Board 8 > Labyrinth of Ishiene, Topic 2 [CYOA/Forum Game] [ITD8]

(+) Yeah! (+)

It wasn't at all like before.

Joe hit the ground.

Proto Fiend took a step.

One more foot length forward and he'd crush the skull of Y.

Short was going to pay.
Short was going to pay.
I'll make him pay.
That bastard will pay for what he has done.

THOOM!!

A burst of pure energy emptied from the barrel.
The Proto Fiend's gaze snapped in her direction.
Those glowing orange eyes widened and his smile broke for just a moment.

Then a ball of light struck him in the chest and knocked him off of his feet [3].
There was a burning, hissing sound, as he crashed to the floor.

However... he was twitching.
Definitely, he was about to get back up.

"Sh-... Shit!" Mara screamed and began firing wildly.
However, at this point, she panicked.
She was just shooting holes in the floor while screaming obscenities.


The creature punched the ground, tearing a hole right through the metal, and jumped back to his feet.
It let out a harrowing screech which seemed to freeze Mara in her tracks.
Then as she snapped wildly at the trigger, it began to make a different sound.

Click. Click click click.

... The battery was dead.

Below, John and IG-59 had prepared for Ammon's assault.
The Primal burst into the room with them and began its attack.
Well, to be accurate;

John slid behind cover, distracting the enemy while keeping himself safe [2].
Ammon managed to corrode a metal crate but did no damage to his target.
Because of that he was also distracted and off balance.

Because of this, and the element of surprise, IG-59 was able to get a bonus to his attack!
As soon as the enemy took a step through the door, IG-59 was there.
Using a gun at close range was not the most effective.
But it was still a gun.
Even if it wasn't at its MOST effective, it was still pretty damn effective.

Ballistic shells ripped through Ammon, the choice method of the SPAM unit.
These kind of ambush tactics were brilliantly suited to urban warfare.
The very kind the resistance had been used to.
Between Fool's ingenuity, John's tactics, and IG-59's firepower...
It was easy to see how these three could easily make a team in their home dimension.
And it was definitely easy to see how the resistance had continued to fight against the Darkness.

Ammon himself was ripped to shreds by the attack [A].

The cloud dispersed.

The threat had passed.

Finally, upstairs, there was one remaining person who had not been noted yet.
Hidden behind the one-sided glass...
The Proto Fiend had not even seen him yet.
Quovadis was standing over the work bench, watching everything going on outside there.
He'd been messing around with the objects here but,
Maybe it was the fear.
His hands wouldn't stop shaking.
He couldn't focus.
But he knew he needed to build an upgrade for his gun.
There was no way he'd be able to help if he ran out there now.
It felt cowardly and stupid to hide in here while others were fighting.

But Quo knew the best thing he could do was to become stronger.
Only then would he be able to contribute to the battle!

And then, at once, he knew he had created something great.

He raised it in two hands.
Oh, it was much heavier now.
The Z Gun.

Quo looked through the scope, through the one way glass, and looked at his enemy.
He could see its skeleton. It's skull. The brain hiding within.
That thing seemed to be pulsing.
Quo felt like if he pointed this at it he could probably cripple the mind of that enemy.
But that wasn't all the Z Gun could do.
Definitely, this thing was capable of... amplifying gravitational planes.
---

Quo practiced trigger discipline here. It was essential.
Accidentally pulling the trigger of a normal gun could cause an accident.
But amplifying a gravitational plane by accident?
Depending on which way the thing was pointing it would be a lot more than just an accident.
However, when the time came, when his sights were lined up,

Maybe then, he could say for sure... he was holding a weapon he could rely on to get the job done.
All he had to do was point it and pull the trigger.





[Player List]

Joe, Lvl 10 Young Man [CRITICAL, Fire Chain Whip]
Quovadis, Lvl 11 Gunslinger [Z Gun, Grandma Sweater]
Y, Lvl 11 Neonite [CRITICAL, Gold Knife, Assistant Badge]
Stunt, Lvl 10 Junkbot [TRASHED, Neural Inhibitor, Bottled Djinn]
Gl'thaggga, Lvl 11 Traveler [Crackling Mana Source]

Remulel, Lvl 16 Fighter [Seeker's Sword, Key Card]
John, Lvl 14 Rebel [Dusty Broom]
Sylvester, Lvl 11 Sea-Clops [Pick Axe]
Fool, Lvl 11 Tarot [Ice Hammer]
IG-59, Lvl 11 SPAM [Bubble (1)]

Mara Raiev: Decided to take charge of the Quest after all of the Knights died.
Short: A Demon who collected a fellow Demon's Soul to bring back home. Has the power of Combustion.
Cloaked Man: A Merchant who is inexplicably still alive even after all of this.

DEATH LIST (3):
1. Carwen. Smashed to pieces by the Proto Fiend. Fast!


---

noooo Carwen
---

Remulel enters the door in passage Y/V using the key card.
---

IG-59 will search his databank on files relating to Devils .
---

trivia corner; the Z Gun has two methods of attack

1. the Cripple function will weaken enemies and help an ally out by giving a boost to their attack (note: you'll want to Cripple the enemy before your ally attacks them!)

2. the Gravity function is a high risk, high reward method. it attack rolls as normal, but a successful attack deals bonus damage unlike any other weapon in existence.
---

Would a person in critical attempting to fix Stunt be considered "dangerous"?
---

in the middle of a battlefield, yes
---

Oh then not sure what to do unless self healing is considered better (was unclear on the meaning I just figured it meant someone else had to use a turn healing a critical for them to act "normally")
---

Sylvester will stand up and put a dog ear in his book.

He walks over to passage L, willing to tear up the wall with his pick axe if needed
---

D:
---

Eyes wide with terror, adrenaline sprinting through his veins, Joe pushed himself off of the wall, his heart oscillating like an energized atom. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes, his pulse pounding on his temple.

Ba

Steve sobbed as he led his family underground, fleeing the terrors of the Darkness. This was no place to raise a family; this was no way to live a life. But he had no other choice. The terrors that screamed and clawed and fought and hunted had dominion over his home now, the pets of the accursed invaders. They fought each other as much as the natives, but the corruption that they brought would remain. The taint of the Darkness that lay thick over Sea Quartz seemed permanent, as permanent as the hole in Steve's heart that formed at the loss of his child.

With tears in his eyes, he cursed the Fairy invaders and sorrowfully led his wife and nephews and little baby Joe, his last living descendent, into the caverns, never to see the light of Day again.

Dunk

A building toppled to Michael's right; he rolled out of the way as sandstone exploded around him. He glanced past the impact site to see a squadron of Fairies walking past, still glimmering slightly from magic residue. Michael ran from building to ruined building, endeavoring to sneak ahead of the invaders to ambush them. He refused to let Solace, the last remaining city in Sea Quartz, fall to the Fairies. He knew the city well; he could still remember playing in the streets as a child when the foreign force was half a world away, an afterthought to the jovial inhabitants of the city. All he had to do was wait for the right opportunity...

There! A messenger ran to the soldiers, relaying some command. He leapt from his hiding spot with death in his eyes, but one of the troops turned at the wrong moment and spotted him. Michael ran into a fist and was knocked to the ground.

"Well, you are a resilient bunch, aren't you?" The Fairy officer taunted, strolling up to him. "Don't you know that the war is over, Solace is destroyed, Sea Quartz has fallen?" Michael spat at the officer, who easily sidestepped the blood and phlegm. He regarded Michael not with contempt but with pity, and casually impaled him with a spear. His vision fading, Michael's last thoughts were prayers that his family was hidden and safe.
---

Ba

Charles removed the spear from the Fairy’s eye and ducked under the swing of a sword, stabbing the offender in the gut. He stood up and looked around for more enemies to cleanse, but there were none. They’d managed to repel the Fairies. This attack, at least. He put away his weapon and looked down. He sighed. Joshua, his closest friend, lay on the ground. He had taken the sword meant for Charles. Charles shut Joshua’s eyes, said a quick prayer, and began to inspect the fallen, finishing off any surviving Fairies and giving any aid he could to living allies. He didn’t bother trying to take them to a hospital. Medical supplies were low and what few dedicated doctors remained were busy elsewhere. They, along with the leaders and scientists, had long been eliminated, the first targets of the Fairy’s assassin squads. They were everywhere now; no continent was safe, and Solstice was completely under their control.

Tranquility was safe, at least. Charles’s family and other civilians had already evacuated the city, but it still held value as a military objective. The Fairies were obsessed with eradicating the Sea Quartzians, and would endlessly attack cities to remove hiding places and further their genocide. None survived on Solstice. It hurt the Fairies, but they had manpower to spare. Sea Quartz was losing this war. Anybody could see it.

A spyglass dropped in front of Charles. He looked up to see a scout standing on a building, pointing ahead with his mouth agape. Charles followed his finger. His stomach would have dropped and his knees would have quivered if he hadn’t been completely numbed at this point in the war. On the horizon marched an enormous force of Fairies, easily ten times the size of the Sea Quartz army in the city. The Fairies didn’t bother with subtlety anymore. They didn’t need to.

“Retreat!” called the Captain. I guess he’s the General now, Charles supposed. “Repose has fallen! Retreat!”

One continent remained. Charles shrugged, looted a nice pair of boots from a fallen Fairy, and walked with the remaining troops to the ships.

Dunk


Bartholomew was but a cog in the great machine of the Sea Quartzian military, Division 6, Battalion 14, Squadron 45. He was just one more infantryman among hundreds of thousands, standing against the threat of the Fairies, and he couldn't be prouder. Shoulder to shoulder with his comrades, he stood tall, eagerly awaiting orders to begin the assault on the Fairy encampment. Well, it wasn't always a Fairy encampment; as little as a year ago it had been the Sea Quartz base of operations on the Reposian continent. Their mission wasn't so much as to capture the base as to recapture it. And the fortress did seem to be built up a bit more than it had been under their control...

Bartholomew didn't let such thoughts concern him. That was for the tacticians and generals to worry about. All he had to do was protect his comrades and take down as much Fairy scum as possible. His commanding officer began to march back and forth in front of his troops, edifying his forces about the glories of battle and the honor to be gained in vanquishing the Fairy menace once and for all. Bartholomew bristled with excitement, cheering and hollering with the rest of the army.

"For Glory!", the officer yelled. "For Victory! For SEA QUARTZ!".

He waved his sword forward and charged, and thousands of soldiers ran behind him, panting with the desire for vengeance and freedom. The soldier on Bartholomew%u2019s right fell to a magic attack, and the one on his left to an arrow. He paid them no mind, for the sweet sensation of battle and honor approached.
---

Ba

Charn stood near the front of the crowd, peering around the heads of the lucky few who managed to get to the demonstration ahead of him. He wryly wondered how they had waited there without starving to death. Charn himself had to hold his place for nearly two weeks, but his family understood. It would all be worth it, he thought, and, as he looked backwards over the crowd that seemed to stretch for miles, he knew that he'd rather be watching from this close than from way back there.

Charn glanced at the Sun again. It barely seemed to have moved since the last time he checked, what felt like hours ago. He shifted his feet and began to whistle before quickly looking up at the sky again. Did it seemed to have moved ever so slightly closer to its zenith? Of course it has, he thought, but he couldn't tell for sure.

Hours, weeks, eternities later, a drumroll began. The scientists stopped tinkering with their instruments and a large circle, just feet away from Charn was cleared! A well-dressed man strode up to the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, after years of research and preparation, it is my pleasure to announce that the tree of our arduous labors, does, in fact, bear fruit. In mere moments you'll see the...". His voice was lost in the din of the screaming raving crowds. Charn was not ashamed to find that he had joined them. The complicated apparatus that stood before him represented the future. For millennia the inhabitants of Sea Quartz had looked up to the stars and dreamed. The wonders of the unknown, the hope for riches and adventure and companionship beguiled the civilization for their entire history. No matter how they strived, they could never touch the heavens nor escape the cradle they'd long since outgrown.

Until now.

The announcer raised his hands; the technicians put on their goggles. The crowd counted down.

"10!
9!
8!
7!
6!
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!”

With utmost drama, unnecessarily large levers were pulled, and the machines began to hum. Gyroscopes rotated, Tesla coils flashed, and the circle began to glow. As one entity, the crowd stopped breathing and leaned forward in total silence. With a great flash, the portal was opened!

The crowd erupted into such a frenzy as to dwarf the cacophony they'd created before. And, against all probability, a being stepped out of the portal. To imagine that they'd found another race so soon!

The entity looked around. "I am Stardust, ambassador of the Fairies." He smiled. "And we have such great plans for you."

DUNK!

Joe opened his eyes. The beast lay on the ground, a smoking wound on its belly, but it was already rising. He saw Carwen dead, Mara in a panic, Stunt a wreck and Y in dire straits. Quo seemed to be ok, but he was holding a gun larger than he was, and he didn’t seem entirely sure how to use it. Things were not looking good.

Joe made a decision. His people didn’t endure a genocide for him to give up and die. His ancestors didn’t fight a losing war for generations for him to succumb and go softly into that dark night. He didn’t venture out into the unknown and discover an amazing, untainted reality only for him to roll over at the first sign of trouble. The people of Sea Quartz were fighters, and survivors. Joe cracked his whip. It was time to show this fiend what his people were made out of.
---

Gl'thaggga didn't really know who any of these people were, but it was plain to see that this was a dire situation of which he was in prime condition to take the most advantage of. Having just spent decades refining his magical skills, time was literally and figuratively on his side. To that end, he figured it could be made to be on the side of the beings of this dimension as well, at least, in some lesser capacity. Decades was right out, but a few moments spread among allies could be all that was needed to turn the tide of battle in their favor. Gl'thaggga casts Hasteaga on the party in the Lift Room.
---

Extra Chapter: Genealogy of Joe

(I love it)
---

"oh"
---

John will make his way over to Remulel and assist him in exploring beyond the door.
---

(I'm getting tired of rolling but I got a 4 so if we're going to cripple the Proto-Fiend I can have Fool stand up to it)

Fool realizes that if this thing was down here, what's upstairs? Fool realizes that he must help them and hears the sounds of conflict, he readies his Ice Hammer and will help those fighting whatever that creature is.
---

how many people are on PF (I guess Mara fights like last time)?
---

Quovadis will use the Z-Gun's Gravity function on the Proto Fiend.
---

Pirateking2000 posted...

how many people are on PF (I guess Mara fights like last time)?

here is what I have right now


Remulel uses Key Card
John assists Remulel

IG-59 Investigates Devils

Sylvester searches passage L

Joe bets it all on the three sided die (Attack Proto Fiend)

Gil casts Hastega (gonna have to do something with this since it doesn't have a specific target, probably cast it on Joe if he's still alive, or someone else if not)

Fool goes above and attacks Proto Fiend

Quo uses his Z Gun on Proto Fiend [Gravity]

you can't always bet on NPCs to do something, but sometimes they will. also I'm going to start writing shortly so you may want to submit an action for Y.
---

MariaTaylor posted...

Pirateking2000 posted...

how many people are on PF (I guess Mara fights like last time)?

here is what I have right now


Remulel uses Key Card
John assists Remulel

IG-59 Investigates Devils

Sylvester searches passage L

Joe bets it all on the three sided die (Attack Proto Fiend)

Gil casts Hastega (gonna have to do something with this since it doesn't have a specific target, probably cast it on Joe if he's still alive, or someone else if not)

Fool goes above and attacks Proto Fiend

Quo uses his Z Gun on Proto Fiend [Gravity]

you can't always bet on NPCs to do something, but sometimes they will. also I'm going to start writing shortly so you may want to submit an action for Y.

that's what I'm not sure of as I wasn't sure if self heal was considered the same risk as doing anything else
---

for various reasons I don't want to answer that question directly
---

oh yeah and I'll be assisting Joe

the power of a good promo
---

Meh what the heck then

Y will attempt to patch himself up while in cover
---

Yeah, Joe is the clutch bet for hasting (and if it has to be specific target, it would just be Haste then).

Also, I like how the group with the higher average level is the not-fighting-the-proto-fiend group.
---

(Why gravity and not cripple? Gravity has a chance of killing all injured people, Cripple just slows or weakens.)
---

(how does gravity kill injured people? it just does 'bonus damage' which I figured is a good thing, since the two critical guys die if Proto Fiend survives the turn)
---

(Gravity increases and we don't know by how much so someone could just go splat, can hit people fighting the PF, and just kill the injured even if the Proto Fiend died)
---

Drakeryn made the correct move by going for Gravity

Go big or go home.
---

From how I understand it the Gravity itself won't damage / kill the CRITICAL. That's only if they don't get a success on a "dangerous action" or if PF survives the turn

Gravity is basically regular roll with success doing more damage (lets say 2 HP instead of 1)

Cripple is like a super assist I guess (so more of a chance for a successful 1HP damage when working with someone if they attack AFTER the cripple is applied)

and if I had to guess PF has 2 HP remaining after taking a hit so yeah its basically how you view what has higher chances of success. Go for more of a sure thing with cripple with someone to take that 1HP and hope someone else can take off the remaining point that turn or go for broke and attempt to take it down outright

There is also PF's personal mechanics where he may just outright kill someone off the bat anyway
---

Joe stood up.
Blood was running from his skull, dampening his hair, running down his face.
Along his eye. He felt something tickle his eyelash.
He raised his hand.
Blood in his fist as well.
He wiped his face with the back of his hand.
Fuck if he was going to die here for no reason.

Downstairs, Remulel will go out to the main network of passages and meet up with the others.
"What happened out here? I heard fighting," Remulel observed.

"Elemental," John responded. He shrugged. "We took care of it."

Remulel held up the Key Card. "I found this. Want to check it out?"

John nods.

Despite the oddly casual conversation, both of them were aware of how dangerous this place was.
They'd go to the Key Card Door together and stand outside.
Remulel readied his sword in one hand, wondering how the Gray Magic would fare against enemies that weren't pushovers.
John... well... he had a broom. He held it aloft.
The moment the door was opened they would need to be ready for whatever was on the other side!
It almost felt like one of those cliche scenes where the tension would ramp up,
Then they'd open the door and nothing would be inside.

Remulel inserted the key card.

BEEP.

The crack in the door was dark.
It began to slide open from one side,
Remulel squinted, trying to peer through the door.

Suddenly the hall was flooded with a bright spotlight.
It wasn't dark in the other side at all.
There were actually huge lights shining this way in order to make it hard for the people looking in the room to see.
In addition to that, it made those standing in the hall... sitting ducks.

ZIP

"Gagh!" Remulel tumbled to the floor, a hole opening in his gut as a blast of pure energy pierced his body [1]. "John, you-"

John stumbled backwards as a blast caught him right in the chest.
It missed his heart only by a few inches.
Somehow he managed to stay on one foot, but he fell to his other knee [1].

Remulel was tough enough to survive a shot like this, although he wasn't in a good position to keep fighting.
He squinted into the light.
There was another Assistant in there.
This guy was using his multiple insect arms efficiently;
Holding a prototype ray gun in two different hands, he was able to open fire on anyone who came through the door.
Looking back, John seemed to be in CRITICAL condition.

Would Remulel have to fight alone...?

[Note: John can continue fighting, but his next action may be his last...]

Shit. Could they even do anything about this floodlights?

IG-59, funny enough, was not too far away.
He sees the traces of interdimensional travel here in the hallways.
Was it a Devil, or something else?
Well it didn't seem like the work of a Devil.
And he didn't know why one would be here anyway.

Thinking about it, IG-59 began to process all the information he had on Devils.
Just in case it became relevant in the near future...

Devils were the creatures who lived in the space 'between Dimensions.'
They were the only type of creature who universally have the following ability;
"A Devil can travel freely between all Dimensions and realms at will."
Interestingly, however, they are not a race in the traditional sense.
It's not like all Devils are similar in shape or size.
Rather, it seems, once something fulfills those conditions it can 'become' a Devil.
That means that it's likely...
Devils are actually creatures that originally came from many different Dimensions.
Thinking about it that way was odd.
Could IG-59 become a Devil? Was it possible for a Robot?
Were there ever any beings from Seq-Quartz who became Devils?

[Note: The answer to that is yes!]
---

--

Sylvester goes to Passage L.
Something seemed suspicious here.
Honestly, Sylvester, up to this point, probably seemed a bit odd.
He had a tendency to relax and observe things.
He hadn't helped out much in the fighting.
And he didn't even mesh that well with the other team members.
However, he did have one unique ability...
The ability to observe his surroundings and notice things!

"Hrm. Yes." Sylvester rubbed his chin. "This is definitely it."
He hefts the pick axe and SLAMS it into the wall.
With a few well placed strikes he's able to find the Cornerstone and collapse that section of the wall.

Sylvester finds inside a number of interesting things [3]!
There's actually a hidden cavern inside of here with a Treasure Hoard.
There's also a Stone of Enchantment.
The Stone seems like it can Enchant one non-Unique item.
Someone who is holding an item should try using it...

From the Treasure Hoard, Sylvester recovers a 'Nymph Amulet.'

Finally... Finally...

Joe rushes forward at his enemy! "Haaaaaa---"
Like those before him, his ancestors who have fought and die, he'll do the same.
There was no other option than to lay his life on the line.

Within a moment, Quovadis was there.
Not at his side, but rather supporting him from the rear.
He'd have it no other way.
Quo hefted the Z Gun. "Get him to drop his guard," Quo commanded,
"I'll be sure to finish this!"

Quo spoke with absolute confidence.
He knew that he could rely on Joe to get this job done.
Their chances of success.... were low.
Probably around thirty per cent at most. No, even lower than that.
But they were the people of Sea Quartz.
A land that had already been conquered and even destroyed.
And they were still here!
There was no way they would simply fail just because the odds weren't in their favor.

Joe swings the Fire Chain Whip and prepares to strike.
It curls above him, dancing through the air.
Honestly, he didn't even know he was capable of cool moves like this.
But at the doorway to death he had the courage to try new things.
He touched the whip at the tightest point, near the base, causing it to snap downward.
There was a flicker and a flower of flame sprouted at the feet of the enemy.
The Proto Fiend sidestepped the attack, but a crackling burst of burning brimstone erupted beside him.
Sparks flew all around the room.
Joe spun and swung the whip back around in a horizontal slicing motion.
The creature ducked the attack, sliding forward on its knees, and closed the distance in an instant.
This... was all Joe was capable of.
Only this.

At such close range even his whip was useless.
"Gg.... GAHHH!" He shot out his hand toward the enemy.
The enemy responded by thrusting his claws toward Joe's eyes.
He was faster.
Undoubtedly, he was faster. He was stronger. He was just more deadly in every way.
If Joe left it like this the enemy would hit him before he hit the enemy.
And Joe was about to be hit harder.
His brains would be ejected from his skull and that would be the end of it.
"I'm not gonna die for nothing!" Joe was thinking.
But now it was more like;

"I'M NOT GONNA DIE"
---

Joe wouldn't leave it like this.
He shifted the trajectory of his own attack.
If he could follow the movements of the enemy that meant he was fast enough to do something.
He turned his head to the side and bent his elbow inward.
His bone slammed into the inner joint of the enemy's arm, derailing his attack just slightly.
That was enough for Joe's own subtle movement to move his head out of the way.
He was too slow to dodge the arm of his opponent,
He was too weak and his reaction time wasn't good enough to counter the attack,
But by committing to both actions he was able to pull something off.
His half-assed counter diverted the attack just enough that his slow dodge was enough to get his face out of the way.

Then, he did something no one would have expected.
Joe kicked the enemy right in the shin!!
His arm wrapped around the muscular arm of the Proto Fiend.
This creature was ten, no, a hundred times stronger than him.
There was no way he could actually try to wrestle or even grapple with it.
Not even for a moment.
But maybe if he did it like this... he could just 'pass' the opponent through his space.
Rather than trying to fight the enemy. Just lay hands on him.
Just for a moment.
Push him through and-

Joe spun out of the way.
The Proto Fiend stumbled forward and then tumbled face first into the ground as Joe threw him.
There was no way.
It had actually worked.
There was no way it was possible for him to tangle with such a monster,
but he had done it [3]!

As Joe landed on one foot he firmly planted himself.
His arm extended at that time.
A single finger was pointed at his nearest ally.
"QUO!"

The Z Gun light up.
Along the length of the barrel seven lights were installed.
As the trigger was touched the one nearest to the handle lit up.
Then the pressure on the trigger increased.
To the layman, it would have seemed to be over in a flash.
But the perceptive power of these two had increased to such levels,
They saw every single light flicker individually along the length of the gun.
Quo felt a single drop of sweat on his brow. And each molecule of movement as it trickled down.
He felt the breath slowly escaping from his mouth as he steadied his aim.
And, with a loud PULSE, the deed was done.
The trigger had been pulled.

"Kuh... Yyyyy....ggggg....."
The Proto Fiend couldn't speak, not the way Humans or even those from Sea Quartz did.
He had landed on one knee.
The weird noise of the Z Gun going off had startled him, but nothing seemed to happen.
He stood to his full height, turning, and facing Joe with a dark glare.
His eyes burned a hot orange now. Like magma.
His bare, muscular chest seemed to swell and then fall again.
His monstrous, hideous nostrils grew wide.
Then, as he raised his arm, his arm flexed and his claws began to slowly extend from out of his hand.
"Kkkkssss----...."
He raised his foot an inch off of the ground.
Hell, for this guy, just taking one step was probably enough.
He'd be able to dash around the room at lightning speed.
In just a second, then, Quo was going to be cut down before his attack could even connect.
Joe was going to be-


CCRRAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH HHHHH !!!!!

The entire chamber rumbled as something heavy, hard, and infinite seemed to slam into the Proto Fiend from above [3].
His arm broke and his shoulder blades warped, slamming through his own skin and ripping open his back.
His legs wavered and were then pulled out from under him as he was slammed into the ground.
Right there, right then, a massive crater formed.
With Proto Fiend right at the center of it.
Like the snow angels they had made in winter,
a 'Blood Angel' had formed around the Proto Fiend.
---

Except the wings that had sprouted were created when his own bones stabbed outward through his back.
His non broken arm was quivering.
Two of his fingers on that hand were broken as well.
Blood was starting to leak out of his mouth as easily as puke.
No, it was more like a river had cut through and the water wouldn't stop flowing.
".... uuuu..... uuuuuggg.........NNG!"

Joe was standing right there, right at the edge of the circle that had been slammed into the ground.
Literally, the ring of the radius of the Gravity Blast was about a centimeter away from his toes.
His eyes were wide.
He was looking at Quovadis.
Was that guy's aim this good? Or was Joe almost just completely obliterated?
Did he just get lucky?

The fact that they had killed the monster and he was still alive meant he was lucky, to begin with.
But who was THAT lucky?

Joe, then, in that moment, fell over backwards and collapsed from his Injuries.

Joe's CRITICAL status has reverted to an INJURY
Joe's class has changed to Young HERO
Quo's class has changed to Sureshot

Quo tilted his head, looking at Joe. "Hey. You alri-...."
His voiced trailed off, growing completely quiet.

There was a crunching sound as Proto Fiend's knee touched the ground.
Then, with a groan of immense pain... it pushed itself to its feet.
Blood was dripped out of its skull, which was split open.
But-... But-.... He was now, still, alive.
And glaring at Quo with killing intent.

"G-... Gotta reload!" Quo lowered the Z Gun and began tampering with the power source.
There was no way he'd make it in time, though.

At that moment, the watcher from the world of Est, acted.
He cast Haste on Quo in that exact moment [A].
Proto Fiend flew at Quo with all of his rage and terror.
But Quo... felt his body become light and quick.
He couldn't speed up the gun or make it recharge any faster, but... he could at least escape!

Quo dashed backwards away from the first strike of the enemy.
As the Proto Fiend slashed at him, the splattered of blood flew from his broken arm.
He wasn't just slashing with his good claw,
No!
This monster didn't even know pain.
It didn't even know its own limits!
The only thing it knew was blood and death and wanting to destroy everything it saw.
A broken arm didn't matter.
It was slashing wildly with both arms.
The stone floor was cleaved open as it slashed upward from where Quo had been a moment ago.
Then he dashed after the gunslinger and spun through the air with a tornado strike.

Quo hit the wall and was forced to brace himself,
before kicking off of it and flying through the air.
Even with this speed it was only possible to stay one step ahead of his opponent.
Once the spell wore off he'd be grabbed in an instant and ripped in half.

He needed back up, but... but Joe was down... and there was no one else!

Short fired Combustion into the air, trying to erupt the enemy in flames.
The Demon had already seen the error of his ways,
He was thinking this Proto Fiend could be used to disrupt the Fairies and free his home realm of Hell.
But now he realized if he let it run free it would just kill him and everyone else here.
However, the enemy surged through the hot air like it was nothing.
Its skin burned brightly now, but it didn't seem deterred at all by the attack.

Mara, though she held the Diamond Edge, was nowhere near fast enough to keep up with this battle.
All she could do was quietly track the movements of the enemy from the shadows,
And hope that it came close enough that she might land a surprise attack.
But that didn't seem to be happening.

Quo found himself slowing down.
It would all come to an end soon.
---

Y lay on the ground, frantically trying to patch his own wounds up.
Somehow he was able to stabilize himself[3],
But did it even matter?
If this enemy wasn't killed soon he was also going to be dead.

"It's coming," Mara shouted to Quo. "Get back!"

"I can't!" Quo cried out. His speed... was returning to normal now.
He landed on his feet just after having dashed around the room in a full ring,
Even running along the walls,
But,
It was just like this. It was like this.
His feet didn't feel so light anymore.
His movements weren't like air.
He could see the enemy surging at him with insane speed.
But no longer could his body do anything about it.

Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!
The sound of metal striking metal.
Something was hitting the maintenance shaft?

No, that was something else.
The sound of... a robot... climbing up the ladder!

Fool suddenly burst forward from below and ran into the room.
One of his arms extended, wielding the Ice Hammer,
And his upper body rotated in a full circle.
With mechanical reflexes,
With the mental processing speed of a computer,
He had the ability to track the movement of the opponent.
No, he wasn't capable of 'keeping up' in the most pure sense.
He was definitely slower than the opponent.
However, he did have one weapon...

Pure, simple Algebra.

If a Proto Fiend moves from Point A to Point B at 200 meters per second,
And a Robot from Sea Quartz moved at a mere 25 meters per second,
Just exactly what trajectory would he need to move at from Point C
In order to meet that enemy
on that line
and stop him from ever meeting Point B?

Was he fast enough? Could he-?!

CRUNCH! CRACKLE!

Fool's foot slammed into the ankle of his opponent, and his arm swung inward.
The Ice Hammer crashed into Proto Fiend's throat [A].
Icicles ripped into his insides, piercing him, freezing him, damaging his internal organs.
"HU---"
Quo fell over, covering his head.
The opponent had been only a few feet away from striking him down.
He'd actually needed to duck under Fool's wide swing to prevent his own head from being taken off by the Ice Hammer.

The creature spun backwards, finally went limp (even in mid air), and then collapsed to the ground.
This thing... wasn't getting back up.

But Joe did.

Joe twitched.

Then, a moment later, he sat back up.
He looked around the room.
He was still alive.
The monster was dead.
Everyone else... his friends... they were all still here.

"I'm so glad..."

Mara retrieves the Healing Wand which Carwen had... lost.
She'll use one of the charges on Joe, restoring his health.
He probably deserved that after all he had been through.





[Player List]

Joe, Lvl 13 Young HERO [Fire Chain Whip]
Quovadis, Lvl 11 Sureshot [Z Gun, Grandma Sweater]
Y, Lvl 11 Neonite [Gold Knife, Assistant Badge]
Stunt, Lvl 10 Junkbot [TRASHED, Neural Inhibitor, Bottled Djinn]
Gl'thaggga, Lvl 12 Traveler [Crackling Mana Source]
Fool, Lvl 12 Tarot [Ice Hammer]

Remulel, Lvl 16 Fighter [INJURY, Seeker's Sword]
John, Lvl 14 Rebel [CRITICAL, Dusty Broom]
Sylvester, Lvl 13 Sea-Clops [Pick Axe, Nymph Amulet]
IG-59, Lvl 12 SPAM [Bubble (1)]

Mara Raiev: Decided to take charge of the Quest after all of the Knights died.
Short: A Demon who collected a fellow Demon's Soul to bring back home. Has the power of Combustion.
Cloaked Man: A Merchant who is inexplicably still alive even after all of this.

DEATH LIST (3):
1. Carwen. Smashed to pieces by the Proto Fiend. Fast!


---

IG-59 will head to the workbench and upgrade his hardware.
---

poor John and Remulel being abandoned by the "loyal" IG-59.....
---

Darn had a fun idea with workbench for later, ah well

anyone wanna fix up Stunt I could help out with the other assistant or whatever?
---

Gl'thaggga nodded, pleased with his work, his aid helped save the life of one of the combatants, but there was another still in need of help now that it was safer to make more fine-tuned actions.

Heading over to Stunt, Gl'thaggga will call once more on his magic to repair and restore Stunt. He was no mechanic, but with his training, he didn't need to be. He'd have this robot working at least as good as before, perhaps even better if he got lucky.
---

btw what material is the badge made of?
---

second batch of characters



John and IG-59 get their own post I guess,
mainly just because I got lazy and didn't want to keep drawing right now
---

holy fuck joe lives
---

Ellery - Yesterday at 10:01 PM
You might be able to try going through it
but for mechanical game balance reasons I'm just not allowing new characters at this time
and probably not again for the rest of this game
probably most important role incoming
Joe and Quo
/roll 2d3
SidekickBOT - Yesterday at 10:06 PM
@Ellery: 2d3 = (3+3) = 6
Ellery - Yesterday at 10:06 PM
my man
TheDecider - Yesterday at 10:06 PM
Good deal
Ellery - Yesterday at 10:06 PM
Sidekick and NFUN sittin in a tree
K I S S I N G
Reg - Yesterday at 10:07 PM
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/206647294555062272/333428809074343937/Ya-y.png
---

IG-59 awakes and looks around the area he is in. Where was he? A quick check through his log history confirms what he already suspected.

Unfortunately, though he wasn't completely finished before the war ended, his creator/s had managed to install a program called Protocol within his system. Protocol's purpose was to 'help direct' him in his various activities. What this actually means is that it has the authority to completely overide his actions and alter them to more 'beneficial' courses of actions whenever it felt like an intervention was necessary.

Apparently, Protocol had felt like gathering data on Devils was more important than other options available at the time... The sounds of nearby gunfire and screams snapped him out of his thoughts.

IG-59 will head out of the room and look down the hallway, noticing bright spotlights illuminating the hallway along with John and Remuel, both of which appear to be injured and another bug ahead of them armed with a ray gun. It was clear they they were going to need his help, afterall, he was made for combat.

As he starts to head in their direction a message will flash across his vision

'WARNING! IMMINENT DANGER AHEAD! REEVALUATION OF CURRENT COURSE RECOMMENDED!'

IG-59 will close the message, becoming frustrated at it's insistence. Then suddenly he stops moving, his body not responding to his commands. Another message pops up, this one marked with Protocol' s symbol across it

'Assuming Control'

An objective is marked across his screen, this one in the complete opposite direction of Remuel and John.

Protocol had no moral compass, what mattered to it was results. Allowing IG-59 to continue any farther would have yielded detrimental results.

"IG! We need your help! Where are you going?" this scream echoes down the hall reaching IG-59. Loss of life mattered none to Protocol the only thing that mattered was completing the- 'New file detected'. What was this? This system had been scanned thoroughly and no file was found that could pose a threat to- 'Warning, Firewall breached'. Impossible! Just what kind of file was this!? Nothing could breach his defenses! A message will flash across the screen
'Good Riddance'

Having gained control of his system again IG-59 will rush over to where John and Remuel are and use his bubble shield, instead of heading toward the workbench
---

Sylvester puts the pickaxe into the enchanting stone.

Enchanted this might make a nice weapon!
---

John will retreat and take cover, while thinking about ways to take out the assistant's floodlights.
---

One of the most important things about fighting is the ability to see your opponent, something these floodlights are doing their darnedest to prevent. Remulel decides to retreat and think things over, at which point he comes across Sylvester attempting an enchantment and notices the Nymph Amulet in his possession.
---

Fool notices the door to the SECRET LABRATORY was shut then looks his Ice Hammer.

"I wonder...."

Fool uses the Ice Hammer and strikes the main seal of the door to break it open.
---