Super Smash Quest - Story - Chapter 375: Bumpy Landing

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Date: January 30th, 2007.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers are aboard the Q.S. Seeker as it flies towards Genetia.

Garrick: *is staring at that cube...*

Metal Man (GM): The cube has, ever since being originally activated, refuse to activate again.

Julian: *Is... sleeping. Jeez.*

Metal Man (GM): The purple planet is beginning to come into range of sight from the windows.

Garrick: "...did Mewtwo leave a message, Nova?"

Metal Man (GM): The solar system it is in is awe-inspiring... besides a number of planets in the distance, it's full of thousands of meteorites.

Dragoshi: *In his room, looking out the window out of boredom...*

Nova: "Mewtwo is currently plotting the landing coordinates."

Garrick: "Ah. I thought he might have said something about the cube... oh well. How long until landing?"

Nova: "A couple minutes."

Garrick: "Hmm. Best be getting to the bridge... I want to see this... seal up the room and the cube, Nova."

Nova: "You mean lock the door? That is... common practice if you aren't going to be coming in for a while."

Garrick: *moves out of he lab, trading his lab coat for his jacket, heading up to the bridge to get a better view of the landing.*

Metal Man (GM): Mewtwo is out there, as the ship pulls in for a landing.

Garrick: "Any troubles?"

Metal Man (GM): Things seem somewhat routine... until Garrick begins to see the planet in detail.

Mewtwo: "...Landing will be the easiest part."

Leo Crayson: *Is sleeping.*

Dragoshi: "Welp... This is boring." *Walks over to a hat and coat rack of sorts and puts on his gray and red cloak and yellow top hat, as he then walks over to the bridge...*

Metal Man (GM): There is what appears to be the most vast junkyard Garrick has ever seen on the planet.

Garrick: "...this is going to be fun."

Mewtwo: "You may want to hold on, though."

Metal Man (GM): The weight shifts to the front of the ship, as it begins to enter the atmosphere.

Aetos ends up drifting to the front of the ship, from another room. "Woaaahhh!"

Garrick: *takes a seat in a nearby chair, strapping in.*

Mewtwo: "So nice that you could join us."

Aetos slides. "Isn't it sooOOoo?"

Dragoshi: *Drag enters the bridge, and almost falls ass over teakettle, but he quickly grabs onto a nearby seat.* "Woah..."

Glyph is quite attentive this time, walking onto the bridge casually, compensating for the gravity shift.

Metal Man (GM): The people aboard the Seeker begin to see the entire area in detail... as the ship stabilizes (and sleeping people are most likely awakened by flying out of bed). ...They're landing just outside what was once a large city. The massive junk is piled up everywhere, and a strange purple atmosphere is above. The air being polluted, of course.

Garrick: "I'm going to do a scan of the surrounding area..."

Metal Man (GM): Up ahead a few buildings stick out from the ruined mess.

Mewtwo: "You're going to start by checking out that town. It's the largest one on this entire planet. The MM2 couldn't have landed far from here."

Garrick: *pulls up the science commands, keying in the scanners to pick up info from around the area.*

Julian does indeed crash into a wall. Strings of profanities can be heard from his room as he peels himself off and heads for the bridge, putting his hat on.*

John soon stumbles into the bridge, looking a bit sleepy. "...Are we there yet?"

Glyph: "I trust you to do handle the scan far better than I, Garrick, and I look forward to seeing what you can find out."

Dragoshi: "...I think so."

Garrick: *chuckles.* "Calm down, Glyph. I'm the one that overreacted..."

Leo Crayson walks onto the bridge. "Hello, what's with the turbulence?"

Garrick: "We're about to set down."

Julian: "The fuck happened? We jus' land?"

Leo Crayson: "I see, I'll go strap in and brace for landing then."

Mewtwo: "Not quite..." *THUNK* "...Now we've landed."

Metal Man (GM): Mewtwo pulls out a variety of breath masks.

Mewtwo: "You may begin exploration once you've put these on, if you value your lungs."

Leo Crayson: "Ohh, spiffy."

Fizban: *walks onto the main bridge, looking about with curiosity.* "Well, well... that didn't take so long."

Dragoshi: *Takes a breath mask and puts it on.*

Glyph looks at the mask with great interest before putting it on.

Julian: "...Great..." *Julian takes one and hooks it up.*

Dragoshi: "Oh, hiya Fiz."

Leo Crayson: *Takes a breath mask and puts it on.*

John: "Roight." He equips a mask.

Aetos gets a breath mask, too.

Fizban: "Oh, are we going out on a walk? Wonderful!" *takes a breath mask, putting it on.*

Mewtwo: "Now... be careful. Nowhere is it said this place is safe."

Leo Crayson: "Will do."

John nods.

Dragoshi: "...Understood."

Metal Man (GM): He opens the door outside... the ramp down leads to a brown, grayish ground covered in scrap metal.

Garrick: "I'll stay here with Mewtwo and keep an eye on you guys in case something goes wrong. I need to do some tests anyway."

Julian: "Whateva." *Julian heads out.*

Dragoshi: *Exit ship...*

Fizban: *walks out merrily.*

Leo Crayson: *Exit ship.*

John: *Exit! Stage left, even!*

Glyph: "I'll see if I can bring back some samples if I can find any anomalies..."

Metal Man (GM): Those who walked out have now stepped foot on Genetia. They see junk for miles. It's sort of hazardous even to walk here.

Dragoshi: "...Huh."

Garrick: "The main thing we need to work on is the warping system. I'm going to see if we can warp some of that junk into the cargo bay..."

Leo Crayson: "This place looks craptastic."

Metal Man (GM): Through the mess, though, a slight path-shaped area in the wreckage leads up to three tall but skeletal metallic buildings.

Dragoshi: "Looks more like a haven for spare parts..."

Fizban: "Aye..."

Julian: "Junk, junk, an' more junk..." *Julian heads for those buildings.*

Glyph: "You don't think there are any warp components out there in thar wreckage, do you?"

Dragoshi: *Follows Julian.*

Leo Crayson: *Follows Dragoshi.*

Garrick: "Not sure. We'll need to check it out once the others get back... right now, let's see if we CAN warp stuff." *brings the warp system online, making to target some piece of random junk and transport it to the cargo bay.*

Glyph: "Ah... alright." Glyph says, clearly a little too interested in going out into the planet's atmosphere considering his complete lack of readiness for any sort of battle.

Aetos follows Leo.

Garrick: *wasn't aware that Glyph was leaving.*

Metal Man (GM): A huge cluster of junk hits the hangar... but the Questers wouldn't notice that, having already gone outside.

Garrick: "Good. Seems to work well..."

Metal Man (GM): On outside, the group slowly slogs through the junk. They begin to see what it was. Pieces of ships... houses... cars...

Dragoshi: "...Huh."

Metal Man (GM): The air is thick with smoke and the sun beats down in vain. It is somewhat cold out here.

Leo Crayson: "...Damn, what happened here?"

Garrick: *starts to bring pieces of this junk aboard, looking for good stuff to repair the Dauntless and new projects. He takes a breathing mask and goes to work. Fade out on him.*

Julian: "Does it matter?"

Leo Crayson: *sigh.*

Fizban: "A clue of what did might tell us what we face here. Right now, though, those buildings look promising. Come..." *moves onward.*

Metal Man (GM): The Questers walk towards the buildings.

Dragoshi: *Onward.*

Metal Man (GM): They reach their first landmark; a completely cleared out plaza.

Leo Crayson: *onwards.*

Metal Man (GM): There is no junk here. But something else is amiss here. Signs dimly state things... in binary.

Dragoshi: "...Hmmm" *Looks at the signs.*

Metal Man (GM): Strangely square paths are made through the junk. They don't make sense without translation. There's one path to the left, one to the right, and one dead ahead. Each leads to a building.

Dragoshi: *Tries to figure out a way of translating 'em.*

Leo Crayson: "...What's with all the ones and zeros?"

Metal Man (GM): The one on the left and right lead to smaller buildings, the one ahead leads to the biggest building.

Julian: *To the right!*

Dragoshi: "..." *Follows.*

Leo Crayson: *right.*

Fizban: "It could be a form of language... though it's odd... more information is always down the path." *keeps going.*

Metal Man (GM): The Questers walk to the right... they reach a building with a door... and some sort of optical information port to the right of it.

Aetos: "Couldn't we have dex-translated it, if it was binary?..."

Fizban: "I do not believe it would be that important..."

Leo Crayson: "Ehh."

Fizban: *examines the door...*

Metal Man (GM): The door is made of steel, and shut very tightly. Air-tightly.

Aetos: "Fizban, look in that doo-hickey next to the door." *Points to the optical port.*

Fizban: "...it's some odd piece of glass." *looks into it.*

Metal Man (GM): Nothing. At least, nothing an organic human could appreciate.

Fizban: "...it seems to be just a normal device of some sort. Unless we can open the door with some explosive or force, I do not believe we'll be getting in. I suggest we move to another building and safe the booms and bangs for a later date."

Julian knocks for the hell of it.*

Fizban: *chuckles at Julian.*

Aetos: "Anyone have a blowtorch?"

Metal Man (GM): Julian knocks on it... nothing.

Leo Crayson: "I have fire."

Metal Man (GM): It's extremely solid.

Fizban: "Not a very good home, I'd imagine."

Dragoshi: "...Mhm."

Julian: "Can't knock it down, at least."

Fizban: *shrugs and turns around, moving toward the left building.*

Metal Man (GM): Julian looks at the path to the left building. It's the right building but mirrored. Down to the exact atom, he's sure.

Leo Crayson: "Why can't the doors be wooden..."

Metal Man (GM): Yes. Even the door.

Aetos is still at the right side...

Metal Man (GM): And the port, which is on this door's right side.

Aetos: "Let's see..."

Fizban: *returns, frowning.*

Metal Man (GM): Noting the optical port is machine-based. On both sides.

Fizban: "Well, the left building is exactly the same."

Aetos: "Jack in, Megaman! ...No?"

Fizban: "I suppose, then, that our goal would be the center building."

Dragoshi: *Looks at the port... Then, at Aetos.* "...?"

Leo Crayson: "...Hell no."

Julian's already heading that way.*

Fizban: *moves off, then.*

Leo Crayson: *follows.*

Dragoshi: "...Eh." *Looks around for a robotic eye or something.*

Aetos whistles and makes to move with the group, but waits for Dragoshi.

Metal Man (GM): Dragoshi finds... dead robotic eyes. Ones that appear to have been willfully discarded.

Dragoshi: *Eh... Tries to use one on the scanner.*

Metal Man (GM): He puts it up to the port... nothing. The port blinks a couple times, that's it.

Dragoshi: "...Nope" *Walks away to the center building.*

Metal Man (GM): ...It is impressive. It goes into the clouds... steel crafted exactly to sustain intense weight,. A small plaza with flags is in front of it.

Dragoshi: "...Huh."

Leo Crayson: "..."

Serena Gibson finally warps in with Roxy. "Whoo-hoo!"

Metal Man (GM): Standing in front of the door is a man with sunglasses, a cowboy hat, and a holstered pistol. Everything about him... is futuristic.

Aetos facepalms. .oO(She followed us...)

Metal Man (GM): Everything streamlined, too.

Dragoshi: *Looks over to Serena and waves.* "Hiya."

Serena Gibson: "Hey, guys!"

Metal Man (GM): He is looking down at the ground, seemingly asleep. Anyone could walk right up to him.

Serena Gibson: "Where do we stand?"

Dragoshi: "..." *Tiptoes over to the cowboy... Guy... Thing.*

Fizban: "...hm." *moves forward as well, gently prodding the fellow with his staff.* "Hello?"

Serena Gibson heads over to the sleeping cowboy. *whisper.* "Wow, western style."

Metal Man (GM): He suddenly moves his head up, and stares at the Questers. His eyes are red. He is mostly made of metal.

Leo Crayson: "..."

Dragoshi: "...Yo."

???: "...So... I see... foreigners on Genetia."

Leo Crayson: "Hello..."

???: "What brings you here?"

Fizban: "I suppose you can say that." *chuckle.*

Dragoshi: "Yep."

Fizban: "...we're here... to... erm... help?"

Serena Gibson: "Yo, what's up?"

???: "Help? Genetia does not need it." He chuckles.

Metal Man (GM): His accent is a cross between Texan and robotic.

Dragoshi: "...Hmph. 'Zat so?"

Serena Gibson: "Um, but the MM2 is here. They terrorized our place and we chased them here. Or at least that's the gist of it. Not sure what the 'Prime Directive' is in our organization."

???: "The MM2?" He grins... and then takes a step towards the Questers. "I am afraid we can handle any invaders we have by ourselves. However if you want to help... you may wish to leave."

Dragoshi: "...And, why should we leave?"

???: "...We have the situation covered... unless you like sitting around all day." He idly takes out the gun and rests it on his left shoulder. It's a weird-looking super-advanced magnum. "This gun hardly even gets used anymore."

Serena Gibson: "Oo! Nice gun."

Dragoshi: "...Seriously?" *Checks to see if this guy's lying.*

Fizban: *Idly, slowly tries to see if he can access his mind...*

Serena Gibson: "Well if you don't need any help there then can I interest you in the latest album by Side Quest? It's our rock band and we've chosen your planet as the first stop on our Intergalactic Tour."

Dragoshi: "..." *Megaton... FACEPALM.*

???: "Heh. Sorry, but we... don't listen to much music around here. You'd have a hard time finding people."

Serena Gibson: "Awww..."

???: "Most of them are dead, anyway. Especially since that Tridus fellow went through."

Fizban: *tenses.*

Serena Gibson: "Oh..."

Fizban: "...Tridus...?"

???: "All of the Masters... dead. He, however, vanished, and rumors say he died elsewhere too."

Leo Crayson: "..."

Dragoshi: "...Tridus?"

Serena Gibson: "Yeah, he has a tendency to do that."

Dragoshi: "Huh. Peculiar..."

???: "He was a maniac. Something about killing everyone to stop some Questers from getting revenge on him later. This planet used to be one of the number one enemies to the Solarians, after all."

Leo Crayson: "Hmm."

Serena Gibson: "He'd be talkin' about us then."

Dragoshi: "...Mhm."

???: "You must be the number two enemies... nice to know."

Metal Man (GM): He flicks the gun again.

???: "But... we have it covered."

Serena Gibson: "Awww... No fair."

???: "Still waiting for the return of Smithy, though. He left many years ago, promising us Nintendus. I think he failed."

Metal Man (GM): He appears to have no organic mind to probe. Fizban hears a lot of mechanical pulses, though. It begins raining.

Leo Crayson: "...Ummm, we killed him."

Dragoshi: "...Did he look like an overly fancy toaster?"

Metal Man (GM): He smiles again.

???: "You killed Smithy? Well... the path to the Genetia throne is all the more open to me, then."

Leo Crayson: "..."

Fizban: "And just who are you?"

Serena Gibson shakes her head a bit. "Yeesh, the longer I spend in this bod--uh, state the more my mind slips into cuteness." *shivers.*

???: "Ah. I should tell you... I'm likely to be the new ruler around here."

Aetos: "We did not kill Smithy!... Someone else killed Smithy, while we were on Turion!"

Fizban: *sighs...*

Metal Man (GM): He flips out a card with a 3 of clubs on it.

Leo Crayson: "Wha? ..."

Dragoshi: "...3 of clubs?"

Serena Gibson: "A three of clubs?"

Armon: "I am... Armon. Prince to the Genetia Machine Throne." And who are all of you?"

Fizban: *gives everyone a WARNING glance.* "We... are travelers."

Leo Crayson: "..."

Dragoshi: "...Mhm."

Serena Gibson stops herself from blurting it out.

Armon: "Travelers? Musicians, I bet."

Fizban: "We're quite good at combat and we usually see what we can do on planets like these."

Serena Gibson: "...Eh-heh, travelers. Yep, we're on tour."

Fizban: "Oh, only some of us."

Dragoshi: "Yea. Some of us."

Armon: *He looks... mildly concerned.* "Who are the rest of y'all, then?"

Fizban: "I suppose you could call us bounty hunters."

Metal Man (GM): He smiles again.

Aetos: "I can play the air guitar..."

Serena Gibson: "I'm a bounty hunter in my spare time."

Armon: "Ah... uh... there are no bounties here."

Dragoshi: "Same."

Serena Gibson: "But my full-time job is the music."

Leo Crayson: "I'm just an adventurer."

Fizban: "So we can see. However, we merely meant to come and see if there would be any help that is needed on this world."

Armon: "I'd object to your presence, seeing as I am... popular... but you killed Smithy. His throne is as good as mine now."

Serena Gibson: "And anywhere to play. We're pretty desperate for a gig."

Armon: "As long as you haven't been sent here to kill me to prevent me from ruling Genetia." *He spins the pistol.* "You wouldn't be interested in doing that, would you?"

Fizban: "Oh, of course not."

Leo Crayson: "No, not at all."

Serena Gibson: "Why would we?"

Fizban: "We merely have been seeking this MM2 group."

Armon: "Well... I guess I should check my mail, then."

Dragoshi: "...Huh. 'K."

Serena Gibson: "Okay!"

Metal Man (GM): He flips open a panel on his wrist. It appears related to Smithy's own construction. The rain continues pouring down. The Questers are wet.

Armon: "Hm... what is... this?"

Serena Gibson shakes again.

Dragoshi: "...Zuh?"

Fizban: "I suppose we'll take our leav--hm?"

Metal Man (GM): He reads a message. In binary, of course.

Dragoshi: *Shakes off the wetness.*

Serena Gibson: "Awww... man... I'm soaked!"

Armon: "This MM2... it isn't any MM2. This is Smithy's expeditionary force."

Serena Gibson: "This is gonna be murder on my hair."

Leo Crayson: "..."

Fizban: "...that is news to me."

Armon: "There's a bunch of filthy organics in command of it, but I can recognize the electronics. They stole some... ancient Lunarian technology? Quite a bonanza."

Dragoshi: "...Lunarian, huh?"

Aetos flickers.

Leo Crayson: "Hmmm."

Fizban: "Most, if not all, of those... eh...'filthy organics' are our enemies... hm..."

Armon: "Well... here's what I see."

Fizban: "...Master Armon, perhaps I can propose something."

Armon: "The expeditionary force came to Nintendus. They tried to conquer it. The Questers... how I loathe them... killed most of them. Then this guy named Charles hijacked them all. However, within the newly swelled ranks of organics..."

Dragoshi: "Uh... Huh."

Leo Crayson: "..."

Armon: "A single guy named Ricky appears to be following their original code."

Serena Gibson: "Whoa..."

Dragoshi: "...Damned tortoise."

Armon: "So they've come back here. The only problem is that Ricky has taken Smithy's place. His name even fits our naming scheme."

Fizban: "And he is our enemy."

Dragoshi: "...Seriously?"

Serena Gibson: "Crazy."

Armon: "...'The one with the y in their name is destined to rule Genetia.'"

Leo Crayson: "...Wow."

Armon: "I... lack a y. So I have been relegated to this position for many years, even before we overthrew the organic government here a few years ago."

Dragoshi: "...Huh."

Armon: "I don't trust you any further than I see you, though, but you're bounty hunters, right?"

Serena Gibson suddenly feels uncomfortable... This sounds SO much like the Medical Mechanica that wiped out his... err... her... people.

Armon: "...I have a very expensive job for you."

Serena Gibson: "Like?"

Fizban: "Oh?"

Dragoshi: "And, 'zat is...?"

Leo Crayson: "What is it?"

Armon: "Kill the leader of this 'MM2' and all the organics on its side. I will pay you all a lump sum of 1 million coins. And give you protection within Genetia."

Serena Gibson: "Whoa! A mil!"

Leo Crayson: 0_0

Armon: "Also, your band... will be the official band."

Serena Gibson: "HELL YEAH!"

Dragoshi: "...Heh."

Serena Gibson: "I'm in!"

Armon: "I don't know how much machines get out of it, but it's the least I can offer."

Serena Gibson: "Side Quest is at your service, Iron Man!" *She plays up that opening lick to "Iron Man."*

Dragoshi: "...Well, glad to 'elp... So, where do you want the lot of us to start?"

Leo Crayson: "...Well, I guess we better get started then."

Fizban: *nudges Dragoshi with his staff.* "I believe we can handle that..."

Dragoshi: "...That was rather unnecessary. I was merely asking a question."

Serena Gibson: "Guess I'll be whipping out some heavy metal for this gig."

Armon: "...You are welcome to enter my building."

Metal Man (GM): He snaps his fingers, and the doors open.

Dragoshi: "...Okay, then." *Enters.*

Leo Crayson: *enters.*

Armon: "I have to show you from in here... I'm sure this air is like poison to you, with your fragile organic bodies."

Aetos: "Hey, what about those other two buildings? What's in there?"

Armon: "...Factories. We build anything we need in there."

Fizban: "...oh yes, that reminds me... Master Armon. ...or should I say Prince Armon?"

Armon: "Prince shall do. My official title, however, is Secondary Armon."

Metal Man (GM): The building lights up for the Questers... it isn't usually lit up, as the machines don't need it. Some old systems made for past organic people turn on. The Questers are dried off as soon as they enter. The air is also pure. Completely pure.

Serena Gibson: "Wow, nice."

Fizban: *removes his breath mask.* "Oh, that is so much better... anyway, Secondary Armon, there is something else I believe you should know."

Serena Gibson shakes the sudden frizz out of her hair and thanks Hendrix that it's dry.

Leo Crayson: *takes off his breath mask.* "Ahh, that is better."

Serena Gibson also takes off her mask. "Ah, much better. Now I can freakin' breathe."

Fizban: "There is a rather... enthusiastic young man aboard our ship that will most likely be using the spare pieces found around the area to build things. Is that a problem?"

Dragoshi: *Takes off his breath mask.* "Magnifico."

Armon: "It will be a problem... the parts are virtually useless. They're a bunch of rusted scrap iron. The good parts are hidden, known only to machine royalty."

Fizban: "You misunderestimate the enthusiasm of this young man..."

Serena Gibson: "You'd be surprised what Garrick can turn out."

Armon: "...He can turn out what he wants, but disintegrating iron pipes and lead bits can't make more than a few swords and blunt instruments."

Serena Gibson: "It's like watchin' someone spin straw into gold. I didn't make him my drummer for no reason."

Fizban: "Well, I merely wished to know if it was a problem."

Armon: "As for technology, you interest me in your talk. What exactly does he use to... spin straw into gold, metaphorically?"

Fizban: "Oh, I do not know... I suppose you could ask him yourself."

Armon: "Hmmm? Doesn't it have a name? I would not want to inconvenience him if he is working."

Fizban: "Sir, I am an old man behind the times."

Armon: "Obsolete?" He turns abruptly to Aetos. "Do you know?"

Fizban: "This technology situation is beyond me, most of the time..."

Serena Gibson: "It's a fairy tale metaphor from where we come from."

Armon: "I know that... I wonder what type of technology he has that can make something out of nothing, though. That should be impossible."

Aetos raises an eyebrow. "He has an AI that helps him do everything."

Fizban: "It had something to do with... what was it?"

Armon: "An AI? They aren't that smart. Perhaps he does it to hide the nature of his art." He looks around. "I should visit him, then. I must acquire this. ...Because, we have always held the lead, technologically."

Fizban: "...I believe he called it magitek."

Metal Man (GM): He looks at Fizban very oddly.

Fizban: "I could be mistaken, however."

Serena Gibson: "Yep."

Armon: "...A Solarian? Now this is too confusing. They all died eons ago."

Fizban: "Oh, he is no Solarian."

Serena Gibson: "Garrick ain't solarian."

Dragoshi: "Yep. He's just a simple human. ...Well, simple, race-wise, anyway, but, still..."

Armon: "...Must be something wrong with him, then. We would use Magitek, but it turned all who used it insane. Not counting machines... they can't use it."

Dragoshi: "...Huh. Peculiar."

Serena Gibson: "Garrick's 100% sane and he's been working with the stuff for years."

Armon: "They... reflexively began to consider everything theirs. They would eventually become paranoid, and then create devices to fight people who did not exist. Eventually, they would destroy themselves and everyone around them. They destroyed Earth that way. At least twice. It took Solarians hundreds of years to go insane. Humans... take only months. Maybe a couple years."

Aetos: "Sane? Garrick?... I suppose."

Fizban: "He seemed fine to me..."

Dragoshi: "Yep."

Fizban: "I assure you, if you wish to see for yourself, we can merely call him."

Armon: "Perhaps... but I do not want him to know this, then." He shows the Questers the gun.

Leo Crayson: "..."

Fizban: "...he has one of his own, so I'm told."

Armon: "Magitek can only do so much. We have advanced to a point where we can pack nuclear fusion reactors into guns. ...Summon the Neo-Earthian replica battle tank."

Dragoshi: "...How spe-...Good god, man."

Metal Man (GM): A large, white tank appears. It appears to be made of some supermaterial, and floats off of the ground. It also has a force field.

Serena Gibson: "Shaweet!"

Fizban: "Remarkable..."

Armon: "This is a simulation, unfortunately... but it will do for this."

Dragoshi: "...Yeesh."

Garrick: *Still on the ship.* "These parts are CRAP!"

Metal Man (GM): He shoots at the tank with his gun. The gun emits a green ray and blows it to smithereens. It flies right through it and keeps on going through a wall.

Armon: "This gun... can destroy entire carriers, if fired correctly."

Dragoshi: "Yikes..."

Leo Crayson: "...Whoa."

Armon: "That tank? We still can't replicate it, but we have enough to power and manufacture weaker copies."

Serena Gibson: "Sweet Hendrix..."

Fizban: "...very impressive indeed. Knowing the lad Garrick, he would be most interested in the technology."

Dragoshi: "...This thing prolly' couldn't do much to it, though." *Pulls out the Vendetta machinegun, then re-holsters it.* "Though, it gets the job done against barriers..."

Armon: "Now... for your objective."

Metal Man (GM): He powers up an equally impressive holographic sphere of Genetia.

Serena Gibson: "Oooo!"

Metal Man (GM): This one is more detailed. People can be seen walking on it.

Armon: "We have never fully mapped this planet, thanks to the destruction, but your foes are here."

Metal Man (GM): He points to a blue space station a couple hundred miles south, near the equator of the planet.

Serena Gibson: "I'd recognize that thing."

Armon: "That is the temperate zone. They landed there because the debris is thin."

Glyph: *Also on the ship.* "Garrick, if you need better parts, I could head down to the surface and check to see if I could find some diamonds in the rough."

Dragoshi: "Mhm..."

Armon: "You must sneak in... SNEAK in... and find their leader... and kill them. All of them. All the organics. I have poison gas for you to use on your way out, against them."

Metal Man (GM): He takes out a hi-tech container.

Armon: "Diamond gas. Kills all organics... who lack these."

Metal Man (GM): He hands the Questers even better looking ventilators.

Serena Gibson: "Bio-terrorism at it's finest I guess."

Metal Man (GM): They even turn invisible when worn.

Dragoshi: "...Yep."

Serena Gibson takes one. "Wow, cool."

Armon: "Don't use it until you've killed Ricky, however. He knows machine protocols, and is probably immune to it."

Dragoshi: "...Understood."

Armon: "Once they are dead, come here. You will get your reward... and you can watch me be crowned."

Metal Man (GM): He nods once, then points out the door.

Dragoshi: "...Mind if I make soup out of Ricky after I'm done killing him?" ?_?

Armon: "If you are done here... you may return to your ship. Do whatever you want."

Serena Gibson: "Sounds like we have a deal."

Armon: "I wish you good luck... just don't get too crazy out there. We don't need more giant fields of debris. In the future, you may be able to buy... machines... from me."

Dragoshi: "...Okay, then." *Walks back to el baseo.*

Leo Crayson: *follows.*

Garrick: *is back in his lab, pondering over the cube.* "Okay... Nova. So far, we've treated the cube with moderate electricity... let's try high electricity."

Metal Man (GM): *BZZZTTT* It eats some electricity. Nothing happens.

Garrick: "...hm. Can you scan the cube at all?"

Metal Man (GM): *Scan.*

Nova: "It cannot be scanned. The scan is absorbed."

Garrick: "So was the electricity, right?"

Nova: "Yes."

Garrick: "Hm... if the cube was scanned before... Nova, can you get a hold of Mewtwo?"

Metal Man (GM): Mewtwo wanders in at that moment.

Mewtwo: "I am a mind reader... I can tell pretty quickly."

Garrick: "...oh, good."

Mewtwo: "What do you need from me? I see you have only tried electricity. There's hundreds of other elements out there."

Garrick: "Mewtwo, has anyone else done any work on this cube? Testing, scanning, anything at all? Even the Quester that picked it up?"

Mewtwo: "No Quester picked it up. I did. It was located in some ancient monument."

Garrick: "Then did you do anything? Or have someone else look it over?"

Mewtwo: "No. I only know it absorbs psychic energy."

Garrick: *hrms and looks back to the cube, thinking...*

Mewtwo: "It stumped me. It still does. If you are what you say you are, it should be possible to find out what it's meant for. Of course... you can always give it back. I can try other people... anyone... everyone."

Garrick: "I know, I know... I'm just thinking that it might... recognize certain energy after it's been used. And block it."

Mewtwo: "It is definitely mysterious." He wanders off.

Garrick: "...Nova, the cube is constantly changing it's sides, correct? Resistor and conductor?"

Nova: "Constantly. The one time the portal appeared, we coincidentally matched the charge with one of our own."

Garrick: "That might be it... is it completely random, or can you determine a pattern of some sort?"

Nova: "It is on the level of quantum randomness. It cannot be predicted. Your luck... was astronomical. Which is good. We can identify any objects like it thanks to that accident."

Garrick: "We don't need luck, Nova, we need fact..."

Nova: "I have noticed it reacts to people around it. Something a machine can't effect it with, too. ...It became stronger when you fought with Aetos."

Garrick: "...hm... raise the temperature in the container by twenty five degrees..."

Metal Man (GM): It heats up uniformly. No results.

Garrick: "...alright, lower it... let's try your theory..."

Metal Man (GM): On the plus side, it's a good cooking surface. Readouts show it probably could take insane temperatures before breaking. Which makes no sense, as it appears to be made of glass.

Garrick: "...can you replay... let's see... can you replay the audio of the final fight with Kuja?"

Metal Man (GM): It begins playing it. The cube... reacts slightly. Garrick sees a holographic image of Kuja. It flickers and stutters with the recording. It does nothing, though.

Garrick: "...hm... increase the volume."

Metal Man (GM): It only causes more fidelity. It's now completely lifelike... nothing.

Garrick: "Okay, stop the recording."

Nova: "It seems to resonate with that frequency. However it does not appear to react to it beyond an image."

Metal Man (GM): It turns the image off with the recording.

Garrick: "Perhaps it's in tune with Kuja... okay, let's try something different. Give me the audio, with the previously changed volume, of a random fight with Ganondorf."

Metal Man (GM): It glows brighter this time. It shows... a Ganondorf Garrick hasn't seen. He's orange outlined, only yellow, black, and white bits showing his color, making him look like a sepia photo. It shows him holding Wolf by the neck.

Nova: "This appears to be an image they saw inside the X-zone portal this made."

Metal Man (GM): This image looks rather unsettling. The Ganondorf in it even blinks at Garrick.

Garrick: "...okay, switch to..." *he thinks, then nods.* "...switch to the fight with Locos aboard his ship."

Metal Man (GM): It changes again. This time it shows Smithy in the foreground, behind Charles. The audio changes...

Charles: "Lord Kajidoh. I must complete your objectives."

Smithy: "You will obey..."

Metal Man (GM): It then resumes normal playback.

Garrick: "Halt recording."

Metal Man (GM): It halts, the image vanishing.

Garrick: "...if it's responding to... that may be... hm... alright, a new test. Nova, give me the final fight between Metal and Julian."

Metal Man (GM): ...The cube begins sparking visibly. Garrick sees two equally powerful hands fighting one another for... something. Something they're holding on to.

Garrick: "Increase volume..."

Metal Man (GM): Even after the part where Metal loses, it shows the hand which appears to weaken when Metal loses somehow continually fighting for the something, whereas the other one is weaker because the fight is over. Garrick can't tell what it is, though. The steel hand and the gloved hand never let go enough. Neither are they real.

Garrick: "...fighting over..."

Nova: "It responds to struggles. That was the highest energy reading, as neither side was entirely confident of winning, and the most energy was expended in that fight. However it appears to have other frequencies. All of those made the same reaction as it did to you and Aetos."

Garrick: "...struggles... yes, that's it. Aetos was struggling to get into the portal. Wolf and Ganondorf were struggling... Smithy and Locos were too..."

Nova: "It even created the portal to enhance the struggle."

Garrick: "...maybe it wants to CREATE struggles?"

Nova: "Who knows. Carbon dating shows it to be extremely old."

Garrick: "...hm... let's try something bigger... give me the final battle with Tridus... the one with all the images of Questers..."

Metal Man (GM): It begins playing... and shooting electricity like crazy.

Nova: "It may overload. It appears to be generating massive amounts of energy."

Garrick: "Pause recording!"

Metal Man (GM): It stops shooting electricity. Some of them seem to almost reach at the speakers.

Glyph has been silently watching over Garrick's shoulder for some time now.

Nova: "...It appears to have two modes, then. It tries to create conflict... and it reacts -to- conflict as well."

Garrick: "...can I help you?"

Glyph: "What happens if you play all the recordings at once? You know, like a mash up?"

Garrick: *glances over his shoulder, arching his eyebrow.*

Nova: "A good question..."

Glyph: "Really? I was just interjecting random things to justify my being here."

Garrick: "Listen, if I played all of those together, it might explode and take the ship with it. Look. Metal put you in charge of ship's operations. He obviously doesn't trust me anymore."

Metal Man (GM): ...Garrick says that... the cube begins sparking. It opens another portal.

Garrick: "...don't even think about it."

Glyph: "It's very sparkly though."

Nova: "It appears that non-recorded conflicts are powerful enough to create portals. Recordings can only do so much."

Garrick: *eyes Glyph.* "Don't. Even. THINK. About it."

Metal Man (GM): The portal becomes stronger from Garrick's sentence. It even begins to have a little suction.

Glyph: "Alright, alright. Maybe if we resolve this conflict we'll close the portal? Like, if I were to say something like 'He obviously trusts you if he let you have a powerful artifact like this?'"

Garrick: *hrms for a moment... maybe he could...* "...you know what, Glyph? You're right... that makes sense."

Metal Man (GM): The portal begins shrinking a bit.

Glyph: "Thanks. I was worried I was just getting in the way, here."

Garrick: "No, it's just... ...I just wish that I could do my job without people thinking I'm nuts or something."

Glyph: "Uh, hee, actually, I was spying on their mission earlier today, through the dexes, though I'm probably not supposed to... they were talking about magitek, and this one guy said something about it making people crazy, and everyone totally stuck up for you."

Metal Man (GM): The portal remains open for a few more moments; merely for if someone wants to see what's inside.

Garrick: "...I'm good with it. Hell, I'm probably the only one who can make magitek anymore... hmm... look, do you want to see what's in there?" *jabs his thumb at the portal.*

Glyph: "Couldn't hurt. Well, I mean, it could, but I get the feeling it won't." *He peers inside.*

Metal Man (GM): It feels like there is a world inside. Glyph would see an outdated Quester HQ inside of it. The portal stays open as Garrick pokes it.

Garrick: *shrugs off his lab coat and dons his flight jacket, grabbing Burning Chill from it's spot against the wall and belting it to his waist before motioning for Glyph to follow as he walks though it.*

Glyph follows.

Metal Man (GM): The two Questers both walk inside... The X-zone. Entering it, they immediately feel somewhat cold, as they see the static-y sky. Before them, is an old version of Quester HQ... the same events happen over and over again.

Professor Oak: "Hello Wolfman. My research on the Fighter Remote has been... interesting."

Wolfman: "How, exactly? I want it completed soon. The fans are getting bored of just watching."

Professor Oak: "But Wolfman, it is impossible! There is nothing that can store so much data... and then transfer it to the minds of others! I've worked on Technical Machines before, but pokemon are hard-wired for such. We have no clue if it'll even work after accomplishing the impossible!"

Wolfman: *Frowns.* "That's not what I wanted to hear... please, Oak. You have to complete this. We can't go on with the same people being beaten. I've even heard Ganondorf wants his pay raised to compensate..."

Professor Oak: "Fine, but don't expect any miracles. I'm not like all the other scientists."

Metal Man (GM): They walk away. The old HQ is far more Earth-like than new ones. It's a bunch of small buildings alongside a stadium.

Garrick: *stands there, curious...* "...it obviously wants us to see this particular memory... because this is what started the greatest struggle of all."

Metal Man (GM): Looking around...

Garrick: "The Questers against Evil."

Metal Man (GM): Garrick sees the Empire state building and New York in the distance. He notices... the area he and Glyph are on is surrounded by a translucent orange wall. They're limited to this repeating strangeness. They can, however, walk throughout this HQ.

Garrick: *hrms, then glances to Glyph.* "Walk with me."

Glyph: "Alrighty." *He attempts to put his hand on the walls to see if it will fall through like he's the ghost of Christmas past or something.*

Garrick: *heads off, looking for a particular spot he remembers in the back of his mind... a closet across from the Big Room...*

Metal Man (GM): Garrick finds in there instead of what he expected, real mops.

Garrick: "...whoa... we must be far into the past... years... decades... before Julian and Dragoshi... before Gibby and Sky High... hell, before Metal."

Metal Man (GM): There's Wolfman out of the corner of one eye, and Ganondorf out of another. He also sees 'Melee Tournament' everywhere.

Glyph: "I probably should have mentioned that some sort of Kuja showed up the last time I was in here and I don't have much in the way of offensive capabilities."

Metal Man (GM): No Questers are anywhere. Their rooms don't even exist.

Garrick: "...don't worry. I brought my gear for a reason..."

Metal Man (GM): This is, canonically, towards the end of the Super Smash Brothers: Melee history section of SSQ.

Garrick: "Come on, I want to see if I can access a terminal." *heads off toward the Big Room.*

Glyph follows, keeping an eye out for Kujas.

Metal Man (GM): The two Questers walk to where the Big room was. There is no such thing. It is a cafeteria. An empty one, too. A few cooks (whom they don't recognize) are cleaning up.

Garrick: "...jeez..."

Metal Man (GM): Makes sense for a janitor's closet to be so close, though.

Glyph bites his thumbnail worriedly.

Metal Man (GM): In fact, one of them takes out a mop and mops the floor.

Garrick: "...could it be that this is only to show us that start of that struggle? ...come on, we need to get to Oak's lab." *turns and heads down the hallways, moving quickly.*

Glyph: "Hey! I just thought of something... if it's showing us stuff, then maybe, this cube, it was here in the past, too!" *He says as he tries to keep up.*

Garrick: "...if that's the case... then where could it be?"

Glyph: "Maybe it has something to do with the remotes."

Metal Man (GM): ...There's the remote, sitting right in Oak's lab.

Glyph: "Uh, oh, that... that too."

Garrick: "...it recorded--...wait..."

Metal Man (GM): Oak gets the same mysterious help from Kuja and makes the fighter remote. The lab is primitive, pre-Dr. Light. It looks brand new. Some old boxes from when it was a storage room still clutter it.

Garrick: *moves over to the cube, making to touch it.*

Metal Man (GM): Garrick touches it... his hand goes right through it.

Glyph: "You don't suppose we have to start or end a conflict here, do you?"

Garrick: *sighed and looked down at that question...* "...if that happened... then we probably wouldn't be here."

Metal Man (GM): Standing there, the Questers notice something... out of place.

Garrick: "I'd be dead on some battlefield in the Three Powers War... Julian would be running a gang in New York... Scott would be fighting that Metal Mechanica in spa--?"

Metal Man (GM): An evil accumulation of energy. No one can see its face or anything. It stares at the Questers.

Glyph: "X-Kuja, I presume?"

Garrick: "...no..."

Sardis Mongul: *Echo.* "This is not your world... you should flee before it can attack you. You wouldn't like the results..."

Garrick: "...you are everywhere, Sardis..."

Metal Man (GM): The portal is still behind the Questers. That floating thing freely rips apart stuff with its energy, turning it into monsters, exploding it, or even absorbing it. It is (stupidly) moving towards the two Questers. The illusion of the area wavers around it.

Garrick: "...come on."

Glyph: "...right!"

Garrick: *backpedals into the portal, his hands on his weapons.*

Glyph: "We just have to remember, something about these remotes... is deathly important!"

Metal Man (GM): The Questers leave the portal. Just in time, too. A dark hand reaches out of it, only to be sucked back in as the portal closes.

Garrick: *stumbles out, his eyes narrowed...* "...Nova. ...or, better yet... Mewtwo, I require your presence."

Metal Man (GM): Mewtwo appears again.

Mewtwo: "???"

Garrick: "...Mewtwo. I'd like to formally make my first report on the cube."

Glyph shuffles off towards the entrance to the lab.

Garrick: "So far, from what I can tell, the cube... reacts and creates conflict."

Mewtwo: "I see. That would be the first thing it does, however... the land around it was warped beyond recognition. Although the bones around it seemed obvious, now that I recall."

Garrick: "From where you found it?"

Mewtwo: "Yes."

Garrick: "...Mewtwo, is it possible to send a communication back to Nintendus from here?"

Mewtwo: "...Not easily."

Garrick: "I need to talk to Professor Oak."

Mewtwo: "I'll see what I can do." *He floats away...*

Glyph is so deeply interested in these events that he spends the rest of the day reading the Seeker's on-board database for every piece of information on the Questers he can get his hands on, even ones that he probably shouldn't be able to.

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