wanted to meet the Upper, get answers, and get it out of town before Dust could send someone else. It wouldn't be easy claiming murder, Conner was a shitty liar, but if it could keep someone who seemed innocent enough alive then...well...so be it. A small noise, smaller than that of even a mouse, stirred the high school student from his violent stupor and offered the Upper a chance to gather himself. Setting him against the wall with a shove, forearm pressed to the kid's throat, Conner asked for clarification. Would the kid finally admit what he probably didn't do?
"I-I said, you d-don't see what's r-right t-there." Cryptic, but...
"What are you talking about? What's right where?"
"D-Dust. He isn't walking the line of Twilight anymore. He isn't balanced. He isn't n-neutral. Big people w-want to s-see me dead. I'm not a violator of our laws. I'm a mark. D-Dust gets money, power, s-something if his p-people do me in and y-you're the h-hitman." Each syllable slowly painted a picture, a picture that Conner couldn't believe but knew, in his core, was true.
Slamming the kid harder against the wall, his arm tighter against his esophagus, Conner spat his words. "Liar! One of the neutrals is dead. You killed him and I want to know why!" Good. That sounded semi-confident. Point for Conner.
"H-Have you ever s-seen the body of the g-guy I supposedly killed?" A pause. Silence. "Didn't t-think so."
Something happened then, something that shouldn't have. An unnatural clarity befell the student, opened his eyes to a calm and reasoning that hadn't been there before. Conner knew that the Upper was playing tricks with his head, allowing the anger and the guilt to wash away for the time being, and he didn't really care. The kid wasn't forcing him to see anything, merely allowing him to think straight. It was true. Dust had turned him from a walker of the Twilight line into a lackey, an assassin, a hitman. Downers weren't exactly free of evil deeds, but how many of those he had pounded into the dirt had really acted their crimes? His hands suddenly shaky, Conner stumbled back, turning his palms up so he could gawk at the red stains that had trickled through the cracks between his fingers. A quick recollection of Leo's offer to get away, to get the hell out of Dodge and get tucked into college, and Conner knew what he'd do. He was done with this life. Fucking done. No more late night brawls, no more of Dust's orders, none of it. A week till graduation and he'd tell Leo to pull the necessary strings. It took his hands, stained with the blood of the closest thing to an angel he'd ever see, to set him back on his path.
Conner would run, far away, and take what was left of his life and build anew.
------------------------------------
((OOC:
Orbs Remaining: Ani/Vak Glass.
:OOC))
Lv. 50 Heavy Blade
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).
-
Phoenix512
- Exalted Player
- Posts: 304
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm
Phoenix was not pleased when Nighthand decided that they should help the others instead of taking out the hub. He felt that they should have continued even though they were outclassed. He truly believed that the snake was a hard battle and that any challenges they come across if they kept going would have been easier. Phoenix and the others left the field and managed to return to the hideout for restocking before going to the other hub to help out Zan and the others.
Phoenix did not really need to restock and decided to go on ahead of the others. He did not really want to be with them at the moment. He really wanted to plunge his sword into something which he decided to leave them at that moment so he would not plunged his sword into one of them. He arrived at Closed Solitary Gate at the same place that the first group did which was middle of some rubble. Phoenix managed to survey the area which he immediately figure out where he had to go as the dungeon was the only thing that stood out from this barren field.
As Phoenix walked to the temple, he asked Suzaku a question. So, what do you think? Was it the right decision to leave the hub and hoped that we could come back to it or should stay and possibly be outmatched by our opponents? The bird came back with an answer while in the necklace form.
It does not matter what I think, Kazuma-sama. I will follow your commands until the day I died for real. Phoenix asked her again. I know you follow my commands regardless how unreasonable they are but you have your own opinion about this. I want to know what you think about this.
Suzaku had no choice in the matter but to answer Phoenix’s question. I would agree with Nighthand in the matter as we were outmatched by that snake and barely survive. The Freedom Fighters’ true strength is the strength of numbers. We are not strong when divided especially alone. Nall knows that but does not show that. Of course we are selfish and rarely act as a team. The Elites are like us but they are strong alone. Somehow we need to combine our individual strengths and make it into a force that can take down the Elites one by one.
I guess that you’re right as usual, Suzaku. I still wanted to continue the fight and shouldn’t retreat that easily. Anyway, we’ve arrived at the temple. Phoenix entered the temple and noticed the spiral staircase which he proceed to descend down the stairs. Once he managed to get to the bottom of the stairs, he felt that he was in some ancient ruin from long ago. He examined the cross above the heavily locked door which he noticed that an hourglass, leaf, and a black prism have been placed into the cross.
I guess that they are halfway done with opening the door and must currently be getting the four piece for this cross. So I guess I must wait for them to finish up before being able to join them. Maybe I’ll be more useful this time instead being useless against a giant snake that counterattacks when you attack its eye automatically. Phoenix leaned up against a wall as he waits for Zan and the others to come back to this room.
Phoenix did not really need to restock and decided to go on ahead of the others. He did not really want to be with them at the moment. He really wanted to plunge his sword into something which he decided to leave them at that moment so he would not plunged his sword into one of them. He arrived at Closed Solitary Gate at the same place that the first group did which was middle of some rubble. Phoenix managed to survey the area which he immediately figure out where he had to go as the dungeon was the only thing that stood out from this barren field.
As Phoenix walked to the temple, he asked Suzaku a question. So, what do you think? Was it the right decision to leave the hub and hoped that we could come back to it or should stay and possibly be outmatched by our opponents? The bird came back with an answer while in the necklace form.
It does not matter what I think, Kazuma-sama. I will follow your commands until the day I died for real. Phoenix asked her again. I know you follow my commands regardless how unreasonable they are but you have your own opinion about this. I want to know what you think about this.
Suzaku had no choice in the matter but to answer Phoenix’s question. I would agree with Nighthand in the matter as we were outmatched by that snake and barely survive. The Freedom Fighters’ true strength is the strength of numbers. We are not strong when divided especially alone. Nall knows that but does not show that. Of course we are selfish and rarely act as a team. The Elites are like us but they are strong alone. Somehow we need to combine our individual strengths and make it into a force that can take down the Elites one by one.
I guess that you’re right as usual, Suzaku. I still wanted to continue the fight and shouldn’t retreat that easily. Anyway, we’ve arrived at the temple. Phoenix entered the temple and noticed the spiral staircase which he proceed to descend down the stairs. Once he managed to get to the bottom of the stairs, he felt that he was in some ancient ruin from long ago. He examined the cross above the heavily locked door which he noticed that an hourglass, leaf, and a black prism have been placed into the cross.
I guess that they are halfway done with opening the door and must currently be getting the four piece for this cross. So I guess I must wait for them to finish up before being able to join them. Maybe I’ll be more useful this time instead being useless against a giant snake that counterattacks when you attack its eye automatically. Phoenix leaned up against a wall as he waits for Zan and the others to come back to this room.
Phoenix
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver
Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver
Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath
-
Nighthand
- Master of Games
- Posts: 1265
- Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
- Class: Bladesmage
- Location: ...Tracking...please wait...
Nall watched the fight with interest, though he waited until the very end to add his contribution. There were only two orbs left, both crystal, elements no one else seemed to have. Thankfully, he had just the scrolls he needed to handle the situation. He pulled three from his inventory, and began activating them.
"Dark Night! Lightning Bolt!"
The rising spiderlegs of the darkness spell hit the glass orb pulsing black, just moments before the downcrashing thunder spell pushed the cloud out of existance.
"Fire Tempest!" The blaze started below the remaining orb, cracking it's surface, and Nall was there. His blade drawn back, already beading with condensation, swinging, passing through the cloud. "Rue Crack!"
The final cloud destroyed, the final orb broken, and the blademaster assumed a wary stance, watching for anything new to appear. Something did, but not in this room.
This time, he was the one to take the trinket they required, watching the energy fly down the hall, sensing it spread between the two remaining rooms. Item in hand, he left the room, assured that the others would follow. They had a surprise waiting for them in the main room.
-=-=-=-=-
Nighthand arrived in the bottom room in time to catch a large, solid beam of energy passing right by him. Soon after, Nall appeared, tailed by the rest of the group. Only Phoenix had arrived from his own... What took the others so long, he wondered?
"Yo Nall. I see you're doing well enough with yourself here."
"Yeah. Time to take a bit of a break though, two more rooms left before we proceed."
"Might as well kill a little time to wait for the others, too."
Nall nodded. "Besides, we have a bit of a mystery on our hands. Some odd character's been flashmailing us. Dien thought it might be a good idea to discuss it before we move on... see if we can understand it or something, I guess."
"Sounds like a good idea to me. We got them too... at least I assume we all did, I know I did."
Nighthand slouched against the wall, to wait and to talk, and see what they could come up with.
--------------ooc
Discussion time, I guess. Talk 'bout Marionette, lemme know when you're satisfied and want to move on to the fire room (or if you want to do the rue room next instead, either or) and we can move on. I'm thinking maximum two weeks is all we'd need for this.
Marionette might respond, too.
"Dark Night! Lightning Bolt!"
The rising spiderlegs of the darkness spell hit the glass orb pulsing black, just moments before the downcrashing thunder spell pushed the cloud out of existance.
"Fire Tempest!" The blaze started below the remaining orb, cracking it's surface, and Nall was there. His blade drawn back, already beading with condensation, swinging, passing through the cloud. "Rue Crack!"
The final cloud destroyed, the final orb broken, and the blademaster assumed a wary stance, watching for anything new to appear. Something did, but not in this room.
This time, he was the one to take the trinket they required, watching the energy fly down the hall, sensing it spread between the two remaining rooms. Item in hand, he left the room, assured that the others would follow. They had a surprise waiting for them in the main room.
-=-=-=-=-
Nighthand arrived in the bottom room in time to catch a large, solid beam of energy passing right by him. Soon after, Nall appeared, tailed by the rest of the group. Only Phoenix had arrived from his own... What took the others so long, he wondered?
"Yo Nall. I see you're doing well enough with yourself here."
"Yeah. Time to take a bit of a break though, two more rooms left before we proceed."
"Might as well kill a little time to wait for the others, too."
Nall nodded. "Besides, we have a bit of a mystery on our hands. Some odd character's been flashmailing us. Dien thought it might be a good idea to discuss it before we move on... see if we can understand it or something, I guess."
"Sounds like a good idea to me. We got them too... at least I assume we all did, I know I did."
Nighthand slouched against the wall, to wait and to talk, and see what they could come up with.
--------------ooc
Discussion time, I guess. Talk 'bout Marionette, lemme know when you're satisfied and want to move on to the fire room (or if you want to do the rue room next instead, either or) and we can move on. I'm thinking maximum two weeks is all we'd need for this.
Marionette might respond, too.
Wishlist: Any Armor or Weapons under level 50, Any Scrolls (prefer level 2+)
The group was split, but once Nighthand moved out, the decision was already made. If people started leaving, beginning with the highest level there, then the chances for surviving the field drastically decreased. Turning to the others, the wave master waited to see if anyone else was going to follow. His vote had lay with returning, but it still wouldn’t be wise if people pressed on all alone. Phoenix warped out next, only a handful now remained. The mage regarded Hijinx with just a nod; Rayo would hold onto his items until told otherwise.
“I’ll be going back now, hurry along and be safe.”
The golden rings encircled him, snatching him out of existence for but a moment. Deposited back in the third hideout, he was set to quickly stock up on items. In the last battle his main weakness was a lack of resources to replenish his SP reserves. At the moment he was far better off than the last round. Three more mage’s souls, an artisan’s soul, and a trio of emperor’s souls. In reality he should have been all set, but if not having enough could be the death of him…
“I’ll take three mage’s souls please.”
The vendor accepted his money through the hideout’s equivalent of the item shop, bidding him the same old line about having a nice day or something. In any case, there was no way that this sort of supply could run out before his health did, regardless of what they fought.
His equipment was all set, and there wasn’t any need for purchasing new scrolls since the shops didn’t carry any that were significantly powerful. Maybe his next shopping trip would result in buying a few, but right now his overly extensive spell list would suffice. Ap Raio, more than any of the others that single incantation aided him. Scanning his spell list, his eyes grew slightly larger; inventory was down this quarter. All of the spells that were added by mysterious means had been removed just as easily; no, easier. Perhaps the field had been hacked in the first place, even if the caster was the only party member who noted an effect.
Performing the quickest test he knew, the Almighty Wand was in and out in an instant. The trick held, Ol Repth was back on his usable list after a simple casting. Were the effects just temporary ones? If so, why did they all vanish at once? Just like that out of the blue…
Shaking his head, the thoughts were dismissed for the time being. The increasingly bright shining orb was an indicator of what needed to be done. The rest of the group needed to be joined up with, that was his task. Deciphering the handy magic would have to wait until later.
“Closed Solitary Gate!”
The field was as pleasant as could be expected from the description. Dropping skyline, primarily barren, and a few monsters spotted just around the horizon. Not wishing to waste anytime with something below the importance of his mission, his handy flute no longer remained tucked away. With a musically unpleasant melody, Bell came bursting forth from who knew where, ready to act as the closest thing The World had to a taxi. The wizard mounted his grunty and was off, making a break for the tallest structure within sight. With any luck the dungeon wouldn’t be based off of a cellar design with no upper building and that would clue him in to his destination. There weren’t exactly any twigs being left to mark the fastest or most correct path. Since it seemed the other team had been in less trouble than them, they had at least most likely made it that far.
Bell only slowed long enough to open the main doors once reaching the next road marker. There was a noticeable symbol of Rai, among the other classics of course, but nothing in the room forced a complete halt. Zan, Reinier, and the others weren’t in this room. Therefore, logic dictated that staying offered no advantageous benefits. A spiraling staircase presented itself as the only path, so he took it… the fastest way possible. A charging grunty did have it’s benefits, thankfully sans the side blades. Rayo mostly let Bell guide herself, checking his spell list again. Ol Repth wasn’t there… again. Performing the same operation as back in the hideout, Ol Repth was restored to his list. After almost tipping over three times, and two wall crashes later… that leg of the journey was complete. So was his hunt apparently too, as now everyone else seemed to be waiting right in front of him. Most of his team wasn’t, but how many were abusing steeds to hurry the process? The two who had left earliest both beat him there, and everyone from Reinier’s group was present, plus one long arm. Acquiring new players in the middle of a field no longer felt odd…he had been brought in the very same way to save time by Nall instead of linking up at Mac Anu.
“All stocked up and ready for a magical siege. Where do things stand as far as this field?”
ooc:
Hideout: Blue: Ol Repth
Field: Blue: Ol Repth
“I’ll be going back now, hurry along and be safe.”
The golden rings encircled him, snatching him out of existence for but a moment. Deposited back in the third hideout, he was set to quickly stock up on items. In the last battle his main weakness was a lack of resources to replenish his SP reserves. At the moment he was far better off than the last round. Three more mage’s souls, an artisan’s soul, and a trio of emperor’s souls. In reality he should have been all set, but if not having enough could be the death of him…
“I’ll take three mage’s souls please.”
The vendor accepted his money through the hideout’s equivalent of the item shop, bidding him the same old line about having a nice day or something. In any case, there was no way that this sort of supply could run out before his health did, regardless of what they fought.
His equipment was all set, and there wasn’t any need for purchasing new scrolls since the shops didn’t carry any that were significantly powerful. Maybe his next shopping trip would result in buying a few, but right now his overly extensive spell list would suffice. Ap Raio, more than any of the others that single incantation aided him. Scanning his spell list, his eyes grew slightly larger; inventory was down this quarter. All of the spells that were added by mysterious means had been removed just as easily; no, easier. Perhaps the field had been hacked in the first place, even if the caster was the only party member who noted an effect.
Performing the quickest test he knew, the Almighty Wand was in and out in an instant. The trick held, Ol Repth was back on his usable list after a simple casting. Were the effects just temporary ones? If so, why did they all vanish at once? Just like that out of the blue…
Shaking his head, the thoughts were dismissed for the time being. The increasingly bright shining orb was an indicator of what needed to be done. The rest of the group needed to be joined up with, that was his task. Deciphering the handy magic would have to wait until later.
“Closed Solitary Gate!”
The field was as pleasant as could be expected from the description. Dropping skyline, primarily barren, and a few monsters spotted just around the horizon. Not wishing to waste anytime with something below the importance of his mission, his handy flute no longer remained tucked away. With a musically unpleasant melody, Bell came bursting forth from who knew where, ready to act as the closest thing The World had to a taxi. The wizard mounted his grunty and was off, making a break for the tallest structure within sight. With any luck the dungeon wouldn’t be based off of a cellar design with no upper building and that would clue him in to his destination. There weren’t exactly any twigs being left to mark the fastest or most correct path. Since it seemed the other team had been in less trouble than them, they had at least most likely made it that far.
Bell only slowed long enough to open the main doors once reaching the next road marker. There was a noticeable symbol of Rai, among the other classics of course, but nothing in the room forced a complete halt. Zan, Reinier, and the others weren’t in this room. Therefore, logic dictated that staying offered no advantageous benefits. A spiraling staircase presented itself as the only path, so he took it… the fastest way possible. A charging grunty did have it’s benefits, thankfully sans the side blades. Rayo mostly let Bell guide herself, checking his spell list again. Ol Repth wasn’t there… again. Performing the same operation as back in the hideout, Ol Repth was restored to his list. After almost tipping over three times, and two wall crashes later… that leg of the journey was complete. So was his hunt apparently too, as now everyone else seemed to be waiting right in front of him. Most of his team wasn’t, but how many were abusing steeds to hurry the process? The two who had left earliest both beat him there, and everyone from Reinier’s group was present, plus one long arm. Acquiring new players in the middle of a field no longer felt odd…he had been brought in the very same way to save time by Nall instead of linking up at Mac Anu.
“All stocked up and ready for a magical siege. Where do things stand as far as this field?”
ooc:
Hideout: Blue: Ol Repth
Field: Blue: Ol Repth
Rayo
Lv.47 Archer 745HP/311SP
Bell, the Silver Grunty of Thunder
Skills/Spells-Shocking Arrow of Voltage(30), Arrow of the Burning Stars(10), MeRai Rom(40), Rai Kruz(10), La Repth(20), Rip Maen(40), MeRai Kruz(20), GiVak Kruz(20), MeRai Don(20), Rig Saem(15)
Weapon/Armor/Book-Golden Royal Bow/Thunder Torque, Thunder Cloak, Able Ring, Ivory Greaves/Thunder Magic
Wishlist: YL Fukuoka, Stormlore, Winter Stone, Silver Grunty
Lv.47 Archer 745HP/311SP
Bell, the Silver Grunty of Thunder
Skills/Spells-Shocking Arrow of Voltage(30), Arrow of the Burning Stars(10), MeRai Rom(40), Rai Kruz(10), La Repth(20), Rip Maen(40), MeRai Kruz(20), GiVak Kruz(20), MeRai Don(20), Rig Saem(15)
Weapon/Armor/Book-Golden Royal Bow/Thunder Torque, Thunder Cloak, Able Ring, Ivory Greaves/Thunder Magic
Wishlist: YL Fukuoka, Stormlore, Winter Stone, Silver Grunty
-
Hijinx
- Exalted Player
- Posts: 591
- Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2003 11:28 pm
- Location: New look, check it out!
Kicking a hole in the floor, Hijinx wondered if she really needed anything. Item wise she was fine, and it wasn't like there was any immediate danger of the server blowing up...yet. Whether that was going to change any time soon remained to be seen, so with a laugh and a smile, she hopped down. She landed on a slide that twisted at impossible angles, looping vertically several times before shooting her out into a kitchen. The fist-fighter wasted no time, within seconds she had an oversized chef's hat on her head, had pounded chocolate chips into some dough, and mysteriously cooked it to perfection over an open flame. At some point the dough managed to separate, leaving a tray stacked with cookies, ready for consumption. As she pressed the button next to an elevator which had risen from the floor, she briefly wondered if the newbie enjoyed being tackled, deciding ultimately that the best way to find out was through field testing and stepping into the lifting device. It quietly hummed through another hole in the ceiling, leaving no sign it had ever existed.
A square hole opened in the room with the others, the elevator raising from it at it's leisurely pace and coming to a soft stop as the bottom reached ground level. Stepping out and grinning pleasatly, Hijinx turned long enough to wave goodbye as it lowered itself out of existance once more. She spun on a heel and held out the tray cheerfully. A quick appraisal established that the new person wasn't damaged in any serious way. Giggling to herself, she wondered a little more about something profound, promptly forgot what it was, then started looking for a place to put the tray down. Cookies were great, but there was no way anyone was joining without at least getting tackled and squeezed with her around. Smiling innocently, Hijinx held the tray out a little more and planned.
"Cookie anyone?"
A square hole opened in the room with the others, the elevator raising from it at it's leisurely pace and coming to a soft stop as the bottom reached ground level. Stepping out and grinning pleasatly, Hijinx turned long enough to wave goodbye as it lowered itself out of existance once more. She spun on a heel and held out the tray cheerfully. A quick appraisal established that the new person wasn't damaged in any serious way. Giggling to herself, she wondered a little more about something profound, promptly forgot what it was, then started looking for a place to put the tray down. Cookies were great, but there was no way anyone was joining without at least getting tackled and squeezed with her around. Smiling innocently, Hijinx held the tray out a little more and planned.
"Cookie anyone?"
Hijinx the Lucky Former Rabbit
Level 35.000 Fist Fighter
Equip: Fist Guards, Wyrm Hide, guard cap, Snow panther, silver bracers
Item: 5 ressurect, 2 antidote, 10 healing potions, 6 Emperor's Soul, 3 Raging Earth, 5 Ice Floe, 4 Gale Breath, Knights Bane, 10 Speed Charms
Money: 1103gp
"The problem with life is there's no back-ground music."
Level 35.000 Fist Fighter
Equip: Fist Guards, Wyrm Hide, guard cap, Snow panther, silver bracers
Item: 5 ressurect, 2 antidote, 10 healing potions, 6 Emperor's Soul, 3 Raging Earth, 5 Ice Floe, 4 Gale Breath, Knights Bane, 10 Speed Charms
Money: 1103gp
"The problem with life is there's no back-ground music."
-
Lord Canti
- Exalted Player
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 3:58 pm
- Location: In da' plains of hell, natch.
(The dark form was fully-healed, having only Repthed his way up to that point. The pressure was off of him for the time being, so he had the time to do that. It wasn't his responsibility to do anything at this time since all the orbs he could handle were gone. However, that did not halt the fact that he wanted something to kill. Not people, not orbs and things like that. He wanted to carve up an enemy, the kind of enemy that gets him into jams like this. However, there was nothing here and Nall had just finished up the room, so he headed out after he left. Canti the Twin Blade...still smolderingly dark, still grasped by that same crazy feeling, as if he was not his own anymore. He didn't mind. In fact, it was a piece of mind, making him more skillful in a pinch, because he was more capable without the bullshit. To go from a joker to a killing machine was one helluva leap. In any case, Canti stood silently as Nall and Nighthand talked about the Hub and Marionette. Finally, after they were more immediately finished...)
Canti: We all got a message from that Marionette, that much I know for sure. In fact, he'll even talk to you again if you send a reply. He's watching us, and he wants to see if we can find him. I think he's our enemy, fooling around with us. I can't prove it, but he DOES know every move we make and about what we're going to face. So, he's either well-informed or well into the mess himself, one way or another...
(A Canti that could focus more clearly could think and comprehend more cleverly too. it was just that all of the fun - and perhaps even stability - went out of his voice when he started talking that way. But he was right. They all got messages, because he'd asked around and heard that others got it, and now he heard about the other team and it all just started to make sense! Their enemies were hackers and the Elites had lesser hackers that were dangerous in their own respect working for them. That could mean that this manipulative bastard was a hacker who played it safe and smart, leaving cryptic messages and bizarre clues while they're all trapped in a puzzle box. Canti's dark demeanor continued to last until...until he smelled something. The smoldering ceased and the Twin Blade had a look around, his black eyes halting at...Hijinx?)
"Cookie anyone?"
(Cookies? Well, that's what the smell said. The tray of cookies appeared to have a calming effect on the Twin Blade as he stepped towards the spot where Jinx and the cookies were. Not sure why he decided to, but it was just a long time since he'd had a cookie.)
Canti: Ummm... I like cookie.
Canti: We all got a message from that Marionette, that much I know for sure. In fact, he'll even talk to you again if you send a reply. He's watching us, and he wants to see if we can find him. I think he's our enemy, fooling around with us. I can't prove it, but he DOES know every move we make and about what we're going to face. So, he's either well-informed or well into the mess himself, one way or another...
(A Canti that could focus more clearly could think and comprehend more cleverly too. it was just that all of the fun - and perhaps even stability - went out of his voice when he started talking that way. But he was right. They all got messages, because he'd asked around and heard that others got it, and now he heard about the other team and it all just started to make sense! Their enemies were hackers and the Elites had lesser hackers that were dangerous in their own respect working for them. That could mean that this manipulative bastard was a hacker who played it safe and smart, leaving cryptic messages and bizarre clues while they're all trapped in a puzzle box. Canti's dark demeanor continued to last until...until he smelled something. The smoldering ceased and the Twin Blade had a look around, his black eyes halting at...Hijinx?)
"Cookie anyone?"
(Cookies? Well, that's what the smell said. The tray of cookies appeared to have a calming effect on the Twin Blade as he stepped towards the spot where Jinx and the cookies were. Not sure why he decided to, but it was just a long time since he'd had a cookie.)
Canti: Ummm... I like cookie.
I'll have a doozy of a sig later, I swear. It'll reflect ".hack//CODE" an' everything.
Hey look! A profile! It's got items and stats and things! Cool! If it isn't fully up to date, it will be, so don't worry 'bout it.
Hey look! A profile! It's got items and stats and things! Cool! If it isn't fully up to date, it will be, so don't worry 'bout it.
As her own part of this finished, Senna noted with surprise that Dien was dead. A quick resurrect took care of that. (She was surprised to note she was not as far down on them as she’d previously thought – a good realization, that)
Zan and Nall in turn faced off against remaining orbs, their skills and items in inventory allowing them to do what was needed. Senna had to admit to a sense of deep relief at that – she wasn’t sure exactly what she expected would happen if the group proved unable to take care of the orbs, but if there was any possibility that they might just get trapped here by something so plebian as too few scrolls on hand…
The idea made her want to scream – forced inaction. But luckily, it was an idea only, no reality behind it. The orbs were all gone and they were on their way as Nall grabbed the newest little piece of the mural to fall into their hands. The power of the room rushed away like clouds before a high wind, illuminating runes it passed on its way wherever it was going. In the way that had proven correct each of the previous times they saw it, the group followed the wave of energy out through the hallway and into the central room yet again. There was a feeling on the air which she didn’t think was quite urgency, but some near kin. Perhaps it was the itchiness that always came as the end of some unpleasant trial approached. It was growing, but everything else was regular, becoming routine.
That changed, of course, when they came out into the central room and saw there were people waiting.
Her first reaction was one of surprise, and the business end of her spear went from pointing straight at the ceiling (as she held her weapon like a walking stick) to pointing vaguely in the direction of the two strangers. Oddly, no one else seemed to be having the same sort of reaction, and a moment later the reason became clear as Nall began talking to one of them. They must be familiar faces to the rest of the group. Well, didn’t she feel stupid.
Lowering the weapon again and returning it to its previous stance, she tried to forget the foolish notion and concentrate instead on the conversation between the group’s leader and the one newcomer. It seemed there were more to come, and she had brief occasion to wonder how many people Nall’s group had. She assumed they were all of the same group from the lack of surprise on either side and the familiar way the newcomer spoke about the goings-on here. There was also the fact that the others had allegedly gotten messages from this Marionette thing as well (she STILL couldn’t ascribe a pronoun to it that might demark it as male or female). She assumed – again that word – that put them all in the same boat.
A third newcomer joined them shortly after the closing-off of the Rai room. This one actually asked about the status of the field, and Senna considered an answer – Rue and Vak based rooms then whatever’s behind door number three? – but she kept her silence. Nall had proven to somehow know more than the rest of them about the rooms and enemies in them, and the special skills of at least Zan meant he seemed to sometimes know just a little more than the rest. And since she also didn’t know any of these people, what information might be most important… no, better to let someone with more actual awareness of the situation answer.
Canti answered, but not to the status question, but to the Marionette one. She raised one eyebrow briefly at the sending a reply – if this character was watching them, chances were good they wouldn’t have to send anything. Just saying it would likely be enough if Marionette were as all-seeing as it seemed to want them to think. In fact, that might not be a terrible test. Not that there would be any way to be sure it would answer even if it did hear what they said.
As for Marionette, she still wasn’t sure it was an enemy. She couldn’t think of any enemy who would be so foolish as to send the enemy enigmatic messages which would actually cause them no harm. Not unless the goal was to slow them down with conversation at least. It seemed so cliché, so storybook. It was the sort of action which, if taken by the “bad guy,” would be a forerunner of lengthy, self-important monologues and needlessly elaborate hero-killing methods. Stupid. Not that there weren’t stupid people all over the place, but Senna liked to think – hope, more truthfully – that people would be more original. Besides, if it were an enemy, it seemed like the messages should be more… well, acidic. Something to stir the ants’ nest. No, for her the motive was not really an immediate concern, merely an interesting puzzle.
“Will what it is affect how we approach these?” she nodded toward the remaining two doors. That was, in her mind, the most important question. Unless it showed up or did something and then took responsibility for it, its nature and motives would be impossible to know for certain. They could, however, alter their strategy if they so wanted based on conjecture. And that…
She was interrupted in her continual over-thinking by the appearance of yet another stranger. And this stranger – or at least her method of appearance – was stranger than most. She wasn’t aware The World even HAD elevators (of a sort), and the thing in the newcomer’s hands… was that a tray of cookies?
The newcomer bid farewell to her transportation then turned to them, confirming the opinion – it WAS cookies. The person then spoke.
“Cookies anyone?”
The whole scene she presented was just too much. Senna chuckled briefly, then tried to bite it back. This was supposed to be serious. Though… why? Why should she be somber?
Oh yeah. People stuck in the game. It got a lot easier to sober up with that thought in mind. Still, the ghost of a smile remained as she said, “No thank you.”
Zan and Nall in turn faced off against remaining orbs, their skills and items in inventory allowing them to do what was needed. Senna had to admit to a sense of deep relief at that – she wasn’t sure exactly what she expected would happen if the group proved unable to take care of the orbs, but if there was any possibility that they might just get trapped here by something so plebian as too few scrolls on hand…
The idea made her want to scream – forced inaction. But luckily, it was an idea only, no reality behind it. The orbs were all gone and they were on their way as Nall grabbed the newest little piece of the mural to fall into their hands. The power of the room rushed away like clouds before a high wind, illuminating runes it passed on its way wherever it was going. In the way that had proven correct each of the previous times they saw it, the group followed the wave of energy out through the hallway and into the central room yet again. There was a feeling on the air which she didn’t think was quite urgency, but some near kin. Perhaps it was the itchiness that always came as the end of some unpleasant trial approached. It was growing, but everything else was regular, becoming routine.
That changed, of course, when they came out into the central room and saw there were people waiting.
Her first reaction was one of surprise, and the business end of her spear went from pointing straight at the ceiling (as she held her weapon like a walking stick) to pointing vaguely in the direction of the two strangers. Oddly, no one else seemed to be having the same sort of reaction, and a moment later the reason became clear as Nall began talking to one of them. They must be familiar faces to the rest of the group. Well, didn’t she feel stupid.
Lowering the weapon again and returning it to its previous stance, she tried to forget the foolish notion and concentrate instead on the conversation between the group’s leader and the one newcomer. It seemed there were more to come, and she had brief occasion to wonder how many people Nall’s group had. She assumed they were all of the same group from the lack of surprise on either side and the familiar way the newcomer spoke about the goings-on here. There was also the fact that the others had allegedly gotten messages from this Marionette thing as well (she STILL couldn’t ascribe a pronoun to it that might demark it as male or female). She assumed – again that word – that put them all in the same boat.
A third newcomer joined them shortly after the closing-off of the Rai room. This one actually asked about the status of the field, and Senna considered an answer – Rue and Vak based rooms then whatever’s behind door number three? – but she kept her silence. Nall had proven to somehow know more than the rest of them about the rooms and enemies in them, and the special skills of at least Zan meant he seemed to sometimes know just a little more than the rest. And since she also didn’t know any of these people, what information might be most important… no, better to let someone with more actual awareness of the situation answer.
Canti answered, but not to the status question, but to the Marionette one. She raised one eyebrow briefly at the sending a reply – if this character was watching them, chances were good they wouldn’t have to send anything. Just saying it would likely be enough if Marionette were as all-seeing as it seemed to want them to think. In fact, that might not be a terrible test. Not that there would be any way to be sure it would answer even if it did hear what they said.
As for Marionette, she still wasn’t sure it was an enemy. She couldn’t think of any enemy who would be so foolish as to send the enemy enigmatic messages which would actually cause them no harm. Not unless the goal was to slow them down with conversation at least. It seemed so cliché, so storybook. It was the sort of action which, if taken by the “bad guy,” would be a forerunner of lengthy, self-important monologues and needlessly elaborate hero-killing methods. Stupid. Not that there weren’t stupid people all over the place, but Senna liked to think – hope, more truthfully – that people would be more original. Besides, if it were an enemy, it seemed like the messages should be more… well, acidic. Something to stir the ants’ nest. No, for her the motive was not really an immediate concern, merely an interesting puzzle.
“Will what it is affect how we approach these?” she nodded toward the remaining two doors. That was, in her mind, the most important question. Unless it showed up or did something and then took responsibility for it, its nature and motives would be impossible to know for certain. They could, however, alter their strategy if they so wanted based on conjecture. And that…
She was interrupted in her continual over-thinking by the appearance of yet another stranger. And this stranger – or at least her method of appearance – was stranger than most. She wasn’t aware The World even HAD elevators (of a sort), and the thing in the newcomer’s hands… was that a tray of cookies?
The newcomer bid farewell to her transportation then turned to them, confirming the opinion – it WAS cookies. The person then spoke.
“Cookies anyone?”
The whole scene she presented was just too much. Senna chuckled briefly, then tried to bite it back. This was supposed to be serious. Though… why? Why should she be somber?
Oh yeah. People stuck in the game. It got a lot easier to sober up with that thought in mind. Still, the ghost of a smile remained as she said, “No thank you.”
Senna, level 33 Long Arm (710 HP/180 SP)
Most common kit: Ichigou, Racoon Earcaps, Air Bracer, Snow Panther, Winter Coat, Graceful Book
Spells/Skills: (Critical Hit/Death) Repulse Cage, Ap Corv, Ap Vorv, Rai Rom, Rue Zot, La Repth
Click for full equipment and items
14300 (1/23)
Most common kit: Ichigou, Racoon Earcaps, Air Bracer, Snow Panther, Winter Coat, Graceful Book
Spells/Skills: (Critical Hit/Death) Repulse Cage, Ap Corv, Ap Vorv, Rai Rom, Rue Zot, La Repth
Click for full equipment and items
14300 (1/23)
-
Dien
- Exalted Player
- Posts: 226
- Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 1:59 am
- Class: Blademaster
- Location: The "Who's Online List," Stalking People...
First one lick, and then another followed by a third rose from the logs that sat in the fireplace, the hacker’s masterwork coming to life before him. It hadn’t been done in lines of code, but that was what made it an even bigger accomplishment than that. Hacking and programming was about planning out how to use the tools given to get the computer to do what you wanted it to, and Jed had just applied the same principle to a fireplace, logs, and a simple chemical reaction. A rolled up piece of newspaper was stuck into the plasma as it rose, and then tossed under the whole mess after it had lit. Smoke rose in billows up the flue, the paper and wood shavings burning more readily than their more solid cousins.
“Just give it some time,” Lila said, and Jed turned from his handiwork with a smile. It had been what he intended to do, but there was no need to brag about it.
“Yeah,” he said, standing up and walking over to the girl as the light filling the room slowly grew more intense, “it’s like a virus that way: it takes time to do its job.”
“You’re always doing that,” she replied with a smile, “always relating everything you do to your hacking.”
“Hacking is what I know,” the boy said, a loud crack emanating from the fireplace as he unzipped his coat, “and so far there aren’t a whole lot of things it doesn’t relate to.”
“Ah, for a second there I thought you were trying to impress me,” Lila said, turning her gaze to the fire, and watching its mesmerizing dance over the shoulder of its maker.
“Well maybe I was,” Jed quipped back, a smirk crossing his lips, “did I succeed?” She only smiled, looking back to him. For a moment the two just stared into each other’s eyes in complete silence, somehow more comfortable with it than before as the fire began to ferociously assault the cold night air.
“I want to know you, Jed,” the girl replied, “you’ve already impressed me with what I’ve seen so far, but I want more.” The hacker smiled, closing his eyes and pulling the girl close to him in an embrace.
“So then I did succeed,” he said, evoking a quiet chuckle from the girl in his arms.
“Have I impressed you, though?” she asked, looking up to him. There was the question of the night; had she impressed him?
“Yes,” he replied, smiling at the thought, “yes you have.” Silence reigned for the better part of a minute before the fireplace interrupted, sending sparks up the chimney as the fire began to dwindle. Wordlessly the couple engaged in a moment’s stare before Jed released the girl to fix what he’d made. Even in working on the fire, he couldn’t get his mind off her. Indeed, Lila Palano had impressed him, or so it seemed at the very least. Whether or not he was just caught up in a crush or if he genuinely appreciated the girl would never be clear to him as he used the tongs to flip a log. Quickly it reacted with the air, sending flames toward the heavens as he added another two logs on top of it, positioned to balance against each other and the back of the fireplace. Sweat began to drip down his skin as the heat became more apparent.
“Jed,” he heard almost desperately, and turned in response to his name. There before the couch stood the girl who’d entranced his mind, only there was something different about her. The light from the fire reflected against her pale skin, showing its entirety to the boy. His mind went blank as his eyes widened. Every curve of her body proved clear, smooth, and flawless against the light of the flame. Jed rose, staring at the naked body that had been hidden beneath garments now strewn across the floor.
“I-” he began, rising slowly to his feet, “I don’t know what to say.” There were no words to say. Lila stepped forward slowly, her hands taking his as she pressed herself close and locked her lips against his.
__________
Consciousness was thrown upon the blademaster heavily as he sat with his back against a wall. The swirling of the World about him suggested that he was still a ghost, and he watched as Canti made an attack on the orbs, managing to survive the ensuing collisions. Man, he’d been just short of being able to share their fate, but for now he was stuck in his body, still very much dead from his last encounter and still waiting for someone else to take notice.
“So you never told me you had a girlfriend,” Danielle said, now sitting next to him, “if I’d known that I might not have felt so sorry for you about Amy.” Dien looked over to her, noting the rigid line formed by her jaw as she looked away.
“Hey,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, “that was a long time ago.” The AI pulled her shoulder away, letting his hand fall to the earth. Why this rejection all of the sudden? He knew she was an AI programmed to be more and more human, but this? Her programmer had to be a woman, if the personality installed on his brain was really this baffling. Wait, did that mean that… no, that couldn’t be true, not at this point in the game. She hadn’t developed enough to know what love was-
“Well guess what,” she said, turning back to look at him with tears pouring in lines down both cheeks, “you’re wrong yet again.”
“Danielle, I…” he began, but the thought was lost in her emotion as she turned away yet again. “You’re as real to me as any girl,” he finally continued after a prolonged silence, “but right now I don’t know if I’m capable of loving you - I don’t even know if I can love myself!”
“Well for God’s sakes, at least try!” Silence followed again and the two merely sat side by side, eyes misted with emotion.
“Right now,” Dien said to break the silence, “I’m doing the best I can to keep my emotions hovering around over my head so I can function at least primitively without them. I can’t…” he sniffed, taking a moment to form the words in his mind, “I can’t give you the promise of love when I can’t even tell you what that means.” His arm wrapped over her shoulders, pulling her to his side to make wiping the tears off her face easier. Hell, he couldn’t even decide whether or not he was being too strong for his emotions to handle: if this fraudulent wall of dedication and empathy could hold against the sea this girl’s emotions could bring.
“Then promise me this,” she said, turning to look at him, “promise me that I’ll be the first to know when you figure it out.” Dien smiled, now wiping the tears from his own eyes.
“It’s a deal,” he said quietly, “you’ve been a very stable ground through this ordeal: I still need you to be here for me.”
“You and Zan,” she said. Dien shot her a curious look, his emotional ignorance returning almost faster than he’d wished. “he sent this flashmail a while back; he seems pretty desperate.” The ping of a flashmail arriving echoed through his ears, and the blademaster opened it.
“I was working in the flashmail system when you got it, and letting it through would have undone a lot of my work,” she replied, “besides, you seemed rather busy.” For a brief instant, the feeling of déjà vu completely overtook Dien, sending a wash of pins and needles down his form. He could’ve sworn he’d just been thinking about the flashmail system as a sort of back door. It did make sense, but before his mind could pursue the matter any further he was recalled to life.
“Well,” he said, beginning to stand upright, “I’ll be sure to have a talk with him then. Keep up the good work, Danielle: I’m counting on you.” The AI nodded and vanished from his line of sight once again. A beam of light shot out of Nall’s hands, running a straight course down the hallway they’d come through prior. As the rest of the group began to head out, Dien made a bee-line for Zan, the character who’d so desperately pleaded for his help.
“I just got your message,” he said, pulling him aside, “what’s up?”
Zan blinked up from the trance of his concentration, unaware of Dien’s presence until the Blademaster had spoken up. Not a good sign. A person with his senses shouldn't get snuck up on. Racking it up as the PVM’s fault like so many other things, the lycanthrope did his best to offer up the kid a smile. “Not doin’ so hot. The Plures Vultus Mortis is chewing me up binary bit by binary bit. I can't think of anybody except Danielle and yourself who could help me. Well...Raine and Sheena maybe, but I don't trust them that close to my Pattern.” The Heavy Blade's brow furrowed, a quick glance given behind Dien. “Where is Danielle, by the way?”
“She's currently working on a connection between my normal body and this one which she can use to at least give me some of my hacking capabilities back,” Dien replied, “with those I'll at least be able to give you a clear diagnosis and prescription, but I don't know if we can even get them at this point.” He paused a moment to think. “Ideally, I'd like to look at your Pattern from outside of the game, but that's kinda...” he gulped slightly, the thought recently refreshed in his mind, “...out of the question.” There wasn't much the hacker could do from this World, especially without the applets and widgets he'd made for them.
A subtle look of disappointment on his face, Zan nodded. “Well, it’s good to hear that we’re at least headed in the general direction. I suppose it would have been too much to expect a slow down on the PVM or a deletion, for that matter.” Shrugging the irritation at the growing concern of the PVM’s risk, the lycanthrope spoke up once more. “Bah, no matter. I’m sure things will, somehow, work themselves out. If not, I’ll be dead. And The World will still turn.” Surprising himself, Zan laughed and felt sincere in his humor. Putting it in such a low-profile perspective was oddly relieving.
“Hey,” Dien said, putting his hand on the player’s shoulder, “I’m with you ‘til the end on this, buddy, so don’t you be giving up on me. I can ask Danielle if she’ll look into your code, but she’s admittedly not as talented a software engineer as myself...” His voice trailed off as he tried to think of the right words, not too hopeful, but then not gloomy either. “I guess what I’m trying to say is not to expect any miracles - but you knew that much.” The blademaster smiled, watching as the rest of the group began to retreat from the room, “come on, I’ll get her to have a chat with you: just hang in there ‘til then, okay?”
Zan’s eyes reflexively followed Dien’s hand, his body tensing at the contact and the inward fight not to rip out the kid's arm out of his socket. Not an enemy. Not an enemy. Taking a breath, the lycanthrope nodded once again. “Nah, not giving up. Simply...allowing for alternate possibilities to be, well, possibly. I’m sure plenty of the Freedom Fighters have me set as some doom and gloom kind of guy and I’m rather tired of that soured lime light. But yea, a chat with Danielle would be nice. You two...and Reinier, wherever he is...are the closest things I have to family in this game. Which is odd, really, seeing as I’ve known you less time than some of the people on the team right now. Imagine that.” The blademaster merely smiled.
“Yeah,” he said, “you’re the closest thing I've had to an older brother. However, Brother,” he said, his hand falling from the lycan’s shoulder, “we still have to help the rest of these people out for at least a little while longer. I, at least, owe you all that much for saving me.” Especially you, he thought, the smile staying planted on his lips as he turned, waiting for his companion to follow along before exiting the room.
When they made their entrance to the grand arena, Dien was shocked by how the other team, formerly known as Team Rayo, was almost there in full array. Zhao was still absent, but he had half a mind to send a flashmail to ask him to pick up some things in transit. However, no such flashmail was sent, and the blademaster took his time watching everyone interact. A cookie was taken from Jinx, and thanks given before the blademaster shared his thoughts with the public forum:
“Whether or not this ‘Marionette’ character’s surveillance will have any effect on our quest, we can’t know. He or she told me to discuss the flashmails with the rest of the group, so here we are playing his or her game. Personally, I’m not comfortable with the thought of being a boy on a string, but so long as it doesn’t interfere terribly with what we’re doing I’ll go along with it.
“But while recent flashmails are an interesting topic, I believe Rayo’s question has gone yet unanswered. To the best of my knowledge, our task in this dungeon is to cycle through the elements, getting an artifact from each to place in their respective holes in the mural. Each artifact has a room guarding it, and the rooms have been getting progressively harder in difficulty. Also, whenever we defeat the room that guards the artifact and get our hands on it, a beam of energy is shot back into this main room. I don’t know if that’s important, but we only have two elements left to complete the mural: Rue and Vak. I don’t think it matters which order we attack them in, though prior we had decided to do Vak before Rue.
“The question remains of what will be beyond the door once we complete the last room, but then again not even a Fairy’s Orb could tell us that. In any case, I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that we’re very glad to have you all here, as that last room was a bit on the tough side.” Monologue finished, the blademaster turned and leaned against the central pillar, waiting for someone to address him or for the group to move on.
“Just give it some time,” Lila said, and Jed turned from his handiwork with a smile. It had been what he intended to do, but there was no need to brag about it.
“Yeah,” he said, standing up and walking over to the girl as the light filling the room slowly grew more intense, “it’s like a virus that way: it takes time to do its job.”
“You’re always doing that,” she replied with a smile, “always relating everything you do to your hacking.”
“Hacking is what I know,” the boy said, a loud crack emanating from the fireplace as he unzipped his coat, “and so far there aren’t a whole lot of things it doesn’t relate to.”
“Ah, for a second there I thought you were trying to impress me,” Lila said, turning her gaze to the fire, and watching its mesmerizing dance over the shoulder of its maker.
“Well maybe I was,” Jed quipped back, a smirk crossing his lips, “did I succeed?” She only smiled, looking back to him. For a moment the two just stared into each other’s eyes in complete silence, somehow more comfortable with it than before as the fire began to ferociously assault the cold night air.
“I want to know you, Jed,” the girl replied, “you’ve already impressed me with what I’ve seen so far, but I want more.” The hacker smiled, closing his eyes and pulling the girl close to him in an embrace.
“So then I did succeed,” he said, evoking a quiet chuckle from the girl in his arms.
“Have I impressed you, though?” she asked, looking up to him. There was the question of the night; had she impressed him?
“Yes,” he replied, smiling at the thought, “yes you have.” Silence reigned for the better part of a minute before the fireplace interrupted, sending sparks up the chimney as the fire began to dwindle. Wordlessly the couple engaged in a moment’s stare before Jed released the girl to fix what he’d made. Even in working on the fire, he couldn’t get his mind off her. Indeed, Lila Palano had impressed him, or so it seemed at the very least. Whether or not he was just caught up in a crush or if he genuinely appreciated the girl would never be clear to him as he used the tongs to flip a log. Quickly it reacted with the air, sending flames toward the heavens as he added another two logs on top of it, positioned to balance against each other and the back of the fireplace. Sweat began to drip down his skin as the heat became more apparent.
“Jed,” he heard almost desperately, and turned in response to his name. There before the couch stood the girl who’d entranced his mind, only there was something different about her. The light from the fire reflected against her pale skin, showing its entirety to the boy. His mind went blank as his eyes widened. Every curve of her body proved clear, smooth, and flawless against the light of the flame. Jed rose, staring at the naked body that had been hidden beneath garments now strewn across the floor.
“I-” he began, rising slowly to his feet, “I don’t know what to say.” There were no words to say. Lila stepped forward slowly, her hands taking his as she pressed herself close and locked her lips against his.
__________
Consciousness was thrown upon the blademaster heavily as he sat with his back against a wall. The swirling of the World about him suggested that he was still a ghost, and he watched as Canti made an attack on the orbs, managing to survive the ensuing collisions. Man, he’d been just short of being able to share their fate, but for now he was stuck in his body, still very much dead from his last encounter and still waiting for someone else to take notice.
“So you never told me you had a girlfriend,” Danielle said, now sitting next to him, “if I’d known that I might not have felt so sorry for you about Amy.” Dien looked over to her, noting the rigid line formed by her jaw as she looked away.
“Hey,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, “that was a long time ago.” The AI pulled her shoulder away, letting his hand fall to the earth. Why this rejection all of the sudden? He knew she was an AI programmed to be more and more human, but this? Her programmer had to be a woman, if the personality installed on his brain was really this baffling. Wait, did that mean that… no, that couldn’t be true, not at this point in the game. She hadn’t developed enough to know what love was-
“Well guess what,” she said, turning back to look at him with tears pouring in lines down both cheeks, “you’re wrong yet again.”
“Danielle, I…” he began, but the thought was lost in her emotion as she turned away yet again. “You’re as real to me as any girl,” he finally continued after a prolonged silence, “but right now I don’t know if I’m capable of loving you - I don’t even know if I can love myself!”
“Well for God’s sakes, at least try!” Silence followed again and the two merely sat side by side, eyes misted with emotion.
“Right now,” Dien said to break the silence, “I’m doing the best I can to keep my emotions hovering around over my head so I can function at least primitively without them. I can’t…” he sniffed, taking a moment to form the words in his mind, “I can’t give you the promise of love when I can’t even tell you what that means.” His arm wrapped over her shoulders, pulling her to his side to make wiping the tears off her face easier. Hell, he couldn’t even decide whether or not he was being too strong for his emotions to handle: if this fraudulent wall of dedication and empathy could hold against the sea this girl’s emotions could bring.
“Then promise me this,” she said, turning to look at him, “promise me that I’ll be the first to know when you figure it out.” Dien smiled, now wiping the tears from his own eyes.
“It’s a deal,” he said quietly, “you’ve been a very stable ground through this ordeal: I still need you to be here for me.”
“You and Zan,” she said. Dien shot her a curious look, his emotional ignorance returning almost faster than he’d wished. “he sent this flashmail a while back; he seems pretty desperate.” The ping of a flashmail arriving echoed through his ears, and the blademaster opened it.
“Dear God! Danielle, why didn’t you show me this earlier?” More importantly, why did it go to her before going to him when his was the address that had been stamped?Flashmail!
To: Dien
From: Zan
Everyone seems rather busy, and I apologize for my blatant lack of usefulness at the moment, but there is something I need to discuss with both Danielle and yourself. As Danielle had seen, I have two viruses in me. The secondary one, the PVM...it's at fault, it seems, for my steady degradation. It's a long shot that you'll be able to help such a guarded thing as my Pattern...and I realize that I already have you trying to free me from the game so I can save Lowen...but I do not know how long it will take for the PVM to absorb me completely and I cannot say what I will become when such a thing is complete. Please, if you can...
Help me.
“I was working in the flashmail system when you got it, and letting it through would have undone a lot of my work,” she replied, “besides, you seemed rather busy.” For a brief instant, the feeling of déjà vu completely overtook Dien, sending a wash of pins and needles down his form. He could’ve sworn he’d just been thinking about the flashmail system as a sort of back door. It did make sense, but before his mind could pursue the matter any further he was recalled to life.
“Well,” he said, beginning to stand upright, “I’ll be sure to have a talk with him then. Keep up the good work, Danielle: I’m counting on you.” The AI nodded and vanished from his line of sight once again. A beam of light shot out of Nall’s hands, running a straight course down the hallway they’d come through prior. As the rest of the group began to head out, Dien made a bee-line for Zan, the character who’d so desperately pleaded for his help.
“I just got your message,” he said, pulling him aside, “what’s up?”
Zan blinked up from the trance of his concentration, unaware of Dien’s presence until the Blademaster had spoken up. Not a good sign. A person with his senses shouldn't get snuck up on. Racking it up as the PVM’s fault like so many other things, the lycanthrope did his best to offer up the kid a smile. “Not doin’ so hot. The Plures Vultus Mortis is chewing me up binary bit by binary bit. I can't think of anybody except Danielle and yourself who could help me. Well...Raine and Sheena maybe, but I don't trust them that close to my Pattern.” The Heavy Blade's brow furrowed, a quick glance given behind Dien. “Where is Danielle, by the way?”
“She's currently working on a connection between my normal body and this one which she can use to at least give me some of my hacking capabilities back,” Dien replied, “with those I'll at least be able to give you a clear diagnosis and prescription, but I don't know if we can even get them at this point.” He paused a moment to think. “Ideally, I'd like to look at your Pattern from outside of the game, but that's kinda...” he gulped slightly, the thought recently refreshed in his mind, “...out of the question.” There wasn't much the hacker could do from this World, especially without the applets and widgets he'd made for them.
A subtle look of disappointment on his face, Zan nodded. “Well, it’s good to hear that we’re at least headed in the general direction. I suppose it would have been too much to expect a slow down on the PVM or a deletion, for that matter.” Shrugging the irritation at the growing concern of the PVM’s risk, the lycanthrope spoke up once more. “Bah, no matter. I’m sure things will, somehow, work themselves out. If not, I’ll be dead. And The World will still turn.” Surprising himself, Zan laughed and felt sincere in his humor. Putting it in such a low-profile perspective was oddly relieving.
“Hey,” Dien said, putting his hand on the player’s shoulder, “I’m with you ‘til the end on this, buddy, so don’t you be giving up on me. I can ask Danielle if she’ll look into your code, but she’s admittedly not as talented a software engineer as myself...” His voice trailed off as he tried to think of the right words, not too hopeful, but then not gloomy either. “I guess what I’m trying to say is not to expect any miracles - but you knew that much.” The blademaster smiled, watching as the rest of the group began to retreat from the room, “come on, I’ll get her to have a chat with you: just hang in there ‘til then, okay?”
Zan’s eyes reflexively followed Dien’s hand, his body tensing at the contact and the inward fight not to rip out the kid's arm out of his socket. Not an enemy. Not an enemy. Taking a breath, the lycanthrope nodded once again. “Nah, not giving up. Simply...allowing for alternate possibilities to be, well, possibly. I’m sure plenty of the Freedom Fighters have me set as some doom and gloom kind of guy and I’m rather tired of that soured lime light. But yea, a chat with Danielle would be nice. You two...and Reinier, wherever he is...are the closest things I have to family in this game. Which is odd, really, seeing as I’ve known you less time than some of the people on the team right now. Imagine that.” The blademaster merely smiled.
“Yeah,” he said, “you’re the closest thing I've had to an older brother. However, Brother,” he said, his hand falling from the lycan’s shoulder, “we still have to help the rest of these people out for at least a little while longer. I, at least, owe you all that much for saving me.” Especially you, he thought, the smile staying planted on his lips as he turned, waiting for his companion to follow along before exiting the room.
When they made their entrance to the grand arena, Dien was shocked by how the other team, formerly known as Team Rayo, was almost there in full array. Zhao was still absent, but he had half a mind to send a flashmail to ask him to pick up some things in transit. However, no such flashmail was sent, and the blademaster took his time watching everyone interact. A cookie was taken from Jinx, and thanks given before the blademaster shared his thoughts with the public forum:
“Whether or not this ‘Marionette’ character’s surveillance will have any effect on our quest, we can’t know. He or she told me to discuss the flashmails with the rest of the group, so here we are playing his or her game. Personally, I’m not comfortable with the thought of being a boy on a string, but so long as it doesn’t interfere terribly with what we’re doing I’ll go along with it.
“But while recent flashmails are an interesting topic, I believe Rayo’s question has gone yet unanswered. To the best of my knowledge, our task in this dungeon is to cycle through the elements, getting an artifact from each to place in their respective holes in the mural. Each artifact has a room guarding it, and the rooms have been getting progressively harder in difficulty. Also, whenever we defeat the room that guards the artifact and get our hands on it, a beam of energy is shot back into this main room. I don’t know if that’s important, but we only have two elements left to complete the mural: Rue and Vak. I don’t think it matters which order we attack them in, though prior we had decided to do Vak before Rue.
“The question remains of what will be beyond the door once we complete the last room, but then again not even a Fairy’s Orb could tell us that. In any case, I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that we’re very glad to have you all here, as that last room was a bit on the tough side.” Monologue finished, the blademaster turned and leaned against the central pillar, waiting for someone to address him or for the group to move on.
Zan let out a sigh of blatant relief as Nall's completion of the puzzle ended up being the completion of the room itself. How that was supposed to be more difficult than going up against a giant phantom horse rider with swords the size of the Empire State Building was beyond him, but he was glad to be rid of it just the same. Only a moment was given to this pseudo elation before an inward pang reminded him of what the real goal was...for him. The Heavy Blade was only there with the rest of the Freedom Fighters because he simply refused to leave them hanging to take care of a personal problem. They were, as a concept and a whole, a majority of his responsibility. Would Nall or Nighthand excuse him if he wanted to seek out a cure for the viral conflict within him? Probably. However, if any of them got deleted by what the field really held he'd just have one more thing weighing down on his mind. Selfless and selfish all at the same time, Zan started to join the group's exit from the room when a particular Blademaster stopped him.
Words exchanged and mutual sentiments acknowledged, the conversation was over almost as soon as it had started and Dien led the way out. The sight of all of the B team suddenly outside of the arched hall startled Zan (though it was shown with little more than a stiffening posture and widened eyes), the lycanthrope once again worried at the steady downfall of his abilities. First Dien had snuck up on him and, second, the rest of the group had waited for them at the other end of the tunnel and he didn't get so much as a stray molecule of smell to inform him. Another second and discussions began, the paranoid group metaphorically huddling together like scared children from an enemy they couldn't even see. Pathetic. Utterly and hopelessly pathetic. People like that weren't equals, but prey, meat that needed to be torn from bone to sate the stirring of the wolf in his chest; a pacing creature looking for an excuse to ripple across his skin. Zan could almost taste it now, could almost...wait. Wait. What the hell was the matter with him? They were so much more than that. Each of them were warriors in their own right, strategic geniuses, insanely powerful manipulators of the very foundations of The World, and friends. The Beast was getting hold of the reigns again and the lycanthrope was given that much more reason to settle the dispute going on inside of his code.
A look around as Dien spoke gave him a bigger scope of who exactly had arrived. While Rayo's team had arrived mostly intact, it was 'Reinier's team that now dwindled. Funny thing...Reinier himself was gone. Shaking his head, wondering where exactly the earthbender had gone, Zan's eyes caught the drift of cookies and immediately knew their origin. Who else would bring a tray of cookies like this besides Jinx? A glance to the owner of the drifting cookies and their offering and, despite his intentions, Zan could only smile. Shaking his head and responding with a simple, "No thanks," the Heavy Blade tried his best to sort past the maelstrom of thoughts in his skull to get to the wonderings at hand. Marionette seemed to be the hot topic at the moment and Dien had gotten to the end of his little monologue. The Blademaster, being the hacker he was, explained things in the realm of logic and reason, something they needed. With that mundane insight given, Zan decided it was up to him to open up the curtain to the more subtle. The lycanthrope had, before The World, been immersed in plenty of things in the realm of the unnatural (be it in his at-the-time broken mind or not) and gave such a perspective now.
"So maybe this Marionette guy is just making us dance for him. Or her, I suppose. But maybe not. All of us with some...extra senses..." A pause, a look to Nall. "...and perhaps some of those of you without know that there's something at the heart of this game that's aware of every step that anyone makes. So, while I don't believe Marionette to be that, maybe this individual isn't even a player or a person at all. I'm sure we've all met our fair share of AI's while being in this game and, perhaps, that's exactly what this thing is. Maybe he or she knows our movements not necessarily because they're stalking us, but because they're rooted in the game itself." Giving them a moment to think on it and himself a moment to consider his next point, he moved on. "But origin theories aside, I'd like to open up the floor to his intent. Is this just a game for the guy? Maybe. He told me in my e-mail to talk to Dien, one of the few people in the Freedom Fighters I have more than just a professional connection with. I consider the guy a brother and, beyond that, he holds the key for a number of problems I'm having. Is it a coincidence that Marionette should direct me to him? I don't think so.
I'd hate to steer the group in the direction of mayhem and trouble, not that we can even seem to avoid it anyway, but I honestly don't believe Marionette to have anything negative in mind. I don't think he's a friend, no, but I do think he's a neutral. And, being that, perhaps he's trying to shift the scale towards us for a change. The Elites overpowered us by a sickening amount, we were all...well, mostly...there when Mac Anu went to hell and back. Maybe, just maybe, that's what awoke Marionette to our cause. He could simply be trying to restore a balance and, thus, helping us.
But then again, he could just easily be leading us into a trap that yanks us into a hell field of torture and torment at the hands of the Elites. Who's to know? What I do know is that sitting around talking about it isn't going to get us anything but more and more paranoid. I say we pack it up, figuratively of course, and head into the Vak room. Let's do what we came here to do and stop worrying about a phantom Flashmailer. For now." His input given Zan stepped back and allowed anybody else who'd speak to do so.
Getting that glazed focus look in his eyes that he got when he was Flashmailing, the lycanthrope decided yet again to try and get a few things from Marionette.
The streets were alive with the wanderings of strangers, the wanderings of people that Conner was kept safe from by the simple hand held in his own. His arm lofted up into the air to meet his mother's, the little boy walked with contentment. An innocently huge smile was given to his father on his other side, the man giving him one just as big, if not bigger, in return. Humming happily, Conner grabbed his fathers hand with his other and hoisted himself into the air, swinging from in-between his parents like a chimpanzee. Their laughter sounding out from either side of him, he was soon hoisted up and around his father's shoulders.
Setting his hands on his dad's head, Conner scanned the ants around him and felt like a giant. Screwing up his face in a mock-angry expression, the little boy read off 'fee faye fo fum' in repetition and continued to play the role until something caught his wavering attention span. Also on the shoulders of a parent, a little brown-haired girl looked back at him with real anger. Though her father seemed enthralled to offer the little girl up the world, she seemed less than happy to have it. Maybe she didn't like to be so high? Conner gave her a smile at the thought and the moment their eyes met the boy felt something in his chest click together. Whatever it was that had made her mad was gone, a bashful smile cast down as she did he best to look at her father's head instead of the little boy. When they had passed each other the two looked back, never parting eyes until a sentence from the opposing side forced the meeting to sever.
"Marilyn, stop that, you're going to fall if you keep turning."
And with that she was faced away, posture once again tightening with annoyance before Conner himself turned to the rest of the world once more, already forgetting the encounter in lieu of the wonderment before him. He was a prince and his parents ruled this kingdom.
Words exchanged and mutual sentiments acknowledged, the conversation was over almost as soon as it had started and Dien led the way out. The sight of all of the B team suddenly outside of the arched hall startled Zan (though it was shown with little more than a stiffening posture and widened eyes), the lycanthrope once again worried at the steady downfall of his abilities. First Dien had snuck up on him and, second, the rest of the group had waited for them at the other end of the tunnel and he didn't get so much as a stray molecule of smell to inform him. Another second and discussions began, the paranoid group metaphorically huddling together like scared children from an enemy they couldn't even see. Pathetic. Utterly and hopelessly pathetic. People like that weren't equals, but prey, meat that needed to be torn from bone to sate the stirring of the wolf in his chest; a pacing creature looking for an excuse to ripple across his skin. Zan could almost taste it now, could almost...wait. Wait. What the hell was the matter with him? They were so much more than that. Each of them were warriors in their own right, strategic geniuses, insanely powerful manipulators of the very foundations of The World, and friends. The Beast was getting hold of the reigns again and the lycanthrope was given that much more reason to settle the dispute going on inside of his code.
A look around as Dien spoke gave him a bigger scope of who exactly had arrived. While Rayo's team had arrived mostly intact, it was 'Reinier's team that now dwindled. Funny thing...Reinier himself was gone. Shaking his head, wondering where exactly the earthbender had gone, Zan's eyes caught the drift of cookies and immediately knew their origin. Who else would bring a tray of cookies like this besides Jinx? A glance to the owner of the drifting cookies and their offering and, despite his intentions, Zan could only smile. Shaking his head and responding with a simple, "No thanks," the Heavy Blade tried his best to sort past the maelstrom of thoughts in his skull to get to the wonderings at hand. Marionette seemed to be the hot topic at the moment and Dien had gotten to the end of his little monologue. The Blademaster, being the hacker he was, explained things in the realm of logic and reason, something they needed. With that mundane insight given, Zan decided it was up to him to open up the curtain to the more subtle. The lycanthrope had, before The World, been immersed in plenty of things in the realm of the unnatural (be it in his at-the-time broken mind or not) and gave such a perspective now.
"So maybe this Marionette guy is just making us dance for him. Or her, I suppose. But maybe not. All of us with some...extra senses..." A pause, a look to Nall. "...and perhaps some of those of you without know that there's something at the heart of this game that's aware of every step that anyone makes. So, while I don't believe Marionette to be that, maybe this individual isn't even a player or a person at all. I'm sure we've all met our fair share of AI's while being in this game and, perhaps, that's exactly what this thing is. Maybe he or she knows our movements not necessarily because they're stalking us, but because they're rooted in the game itself." Giving them a moment to think on it and himself a moment to consider his next point, he moved on. "But origin theories aside, I'd like to open up the floor to his intent. Is this just a game for the guy? Maybe. He told me in my e-mail to talk to Dien, one of the few people in the Freedom Fighters I have more than just a professional connection with. I consider the guy a brother and, beyond that, he holds the key for a number of problems I'm having. Is it a coincidence that Marionette should direct me to him? I don't think so.
I'd hate to steer the group in the direction of mayhem and trouble, not that we can even seem to avoid it anyway, but I honestly don't believe Marionette to have anything negative in mind. I don't think he's a friend, no, but I do think he's a neutral. And, being that, perhaps he's trying to shift the scale towards us for a change. The Elites overpowered us by a sickening amount, we were all...well, mostly...there when Mac Anu went to hell and back. Maybe, just maybe, that's what awoke Marionette to our cause. He could simply be trying to restore a balance and, thus, helping us.
But then again, he could just easily be leading us into a trap that yanks us into a hell field of torture and torment at the hands of the Elites. Who's to know? What I do know is that sitting around talking about it isn't going to get us anything but more and more paranoid. I say we pack it up, figuratively of course, and head into the Vak room. Let's do what we came here to do and stop worrying about a phantom Flashmailer. For now." His input given Zan stepped back and allowed anybody else who'd speak to do so.
Getting that glazed focus look in his eyes that he got when he was Flashmailing, the lycanthrope decided yet again to try and get a few things from Marionette.
--------------------------------------------------Flashmail!
To: Marionette
From: Zan
Subject: Waiting
Giving you the benefit of the doubt, I've talked to Dien. If your previous Flashmail was in reference to his abilities to help me with my varying predicaments, it was good advice. If it was for something different, I don't believe I accomplished what you had in mind.
That aside, let me know, in the cryptic fashion that you always do, what needs to be done now. The rest of my friends are scared of who you could possibly be. I'm not. I know that, should you be someone to fear, we'll know in time. If you really have been able to watch us, there's absolutely nothing we can do to stop what horrid things you have in mind for us. Or, on a more optimistic note, the help you plan to offer up.
That in mind, knowing what's to come is unavoidable, I ask again what I can do. I'm probably the only one in the Freedom Fighters at the moment who doesn't simply wish you'd disappear. If it's mediation you need, I'll do what I can. Either way, let me know.
You have something in mind and, be it for the good or the bad, it's time to get it set in motion.
~Zan
Flashmail! Ended
The streets were alive with the wanderings of strangers, the wanderings of people that Conner was kept safe from by the simple hand held in his own. His arm lofted up into the air to meet his mother's, the little boy walked with contentment. An innocently huge smile was given to his father on his other side, the man giving him one just as big, if not bigger, in return. Humming happily, Conner grabbed his fathers hand with his other and hoisted himself into the air, swinging from in-between his parents like a chimpanzee. Their laughter sounding out from either side of him, he was soon hoisted up and around his father's shoulders.
Setting his hands on his dad's head, Conner scanned the ants around him and felt like a giant. Screwing up his face in a mock-angry expression, the little boy read off 'fee faye fo fum' in repetition and continued to play the role until something caught his wavering attention span. Also on the shoulders of a parent, a little brown-haired girl looked back at him with real anger. Though her father seemed enthralled to offer the little girl up the world, she seemed less than happy to have it. Maybe she didn't like to be so high? Conner gave her a smile at the thought and the moment their eyes met the boy felt something in his chest click together. Whatever it was that had made her mad was gone, a bashful smile cast down as she did he best to look at her father's head instead of the little boy. When they had passed each other the two looked back, never parting eyes until a sentence from the opposing side forced the meeting to sever.
"Marilyn, stop that, you're going to fall if you keep turning."
And with that she was faced away, posture once again tightening with annoyance before Conner himself turned to the rest of the world once more, already forgetting the encounter in lieu of the wonderment before him. He was a prince and his parents ruled this kingdom.
Lv. 50 Heavy Blade
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).
-
Nighthand
- Master of Games
- Posts: 1265
- Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
- Class: Bladesmage
- Location: ...Tracking...please wait...
ooc: Lemme know when you want to move on and I'll post. I don't want to move us on if we're still talking about Marionette, but I don't want to force a week's wait if there's just another day or so of this.
Wishlist: Any Armor or Weapons under level 50, Any Scrolls (prefer level 2+)
-
Marionette
- Elevated Player
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:24 pm
Flashmail
To: All Present
RE: comE whaT maY
whO iS thE predatoR? whO iS thE preY? dO yoU hunT mE oR dO I hunT yoU? seeK mE ouT, thE waY iS cleaR. througH oppositeS oncE morE, finD aN aspecT. seeK mE anD yE shalL finD whaT yE finD yE seeK. seeK mE, yE oF deepesT nighT. seeK mE yE oF manY faceS. seeK mE yE oF stormS furY. seeK mE yE oF gaiaS attractioN. seeK mE yE oF firE. seeK mE yE oF paiN. seeK mE yE oF psychosiS. seeK mE yE oF twiN mindS. seeK mE yE oF improbabilitY. seeK mE yE oF possibilitY. seeK mE ouT anD alL wilL bE cleaR.
Flashmail
To: Zan
RE: waitinG
comE tO mE, yE oF manY faceS. yoU knoW mE betteR thaN yoU thinK. yoU wisH tO seeK mE. yoU wilL bE integraL.
To: All Present
RE: comE whaT maY
whO iS thE predatoR? whO iS thE preY? dO yoU hunT mE oR dO I hunT yoU? seeK mE ouT, thE waY iS cleaR. througH oppositeS oncE morE, finD aN aspecT. seeK mE anD yE shalL finD whaT yE finD yE seeK. seeK mE, yE oF deepesT nighT. seeK mE yE oF manY faceS. seeK mE yE oF stormS furY. seeK mE yE oF gaiaS attractioN. seeK mE yE oF firE. seeK mE yE oF paiN. seeK mE yE oF psychosiS. seeK mE yE oF twiN mindS. seeK mE yE oF improbabilitY. seeK mE yE oF possibilitY. seeK mE ouT anD alL wilL bE cleaR.
Flashmail
To: Zan
RE: waitinG
comE tO mE, yE oF manY faceS. yoU knoW mE betteR thaN yoU thinK. yoU wisH tO seeK mE. yoU wilL bE integraL.
whaT happenS wheN thE puppeT pullS thE stringS?
Hijinx had appeared, but that was it so far. Ryok, Zhao, Tokki…none of them were anywhere to be seen. They could still be on their way, but hopefully none of them had chosen to stay behind. If so, the decision was theirs, and backtracking to search for them would be futile. That forest had been a maze that didn’t allow one to come and go by the same path. To the offer of a cookie, the wave master decided to simply nod in acceptance. The fist fighter might just be planning on another jinx, but it would have been much harder to get through the last battle without her. She was deserving of some trust, and perhaps the cookie would even have some beneficial effect.
Marionette…had everyone received a message from that person? If it was responding back, the party wouldn’t be left pondering single statements at the least. Could it even be trusted? Their team had run into a similar dilemma with Elin, but the fairy was visible, making it easier to work with. The wavemaster resisted the urge to mail it back in favor of just letting the group do such things. Having two concurrent conversations couldn’t be as focused as just one back and forth with the entity. Zan seemed fairly… secure with Marionette’s intentions, and it seemed the heavy blade had continued dialogue.
Dien’s response interested him more so, since the objection was to mess with the hubs planted by the hackers. If these last two rooms needed to be completed in order to make that happen, then their path was clear enough. If things hadn’t gone quite so sour in the mission already, the mage would have been tempted to suggest splitting up to complete their objectives in this hall simultaneously. Yet, that wasn’t about to happen. If the dungeon obeyed the rules of the game, then there wouldn’t be any concern. However, such a dungeon was not what this dungeon’s form was. His role would be that of artillery fire and support, that was the only focus Rayo needed at the moment. Let those who knew something about the field make the decisions and support them in what was deemed the superior choice.
“I agree with Zan. We’re still in dangerous territory, not that everywhere doesn’t pose us some sort threat, and advancing here would aid us in our goal. I’m ready whenever.”
The wizard stopped and read the message immediately this time when it appeared from Marionette. A battle had postponed the need last time, but there were no such distractions this time around. A giant serpent definitely counted towards attention deserving creatures.
The way it spoke… one might believe Marionette was the hub AI itself. Though, the hunting part could just mean it resided in the dungeon or believed they should seek it out. A good chunk of the message seemed directed towards labels. The segment on “storm’s fury” probably referred to him, because it was the only one which fit. For Nighthand, Dien, Reinier, and Hijinx there were other easy to recognize designations as well.
Changing his mind from his earlier thoughts, a flash mail was composed while he waited for directions by the ones leading this raid.
To: Marionette
What I wish for, can you truly grant the means to achieve this? I don’t mean anything temporary either. What would be enough, isn’t anything that will vanish into the night.
From: Rayo
Marionette…had everyone received a message from that person? If it was responding back, the party wouldn’t be left pondering single statements at the least. Could it even be trusted? Their team had run into a similar dilemma with Elin, but the fairy was visible, making it easier to work with. The wavemaster resisted the urge to mail it back in favor of just letting the group do such things. Having two concurrent conversations couldn’t be as focused as just one back and forth with the entity. Zan seemed fairly… secure with Marionette’s intentions, and it seemed the heavy blade had continued dialogue.
Dien’s response interested him more so, since the objection was to mess with the hubs planted by the hackers. If these last two rooms needed to be completed in order to make that happen, then their path was clear enough. If things hadn’t gone quite so sour in the mission already, the mage would have been tempted to suggest splitting up to complete their objectives in this hall simultaneously. Yet, that wasn’t about to happen. If the dungeon obeyed the rules of the game, then there wouldn’t be any concern. However, such a dungeon was not what this dungeon’s form was. His role would be that of artillery fire and support, that was the only focus Rayo needed at the moment. Let those who knew something about the field make the decisions and support them in what was deemed the superior choice.
“I agree with Zan. We’re still in dangerous territory, not that everywhere doesn’t pose us some sort threat, and advancing here would aid us in our goal. I’m ready whenever.”
The wizard stopped and read the message immediately this time when it appeared from Marionette. A battle had postponed the need last time, but there were no such distractions this time around. A giant serpent definitely counted towards attention deserving creatures.
The way it spoke… one might believe Marionette was the hub AI itself. Though, the hunting part could just mean it resided in the dungeon or believed they should seek it out. A good chunk of the message seemed directed towards labels. The segment on “storm’s fury” probably referred to him, because it was the only one which fit. For Nighthand, Dien, Reinier, and Hijinx there were other easy to recognize designations as well.
Changing his mind from his earlier thoughts, a flash mail was composed while he waited for directions by the ones leading this raid.
To: Marionette
What I wish for, can you truly grant the means to achieve this? I don’t mean anything temporary either. What would be enough, isn’t anything that will vanish into the night.
From: Rayo
Rayo
Lv.47 Archer 745HP/311SP
Bell, the Silver Grunty of Thunder
Skills/Spells-Shocking Arrow of Voltage(30), Arrow of the Burning Stars(10), MeRai Rom(40), Rai Kruz(10), La Repth(20), Rip Maen(40), MeRai Kruz(20), GiVak Kruz(20), MeRai Don(20), Rig Saem(15)
Weapon/Armor/Book-Golden Royal Bow/Thunder Torque, Thunder Cloak, Able Ring, Ivory Greaves/Thunder Magic
Wishlist: YL Fukuoka, Stormlore, Winter Stone, Silver Grunty
Lv.47 Archer 745HP/311SP
Bell, the Silver Grunty of Thunder
Skills/Spells-Shocking Arrow of Voltage(30), Arrow of the Burning Stars(10), MeRai Rom(40), Rai Kruz(10), La Repth(20), Rip Maen(40), MeRai Kruz(20), GiVak Kruz(20), MeRai Don(20), Rig Saem(15)
Weapon/Armor/Book-Golden Royal Bow/Thunder Torque, Thunder Cloak, Able Ring, Ivory Greaves/Thunder Magic
Wishlist: YL Fukuoka, Stormlore, Winter Stone, Silver Grunty
The fact that Dien seemed to misunderstand her question was not particularly troubling to Senna, and as the conversation continued, she made no attempt to rectify his thoughts. It happened often enough that she was used to the slight twinge that such things set off in her mind and paid it no heed. She knew what she meant, and her observation wasn’t vital. Observing the others was interesting though, so as ever, she kept what she considered a close and thoughtful eye on the proceedings.
As it happened, she was still of the opinion that Zan eventually set forth – that Marionette was, while not precisely a friend, not an enemy either. At least not yet. It just didn’t make sense. What interested her more was the commentary on AIs that he led with.
Senna knew the term. She’d encountered it several times in the rumor mill, from one person or another who claimed to have seen one thing or another. Zan talked about it – and come to think of it, Dien had earlier in a way as well – as though they were natural and even common occurrences.
It just drove home how differently they seemed to see The World than she did.
Maybe this had been a mistake, letting her curiosity goad her into agreeing to stay. No, check that. It DEFINITELY had. This group was something altogether different from her, from some capricious student playing a game, and at the moment, for some odd reason, she was feeling that more than she had yet. Maybe it was that this was the first thing that seemed utterly outside the normal game, this deadly serious talk of watchers and AIs.
In her chair, Liss’s hand strayed from the keyboard up to the VR helmet. These new players were likely at least as strong as the ones she’d been traveling with, if they’d been taking on a similar field at the same time and with fewer people. With the three of them, they wouldn’t really need Senna anymore. One less corpse to resurrect.
Senna glanced around, noticed Nall again, and Liss’s hand went back to the keys. No. Fulfill the promise, finish out the field. Then see. Then convey your condolences. Curse her pride. Never was it anything but a hinderance. Wincing, she turned her attention back to Zan’s speech. Her moment of indecision had lasted only a handful of seconds.
In the end, Zan’s point was the same one she’d failed to make. While something about his comments as a whole struck her oddly, the general point seemed well-heeded from the Heavyblade. At least, one of the newcomers voiced his agreement. And as he did, who should put in another pair of pennies but their good Flashmailing friend Marionette.
As Senna glanced over this new message, she almost laughed. A straight answer this time. While she had no idea who any of the “seek ye”s referred to, she was smart enough to get the gist of it, and that gist was the same as Zan’s comments. There was nothing but to go forward. So… best to do just that.
She began to walk toward the Vak doorway. She wouldn’t be going through though, not alone. Nall’s warning still stuck with her on that count. Less than four and they could count on an unpleasant reception. Still, it beat standing around bandying words with Marionette. It would be what it would be, they would do what they decided to do, and the reckoning would come when they finally met.
IF they met.
As it happened, she was still of the opinion that Zan eventually set forth – that Marionette was, while not precisely a friend, not an enemy either. At least not yet. It just didn’t make sense. What interested her more was the commentary on AIs that he led with.
Senna knew the term. She’d encountered it several times in the rumor mill, from one person or another who claimed to have seen one thing or another. Zan talked about it – and come to think of it, Dien had earlier in a way as well – as though they were natural and even common occurrences.
It just drove home how differently they seemed to see The World than she did.
Maybe this had been a mistake, letting her curiosity goad her into agreeing to stay. No, check that. It DEFINITELY had. This group was something altogether different from her, from some capricious student playing a game, and at the moment, for some odd reason, she was feeling that more than she had yet. Maybe it was that this was the first thing that seemed utterly outside the normal game, this deadly serious talk of watchers and AIs.
In her chair, Liss’s hand strayed from the keyboard up to the VR helmet. These new players were likely at least as strong as the ones she’d been traveling with, if they’d been taking on a similar field at the same time and with fewer people. With the three of them, they wouldn’t really need Senna anymore. One less corpse to resurrect.
Senna glanced around, noticed Nall again, and Liss’s hand went back to the keys. No. Fulfill the promise, finish out the field. Then see. Then convey your condolences. Curse her pride. Never was it anything but a hinderance. Wincing, she turned her attention back to Zan’s speech. Her moment of indecision had lasted only a handful of seconds.
In the end, Zan’s point was the same one she’d failed to make. While something about his comments as a whole struck her oddly, the general point seemed well-heeded from the Heavyblade. At least, one of the newcomers voiced his agreement. And as he did, who should put in another pair of pennies but their good Flashmailing friend Marionette.
As Senna glanced over this new message, she almost laughed. A straight answer this time. While she had no idea who any of the “seek ye”s referred to, she was smart enough to get the gist of it, and that gist was the same as Zan’s comments. There was nothing but to go forward. So… best to do just that.
She began to walk toward the Vak doorway. She wouldn’t be going through though, not alone. Nall’s warning still stuck with her on that count. Less than four and they could count on an unpleasant reception. Still, it beat standing around bandying words with Marionette. It would be what it would be, they would do what they decided to do, and the reckoning would come when they finally met.
IF they met.
Senna, level 33 Long Arm (710 HP/180 SP)
Most common kit: Ichigou, Racoon Earcaps, Air Bracer, Snow Panther, Winter Coat, Graceful Book
Spells/Skills: (Critical Hit/Death) Repulse Cage, Ap Corv, Ap Vorv, Rai Rom, Rue Zot, La Repth
Click for full equipment and items
14300 (1/23)
Most common kit: Ichigou, Racoon Earcaps, Air Bracer, Snow Panther, Winter Coat, Graceful Book
Spells/Skills: (Critical Hit/Death) Repulse Cage, Ap Corv, Ap Vorv, Rai Rom, Rue Zot, La Repth
Click for full equipment and items
14300 (1/23)
-
Phoenix512
- Exalted Player
- Posts: 304
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm
After a little while, Phoenix saw Nighthand arriving to the room and shortly followed by Zan’s group. He noticed an unknown player among the others which he asked Suzaku if she knew anything about him. I do not know her at all but she has no trace of the Twilight within her. She might be just a regular player.
At that moment, Phoenix was thinking that Nall was trying to recruit another poor soul into the group of wandering souls. He knew that nothing he can say would get her to leave us especially after battling with them. It was a sad fate of the people who came into contact of Nall. His aura somehow makes people to stay with him regardless of the danger. Phoenix was the one of the few who was infected with the Twilight before meeting Nall. So he did not have the same feelings that the others have for Nall. Then he noticed that Hijinx and Rayo showed up as well which the former rabbit offered cookies to the group. There was no way that he would take a cookie from her. It was weird to see the fist fighter to appear normal but her personality was still the same.
Phoenix listened into the conversation about Marionette which Zan and Dien believed that it can be helpful to the group. He was not sure if it can be trusted that much at all. He rather not put faith into a series of cryptic messages from someone who writes in such of an annoying way. He did agreed with Zan about they should continue with the rooms and finish the mission with the hub. The group should worry about Marionette later when they are not in a field. Before he could say anything, he got a flashmail from the puppet itself.
So this continues to confirm my theory that it knows us pretty well. I guess that I’m “Gaia’s attraction”. Some of the others must be: Nighthand-Deepest Night, Rayo-Storm’s Fury, Hijinx-Improbability, and Nall-Possibility. I guess that Many Faces, Fire, Pain, Psychosis, and Twin Minds refers to Zan, Canti, Zhao, Ryok, Dien, and some of the others. I guess that their hacked powers must have those characteristics.
After thinking about the flashmail, Phoenix decided to speak up. “I’m with the others on this one. Let’s finish dealing with the hub and worry about our mysterious whatever when we aren’t in a field that the Elites could show up at any moment. So let’s go.” He noticed that Senna was heading towards the Vak room which the group must have decided to go to next before he and the others had arrived at the field. He caught up to Senna and whispered into her ear. “So mysterious player. Once we leave this field and nothing serious happens to you, don’t follow us at all. Regardless how interesting all of this is, it’s not worth it. You’re better off being a normal player than with us. Many of the group has not heed my warnings and now they suffer. I don’t want to say, I told you so” Phoenix stood by the long arm and waited for the others to head towards of the direction of the Vak room.
At that moment, Phoenix was thinking that Nall was trying to recruit another poor soul into the group of wandering souls. He knew that nothing he can say would get her to leave us especially after battling with them. It was a sad fate of the people who came into contact of Nall. His aura somehow makes people to stay with him regardless of the danger. Phoenix was the one of the few who was infected with the Twilight before meeting Nall. So he did not have the same feelings that the others have for Nall. Then he noticed that Hijinx and Rayo showed up as well which the former rabbit offered cookies to the group. There was no way that he would take a cookie from her. It was weird to see the fist fighter to appear normal but her personality was still the same.
Phoenix listened into the conversation about Marionette which Zan and Dien believed that it can be helpful to the group. He was not sure if it can be trusted that much at all. He rather not put faith into a series of cryptic messages from someone who writes in such of an annoying way. He did agreed with Zan about they should continue with the rooms and finish the mission with the hub. The group should worry about Marionette later when they are not in a field. Before he could say anything, he got a flashmail from the puppet itself.
So this continues to confirm my theory that it knows us pretty well. I guess that I’m “Gaia’s attraction”. Some of the others must be: Nighthand-Deepest Night, Rayo-Storm’s Fury, Hijinx-Improbability, and Nall-Possibility. I guess that Many Faces, Fire, Pain, Psychosis, and Twin Minds refers to Zan, Canti, Zhao, Ryok, Dien, and some of the others. I guess that their hacked powers must have those characteristics.
After thinking about the flashmail, Phoenix decided to speak up. “I’m with the others on this one. Let’s finish dealing with the hub and worry about our mysterious whatever when we aren’t in a field that the Elites could show up at any moment. So let’s go.” He noticed that Senna was heading towards the Vak room which the group must have decided to go to next before he and the others had arrived at the field. He caught up to Senna and whispered into her ear. “So mysterious player. Once we leave this field and nothing serious happens to you, don’t follow us at all. Regardless how interesting all of this is, it’s not worth it. You’re better off being a normal player than with us. Many of the group has not heed my warnings and now they suffer. I don’t want to say, I told you so” Phoenix stood by the long arm and waited for the others to head towards of the direction of the Vak room.
Phoenix
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver
Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver
Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath