Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Demosthenes]

quote:Originally posted by AlanL:
<STRONG>
Yeah, this time it really was a coincidence. Those two demons are different people.</STRONG>

What? They are? Dang, I'm confused now. :|

Also, Kazo is now Magneto.

[AlanL]

Thanks    

And yes, I thought eventually a HHGTTG reference was in order.

Kazos abilities weren't a reference to magneto, but they do seem to share a few things.

Recently, I felt inspired regarding Kazos quests again... I'm looking forward to writing it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blitukus spoke to Kazo, "It seems I am now 24 years of age... now perhaps you may decide to help aiming the machine?" Kazo grinned, flicking his tail a bit, "I'd LOVE to! I've been waiting for this!" Blitukus smiled, "You will not have to wait much longer. I need to suit up. In the mean time, I would like you to start the dynamos and begin charging the capacitor." Kazo replied, "Sure thing!" Kazo then walked quickly toward the chamber. Blitukus proceeded to the work room, took off his goggles, and began to put his entire suit on. Slowly, he managed to fit it all on, checking the joints and making triple sure they were secure and airtight. He would not use the nudge... perhaps a few minutes would be all that his suit would provide him anyhow, for all it protected him from was extreme pressures and some temperatures. It did not provide oxygen though outside of the air within it, and any other potential environmental hazard, including high energy rays, he would be vulnerable against. He would likely not want to stay for very long. He finished suiting up, wearing the sphere of direction on the outside of the suit, and slowly made his way to the chamber. Kazo had done as instructed, and the capacitor was well on its way to being charged. Kazo knocked on Blitukus' steel suit, "What's it like being a kobold in a can?" Blitukus snickered, "Better than being dead." Kazo commented, "I'd love to test that armor with you in it!" Blitukus replied, "I promise... should I survive the end of my quest, you may do as you wish with me... as long as you do not do anything permanent." Kazo smiled, "Sounds like fun!" Blitukus did owe it to Kazo... then again, he found himself wondering what he potentially had just gotten himself into. Despite Kazos rather uncommon set of morals, Blitukus still trusted him. They waited... eventually the capacitor charged. Blitukus switched power to the portal ring. As the portal ring charged, he carefully calculated the initial conditions, readied the calculating machine, put in the specific coordinates he had written down along with the initial conditions, and then started it going... although most of the work was already done. Kazo eagerly watched the entire process, smiling as he observed the calculating machine do its work. Blitukus wondered... what if his present WAS the fourth component? It was unlikely, but possible... maybe possible. As the ring gained speed, Kazo walked up to it, absorbed some of the charge from it, then returned. Blitukus spoke to Kazo, "This is a device that operates on fundamental probabilities... you may observe the particle cannon firing, but as soon as the beam cuts off, cease all observation for at least several seconds. During the time the rift is opening, the entire... 'shortcut'... as the cats call it, is in simultaneous states subject to probability. When the rift is open, and we observe it, it will already likely be near the intended destination, but it is our willpower that will refine the destination to put it in a favorable place. Something will be out of the ordinary with whatever the environment will be, and we want to focus down to that. Over these distances, refinement can mean the difference between being able to reach it and not." Kazo replied, "I can't wait to do this!" Blitukus smiled and snickered. The ring was up to speed, the capacitor charged, the calculating machine ready... all was in place. Blitukus discharged the capacitor, the particle cannon firing. Kazo watched with a smile. As soon as the beam had ceased, Blitukus started the clockwork controls, and shut his eyes, focusing on making the destination come out near whatever was special in the region indicated. While Blitukus did this, he seemed to sense his willpower combining with the ever refined one of Kazo. When they both once again observed the rift, it had fully formed... on the other side seemed a land consisting of only red sky, distant thunderstorms visible... several bands of gas seemed to slowly move. Blitukus spoke, "Perhaps we focused upon the wrong location..." Kazo spoke, "Something interesting has to be there! Let's find out!" Blitukus smiled, "Then we shall."

They both walked to the rift. Air was being sucked through with quite a lot of force... there was little or no pressure on the other side. Blitukus shut the vents on his suit, making it truly airtight. He then stepped toward the edge... before him was red gas... an immense sphere of it... but, above its curved horizon lay brilliant stars. He felt nervous about stepping out into such an area, but he remembered... his mother had sent him these coordinates, and she would never do anything that would jeopardize his life. Blitukus stepped through the rift, and emerged on the other side... he immediately found himself in free-fall... yet, looking down at the red ball of gas, he seemed to be moving to the side, not downward. He looked around. In the distance were several rock-like objects that seemed to be in free-fall with him... visible in the far distance were dimly glowing moons sparsely scattered in the sky. In the far, far distance, the sun was visible... although, it seemed much dimmer and further away than it had been at his home. He realized... he now circled the red, fuzzy planet he had once seen in his optical telescope. Blitukus used the momentum of his body to turn himself to face the rift again. Turning in such a manner was difficult, but in this airless and weightless realm, it was the only option he had. Blitukus saw Kazo also emerging from the rift. Behind the rift lay a large, rock-like object. Close by to the side was a moon... the moon seemed to be covered with ice not consisting of water. Blitukus indeed noticed that there was a slight bit of condensation drifting from the steel surface of his suit... indeed, the thermometers in his helmet were pegged negative with such force to indicate a temperature below -300 degrees. Blitukus saw the nearby moon... it was the size of a small planet. This meant that the ball of red, banded gas, lightning arcing through it below, was several multiples the size of a rocky planet. Blitukus noticed a blue glow of mana around Kazos hands... Kazo seemed to move forward due to astral forces. Kazo looked around, smiling, then approached one of the nearby rock-like objects, apparantly small asteroids, anchoring himself to it with his claws, and proceeding to watch Blitukus. Blitukus noticed that he seemed to be within a cloud of these asteroids, these objects likely rather sparse elsewhere around the red gas giant. Blitukus heard nothing but the sound of himself breathing... his suit would soon become cold, the air spent. His system only cooled the suit, and even if he managed to get it to function in reverse, there was little heat at all outside to pump into his suit. He noticed though, that his suit cooled surprisingly slowly... there was no air around to carry heat away, so it could only radiate away. Blitukus found he rather enjoyed the view... although he wouldn't have long to enjoy it. Blitukus looked into the sphere of direction... it was empty. This world fundamentally had no supply of mana. Blitukus used his own stores to check the sphere. It seemed to point toward the decently sized asteroid nearby. Indeed... the rift was very close to it. Perhaps it was actually pointing to something on the other side... Blitukus turned to face it, and vented steam from the back of his suit. He was pushed in a path toward the asteroid... but his steam loop quickly stalled. Apparently he was out of range of the sources back on his homeworld. Blitukus noticed the very high density of this part of the asteroid cloud... even in asteroid belts asteroids were typically quite far between, but here they were well within range. Blitukus reached the asteroid, and set foot on it, slowly bending his legs, dust trailing upward weightlessly. Blitukus grappled the rocky edged of the asteroid, and made his way around its surface... finding there was a rather beautiful view of the nearby moon on the other side, but not any carryable items. Blitukus checked the sphere again... it still pointed toward the center of the asteroid... perhaps his goal lay within the asteroid... he checked the surface for any way through, but it seemed there was none, although the surface was slightly penetrable and could be latched to... then a new idea arose.

Perhaps he would have a use for Kazos invention... although he would only be able to fire it once without power from his suit. He would have to make it count. Still... how could he penetrate the surface of the asteroid? There was nothing around to aid him but other, smaller asteroids... this meant the only solution was to make use of a smaller asteroid. An idea quickly revealed itself to him... although he would need Kazos help. Perhaps Kazo could breach the surface alone anyhow? Blitukus looked around... Kazo was still resting upon an asteroid rather distant from him. Blitukus found a nearer asteroid between himself and Kazo. He aimed for that asteroid, and compensating for gravity... rather, the relative lack thereof... leapt toward it. He approached... and eventually reached it. He found he had little time to land and aim before he would simply bounce off of the asteroid. He aimed the best he could toward Kazo, and adjusted his course, the asteroid he was leaving behind being nudged away by a small amount. He found he was a bit off target... As he approached, and eventually began to pass his target asteroid. Blitukus aimed at the moving target, then fired the bolts, the recoil nudging his course away, the puffs of steam turning to wisps in the vacuum around. The bolts became firmly lodged in the surface of the asteroid. There was no steam left to reel himself in... Blitukus grabbed the steel cable... and was promptly jerked to a relative stop as the cable ran out. Blitukus pulled himself toward the asteroid... but, he also felt as if he were pulling the asteroid toward himself. Technically it was both. Eventually, Blitukus and the asteroid met at a point between their centers but much closer to the asteroid. Blitukus grabbed hold of the surface of the asteroid, freed and recovered the bolts, and proceeded along the surface until he met Kazo. Blitukus nearly began to speak... then realized it would be futile. He began to gesture his ideas at Kazo. Kazo smiled, reached out, and used one claw to tap at Blitukus' forehead... Blitukus realized, if Arkus was any indication, then Kazo had a much more efficient form of communication literally in mind. Blitukus rested in weightlessness, and allowed his mind to open and reveal itself toward Kazo. He noticed Kazo projecting a link. Kazo communicated, "Isn't it beautiful? I hardly ever get to leave for the heavens!" Blitukus snickered, "I agree... but I need your help. I need to break through the surface of the large asteroid near the rift. Can you retrieve the item from within it?" Kazo replied, "I think I could, but I'm not sure how good the results would be out here. Let's find out!" Blitukus responded, "No... whatever it is... I would never risk its destruction. I do have a plan that may damage the surface of the large asteroid, though. You are still able to thrust, so I would like you to propel this asteroid towards the surface of the large asteroid. Hopefully this will crack the surface enough for us to get through... but not too hard... I do not want to risk damage to the contents." Kazo replied, "Aww, I wanted to see how well teleportation works out here. Sure, but tell me one thing first! How will I hold on to this asteroid when I need my limbs to thrust with?" Blitukus thought for a few moments, then responded, "Here, stand." Kazo stood, holding himself steady to avoid drifting away. Blitukus moved himself near Kazo, took the steel bolts and cable, and, pressing his back against Kazos back, wrapped the cable around both himself and Kazo, tying them together. Blitukus then crouched down, getting a good hold of the surface of the asteroid, and moving to put the asteroid between himself and the large asteroid. Blitukus communicated, "Thrust in reverse, and I will transfer the force to the asteroid. Seeing as you do not fly back on our homeworld, I assume this thrust is not very large." Kazo responded, "It isn't... It's not efficient at all either... but I just love this environment!" Blitukus snickered. Kazo then began to thrust, pressing Blitukus against the asteroid. Blitukus used the glow of the rift as a reference in steering the asteroid... the giant boulder in space, a mass which likely neither of them could hope to move back on their homeworld, seemed rather simple to nudge forward, for there were no forces opposing their push on it. The asteroid slowly accelerated... but it kept accelerating. It sped up as it approached the larger asteroid. Eventually, Kazo stopped thrusting, and Blitukus braced himself. The asteroid crashed into the larger asteroid, sending chunks of dust and rock flying out into the heavens. The two asteroids then began to slowly drift apart once more, the surface of the large asteroid showing signs of cracking in the impact site.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I get the feeling that something about the gift was awkward... hmm...

Edit: I cut out the lower section, I actually messed up for once, and I need to fix this. Will repost as part of the new update. I might edit what's left here too.

[ January 10, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Armok]

FIRST POST!!!
Beyond Quality!!!

Real response later.

Edit:
Ok, I don't want you to take this as the story being imperfect, it is completely flawless, but in this update you could have been a bit more wordy, actually I would consider rewriting the last part of it.
Up until he cracks the crystals its all good (its good the whole way of corce but inconsistency starts to show there), but then;

1) What the HELL is a giant geode doing in outer space?!? It's a geological impossibility. geodes form by water seeping thought limestone or similar, quite similar to stalagmites in needed conditions, and are *not* naturally thin shells, they are just carved like that, also not even under perfect conditions do they get anywhere near that large. major sim error.
2) If it WAS possible the beauty would be breathtaking, worth damn more than half a sentence. Also the other views over the planet should be worth a but more description.
3) it's very strange that after all the pulling around the gift is still in the center. it would more likely be quite near the wall if I know those physics right.
4) Fales message is not worth writing out in full?!? damn disappointing I want to hear that voice again.
5) generally the entire update seems stressed and not as inspired.
6) Kazo is remarkably passive, especially towards the geode.
7) You don't describe what the angels of blood look like.
you never explain how Blitukus gets back to the portal.

Now I feel like I've committed heresy but this is a very important update that should be perfect, and it feels like you was thinking abaut something else while writing it.
Really it should be made into two updates, retrieving Fales last gift is important enough I think to deserve that.

I don't want to sound like it was anything wrong but you mentioned yourself something seems wrong, and you generally is thankful when I correct you, so I thought the naked truth would be the best.

[ January 10, 2008: Message edited by: Armok ]

[AlanL]

I knew something felt wrong, thanks for pointing it out. I'll probably just fix up the previous update tonight.

[AlanL]

I see what happened... a lot of things went wrong at the same time to make those mistakes happen, but the end result was not the end of the world.

I'm definitely glad you pointed them out though, and I'll at least give fixing them a good try.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blitukus untied himself from Kazo, and moved along the surface of one asteroid until he could cross to the cracked surface of the other. Blitukus noticed he was running short on air... his time left was counting down.

Blitukus searched along the cracks... he found he could move chunks of broken surface away... the asteroid must be a rather thin shell of sorts for even that impact to do such damage. Kazo joined Blitukus in digging through the damaged surface. Blitukus noticed... this stone seemed to be broken not in random cracks, but in some kind of pattern... the pattern was indiscernible though, rendering this only a suspicion. They continued on, and eventually, they got through to crystal... what was crystal doing in an asteroid? All asteroids previously found to have survived as meteorites consisted of simple rock and metal... it seemed this one was an oddity. After moving the broken crystal out of the way, he made his way to the hollow interior of the asteroid and pulled himself in... it seemed it was a giant geode! The crystals within sparkled beautifully... the crystals actually seemed to reflect and refract light in a very structured pattern. Kazo entered as well. Light shone through and entered the interior of this geode. The light entered the crystals, and vibrant, red rays were sent in countless directions through the cavity within. Countless reflections and red glimmers were visible upon the surfaces of the crystal, and it seemed the tips of each shone brightly against the dark interior. Kazo grinned, and nudged himself toward the center of the geode, "Now who thought we'd ever find one of these out here! Too bad it's too big to fit back through the rift!" Blitukus snickered... indeed, it was by immensely far the biggest geode he had ever seen. Blitukus also noticed something else... the rays of light within were focused toward the center. Blitukus nudged himself forward, and drifted toward the center of the geode... when he passed into the center, the rays seemed to all bounce to him, causing a flash as he passed right through the center... then for a moment, he saw, reddened in the faces of the crystals, some the reflected image of the areas behind himself, the image flipped upside-down and magnified a bit. Blitukus blinked... these crystals were reflecting light in a very precise manner... perhaps it wasn't a natural phenomena at all. This was only part of the light though, for the crystals were semi-transparent... they glowed a dim red with the light entering through the hole. Blitukus reached the other side, and grabbed hold of the remarkable crystals... there seemed to be the reflections of Kazos blue, glowing eyes emanating from the surfaces of the crystals... some were dim... some were not. Blitukus smiled and reached out to wave at him, but he found his hand made contact with something. The eyes shifted. It seemed Kazo was actually right next to Blitukus. Kazo laughed inaudibly in the vacuum, and smiled at Blitukus, transmitting, "So this isn't a geode!" Blitukus nodded, "So it seems. Do you know what exactly this is?"

Kazo grinned, "I think this is the mana focusing array of the R.R.S. Tanswurth. I love making discoveries like these!" Kazo looked around, smiling. Kazo then continued, "I would just love to bring this back... ah well, I know where it is now!" Blitukus noticed that among the crystals... somewhere was an imperfection, something absorbing the light. Blitukus began to search the walls of this... whatever this was... for whatever might be here. Blitukus asked as he searched, "I am curious... What is a mana focusing array... and what is the R.R.S. Tanswurth?" Kazo communicated, "It was the first ever interplanetary vessel to have a crew! The mana focusing array... it's like the heart of the ship! It does three things. It stores mana for use within itself and the ships systems... it collects mana from around magically charged worlds to replenish its supplies... and it focuses mana, polarizing it to be used with the force manipulation casting. As the mana focus was moved, astral tendencies of equilibrium caused forces upon the entire vessel! They expected that, focus-to-the-crystal, this array can produce 1.5 million pounds of thrust!" Blitukus replied, "Impressive!... but how did it get out here?" Kazo replied, "I read it was one loose connection that started it all. As the Tanswurth moved out of our homeworlds gravity well... they thrusted focus-to-the-crystal. They had a hard time getting this mounted properly, so I read. So the array was thrusting full out, and a mounting plate came loose... and another... and the next one bent and broke... and long story short, that vessel in the heavens tore itself apart. The array burned its power catapulting itself away into interplanetary space, and it was never seen again... until now! Some call the Tanswurth incident historically tragic... I call it a valuable learning experience! I think people get the two mixed up sometimes!" Blitukus found himself snickering... even though the story itself was rather sad. Eventually, Blitukus found an object hidden between two crystals... it was... paper? Indeed, it was a note, a smaller object wrapped within. Blitukus retrieved the note, pushed off, drifting to the front of the ancient array, and exited. Kazo communicated, "I'll just have a look around... I'd like to know exactly what happened, and here I am to find out!" Blitukus smiled... air was beginning to run rather short, and the rift may be closing soon anyhow, but he still stopped to take in the view one last time. He stood upon the exit... below him floated slowly moving and rotating asteroids... to the side, the sky-blue icy surface of a moon... it seemed small clouds, wisps of whatever composed the eternal snows, hovered upon a barely existent atmosphere. And right in front, a little to the right, the red gas giant, bands of brown and blood red on its surface, swirls of gas on the borders of the bands, thunderstorms causing flashes over its surface. Near the poles of the night side of the planet, beautiful rainbow-incandescent auroras could be seen, visibly marking where the immense magnetic field tore through the gas. Likely this magnetic field also carried a band of intense, harmful energy... luckily, Blitukus could guarantee himself he was not in that band. All around, the stars shone brightly, and for once, Blitukus saw much of the band of stars the local sun lay within... although some of it was obscured by interstellar dust. For a moment, Blitukus felt a sense of the isolation of these regions... he was familiar with wilds where one could be alone for hundreds of miles around... but perhaps he now gazed upon wilds where one could be alone for billions of miles around in all directions. Blitukus was not alone though... although it seemed Kazo was rather intent on studying the interior, and, passing by Blitukus, exterior of the array. Blitukus unraveled the note, noticing the odd, square item within. He let the item float, making sure it was still relative to him, and then placed the note in front of himself, letting it float as well.

Blitukus read the note under the dim light of the distant sun. It was a note, written in familiar handwriting... Blitukus smiled. It read as if she were speaking to him in person... indeed, it almost seemed she was,

"Happy'st Birthday, Blitukus! I'z saw 'n fighter guy an' he's said I'z his hero! Wes'n talk about many tings. He'za say he's... 'Phoenix Coalition, Special Ops.' He's gave me un' pretty ting, iss 'n 'Artifact'! He'za says iss ta stop tha biggest evil baddies an' issa protect tha good. Now iss'l protect ya! I care bout ya, das'l never change! G'luck... I wuv you!"

I love you too, mother... Thank you.

Blitukus looked at the object that came with it... it was a functionally useful gift, especially in his situation, and also a token of the immortality of their love for one another. Blitukus sniffled, smiling at the note... he then held the object he was given up, looking at it near the distant sun. Physically, the object was actually quite smaller than the paper of the note. It seemed to consist of a thin square plate of an odd type of transparent plastic with a metal tab on one end, the plastic having odd properties that gave it a rainbow hue. The metal tab was made of either steel or titanium, it seemed... he didn't know how it was meant to be used either, but if it could stall the actions of powerful forces of evil somehow... it might be quite useful in gaining the final component. Blitukus smiled as he held it between himself and the sun... the suns distant and weak rays were scattered upon hitting the object, revealing a very complex, 3 dimensional matrix of some kind embedded within the plastic. What it was exactly meant to do... even how to use it... perhaps he would find out when the situation needed it. Blitukus looked back at the note... it seemed he should get rid of the note... he felt a presence approaching. He felt he really SHOULD get rid of the note... otherwise he and his mother might be in quite a bit of trouble. Blitukus didn't want to at all... but he felt he had to, and did NOT want to risk jeopardizing his mothers soul. Blitukus sighed, then tore up the note into strips, and then lined the strips up and tore them into small squares. He felt as if he had torn right into his own heart in doing so... but it had to be done. Blitukus then cast the squares out to drift apart among the regions of space near the red gas giant. Blitukus held the plastic object, and began to look around for Kazo. Suddenly, Blitukus found himself pressed against the asteroid... Blitukus felt as if he had been cought violating a law somewhere... but perhaps he had gotten rid of the evidence. 2 angels of blood materialized, pinning him to the asteroid. The angels were both kobolds with red fur and feathered, glistening, blood red wings. They were both rather beautiful, with peace and vitality existent in their eyes. Blitukus sensed they were not evil, but were quite orderly by nature, and had found Blitukus, the chaotic kobold, near the site of some disorderly conduct. One of the angels communicated, "What are you doing all the way out here?" Blitukus responded, "... Investigating the asteroids... you might have heard I am known for my scientific accomplishments, and I wish to observe more. Upon hearing of the old ship core here, I could not refrain from investigating it as well." ...Where was Kazo? The angel continued, "And what is this you're holding? How did you get this?" Blitukus continued, "I have traveled into the future, and this seems to be an artifact from more technological eras." Although these statements were blatantly misleading, they weren't technically lies. The other angel communicated radially, "Armok must've had a reason for sending us out here. This person may be lying... it is no coincidence that he is here, now." The first angel responded, "... we have no proof that it isn't as he says, and I doubt we will ever find any here. All we have is circumstantial... it is not enough. Time travel is not against the code, nor is travel through space." The other angel replied, "Then, this might have been just a false alarm?" They both nodded to one another. The angels released Blitukus, "We apologize for such a rude encounter, but when Armok gives an order to us, there's usually a good reason. You are free to go." The angels then vanished. If Blitukus hadn't dispensed with the note... they would have had direct evidence that he and his mother had violated the bounds of the mortal plane. Blitukus let out a sigh of relief. Blitukus then heard Kazo broadcasting a laugh, "I was eager to see what they'd do with you... I didn't think the result would be nothing!" Blitukus asked, "Is that why you did not come to my aid?" Kazo replied, "I don't think I'd want to interfere with angels... it would've made things worse!"

Blitukus broadcasted to Kazo, "I see. Now... we have done all we need to here... I need you to help me get through the rift, for the escaping air will blow me away from it otherwise." Kazo replied, "Sure thing, I'm eager to see what comes next! Looks like the general Tanswurth story is right. I'm done analyzing it... for now, anyway." Kazo then left the surface of the ship core, and thrusted his way to Blitukus, stopping right in front of him. The ancient array had actually been knocked away from the rift, and was drifting away from it slightly, the rift already a real distance away. Kazo offered a hand. Blitukus accepted, and then Kazo, using his 3 other limbs, thrusted away, pulling Blitukus along with. Kazo thrusted toward a point a distance in front of the rift, then turned and slowed as he approached that point, eventually stopping there. Kazo then turned to face the rift, and thrusted toward the rift, gaining momentum as he progressed. When he met the rift, he had sufficient momentum to overcome air resistance, and passed through the roaring portal, pulling Blitukus along with.

When Blitukus emerged on the other side, he all of a sudden felt very heavy. He landed with a clank, and opened the mouth vent of his helmet to allow in fresh air. Kazo let go, then began to absorb charge from the portal ring. Both Kazo and Blitukus' suit seemed to have wisps of condensation descending from them. Blitukus now heard much more than his breath... the instability bell was ringing quite loudly. Blitukus had nearly used all his time back there... Blitukus then walked back to the console, and when Kazo was done, the rift already vanished due to a collapsing, unstable center, he shut down the portal ring. Blitukus set the plastic object down on the console, and took his helmet off, proceeding to look at the plastic object... it likely was from the future, 2000, or perhaps a bit beyond... He avoided thinking of it only as a mere device though... it told him that, in a way... his mother was still alive, even if she was only alive in his heart regarding the mortal plane.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
... Ok, I think I covered all 8 points. I of course am a little worried that I did the note inaccurately, but I don't have any bad feelings regarding any specific parts, so it's probably OK. At least, I hope it is.

[ January 12, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Impending Doom]

Once again, awesome.

hrmmm... there seems to be no shortage of winged kobolds in this universe, but few if any of the other races. Perhaps their appearance is only what the viewer percieves?

I get the feeling that Blitukus will be revisiting the wreck of the Tanswurth sometime soon. After all, it's a two thousand year old, mana powered starship!

Edit: FIRST POST!!

[ January 11, 2008: Message edited by: Impending Doom ]

[AlanL]

Thanks  

Unfortunately, the ship was, well, not a starship for one. It was an interplanetary vessel, nowhere near interstellar. Two, its heart getting ripped out kinda damaged it beyond repair  :p

Nice idea though.

As far as the winged Kobolds, I'm assuming that Armok, and therefore his 'employees', have kobold avatars, although the demon that Blitukus released assumed that form temporarily. We could also say that they tailor themselves to their audiences.

[ January 11, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Impending Doom]

Dawww...  

Ah well. Still a wonderful story.

Also, had some general questions about kobolds that I have been putting off for some time. Are they descended from a generic canine species, or are they closer to any particular species? Are they plantigrade/digitigrade? Do they see color in the same spectrum as humans?

Gawd, I ask waaay to many questions...

[AlanL]

Thanks again  

I assume they can be either plantigrade or digitigrade... not actually really sure which I would pick. Likely there are digitigrade tendencies, at least. They can see color as well as humans can. As far as which species exactly... not sure, but probably descending from something like dogs or wolves... then again, dogs descended from wolves.

[ January 11, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Armok]

Beyond Quality.

OK, just vent to bed and realized I had forgotten to write a response here, so I am quite tired and don't have the time or energy for a proper update. only immediate danger. I read it early i n the morning as usual.

quote: ... Ok, I think I covered all 8 points. I of course am a little worried that I did the note inaccurately, but I don't have any bad feelings regarding any specific parts, so it's probably OK. At least, I hope it is.

I think you might have overcompensated Fales note a bit. need to speak further about this on chat.

I just realized I forgot a BU award in the last post that I got the first, will tomorrow hopefully.

Zzzz...

[AlanL]

Thanks.

 

quote:Originally posted by Armok:
<STRONG>...you might have overcompensated...</STRONG>

I probably did a little. This is turning out to be more complex than I had thought.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kazo smiled, his tail waving about, "I can't wait for our next journey!" Blitukus replied, "You will not have to. There is only one thing left... I must gain the fourth and final component, and put it to use." Blitukus then switched power back to charging the capacitor. He began to take off his suit, leaving the pieces near the console. It was likely, if he faced powerful demonic powers, it would be nothing but a hindrance to wear that thing around. At least without it, he stood a chance of evading them. Blitukus pocketed the plastic square, and gained possession of the sphere of direction as well from the steel plate now resting on the ground. Blitukus walked to the water channel and took a drink. Blitukus then stood by the control console. Kazo looked at his own invention on the arm of Blitukus' suit, and spoke, "I'll have to make myself one some day." Kazo then looked at Blitukus, "I love a good adventure! Thanks for including me." Blitukus smiled, "Thank you for helping." Suddenly, Blitukus finally realized the full implications of it... this was it... but, for some reason... he felt as if this was not truly the final part of his quest. He felt as if he had missed something, left questions unanswered... what would happen if he rewrote history... would the gods notice? They probably wouldn't, but what were the implications and costs of what he wished to do? Whatever it was... it was worth it. Eventually, the capacitor charged. Blitukus switched power to the portal ring. As the portal ring gained power, Blitukus stood next to it, then gestured for Kazo to join him there. Kazo approached. Blitukus spoke, "I use this in a manner to perceive the true, complete position of the components, a manner involving all dimensions. Such an enormous operation causes it to overheat very rapidly, meaning I usually get merely a glimpse of my destination. I would like you to cast cooling upon it as I use it... hopefully it will extend the viewing time, at least slightly." Kazo placed his hands near the sphere and smiled, "Sure thing!" Blitukus then reached out and allowed the arcs of the portal ring to jump into him... he then realized a very simple mistake he had made. He drew his arm back.

Kazo snickered, "Forgetting something?" Blitukus no longer had the amulet. Blitukus replied, "It seems I have formed a habit... It matters little. I now need you to convert the energy to mana for me it seems. Could you power the sphere while I make use of it?" Kazo replied, "Sure thing, just hold it there." Blitukus held the sphere out. Kazo wrapped his tail around part of the adamantine coils behind him, and then held his hands near the sphere. Blitukus tried to focus his will upon the sphere, to allow it to transcend into higher dimensionalities... but it simply shutdown at the attempt. Blitukus spoke, "More power, please. Much more." Kazo moved slightly. Blitukus felt some mana seeping through the sphere back into him... it was saturated with mana. Blitukus tried again... this time it worked, allowing Blitukus to project his search through space and time, for at least a moment. Blitukus saw the destination marker... it lay within the Rametaru of the future... although it seemed the land around was dead, the buildings decaying, but the city was still moving. That was all Blitukus could see before the sphere overheated. Kazo commented, "Now THAT looked... interesting! I wonder what that was!" Blitukus spoke, "It seems those without the proper... erm, perspective, find objects of higher spatial dimensionality to appear rather distorted in rather odd ways. That was a map projected in higher dimensions." Kazo smiled, "So... I remember, you and Arkus were talking about that subject! Arkus never figured it out... maybe I will some day!" Blitukus smiled, "Perhaps... I do hope so. For now, I shall at least attempt to complete my quest..." The deltas for Rametaru had already been solved for. He walked back to his calculating machine, and plugged them in at the top. For the time delta, he set it to bring him to the year 2000... then spun it upwards with a lesser force... likely that was not that far beyond his previous visit to Rametaru. Blitukus then returned, calculated the initial conditions, and then plugged those in, starting the calculating machine afterwards. Kazo stood by the control panel, smiling... it seemed Kazo was confident in a positive outcome. When the calculating machine was done, the portal was ready... the machine was ready... ready for what was likely its final use. Blitukus spoke, "Ready yourself, Kazo." A moment later, Blitukus discharged the capacitor, firing the particle cannon. The brilliant beam of energy arced through the room, compressed to a point within the auroric magnetism of the portal ring... perhaps, the last of its kind... at least, for a long time. The beam ceased, and Blitukus then started the clockwork controls, shutting his eyes and focusing on forcing the destination to appear near the component... or at least somewhere safe nearby. He sensed his willpower combining with that of Kazo. When they observed the resulting rift, they found that wherever it led to was quite dark indeed, only a dim, red electric glow visible. He did not want to have to stay long... but he could hide if he had to. Ensuring he got the component was more important than reducing the duration of the stay. He did not know what to expect... or how much struggle it may be to even make it through the following day... but whatever happened, it would be worth it. Blitukus then approached the rift, looked back one last time, then passed through.

Kazo followed, "It feels like a cave, only it's open! I wonder wh... oh... I don't think this is good!" Slowly, Blitukus' eyes began to adjust... he stood in an alley, a deteriorating wall to his left, an almost obsidian covered, tall wall to his right... indeed, he would have to wait for his eyes to adjust further to see where it ended. It seemed it was a dark, starless night. Blitukus checked his timepiece, powering it with his own mana, and using the light of the rift behind him to illuminate its face... it read, "01:18 PM, Granite 1, 2066". Blitukus put it away... it was just after the passing of noon, yet it was as dark as night? A very dark night... Blitukus stepped forward, Kazo following close. This was once a desert as well... yet now it was very cold. Blitukus stepped through snow as he continued. He lost himself in thought once, about what he could have just walked into, and when he brought himself back to watching where he was going, he noticed the glow... the rift behind... had vanished to be reached once more a day ahead. The air, unlike that of the even further future, still had a decent amount of oxygen left... although it was laden with soot that left a gritty and sour taste in Blitukus mouth. Blitukus coughed upon breathing the heavy pollutants, and used his shirt as a filter. Indeed, it seemed the whole city was blanketed with smog... Blitukus' eyes were finally adjusting... although it was nearing their maximum sensitivity. Dim red lights provided the only color in the city, the rest was darkened to the point of being reduced to greyscale. Blitukus looked up... the sun could barely be noticed at all above an asphyxiating blanket of dark clouds. A thunderstorm was occurring in the distance. Above, Blitukus noticed that what he once thought was merely a tall obsidian wall was a small part of an immense skyscraper, windows embedded behind the exterior supports... a large, glowing, OmnireCo sign present at the top, the top menacing with obsidian-like spikes. Blitukus emerged from the alley... the street ahead was in a state of serious disrepair. A dim red glow was present about the city, giving some of the grayscale areas a bloody hue. The buildings around were heavily decayed and useless, their rooves and parts of their upper walls decayed away, their windows missing in some cases... it seemed they were decaying from chemical processes. Likely the only thing keeping them from decaying further were the crude, makeshift rooves placed above them. The road was nearly empty... only an occasional, obsidian colored, spiked vehicle would make its way through, searchlights scanning pedestrians. The citizens around seemed to be in tattered clothes, and in tatters in general. The humans were starved to the point of nearly being nothing but skeletons. Many of them had uncared for injuries, and nearly all showed signs of long term exposure to hazardous chemicals, their skin revealing it... they were all human, no kobolds were around to be seen. Atop one tall building on the opposite side of the street was a billboard, reading, "Omnipresent. Omnipotent. OmnireCo!" It began raining... the rain seemed to sting at Blitukus' skin. Blitukus immediately sought cover, and found himself among a group of humans.

The humans all seemed to suffer a bit of hair loss as well... they seemed lifeless. Their eyes carried an empty, mindless stare, and none of them spoke. One carried a baby... the baby seemed as mindless, and was missing one eye... whether the baby was even alive was debatable. A human was walking through the hazardous rain on the opposite side of the street. An automatic crossbow mounted on a machine seemed to drop down from an overhang and target this person, and, for no apparent reason other than the sick enjoyment of its operator, fired. The human was killed without him ever making a sound, and even after he had collapsed the machine kept firing until the corpse had been thoroughly pincushioned. Nearby was the corpse of another human... the broken spleen seemed to be protruding far out from the broken skin of the corpses back. A dark vehicle slowed as it approached, scooped up the bodies into some sort of cargo hold, and drove away, leaving a trail of smog and two pools of blood behind. The vehicle reminded Blitukus of a trash hauler. Only demons could possibly have done something like this... but why did they not leave the bodies to rot? Blitukus realized... the bodies were probably 'reprocessed'... he decided to not only avoid but to keep his distance from the local food supply... whatever little there was, anyhow. This... it was a horror, committed with the tools he had inspired. Blitukus felt his anger returning. What caused their blank, mindless stare?... Blitukus noticed he had a headache... whatever was causing it was failing to affect his thoughts though. Blitukus looked back at Kazo, who was looking upwards. The rain was letting up, the humans around dispersing. Blitukus looked up, and spotted a black transmitter of sorts... Blitukus was feeling his anger return in force... they may have the humans subdued, but not him. How dare they do this... do THAT... with the technology he had inspired to arise? It sickened Blitukus immensely... he then spotted the location that once contained the statue of his mother, the statue now buried upside down, broken, in the ground. They had ruined the future that he and his mother had strived for... Blitukus noted the alleyway close by. He felt within he had to do something... he could evade the consequences. They likely had little knowledge of who he really was, and would not be able to track him. The humans, freed from the influence of this device, just might be able to destroy further transmitters... and perhaps, a wave of rebellion unfold in an ever unsuspecting system. Guards were nowhere to be seen, and the demons controlling those crossbows would very likely not happen upon the wave until it was too late. May one act of chaos in a sadistically orderly system butterfly into change unseen before... Blitukus waited until there were no humans that would be jeopardized by his actions, picked up a nearby rock, and hurled it upward, causing the small, dark transmitter to break, letting out a shower of small, broken components. Blitukus' headache vanished. The look in some of the relatively near humans eyes changed... they seemed horrified, realizing what was happening, and looked around. There was a loud beeping sound. The humans seemed frightened, and stood still. An automatic crossbow on a machine sprang down, and then began to search for any directly adjacent target. Blitukus fled to the alley, Kazo following close behind. The crossbow machine only saw Kazos tail disappearing into the alley... it then aimed at the frightened but for once mentally free humans, its menace causing the humans to step away... where the humans were then captured under the influence of other transmitters. Blitukus sighed deeply. That was NOT what he had intended to happen. At least nobody was dead... but then again, in this place, which fate was truly worse? The crossbow machine then retracted, a vehicle dispatched in the distance, likely to repair the broken transmitter. Blitukus noted the quick response time... indeed, it seemed quite a bit was monitored. Likely demonic surveillance covered the city... their electronic presence always hovered overhead. Blitukus was NOT safe here, but luckily, they had not had the chance to identify him as the one to pursue. Unfortunately, there were likely guards already on their way to search for whoever had done it. Luckily though... he had likely already escaped their search. Blitukus walked on, down the alley, rapidly leaving the scene. Kazo followed. Blitukus spoke, "You seem to be rather quiet, Kazo." Kazo replied, "I don't really have much to say here. This is turning into an exciting adventure though! Let's continue, I'm eager to see how it ends!" Indeed... exactly how WOULD Blitukus bring about the end of this part of his quest? The fourth component would doubtlessly be guarded by an impossibly strong security system... but it had to lay somewhere near. Likely it was in the top of the tower... but he had no hope of getting there alive. He needed to find another way... since he had escaped his deeds at the transmitter, it seemed he likely had all day to try to figure it out.

[ January 12, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Impending Doom]

Excellent story!

Hrmmm... things may get interesting pretty quick here... hope Blitukus brought his crowbar!  

It seems that Blitukus is unaffected by the devices that are subduing the humans. Perhaps other kobolds are similarly immune? That would explain his odd dream a few posts back...

Edit: FIRST POST!!

[ January 12, 2008: Message edited by: Impending Doom ]

[AlanL]

Thanks  

Actually, the kobold in his dream is someone else in another time, but details about kobolds and the transmitters will be coming up in the next one.

[ January 12, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Armok]

Beyond Quality!  

First of, you DID remember to write down that revised note we spent two hours perfecting on the chat, right? *looks panicked*  :p
I dunno, probably have tendencies for both, it might be individual.

Probably they are descendant from the same common ancestor as wolves and dogs, maybe jackals to or somesuch.

quote: Hrmmm... things may get interesting pretty quick here... hope Blitukus brought his crowbar!  

Is this some reference to some game?

quote: It seems that Blitukus is unaffected by the devices that are subduing the humans. Perhaps other kobolds are similarly immune? That would explain his odd dream a few posts back...

I would guess it is tuned to resonate something in the human brain, and fore some reason didn't work on kobolds, but this theory is most likely very wrong, we will see soon, very soon.

/////////////////////////////////////////////

As always this is beyond words!

[Impending Doom]

quote: Is this some reference to some game?

Yup. Surely you know which one?