Super Smash Quest - Story - Chapter 176: Recipes of the Solarian Temple
Date: 7:12:55 PM, March 29th; 4:31:51 PM, March 30th, 2005.
Aribar decides to cast Badge Breaker and Blindness on Grodus... Hopefully something will be disabled and he'll be blinded for the rest of combat. He then casts Mirror on Veegee and hopes that it'll be at least somewhat useful. End of turn.
Grodus: "Gaack aack aack aack!"
Metal Man (GM): The force field blocks the attack.
VG feels enchanted somehow...
Garrick Fy`aar growls and uses his attack to unload on two different Xes.
Metal Man (GM): All hit. Well, you kill two of the Xes.
VG first returns the favor to Aribar... he gains a Super Plush Bear! He then gives Garrick an Energizer! He now can't use any more items (BOO!), so he Kung Fu Kicks a Xes.
Metal Man (GM): Hit!
Grodus: "All your might is nothing compared to my powers!"
Wolfman starts off with jumping up towards the Vexes... he feels like some Bouncing! *Going towards Xes number...1 of 2 left.*
Metal Man (GM): Hit.
Wolfman bounce quirks to... the OTHER Xes. Bounce back Back to the other.
Metal Man (GM): Hit and hit. You cleanly killed all of the Grodus Xes with that onslaught. Now then...
Grodus: "Well then... obviously, the true villain is that other machine... he attacks too much like Mario for it to be a coincidence... Fry, vermin!"
Metal Man (GM): Wolfman: INT save.
Wolfman feels insulted.
Metal Man (GM): Ouch. Okay...
VG: *Wolfman: Turn Over. Wah.*
Metal Man (GM): Wolfman takes 140% electrical damage from that.
Wolfman is at base limit: 140/140
Metal Man (GM): Grodus is then re-surrounded by two new Grodus Xes.
Grodus: "...Hmph. You have too much strength for your own good."
Wolfman: "I'll take that as a compliment."
Aribar drinks a Green Potion and fires two Electric Elemental Blasts at Grodus... 70% Electric each.
Metal Man (GM): *BZAP* He takes 140% damage....
Grodus: "Excellent... you have learned to copy your true master. What flattery."
Aribar: "...Hmp. I'm better, though!"
Metal Man (GM): Oh, right.
Garrick Fy`aar uses a free turn, thanks to his Mark 5 Dex (coming in stores soon!), to scan the bugger.
Editor's Note: It never made it to any stores. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha.
Grodus: "Gaack aack aaack aaaack!"
Metal Man (GM): The dex suddenly electrifies Garrick... paralyzing him.
Grodus: "I am above technology... for I am magitek! Not even your improved version can get around my powers!"
Garrick Fy`aar growls, not being able to move (...right?)
Metal Man (GM): Paralysis - 3 - The target's to-hit bonuses and AC are halved, rounding down. Lasts 3 rounds.
Garrick Fy`aar unloads on the bugger with a mess of armor piercing dumdums for his first two turns.
Metal Man (GM): Hmmmm... Hit miss hit miss hit miss hit hit miss miss miss hit. The shield is blocking them... amazing! Oh, right. Hit hit miss miss miss hit.
Garrick Fy`aar uses his final turn to blast a shot that should splash hit all three of them with his new Einhammer-189!
Metal Man (GM): Ouch...
Grodus: "Infidel!"
Metal Man (GM): He fires lightning at Garrick. Garrick: INT save. Garrick takes only 70% electric damage.
Garrick Fy`aar: "DaaaHHH!!!"
VG sees Wolfman is still struggling a little... *WARNING! WARNING! CHEAPNESS APPROACHING! He gives Wolf a Red Essence. He then takes actions 2 and 3 for some Head butt charging towards the closest... "grounded" Xes. Charged 2nd action, unleash third.*
Editor's Note: Handy to denote the cheapness like that, I don't even have to directly point it out in these notes.
Metal Man (GM): Does the attack hit only one target, or more than 1? (In the description) You hit a single Grodus X.
VG: *Done.*
Metal Man (GM): You kill it!
Wolfman fires some Super Buster shots at the last Xes... time to hope the Mega Rush works here.
Metal Man (GM): Hit hit hit. You kill it good. All the Xes are dead. again. Two more appear.
Grodus: "Gaaack aaack aaack! Fools... you cannot kill me that way."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Ari, takes those Xes out... I wanna try something..."
Grodus: "Now... feel my power!"
Aribar: "Will do..."
Metal Man (GM): Grodus fires a wave of ice at everyone but Wolfman. Everyone takes an instant 46 ice damage, save for Wolfman... And Aribar and VG are frozen solid.
Aribar: "Ga---"
VG is now a Mushroom-sicle.
Garrick Fy`aar unloads four armor piercing regulars at one X...
Metal Man (GM): Hit hit hit miss. It's still alive.
Garrick Fy`aar fires four more at it then...
Metal Man (GM): Hit hit hit hit. You kill it... but the other one is still there.
Garrick Fy`aar hefts up his Einhammer-189, taking this chance. He glares hatred like at Grodus. The gun hums as something starts up inside it... "...go to hell." *WHAM! Garrick blasts him with such a black hole like attack from INSIDE Grodus that his HP is cut in HALF!!*
Metal Man (GM): Grodus is hit by the attack... amazing! ...What's that evil look on his face?
Grodus: "Gaaack aaack! Your attack is strong, but my strength will overcome!"
Garrick Fy`aar: "...*Pant*...doesn't... look that strong, slick...*Pant*..."
Metal Man (GM): The remaining Grodus X attacks Garrick with a laser for an instant 80% damage.
Garrick Fy`aar immediately swings the grenade launcher onto his back via a strap and starts moving as fast as he can, looking for the usual gunman type cover... but gets fried instead.
Metal Man (GM): Then Grodus glows... HEALING HIMSELF for 140 HP.
Grodus: "Gaaack aaack aaack! Foolish human!"
Metal Man (GM): New not! Oh, weight, yeah. He runs up and attacks with the wand of wonder. Two hits. 12% damage to a newly formed Grodus X. Oh, right... Wolfman: Take your turn.
Wolfman goes towards the enemies... first, he attempts a sweep against all possible guys to see who gets hit... and who can get hit. (can these Xes's fly?) *SUPER CRIT.*
Metal Man (GM): Well, at the time you did that, there was only one x flying. So you hit Grodus and the X.
Wolfman uses action 2 for some Swords Dancing.
Metal Man (GM): Okay... so... 112% it its; and as for those sword dancing... they all hit.
Wolfman goes for the final action... time to stop Grodus for good. Smashing left hook at -1 accuracy.
Metal Man (GM): Hit!
Wolfman: *BOOM.*
Grodus: "Gaaaack!!!"
Wolfman: *DONE.*
Metal Man (GM): *Battle over! Wah!* 500 EXP to all. Grodus is cracked and beaten up...
Grodus: "Curse you... fiendish Questers."
Sumner: "Wolfman is NOW a Level 20 Fighter!"
Garrick Fy`aar floats down on the revival pad, a little astounded.
Grodus: "But I predicted this happening."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...what... did you DO to him?"
Wolfman: "Yeah, right."
Grodus: "I cannot fail."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I think maybe you can..."
Wolfman: *Garrick: you see me damaged, essenced, and rushed.*
Metal Man (GM): He leaps onto the platform, now with a cracked head, staff, and body.
Wolfman breathes heavily.
VG eventually gets unfrozen.
Grodus: "Computer. To the Second Moon... but wait! One last thing... You Questers are inspiring. Perhaps... it is wrong to fight you."
Garrick Fy`aar slides a fresh set of grenade rounds into the revolving barrel of his Einhammer, places a fresh clip of dumdums into his M150, then cocks them both in one swift motion and holsters them, arching an eyebrow at Grodus.
Wolfman: "Garrick, disengage."
Grodus: "The true enemy... is those whom you fight... and Charles L. Magellean!"
Wolfman sheaths his saber.
Garrick Fy`aar: "I'm disengaged, Wol--excuse me?"
Grodus: "I shall give you a present... For teaching me a lesson."
VG: *After getting unfrozen* "Did I hear that right?"
Grodus: "I am a logical machine, not a fool. Fighting you would destroy us both."
Garrick Fy`aar chuckles "Grodus, one thing you've got to learn about us. Questers never take anything with face value."
Grodus: "Let it be this way... you don't harm me, I won't harm you... I'll even give you a real gift. The X-Nauts are against those who wantonly destroy the peace... not those who defend it. I learned that first, painful lesson when the Shadow Queen betrayed me. Do... you agree?"
Wolfman: "...just don't go destroying everyone for your perfect world, and I'll agree."
Garrick Fy`aar: "That's the Quester way of life. Keep the peace, stadium or otherwise."
Grodus: "...I cannot guarantee the safety of those who attack me first."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Look, Locos took this upon himself."
Grodus: "Or those who run opposing operations... but otherwise... I will give you my word. Good bye, Questers!"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Later, Grodus..."
Metal Man (GM): He taps the staff... and the computer platform, as well as the whole temple... disappears.
Wolfman: "Good luck."
Metal Man (GM): You're now in a small field... where Nova and Mewtwo are resting. *Pause on the Questers*
Wolfman: *Gains 5% HP.*
Metal Man (GM): Noting that this is part 2 of three... you'll keep the same life count for the final part. ...Charles is at his base, on the Second moon.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...Sir... sir! ...Incoming warp signal!"
Charles Magellean: "Do the standard blocking procedures."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...Affirmative."
Metal Man (GM): *BAM* A nearby terminal just... explodes.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...Sir... it has more energy than we have! The warp blocker just exploded."
Charles Magellean stands and stares at the window and stirs his cup. He drops as he becomes shocked."
Metal Man (GM): ...Then... while looking out the window... a fortress... nay; a temple... appears outside ..A... Solarian Temple.
Charles Magellean: "What in the hell would a temple be here for? Oh never mind that, no way in hell is there gonna be a temple that's inside MY view of the outside."
Metal Man (GM): You get a comms message.
Charles Magellean: "Bob, deploy the defenses in ca--."
Metal Man (GM): It's... Grodus.
Charles Magellean: "Open hailing frequencies."
Grodus: "Gaaack aaack aaack aaack! Puny Lunarian... I have obtained the superweapon of the Solarians! ...And even though the Questers nearly killed me... you are no Quester. I shall obliterate you with the power which your ancestors sealed away..."
Metal Man (GM): ...You see a small armada of Yux's, X-Nauts, and several other like things marching towards your base.
Charles Magellean: *SNAP* "Bob..."
Grodus: "I shall destroy all Lunarians... and take over this miserable planet!"
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "Y-y-y-yes ss-sir?"
Charles Magellean looks to Bob and makes a quick slash gesture across his neck to signify to cut off the communication.
Metal Man (GM): The communication cuts for you.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...Okay... now what do we do? We have fifteen minutes before... they reach us."
Charles Magellean grabs his rainbow potion. "Unholy war. Invaders from Nintendus. Zero tolerance. Exterminate with extreme prejudice."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...All units! Attack!"
Metal Man (GM): You see a whole bunch of Eggrobos, machinery, and even a huge mecha come towards the endless mobs of X-Nauts. The 'Nauts begin attacking. They are killed relatively easily... but they keep on coming.
Charles Magellean walks quickly to the open the door to the outside.
Metal Man (GM): Lightning begins to form in a ball atop the unholy temple... which then begins firing arcs of lightning at the Eggrobos.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "They're slowly stopping our advancing forces... we're running out of units!"
Charles Magellean: "Deploy secondary forces. No... belay that order. Pull out all the stops at once."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...Yes sir."
Metal Man (GM): A massive armada comes out of Charles' base. Even a complete Doomship... All of which encounter and begin destroying the ranks of X-Nauts and yuxes.
Charles Magellean opens his mach 3 and proceeds towards the battlefield.
Metal Man (GM): You can see that new X-Nauts are just pouring out of the mouth continually. Walking into laser fire... right into drills... they continually attack mindlessly. The X-Nauts' main ability is numbers. They continually attack, even while individuals are weak and barely dent their opposition. The Doomship is nearing the temple itself, and opening fire on it.
Charles Magellean: "On my world... on my home... and ON MY TIME... No outsiders from Nintendus will conquer the homeworld!"
Metal Man (GM): The temple surfaces... take no damage ..You see the X-Naut forces suddenly cut off ...All the X-Nauts are gone. An eerie silence prevails. What do you do during this mysterious lull?
Charles Magellean: "Regroup! Form flanks to guard on standby!"
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "Affirmative!"
Metal Man (GM): The robots and such regroup. They get into an easily guarded position. *rumblerumblerumble.*
Charles Magellean signals with hands for the army to spread out.
Metal Man (GM): They spread out... as Golden Warrior steps out.
Golden Warrior: "Target confirmed. Lunarian Base. Command: Destroy."
Metal Man (GM): It begins marching straight towards your robots.
Charles Magellean: "...Fall back."
Metal Man (GM): Okay... the robots you were commanding fall back.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "Should they try to stop Golden Warrior, or do you have base defenses in mind?"
Charles Magellean goes down to confront his former creation.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...Oh. Well then, I'll make sure to make a path for you."
Metal Man (GM): The robots move out of the way for you. The creation ignores you; it mindlessly marches towards the base.
Golden Warrior: "Almost in range for explosive weapons. Preparing weapons."
Charles Magellean deactivates his mach 3 and attempts a onyx sword slash.
Metal Man (GM): You hit the thing... you give it a mild cut. It continues, mindlessly.
Golden Warrior: "Must... destroy... Lunarians..."
Metal Man (GM): He's awful close to the base. He draws his sword, which is humming with power.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...Just give me the command, and I'll open fire."
Charles Magellean: "You have barrier that blocks powerful attacks so only weak attacks can hurt you." *He sheaths his sword.*
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "Oh, right. I shall activate that."
Metal Man (GM): A barrier comes up, just in time to block the sword.
Golden Warrior: "Mysterious new technology identified. ...Systems are outdated. Updating to Magitek technology..."
Charles Magellean takes out his miniguns and fires... how many times can he fire?
Metal Man (GM): With the way you have them currently, 21 times.
Charles Magellean fires 21 shots then.
Metal Man (GM): Since it does not dodge... and you cannot get 10 or below... they all hit.
Charles Magellean: "You had one fatal flaw I designed in case the golden flute was used by someone else... multiple minimal damaging hits that accumulate. Not that you are programmed to deal with nuisances unless commanded to. Or even respond for that matter."
Metal Man (GM): Those shots have perforated its legs.
Golden Warrior: "Movement impaired. Update from manual command center enabled."
Metal Man (GM): He begins glowing. Weird lines are etching into him ..a holoscreen appears on him, as well. Of Grodus.
Grodus: "Gaaaack aaack aaack! Your pathetic technology shall crumble... as I give you your first taste... of magitek!"
Metal Man (GM): *glow* Golden Warrior suddenly attacks the shielding again.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...Sir... magical power is cracking our systems! It's unstoppable! Gaaaaahhhh!!!"
Metal Man (GM): Bob's hologram crackles as rainbow energy flows into the base... THROUGH the shield.
Charles Magellean: "Bob!"
Metal Man (GM): A backlash destroys a good deal of robots.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "Sir... you must go on... I will... fight this fiend... The magical energy... will... not... pre... vail..."
Metal Man (GM): The place now has several fires. The sword itself of Golden Warrior is cracking.
Charles Magellean gets out his sword. He turns it upside down so it is handled awkwardly.
Grodus: "The power of magitek... will destroy everything that dares to stop me! Nothing you can do will allow you to win." *The holoscreen disappears.*
Charles Magellean puts away the guns before doing so... he then targets the core. "Powerful or no, Golden Warrior will not be used against me any longer." *He handles the sword, losing his balance a bit.... He targets the lower portion of Golden Warrior's back. He aims at Charles's left.... He thrusts in an arc motion!*
Metal Man (GM): The robot is hit. energy arcs through it... out of control. The machine fills with the magitek energy... and suddenly disintegrates.
Charles Magellean thrusts his sword from back out.
Metal Man (GM): The base is hit by another shockwave... but is saved.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "That was close..."
Charles Magellean slowly sheaths his sword. He turns around, and walks slowly towards the temple.
Metal Man (GM): You walk there. You can see it now... Solarian architecture. A citadel of destruction. You walk right in, without any opposition... and see Grodus, behind the controls of a strange machine.
Charles Magellean: "Scriptures of eon past state that the combination of magic and technology is forbidden by the gods. It leads only to self-genocide."
Grodus: "I was the last great creation of the Solarians... and I still live today. I am your opposite... and you were the one who revived me! At last... I shall revive the Solarians... and begin my work for a perfect world. Using magic and technology together... I shall do what the Shadow Queen and Mario stopped me from doing! Gaaack aaack aaaack! However... the Questers are on my side."
Charles Magellean eyes perk.
Grodus: "They are worthy of survival... you are not."
Charles Magellean: "Leave... my... world!"
Grodus: "This is my world as well; you are merely in denial! Zemus... he must have been a great Solarian priest. He shall be the first to be summoned! Great machine... give me the power to destroy this intruder."
Metal Man (GM): Grodus is surrounded by glowing wires of rainbow light.
Charles Magellean: "Leave the ancient Lunarian psychic to rest. You refuse to stay out of my affairs, so let's do this!"
Metal Man (GM): Locos vs. Grodus. Charles' turn. Grodus is surrounded by four Grodus Xes.
Charles Magellean: "Condemn us to something that we tried to stop you lunatics from doing is definitely an attitude of a servant of Zemus." *He slashes at the machine twice.*
Grodus: "As you can see... it was actually I who intruded upon Nintendus, not the other way around!"
Metal Man (GM): The shield blocks the blows; the green thing making a 'ping' noise.
Charles Magellean switches out to his miniguns. His turn ends.
Grodus: "Eat my wrath, Lunarian!"
Metal Man (GM): All four Grodus Xes attack Charles with energy beams, for 80% damage each. Instant hits. Grodus then fires a huge lightning bolt at Charles. INT check. Ouch... 140% electric damage to add to that. You may trance next round if you want.
Charles Magellean blocks the attacks with his life force.
Grodus: "Do not play with fire... you may just find yourself blasted into tiny pieces."
Charles Magellean: "I'd forgotten about those pests." *He fires three shots at each Grodus x.*
Metal Man (GM): Hit hit hit; hit hit hit; hit hit hit; hit hit hit; All hit. That minigun is the perfect weapon for the job. Damage for each Grodus X?
Charles Magellean: *and as for the Grodus's? 18% per hit.*
Metal Man (GM): Each one is barely alive. They've become stronger, but you nearly dusted them all in one attack.
Charles Magellean fires one more bullet at each pest. He fires the remaining two at the Grodus.
Metal Man (GM): Needless to say, you kill the last of them, then deal 36% damage to Grodus. He opens fire on you with another lightning bolt... another INT check.
Charles Magellean: "You tell me that I play with fire. You, yourself, play in Ifrit's flames."
Metal Man (GM): Another barely fail... 140% electric damage.
Charles Magellean blocks with his life force again... he grows weak.
Grodus: "With such flames, I am unstoppable!"
Charles Magellean fires 4 bullets at each X, then fires the remaining 10 to Grodus.
Metal Man (GM): The Xes are destroyed, while Grodus takes 180% damage.
Grodus: "...I shall not be outdone!"
Metal Man (GM): Grodus waves his staff... next turn, he gets two turns. However, it's also made him vulnerable. He doesn't get two Grodus Xes this turn.
Charles Magellean: "It's fun... to keep up with your opponent."
Metal Man (GM): All but one hit. 306% damage.
Charles Magellean: "I am in a league of my own when it comes to the Questers. Perhaps... Even compared to... you?"
Grodus: "I am holding back on you."
Charles Magellean calls his bluff.
Metal Man (GM): Grodus then glows... regains two Xes... then fires a lightning bolt at you again. Another INT check. He repeats yet again, now invincible behind a shield... so you'll have to do another int save after that. 140% electric from that.
Charles Magellean takes a 3rd life force beating.
Grodus: "Resistance... is amusing. However... I am too weak to destroy you yet... the Phantom God prevents me... and the amount of wear on my processors must be repaired."
Charles Magellean: "You are not staying."
Grodus: "What can stop me? Only Kuja could. But if he turns his back on the Questers, they will stab him. Zio is dead, and Gerald at least stuck in a black hole. That leaves... you."
Charles Magellean: "You... are... not... staying."
Grodus: "Do not force me to make you eat your own words; it would be highly unpleasant. Existence is a chess game, and I have put you in check. Nothing else can hurt me until you are safe."
Charles Magellean has had enough of Grodus's words. This Solarian has no right to mock the Lunarian homeworld.
Grodus: "I have destroyed two major pieces, and Kuja is blocked by the Questers. I will only allow you to flee to your base."
Charles Magellean: "I have heard enough!" *He screams out and takes out his rainbow potion.*
Grodus: "Do your worst."
Charles Magellean drinks it down. http://www.ffdownloads.com/dl/Final%20Fantasy%2010/mp3s/Official%soundtrack/1-16-Enemy%20Attack.mp3 again.
Grodus: "My simulations have included all variables... anything you do will merely change what type of horrible fate befalls you."
Charles Magellean begins to turn translucent and and opaque several times. He then begins to have several images beginning to split. The images move out, then go back to being one again while Charles is still blinking. He and his images begin to spread and spread. Finally, it stops. He is now not one... not two... not three... But four separate images that blink translucent and opaque!
Grodus: "Gaaack aaack aaack... that is not even enough to damage my glass circuit case!"
Charles Magellean voice echoes x4 "Who said anything about the potion itself damaging you?!"
Grodus: "You did not realize... I meant that all four of you would still be mowed down by my lasers!"
Metal Man (GM): Grodus, now with all of his power ups... unleashes a tirade at the four Charles's. First, each Grodus X hits each Charles for 80% damage with the lasers.
Charles Magellean is only hit by one.
Metal Man (GM): Then, he fires an ice blast... which, since it hits everyone simultaneously, and is treated as if you were only hit once... you take 140% ice damage... unless... well, it's weird. This attack hits all, and divides 140% ice damage between all targets. And... I don't know exactly how your thingy works, so you tell me what happens.
Locos Docos (GM): Well, only one among them can be hit at any one given time and have a combined hp total, yet they act as like a single Magellean. same weapons, same firepower. single Magellean on their own.
Metal Man (GM): For the second round, Grodus powers himself up; Your turn.
Charles Magellean recovers HP on their own with their combined life force, and begin to, at the speed of light, shift left and right, phasing through themselves, and being in their exact same positions... or are they? All four Magelleans slant their right legs forward and aim their guns. And as though they were separate entities, they all fire bullets... real ones!
Grodus: "Impressive."
Locos Docos (GM): One shoots at the Grodus x's then at Grodus. The other three then fire simultaneous shots after the first one is done.
Metal Man (GM): The first barrage kills all the Grodus Xes, then hits Grodus six times. Grodus is blasted into thousands of pieces by the next barrage. ...The lines glow again. He reforms... but now looks like what happens when you put shattered pottery back together with glue.
Grodus: "...Grrrr. It is a good thing I had a plan prepared for this event."
Charles Magellean: "Nevermore!"
Grodus: "I shall leave... but not before cursing this planet!"
Metal Man (GM): Grodus taps his staff.
Charles Magellean and the other three raise their hands.
Metal Man (GM): The magic machine rumbles... shooting waves of lines everywhere.
Locos Docos (GM): http://www.ffdownloads.com/dl/Final%20Fantasy%2010/mp3s/Official%soundtrack/4-10-Challenge.mp3
Grodus: "Great machine... release the soul of Zemus... and use him to destroy everything on this wretched place... but control him... and reseal him when his work is done!"
Metal Man (GM): Grodus throws his hands up into the air. The lines are now getting out of control... some sort of horrendous energy is being released by the machine.
Charles Magellean: "Not even Kuja in his most powerful state can penetrate the Moon Crystals' powers!"
Grodus: "...But you know why? They are but a reflection of the Solar Machine's power!"
Charles Magellean and his images take a swig of another potion.
Metal Man (GM): Grodus begins pulsating with energy, as the ground, and the planet begins to shake ...The machine begins to short.
Grodus: "...Blast it all... I used too much power elsewhere!"
Charles Magellean begin converging with each other. He grows bigger...2x...3x...4x his size!
Metal Man (GM): Grodus leaps aboard the pedestal, and begins beating the machine. It stops sparking... but he cannot escape yet, now.
Grodus: "...I have no choice... machine, use the excess energy you generated to give me the true power to defeat this imbecile!"
Metal Man (GM): The waves come back... weakened, of course, and erratic. They surround Grodus, who is now at full power.
Charles Magellean is filled with rage and begins to smash the unholy temple apart. He is filled with twice the power, twice the speed, int, and armor.
Metal Man (GM): The temple begins to creak; the energy, wasted on Grodus and an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the Moon Crystals, is unable to also make the temple invincible. You begin smashing a few things... slowly. The material is very tough. And very heavy.
Grodus: "...I can't believe I'm going to do this. ...TERRORBOLT!!!!!"
Metal Man (GM): The energy charges into Grodus... the spell from Whaller begins to take form. However, you manage to tear big holes in the temple. The material is weakening; only the immediate area around the great machine seems to remain impenetrable.
Grodus: "Leave this place immediately... fool... or I will destroy us all with the most powerful magical attack a machine has ever thrown! This possibility should not exist... why didn't I compute it?"
Charles Magellean looks over the Grodus.
Grodus: "You are an unpredictable being... you must be destroyed... but my men have fallen, and my stolen machine was destroyed."
Charles Magellean looms over him. As Drakengard events repeat, he opens his right hand clutches it a smooch... and backs it up. "Check... mate." *He thrusts the arm forward at super strength and hyper speed. If Drakengard repeats, then Grodus will be crushed by the sheer force when he is pushed into the floor and machine that he is standing on.*
Grodus: "I summon forth... the power of your nemesis! TERRORBOLT!"
Metal Man (GM): Your punch flies at him at high speed, with much strength. However... something is amiss; he shouldn't have been able to throw that attack at you. As you hit him, an incredible surge of energy hits you with almost the same force as your own attack. Grodus is blasted backwards... his body is destroyed again, but his head remains.
Charles Magellean: "YOU... WILL... NOT... SURVIVE... AGAIN." *He inhales a mighty hurricane.*
Metal Man (GM): ...The machine clicks in... and the now ruined temple warps out, leaving a pile of its own ruins scattered about ..And Grodus's utterly shattered body. However; the Solarian genocide machine was defeated in this confrontation. And thus, it would never plague the moon again... at least, according to the Solarian prophets.
Charles Magellean inhales the remains with his hurricane breath... which should've gotten Grodus's head... and begins to chew on it.
Metal Man (GM): You taste mere dust; and the jagged, mildly charged remains of his body.
Charles Magellean then spits it out at an incredible velocity. He shrinks... and shrinks.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "The intruders have been neutralized."
Charles Magellean: http://www.ffdownloads.com/files/file.cgi?file=Final%20Fantasy%2010/mp3s/Official%soundtrack/2-12-Aurons%theme.mp3 He creaks his head. *5 minutes later* "Bob, the potion needs some modification."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "It does? Perhaps that would explain how that head escaped again... ...But not to fear. I sealed them away."
Charles Magellean: "Let this be a lesson to those who try to intrude these sacred grounds."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "The Solarian Genocide machine and its users cannot intrude again..."
Charles Magellean: "We have averted another War of the Magis."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "It was made permanent by the Phantom God's own magic, soon after I completed a weaker seal. ...But the question remains..."
Charles Magellean: "The Phantom Beasts are truly powerful."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "What will happen to Nintendus... with a Magitek fiend second only to Kuja added into the already volatile world? Clearly the fabric of that place has become distorted. I believe we sealed out Nintendus with that, too. That is... save for those who are of pure of heart and given passage by you or another who is authorized."
Charles Magellean: "What is the your question?"
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "I want to know what is causing the distortion of reality in Nintendus."
Charles Magellean: "..."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "Records show the Questers stopped Kuja once... but the mere paradox of that appears to have summoned another, similar monster, whom you just defeated."
Charles Magellean skims throughout the history of earth. ...The Watchers. Since the seals on Nintendus, and the final being Valhalla and Zio's castle, were destroyed... Logic and reason of the world are beginning to collapse. Not even the gods know what will happen next. Because it is a world beyond the gods."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...Wait... I think I know the core of it all!"
Charles Magellean: "Indeed. Their master seeks its revival from the core. After so long, The Watchers have finally found the planet where their queen has been dormant for so long. May the Gods have mercy on their souls."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "No... this may seem nonsensical for you, but I've found something else which may be one and the same, or different... This is the cause which the Questers have been eternally trying to end. The transformers... and all who used them or their variants... are points upon which reality is distorted... torn apart. ...Kuja's power... combined with being one of these points... ...!!! ...His power alone has shredded the fabric of the realm, without actually destroying anything... and according to my calculations... They have two years, five days, and an hour left before it all is destroyed. Kuja is not doing this on purpose; the taint of the transformer, instead... is making him an unwitting weapon."
Charles Magellean: "All of their actions, accidentally done or not, caused the seals to become broken and undone!"
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "And with it, anything, including seals, are torn apart. Seals, logic, reason, time... all of it is being thickened until it stops moving. Like whipped cream."
Charles Magellean: "Their world will become chaos. They have descended into hell."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "Death will be the first thing to stop functioning."
Charles Magellean clutches down and holds his head, sniveling.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "Nothing will die; and what has died will live again. The only way to end this... is connected to an accident of the process."
Charles Magellean: "Enough, Bob!"
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...Affirmative."
Editor's Note: Well, way to ignore the prophetic words of Bob, Lord of Electric Death. He WAS hinting at the future plot in ways that actually came true... but NOOOOOO, you have to keep imagining the plot of Drakenguard is going to happen instead. *facepalm*
Charles Magellean: "Once the seeds have been sown and descend upon the earth, there is nothing to stop them."
Editor's Note: In Drakenguard, yes, but... no such thing occurred in SSQ, so... WRONG.
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "...I am not so sure anymore... your theory cannot be the only one. ...Perhaps there is something you hold against them... I sense great hatred of the Questers and their planet."
Charles Magellean: "As much as I detest them, no being is to suffer under the Seeds of Resurrection."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "Still... do you not know, that your fate's thread has been tangled partially into that spinning maelstrom? If it is eliminated from existence... some terrible things could happen to you. The time you spent there being destroyed, you being destroyed... it could even start unraveling this universe... as it tried today. The Phantom Beast himself has his front claws stuck in that mess. ...But I digress. It is beyond my capabilities to solve this problem. I can only list the causes and events, and how it may affect your and anyone else remotely related to it. I must rest my processors... this talk has heated them quite much. If I tried to decode much more, I would suddenly burst into flames."
Charles Magellean: "Even I am nothing against their collective power."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "I close my speech... with one note. Kuja... can either be the first to destroy everything... or the one who... as he says, will save all; and that faith is merely needed in his plan to prevent total chaos."
Charles Magellean: "We may in fact need his help if we do not set up a seal."
Bob, Lord of Electric Death: "Indeed. Perhaps he can be helpful... if he understands the seriousness of the situation. No one knows for sure what is going on; my attempts to explain it show that it could be a paradox that began it, which cannot be explained because it cannot be seen. Well... any explanation, or all of them, or any mix, could be true. That is all for now... I must rest. Good night, Charles." *Shuts down to cool down CPUs, save for life support and such.*
Charles Magellean: "I will say it again. May the Gods have mercy."
Metal Man (GM): Aaaaand we fade out there. The final chapter of this mysterious, seemingly random, and crazy chapter will close the loop that the chasing of Doopliss started. Now it's time... for mission! (This won't be completed all today, though, but we can get started) You guys are at the empty field where the temple used to be. Mewtwo and Nova are standing there.
Mewtwo: "We managed to repel Kuja..."
Nova: "...But the temple is gone."
Mewtwo: "What happened?"
Wolfman: "...I think that was Grodus's doing."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Yeah, it was."
Nova: "...Accessing files."
Wolfman: "He somehow trapped us trappers to get trapped by Kuja, and then after a fight, he wanted to go against Locos."
Nova: "Grodus. Leaders of a faction named 'X-Nauts.' He wishes to make the world better by killing all life and restarting history as we know it."
Wolfman: "I made him promise to not go for his goal of getting rid of everyone for a perfect world beforehand, though... I am hoping he still honors that."
Nova: "Known for underhanded tricks."
VG just shakes his hat off, then puts it back on.
Aribar mumbles, "At least he killed Zio..."
Nova: "Also known to excessively plan; he attempts to be unstoppable."
Garrick Fy`aar: "True. We think both Zio and Gerald are dead."
Metal Man (GM): ...A portal opens over head... a huge amount of debris falls down from the sky, where the temple was. A single hallway is left... and there's a strange glowing inside.
Wolfman and VG get a look at the temple remains... and the hallway.
Metal Man (GM): You'd have to walk inside, though.
VG: "What the heck?"
Mewtwo: "...It just came back."
VG goes to check this strange glowing thing out.
Garrick Fy`aar sighs, straightens his jacket, then walks into the hallway as well.
Aribar: "It? Grodus?"
Nova: "Large amounts of rainbow energy detected."
Mewtwo: "It seems so..."
Metal Man (GM): You begin walking in. You hear a sort of shudder... energy and the like crackling.
Wolfman: "Perhaps Grodus is done... either way, I'm not letting VG go in by himself." *He follows.*
Aribar goes to unsheathe Moonlight, but finds nothing there... "... Where did that little movie star run off to?!"
Metal Man (GM): You walk inside. Grodus's head is on the floor, unconscious, and sparking. The control panel is cracked in several places.
Wolfman: "...oh boy."
Smash Dex: "Overwhelming energy discharge has been detected."
Aribar dashes after the others.
Wolfman goes towards Grodus's head.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...specify."
VG checks out the control panels.
Smash Dex: "...It is suggested you power down the Solarian genocide weapon; it is unstable, slightly."
Metal Man (GM): You see strange, blank keys. All of them blank.
VG: "I'd like to know how to do that if you don't mind..." *Slightly frustrated.*
Garrick Fy`aar: "Right. Can you locate the main power source and point me to it?"
Smash Dex: "This is a pattern-based system. One would hit the keys in a certain pattern to use the machine."
Wolfman: .oO(Grodus... what happened to you?)
Smash Dex: "...Sir... the power source is unknown, and cannot be found from here."
Aribar: "Perhaps we should get Nova to do this?"
Smash Dex: "Good idea."
Nova: *Walks in* "...My creators built this... ...It is unmistakable. Gothic architecture. Clearly a human machine, as well."
Editor's Note: Heh, nice try, Nova, but the Solarian Machine wasn't made by you.
Aribar: "So does that mean you can power it down?"
Nova: *Walks over to Grodus's head, looking down at it in disdain* "Yes... but something troubles me."
Wolfman: "...what happened to Grodus Nova?"
Nova: "This machine was unstoppable."
Wolfman was by the head when he got in.
Nova: "Both of them... Even the Shadow Queen failed."
Garrick Fy`aar is currently trying to pry the casing off the control pad.
Nova: "This other machine killed all the humans of the original Earth."
Editor's Note: Ahhhh, some old plot I forgot that doesn't exist anymore... you, the reader, can disregard any mentions of 'original Earth.'
Metal Man (GM): The control pad is solid; it cannot be pried off.
VG is trying to figure out which systems can easily be shut down.
Nova: "I can feel it... this was the machine they told me to flee from. I barely escaped..."
Metal Man (GM): VG: The blank button controls make no sense to you, or even Garrick.
VG: .oO(Heke?)
Nova: "This machine, luckily, is still responsive." *He walks up, and types.*
Aribar just stands behind the others, keeping silent...
Nova: "...We're lucky the Second Moon didn't just explode there."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Can you figure out what happened up there?"
Nova: "This machine cracked some of the moon crystals holding Zemus!"
Garrick Fy`aar: "...Zemus?"
Nova: "...It is lucky that it did not damage them function-wise. No time to explain. I must power down this machine."
Metal Man (GM): Nova types furiously.... The machine begins glowing.
Nova: "What? this machine is not shutting down... its powering up again!" *Looks at the head* "It's gone!"
VG: "That's not good, is it?"
Wolfman was watching the head... it just... disappeared?!? "What the heck?!?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "...he's still active."
Nova: "...This cannot be... this means I was right. The machine, or should I say, Magitek, used ethereal powers to recharge itself."
Aribar: "Thaaaat's bad, right?"
Nova: "When its own technology was damaged beyond repair, it simply defied physics with magic. This means the only way to destroy this with is..."
Kuja Tribal: "...The pseudo-cube cannon." *Walks in.*
Wolfman: "...that might be a problem Kuja."
Kuja Tribal: "Foolish mortals. I sent this in using my most powerful magic."
Garrick Fy`aar spins, drawing his guns in a blurring motion. He'd know that voice anywhere...
Wolfman turns to face him. "Grodus didn't like Locos, and I think Locos had that cannon last if I recall correctly."
Aribar: "Gaah!"
Kuja Tribal: "I took that pseudo cube cannon... and made sure that other weapon was destroyed... to make this immensely powerful machine was intact. You, Garrick, saved my plan. You did not kill me with that weapon... you destroyed that weapon. And that 'star' you keep on mentioning..."
Metal Man (GM): *Zip Toad Walks in.*
Kuja Tribal: "Was Doopliss yet again."
Aribar: .oO(There's that toad!)
Zip Toad: "Gotcha, Questers!"
Aribar: "...Eh?"
Metal Man (GM): He turns back to Doopliss... blocking the south entrance.
Wolfman: "...so I was right... there was something funny."
Aribar takes out the Wand of Wonder.
Metal Man (GM): ...Grodus walks out and blocks the North entrance.
Aribar: "...Give me back my sword, you... Wanna-be movie star!"
Metal Man (GM): With his body back.
VG: "So wait... you tricked us, but we tricked us, and Grodus tricked us, but then you tricked all of us again?!?"
Aribar: "...And not by tossing it at me either!"
Grodus: "Gaaack aaack aaack! Fools! You cannot defeat all of us!"
Metal Man (GM): Then... Zio walks out of the West door, behind you.
VG is confused...
Aribar: "...Iiiiiii Think we're doomed."
Zio: "Rumors of my death... are highly exaggerated."
Wolfman: "Alright... who is left to block the east?" *He turns to the east.*
Doopliss: "Yeah! You're done for!"
Metal Man (GM): Gerald Robotnik walks in... blocking the East. Kuja is in the middle, facing you guys.
Aribar: .oO(I wonder if I should use It now...)
Kuja Tribal: "This... is the Axiom of Balance."
VG doesn't see much of a balance.
Kuja Tribal: "All of us, working in perfect harmony... shall fix this wretched planet."
Aribar: "...Fix it? How?"
Kuja Tribal: "To remake it... as it should be."
Wolfman turns to Grodus, having a look that says "explain yourself."
Gerald Robotnik: "You, Questers, are the unbalancing ingredient. You must be removed."
Zio: "You shall be destroyed... it is the will of Dark Force!"
Garrick Fy`aar switches his gaze from each one of these Axiom of Balance members. He continually goes back to his instincts, looking for a way out...
Grodus: "Not even Locos can save you now..."
VG stays kind of close to his taller friends.
Doopliss: "That's right... eternal destruction!"
Wolfman gets the Megaton Hammer out.
Metal Man (GM): They begin advancing upon you...
Nova: "...You are not balancing people. You are madmen."
Aribar looks about... Shadow said not to use It, but... Hrm...
Nova: *He steps away* "I shall take all of you on at once."
Kuja Tribal: "Then you shall be the first to fall!"
VG: "Say what?"
Zio: "Hmph... no machine can beat us."
Garrick Fy`aar: "He won't be alone."
Nova: "I... am the only creation which can counter all of you and your wretched machine."
Gerald Robotnik: "Impossible."
Garrick Fy`aar steps up beside Nova, slamming a grenade into place and swinging the launcher shut.
Kuja Tribal: "You cannot scare us."
Aribar: "...You won't do this alone, Nova! ... Star Scream!" *The elf tries to start things off by firing three Star Storms at Doopliss...*
Zio: "We can always get another one."
Metal Man (GM): ...The attack is countered by an equal amount of stars, which collide and neutralize it.
Grodus: "The great machine shall protect us. No attacks can hit us... when they are countered! Gaaack aaack aaack aaack!"
Wolfman wonders what this "great machine" is... the temple?!?
Nova: "Questers. Focus your energies on myself. I shall use the power to stop them."
VG: "But... what will happen to us?"
Zio: "I will not let you even try!"
Metal Man (GM): Zio runs over and fires a Dark Energy wave... which a blue shield blocks.
Aribar: "...Metal?"
Nova: "There is no time to explain. Just do it!"
VG: "Fine, fine..."
Nova: "I am not Metal... he is not here, for some reason."
VG kneels on the ground into a prayer type position, and attempts to transfer his energies to Nova that way.
Aribar: "...Mirror!" *He casts that spell on Nova, the best he can do at the moment... He thought that blue shield might have been from Metal but the elf guesses he was wrong.*
Garrick Fy`aar doesn't know exactly what to do... but he tries to focus his mind like he was taught back in his training. He doesn't have any magic in him....
Grodus: "Machine. Destroy that barrier!"
Wolfman follows VG's lead.
Metal Man (GM): Rainbow-colored lines of energy streak through and pound the shield.
Nova: "My power generators are counter to those of that machine."
Garrick Fy`aar tries to push that focused on Nova, wishing he had a bigger gun... could always use a bigger gun...
Nova: "Using the righteous powers of the right minded... I summon my special power!"
Metal Man (GM): The shield spreads out, tossing the ruin stuff around, and even knocking back everybody but Kuja.
Kuja Tribal: "Child's play."
VG still keeps on praying, trying to basically think of nothing else.
Metal Man (GM): Kuja fires a terrible fire attack... it hits the shield, and breaks. However, just then, a blue bolt blasts him in the noggin, knocking him back ..Then... a blue warp appears.
Nova: "Quickly! I have disabled them all long enough for us to escape."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Then let's get out of here..."
Wolfman: "Good idea."
Nova: "Their machine will also be down for longer. I made it shut down with that originating blast."
VG gets out of prayer stance, and heads to the warp.
Wolfman follows.
Metal Man (GM): Nova walks into the warp as well.
Wolfman drags Garrick and Aribar through if need be.
Garrick Fy`aar also gets into it, wishing he could do something more...
Metal Man (GM): Other people: You may choose what you do... though it looks like you might have to prevent Wolfman from dragging you. As for those who went into the warp... you reappear into the room where the mob of villains had been. Except... nobody's there.
Wolfman is through the warp.
Nova: "Welcome to the X-zone."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...we're in the X-zone?"
Aribar follows...
VG: "What is the X-Zone?"
Nova: "...I did not send us here because we couldn't escape to a real place. ...But because of an artifact we need."
Wolfman: "And what would that be?"
Nova: "It is... the red star. An item which is needed to seal the temple. It also has some... added side-effects which help the holder."
Wolfman: "So who has to hold it then?"
Nova: "That is up to you."
VG just stands in awe of the place... for whatever can be awed for anyway.
Metal Man (GM): The X-zone version is completely intact.
Nova: "I cannot help you fight here. You must be careful, too."
Aribar just stays silent...
Wolfman: "Can you at least point us in the right direction towards this red star?"
Nova: "Beasts, unworldly ones, stalk this realm, where those of the realm it mirrors do not exist. It is dead ahead. To the East. We shall explore the other ways once I discover their purpose."
VG recovers from his awe state. "Let's get going then."
Digifanatic: "Alright..."
Metal Man (GM): The temple is a Gothic type, with white marble walls, which have bits of black speckles. The floor is a checkerboard of ivory and obsidian.
Digifanatic: "Looks nice so far..."
Garrick Fy`aar starts walking, silent...
Wolfman also walks on, as does the mushroom.
Metal Man (GM): The door ahead is entirely made out of topaz, a blue, glassy gem-type material.
Digifanatic follows the others.
Metal Man (GM): The doorknob is of gold.
Digifanatic: "Reeeeeeeeal nice."
Metal Man (GM): You open it, and see a hallway with a red carpet.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...wait."
Digifanatic: "Yeah?"
Aribar follows, mumbling some curses under his breath.
Garrick Fy`aar looks at the door, then at his M150...
Wolfman hasn't touched anything yet.
Metal Man (GM): Several mini-chandeliers of glass, along with gold trim, illuminate the hallway. The temple is really nice... especially here, where it is not ruined.
VG: "This is certainly a nice looking place."
Garrick Fy`aar keeps walking, wondering if the door and his gun are made of the same material...
Wolfman gets a little look, but just continues on.
Metal Man (GM): Nope; the door is a lighter color. The hallway has four doors. Two on each side. You must all pick the same door to go through.
Digifanatic: "Well... what room?"
Metal Man (GM): There are no signs on these doors; they are made of the same material as the previous, too.
Garrick Fy`aar: "I have a fool proof way to choose."
VG: "This I'd like to see."
Garrick Fy`aar clears his throat... "...eenie, minee, minny... Moe." *He points at the first door.*
Metal Man (GM): That would be the first door to the left.
Garrick Fy`aar: "Well, that settles it."
Wolfman has an anime sweatdrop. He follows Garrick's lead regardless; same with VG.
Garrick Fy`aar walks along then, gun unholstered.
Digifanatic follows as normal.
Aribar sighs and follows. "Perfect method, Garrick..."
Metal Man (GM): The door opens to reveal a medium-size cube-shaped room... which has three bookcases. One on each wall, save for the one where the entrance is.
Garrick Fy`aar: "Hey, it's simple and easy."
Metal Man (GM): A single chandelier lights up the room... a single cube table, with four elaborate chairs is under it.
Digifanatic: "Well, we might need to have traversed all the doors sometime..."
VG: "Hmm... this must have been the library or something."
Metal Man (GM): A single, green book with cryptic writing is in the middle of the table.
Aribar sheaths the Wand of Wonder and heads up to the book on the table.
Metal Man (GM): It appears to have a blue glow.
Aribar: "Hrm... Always liked books. 'specially spell books."
Metal Man (GM): You can tell that great magical powers are inside the book.
Wolfman wondering if sitting down on one of the chairs is a good idea... (INTing; please don't ask)
Metal Man (GM): Eh... it's really up to you, whether or not to sit in a chair.
Wolfman won't then.
Garrick Fy`aar walks up to the book, trying to recognize the writing...
Metal Man (GM): It is too cryptic and too ancient to understand. Only thing you can feel is magic emanating from it.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...Dex, anything on your end?"
Smash Dex: "Magical energy emanates from the mysterious, unintelligible book of gibberish."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...is it friendly? Or can you even tell?"
Aribar backs away. "Just leave it alone, Garrick."
Smash Dex: "It is like asking if the chandelier knows the alphabet."
Digifanatic looks around and what's been going on. "Well, this is quite interesting. I wonder if there are any good wizards that can read it... or perhaps Mewtwo."
Aribar: "Spellbooks, or most books dealing with magic, are trapped... Usually fire traps."
Digifanatic: "Probably not..."
Metal Man (GM): You can see yet more books on the bookshelves.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...hmm."
Smash Dex: "Detailed analysis shows that this room is full of spellbooks."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Well, I'll check it later... right now..."
Digifanatic: "What harm could there be?" *He walks over to a shelf and pulls a book out.*
Metal Man (GM): You pull another one out. A yellow one...
Garrick Fy`aar searches the shelves for a book on magitek stuff...
VG just stands around... he is getting a little bored in this room.
Digifanatic: "Hmm..."
Metal Man (GM): It has a red tassel, and a single, strange circle shape on the front.
Digifanatic: "Wonder what it means."
Metal Man (GM): Garrick: You can't understand the writing atop each bookcase, so trying to find what you want is almost impossible.
Aribar steps away from Garrick and investigates another shelf.
Metal Man (GM): Aribar: Endless, multicolored, equally sized books. All magic... but of different types, of course.
Digifanatic scans the circle on the cover.
Metal Man (GM): All written in an unknown language.
Smash Dex: "...Unknown error."
Metal Man (GM): The circle begins to glow.
Garrick Fy`aar walks back over to the glowing green book... well, if he dies, he dies.
Metal Man (GM): ...Gravity in the room just went away.
Digifanatic walks back a few steps.
Garrick Fy`aar gently picks the book--WHOA!
Digifanatic: "Dah!"
Metal Man (GM): The chairs and stuff, including the people, are now lightly floating about. Garrick: You have the mysterious book.
Wolfman feels himself floating off of the ground now... oh boy.
Digifanatic: "Well, this could be interesting."
VG just flips around and around... he's having some fun.
Aribar: "...Garrick, did you just mess up the physics of the universe?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "I didn't do anything!"
Smash Dex: "Digi tried to scan an ancient rune. It appears to control gravity... this is a book which contains gravity-related spells."
Garrick Fy`aar: "THAT explains it. Digi, scan it again."
Digifanatic: "Sorry."
Smash Dex: "A shame that it cannot be used correctly."
Digifanatic scans it again, hoping gravity will revert back to normal. "I have an idea though."
Smash Dex: "Attempting to scan the book appears to add more energy to the spell."
Digifanatic: "Dah!."
Smash Dex: "It appears best to let it die out on its own."
Digifanatic stops that...
Garrick Fy`aar: "...well, might as well read..."
Smash Dex: "Which will happen in about three minutes... take your time checking out the books."
Garrick Fy`aar shrugs and opens the green book...
Digifanatic: "If we can use this battle, we might be able to float easier, and thus, be able to evade enemy attacks better."
Metal Man (GM): ...This book beats the hell outta pop-up books! Because... a blue ghost-mage man just popped out! ...Half of him, that is. the other half is stuck in the book.
Wolfman: "Digi, you might be right... but I'd be careful with these books--gah!" *To ghost.*
Metal Man (GM): So... his upper half is now looking about, with a weird staff.
???: "Graghe Hajika Mujoka?"
Aribar hrms, and looks at the man... " 'allo."
Wolfman: "Umm... hello?"
???: "HGNA YEUAL JAG!!!!!"
VG wonders what the guy said...
Garrick Fy`aar: "...good afternoon. You know--hey, clam down..."
VG attempts to translate what he said with the Dex.
???: "Wondyua suektao?"
Smash Dex: "Unknown language. Gibberish, like the books."
Aribar points to himself. "I am Aribar..."
VG: .oO(I can't believe this...)
Metal Man (GM): The guy shakes himself off, and casts a spell.
Aribar points to the mage. "Who are you?"
???: "...So you speak a mysterious language..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "You should talk, guy."
Wolfman: "Sorry about that; we aren't as cultured as perhaps we should be."
Aribar: "...And to us you talk weird, but 'allo."
???: "I am Hackoth, the legendary magic collector!"
Aribar: "As a fellow wizard, I must say you have an impressive collection."
Hackoth: "One of the best Solarians... instead of killing myself... I sealed myself in this book."
Garrick Fy`aar: "So you're a Solarian..."
Aribar: "Hrm..."
Hackoth: "I see that one of you has activated my spells. Tshu Nuh!"
Metal Man (GM): You all float back onto the ground.
VG lands gently... he liked the experience.
Wolfman: "For the record, I haven't touched anything here."
Hackoth: "Now then... seeing as you haven't damaged the temple, or my books, I shall not attack you."
Garrick Fy`aar: "We don't mean any harm to you, guy. We're looking for a red star."
Hackoth: "Since you have unsealed me... I will grant you all one wish. As a whole. So you must all agree on something."
VG: "As a whole? Nothing against the idea, but..."
Hackoth: "Oh, ho! The star which has kept the temple sealed for years? It should be stuck in the door..."
VG looks to the others.
Aribar: .oO(I wish we knew what to wish for...)
VG: "It's hard for us to agree at times."
Hackoth: "Right? I mean... you must all either be dead or psychic."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...huddle!"
Hackoth: "The doors to the temple cannot be opened..."
VG and Wolf go to the huddle.
Aribar walks over to Garrick.
Digifanatic joins in.
Hackoth: "The only way in is the X-zone..."
VG: "Hang on a second sir."
Hackoth: "I shall... as I have waited for millennia."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Now, the way I see it, if we get one wish, it should be REALLY good."
Aribar: "Should we wish for more wishes?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "We don't need to ask for the red star, since we can get it on our own..."
Digifanatic: "Like invincibility or something..."
Wolfman: "I'd think world peace would be better."
Hackoth: "No, no. I don't have the magical powers to do such inane things."
Wolfman: "...or..."
Hackoth: "I collect magic types. I am very versatile..."
Metal Man (GM): He looks down, a bit.
Aribar: "World peace isn't possible..."
Wolfman: *To group* "What about knowing more about our enemies?"
Hackoth: "But weak in power."
Aribar: "Hrm..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I don't think we need to know about our enemies more than we do..."
Hackoth: "I do know much; but the temple is still sealed, right?"
Aribar: "At least this one is sealed..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...er... no."
VG: *Backs out of the group, having nothing to say.*
Hackoth: "No? ...No? ...Noooooooooo!"
Aribar: "Not the one in the... Ummm... Light World."
VG: "We did end up unsealing one temple, but it was to stop someone else from getting there first. Unfortunately... we were tricked."
Hackoth: "...This is terrible. The Temple of Light... will be tainted by those who seek to abuse the powers we sealed..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Already done, slick..."
Hackoth: "...You need the red star to stop it, right? Well... I'll gladly help you. Just think up a wish, please? I want to read some of my books."
Wolfman turns to Garrick. "I can handle almost anything... just look to your heart."
Garrick Fy`aar looks to the ground, thinking...
Aribar: "...I've a wish, but I doubt it is possible... So I forfeit any rights to a wish."
Hackoth: "...Okay... uhhh... can any of you even think of a wish? I mean, after all, I have to reward you somehow!"
Wolfman: "Garrick was the one that freed you."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...can you use your power outside the X-zone?"
Hackoth: "In even more limited amounts than here, yes."
Wolfman: "Anything I ever need or want, I'll earn."
Hackoth: "I am dead there, and I cannot channel my soul or body's existence. Thus, I would have to..."
Metal Man (GM): He drones on into an almost scientific lecture.
Hackoth: "...So... that's how hard it is."
Wolfman: "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."
Hackoth: "...Now then... you had an idea?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "...it's... a little complicated."
Wolfman wakes up.
VG chuckles at Wolfman sleeping on the job.
Hackoth: "Oh! Yes... I almost forgot. You probably want to know how the library is organized. The right shelf is magic... the left is technology... and the middle is Magitek."
Digifanatic: "Hmmm... kinda making sense of that."
Aribar: "...Magitek... Just to confirm, that is the mixture of magic and technology, right?"
VG is curious about this Magitek... he goes to read that.
Hackoth: "Yes."
Metal Man (GM): VG: More gibberish books.
Hackoth: "Only a fellow mage can even hope to read them... unless you're a Solarian."
VG: "...Excuse me sir, but while I appreciate knowing where the books are..." *Hears that* "Never mind."
Hackoth: "You could wish for a spell which translates books. Or for any book from this place. Which would be translated after you take it home. I just need a wish to grant."
VG: "Translation..." *He thinks...*
Garrick Fy`aar: "...Hackoth, before I ask for the wish, could I ask you a question? A serious one?"
Hackoth: "Yes."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...is Magitek truly evil? Will it destroy all those who use it in the end?"
Hackoth: "Nothing is impossible. It can do anything... in fact, so can everything and anything. It's up to you and whoever else uses it. We destroyed our civilization to keep the Lunarians from using it. Specifically... one named Zemus, who was a turncoat to our side. ...Now then. A wish?"
Digifanatic: "Turncoat. Like double agent or something?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "...then I wish that the books in this library were translated. And when we leave this place, we may each take one book from it's shelves to use to defeat the evil that is plaguing our world."
Digifanatic: "Is that what you mean?"
Hackoth: "Each one book? Well, sure, but I can only translate them after you pick them. The right book picks you, not the other way around. Yes, mysterious traveler."
Digifanatic: "Ah."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...then, guys, pick your book."
Digifanatic: "Just checking. Well, I know a bit about being chosen by things... I should be able to deal with this."
Hackoth: "The one formerly known as Digifanatic already was chosen by his book."
Aribar hrms and heads to the magic shelf... The elf runs a finger along the cover of each book, wondering which to choose.
Wolfman goes to the technology section, hoping the right book comes for him.
Digifanatic: "...Formerly?"
Hackoth: "The book of gravity. Using your intelligence, you can learn spells of gravity."
VG is at the Magitek section, hoping to find the right one for him.
Digifanatic: "Ah yes... I appreciate it."
Garrick Fy`aar walks over to the magitek section of the makeshift library, letting his hand stroll over the books, letting his eyes close and his mind open as he randomly takes one of them off the shelf...
Hackoth: "You call yourself Ian. It is said so by my identity spell."
Digifanatic: "Ah yes."
Metal Man (GM): Garrick gains a weird rainbow-covered book.
Digifanatic: "You are correct."
Aribar: "...I doubt that I could learn anything from these books... I am just a novice at spell-casting... I doubt I could even pronounce the command words!"
Hackoth: "That is the magitek of amalgamation."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Amalgamation?"
Hackoth: "With enough money and experience put together, you may combine unlike things to create better items. It works best when used with magic and technology. Seeing as it is rightfully Magitek."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...sir... there's... kinda a problem." *He turns to him.*
Hackoth: "Thus... you have the ability to create magitek."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...I don't know magic."
Hackoth: "That is not magic. It takes experience and money, not magical powers."
Digifanatic takes his book. (count towards standard item inventory?)
Garrick Fy`aar: "...could I see what's in here?"
Hackoth: "Inside the book? Just open it."
Metal Man (GM): VG picks out another one.
Garrick Fy`aar opens it, turning to a random chapter...
Hackoth: "The mushroom has found the book of item carrying."
VG gets... what the? I'm already good at carrying stuff!
Hackoth: "Since items carry both a magical and a technological nature, it must be Magitek."
Garrick Fy`aar reads some chapter in here...
Metal Man (GM): Garrick: You see a complex chant, which you do after surrounding the two items to be combined with coins.
Digifanatic: "I appreciate the book, but I must do one thing first..." .oO(I didn't want to now, but I'm going to have to...)
Aribar steps away from the shelf and heads to stand next to the door... He doesn't select a book.
Metal Man (GM): Energy from your knowledge is then used to permanently fuse two unlike items into one... which also uses the coins, which give the creations a golden tinge.
Wolfman is still by the technology section.
Digifanatic downs his Midshroom to make his last slot for items available.
VG feels slightly weighed down... he brought everything with him due to hearing of Kuja. (items: 16/15)
Garrick Fy`aar: "...so... let's say I combined a gun with a Fire Flower... it'd make a fire shooting gun?"
Metal Man (GM): Wolfman finds a green book, with various stuff. It's weird.
Wolfman: "Hmm... what is this?"
Hackoth: "It would add abilities of the fire flower to the gun; however, the gun would only have so much energy to use the fire flower powers. The sentient machine has discovered a very unusual book. It is... the book of complete randomness."
Wolfman: .oO(...)
Digifanatic: .oO(And I thought Metal and I were the most random Questers...)
Wolfman: "...are you sure this is the right book for me?"
Hackoth: "It shows that you need variety. Use it well."
Wolfman now feels weighted down: items are at 11/10
Hackoth: "I have completed the wish; I shall go to reading, now."
Metal Man (GM): The shelves adjust to make the gaps disappear.
Hackoth: "If you need any more books... contact me in the future."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Hackoth, before we leave, could we ask what is beyond the other three doors outside?"
Hackoth: "I haven't left this room since millennia ago. I am not privileged to know that."
Digifanatic: "Oh."
VG: *Turns to the Questers* "Anyone want some of my stuff?"
Digifanatic: "I'm full myself."
Aribar curses himself silently about his lack of confidence in his abilities and looks up. "I've some extra space if you need me to carry your books." (9/10 items.)
Garrick Fy`aar: "...I can store all of your books in here." *He points to his Mark 5 Dex* "I have a ton of stuff in there that I don't carry normally."
Wolfman decides to store his Mario hat in Garrick's Dex... losing 10 HP. "I want that back after this, alright?"
Digifanatic: "Well, I just used my last chance to keep myself in normality as possible with that Shroom before I took that book, so I'm good for now."
VG stores the Zora Breather in Garrick's Dex.
Garrick Fy`aar: "I can just store the books..."
Digifanatic: "Ah, what the heck. Just please give it back to me when this dang thing ends."
Wolfman: "...JUST the books?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Yeah, sure. I can store more than that, too..."
Hackoth: "I wish you a safe journey to the red star. It is the only thing that can save the temple."
VG and Wolf are back at our max.
Garrick Fy`aar places all their stuff in his NSS, the items floating in the null space pocket around Garrick.
Aribar: "Happy reading." *The elf heads into the hallway.*
Digifanatic: "Thanks. Sounds like we should move on, now?"
Wolfman: "Let's."
Metal Man (GM): Which door do you look in now?
Digifanatic: "Alright."
Wolfman and mushroom follow the group.
Digifanatic points to whatever door would be 2 in Metal's order.
Metal Man (GM): You go to the next door to the left.
Digifanatic: "Okay then..."
VG follows Digi's lead.
Aribar follows Digi.
Digifanatic: "Might as well make these decisions as fair as possible, that's why I wanted to choose."
Metal Man (GM): ...It's an elaborate bedroom. With old military souvenirs, a nice bed, and entirely red carpet.
Digifanatic: "Get as much of a group opinion as poss--this is real nice..."
Metal Man (GM): There's a weird magitek machine, palm-sized, on the bed.
Wolfman: "I will agree..." *He takes a note of the machine on the bed... hmm......*
Digifanatic: "I just wonder who had the money to build such a nice temple... palace, whatever it is."
Aribar: "I'll be waiting by the door..." *The elf stations himself to the left of the door.*
Digifanatic: "This must have cost a fortune and a half..."
VG just stands in awe again.
Metal Man (GM): Do you take anything?
Wolfman gets a better look at this machine on the bed.
Metal Man (GM): You could get rich off of this place.
Digifanatic looks at the souvenirs.
Wolfman scans the machine if need be.
Metal Man (GM): It's a dark silver square... like some sort of mysterious calculator ..Much like the dex.
Wolfman: "...I'm not going to." *He walks away from it.*
Metal Man (GM): Digi: You see golden swords, a skull from some bizarre monster, books written in that weird gibberish... A golden goblet...
VG joins Aribar.
Metal Man (GM): And a weird naval hat.
Digifanatic: "Oh yeah... this guy was rich." *He scans the skull.*
Smash Dex: "Skull of unknown ancient organism. Killed in battle."
Digifanatic: "...ah. Hmm... it's nice, but not really necessary for myself right now..."
Aribar: "I think nothing should be taken from this place."
Digifanatic joins Veeg and Ari.
Wolfman joins the others.
Metal Man (GM): You guys now have only two doors left to investigate.
Digifanatic: "Well... two more rooms left..."
Wolfman: "How about the next one?" *He goes to the one to the right of where we just came out of.*
Digifanatic: "Fine by moi."
VG follows.
Aribar: "Sounds good." *Follows the reploid.*
Metal Man (GM): You go into there... and see a rather interesting room. This one is a kitchen. A refrigerator, stove, cabinets of cookingware...
VG is feeling hungry now.
Metal Man (GM): Kitchen sink... breadboard... All of it in perfect arrangement.
Wolfman just gets a look... sure he can eat almost anything, but there isn't a lot that he enjoys.
Metal Man (GM): Well, there's enough Earth-based food to make you drool. Pizzas, pastries, cakes, coke, spaghetti, etc.
VG is drooling almost.
Wolfman isn't as bad as VG.
Aribar: "Earth food... Probably poisonous."
Digifanatic: "Oh man... I dunno if this looks safe... after all, we could be in someone like Kuja's place and not know it. Ya never know."
Wolfman: "True..."
Digifanatic looks at the food, but being fully healed, isn't quite as interested... he hangs out by the door.
Wolfman goes with Digi.
VG has to look in the fridge.
Metal Man (GM): You open the fridge... pizza... pie... spaghetti... more pie... cake... coke... and... ...potato chips?
VG: "Mmmmmmmm... what a second! Who refrigerates potato chips?" *He takes the bag out.*
Metal Man (GM): It sounds odd... something weird is in there!
VG attempts to open the bag.
Metal Man (GM): *SNAP* ...A green person half-appears from the bag. A women ghost with a rolling pin.
VG: "GAH!"
Aribar: "More ghosts, eh?"
Digifanatic: "Oh my..."
Silvia: "I am Silvia... master cook... and you're in my kitchen! Out! Out! OUT!"
Digifanatic: "I knew something was up..."
Metal Man (GM): She brandishes the rolling pin.
VG: "Just explain why you were in the fridge, where you can't really be... well, a good cook."
Silvia: "I was having my beauty nap... which you rudely interrupted, Mr. Potato Chip eating... wait... you're... a mushroom!"
Metal Man (GM): Silvia gets a rather sinister look on her face.
VG: "Is that a problem?"
Silvia: "I've never cooked LIVE ingredients before..."
VG: "I just don't normally see potato chips before... Umm... live?"
Metal Man (GM): Silvia pulls out a frying pan.
Aribar walks forward, the Wand of Wonder out. "And you never will."
Silvia: "I shall defeat you with my weapons of food-making!"
VG gets a bad feeling of this...
Metal Man (GM): Silvia vs. The Questers
Aribar: "Leave him be, or else you'll be biting' more than you can chew!"
Metal Man (GM): Speeds, everybody.
Silvia: "I'll fry your brains first!"
Garrick Fy`aar walks in back in from the other room. He had stayed in the bedroom for a little longer than everyone else had and now walks in... to this...
Aribar hrms and fires a barrage of Magic Missiles at the ghost! Three Magic Missiles, 24% 3... 72% I think.
Metal Man (GM): Indeed.
Silvia: "Ouch!"
Aribar: "Take that, foul apparition!"
Garrick Fy`aar: "...what did you guys do?"
Aribar: "Blame these food hounds!"
Silvia: "I shall cook you alive for that!"
Garrick Fy`aar: "...greeeat." *He draws his gun and immediately bolts left behind the island counter. He unloads a clip of regular, armor piercing shots...*
Metal Man (GM): They all go right through the ghost.
Silvia: "My kitchen! HOW DARE YOU?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "...shoulda guessed that."
VG does a double take... armor piercing, but not ghost piercing? Oh boy... scans the ghost.
Smash Dex: "...DING!"
Silvia - Master Cook
HP: 72/700%
STR: 28
SPD: 20
INT: 26
AC: 18 - Immune to physical attacks
Attacks: 2
Frying Pan: 10 d20+15. 10 damage per hit.
Rolling Pin: affects three people. DC 18 SPD save; those who fail take 35% damage and do half damage for one round.
Silvia: "What? You cannot learn cooking secrets by stealing my identity!"
VG: "I'm not after stealing your identity here."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Listen, lady! We're not here to mess up your kitchen!"
Silvia: "Tell that to Mr. Potato Chip Thief! And ... you just blew up my spice rack!"
VG: .oO(...what do I have that's not physical?)
Garrick Fy`aar: "I'm sorry!"
Silvia: "You sure will be!"
VG attempts to fire a Deathzooka shot, uncharged.
Metal Man (GM): It flies through the ghost and blows up a cabinet full of dishes. Whether or not that hit.
Garrick Fy`aar: "LISTEN! We're friends! We're warriors! We just... just wanted to sample your food!"
Silvia: "My dishes! Ahhhhhh!!!"
VG: "It wasn't THAT powerful."
Silvia: "You shall pay for that, identity stealing dish killer!"
Metal Man (GM): Silver breathes fire at VG. Did that hit?
Silvia: "...You... cheater! I'm going to have to cheat too!"
VG has a lucky day... .oO(I did NOT cheat!)
Metal Man (GM): Silvia goes to the spice rack... and eats a weird spice... turning green.
Silvia: "Now... to buffet you into a pancake!"
Metal Man (GM): 10 damage per hit... your lucky day badge fails to work. A weird green spice sticks to it.
VG gets flattened.
Silvia: "Haha! Culinary perfection!"
Aribar: "Now, how do you know he's not poisonous if you eat him?"
Silvia: "I'll have to check for poison when I fry him."
Wolfman knows he can't punch this girl... but could he use some special energy? Hmm... He attempts to Wolf Foot the ghost, hoping the semi-energy properties work here (well, explain the flames and stuff from how Falcon does it)
Metal Man (GM): It does have a chance of hitting... but you miss her and destroy the dishwasher instead.
Silvia: "Nooooooo!!!!"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Would you guys STOP BLOWING UP HER STUFF?!?!"
Wolfman: "Just hold still and I'll attack you and not your equipment. No one attempts to eat my friend and get away with it."
Silvia: "These kitchen-killers want me to live with dirty dishes forever! You're next, metallic entree!"
Wolfman attempts a regular slash with his beam saber... going with the "sword slash shadow/ghost theory."
Metal Man (GM): ...You trip in front of her... *suspense* No... because something far worse happens! She picks up the spice rack and smashes it on you! Wolfman's badges are disabled... He now sneezes every other action, making him only have two actions for the next five rounds... His weapon now deals half damage... And he's itchy.
Silvia: "Hahaha!"
Wolfman: "ACHOO!"
Metal Man (GM): You miss your last action by sneezing a lot.
Silvia: "A shame it used all my spices... I might have needed to use some on that Toad."
Aribar downs a Green Potion... "Okay, let's kick it up a notch!"
Wolfman: "Someone take her out..." *ACHOO.*
Garrick Fy`aar: "...*Snort*..."
Aribar: "BAM!" *The elf casts two Fire Elemental Blasts on Silvia for 70% Fire each, and then gets sued by Emeril.*
Garrick Fy`aar: "...*Snorts again*..."
VG: "Think you can kick it up a notch Garrick?"
Silvia: "...Ow! You should help me cook that Toad... I need the fire to cook him inside out!"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Well, I've got a trick or two up my sleeve..."
Silvia: "Don't destroy my oven!"
Garrick Fy`aar hoists his Einhammer up with his left hand, aiming...
Silvia: "It's priceless!"
Garrick Fy`aar: "...listen, lady, I don't want to do this... but your leaving us no choice..." *The gun hums... green energy starts to gather at the barrel* "...oh well." *He blasts the woman with three blasts of energy, 65 damage each.*
Silvia: "I'll fight to the... un-death to... ahhh!"
VG first attempts to throw an ice block at the ghost... hoping Ice is more special than physical.
Metal Man (GM): ...Silvia ducks as you freeze the refrigerator.
Silvia: "What was the point of that?"
VG: "Trust me; the intent was different." *He tries another block. He wonders what he hit that time.*
Metal Man (GM): You hit the sink.
VG: "Much better."
Silvia: "...Stop freezing my kitchen!"
VG gets into the Reflector position.
Metal Man (GM): We must pause here.