Super Smash Quest - Story - Chapter 385: Unbalanced Pride
Date: February 15th, 2007.
Metal Man (GM): The group is in the Q.S. seeker. A hologram of Metal is in the middle of the room.
Metal Man: "...Before you go on your mission, perhaps you would want to know what happened."
Alexia: "That would be nice."
Julian's in his new usual chair, feet up on a random console. "What's the word, Mets?"
Metal Man: "Of course, due to certain things, I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you enough for you to not still be confused."
Garrick: *frowns.*
Metal Man: "Glyph originally blackmailed me, speaking about some massive thing with what you probably saw."
Alexia: "Hold it."
Metal Man: "Of course... No one blackmails Metal Man!" *poses.*
Alexia: "What was that massive thing?"
Metal Man: "Massive wha?"
Garrick: "...erm..."
Metal Man (GM): *Falls over, distracted by Alexia's question.*
Leo Crayson: "..."
Alexia: "Just double-checking." *She crosses her arms.*
Traon: "I'm just going to remain quiet and listen... "
Leo Crayson: "Same."
Julian: "Then shut up an' let 'em talk."
Metal Man: "Anyway... I set a number of things in place to stop him... although whoever that guy in the airship was, I had no clue what he was all about."
Aetos: "!! I'm positive he's the one who tampered with the second moon!"
Metal Man: "Ah. Hm. Anyway..."
Garrick: *is looking rather depressed at the moment.*
Metal Man: "Glyph is not specifically a bad person, so eventually we'll have to find some way to cure him of being crazy and evil."
Alexia: "Why do you say that?"
Julian: "We still gonna beat his ass, though."
Metal Man: "The message said it. I'm not going to sanction indefinite imprisonment or death. You know what happens when you do that, right?"
Traon: "I say we just let him suffer the effects of rapid decompression."
Alexia shakes her head.
Metal Man shows the collage of enemies who 'returned from the dead' or went 'at last I'm freeeee!!!'
Alexia: "Don't sidestep my questions. Why do you think he can be cured?"
Metal Man: "He has multiple personalities, or something. Now, unless I'm mistaken, you have a negative alternate personality, right, Alexia?"
Julian: "So we kick him in the head 'till all but one'a them die."
Alexia: "Two." *She says this without even blinking.*
Metal Man: "...It doesn't work like that. They're not specifically brain-matter linked. I think it's at the soul level."
Alexia: "Although something seems odd about that..."
Metal Man: "Damage the brain and all of them survive, except perhaps with less intelligence. Any way... if you, Alexia, can be a Quester without going nuts and killing us all, Glyph can probably be a mechanic the same way."
Julian: "I'll take it."
Garrick: "...Metal."
Alexia: "I never said that, Metal." *She rubs her chin.* "I just wish I knew more about these personas of mine... Then I might be able to see this situation a little more clearly."
Metal Man: "Yes, Garrick?"
Traon: "I'm sure everyone has a second or third persona in their body and soul... Its just a matter of them coming out or not..."
Garrick: "...I can't help but feel this is partially my fault... I'd like to apologize for my lack of... vigilance."
Traon: "Damn, right, you better be sorry."
Metal Man: "This is why I'm the leader and you're the Quester, Garrick. It's my fault, not yours. All those times I fought you it was to protect you from yourself. This responsibility has destroyed people and countries before."
Garrick: "Yeah, but... I'm supposed to be the te--a tech of the group."
Alexia: "Third... Hmm..."
Metal Man: "This was no tech assault. Readouts indicate he was fantastic at tricking our minds, not our machines."
Garrick: "...I just wished you could trust me to run things better. So you didn't have to hire on a new guy."
Traon: "For all we know, he could have been lying about the Time Bombs..."
Julian: "...So are we gonna stand around feelin' sorry fo' ourselves or we gonna get a mission done?"
Leo Crayson: "Zzzz..."
Alexia: "..."
Traon: "Well I'm glad I'm not the only one who is not feeling sorry for himself."
Metal Man: "You are... partially correct, Traon."
Alexia taps Leo on the head a few times.
Metal Man: "One thing." *He brings up a display.*
Leo Crayson: "Duhh, oh sorry."
Metal Man: "The bomb was on the engine, set to make it explode... or maybe not. It doesn't appear to have been done very well. Even then, the engine exploding would be messy, and unlikely to provide instant or complete annihilation. I am unsure if he truly is capable of what he says he does."
Alexia: "So he was bluffing?"
Metal Man: "I don't know. The fact you haven't exploded yet says something." *Is pressing a button repeatedly.* "So, anyway, your mission, if you forgot, is to find the Ultimate Emerald in Devil Island. You can contact me again later, if you wish. Good luck."
Traon grows a smirk on his face and starts paying attention. "Yes, Ultimate Emerald. That thing still fascinates me."
Alexia: "..."
Garrick: "...Traon, these Emeralds are NOT to be thought lightly of."
Alexia glances over at Traon through narrowed eyes.
Garrick: "Trust me from personal experience..."
Metal Man salutes; the warp out appears, and he vanishes.
Leo Crayson: "...Well, lets get this over with."
Garrick: *remembers the Red Emerald and shivers a bit.*
Traon: "Who claims I'm thinking lightly of it? By what I hear this thing is awesomely powerful... It's something I wouldn't want in the wrong hands."
Alexia: "Your tone of voice. It... altered."
Julian: "Jus' shut up an' let's go get it." *Julian swings up to his feet and goes to grab his breathing mask.* "An' if I see ANYONE gettin' power hungry, I take the right to knock yo' ass out."
Leo Crayson: "Let's just go."
Garrick: *nods softly and follows...*
Julian heads into the warp after fitting his mask on.
Leo Crayson grabs his mask and heads into the warp.
Garrick: *fits on his mask and disappears into the warp.*
Alexia grabs her mask, puts it on, and enters the warp.
Traon: "Things of power that don't include machines always spark my interests." He looks towards the portal and steps towards it. .oO(Especially if I can manipulate the object.) He then follows after Julian.
Metal Man (GM): The group appears on a beach. A beach... on an island surrounded by brown-and-green water. Water which sizzles ominously.
Julian: "...Well ain't this a surprise."
Alexia: "Something tells me this isn't a vacation spot for the kids."
Traon: "Hey, I've always loved the-- the bloody hell is up with that water?" he thinks and snaps his finger. "Of course, acid water stuff."
Leo Crayson: "...Craptastic."
Douglas: "'Course not."
Metal Man (GM): Up ahead is a rusted derelict of a metallic building. A sign in front of it says 'TOP SECRET RESEARCH ZONE--RADIOACTIVE. KEEP OUT IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE.'
Julian: *Never stopped Julian before. He heads for it.*
Metal Man (GM): The sign is half-melted, apparently from just sitting too close to the building.
Alexia: "Uh, hang on a sec, Julian..."
Metal Man (GM): Julian walks towards the building.
Alexia rings Metal on her Dex.
Traon: "Why do I get the feeling something bad is going to happen here..."
Dex: "Nintendus is too far away from here to contact directly."'
Julian: *Wait... Hold up. Julian sees the melted sign...* "...Leo, go check it out."
Leo Crayson: "...Why me?!"
Douglas: "YOU go check it out, Julian!"
Julian: "'Cause I dunno where the hell Aaron is."
Traon: "How about we all go check it out? That way if one person dies, we all die."
Garrick: *follows.*
Douglas laughs his ass off for a few moments.
Leo Crayson: "Gah..."
Douglas: "Hrm. Anyways, maybe we should play rock-paper-scissors."
Traon: "Oh to hell with this." He goes on ahead to check out the area.
Metal Man (GM): He walks on ahead. He doesn't seem to be melted.
Douglas: "How brave."
Julian: "Looks safe to me." *Heads on.*
Traon turns around and opens his arms. "As harmless as a fruit fly, can we go now?"
Leo Crayson: *follows them in.*
Julian: "Two things: Fuck you, an' fuck you."
Alexia follows.
Douglas twiddles his thumbs and goes in. .oO(Why is he so repulsive?.)
Traon mutters something under his breath regarding Julian. .oO(One of these days those words are going to be switched.) He continues on with the others.
Metal Man (GM): The Questers enter a large pavilion. It's... nasty. Rusted tools everywhere. Mechanical stuff thrown about. This is... this is his most primitive work.
Alexia: "Man, this place is a junk heap."
Metal Man (GM): These even resemble normal machines. They're far older than anything else he's done. Interestingly, there's a diary on the ground.
Traon looks about and lets out a sign. "If only I had a mop and cleaning supplies... Oh look, a diary."
Julian'll take that. And... read it. Yeop.
Leo Crayson: "..." *He looks bored.*
Traon watches Julian read and then looks over at the others and whispers, "I never expected him capable of actually reading..."
Douglas reads over Julian's shoulder, of course!... *Wind form in case he doesn't like it.* :(
Alexia promptly slaps Traon. HARD.
Julian: "Ten seconds."
Traon is slapped and he steps back. "Ouch... I was only kidding..."
Alexia: "Still felt awesome."
Julian: "Five seconds."
Alexia casually cracks her knuckles.
Metal Man (GM): The date on the first entry is... 1955.
Garrick: *sighs and moves over to Julian, nudging him slightly to get his attention.*
Metal Man (GM): January 5th, 1955.
Garrick: "Something that I found that works. Just so you know later on." *he then proceeds to take out his lighter and light Aetos on fire. Again.*
Julian: "...So you got NO concept of personal space?"
Journal: 'I open my lab on this forsaken planet, where, using Chaos Control, I have avoided my execution on Earth. Those worthless humans who dared challenge my research shall feel my pain! Even if it takes... a hundred years...'
Julian: "An' I'll keep that in mind."
Metal Man (GM): Next entry. January 27th, 1955.
Leo Crayson: "...God, this extreme violence is getting kinda old..."
Traon: "I'm just going to stand over here away from some people." he puts his hands behind his head and kicks a random object on the ground. He does this while he looks about the area they are in.
Alexia waits.
Garrick: "Just thought you should know." *goes back over to look at another part of the room.*
Journal: 'I have created a miraculous device... one to give myself life eternal. Using the power of the Ultimate Emerald, I can transcend life and see all who questioned me die for once and all.'
Metal Man (GM): February 3rd, 1955.
Julian: "So that's why he kept comin' back..."
Journal: 'At last! The Ultimate Emerald has not only powers over life, but of death. In fact, within it lies a great demon! Which will give me all the knowledge I want... my soul is too cheap a price! It is an easy bargain. My quest for true power begins!'
Metal Man (GM): February 15th, 1955.
Journal: 'The great power of Zylcon has granted me time travel... given enough time... I shall found a civilization in my name before any humans exist... and build up technology unknown to all... and, in the future, destroy all who dared question me. Should I fail, Zylcon shall revive me... over and over again... along with all others who support his dream.'
Metal Man (GM): Julian is reading it, and for some reason a recording follows him as he reads. Of Gerald himself speaking it.
Traon: "Demon... Blood... Blood Demon?" he says to himself and smiles. "I like the ring of that."
Metal Man (GM): February 15th, 1955.
Journal: 'I return from my time travel... it has been a long battle... but surely I have succeeded! All shall bow before the power of the Maricians!'
Alexia: "...Can I kill him?"
Metal Man (GM): February 2nd, 1955.
Julian: "Go for it."
Alexia: "Goodie." *She takes out her gun and slowly advances on Traon.*
Journal: 'Now that I have succeeded in making time go backwards, I shall add to my research, and go back over and over again. Surely there is no way to lose!'
Leo Crayson: "Can I help, I'm bored. I need something to do."
Alexia: "Sure."
Metal Man (GM): After that point... the diary becomes unreadable.
Traon: "Wait... What?" he says coming out of his trance, and then kicks another piece of rubbish.
Metal Man (GM): He's gone back and forward through time so much each page is completely black with ink.
Alexia: *with an evil grin on her face.*
Leo Crayson: "Awesome." *takes out his sword and starts walking towards Traon.*
Alexia: "Hey, Traon, I have something for you."
Garrick: *sighs and gently puts a hand on Alexia's and Leo's shoulders.* "None of that."
Julian: "How the hell he know what he's writin'?" *Julian closes the book.* "Okay, who didn't catch all that?"
Leo Crayson: *evil tone.* "Heh heh heh."
Traon: "I don't like the looks of this..."
Leo Crayson: "...Awww."
Alexia: "...Screw you. I'll take the writeup any day."
Leo Crayson: "Same."
Alexia aims her gun at Traon's head and fires.
Garrick: "And this is what Metal told us not--" *sigh.* "..."
Metal Man (GM): The bullet is... stopped. Mid-air.
Leo Crayson hurls a bolt of lightning at Traon's face.
Traon: "Ya know... Bullets stopping in mid-air just doesn't happen on a daily basis..."
Alexia: *suddenly cheery again.* "Okay, my frustration's worked out. Back to the mission."
Metal Man (GM): As does the lightning.
Leo Crayson gives Alexia a weird look after seeing the bullet stop like that.
Metal Man (GM): The room reacts to the violence. The busted machines suddenly repair themselves.
Leo Crayson: "...Strange."
Julian: "...Anyway..."
Metal Man (GM): There is a room labeled 'ENERGY ROOM.' And on the right, 'The Archives.'
Traon is starting to get a little weirded out at the self repairing machines and he draws his weapon. "And this is why I hate machines. You people need counseling also!" He says looking at the options open.
Julian: *EN-O-GEE ROOM.*
Leo Crayson: *FOLL0WS.*
Douglas: "Um... Let's check out the energy room to see if everything is worki-- Yeah..." *Goes with Julian.*
Traon scoots off to the right towards The Archives before veering back to the energy room.
Alexia: *Energy room.*
Metal Man (GM): Here there is a large number of energy sources... Experimental. He tried many before making his trademark orange source, which there is a tube full of nearby. A... steam engine?
Alexia: "Hmm..."
Metal Man (GM): A cube which absorbs hate from the environment?
Garrick: "...it's the..."
Metal Man (GM): A squish-activated generator?
Leo Crayson: "...What?"
Julian: "...How the hell he manage to do all this?"
Garrick: "It's the same material as the cube..."
Metal Man (GM): A wind generator uses breath to power it?
Douglas: *Looks for marks that show how they work.*
Metal Man (GM): No. Only what sort of power source they are. There's also some weapons powered by musical notes and even weirder ones which claim to use zero point energy. They're perpetually on fire.
Julian: "Yeah, I'm thinkin' load this stuff up. Use 'em for backups on the ship in-case we ever get somethin' like Glyph happenin' again."
Metal Man (GM): There is a final note in the area.
Garrick: "...that might not be a good idea, Julian..."
Metal Man (GM): 'All but the final energy source are unusable. -Gerald'
Douglas: "Roger." *Tries to take the wind generator...*
Garrick: "As the note says."
Julian: "...A'ight, scratch that."
Traon: "I;ve always wanted to fall out of the sky due to faulty equipment."
Alexia: "Shut up, Traon."
Douglas: *Halts, then...*
Metal Man (GM): Looking around, there's another door ahead in this area. However it is locked. Not just locked normally.
Julian: "Be sarcastic on yo' own time." *Julian heads for The Archives.*
Leo Crayson: "..." *to Archives.*
Alexia: *follows.*
Metal Man (GM): Inside is... this makes no sense. There's a nearly endless archive of times from across history. He time traveled to every important moment in the past imaginable.
Alexia: "...Zuh?"
Julian: "Hello, what we got here..."
Alexia: "Hey, wait a minute..."
Douglas: "I wonder if he's the one who showed Early man Fire."
Metal Man (GM): Here he is in the crowd near FDR. Over here he watches two battleships fight in WWII. Over there he is shown staring at ancient cavemen.
Alexia looks around for anything from about... 15,000 years ago.
Metal Man (GM): The oldest shows him... Building Atlantis? It shows him building it, several construction phases. A note says it took a thousand years... compressed into one... using his device.
Douglas: *Checks if he was there when Twin Towers fell.*
Metal Man (GM): Of course he'd be there. Most of it is observing. However the older ones show him messing around and also a number of strange people aiding him.
Traon whistles at all the information in The Archives and looks about. "This is mighty impressive."
Alexia: "No, it's bizarre."
Julian: "It's one guy fuckin' up history."
Leo Crayson: "Wow..."
Alexia: *thinking.* "Maybe there's a link in here somewhere..."
Metal Man (GM): Also there are pictures of 'Atlanteans'... who appear to have been cave men he captured and evolved beyond the point of normal humans using the Ultimate Emerald.
Alexia: *still thinking.* "The more evidence I can find about the war, the better..."
Metal Man (GM): However, it later shows them outsmarting him and going off on their own. 'I was forced to wait until they had forgotten about me due to generations dying before I could have their help again.'
Julian: "...Yeah, we can't let anybody get a hold on this. Ever."
Metal Man (GM): This explains why modern history wasn't... too messed up. Their lifespans are roughly 1000-2000 years old.
Leo Crayson: "So should we destroy the room?"
Julian: "No, we find that Emerald an' lock it up."
Metal Man (GM): The generation which hated him therefore lived all the way up until the point where it shows Atlantis resurfacing and him destroying the Three Powers on Earth.
Alexia nods.
Julian: "I dunno whether we keep this stuff or burn it."
Traon: "I say we--ya, what Julian said."
Leo Crayson: "Okay."
Alexia: "Your call."
Julian: *Calls up Mewtwo.*
Mewtwo: (Comms) "Yes?"
Alexia: "You're not gonna believe this..."
Julian: "Mewtwo, we got room on board fo' this much stuff?" *shows Mewtwo the room via DexVideo.*
Mewtwo: "Yes... but... why is Gerald watching that man invent the first common automobile?"
Traon still holing his weapon, taps the blunt end of the blade against his shoulder, mainly out of boredom, and curiousity of whats going on.
Metal Man (GM): He opens a portal for the Questers to load the stuff into.
Julian: "'Parrently he time-traveled an' did everythin'." *Everybody help.*
Mewtwo: "No wonder he was insane."
Traon stops tapping and puts his weapon away. "Well this will be fun." He helps out moving stuff into the portal.
Metal Man (GM): Mewtwo writes something to a list.
Mewtwo: "Him and... Sardis Mongul. And Ivo did some as well... this is bad for time." He shakes his head.
Leo Crayson starts loading the stuff into the portal.
Julian: "No kiddin'."
Alexia helps out.
Metal Man (GM): Shortly, the Questers have the archives safely taken.
Alexia: "Alright." *She heads back to the energy room.*
Julian: "An' that's done." *back to EN-O-GEE ROOM.*
Leo Crayson: "Do you think that maybe all this screwing around with time has cause us to like be warped to Nintendus and do all the things we did? Or just a minor coincidence?"
Traon shrugs and starts back towards the Energy Room. "Beats me."
Julian: "Wouldn't rule it out."
Metal Man (GM): Here there is the door to the next room... it is covered in antimatter. Deadly.
Julian: "Hmmmm... Yo, Garrick, can you do somethin' here?"
Alexia: "...Uh, what's that on the door?"
Leo Crayson: "Yeah."
Julian: "Somethin' I ain't gonna touch."
Garrick: "...whoa."
Douglas scans the door with Mr. Dex.
Traon: "Ok, I'm not going to be brave this time. That's some nasty crap right there."
Garrick: *moves up, having looked at something else.* "...this is nuts. Stable anti-matter OUTSIDE containment."
Dex: "Danger: door is deadly."
Garrick: "Yeah, nice call, Mr. Obvious Dex..."
Dex: "It is powered by an unknown energy source."
Douglas: "There we go..."
Garrick: *hrms and looks it over for any wires, cords, something visible.*
Douglas: "Hey Leo, go touch it. ..."
Leo Crayson: "...Go die somewhere."
Douglas: "Just kiddin'." *Grin.* *glances at Julian.*
Traon picks up a random object and tosses it at the antimatter field.
Garrick: *SNATCHES IT OUT OF THE AIR.* "You IDIOT!"
Metal Man (GM): Nothing obvious powering the door.
Traon: "Wouldn't it, ya know, disintegrate?"
Alexia: "Wow. Nice catch."
Garrick: "No, it wouldn't disintegrate!"
Julian: "There'd be a huge fuckin' explosion, righ'?"
Garrick: "Anti-matter is the opposite of matter. Like time and anti-time. When these things mix, it'd be an explosion that could knock the planet out of ORBIT."
Alexia: "...Explosion bad."
Julian: "Thought so..."
Leo Crayson: "Damn..."
Garrick: "We've got to be careful..."
Douglas uses his Eyes of Truth for now, just in case, you know.
Traon will search if Julian happens to fail.
Metal Man (GM): There are no fake things to find with the Eyes of Truth here. Julian finds a rather simple connection. The orange goo in the tube is powering it. A simple flick of the switch and it's now unlocked and not antimatter'd.
Julian: *Flick da switch.*
Traon gets a slight shudder down his back and he gulps. .oO(I think my quest for blood control is getting closer to the end.)
Julian: "An' that's that. Let's roll." *Julian heads for the door.*
Alexia: "No turning back." *She enters the door.*
Metal Man (GM): Beyond the door is what the Questers seek. The Ultimate Emerald.
Leo Crayson: "...Shiny..."
Metal Man (GM): This is... interesting. Charles must have had his eyes on the wrong emerald, long ago. For this is clearly a massive, white emerald.
Julian: "...Huh. That was easy."
Alexia: "Too easy."
Garrick: *tries to scan it.*
Metal Man (GM): The problem? It is inside a large containment tube.
Alexia: "...Sorry for the cliche."
Douglas: "...Huh... It reminds me of the emerald that I had."
Leo Crayson: "Shiny... sHiNy!!!!"
Metal Man (GM): Also the room is full of machinery. The Questers have no clue what is in here.
Dex: "The emerald is giving off enough energy to bend time at the moment."
Leo Crayson looks like he is strung out on CRAZY PILLS!!
Garrick: "...good lord... someone please hold Leo back."
Leo Crayson: "I'm not gonna touch it."
Alexia tackles Leo by the legs, sending them both crashing to the ground. "HYAAAAH!" *KER-WHAM.*
Leo Crayson: "It's just sooooo SHINY!!!"
Garrick: *moves a bit closer, frowning a bit.*
Julian: "An' we all know that. Now shut the hell up."
Leo Crayson: *CRACK* "ARGH!!"
Garrick: "...I don't think it's safe to even touch it. We've got to find a way to get it out of there without doing something wrong."
Traon walks in he just smiles widely. "This is it..." He unconsciously approaches the Emerald, but stops himself short of it. .oO(Just to harness its power for just a brief amount of time is all I need to make this quest of mine complete... That's all. But... How? Like hell would these people let me... If only there were some kind of... Distraction.)
Leo Crayson: "...Shiny..."
Julian: "An' that's yo' territory."
Leo Crayson: "...My brain hurts."
Garrick: "...hrm..."
Alexia: "...Traon, why are you looking at the emerald like that?" *She gets up and dusts herself off.*
Garrick: *walked around the container, pondering in his head.*
Traon shakes his head and looks back at Alexia. "Like I said earlier... This stuff... Interests me."
Metal Man (GM): There are the machines... and a note on a console next to it.
Leo Crayson gets back up, holding his head in pain.
Julian: "Traon, I'm warnin' you. Step back or we gonna have trouble."
Alexia: "For what reason?"
Metal Man (GM): ...It's written in a very loose hand.
Alexia stares directly into Traon's eyes.
Garrick: *walks over to the note, reading it...
Leo Crayson: "Owww, you didn't have to swing that hard Alex."
Metal Man (GM): 'Do... not... touch... it... destroyed... me... -Geraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaldddd.d.dd.d.d' He couldn't even hold onto his sanity to write this.
Garrick: "...Julian."
Julian: "Yo."
Leo Crayson: "My eyes feel like they were shot out of my head..."
Traon steps back and looks back into Alexia's eyes. "Control over myself. And not my physical outside. The stuff that flows inside of me... And everyone else."
Garrick: "Please, for the love of god, if anyone walks within ten feet of that thing, use bodily force to throw them back and hit them until they stop moving."
Traon: "But I have no interest in controlling other people's vital substances."
Julian: "Traon! Second warning."
Alexia: "Traon, you WILL NOT lay even a finger on that emerald."
Leo Crayson casts cure on himself to get rid of the horrible pain.
Alexia: "I'll enforce that by violence if needed."
Leo Crayson: "Same here."
Metal Man (GM): The glass looks fragile enough to smash with a fist.
Garrick: *turns back to the emerald. He tries to scan the containment unit. There had to be something holding the power back.*
Leo Crayson smacks Alexia in the back of her head, HARD. "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?"
Dex: "This interface is over two thousand years old. All systems have failed. The emerald is merely in an inactive state."
Alexia barely blinks, not taking her eyes off of Traon. She's focused to the point of obsession.
Leo Crayson: "...Wow, can't believe that didn't phase her."
Alexia: "What's your real purpose of being here, Traon?" *She instinctively reaches for Darkman's chain.*
Garrick: *tries to ponder a way to safely move it... perhaps with that orange technology? Nah, Gerald would have thought of that.*
Traon lets out a light sigh. "I have always been honest, I'm not going to break that now. I wish to help you all, but I feel empty without freeing what I think is locked up inside of me. And this..." He motions to the emerald "Just might wake up what I seek inside of me."
Metal Man (GM): Gerald doesn't seem to need to think about it. Nearby, there is stuff which has been... completely melted. The emerald appears capable of melting things. From afar. Probably at random, as that sign outside certainly wasn't close to it.
Traon: *And with a quick movement of his hand he grabs the pole of his weapon and then quick draws his weapon and tries to smash the blade through the glass and have the blade touch the Emerald, just to see if the power would flow through his weapon into him. Only a small fraction though. And if possible, he would use energy control to focus the power through his weapon.*
Metal Man (GM): The glass is broken. Then Traon touches the emerald.
Julian: "Warning THR-" *Now you're gonna die.*
Metal Man (GM): However, when it lights up, it... senses an imbalance in him and chucks him across the room.
Leo Crayson: "...What the hell?"
Julian: "...Okay, now I get to kick yo' ass."
Metal Man (GM): An ominous white light fills the room... and it speaks.
Leo Crayson: "???"
Emerald: "Imbalances detected. Imbalances detected. IMBALANCES DETECTED."
Traon: "Son of a--" he thumps against the wall.
Metal Man (GM): It begins firing lasers everywhere. Lasers which melt things. Melt them like the sun itself touched them. Lasers which teleport through walls.
Garrick: "Son of a BITCH!"
Leo Crayson: "...Oh hell, now you've done it you idiot."
Metal Man (GM): It begins spiraling out of control, melting holes in everything it can. Only due to luck has it not melted the Questers.
Traon: "Ya know... It was bound to happen anyways..." he starts running.
Leo Crayson runs out of the room.
Julian jogs over to Traon... and promptly grabs him by the collar and hauls his ass back.
Leo Crayson: "WHAAAAAAA!!!!!"
Metal Man (GM): Running may not be the best idea... out of control, it may destroy the entire planet.
Garrick races forward, shoving his hand into his pocket and pulling out a mess of coins. He had to do something, and he only knew one way. He just hoped it worked...
Metal Man (GM): It doesn't appear interested in stopping, at least.
Traon is dragged back...
Metal Man (GM): Garrick holds out the coins...
Emerald: "IMBALANCE DETECTED!!!!"
Leo Crayson stops himself but keeps screaming.
Metal Man (GM): It melts them, then zaps Garrick until he's thoroughly frizzled.
Leo Crayson: "WHAAAAAA, WE"RE GONNA DIE!!!!"
Metal Man (GM): Not dead, but all his hair is standing on end and he's smoking.
Garrick: "Son of a..."
Metal Man (GM): About 3000 coins are melted. It then begins careening around, smashing into things.
Julian: *Traon then gets the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a severe asskicking from Julian.* "YOU-" *smack.* "-STUPID-" *smack.* "-IDIOT! WHAT PART OF DO NOT TOUCH DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?" *smacksmacksmack.*
Dex: "The emerald is active, which means it will endlessly destroy things with death rays until the universe has been balanced. This could mean utter destruction. Or maybe 50% destruction."
Leo Crayson stops screaming after seeing the smackdown put on Traon.
Traon: "Imbalance detected..." He tries to use his energy-- "Ow... Ow... Ya know Julian, save it... Ow... For later, and... Ow... let's figure this out."
Dex: "It does not appear interested in stopping."
Leo Crayson: "How the hell do we stop it?!"
Garrick: .oO(Think think think! Imbalanced detected... he used a weapon, I used coins... rage, gluttony? Maybe that's it...)
Julian: *Traon would find that missing most of his teeth makes it hard to talk.*
Editor's Note: You know, I really should have belted him for this blatant godmod.
Douglas: "Maybe we should get to killing it, then... unless someone has ideas... Oop. Like me."
Metal Man (GM): It continues thrashing about as Julian smacks around Traon. Then it shoots a ray at Douglas, obliterating his hair.
Traon thinks that he has had enough of this pummeling and tries to bring the pole of his weapon up into Julian's gut to at least get him off.
Metal Man (GM): Hm. Perhaps the Emerald doesn't like being threatened.
Douglas: "Huh. I'm bald."
Emerald: "Multiple Imbalances detected! Detected! DETECTED!"
Garrick: "...Julian! Stop hitting him! Take off your gauntlets!"
Leo Crayson: "Wait, what if it's feeding off of Julian's anger?"
Douglas: "I wonder if this Emerald is actually living..."
Garrick: *reaches toward his jacket and draws out his guns, dropping them to the ground. His sword goes next, on the ground.*
Julian: *Right now, Julian's currently got Traon prone on the floor, and repeatedly slamming him face-first into the ground to see which gives out first.*
Douglas: "It's TALKING, after all..."
Traon: "Bloody hell! I caused the imbalance, and so I'm going to try and fix this." He said rather slurringly due to his mouth problem.
Garrick: "JULIAN!"
Leo Crayson jumps on Julian trying to make him stop.
Julian: *Bah.* "Gimme a few minutes."
Garrick: *growled and slowly moved toward the emerald, his arms raised in a large T like shape.*
Metal Man (GM): The emerald finally notices Julian.
Garrick: "IF YOU DON'T STOP, WE'RE DEAD!"
Leo Crayson: *thinking.* "WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING?!"
Metal Man (GM): It punts Garrick into a wall and shocks Julian with lightning until he's also beaten up like Traon.
Garrick: *grunts as he hits the wall.*
Emerald: "IMBALANCE! ...Corrected."
Metal Man (GM): It floats back into place like nothing happened.
Leo Crayson falls off Julian's back.
Traon slowly gets up and looks over at the Emerald. "Ya know... By all means... I got nothing out of that I believe."
Julian: *One... two... three. Julian's decided that Traon's had enough and lets up... then is promptly knocked the fuck out.*
Douglas: "Heh. It actually liked me... except when I suggested destroying it--Which I don't mean now!"
Leo Crayson: "...Damn, just damn."
Garrick: *slowly gets to his feet.*
Traon: .oO(Damn you Ultimate Emerald. I was only asking for assistance. I did not mean to seem like a threat. Just grant me my one simple request, I wish to help these people a little more than I can now... I feel, pointless.) *Even though he probably knows the thing can't read minds, he tries anyways.*
Douglas: "ANYWAY... How did that feel for you all?"
Metal Man (GM): It knocks Traon out with lightning to match Julian.
Douglas heals Garrick with Divine Wind.
Emerald: "An eye for an eye. He who raises his fist shall also be harmed."
Leo Crayson stands back up.
Traon ish knocked out now.
Leo Crayson: "Ugh, lets not do that again..."
Douglas: "But Garrick didn't do any harm to you. Or anyone else, at the time."
Garrick: "...amazing..." *slowly moved forward, his hands up.* "...Ultimate Emerald... can you understand me?"
Douglas: "Hrm... That technically is raising a fist, Garrick... You better just not do any motions."
Leo Crayson stands back and watches Garrick talk to the shiny.
Garrick: *was walking with his hands out, not grabbing like, not touching like, just showing he had no weapons and meant no harm.*
Emerald: "Your words are unbalanced. I cannot want to understand you. Why are you here?"
Garrick: "We sought you because we are afraid you might be in danger. There is a possibility of a dark wizard. Someone who would use your power to kill millions, perhaps billions or more. We wanted to take you someplace safe. Someplace where no one would hurt you or use your wrongly."
Emerald: "That is irrelevant. None can use me in an imbalanced way but Zylcon, and he is dead. As you just saw the man who tried to become a monster with my power is now beaten down and electrified."
Garrick: "I do not wish to take a chance."
Leo Crayson laughs at the last comment.
Traon didn't want to become a monster... Or did he? The world will never know.
Douglas: "Ultimate Emerald, is this planet currently in an imbalance?"
Emerald: "Completely. It is so imbalanced that evil, chaos, good, and law, and even time itself are fighting one another."
Douglas: "Are you willing to help re-balance it?"
Emerald: "You must be balanced for me to accept any offer you may make."
Garrick: "...is there anyone among us who is balanced?"
Douglas: "How may any of us willingly become balanced?... Meditation?"
Emerald: "...You must stop punching one another and breaking devices and killing people without asking questions and..."
Douglas: "Yes... and I don't do any of THOSE..."
Leo Crayson: "Same. I tried to talk Garrick's insane uncle into not killing us."
Garrick: *twitched at Leo... but kept his cool...*
Emerald: "I question your motives. What do you want my power for?"
Garrick: "We do not want your power."
Leo Crayson looks to Garrick. "I'm sorry, that was really uncalled for."
Emerald: "Then why are you here?"
Garrick: "We wish only to keep you from being used wrongly."
Emerald: "You have seen the impossibility of such already."
Douglas: "We may not want its power, but we want to cure this world of imbalance, and it may help."
Garrick: "...then is there anyone on this planet who could use you?"
Emerald: "Only the most balanced can use my power. At that, they must submit to the demand of utter balance in the universe. There are few. I once sensed such a person. They are evil now."
Leo Crayson: "Hmmm..."
Garrick: "It isn't really that we worry about someone balanced."
Emerald: "...Perhaps if you cleansed that person, then you could access my power."
Garrick: "...and who is this person?"
Emerald: "...I don't know."
Leo Crayson: "..."
Emerald: "I only sense his presence..."
Garrick: "...where?"
Emerald: "You must find him. And he must find you. I cannot put a point as to where he was, except he was once very balanced, and therefore close to me, but then later on drifted away with evil."
Garrick: .oO(...could he mean Charles? But Charles is dead... no... someone turned evil...) "...do you have any idea when he turned evil?"
Emerald: "He failed in his duties to locate me and then vanished. To find him... you must also be balanced. I also know of those who would seek to use me. Deliver to them the same message I give to you. When the chosen one is found then they can use my power. For balance."
Leo Crayson: "...Well, this seems impossible."
Garrick: "...no, it's not impossible. Just unlikely..."
Metal Man (GM): It... revives Julian and Traon next.
Emerald: "You must bring balance to these two as well. Lest my lessons be lost on their violence. Now... it is time for you to go. I must repair the damage so to prevent people from even attempting to misuse me. I can contact you through your flimsy 'machines.'"
Metal Man (GM): It makes a white portal.
Emerald: "Do not come back until you have found that person."
Leo Crayson: "...Okay."
Garrick: "We will."
Leo Crayson walks into the white portal.
Garrick: *does as well.*
Traon rubs his head and looks at the Emerald then the portal. "... Best if I didn't even ask what just happened." He follows Leo.
Julian regains consciousness, rolls to his feet... remembers getting his ass shocked, and heads into the portal.*
Metal Man (GM): Mission Complete.
Garrick: *moves back into the Seeker, sighing...* "...Mewtwo?"
Douglas is a little boggled by this, but is glad he wasn't the one who showed a bad side today. He nods to the emerald and leaves, praying no one really can use it yet.
Leo Crayson: *to Garrick.* "Sorry about bring up your uncle like that, I didn't mean what I said."
Garrick: "Don't worry about it, Leo..."
Leo Crayson: "Okay..."
Julian: *The minute Julian's through that portal, Traon would feel his collar grabbed. Again.* "Now where was we..."
Garrick: *turned to Julian.* "If you continue to act like that, we will die."
Leo Crayson: *turns to Julian.* "I don't feel like dying yet so CALM DOWN DAMN IT!!!"
Garrick: "And you're not calm either, Leo..."
Douglas clears his throat.
Julian: "Hey, you tell that to HIM. Maybe he'll figure out that when we say "Don't Touch", we mean DON'T TOUCH. An' he had fair warnin'. Warned him AT LEAST 4 times that if he didn't step the fuck away from the Emerald shit was gonna go down."
Garrick: "And you're going to respond by beating him up... Again."
Leo Crayson: "Mmmm, damn it..."
Garrick: "Like you do with everything."
Julian: "I stick with what works."
Garrick: "You keep doing it, he'll die. You'll die. Everyone dies. People depend on us, Julian, and you don't set a good example by beating the ever loving snot out of your teammates."
Douglas: "And I'll donate all of your coins to some charity for abused children."
Garrick: "...not helping, Aetos."
Leo Crayson: "..."
Julian: "If they'd stop an' use some goddammit common SENSE, we wouldn't have to keep goin' through this. But hey, I'm not the one constantly walkin' into ambushes an' puttin' my neck on the line when it ain't worth it. Maybe that's jus' me, maybe I'm the only one here who AIN'T suicidal."
Douglas: "Hey, I've had this little speech your making going for several years now, and he hasn't learned yet, so I think you should drop the talk, and do something to help, Garrick. "
Traon is grabbed and he looks over his shoulder. "And you think this will work? By god, this is one of the exact reasons why I went back to Earth so long ago. But no, I can't do that again." He shrugs off the hand and turns to Julian. "Lay... off." Simply put. He simply turns and walks off.
Julian: *Without his shirt, apparently.*
Garrick: *walked up to Julian, right into his face.* "Are you a Quester?"
Leo Crayson: "..."
Douglas facepalms.
Leo Crayson: *Thinking.* "Damn, he is asking for it now..."
Julian: "If you gonna try an' draw me into a discussion about what makes someone a Quester, you best drop it right now. Ain't fallin' for that."
Garrick: "That's right. You don't fall for anything, do you? Smart, clever Julian Sawyer. You're strong. I'll give you that. You're fast, too. You're the best fighter in this room, save for maybe Mewtwo. But you heard what that Emerald said, Julian. Fighting everyone in the Questers WON'T solve things. I put my pride aside. You can too."
Douglas opens up 'The Art of Fighting' and sees the table of contents again.
Traon sits down in some random spot and holds his weapon out at arms length. "We've been through some tough times my mighty blade. I think it's time to put the past behind us and awaken the our... Inner self. But... How?" He leans his head back and closes his eyes... deep in thought.
Garrick: "Until you put your pride aside, Julian, and just... just think, for once... you're nothing. You can be as strong, and as fast, and as powerful, and as badass as you want. But in the end, you're going to get us all killed because your PRIDE had to come first."
Leo Crayson watches on in horror with a shocked look on his face.
Garrick: *stands there, unafraid. He's one of the few people that is unafraid of Julian.*
Metal Man (GM): Mewtwo floats in and notices the two fighting, and also a huge rip in Traon's shirt from where he walked out of Julian's vice-grip on the collar.
Douglas: *So, cautiously watching Garrick get in Julian's face... until...*
Mewtwo: "...Now it is my favorite time. Can you tell me what time that is?"
Julian: "Trevor."
Garrick: "I believe he means... the arena."
Leo Crayson: *cracks his knuckles.* "I've been waiting for this."
Mewtwo: "...Wrong, wrong, and... huh? PUNISHMENT TIME."
Traon opens his eyes to see Mewtwo right there. "Oh damn... What I do?"
Leo Crayson: "...? DO WHA?!"
Douglas stands back... SURPRISINGLY INNOCENT THIS TIME?
Garrick: *chuckles a bit.*
Mewtwo: "First... while Traon was crazy later, you had no point in attacking him in the middle of the mission."
Garrick: "You're bringing back the punishment mission?"
Mewtwo: "I deduct 7,500 coins from both Leo and Alexia, effective now."
Leo Crayson: "...DAMN IT!!"
Garrick: "Ohhh..."
Mewtwo: "What? Punishment missions? No. Those missions were more fun than punishment. Metal himself volunteered for one! ...Maniac..."
Garrick: "I just read about those old punishment missions." *shrugs.*
Mewtwo: "Now... next one... you." He turns to Julian.
Julian: "What part of 'I warned him 4 times' ain't you people gettin'?"
Mewtwo: "One or two punches was enough to make him stop acting crazy. Ten thousand punches is like killing a shoplifter. Do you kill shoplifters, Julian?"
Julian: "You underestimate crazy people."
Traon glares at Julian. "Goes along the lines of me having control issues."
Mewtwo: "Well, here's the thing. Under the manifesto, had you not punched him, I could have legitly punished him until he no longer understood a life without poverty or perhaps pain. Instead you violated the law, and it is you and him who will both lose 7,500 coins as well."
Julian: "Big deal."
Mewtwo: "Which I shall take again and again if you so much as touch one another. And possibly stick one of these in you." He takes out... a self hurter?
Leo Crayson: *gulp.*
Garrick: "...huh."
Mewtwo: "Nothing like constant electric shock to stop people from behaving badly."
Leo Crayson: "...What is it? ...Damn, me and Alex got off easy."
Garrick: "...and myself, Mewtwo? If I have done something wrong, punishment is deserved."
Mewtwo: "All I see is you talking a lot. And being knocked into a wall."
Douglas scratches his head and shakes his head. "I don't think..." He nods in agreement...
Garrick: "...oh. ...can I go work on the Dauntless, then?"
Mewtwo: "That, while similar to Metal, isn't really bad. Well. I think it's bad. But that's why Metal sent me out here. Of course. I don't ground people. Then I'd have to do this."
Metal Man (GM): He takes out a meat grinder and spins it threateningly.
Leo Crayson: 0_0
Garrick: *snorts.*
Leo Crayson: "...That's just wrong..."
Garrick: "Okay, dad." *shakes his head and pats Mewtwo on the shoulder as he walks out.*
Traon: "Money is just a mere object, it can be replaced." He shrugs and looks at the meat grinder. "Looks like fun. Got a toad? I know of a wonderful game."
Leo Crayson: "Ewww..."
Mewtwo: "...I shall see to it no one else hits one another, or perhaps they may instead wind up hurting later..." He floats off, grumbling angrily.
Leo Crayson looks kinda scared after this. "..."
Julian walks off towards Garrick, because he was going to say something dammit.* D: "Hol' up, I ain't done wit' you."
Garrick: *stops and turns back.* "If it's a threat, or something similar, I don't want to hear it."
Leo Crayson: "Hey Garrick, need any help?"
Traon: "The Ultimate Emerald is useless now. I will find another way for what I need." He yawns and finally puts his weapon away.
Garrick: *looks to Leo.* "With the Dauntless? Sure, as long as you don't break anything. Go into the cargo bay, I'll be there in a minute."
Leo Crayson: "Okay."
Garrick: *looks back to Julian, waiting calmly.* "You were saying?"
Leo Crayson starts walking toward the cargo bay.
Douglas almost feels like asking Garrick if he wants HIS help, but knows the answer and sighs/shrugs.
Garrick: *yawns.* "You're thinking a lot."
Julian: "'Fore you get into yo' head 'bout how my 'PRIDE' is gonna get us all killed, lemee remind you of one simple incident: Trevor. If it weren't fo' my 'pride', we'd all be stuck in the Astral Realm while Trevor blew everythin' to Kingdom Come. EVRYONE believed that walkin' talkin' lightbulb. 'Cept me, an' Scott. Y'know why? 'Cause my 'pride' told me not to walk into another trap like the rest'a y'all. That an' I had info from a trusted source. But it's 'pride' that got me that info. Fact of the matter is, my 'pride's done us a helluva lot more good than bad. If some people can't learn how to use their brain, ain't my fault. Also ain't my fault a couple of 'em showed up to work for us."
Garrick: "And that matters to me, how? I was doing inside work, Julian. I didn't see any of that."
Julian: "We got logs for a reason."
Garrick: "Aye, that we do. Just remember that sometimes, you've got to put your pride aside."
Julian: "What matters to you is that what you think'll kill us all? My pride? Saved our asses more time than I can count."
SIMBER: "Ultimately the Questers never needed either of you to survive. Do you not read of times when neither of you were around? Everyone, including me, is replaceable."
Garrick: "...he makes a good point, Julian."
SIMBER: "The original Questers don't even know who you are. If they returned they could probably fight all of you and it'd be a perfect tie."
Douglas butts in! "Also, the problem is more around the lines of what you do to everyone if they do something you don't like."
SIMBER: "And again! There is the intermediates. Metal, Yurie, Razor, Gibby, John. Their kind. There were always people to keep the Questers running, whether or not any of you were there. And I predict there will be Questers after you, AIs after us... history is not kind to anyone who tries to claim their word is THE word."
Metal Man (GM): He shows Kuja... Razor... Klumsy... just one of several who are all but forgotten these days.
Douglas: *Aside applause from Audience.*
Garrick: "...I apologize, SIMBER..."
SIMBER: "Trying to always be right is not only foolish, but it will erase your importance from history forever. Does anyone ever mention The Void anymore? No."
Douglas scratches his head.
SIMBER: "You can enjoy your time in the sun now, but it will come to an end, as everything does. Just don't get burned."
Douglas: "Well, I talked to him last, I think... back when I was trapped on the 2nd moon when it was next to Mars. That was just a couple months ago."
SIMBER: "But... that was then and this is now."
Garrick: "...hm. Well, if you'll excuse me."
SIMBER: "I cannot stop any of you, including my former master, from burning themselves from history. But remember my words; lest they outlive you."
Julian: "An' Now is the time I live in. Not the Past, not the Future, Now. Now's all that matters."
SIMBER: "Then you should look to being more active. Your Now is beginning to be threatened by Dragoshi's."
Douglas: "I don't see how your 'now' is very fulfilling if you treat everyone like floor."
Metal Man (GM): He nods and vanishes,.
Douglas: "Is your power over everyone else really all your 'now' is about?... because if so, SIMBER is right, you're losing experience."
Julian: "Bein' confined to bed rest for a week'll do that. Or do people not get sick where you come from, moon man? 'Sides, the Now is about everyone. I got a job to do, an' I can't do that job well unless I'm at my best. If that means smackin' a few of you knuckleheads around to keep sharp, then so be it." *walks off.*
Douglas: "That isn't right, Julian."
Traon nearly falls over. 'Well that did a lot of good."
Douglas shrugs. "HAY GARRICK. Do you want MY help with your technogizmatics?..." *smile.*
Garrick: *is already gone.*
Traon is already passed out on the floor.