Super Smash Quest: Infinity - Story - Chapter 31: Haunted Ruins
Date: 5:46:34 PM, March 14th; 5:19:04 PM, March 21st, 2011.
Holo-Garrick: "But the idea is still sound... I know how to generate the destructive power into an item."
Mewtwo: "Let me think. Transformers ripped holes in reality and were destroyed. Wolfman's mega-milk was a dud. Doublers and Max-ups were evil."
Holo-Garrick: "...what about the source of the Red Essence? Would that be strong enough to cancel it out?"
Digifanatic: "That was invincibility, right?"
Holo-Garrick: "Indeed."
Mewtwo: "Red Essence..." *He'd think.* "...That was something Smithy made. We never found the recipe for it. The remaining stores dried up. We'd have to dig for it, somewhere."
Digifanatic: "Ahhh. I'd almost be willing to try to unearth some of that."
Mewtwo: "Don't worry--Smithy was much more recent for us. It was only 1-2 years ago, tops."
Jason: "Heh."
Mewtwo: "If this was your 'Season 13' or whatever you called that abomination, you'd be out of luck, yes."
King Demon: "That could be useful."
Holo-Garrick: "That might be something we want to look into later..."
Digifanatic: "I like that."
Mewtwo: "There's a ruin where Exor once was. It used to have all kinds of freaky X-Zone energy in it, but that's gone. ...But nobody checked to make sure it wasn't still stocked with rust-covered robots..."
Holo-Garrick: "Creation... creation... could the Triforce do it? It was created right after Hyrule was created, or so they say."
Jason: "Eh, we can take those down if they still operate."
Mewtwo: "The problem with the Triforce is Ganondorf."
Digifanatic: *Nods.*
Mewtwo: "Ganondorf won't give it up, and we signed a truce with him."
King Demon: "Gannondork? Didn't we kick his ass rep... oh."
Mewtwo: "He won't hit us because he knows that'll lure in other villains to upstage him and ruin Nintendus. If we attacked him we might further invite people like Anthon to come in and fill the power gap."
Holo-Garrick: "Phew... okay... what about the extreme magical items that were related to the Mushroom Kingdom? Crystal Stars or the like?"
Mewtwo: "The Crystal Stars keep Star Road intact. Without it, chaos will engulf their kingdom, as it had for those many years in the alternate universe, where nobody ever bothered to put them back. Grand Stars I have heard of, but Bowser is the only one who has one. The rest are scattered in distant galaxies."
Jason: "I think of the princesses said there were stars they used that didn't work."
Holo-Garrick: "Damn... okay, so that's the Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule, the swords..."
Mewtwo: "The Alsa ones probably had useless stars. The anti-magic field on that planet means their versions were even more useless."
Holo-Garrick: "The Emeralds are pretty much out of the question..."
Mewtwo: "There is Carrington Institute and their alien weapons. Unfortunately we haven't really helped them against the Time Cops. They'd want our help in retrieving the Arbiter's device that they were working with Tails to replicate."
Holo-Garrick: "Yeah, but would they have something that would be considered an item of extreme creation? Or at least anti-destruction?"
Mewtwo: "The Arbiter's Device was, arguably, both."
Holo-Garrick: "Hrm... ...what about the Sword of Light? Didn't you say someone had it? Maybe we could convince them to give it up for this..."
Mewtwo: "The Time Cops scooped it up as well as the copy. Tails has some detailed blueprints but, apparently, needs to at least get another look of one of the two that were stolen before he can properly build one."
Digifanatic: *Nod.*
King Demon: "What if he were to improperly build one?"
Digifanatic: "Demon, I wouldn't want to take that chance..."
Holo-Garrick: "It would either mean that it would do nothing... or explode in some horribly violent matter."
King Demon: "I'm just asking, for clarification."
Mewtwo: "An improperly built one could do nothing. Or it could warp the reality it is in when turned on. Or explode, destroying the entire universe around it. That would be an amusing way to defeat Evil Wolfman, but probably not very smart."
Jason: "Oooh, nasty."
Holo-Garrick: "I have faith in Tails, though... he's pretty good at what he does. I can't really think of anything else that would be--well, wait... ...this is really out there, but... the BLU Engineer's wrench?"
Digifanatic: *Smirk* "Woooow. I LIKE that one..." *Grins.*
Mewtwo: "The people of that island vanished, but an unusual mansion was left behind."
Digifanatic: "I might want to check that out, too."
Mewtwo: "The map indicates that it may not be as abandoned as it would appear."
Jason: "Any idea who's occupying?"
Mewtwo: "No. All I have is a nametag on the map that says 'Mann Mansion.' Whatever that is."
Holo-Garrick: "...hrm. Well, it might be worth it to look..."
Mewtwo: "I can say, it is probably the least likely to involve dying by high-powered magic beam or lethal army assault or being erased from time itself. But of course, nothing is entirely safe on Alsa. Is that an acceptable mission target, QBs?"
Jason: "If it's secure, sure."
Holo-Garrick: "There is one more option I could throw out there... something completely off topic, but..."
Mewtwo: "I'm not sure what exactly 'secures' that mansion, and Red Text's data on it doesn't say anything as to what's inside."
Holo-Garrick: "I could attempt to get back in contact with Garrick. The real Garrick, that is. I've lost contact with him about two months after the Arbiter situation. As such, he might have found something that could help. If he's alive."
Digifanatic: "Any consolation if you get Alex instead of Garrick?"
Holo-Garrick: "Eh... he's good in a fight. If a little... out of his mind."
Jason: "Yup." *He has nooooooo idea this Alex is a bit wacky.*
Mewtwo: "I do not trust most of the original old guard, but if he has a brain in his head and is not needlessly angry, then he is free to help. In any case, you can attempt that while the others deal with this... 'Mann Mansion.'"
Holo-Garrick: "He might be at least useful."
Mewtwo: "I will not tolerate complete insanity, however. That is how Metal Man got the foothold to destroy the world."
Editor's Note: Of course irony does occur later on...
Holo-Garrick: "Alright... I'll get to work on creating a device to generate a signal. If it's Alex, then... I'll turn him away. Maybe send him deeper."
Digifanatic: "Ah."
Mewtwo: "Send him somewhere, like to distract Anthon."
King Demon: "Sounds good."
Digifanatic: "Heh, that could work."
Holo-Garrick: "That could be done. It'll take a while to get the message out, though. I have no idea where he is. In any event, go take care of this Mann Mansion thing."
Mewtwo: "Just as long as it takes less than five days. We are in a hurry due to Evil Wolfman's countdown. QBs, are you ready?"
Holo-Garrick: "Remember, guys. It's most likely you're going to do at least some combat before it's all over. Come to me if you want upgrades to weaponry, armor, equipment, or new things."
Jason: "Of course!"
Digifanatic: "Will consider this."
King Demon: "Sure."
Kaine: "Fine with me."
Kraela opens her eyes and stands up from where she's leaning against the wall. "We're moving?"
Mewtwo: "It won't do us any good if we get to Evil Wolfman, only to have the first weapons you started with bounce off of his field, anyway."
Jason: "Don't be afraid to see if you can expand our budget a bit, Garrick."
Digifanatic: "Yeah, Demon and I would particularly appreciate that a lot."
Holo-Garrick: "I'll do whatever I can."
Digifanatic: "Thanks a lot."
Jason: "Yeah, we're gonna do some exploring, Kraela."
Kraela: "That works."
Kaine: "Let's go."
Metal Man (GM): The warp appears to the zone in question. It's a RED Teleporter. TF2 Red.
Kaine: *Shrugs and heads through the teleporter.*
Kraela goes through the warp next.
Metal Man (GM): You warp in, one at a time.
Jason: "Demon, Ian, I think we'll be fine." *He'll take the warp as well.*
Metal Man (GM): On the other side is a massive RED colored mansion. It is dark out, and the mansion is lit up. The front hallway lays open, the door just hanging open to invite anyone in. Behind you, there is a pitch black barn of sorts. You can hear various noises. Crickets... wind blowing... strange, ethereal phantom noises inside the mansion...
Kraela: "I think I like this."
Jason: *Glances towards the barn, then looking at the mansion* "Same here."
Kaine: "Yeah, this'll be fun..."
Kraela: "So, barn first to get the smaller space over with, or straight into the abyss?"
Jason: "Well, the mansion was the original trail. I'd prefer cleaning that house out first."
Kaine: "Whatever works." *Draws his sword.*
Kraela: "Mansion, then." *She walks through the door.*
Metal Man (GM): The mansion is brightly lit up, as if someone is there. No one is. The inside hallway goes left and right. The right side goes to an area blocked by fallen boards and it's dark behind the boards. The area on the left goes to a lit doorway.
Kraela: "Am I the only one that wants to go right?"
Jason: *Looking at the two paths* "Nah, count me as well."
Kraela: "Kaine? Tempted?"
Metal Man (GM): The path sits there. Despite the creepy wind/voices at times, it seems perfectly uninhabited here. But of course, you can't tell until you check it out.
Kaine: *Shrugs* "Right works..."
Jason: *Starts moving the boards out of the way if he can get at them with his hands.*
Kraela helps, using the hook on her halberd as a tool.
Kaine: *Helps move the boards.*
Metal Man (GM): After a bit of moving, the last boards... fall backwards. And into an abyss. Dimly visible behind the abyss and to the left is a hallway. The corner is just a giant bottomless pit, however. It's a rather small diameter one, but obviously not to be trifled with.
Kaine: "Right..." *Looks to see how easy it'd be to go around the corner.*
Metal Man (GM): Relatively easy. No rolls or anything, as long as you aren't stupid or completely non-descriptive you should make it.
Kaine: *Does so, avoiding the abyss, hopefully.*
Metal Man (GM): Kaine proves why you should not 'do so' when I say 'completely non-descriptive' as he... doesn't do anything except stand there. Better be more descriptive this time.
Kraela goes through the abyss, carefully jumping over the pit on her way to the hallway.
Metal Man (GM): The boards creak eerily but Kraela gets across safely.
Kaine: *Jumps over the pit as well, aiming for the hallway around the corner.*
Metal Man (GM): Kaine bumps into the wall a bit but seems to not have much trouble.
Jason: *Takes a few steps back from the outside wall (relative to the corner), and leaps towards the inside area of the far side, just missing the corner of the wall.*
Kaine: "Shoulda kicked off the wall... oh well..."
Metal Man (GM): Jason gets across, and now that I have your attention, time for something down the hallway.
Kaine: *Looks down the hallway.*
Metal Man (GM): Down the hallway is a lit up sitting room. And a boarded up door in the way. Oogh, one sec, heart palpitation. Stupid thing.
Editor's Note: Well I'm glad that wasn't seemingly serious... ...it's one of those strange things where you see it and think, "Huh, my heart was malfunctioning 8 years ago..."
Kaine: *Walks down the hallway, keeping an eye out for any traps.*
Jason: "This one might take some brute force."
Metal Man (GM): Well, I have no health insurance, so I'm not even going to guess why that one felt worse than the usual ones. If I have any problem over there, I'm gonna die anyway. Anyway... You walk down the hallway, finding no traps. Just a boring old door with some planks of wood nailed into it. Ostensibly, to prevent people from walking in and falling down yonder pit.
Kraela: "So break it down?"
Jason: "Oh, I hope so." *Swings his keyboard around, ready to play something to help bust it down.*
Kaine: "Of course." *Sets to doing so.*
Kraela: "I'll let you take care of it, hon."
Metal Man (GM): Sorry if I'm a bit slow, whatever that was, it sort of took my breath away for a moment and threw me off.
Kaine: "Gee, thanks..." *Still breaking it down.*
Metal Man (GM): The door is smashed to bits along with the boards, since it wasn't in all that great shape originally anyway.
Kraela: "Sorry, Kaine."
Jason: *Chuckles* "Bit slow on the call, Kraela. Oh well."
Kaine: *Looks beyond the doorway.*
Metal Man (GM): That was mostly for the pit. I also am still trying to regain my focus after whatever that was attacked me. brb, getting a glass of water.
Jason: *Glances around as well.*
Metal Man (GM): Ok, I'll continue now. Sorry for the interruption, just that I had to recover from... whatever that was... You look into the lit up sitting room, and see many chests of drawers, a nightstand, and some lamps. It's kinda boring. Not so boring: The doorway to the left, and the doorway dead ahead.
Editor's Note: March 14th, 2011... hmmm... I can only guess stress was involved. Finals, maybe? I dunno. All I know is I'm alive typing this, so it must not have been that bad.
Jason: "...I'm almost gonna feel silly if there are a few field-worthy curious that are hidden in these drawers..."
Kaine: *Enters the room, looking around* "Well... someone may be here, or was here recently."
Metal Man (GM): Dead ahead is an entry way into a far taller room, complete with a pit ringing some sort of precariously placed remnant of the middle of the floor. To the left, it looks vaguely like the doorway to the left you passed up earlier.
Jason: "I suppose I'll pass for now." *Opens the dead ahead door and just looks around.*
Kaine: "Good idea."
Metal Man (GM): ...That's it, I had that Mocha Balance bar. The extra caffeine must have given my heart a punch it didn't like. Bah. The dead ahead door enters into a shadowy control room of sorts. In that it has a big glowing device in the center of it and 'Control Point' is written on the sign above the door.
Editor's Note: Interesting, I forgot those 'Balance Bars' existed.
Jason: "Oooh, nice." *Looks at the glowy thingy.*
Kraela: "That certainly looks interesting."
Metal Man (GM): It's a gray-colored device in the center of the floor that emits light. It blinks every so often.
Jason: *Glances at the shape of the object, anything written on it, etc.*
Kaine: *Looks around at the room, approaching the device carefully.*
Metal Man (GM): Nothing written on it. The room is filled with haphazard junk laying around the destroyed moat of pit around the weird 'control point' object. When you look closely at the object, it starts turning... red.
Kaine: "Looks like we missed the fun..." *Looks at the control point curiously.*
Jason: *Slowly approaches it, backing away if it looks to become unstable.*
Metal Man (GM): It's now 50% red. It's just changing color, as far as you can tell.
Kraela: "Isn't red supposed to be a danger color?"
Metal Man (GM): It is now 75% red.
Jason: "The portal we used was red... Now, the guy Garrick brought up mentioned the color blue."
Metal Man (GM): It turns 100% red. Suddenly, you hear a vast rumbling down the hallway. Something evil sounding is coming this way, laughing evilly.
Jason: "Okay, who's running up this way?"
Kaine: "Uh... crap?"
Kraela: "I think red was a danger color in this case."
Kaine: "Probably..."
Jason: "Perhaps we should backtrack and take the other door."
Metal Man (GM): The being runs into view. It's... a massive headless monster, wielding a giant guillotine like axe! ...And it's not Kenku. :p Do you fight it, or run?
Kaine: "Time to go, guys, I think..."
???: "Bwahahahahah!"
Jason: "I think so."
Kaine: *Backing away from... whatever it is.*
Metal Man (GM): You go to run away... but you'd notice something. Stuck into it, for whatever reason, is a wrench.
Jason: "...Wait, that might be what we're looking for."
Kaine: "It might be. Guess we fight." *Sighs and gets into a fighting stance.*
Jason: *Smirks and readies himself.*
Kraela: "I reserve the right to bail if I start taking too many hits." *She gets ready for a fight too.*
Metal Man (GM): El Battle! I guess my luck is still around. @_@ Order: HHHH, Kraela, Kaine, Jason. He laughs maniacally and swings his axe at Jason. *SHINK* 75 damage! Yup.
Jason: *RES point.*
Kraela: "Why do people keep pissing me off by hurting him?" *she mutters, and pushes forward.*
Jason: "You care for me, Kraela. That's why."
Metal Man (GM): Hit.
Kraela: *She then goes for the hook.*
Metal Man (GM): Hit.
Kraela: *And finishes with an executioner.*
Metal Man (GM): Hit.
Jason: *M* "Kaine, I think we should just go for the wrench right now..."
Kaine: "Good idea..." *Grabs for the Wrench.*
Metal Man (GM): Yes. Melee check. Takes 3 TP to do, FYI. You knock it free. Another 2 TP to pick it up.
Kaine: *Goes to pick it up.*
Jason: "Nice job, Kaine! Should we run out with it, or keep fighting him?"
Metal Man (GM): You pick it up. So far, so good.
Kaine: "Yeah... might be time to go, I think..." *Can't move, so he defends while checking out the wrench to see if there's anything special about it.*
Metal Man (GM): It glows slightly.
Jason: *He's actually ready to run out of there with the others and the wrench and not try to fight, as Kaine did the one thing he was hoping for!*
Metal Man (GM): You can then preset yourself to running. I assume the others plan on running too?
Jason: *He will autopilot himself out of there!*
Metal Man (GM): The HHHH doesn't like what Kaine did, so he goes to slash Kaine! 75 damage if hit.
King Demon: *Uses one resist* (takes it down to 37, right?)
Metal Man (GM): Yes. You can now go to full running. Which will be at your movement speed.
Kraela starts moving out too.
Metal Man (GM): You move out of range, then out of battle. Moving away as well?
Kaine: *Takes off with the wrench.*
Metal Man (GM): Kaine moves at about the same rate as Kraela, a bit slower, but in one turn only has enough time to keep pace with her anyway. Jason: You're ahead of them. Do you wait for them or keep running?
Jason: *Takes another round to head out.*
Metal Man (GM): Jason rounds the pit and exits the mansion. The HHHH is much faster than his size would indicate... ...except you used a hidden door he can't fit into! He goes to take the long route, laughing maniacally the whole way. Kraela would be able to exit the mansion as well.
Kraela follows Jason out.
Metal Man (GM): Aaand... *Fast forwarding noise* The HHHH tries to chase you, but ultimately you escape... barely. He gets in one last whack at the slowest one... Kaine. Dodge check for Kaine. *Slice* 75 damage. It laughs evily as Kaine then warps away.
Kaine: *Two resist.*
Metal Man (GM): You return, holding the wrench. Well, that was... kind of easy... guess it's a good thing you looked there.
Jason: "You okay, Kaine?"
Mewtwo: "...About time SOMETHING went right..."
Digifanatic: "Yeah, you guys worked quick!"
Holo Garrick: "Fan-friggin-tastic."
Kaine: "Yeah... more or less." *Hands the wrench to Mewtwo.*
King Demon: "Nice job."
Mewtwo: "That is one of the two devices we need. We have the device of great destruction, and this of creation. Now we need to make sure it won't explode when we combine them."
Digifanatic: "Yeah, the stabilizer..."
Holo Garrick: "We need to talk to this Nullus to see if he would be willing to crystallize the magic. I have an idea about that... though I'm not sure if you'd all be willing to go along with it."
Digifanatic: "Let's hear it first."
King Demon: "I'm willing to listen at least."
Holo Garrick: "Well... since this Nullus is a person. ...I would teach him how to use Magitek."
Editor's Note: Oh my God, what, you WANT a Solarian Machine with Time Cop characteristics???
Mewtwo: "Nullus is wandering around in Toad Town. Someone will have to fetch him."
King Demon: "Great... into the devil's maw, huh?"
Mewtwo: "And I'm not sure if someone who can destroy entire civilizations should also know how to use Magitek."
Holo Garrick: "I told you you wouldn't like it."
Jason: *Nods.*
Holo Garrick: "But I can't think of any other way to create a physical representation of his magic."
Digifanatic: "I have an odd idea myself."
Holo Garrick: "I can't do it since... well, no physical body."
Digifanatic: "If you want a physical essence, can we take him to the Mask Salesman if he can still conduct business?"
Holo Garrick: "...the Mask Salesman?"
Mewtwo: "The only way to find him would be in Subcon, and... that has been taken over by Evil Wolfman."
Digifanatic: "Darn!"
King Demon: "Ugh, frickin' wolf..."
Holo Garrick: "Can you think of another way to generate a physical form of his magic? We really can't put the magic in there..."
Mewtwo: "I'll have to ask Captain N. He should know something."
Jason: "Fine."
Mewtwo: "For now, though, the QBs are dismissed, since they finished their mission."
Holo Garrick: "...right... any upgrading you guys would want to do, then?"
Mewtwo: "We need just that one more artifact... and this wrench means no more need to go suicidal on Anthon or others like him." *He floats off.*
Digifanatic: "Good to hear that, Mewtwo..."
Holo Garrick: "...erm... Mewtwo? Could I see that wrench?"
Metal Man (GM): He stops.
Mewtwo: "Never fails."
Metal Man (GM): He shows the wrench to Holo Garrick. It is... some sort of strange reality altering tool. He'd try to hand it to Holo Garrick, if he can even hold it.
Holo Garrick: "...I don't think I have any solidity, so... I can't hold it. But looking at it is nice... if you could, Mewtwo, you can put it in the lab and I can run some tests on it."
Mewtwo: "Yes. I will definitely have it tested." *He'd take it and float off to Dr. Light's lab.*
Holo Garrick: "...great." *He groans and looks to the others.* "Well, if you need any upgrades, I can design plans, at least."
King Demon: "Hmmm..."
Jason: "That could probably be manageable. You mentioned Scotty last time, it probably wouldn't surprised you that I've been a friend and co-worker of his for a while after he left the Questers."
Metal Man (GM): And FYI: Holo-Garrick may not be able to give you the superweapons of Stadium past, but if you need any very unique function, he and I can hash out how many 'modules' worth it is, then if it isn't too much for you to wield, give you the price.
Holo Garrick: "...hrm. Not really. Keytar kinda helped that. GSPB badge, too."
Metal Man (GM): Though I'd suggest you write up your ideas and submit them a next session or so, as my mind is a bit scattered by that body BSOD I had earlier...
Jason: *Smirks a bit* "Loud and proud."
Holo Garrick: "Well, I might be able to tweak the instrument so that it would do a bit more in combat. Shouldn't be too difficult, I think."
Jason: "But sometimes loud isn't just loud enough... needs more power, more range... it'd help in a crowd. Hate to fire something at a group of targets and only one really feels it."
Holo Garrick: "Hrm... I might be able to add some sort of focus to the sound, make it widespread or narrow spread depending on the target."
Jason: "I'm also lacking a bit in what it can fire... I'm a musician, this isn't a one-trick weapon... or three, in this case."
Holo Garrick: "I can definitely change that."
Kraela: "Not sure how you could upgrade my weapon. Except that it only seems to really cut once..."
Jason: "Great... I think the diversity needs to be the first priority here, then go for spread, then power. I'd love to see what you can come up with it."
Holo Garrick: "Hrm. Alright."
Jason: *Gives Garrick a thumbs up.*
Metal Man (GM): Recap. The Questers... Brawlers... they did some things with a guy and a thing... and another thing... oh yeah, it's coming back to me now... They obtained a thing of great creative power: the Engineer's Wrench, from Mann Mansion. They had to run away from the Headless Horseless Horsemann, but... ultimately they got away with it. The Item Combiner now lacks only one item. But will the QBs get it in time? 4 days remain... Continuation The QBs are at the Assembly room. As is Mewtwo. Mewtwo is thinking...
Mewtwo: "We have almost completed our device. But time is short. Where are we going to get an instrument of order?"
Metal Man (GM): He looks through the dex Metal once had.
King Demon: "What were the options again?"
Mewtwo: "...See, there was one of these instruments on a planet named 'Genetia', but... that planet never existed in this dimension. And the 'original' world was annihilated, leaving an empty space where it once was. Also, Alsa isn't an option for this one. Order and it just don't go together."
Metal Man (GM): Razor would walk in, eating an egg roll.
Jason: "That sounds about right..."
Digifanatic: "Hello, Razor."
King Demon: "There's an understatement... Hey, Razor."
Metal Razor: "Mmph... hmmm... what about the Sword of Order?"
Mewtwo: "No, that was a lie made up by The Void, to fool Charles."
Metal Razor: "...Figures..."
Metal Man (GM): Captain N walks in again as well.
Captain N: "The Fighter Remo--"
Mewtwo: "That's not a tool of Order!"
Captain N: "...Well, it was worth a shot." *He walks out again.*
Metal Razor: *Chuckles* "...Poor guy's been trying to be useful since I first saw him here..."
Kraela chuckles as well.
Digifanatic: "The kind of shot that would only hit the broad side of a bar."
Metal Razor: "...Wasn't there some hologram of Garrick here? Did he know anything useful?"
Kaine: *Snickers.*
Mewtwo: "He searched, but... I don't think he knows anything either. I'd know by now. I looked through my own data... Ivan Robotnik was always talking it up about his devices of order. How he'd somehow save the world with a modified satellite... but I checked. If it existed, it vanished with him and The Void."
Metal Razor: "...Those Alternate Questers... what about them?"
Mewtwo: "Hmmm."
Metal Man (GM): He calls into their HQ.
Mewtwo: "This is Mewtwo. Please respond, Alternate Questers."
Metal Man (GM): The feed opens, revealing a burnt down crater where the Alternate Quester HQ was.
Metal Razor: "..."
Mewtwo: "...Did anyone check in to make sure they were okay recently?"
King Demon: "Uh... shit... again..."
Metal Razor: "...No... ...It's a good thing I didn't care too much about them, I guess..."
Jason: *Facepalm.*
Kaine: *Sighs and facepalms.*
Kraela: "Could be worse."
Metal Man (GM): Professor Oak walks in. He seems to have some really old manuals.
Kaine: "Yeah, it could be us."
Professor Oak: "Er-hem... maybe I have an idea..."
King Demon: "If we don't hurry, it WILL be us."
Metal Razor: "I... hope it doesn't involve a trillion coins, Oak."
Professor Oak: "No no no! That was The Void's doing!"
Metal Razor: "...Sheesh."
King Demon: *Sighs, groaning* "If it does, I'm going to... good."
Professor Oak: "The cubes. I don't know what anyone told you, but they were lying in that alternate dimension."
Metal Man (GM): Oak holds a fistful of them. They still yet glow.
Metal Razor: "...What... they're been active this whole time?"
Kaine: "Alsa? Or the alternate Questers' world?"
Professor Oak: "The one where Metal Man led the Questers to blow up their own world."
Digifanatic: *Rolls his eyes* "Alright..."
Professor Oak: "...Basically, the cubes still exist. And my machines still work. I got the Pseudo-cubes to work yesterday. But more importantly, we can make an Order cube!"
Metal Razor: "...Shouldn't that just cost a few thousand coins and we're ready?"
Digifanatic: "Great!" *Smiles.*
Jason: "That'd be nice..."
King Demon: "Cool, an easy mission for once."
Professor Oak: "No, unfortunately. Not all my tools survived the... transition. That and we need better than just a normal cube."
Kaine: "Right..."
Professor Oak: "I have a plan, but I'm not sure if Mewtwo will allow it."
Kraela: "There had to be a 'but', or we wouldn't have been called."
Mewtwo: "Why would I not allow it?"
Professor Oak: "We must use Magitek. Because..." *He holds up a cube.* "These cubes are just a stub. A glimmer. They used... Quester energy."
Holo Garrick: *Bzzzzzzt* "I believe someone said Magitek."
Digifanatic: "Hmm..."
Professor Oak: "If we put it in the weapon, the Questers would have to kill themselves to power it. That would be too extreme a cost to kill just one superbeing."
Mewtwo: "Magitek destroyed the old world. Chaos and madness followed it. It was a 'Solarian' invention which led to all being turned into X-Zone."
King Demon: "Yeah, Professor Trade-a-Lot did."
Professor Oak: "...If you use the Magitek built by Void-influenced beings in the crazy world, yes. Magitek didn't actually come from the X-zone... or Solarians... The Void was reading our minds."
Editor's Note: Well, technically it did come from Solarians, but I guess if you narrowly interpret it, you could claim the amalgamation spell came from a more generic place.
Holo Garrick: "I'd tend to agree with Oak. Magitek is a tool, nothing more. It's like a gun. The gun doesn't do the killing, the person using the gun does."
Professor Oak: "He made our thoughts come true. But some of those thoughts were mundane applications. The cubes are 'magitek', the transformers were 'magitek'... several of your weapons are 'magitek'!"
Editor's Note: Yes and no... I really doubt things like transformers count. Oh... look, past me also doubts it!
Metal Man (GM): Mewtwo seems doubtful until the last statement.
Mewtwo: "What? But..."
Metal Man (GM): He picks up a simple stock sword laying around.
Professor Oak: "How many swords... naturally give the wielder better accuracy... without magic?"
Mewtwo: "Shape and form can help--but... it is true. Magitek is just a name applied to a concept we've used all this time."
Metal Man (GM): He shrugs, dropping the sword.
Digifanatic: *Nods, smirking a bit* "Sounds about right."
Mewtwo: "We can use it for this one case, since the entire universe is on the line. Otherwise, like all extreme uses of power, it should be limited to emergencies."
Professor Oak: "Right. But there's a problem. A hologram can't do magitek."
Mewtwo: "..."
Professor Oak: "I mean, he can make weapons. Low-level magitek stuff. But not this cube! It is a truly rare pokemo--er, human who can make enchanted weapons."
Holo Garrick: "There are a few solutions to this. First off, I can attempt to teach someone how to use Magitek. I'm not entirely comfortable with giving up the secrets to the craft, but..."
Mewtwo: "...As long as it is not a Quester. I do not expect them to go insane or kill us, but... I can't trust the remaining ones to not be potentially twisted by it. A Brawler, maybe. But I'm not sure if they're strong enough..."
KitOrbel: "..." *She thinks for a few moments,* "What exactly do you need to be able to do to create- Awwww..." *She pouts at Mewtwo.* "You're no fair!"
Mewtwo: "You, with Magitek? It would end up in Panzer's hands."
Metal Man (GM): He gives a bit of a grimace at Kit.
Holo Garrick: "If there's any chance Panzer would end up learning how to use Magitek, I'd erase all the data from my banks right now."
KitOrbel: *Another drop down from the ceiling for Kit... Landing behind Mewtwo. She steps out to be by the others.* "It would not." *She glares.* "I can keep family and business separate."
Holo Garrick: "There is another option..."
Mewtwo: "I have trusted too many people. Aetos... Glyph... Julian... others... other lives... every time I was lied to. As it is, I will have to seek the remaining traitors to the Stadium and end them myself, once this is over."
KitOrbel: "... Mewtwo, honey. Think about it for a moment. If Panzer learns the art from me. She no longer NEEDS me. If she no longer NEEDS me... Then who do you think she'll TEST it on. I wouldn't even let her know I knew how. The instant she knows, I become a smoking crater."
Mewtwo: "No, you will not fool me with complex statements. I have another idea."
Kraela: "Just leave it, Kit. Why do you want it anyway?"
Mewtwo: "I shall learn Magitek."
Kraela: *Krae's eyes widen and she takes a step back.*
Sky: "...I could teach it to Mewtwo, yes..."
KitOrbel: "Because, I wanna be useful to you guys." *She pauses and stares at Mewtwo.* "No. Heck no."
Mewtwo: "I am part machine, yet I possess a form of 'magic'... psychic powers..."
Metal Razor: "...I'd have volunteered, but... I wouldn't want to encroach on Garrick's turf."
Mewtwo: "Yes. I can learn Magitek, then the others can grant me the coins needed to make this weapon. The simplest mission yet, right, QBs?"
Digifanatic: "It seems like... yeah, if we can afford it."
KitOrbel: *She frowns at Mewtwo.* "How do you know you won't go crazy either mister Brain Plate."
King Demon: *Shrugs* "Whatever works."
Kaine: "Fine with me, I guess."
Kraela: "With all respect, I'd rather learn it than have you learn it. Too much power held by one person- and you just get another Metal Man. Or similar."
Mewtwo: "I am the strongest willed being in the building. If I went crazy... you'd stand no chance either."
KitOrbel: "All the more reason for you to not learn it. It's too risky. Like putting all our eggs in one basket."
Mewtwo: "Metal Man was a lunatic, bent on stealing the money from the treasury to finance his insane plans. I on the other hand wish to protect the Stadium which Wolfman made my responsibility. A Brawler could learn it, but if it is not strong enough... we all die. Thryne... I would not trust with a wooden spoon."
KitOrbel: "I agree with the Thryne thing..."
Mewtwo: "Who else, if you insist on someone else?" *He crosses his arms.*
Jason: *Bobs his head* "Same here, Kit..."
Holo Garrick: "Again, I might have succeeded in contacting Garrick. He might be here on his own soon and can do it himself."
KitOrbel: *She frowns and looks between everyone there.* "Hm... Sufficient Magic and Technology knowledge... Not a quester... Strong enough to not doom us all..."
Mewtwo: "We have four days... I do not see the wisdom of spending them searching for someone who is not going to betray the Stadium, yet is as powerful as a Quester, so that we can be assured it will be good enough."
Holo Garrick: "...though that's a long shot..."
KitOrbel: "You're right, you're the best choice Mewtwo..." ^^;;
Mewtwo: "We can contact Garrick and also have myself learn the Magitek, then."
Kraela: "Kaine might be able to do it, if it's about magic."
Digifanatic: "Seems so to me. At least we're keeping everything within the bounds of the base."
Holo Garrick: "It's a combination of the two, to be honest. ...well, I'm kinda torn, myself. No offense, Mewtwo, but this is something like a trade secret. You don't give this stuff away for free."
Mewtwo: "I possess technological power, in the form of reploid implants, and the magical knowledge from Mew's DNA."
Holo Garrick: "...but again, it's kinda necessary... given the situation we are all in."
KitOrbel: "Our only best chance to learn it would be Dad... Or Ian."
Kaine: "Me?" *He looks confused* "Sure... I could give it a shot..."
Mewtwo: "What would be a worthy payment? I can get the QBs to fetch it if needed."
Holo Garrick waves his hand about. "I didn't mean pay ME. Damn, what would you have that I would want?"
Digifanatic: "Yeah, Danny's not here and I'm not sure how much trust everyone else would put it Put in me."
Mewtwo: "..." *He would shrug.* "A metallic body?"
Holo Garrick: "Ha! Robo Garrick!"
King Demon: "I like that idea!"
Jason: o_O "..."
Mewtwo: "I don't know what AI like. That's why I insisted all traces of SIMBER or anything else strange like that not be turned on. But you are... were... ...something... being who was physical, so you do not operate like other AI, hence why I tolerate your presence."
Holo Garrick: "Seriously, though... I'm just a computer program. Nothing more. I'm programmed with the best of Garrick, but... I wouldn't want to live without being able to do Magitek and the like."
Jason: *VERY quietly to Demon* "If he loses his marbles after he takes a solid form, I told you so."
Mewtwo: "So, if it is a deal, or otherwise, you can teach me the Magitek knowledge... directly into my brain, if you choose. I have a direct connection to the network. Hm... true."
KitOrbel: "... Mewtwo. How can we guarantee Panzer doesn't already know Magitek? I really wanna learn! I want to be useful for you all. I wanna be able to protect Ian and Demon... And the brawlers too."
Mewtwo: "..." *Holds his head* "G-Glyph wanted to be useful... and then he tried to blow us all up with time bombs..."
Kraela: "You are useful, Kit. Best shot in the room."
King Demon: *M* "Before or after I blow it up?"
Holo Garrick: "Panzer doesn't know Magitek because we aren't all dead."
Digifanatic: *Chhuckles.*
Mewtwo: "...Yes and... no." *He looks down.* "I saw her. She... had a 'soul' in her... Not... a real one, but... a low level, magitek one... ...I didn't bring it up. I thought I was seeing things."
Holo Garrick: "That's part of the deal to make Magitek work. You've got to have the physical and mental connection to do things. It's why I can't do the job. I'm just light and atoms."
Mewtwo: "It isn't a full on Magitek thing... but it is a danger. One which is why I wish to know Magitek now, actually. So that if I need to, I can disassemble her permanently. I was the one who let her get away with taking a Fire Flower out of the field. It's my fault for not dealing with her."
KitOrbel: "..." *She pauses,* "Now I see why you won't let me... Because my emotions are compromised on the situation."
Mewtwo: "Yes. Panzer has been at these games for years. Longer than you've been alive."
Holo Garrick: "Look, Kit. It's not just you."
Mewtwo: "Longer than there has BEEN a Stadium."
Holo Garrick: "This stuff is extremely dangerous... and frankly, you're not on Garrick's list of trustable people."
Jason: *Scoffs* "Figures."
Mewtwo: "Even I don't get the full scope of it. But if it involves me, or the Stadium... I will deal with it. The AlternaQuesters vanished, died. If they come for us, whatever it is... I should be prepared as well. There are many dangers. But with Magitek, maybe I can lessen them."
Holo Garrick: "With enough of a bonding agent and a strong enough mind, you can plant enough magic into... hell... the planet itself."
KitOrbel: "I'm a hundred and forty years old. Give me SOME credit, you overgrown floating furball." *She growls,* "I understand though. If worse came to worse, I wouldn't be able to kill my mother. However, I won't try to stop you from doing it either."
Editor's Note: Panzer was several hundreds of years old, so... no dice.
Mewtwo: "So... you can upload the Magitek knowledge into my mind, Garrick. I have... ideas."
Jason: "Well, according to the short list he's given us, Garrick and Ian are the only two people here that he'd trust..."
Holo Garrick: "Alright... THIS is gonna be weird..."
Kraela: "I still think that Kaine would work. He's one of the most trustworthy people here, I'd say, and he has a good deal of magic experience already." *But she doesn't speak very loud. She's lost already, and she knows it.*
Holo Garrick glances off to the side, his eyes blinking a bit as he makes a... whew... mental connection with Mewtwo via electronics. @_!
KitOrbel: *She sounds... A lot like her* "Mother" *when she gets upset like that.* "I'll be practicing my aim." *Without a word, she climbs back into the air ducts.*
Metal Man (GM): Mewtwo would hold his head. He'd throw a few sparks from it, since this isn't the normal use of that connection. The lights would flicker, and then he'd flinch and curse for some reason, before it would then be finished.
King Demon: "Try not to land on anything important, Kit."
Kaine: "Later, girl."
Metal Man (GM): He would stand upright again, glowing slightly
Digifanatic: *Nods.*
Holo Garrick: "Download complete."
Mewtwo: "...Yes. This power is what we needed to complete the cube."
KitOrbel: "Right, don't land on you guys. Got it." =D
Kraela takes two more steps back.
Mewtwo: "Oak. Obtain me the blank cube. QBs... I require money. Lots of it, if possible... to use to create this device. ...10,000... maybe 100,000... It will be needed to make a truly powerful weapon."
Holo Garrick: "Actually, I might be able to help some more."
Kraela: "You don't pay us, boss. We don't have that kind of coin."
Mewtwo: "For it is not just my soul that is needed... but the money, which acts as a ... boundary-crossing mechanism to make it true. Then... we must find it."
King Demon: "Did she just call us important, Didge?"
Digifanatic: "Yup, she did."
Jet steps into the assembly hall and tries to just calmly clue himself into the conversation.
Mewtwo: "The mission is not over, then. We shall need to find 100,000 coins."
Jason: "What did you find, Garrick?"
Holo Garrick: "There's a location that might have some back up coinage and equipment"
Digifanatic: "Nice!"
Holo Garrick: "Though the logs on it are a bit hazy."
Starr: "I'm sorry, but I can't empty my treasury Mewtwo... Not even for this. I promised myself a light purse so I wouldn't undermine my army. However, I will help you make the coin, as always."
Mewtwo: "Metal Man has many coins. Maybe ten times that... but..." *He shakes his head.* "I don't know if you could take him... and I can't leave this place... ...Jack has many times that amount, but he is even deadlier than Metal Man..."
Editor's Note: Unless I'm forgetting something, I'd think Metal Man would go, "Oh, saving the world? Here, take some."
Kaine: "Sweet, treasure hunt! Hey, Starr!" *Gives her a quick hug.*
King Demon: "What's the location, Garrick?"
Holo Garrick: "Hold on, checking my database... making sure this is really doable. ...wait, damn. Never mind."
Mewtwo: "Hm... wait a minute. You were onto something, Garrick, but... not that base. That never existed."
Metal Man (GM): Instead, he shows... an island?
Holo Garrick: "...oh jeez, really?"
Mewtwo: "Charles. He had a base. It vanished with The Void, but not all of it. It wasn't yet time for him to turn completely insane."
Jet: "Never existed?"
Mewtwo: "His tower was on this island. It had a treasury filled with wealth."
Holo Garrick: "Pfffft."
Mewtwo: "...But it is guarded by Boos... Boos who probably still do not forget his promises... even though he doesn't exist anymore..."
Holo Garrick: "Those are going to be some seriously strong Boos."
Starr: "... And you're sure this is a -safer- way for us to get the coin?"
Holo Garrick: "It's more direct, if anything."
Mewtwo: "...I had forgotten all about it, as of course, a pile of gold surrounded by an army of boos is not the... easiest way."
Holo Garrick: "But it's the fastest."
Mewtwo: "The Boos are still Boos. They can be dispersed."
Starr: "... So we're screwed six ways to Sunday."
Holo Garrick: "..."
Mewtwo: "They have patrols. You can defeat them, right? They aren't Ghost Metroids..."
Holo Garrick literally starts laughing his holographic ass off.
KitOrbel: *From the air ducts even,* "JUST LOOK THEM IN THE EYES! MAYBE YOUR FACE'LL SCARE 'EM!"
Holo Garrick: "She reminds me of Yurie!"
Starr: "... Krae, she sounds like you."
Metal Razor: "...Yeah... I don't think they'll be that BAD of a problem... you won't even need me to take care of them..."
Kraela: "Kit does?"
Starr: "Yes."
Metal Razor: "...Yurie..." *He stares off into space, as if remembering something.*
Kraela: "I don't see it."
Holo Garrick looks to Razor... pausing his laughing.
Metal Razor: "..." *He shakes his head.* "Just go in there... boot some boos... and make a lot of money..."
Starr: "... Right. Will do."
Metal Razor: "..." *He looks to Garrick.* "You know how it is... Yurie is gone..."
Holo Garrick: "Yeah..."
Metal Razor: "The Void sent her to the center of the universe... ...And nearly did the same to me. Even then... I'm all machine now..."
Metal Man (GM): He looks at himself.
Holo Garrick: "Just... you know... the somewhat good times."
King Demon: "Yurie... ugh..."
Metal Razor: "Yeah... it's too bad they're in the past now. You're... a hologram, and I'm... a machine..."
Starr: "Sorry to bring up bad memories..." *She looks uncomfortable.*
Digifanatic: "I can help mess up some ghosts..."
Metal Razor: "..." *He looks at Demon.* "You... never knew her. You wouldn't understand..."
Mewtwo: "...If you need help, I can send Luigi with you. He knows a lot about ghosts."
King Demon: "Nah, but I knew her MTA..."
Holo Garrick: "It's fine, Starr. Don't worry about it. You can't really hurt my feelings. I don't HAVE any."
Metal Razor: "Her MTA? ..." *He shrugs.* "I never cared for those much myself. Kept... exploding on me..."
Mewtwo: "I can have the portal ready, though I will ask again. Do you want Luigi's help?"
Starr: "I'll work with anyone you deem willing to send, I just hope he doesn't mistake me for my cousins..." *She still looks uncomfortable. Shocking, as Starr'd normally throw a fit.*
Mewtwo: "He's currently sitting in his house, bored."
King Demon: "Yeah, damn thing went suicidal on me!"
Metal Razor: "Sucks to be you, I guess..."
Kaine: *Pats Starr on the back* "I'll keep ya safe, Princess."
Jet: "Sure, if hes not doing anything anyway, he can definitely join us, sides he probably sane enough to be able to use his knowledge on Boos."
Metal Razor: "I'm going to... help prepare to fight Evil Wolfman. Gar... you should get your real-body self here soon. He'd want to see the end of this..."
Metal Man (GM): Razor then walks off, sighing.
Holo Garrick: "Yeah..." *He turns to the QBs proper.* "Alright, I'm going to make this offer once more before things start getting real."
Metal Man (GM): Razor could be seen going to the Holo-room and punching out some simulation-baddies, as usual.
Holo Garrick: "This goes to you too, girl pretending to be Gordon Freeman!"
Digifanatic: *Chuckles.*
Holo Garrick: "I can do weapon and armor upgrades before Evil Wolfman shows up. Anything you can think up, I can do. Anything form a simple sharpening to a full blown rehaul."
Metal Man (GM): Mewtwo idly puts a hand to his chin, then takes out Metal's old dex.
Starr: *She snickers,* "How much would it be for a pair of quick boots?"
Holo Garrick: "Boots that make you go faster? It'd be less of the boots and more of your entire body. I'd have to rig up something that would make all of you go faster, not just your feet. Though, with Magitek, I could make it just the boots. If I can't pull it off, Mewtwo could do the actually spelling while I do the tech work."
Starr: *She considers this,* "Hm... Full body suit?" *For a moment, her eyes seem to focus in the distance.* "What are the options? I only have 350 coin to work with."
Mewtwo: "Yes. That is possible." *He looks at the dex.* "I can also make Magitek equipment... but I will let Holo Garrick choose what is made, for now. It is his idea, anyway."
Holo Garrick: "It'd probably be around 250 coins for a suit of armor that would increase your speed. Though with some serious working of the stuff, I could make some really good stuff that adapts to your body. Make you go faster without liquefying your bones."
Mewtwo: "...The Boo-vault will probably have more than enough coins in it. Do well, and you may make more money than needed."
Holo Garrick: "Though it'd cost a pretty penny. Talking around 1K."
Mewtwo: "Luigi's data indicates you can find more coins if you take out the Boos... with style???"
Holo Garrick: "Yeah, he's right. Anything left over from the vault could help out to it."
Starr: *She nods softly,* "Alright then... Let's see what we can get out of the boo vault." *She smirks,* "I want to see how good I can be."
Mewtwo: "I will open the warp. Don't worry, I will save the magitek for when it is needed." *He opens the door outside and... creates a warp pipe.*
Jason: "Sounds good... I might be able to use some of the funds for my keys as well..."
Mewtwo: "...Since I still don't trust Magitek, except where it is needed..."
Kaine: "Sounds like fun, let's go!" *Smirks.*
Metal Man (GM): Oak has filed out by now, waiting on the coins probably.
Starr: *She nods and follows Kaine.* "You'd better keep your promise."
Jason: "Krae, ready to bust some ghosts?" *Smirks.*
Kaine: "Of course, Your Majesty."
Holo Garrick: "Alright, good luck, guys."
Digifanatic: *Chuckles* "Sure you don't want one of us Questers handling this?"
Jason: "We might be fine!"
Kraela: "Yeah, sure. Let's get rich."
Jason: "Sweet!" *Gives her a quick one-armed hug before bolting into the warp.*
Mewtwo: "We're safe without Questers handling it. Er... the ones who are here... that aren't Garrick or Razor..." *Well, if that isn't obvious old-Quester favoritism, nothing is.*
Digifanatic: "Heh, go get 'em."
Metal Man (GM): Mewtwo naturally floats off to his office.
King Demon: "Yeah... thanks, Mewtwo... Someone tell me again why I do this?"
Metal Man (GM): Warp, and... Demon's question is unanswered. DUN DUN DUNNN. Anyway... Magellean Wasteland. You arrive at an island. It's a nice island, with little red posies. And a beach. Very peaceful. Also... Chairs... tables... bricks... Laying around everywhere. You see a door randomly jammed into the ground.
Jet looks curiously at the door.
Metal Man (GM): This is all that remains of Charles' great madness. The door is not one that goes anywhere; it's just standing upright, corner-stuck in the dirt. The mother lode is up a hill, on an eroded, unmaintained pathway. You see a bathtub hanging over the edge of a cliff up ahead. And some pottery bits in the dirt.
Kaine: *Looks around* "Well, up the hill, I guess?"
Jet heads up the hill.
Kraela looks around before following Kaine.
Metal Man (GM): The hill is rather tall. It's not quite a mountain, though. The hill's dirt is crunchy; you can smell the sagebrush and the flowers as you walk up the brown path. As the path goes up the mountain, more debris becomes visible. A piano here, a broken water fountain there... And a gold brick, just laying out in the dirt.
Kraela: "Is that worth some money, then?"
Kaine: "..." *Picks it up.*
Jason: "Probably."
Jet tries to discern the quality of the piano, or its broken pieces.
Metal Man (GM): It's half-melted. Worth maybe 200 coins. *Clink* +200 to your 'found gold' total. The piano... it was once worth a fortune. Now it has weeds growing out of it. It's also smashed. It fell a looong way.
Jason: "Totally not worth it, Jet." :P
Kraela: "Onwards?"
Jason: "Yup, let's go."
Jet tries to remove a couple of the keys from the piano, thinking they may be Ivory.
Metal Man (GM): The way ahead is clear. It also begins to widen. Hm... maybe... who knows what they're worth, though? +? coins.
Jet follows the others on.
Metal Man (GM): Up the hill is a larger collection of bricks, and a massive girder.
Starr: "This place is creepy..." *She takes to clinging to Kaine's arm.*
Kraela: "It's just a spring cleaning gone horribly wrong, Princess. Not too scary just yet."
Jason: *Looks up at the bricks... still gold, right?* "I'd say after every decent supply of money, we have it warped back quick."
Kaine: *Heads on up the hill.*
Metal Man (GM): Nope, those bricks aren't gold. They're red. Walking a liiittle bit further up the hill, the true center of the madness is visible.
Kaine: *Holds onto Starr as they climb.*
Metal Man (GM): It's the base of a tower.
Jason: *Picks one up and looks at it... if Magellan was rich, they might be ruby, though.*
Starr: "..." *She frowns.* "Stupid broken down castle..."
Metal Man (GM): The first floor is all that remains, and it is surrounded by massive piles of brick. Mist climbs out of the ruins and seems to surround the place, limiting visibility. The door hangs open--part of it was ripped off by something.
Starr: "Nrrg..." ;-;
Jason: "Looks nasty, doesn't it?"
Kraela: "Well, that's interesting." *Kraela walks towards the tower.*
Jet lights a small flame to see if he can burn off the mist a little.
Metal Man (GM): A distant glimmer of gold can be seen from the hole in the door. The mist... seems to just keep on coming. A little flame won't get rid of it.
Jason: *His check of the brick?*
Metal Man (GM): The path up to the door becomes fully stone, and makes your steps click and clack. The bricks are not ruby. They're just regular bricks. Ruby, while nice... is not load bearing material. Even normal bricks didn't fare well, here.
Starr: "..." *She takes out her parasol and tries to spin it around fast enough to give them better visibility.*
Jason: "Eh, these probably aren't worth it either..." *Sets the brick down.*
Jet starts to slowly walk towards the glint of gold, keeping his flame lit as well for visibility.
Metal Man (GM): The mist can be pushed back a little bit, but it's still like London Fog. The entrance awaits. The entrance stands in the way of the gold, though it has no lock. It's just sitting on the frame loosely.
Kaine: *Opens the door.*
Metal Man (GM): The door flaps wildly, slapping Kaine in the face for 15 damage! It then slams shut on the frame, standing in the way.
Kaine: *Steps back* "Right... haunted."
Starr: "EEEK!" *She jumps away and winds up hiding behind Krae now...*
Metal Man (GM): The frame is wood. The door is wood.
Kraela: *She chuckles and pets Starr in a condescending manner.*
Jason: "Blast it from afar, I think."
Kaine: "Yeah..." *Steps away from the door and fireballs it.*
Metal Man (GM): Chuckling is heard, as the door slams against the doorframe again.
Jason: *Looks for windows.*
Metal Man (GM): Windows 98 won't help you here.
Jet tries to carefully burn the frame to burn the door off its hinges.
Metal Man (GM): I mean, what remains of the windows sit on eerie frames like the door does. And have shutters on them. The door burns and makes a moaning noise. The way in is now clear. You hear some sort of strange organ music playing inside.
Jason: "There we go..." *Heads in.*
Metal Man (GM): The floor, made of wood, groans violently when stepped on.
Kraela: "If you're too scared, Princess, you can wait outside. All alone."
Metal Man (GM): Jason would see a room with rocking chairs, busted pictures of Charles, busted busts of Charles...
Kraela: *She follows Jason.*
Metal Man (GM): Indeed, his face isn't visible anymore, like it was ripped from this place.
Starr: "... I-I'm fine..." *She pouts and goes back to cling to Kaine.*
Kaine: "I really should have known better." *Holds her hand out to Starr, before walking in.*
Metal Man (GM): This floor is actually quite mundane. You know, with the elevator shaft and staircase going up to nowhere. And the shaft and staircase also go downstairs.
Jason: "Man, this is a mess..." *Looks for the glint of gold again.*
Kaine: "You expected anything else?"
Metal Man (GM): The glint seen earlier would also be visible... a rocking chair has a bar of gold sitting in it.
Jason: "Ahhh..." *Goes to pick the bar up.*
Metal Man (GM): You hear a three stooges noise, then it flies at your forehead!
Jason: *Ducks!*
Metal Man (GM): It flies out a window and out of sight.
Jason: "Alright, I fell for it, but I'm unscathed..."
Kraela: "We'll deal with more than that." *She's grinning, obviously pleased with the situation.*
Jason: "Yup." *Smirks.*
Jet looks at the others. "So stairs or elevator?"
Metal Man (GM): Paper Mario (An Invitation to Boo's Mansion) music (Sort of the music I have in mind, though piano instead of organ) The elevator call button is still there...
Jason: "The stairs are more likely to be operable, put it that way..."
Kraela: "Stairs. There's more ways for an elevator to be dangerous."
Starr: "Stairs."
Jet: "Alrighty" *Jet says and starts to carefully climb them, one hand on the railing.*
Kaine: "Yeah... Stairs are probably easiest... I smell a rat either way, though."
Kraela: "Obviously."
Jason: *Follows Jet up.*
Kraela just watches and waits.
Starr: *She doesn't go up yet, she looks to see if there's a rug on the stairs or not...*
Kaine: *Checks the elevator shaft, though he doesn't enter it.*
Metal Man (GM): It has only one visible floor... Jet climbs up to the top of the stairs. It abruptly ends where the next floor would be. It's more like a tower now... A very lopsided, leaning tower... That could fall over at any minute... The way down, now... that goes somewhere. Kaine: The doors to the elevator are closed. There is a button to call the elevator, though.
Jet decides to turn tail and head downward.
Jason: *Follows* "Basement, girls."
Metal Man (GM): The way down is more expansive. In fact, there's a grandfather clock laying down there, smashed.
Kaine: *Presses the button.*
Metal Man (GM): The clock face is going backwards.
Kaine: *Then immediately backs away from it.*
Metal Man (GM): Kaine would see the door open, and... an elevator open for him to get on.
Jason: *Examines the clock, perhaps looking to see why it's moving backwards.*
Jet tries to gaze around the rest of the room to see what else is there.
Metal Man (GM): Jason would look closely at it. It would then hit 12 o'clock and begin loudly chiming. Jet would see that the clock is on a landing; he'd have to go down further to see the basement.
Kaine: "Right... later." *Heads down the stairs, presumably with Starr.*
Metal Man (GM): Kaine would head down the stairs, and see Jason looking at a clock, and (presumably) Jet going further down to see the basement. The basement is pitch black, no visibility. And cold... The mist has really settled down there.
Starr: "..." *She takes a deep breath,* "They're just boos. I have them drafted in my army. They're good soldiers." *She steps into the elevator... Holding her parasol.*
Kraela heads downstairs.
Jet increases his flame to help keep him warm.
Metal Man (GM): Starr discovers that these are also good soldiers--in that the elevator was an illusion.
Jason: *Sees if he can pull anything out of the clock that might be worth anything.*
Metal Man (GM): *WHEEEEEEEEWM BAM.*
Starr: *She uses her parasol to float!*
Metal Man (GM): Starr would take out the parasol in time to hit the top of the elevator--too short a fall. It'd eject her out onto the basement floor, bruised and 15 HP less... The others would walk right over, and see her and the basement floor.
Kaine: *Picks her up, dusting her off* "You all right?"
Jason: *Eh, he's at the basement now.*
Metal Man (GM): Yes, well, it was a trap. Can't avoid some fall damage.
Starr: "... Son of batch of birdo eggs..." >.<
Metal Man (GM): Continuing on... the basement is still more or less pitch black. There's little but a light around Jet. It's hard to tell what is actually here...
Kraela: "Peaceful," *Kraela comments.* "Can you turn that up, or no?"
Metal Man (GM): Except the sounds of Boos laughing in the distance.
Jet: "Maybe a little more. Little hard to control after a point although" *he says and tries to increase flame size a little more.*
Starr: "..." *She growls looking upset now, upset and determined.*
Jason: "Well, here we go..."
Metal Man (GM): The flame makes a door visible. It has a large padlock on it.
Kaine: *Pats her on the back* "Hey, it's okay. Boos are like that."
Jason: "Yeah, I hear them... Kit said keep your face to them?"
Kraela looks at the door itself. Is it breakable?
Metal Man (GM): Yes.
Starr: "... It's a-..." *She just sighs,* "If you want to try, go ahead."
Kaine: "Where are the lights in this place?" *He's looking around a bit.*
Metal Man (GM): There's a light switch... it looks very old.
Kraela: "Anybody against me busting this door down?"
Kaine: "Go ahead." *She stabs hard at the door.*
Metal Man (GM): The door sits there... *STAB* It disintegrates. Then... the noise of boos. Lots and lots of boos. (Boolossus Battle - Luigi's Mansion)
Jason: "Weeeell, surely there's got to be or two that were looking dead at the door..."
Metal Man (GM): The Boos come out... some with Pretzels...
Boo: "HEY! It's the Questers! WHERE ARE OUR PRETZELS? WHERE IS CHARLES?"
Boo 2: "We were promised lots of things and nobody gave them to us!"
Boo: "We can't use all this useless gold! But we could use... you!"
Kaine: "Pretzels? Sorry, I didn't get the memo we were supposed to bring them."
Boo 2: "Maybe we should stick them into paintings?"
Boo: "No! Let's just beat them up!"
Boo 2: "Yeah! That's more fun!"
Kaine: "How about some doritos?"
Boo: "Doritos? You monster! We hate doritos!"
Boo 2: "And Dominoes Pizza!"
Boo: "And Metal Cola!"
Boo 2: "We hate all of it, and we hate YOU! Bwaha ha ha ha!"
Metal Man (GM): They form into a massive Boo. BOOLOSSUS BATTLE!
Starr: "... Way to go, hon."
Kraela: "Well, if they're going to be nuts, it might as well be one big nut."
Metal Man (GM): Order: Boolossus, Star, Jet, Kraela, Jason, Kaine.
Boolossus: "You will be smushed flat! And then we will smush Magellean for betraying us! And Erwin! And Metal Man! And The Void! And Anyone else who we can remember the names of!"
Metal Man (GM): It then goes to smash Kaine, Starr, and Jason all at once!
Kaine: "Aren't they all dead?"
Metal Man (GM): Threatens all three of them with that roll.
Boolossus: "We're ghosts, nitwit! We can attack... THEIR ghosts!"
Metal Man (GM): 45 damage if hit.
Kaine: "Oh, in that case, I think they're in... uh... ask Ian."
Boolossus: "Who is this Ian, so that we may destroy him too?"
Kraela: "Just shut up Kaine."
Metal Man (GM): Boolossus says this as it goes to smash Jet into the wall. 65 damage if hit.
Boolossus: "You will all be smashed! We will get our revenge!"
Starr: *She pouts softly and spins, winking at them.* "Calm down, boo-baby." *And the princess bats her pretty eyes at the Boolossus. 1 damage each, +Stupefy, vulnerable, and stun.*
Metal Man (GM): It... covers its face!
Boolossus: "No! You can't touch me! I've blocked you from my vision!"
Metal Man (GM): It... is not paying too much attention to you now that it's covering its face...
Starr: "..." *She keeps looking at it, at first in confusion... Then because, holy hell, Kit was right?!*
Jet takes his flame and unleashes it in a small barrage of flame before trying to power shoot, staring towards the boo all the time.
Metal Man (GM): Let's see... uh... not unless there's some sort of system thing for that. Jet leaps into the Boo! Hoo-hoo! *BONK* Ow! 10 damage! Boo Hoo Hoo!
Boolossus: "Oh no! It's-a you, Mario!" *Continues hiding.*
Metal Man (GM): Hit. Anything else?
Jet tries to steady himself in case the Boo comes at him again. (+1 Ref, EoT)
Metal Man (GM): The Boo is still covering its face. That works well, looking at it.
Kraela: *Krae attacks it with a massive Executioner.*
Metal Man (GM): Massive damage!
Kraela: *She follows it up with a flash slice.*
Metal Man (GM): Miss! No, but Luigi's Mansion indicates you can cause their life force to slowly die.
Kraela: *Ending up behind him and using her last point to defend.*
Jason: "That's a big guy..." *Smiles and charges a Sonic Slingshot for 1 TP to start things off.*
Metal Man (GM): The Boo is smacked into the wall behind it for 10 more damage.
Jason: "Good start..." *Tries it again without a charge, defending for 1 TP afterwards to end his turn.*
Metal Man (GM): Oh yeah!
Jason: *And thus 1 TP of dodge, EoT.*
Boolossus: "Ow! Urgh! Argh!"
Kaine: *Charges up a fireball for 2 TP, before launching it at the Big-ass Boo.*
Metal Man (GM): *FireBOOM* Boolossus
Boolossus: "Argh! You're tough! Much tougher than you were a year ago... Quester... ...whatever you are! But I'm not done yet!"
Metal Man (GM): He uncovers his eyes, then spins around, breathing fire everywhere! Threatens all. 35 damage to Kaine. With 1 more SP, you can even dodge that one, also whoops. And also... 65 damage to Jet. 25 damage to Starr.
Starr: *She winks at the Boo again, to see if it really works again...*
Metal Man (GM): Alas, it doesn't this time.
Boolossus: "I'm not that foolish!"
Starr: "Shoot." *She defends. EoT.*
Jet tries to barrage and blast the boo again.
Metal Man (GM): It bounces around the barrage. Then directly into the blast. The Boo is looking very beat up now...
Jet steadies himself again(+1 D, EoT)
Metal Man (GM): Whoops. Melee/in-range. He's HUGE.
Jason: *Goes for Toccata and Fugue to start on this turn...*
Metal Man (GM): The Boo laughs.
Boolossus: "You're going to kill me with my favorite song?"
Jason: "You should be lucky it is..." *Bides his time, defending for his max (2 TP). EOT.*
Metal Man (GM): *ZAP.*
Kaine: *That was so good, let's do it again!*
Metal Man (GM): Hit! The Boolossus hits the wall.
Boolossus: "No... my integrity... years of waiting... curse yooooou!"
Metal Man (GM): It disintegrates into Boos, who fly off at random. Also, 274 coins drop onto the floor, and a gold bar.
Kaine: *Takes the coins.*
Jet picks up the gold bar.
Metal Man (GM): +200 more... and the vault is open! ...It lights up of its own accord.
Starr: "... Jackpot?"
Kaine: "Princess?" *Holds out his hand for her.*
Metal Man (GM): Tons of coins lay around, in mounds... ...but the mounds seem... off... Some sides of them end in square walls instead of rounded mounds... And some of them have stuff melted into them...
Starr: "...Hm."
Jet relights a flame just in case. The flame seems to waiver a little as Jet does his best to steady it.
Metal Man (GM): There's a path of gold which snakes through the uneven mounds.
Jason: "Okay, might be another trap..."
Metal Man (GM): Rocks and bits of the ceiling are stuck in it, too.
Kaine: *Pulls out a grenade, ready to use it to spring the trap* "Should I?"
Jet: "Ummmm... anyone want to try to follow the path?"
Starr: *She pokes it with her parasol.*
Metal Man (GM): It's... solid.
Jason: "Hang on..."
Metal Man (GM): It makes a loud CLUNK. The... floor, yes, although Starr can poke the pile too.
Kaine: *Pokes the pile with his sword.*
Metal Man (GM): *CLUNK*... it's also solid.
Kaine: "Right... fake?"
Starr: *She frowns,* "So..."
Kaine: *Heads down the path.*
Metal Man (GM): The path leads further in. It is lit by various lanterns, which are statues of angelic godlike figures... most of them missing limbs, heads, or parts of the lantern, exposing the bulb alone. It is solid, too... The way seems to have been thoroughly ruined by explosions and fires. A lot of burnt areas are around, as well as a trench that was once a river, but now just a bunch of dirt in a concrete thing.
Starr: "Jeeze..."
Metal Man (GM): Up ahead however, lays a few locked chests... And an armored figure on a throne. The figure is clutching a spear made of platinum, etched in gold, covered in beautiful gemstones. He wears a massive crown as well, made of gold and emeralds. 7 of them. He has gold-plated knuckles with a variety of gemstones set into them.
Jet walks over and tries to focus his fire and wield through one of the locks.
Metal Man (GM): The locks are made of a very tough material, and don't want to melt. They seem to not be that easy to open, but they are heavy. Jet would, however, see a key laying in a pile near one of the chests. The armored figure looks like it would normally be worn--it's not a statue, just literally armor.
Kaine: *Looks at the figure, then investigates the chests.*
Metal Man (GM): The chests, all four of them, are red, green, blue, and white. The white one has its key laying right by it, half-submerged in the pile. It also has a key holder atop it... separate from the lock? The red one has emblems of fire carved into it. The green one has plants on it... The water one has waves on it.
Kaine: "..." *Looks at the four chests... and shoots a fireball at the lock on the red chest.*
Jason: *Glances at the armor as well, reaching out for it.*
Metal Man (GM): Hm. The chest bounces but does not open. It falls backwards, though, revealing some sort of blackpowder line behind it... The armor... Jason would feel a great amount of energy reverberating off the armor. Still gonna touch it?
Jason: *Retracts his hand* "Oooh, I wish I could have that dispelled..."
Jet picks up the keys and tries to discern which would work for which chest.
Jason: *Pulls out his radio to call up the HQ if he can reach there.*
Kaine: *Checks the powder.*
Metal Man (GM): The radio doesn't connect. Weird... There's only one key, Jet. It's a white key. And it's sitting right next to the white chest. The powder leads to... somewhere... behind a wall...
Jason: "Dang..." *Pockets the radio.*
Kraela grabs for the white key.
Metal Man (GM): The white key is readily picked up. It's... very airy-feeling. But it could be put in the lock. Or... put in the key holder atop its chest.
Kraela: *She then fits it into the white chest to open it.*
Metal Man (GM): *Click* ...The key vanishes from Kraela's sight. It then reappears in the pile, but invisible to Kraela. Everyone else can see it.
Kraela: "Okay, that didn't work."
Kaine: "Guys, take cover." *Lights the powder on fire.*
Jason: *Retreats.*
Jet runs back towards the path.
Metal Man (GM): The powder burns and goes behind the wall. *BOOOOM* ...A giant fireball rains from the ceiling and hits the chest.
Kaine: *Takes cover himself.*
Metal Man (GM): It melts a gem atop it, revealing a red key that was sitting inside it all this time... The key and the chest glow from the heat, but the danger seems to be gone...
Jet: "Well thats interesting..." *Jet says as he goes to inspect the* "Water" *chest.*
Metal Man (GM): The water chest has a bunch of water emblems on it. Like a river. Nothing else. Hmmm...
Kaine: *Picks up the key and uses it on the red chest.*
Metal Man (GM): The red chest opens.
Jason: *Looks at the water chest* "Looks like there used to be some water channel around here..." *Points to the dirt ditch.*
Metal Man (GM): Red emeralds spill out of it. You're rich! Rich I tell you! +25,000 coins Well, red rubies, my bad. Why in the world would emeralds be red? The dirt ditch is indeed, within reach of the water chest.
Kaine: *Scoops up da red rubies.*
Metal Man (GM): Pink beryl? Intriguing. So, that's one fourth of what you want... There's still three chests remaining.
Jet: "Well, anyone have a way to feed water through the channel?" *He asks as he looks around for a faucet or something.*
Metal Man (GM): Well, there IS a faucet, but it was broken.
Starr: "No clue."
Metal Man (GM): A giant rock fell on it, smashing it.
Jason: "Hmm..." *Digs up some of the dirt with his hand to see if it's still moist.*
Metal Man (GM): The dirt is dry as a bone.
Jason: "Nope, not wet..."
Metal Man (GM): On that note, the green chest does have dirt/earth marks on it.
Jason: "But..." *Scoops up some more dirt and offers it to the green chest.*
Kaine: *Takes some dirt and places it on the dirt marks next to the Green chest.*
Jet tries to see how weak the pipe to the faucet is.
Metal Man (GM): It goes down to a well. It's very strong... But there's no way to get the water out of it without that... apparently electric-pump-powered faucet. Or is there? The dirt fits the marks. The chest glows a bit, but then nothing happens. Must be missing an ingredient, as there's also some small glyphs for water on that chest as well...
Jet looks at the pump, and tries to diagnose how badly damaged it is.
Metal Man (GM): Giant chunk of brick smashed it to bits, then crushed it over the course of years.
Kraela goes over to the water chest, thinks for a second, and tries spitting on it.
Metal Man (GM): Nothing happens.
Kraela: "Worth a shot."
Metal Man (GM): It has images of the ditch on it, for whatever reason.
Kaine: "Uh... anyone got a seed or something?"
Kraela: "Not a one."