"four soldiers"
Zechariah shifts his head a little bit in his unconscious state. At hearing something about four soldiers, he reflexively mutters something about The Medium and apple juice. He then goes back to his nightmares in the land of Artemis and Katherine.
Keep the status quo.
You hold the status quo tightly, unwilling to share it with anyone else. Kinda egoistical, don't you think?
You're in very bad shape. You're not getting up until either your friends fix you or you roll really well.
((Anything, eh? I know what my canon will be, then.))
John looked at the war discussion with his eyebrow raised. "This whole trip doesn't seem too unusual to me- the aftereffects of the war where I come from were taken care of by time-travelling heroes. I take it Stalin wasn't a robot for you?"
((The Robo-Stalin thing reminds me of a book I once read. Written by Norman Spinrad, I think? Suffice to say that at some point Cyberstalin suffering from a computer virus and the LSD affected President of the USA meet in a brothel to discuss nuclear war. Hilarity ensues.))
"Wasn't that the one where the Nazis won with their army of undead creatures? The ones their occultists conjured?"
"No, no, you're mistaken. The world was overrun by zombies created by the Nazi's experiments and all hopes for salvation were left on the hands of four soldiers."
"No, that happened on Mars, not Earth and it was only one soldier."
"Boy, some of these worlds are pretty screwed up, huh? What's a Nazi, anyway?"
((Those are references to games. Get all three and win a pyrite star!))
"Boy, some of these worlds are pretty screwed up, huh? What's a Nazi, anyway?"
"It a large bird that bully smaller birds and taste great. Not sure how one of them would create a undead, but if my 'people' can rule the world in one universe, I suppose a handless bird can summon the undead if it really tries."
"What the Lizardlady said is close on the mark. Only in that case they were people that had those birds as their emblems, among other things."
Through interface, to the entity using the speakers and Stellar and nobody else: <Wait a sec, individuals like ME? There's more like me out there and these guys were looking into... us? and what kind of Bonds do you have?>
Through interface, to entities and teammates: <Actually no, I didn't know about the oddities of the director's stuff. I never closely examined it and I don't know what to expect from the tools around here, though I think they are unfamiliar to my host. What are the weapons Angel took off of him and how can we make use of them? Oh, and what is our escape plan?>
"I meant individuals like you in a broader sense. Individuals with powerful souls. Individuals with supernatural abilities. Those kinds of things.
Our species, the Bond-formers exist in hibernation when we are born. The moment we come in the presence of someone we deem... compatible, we wake and form a link to their soul. We improve their soul, help them unlock its potential, in exchange for sharing some of its power. It's also an intimate thing. We are always connected, minds and powers always close and able to connect to one another (we can have our privacy though, if we want to). The other is our parent, our brother and our closest friend. Or our biggest tormentor, depending on their personality.""The ball bearings are just that. Ball bearings. Metal balls with no hidden function. He was probably going to use his telekinisis or whatever ability he had to turn them into projectiles. The other thing, the one with the button, that's a bit more dangerous. It's a shield or a weapon of sorts, depending on how you look at it. It causes an explosion that leaves this plane unchanged but extends in all others. It would effectively desynchronize you from your host and cancel the effects of your abilities. The effect would continue until we were able to restore the connection. It would not be very pleasant, neither for you nor for your hosts. It's like trying to split up conjoined twins with a grenade and then reconnecting them. You could probably use it if you face anything supernatural. Just make sure to throw it away quickly after you push the button.
And about your escape plan... heh, yeah, erm... there seems to be a small problem with that. Remember when I told you this was a suicide mission? I wasn't joking when I said that. The instructions I have on this guy's mind are vague, but from what I can gather, only one of you (or more accurately, your hosts) is getting out of there safely if they complete the mission. The others would have to find alternate means of escape. So, you know, you might not want to be so helpful to Magicboy bleeding out over there, since you'll probably be competing for who gets to get out of there without facing any danger."
To John, Alan, and Jordan: <Ok, I can talk you through this, but I don't have hands so I can't help directly. first, John, take your hands and feel along his leg up to just below his groin and on the inside. there's a area you'll feel slightly more resistance at but it's still not totally firm. that is the femoral artery. press against that as hard as you can without moving his leg, it will slow the flow of blood to his leg but not stop it completely, which is exactly what we want. just keep the pressure on that spot. Alan, I need you to create a long, clean strip of cloth, these hoses won't work because they don't stretch any. Jordan, once Alan finishes making that cloth you're going to need to work with him to slip it under John's hands and tie it down at about the same pressure as John is holding it with, and that will take two pairs of hands, one for each side of John. If it's too tight then you'll stop blood flow completely and cause him to lose his leg, too loose and it won't work. I'll come over when you're done and make sure it's the right tightness. hopefully that will keep him from bleeding out. next, John, once that is done we're going to need to get him a crutch, so he can avoid putting pressure on his leg. can you handle that?>
Spawn acres of toilet paper. Double ultra plus absorbent down quilt to be safe.
You summon a single roll of that kind of ultra thin toilet paper you usually find in cheap hotels and restaurants.
Also spawn acres of duct tape.
*bzzt*
*crackle*
Ah, there we are. This is Alan's conscience speaking to the rest of his compatriots. I won't be able to help you because I am a weak and shriveled thing. But I can advise you.
Alan's an ass, but also a manchild. Use psychological weakpoints that work on toddlers and you should be fine.
((You gotta love a man that can make audio effects with his mouth...))
Nope, nothing. Looks like you're back on your streak of bad luck. You just had to summon those party hats, didn't you?
-snip-
John looked at her strangely. "Uh... ookay."
Follow directions.
Seeing Alan's continued impotency, you decide to try your hand at summoning.
Nope, whole lot of nothing on this elevator.
Follow directions.
All your other teammates have failed. Let's see if you can do something better. You try to rip some of Zach's guard clothes to make bandages. They may not be clean and they may be soaked in blood, but it's better than nothing.
You rip his clothes. You rip ALL of his clothes, leaving him only with his underwear. Well, at least you've got all the bandages you'll need for the foreseeable future right now. And some of them are.. well, not really clean, but cleaner than the rest and not covered in blood.
"Control yourself man. Now's not the time for those kind of things."With Irene's directions, John and Jordan manage to slow the bleeding. It's not a good job, but it's better than nothing. They've bought Zach some time, but he's getting paler, his breathing is getting shallower. He probably won't last more than 5 minutes like this.
"About 1 minute left until you reach the next level."((Yes, all that talking only took one minute. The elevator is surrounded by an invisible time bubble made of plot and sustained by the power of the GM.))