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[Armok]

Nope, don't buy games since I discovered DF.
I do know almost every FPS have if, but I cant remember whits one started it. Don't care either.

[AlanL]

Thanks  

Half Life 2, of course.
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Blitukus looked up, spotting the top of the OmnireCo tower again... why did they choose Rametaru to establish a base in, and not Metropolis? The enormous tower presented an enormous problem... Blitukus spoke, "How am I supposed to get up there?" Kazo replied, "You got up Arkus' tower back a long time ago. I know you'll think of something, and I'll be eager to help!" It was a nice reminder that he had a friend... a team of 2... although the force they faced likely had countless numbers. Kazo moved into the shadows, and crouched, watching Blitukus, ready to pounce at something... what, exactly? Suddenly, Blitukus was pinned to the wall by a cloaked being, wearing thick gloves, black eyewear, and a gas mask, hood covering the rest of the head. The being was taller than Blitukus... but still rather short. Perhaps a dwarf? The being spoke, "Kobold?" The being then scanned Blitukus once with some sort of device, looking at a mostly dim reading, "Not a looter..." The being then pressed a button... the device made a crackling and clicking noise... but Blitukus actually seemed to make it click less than the ambient environment, "Obviously not a vulture..." The being then stopped pinning Blitukus, pulled back his hood and removed his eyewear, revealing the fluffy ears and face of a kobold, "Who are you and what the hell are you doing out here?" Blitukus sensed that he could trust this kobold. Blitukus responded, "I am intent on gaining a certain needed item from that OmnireCo tower." The kobold replied, "You came out here without any cover, not even a gas mask or a weapon?! Shooting yourself is a quicker way to commit suicide!" Blitukus sighed, "I have nothing... but I am willing to risk my life for this item... you might say I would do essentially anything." The kobold replied, "If it's that important to ya... ah hell, anyone who causes trouble here makes my job easier. Just don't tell me your name..." Blitukus asked, "Are you... perhaps... from the Phoenix Coalition?" The kobold replied, "Never heard of it, not now, not in the records, not anywhere." Perhaps this Phoenix Coalition has yet to be formed... Blitukus asked, "What do you recommend, in fact, what is your 'job'?" The kobold replied, "I'm not gonna tell you. When the demons catch you and torture you, you're not going to tell them about me. If you really give a sh*t about getting out of here alive, you might want to scavenge around and loot for a while. Just don't go into the woods. I have a spare bologauge. Here..." The kobold then gave Blitukus a small, handheld device of some sort. The kobold continued, "... use it and it'll keep you from getting in over your head. Two buildings to the right, on the opposite side of the near street is a Good-Sh*t warehouse... it'll be a good place for you to start." Blitukus nodded, "Thank you... you seem quite generous considering the situation. On an unrelated topic, why do these transmitters not affect us kobolds?" The kobold replied, "I share what I have because you're a free soul... and you look like you just wandered in, and can use the help. I don't know where you came from, but we kobolds are the last of the free souls, apart from the vultures and looters... looters especially will slit your throat for a slice of bread. The jammers around here don't work on kobolds because the relative brain-wave frequency of a kobold is different than that of a human or a dwarf." Blitukus asked, "Erm... brain-wave frequency?" The kobold continued, "The stupefiers work by inducing currents that synchronize beta waves together, giving a similar effect to certain drugs. The problem for them is a kobolds beta wave has a different frequency range and is managed differently than a humans beta wave... basically a kobolds brain is wired differently. This is why the guards shoot kobolds on sight... outside of propagandaville that is. They keep kobolds there to torture them and make them do evil things so they can send the propaganda around." Blitukus replied, "I see... I find it odd you have so much time to speak with me, but I am grateful for it." The kobold replied, "The same... I haven't been able to talk to anyone for a while, and I'm still waiting for certain events to happen..." A moment passed. Blitukus spoke, "Thank you for these items and this information, but I must continue." The kobold nodded, putting on his eyewear and wearing his hood again, "I understand. I shouldn't get to know you anyway... it was nice talking to you."

The kobold then walked off. Kazo emerged, and walked to Blitukus, "A bologauge... let's see what it does!" Blitukus nodded, took the small device, pointed it at Kazo, and pressed the only button on it. The small display lit up with green text, "Calc. Dst..." It then changed to "En. Rdg..." It then displayed, "38 W" An energy reading?... Blitukus pointed it at a bulb marked dimly "4W". Blitukus measured again, the bologauge reading "3.6 W". It seemed it measured the energy radiating out of a body... although 38 watts seemed very small for someone like Kazo... then again, it was likely this technological device didn't account for astral radiance. Blitukus spoke, "It measures physical energy emissions. It definitely will come in handy for judging how much power a technological entity wields. It reads you at 38 watts..." Blitukus aimed it at himself, and measured... it read "TGT TOO CLSE". Blitukus set it down on a pipe, pressed the button, stepped away, waited a moment, then returned. It read, "95 W". It would serve as a decent reference. Kazo smiled as he saw it, "So I take it it doesn't measure astral energies." Blitukus replied, "I assume not. Now, we should visit this warehouse." Kazo followed Blitukus out into the street, walking two buildings down to the right, finding a large warehouse marked, "CLEARANCE LEVEL 4". Blitukus looked at the door... it seemed to have no way to open it, but there was a keypad with an optical scanner and a linear slot near it. Blitukus tried to manipulate the device with mana... but found it was so complex he would likely set off an alarm by tampering with it. Blitukus stopped, and spoke, "It seems we are locked out." Kazo smiled, "I'll take care of it!" Kazo then walked up to the door, and inserted a claw into the crack along the edge of the door. He held his other hand close by. He slid his claw up and down until he found a certain point. Kazo carefully adjusted his position, then suddenly, two bursts of sparks shot out from the crack. Kazo drew back, rather forcefully kicked the latch of the door, and then the door came open. Kazo snickered, "I love doing those things!" Blitukus followed Kazo into the building, shutting the door behind himself as to not arouse suspicion. The inside of this surprisingly sturdy steel warehouse was lit with decent white light. All around were various metal crates, some in stacks. Kazo waved his tail about, "I can't wait to look through these!" Kazo eagerly leapt atop a crate, and opened it, going through its contents. It seemed the crate was full of... rather disturbing propaganda. Blitukus sighed, and opened a nearby crate. At least he had a chance to gain proper equipment. Inside the crate he found canisters of bread, plump helmet, and real, pure water... Blitukus opened the canisters, sniffed the contents, then closed them. It was real stuff... no wonder this was referred to as the 'Good-Sh*t warehouse'. Of course, it was all kept behind locked doors from the people... unfortunately, the people in their stupor likely wouldn't appreciate the food anyway. Still... Blitukus would leave the door open on the way out. Blitukus pocketed several canisters, loading his pockets with a days worth of provisions. Luckily, he required much less than a human, but still... water is heavy. Blitukus heard Kazo, "Catch!" A moment later something struck the side of Blitukus' head. Kazo snickered. Blitukus turned around and looked down to see a gas mask on the floor. Blitukus picked it up... it was designed for humans, but he found that some simple adjustments and impromptu modifications using some materials from a nearby clothes crate allowed enough room for him to use it. Within that same clothes crate, Blitukus found some decent coats... he put one on, and found it would effectively hide his identity in the dark outside. He tossed one to Kazo, who also put it on... although Kazos tail was visible at the bottom. Kazo then took it off, and set it down to continue searching.

Blitukus was in the process of opening another crate when both he and Kazo heard heavy footsteps approaching the other door of the warehouse... they both realized, Kazos breach of security had likely triggered a silent alarm. Kazo smiled, "I wonder what they'll look like!" Blitukus replied, "I am NOT intent on finding out..." Blitukus ran toward the door they entered from, the footsteps near a door on the other side. Kazo spoke, "Aww... I wanted to see them." Kazo hesitated, then followed Blitukus. A moment later, the door on the other side burst open. Kazo and Blitukus looked back... guards had entered, wearing dark armor consisting of projectile-proof fabric and the occasional red-painted titanium plate. Their helmets had eyes that were pitch black. They carried dark, spiked automatic crossbows, but the clips and feeding mechanisms, even an isolated bolt chamber, were unadorned titanium. Apparently the crossbow required quite a power source, placed within the guards suit. The guard spoke through a machine, "Kobolds!" The guard then took aim... the titanium bolt chamber, the string of the bow fitting through glowing slots, opened, revealing a glowing-hot interior. The guard fired, the crossbow sending out a small puff of gas with each shot. The bolts glew red with heat as they flew through the air. Two sank into the ground behind Kazo, two flew through the door, sinking into the adjacent wall. Kazo and Blitukus exited, and, guards in pursuit, ran to the other side of the building, entering an alley... there were several empty crates in an adjacent alley connecting to this one. Kazo ran up to Blitukus... the guards reached the front of the alley, and fired down it. The piffs of bolts hitting the ground and walls around them could be heard. Some of the bolts panged as they hit Kazo... although they fragmented on impact, they did not damage him. Kazo began to turn to cast a shield to allow Blitukus to reach the corner... but the bolts were already whizzing by. Blitukus ran, the bolts hitting the ground by him. Blitukus turned for the corner, and upon seeing the two glowing projectiles flying toward him at high speed, attempted to jump away... it was too late. The sound of flesh being simply shredded could be heard twice. Blitukus yelled out in pain upon feeling the red hot shrapnel in his belly and chest that the bolts had fragmented into upon impact. Blood spattered out, and Blitukus collapsed due to pain. Blitukus' fur and clothes began to catch fire, and he yelled again. He felt himself slipping unconscious... but, before he did, he felt Kazo picking him up and carrying him, the panging of bolts hitting adamantine audible. Blitukus fell unconscious... and finally, the pain was gone. Several moments later... at least to Blitukus, it began to return... although, it no longer burned. Blitukus slowly came to... he saw Kazo close by above him... and they were both within a large, closed metal crate. Blitukus looked down. The fire had been quickly extinguished, and the embedded bolts and shrapnel had been cooled. Blitukus tried to move, and immediately felt intense pain. He coughed, which made it worse... he grunted loudly, then lay there. Kazo spoke, "I didn't think you'd wake up so soon!" Indeed... likely, if it weren't for his previous years toughening him up to such extremes... he likely would've been outright killed. He was badly injured, but he was still alive. Blitukus spoke, "Thank you, friend..." Kazo smiled, "Now we're even!... not that it counts for anything. I can't heal you with all this stuff embedded in you. Would you rather me remove it with you awake... or wake up again later?" There was a whirring sound, and the crate began to move. Blitukus held back a sigh, "I would much, much rather sleep through it." Kazo replied, "Sure thing, now hold still!" Kazo then placed his hands near Blitukus' head. Blitukus felt certain forces acting within his head... then he felt as if he were losing touch with his body, and soon after, he was unconscious again. Only a few moments seemed to pass to Blitukus. When he came to again, he felt his pain was mostly gone... his flesh was finishing mending, and then it was done. Blitukus moved his arm and felt his chest and belly... his fur and clothes were burnt and blood soaked, but he had been healed. Luckily, all of his items were undamaged by the flames. Blitukus sat up, and when his senses had properly returned, spoke, "Thank you again." Kazo smiled, "I think we'll have peace for a while! Have a look outside." Blitukus noticed the crate was open. Still a bit light headed and dizzy, he slowly stood... he saw the inside of a cargo hauling vehicle, several other crates nearby. The cargo bay was dimly lit, the interior walls a greenish color, the floor a grey metal. The back doors had windows, and visible out the back was not only the rapidly moving road beneath the vehicle, but the half-ruined city of Rametaru, shrinking into the distance. It seemed he now faced a further obstacle... he would have to get back to Rametaru... hopefully, wherever he was headed wouldn't be as harsh as where he was coming from. One could hope... although hope seemed rather sparse in those lands.

[ January 13, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[etgfrog]

interesting part of the story, seems similar to a zombie apocalypse type game

edit just to comment first post, new person to get it this time.

[ January 13, 2008: Message edited by: etgfrog ]

[AlanL]

post-apochalyptic games are one of my favorite genres  :p

[etgfrog]

have you tried urban dead? its a pretty interesting zombie apocalypse web based game.

[AlanL]

Actually, I did once... got killed pretty quick both times.

[Armok]

Beyond Quality!

[Generic post of praising]

[AlanL]

Thanks  :p
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Blitukus felt his dizziness subsiding. He got up fully, and stepped out of the crate. Blitukus then sat on another crate, waiting for his body to return to normal. Kazo hopped out of the crate, and started sniffing the air, waving his tail slowly. Kazo moved, moving toward something he had sensed... he narrowed it down to a panel in the wall. Kazo then opened the panel, revealing several wires. Kazo grinned, flicked his tail about, then bit into, but not through, the wires, drawing energy from them. Blitukus watched, and snickered... then sighed. The vehicle continued on... although the dim tail lights of the vehicle seemed to dim much further as Kazo intercepted their power. Blitukus decided to then search the crates... some were empty, the ones not empty held chemicals, paper, and/or rather painful looking metal devices. None of this was useful to either of them. Blitukus stood looking out the rear windows of the vehicle, and drank half of the water he had brought... it was actually rather refreshing... although the thought of what the commoners drank still sickened him. He tossed the empty cans to the ground and kicked them aside. He then sighed... how could this have come of Anthath Sizet? The demons had disgraced the nation by making its capital theirs... but why were the demons so intent on burying the legacy of him and his mother? Perhaps it was all the good they brought to the world that the demons sought to annihilate. Blitukus returned to the open crate, stepped into it, sat, and lay back. He was rather tired, and would likely need to be well rested for what he would face next. Unfortunately... seeing as day and night made little difference... it would be difficult to tell the passing of time. Blitukus lay, forced the world around out of his head, at least temporarily, then finally allowed himself to sleep.

In his dream, he found himself in the pit of darkness... it seemed light itself was sapped to the point of an empty shell. All around, there was nothing, no floor, no ceiling, no matter, no energy... but... there seemed to be forces... forces tugging at him. He resisted this tug. He found that even his virtually massless observer form in this dream even was tugged rather firmly... an object with real mass would doubtlessly be deformed in a rather ridiculous way by these forces. Blitukus noted the darkness... but he moved away from where they were pulling him, toward a single point of light. As he approached this point, it eventually began to expand... it dimmed, revealing points within the point... eventually, it unfolded to reveal a starscape, the beautiful cosmos! Was this the boundary of heaven and hell? Blitukus felt... it was something different. The darkness retreated until it was a flat horizon... upon emerging from this horizon of sorts, he noticed the darkness shrink down into a sphere below him, light distorted in a rather odd way all around the sphere. Blitukus felt displaced in time, but when, or exactly where he was, was unknown. He felt he could be in the distant past or the distant future. Suddenly, a sound rang through the cosmos... "Meow! Mrr...." Several specks of light moved through the sky far away... Blitukus felt, that although this pit of darkness was large... it was relatively small, in fact, small enough... Blitukus saw these specks move toward a metal construction... the construction was lit... constructions all around were lit... the size of a city... the size of continents... the size of worlds! These immense constructs seemed to be moved by the gravity of the nearby object, moved in circles by the twisted fabric of space... they cought immense beams of energy,generating the power to fuel worlds for millenia. Blitukus moved toward it... small dots... thousands of them moved in and out. A chorus of meows were sung between the specks and the structures... all a celestial beauty. Blitukus laughed, as he moved by, he saw a flock of these specks, refueled by the energy-generating construction, take flight from its surface, ascending and ever accelerating into the beautiful, starry cosmos. He looked back... it seemed the entire construct was a sparse outer ring, spinning slowly, far away from the black sphere... connected by thick spokes to a strong inner ring, close by the black sphere, which spun much faster than the rest of the ring, the spokes on it proceeding to energy collectors harvesting the beams. Waste matter was dumped into a spiral around the black object, heating up to glow with extreme intensity near the center. Some of the resulting energy was expelled in intense beams, which were harvested and converted to fuel, to be used for transit and shipped to various worlds. Even the energy of the objects gravity was harnessed. Indeed, it was recycling taken to the ultimate extreme.

Blitukus smiled... and when he awoke... he found he was still smiling... if only for a moment. Still, a feeling stuck with him, even out of the most all-consuming pits of darkness... true, benevolent power can be created and wielded. Blitukus got up, and looked outside... unfortunately, these were two different kinds of darkness. One could always hope for the best... there were still free souls in this world, even if they didn't have much of a bright future. Perhaps the dream had another nature, a nature that made his heart sink... the cats once had a glorious civilization, but it was brought to ruin by evil forces... and here we have another civilization, brought to ruin by evil forces. Blitukus sighed. It seemed all of the glories of the past had a tendency of becoming undone... he felt anger in he heart... the demons had ruined his mothers hard work, ruined her legacy... but unfortunately, he had now seen from experience that a violent encounter was not an option. The vehicle was entering a city... there was a sign barely visible as the vehicle passed it. It read, "You are now leaving-". The rest was spraypainted over, the spraypaint reading, "Propagandaville!" Unfortunately, it seemed that to leave it, he would have to go the opposite way, which meant he was entering it... Blitukus felt rather nervous at the thought of what those metal devices were used for. He would have to be extremely careful not to be restrained by anyone... still... He might be entering a deathtrap. He made a commitment, and he would follow through with it... no matter what. A deathtrap can be circumvented... although, odds were odds. Luckily, should things go horribly wrong, he had a friend. Blitukus noticed Kazo looking out as well. Blitukus spoke, "I wish to tell you... should I be killed, I leave it up to you to finish my quest, Kazo... I need you to, for my sake, and my mothers sake. Retrieve the fourth component. Use the cat relic to rewrite history, to undo the deaths of our ancestors." Kazo spoke, "You act like you're going to die!" Blitukus spoke, "You act as if it were guaranteed I would not." Kazo smiled, "There's no such thing as a guarantee, but I think we'll make a good team!" The vehicle began to slow. Blitukus looked at Kazo, "Thank you, friend." It seemed Kazo really did have a point... that demon that had crawled from the adamantine Blitukus had dug those years ago would never have a chance to enjoy her bargain... no matter what, he would find away, no matter the odds. Blitukus thought about it... Kazo did not need a weapon, and perhaps Blitukus would find one. Blitukus spoke, "Indeed... nevermind what I had said... we will succeed." Kazo kept smiling, "Let's see what happens next!" The vehicle stopped. Footsteps could be heard around the side. Blitukus spoke quietly, "It would be a good idea to repackage ourselves first..." Blitukus walked back to the crate, and got in, leaving plenty of room. Kazo followed, and also entered the empty crate, shutting the lid above him. Blitukus heard doors open... footsteps approached. The crate shifted. There was the sound of metal rubbing upon metal. The crate shifted again with a rather forceful clank. The crate moved... a moment later, it fell a short drop and slammed to a stop. Blitukus did his best to keep his breathing minimal... The crate was likely resting within a wheeled cart. It was wheeled up an incline... up another incline... past some guards... down a stretch, turning, then continuing, then turning again. A bit later, the cart stopped, and the crate was rolled upon its side as it was shoved off the cart. Luckily, the crate did not come open. Blitukus WOULD succeed... in this area, he remembered what the kobold had said, something would definitely make his life easier... the guards would not fire on sight... although they may fire for fun... hopefully that wouldn't happen. Blitukus listened to the footsteps... they moved away.

When all was clear, Blitukus opened the crate, the lid now on the side opening upwards. Blitukus emerged and stood, Kazo following him out. They were inside a dimly lit, decaying hallway. There was a corner nearby. Blitukus slowly made his way to the corner. There was a guard standing by a doorway... it seemed the guard had a mace of some sort but only a hand crossbow for ranged combat. Blitukus slowly walked toward the doorway, avoiding eye contact with the guard. The guard laughed, and blocked Blitukus' path, attempting to establish an aura of superiority. The guard then drew his mace, held it near a refuse receptacle, and swept it across the top, knocking an aluminum can onto the floor. The guard spoke, "Pick it up." Blitukus held in a sigh, and held in a grunt, and held in a curse, but reluctantly did as the guard said. Blitukus realized... the guard would likely try to use the mace. Blitukus was very swift... The guard spoke, "Put it in the trash." There was one instance of trash to send the can towards... Blitukus chucked it with quite a bit of force, hitting the guard precisely between the eyes. The guard held up the mace and chased after Blitukus, who darted away. Blitukus then darted around the guard, moving back toward the door, then went through the door, the guard in close pursuit. As the guard also moved through the door, Kazo seemed to fall onto the guard... likely Blitukus' actions allowed Kazo to get through unnoticed. Kazo latched on firmly with his claws, knocking the guard over. The spikes on the guards mace now glew red hot... the guard bashed at Kazo fruitlessly. Kazo bit the guard in the neck, and shook the guard around, and tore a chunk away... a chunk that happened to be the guards throat. The guard gagged and shook in a manner that indicated he would be yelling in pain. Kazo spit the chunk out in the guards face. Kazo then stood again, and landed a grazing kick on the guards belly, his claws sending up a spattering of blood. Kazo approached, and slashed at the guard repeatedly until he was quite covered in blood. Kazo then backed away, the guard bleeding to death rather quickly. Kazo snickered with a bloody smile. Blitukus walked up to the dead guard, and retrieved the crossbow and its ammunition... the armor was rather sliced up. Although the cloth was projectile proof, it was not unable to be cut through it seemed. Two more guards ran in from the T-section at the end of the hall, and saw Blitukus, Kazo, and the dead guard. They drew their hand crossbows. Blitukus jumped away as one fired, dodging the glowing bolt. Blitukus then dodged again, Kazo jumping to the side as well. Kazo blocked the bolts, Blitukus behind him. Blitukus looked at the crossbow he had gotten... it was already loaded and ready... it seemed to be a hand crossbow with a heated clip, although the power for the heater was no longer being supplied. The guards saw this, stopped firing, and began running toward Blitukus and Kazo. Blitukus used this opportunity to fire over Kazo, the bolts flying forth toward the guards. Blitukus had to draw the string back each time, but the crossbow itself did the rest. One of the guards was hit in the gut... the guard grunted loudly, stumbled back, but kept standing. The guards once again fired, aiming carefully to try to hit Blitukus from behind Kazo, but failed. Blitukus kept firing, hitting one guard in the chest and leg, several times, eventually mortally wounding him with fragments piercing through the armor. He hit the other guard in the head once, damaging the helmet, the second hit getting through the eyepiece to the guards skull, killing him right away. The mortally wounded guard stumbled, and fell... Kazo moved away. Blitukus kept the crossbow drawn, and dropped the now empty clip. He replaced it with a new one. Blitukus then walked over to the 2 other dead guards, and salvaged their ammo, adding it to his own supply. Even if the bolts grew cold, they would still be quite lethal... although, Blitukus noticed the guards armor was quite effective against even these bolts. Blitukus then salvaged the chest armor from the guard he had shot in the head... it was much too big for him. Blitukus took off his coat, and put the oversized armor on, undoing the seals and wrapping it tighter, putting the coat back on over it. Blitukus then made his way down the corridor, putting his crossbow away, concealed within the coat. Another door was ahead. Blitukus opened it, and exited the building. Thunder roared... it was raining. Around the perimeter was a barbed wire fence, and within was several decaying buildings... it looked much like a prison of some kind. The rain stung at Blitukus' head. Blitukus put the hood on... he noticed that now the coat protected him quite well from the rain. Kazo exited as well, and used the hazardous rain to wash the blood off of his surface. Blitukus had felt he stood a good chance of dying... being unarmed and walking into a hive of the demonic forces... but now he could get past the guards, was armed and protected. There was a chance he would die... and now it seemed that chance had been reduced quite a bit. Blitukus still needed a means to get back to Rametaru though... and it would likely prove much less convenient than simply boarding an aircraft.
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Of course, I made my HL2 reference  :p

[Armok]

FIRST POST!!!  

He even had that guard in his mouth and didn't zap it, why? I am not suggesting an edit, I'm just looking forward to some zapping and this seemed like exactly the kind of situation to warrant a zap, but I am sure you got a good reason.

BQ award... I've run almost out of ideas it seems, inspiration...
"This is a titanium beyond quality award.
It menaces whit spikes of clear diamond and star ruby
It is encrusted whit platinum.
On the item is a image of a kobold and a construct in rose gold, the kobold is shooting the construct, the construct is laughing, the kobold is laughing.
On the item is an image of a construct and a guard in black gold, the construct is riping the guard to shreds."

It would be fun if you commented the awards sometimes... I put a bit of thought in them and it would be fun to know if you got all of the references...

That was really all I had to say.

[ January 14, 2008: Message edited by: Armok ]

[AlanL]

Thanks  

Yes, I do get the references, here it relates to the testing of the cable-shooter, and Kazo striking down the guard in the last update. I'm not sure what the clear diamond and star ruby signify though.

The reason Kazo doesn't zap people much here is because he doesn't yet have a reliable power source, and he'd rather not run out in the middle of a fight. Here he would only zap someone if it would be tactically effective to do so, and in this case, the guard already had his fate sealed.

[ January 14, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[AlanL]

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Blitukus looked around, and spotted a pitch black corner near a building... he walked to it, hid there, and concealed his actions under his coat as he checked the sphere of direction... he wanted a way of transit back to the now distant Rametaru... the sphere pointed toward a red glow in the distance, near the horizon. The source of this glow was obviously outside of this... well, it was more of an immense prison than a city. Now it was simply a matter of getting there, and arranging transportation to Rametaru... whatever that transportation was... and how he would arrange it... were still unknown. Blitukus concealed the sphere under his coat, and emerged. He pointed toward the glow, and spoke to Kazo, "Our transportation awaits..." Kazo replied, "Let's go there... I hope it flies, whatever it is!" Blitukus replied, "You are rather fond of flight for a reptile." Kazo smiled, "You might say I'm related to birds in a way!" Blitukus thought about it for a few moments, then replied, "Interesting." Kazo continued, "When they found the species this body was based off of might've had feathers... well... Arkus loved me for who I was, and didn't want to change me..." A few moments passed... Blitukus then gestured for them to continue. They walked toward the adjacent corner of the prison, toward the glow. They walked down a poorly paved path between buildings... the occasional sight of a kobold could be seen... the walking skeletons, having lost nearly all of their fur from their half-mangled bodies, were a sight fit only for the depths of hell itself. Blitukus averted his eyes from the sickening sight. As they continued, they happened upon a gate that blocked their way. It was a steel gate, more of a bulkhead actually, embedded within a heavy concrete wall. fences marked with a lightning bolt sign towered above the top of the wall, barbed wire at the very top. Blitukus spoke to Kazo, "We will have to find another way... if we attempt to break through, we will attract unwanted attention." Kazo looked around, carefully analyzing his surroundings, then spoke, "I think I see another way. Let's see how it works!" Kazo smiled, waved his tail about, then ran up to an empty, heavily sealed gatehouse near the front, then leapt up onto the top of it. He then leapt up onto a very narrow ledge on a nearby building, then leapt from that onto the roof of an adjacent building. Kazo leapt from that roof back to the building with the ledge, this time on the roof of that building. A spotlight investigated the building Kazo had left from... The reason Kazo had not simply scaled the fence then became obvious. Kazo hid behind a small stairwell as the spotlight beam swept across... it investigated, saw nothing of interest, then moved on. Kazo then emerged again, and leapt from that roof onto the fence, grabbing hold of it with his claws... he was subjected to an immense electric current which simply charged his mana reserves. Kazo climbed to the top of the fence... from that height... higher than any of the nearby buildings... it might be a bad idea for even Kazo to simply leap down. Kazo lowered himself down the other side of the fence, the spotlight returning and investigating the fence, but missing Kazo each time. Kazo reached near the bottom of the fence, pushed off, and landed gracefully on the ground. The spotlight darted down... Kazo darted away. Kazo reached the other side of the bulkhead gate, and hid behind the pillar, the spotlight beam in hot pursuit... but it had never truly spotted him. The operator in the tower was left with merely suspicion that he had seen something... The spotlight searched the area closely, scrutinizing the details... then moved on. Kazo then made his way into the gatehouse... Blitukus was still waiting on the other side. Blitukus was hiding near the bulkhead gate... there was a whirring for a moment... the gate opened very slightly... Blitukus made his way to the crack, and slowly slid between the two multi-ton steel doors... when Blitukus had reached the other side, the bulkhead gate shut behind him as to not arouse suspicion by being ajar.

Blitukus looked around, and then immediately hid from the roaming spotlight beam. The beam moved away... Blitukus noticed Kazo hiding by him. It seemed there were two paths to travel... forward, into the traps of light laid by the spotlights, or to the left, into an unknown path. It seemed some sort of especially secure facility was placed here. Either it housed special items, or special operations... either could prove useful. Blitukus decided upon the path to the left... he waited for the spotlight beams to move away, then darted onto that path, Kazo following close behind. A u-bend was ahead... and there were armored footsteps in the adjacent path. A wall was between them... but they would meet at the u-bend. At least Blitukus could no longer be spotted by the watch towers... Kazo ran ahead, Blitukus struggling to keep up. Kazo stopped right at the u-bend, Blitukus stopping right behind Kazo. It seemed some of the rain had pooled into a large puddle in the u-bend... Kazo spoke softly to Blitukus, "Wait. Let's see how effective my new abilities are." Blitukus stood back. Kazo placed his hand into the puddle. There was the splashing of metallic boots in the puddle approaching the U-bend on the other side. There was more splashing... there was even more splashing... likely there were several guards. Kazo then channeled his energy, as electrical energy, into the puddle... 3 simultaneous loud grunts could be heard from the other side. A second later, Kazo withdrew his hand. Blitukus drew his crossbow, and rounded the corner... there were 3 guards. One guard was on the ground, the other two stumbling, badly stunned. They yelled obscenities as they stumbled. One of the guards seemed to be already recovering... indeed, this guard seemed much tougher and more heavily armored than the rest, carrying a larger weapon. Blitukus ran up to the guard, and fired through the guards eyepiece, killing the guard. Blitukus ran up to the guard on the ground, and aimed. THUD! Blitukus was knocked forward, a bolt striking him in the back, the immensely hot fragments slicing and burning at him... but they did not pierce through enough to cause major damage. The armor worked, although it doubtlessly could be made better... perhaps the demons enjoyed the thought of watching the guards die slowly as well. Blitukus grunted loudly, stifling a yell, and turned while readying the crossbow again. Luckily, the armor was fireproof to some degree, and the fragments were relatively quickly cooled. The other standing guard was weakened, still stunned, but still attempting to ready his crossbow. Kazo attacked the guard from the side, slamming the guard into the wall, and proceeding to slash at the guards guts, slash at them again, then kick the guard in the gut, causing the guards guts to spew out of the deep slash wounds. The guard hit Kazo in the head with his hand crossbow. Kazo stepped to the side, bit the guard by the head, and shook the guard around by the head, ending by slamming the guards head against a wall. The guard collapsed... but Kazo did maintain possession of the guards helmet in his mouth. Kazo promptly spit that out though. Meanwhile, Blitukus turned back to the guard on the ground, who was reaching for her crossbow. Blitukus grabbed her by the head, tore her helmet off, and fired a bolt into her forehead... partially reducing the brains inside to mush, the red hot fragments burning and partially melting their way through. The guard fell limp, dead. Meanwhile, Kazo gazed down at the dying guard... the dying guard shakily held up the crossbow, and fired, the bolt striking Kazo, the fragments ricocheting away. Kazo kicked the guard in the chest, embedding his claws very deep... he then gouged 3 gaping wounds using his claws. Kazo then pulled his claws out, and walked away, the guard falling unconscious before he was able to fire again. Blitukus searched the guards... they had ammunition, but better, the heavier guard had an automatic crossbow of sorts. Blitukus removed the clip from the hand crossbow, set it aside, then picked up the automatic one... he noticed his armor actually contained a power supply compatible with this weapon, and attached it as such. Blitukus looked at Kazo, who looked Back at Blitukus.

They both continued, Blitukus holding the automatic crossbow out... it was too large to effectively conceal anyway. They continued down the path, emerging into a more open area near a facility of some kind... it seemed they needed to pass through the facility to continue further. There was no way around it... there was a tunnel of some sorts that seemed to lead in the direction of the glow in the distance... and this building was the only entrance point. The entrance seemed to be open... Blitukus walked in. Immediately he heard a weak, desperate yell, and a gag... followed by the whimper of a kobold. Blitukus stood ready to fire... Blitukus moved slowly forward, and looked into a room off to the left... the room was full of some sort of machinery, wired to a kobold on a table, needles stuck into the kobold all over the kobolds body... two tentacle demons, wearing the arms and armor of the prison guard, were present. Blitukus aimed at the head of the one most visible, and when the demon noticed, it was too late. Blitukus fired, bolt after glowing bolt striking the demon in its armored head... the demon grunted and yelled, but didn't let out a yell of its death until the 6th hit. The other tentacle demon drew 3 crossbows, using its tentacles to hold 2 of the 3. Those two were automatic, the third, held in his hands, was a rather heavy crossbow of sorts. Blitukus stepped back, but the demon pursued, firing 3 bolts. 2 of the 3 struck the walls, the third striking Blitukus in the gut, causing another damaging wound but one that wasn't fatal. Blitukus grunted, and ran back as fast as he could. Kazo leapt forth, and shielded his front. Blitukus stood behind Kazo, and as Kazo blocked the bolts, Blitukus fired over Kazos shoulder... unfortunately, the bolts seemed to do little against this demons metal-and-cloth armor. The demons helmet was still vulnerable, but less so than the last... likely this one ranked higher. Kazo leapt forward, and slashed at the demon with both hands and feet... but his claws simply got stuck in the armor and did no real damage. The demon smacked Kazo away with a tentacle-wielded crossbow, then fired its heavy crossbow at Kazo. A bright red-and-orange glowing bolt flew through at immense speed, the recoil causing even the demon to stumble a bit. The bolt struck Kazo, and actually managed to dent the adamantine plate slightly, sinking into a nearby joint between plates, the sound of crystal cracking being heard. The impact knocked Kazo back and over. Kazo hesitated slightly, then tore the bolt out and threw it aside, proceeding to get up again and run toward the demon, mouth open, leaping onto the demon despite a rain of conventional bolts, proceeding to bite the demons neck, shaking and tearing away as much as he could. The demon attempted to tear Kazo away with its tentacles. Blitukus had been approaching in hopes of finding a vulnerability, but now the demon had been made vulnerable. Blitukus finished running up, and searched for a vulnerable area to fire at... he quickly found one. Blitukus jumped up, and fired directly into the neck joint of the demons armor. The burning bolt pierced through... As the demon yelled, Blitukus fired several shots into the demons mouthpiece, the bolts flying into the demons head, the heat and shrapnel unable to escape from within the dense helmet. The demon then fell limp, Kazo stepping away. Kazo commented, "That actually hurt a little... I love the thrill of facing an actual threat for a change!" Kazo then snickered, and proceeded to heal himself... apparantly a crystal within him had cracked, but had not lost any parts, so it could be refused to become whole again. Blitukus then proceeded to pull out the jagged, non-fragmented portion of the bolts from his suit, and dropped them.

Blitukus then walked into the room... However long this kobold... apparantly a captured one from another area... had been here... Blitukus would rather not know. Blitukus shut the machines off... the kobold then promptly ceased breathing, and lay eternally motionless. It seemed these machines were an experiment in keeping the subject alive and awake when they should've died... just to prolong the amount of time the demons would have with a subject. Blitukus sensed the soul released from the body... the soul made itself readily available to be sensed, as its feelings were very strong. The soul was not angry... rather immensely relieved to be able to leave that body. Soon after, the soul seemed to become more and more distant, drifting upward, never to be seen on the mortal plane again. Blitukus left the room... Kazo was still tending to the crystal and the dent. Blitukus spoke, "We must move, it is not safe here." Blitukus continued toward the tunnel, Kazo following behind, still tending to his damage... although it was damage, it was quite minor, and he finished rather quickly. The tunnel seemed to be an actively used path by the guards... it might be a bad idea after all to use that main tunnel. A large group of guards spotted Blitukus and Kazo from within the tunnel... and soon, a hail of bolts was let loose. They would in all likelihood not be successful against a crowd of these well armed guards... Blitukus leapt to the side, taking cover in a nearby hall. Kazo ran past Blitukus. Blitukus got up, and followed Kazo... they entered a small room, full of pipes, levers, various chemicals, and a hatch. Blitukus looked around... the hatch was a way out, hopefully. Blitukus opened the hatch, and hopped down into a small tunnel. Kazo followed, shutting the hatch above him. They walked down this small tunnel, in the general direction of where they remembered the glow to be coming from... a tunnel was a tunnel. This one, though, seemed to carry some sort of rather nasty fluid near its bottom. Blitukus avoided it, and considered himself lucky once more to be wearing a gas mask. After they had continued a ways down the tunnel, Blitukus spoke, "I highly doubt anybody will search these tunnels for us... if you would not mind it, I could use some healing... we should both always be in the best condition possible before placing ourselves in another situation like that." Kazo replied, "Sure thing, I'll always help a friend!" Blitukus responded, "Thank you... you definitely are a true friend." Blitukus then took off his coat, and then began to take off the armor... it seemed the fragments of the bolt that had pierced through and embedded themselves were partially embedded in the armor, and partially embedded in his flesh. Blitukus stifled a yell as he removed the armor, pulling the sharp fragments out of his burned flesh. He seemed to bleed quite a bit afterwards. Kazo crouched down by Blitukus, and focused his power to heal the wounds... in an effect almost exactly like that of the, at that point nonexistent, global healing field, Blitukus' flesh drew itself together, and mended itself, the burns fading and disappearing. Eventually, when this was finished, Blitukus and Kazo stood again. Blitukus pulled the fragments out of the armor, and put the armor back on, following it up by putting the coat back on. He spoke, "Thank you again, Kazo." Kazo smiled. They continued down the tunnels, at least in the general direction of the glow near the horizon. Blitukus wondered... why did they need such high security facilities? The only ones of this nation capable of breaking in were the demons themselves... perhaps the demons were holding a contest to see who could develop the most sadistic techniques. More and more, Blitukus felt anger... he tried to subdue it, but it was becoming difficult to do so. This was not his legacy... this was not his mothers legacy... he had to do something about these hellish conditions, but it was unlikely an opportunity would present itself. His first priority was the completion of his quest... perhaps then, this would've all had a different outcome... he just wanted everything to be alright again...

[ January 14, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Reign on your Parade]

First Post!

EDIT:OOOh... foreshadowing... I wonder whose gunna attack?

[ January 15, 2008: Message edited by: Reign on your Parade ]

[Armok]

Beyond Quality and beyond words, as always.

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quote: Yes, I do get the references, here it relates to the testing of the cable-shooter, and Kazo striking down the guard in the last update. I'm not sure what the clear diamond and star ruby signify though.

I knew you was, that one was easy and simple, as I said I'm running out of ideas, some of the earlier had like 3-4 references per picture. There is no special reference whit the gems there, it is meant to be visualized!

Thanksye fer the ¤story¤!

[AlanL]

Thank you  

I see, I suspected that was probably the case.
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Blitukus and Kazo continued down the dark tunnel for a long time... they likely tread for several miles through the dark, cold tunnels. Eventually, they came to an intersection... there were pipes along the walls. Kazo spoke, "I'm getting hungry... I hope you don't mind carrying me if these tunnels don't end soon." Blitukus replied, "I do hope it does not come to that but I am prepared to do so in that situation." Kazo smiled, "Thanks!" The only light in the tunnels came from grates above... they were beneath snowy ground. As they reached the intersection, Blitukus heard a grinding and a whirring... he stopped at the corner. Blitukus looked around the corner, and saw some kind of machine approaching the intersection to Blitukus' right... apart from one red, glowing eye, not much was visible... although it seemed it carried a variety of tools, and perhaps also a variety of weapons. Blitukus couldn't accurately size it up, but it did seem large, and likely armored... Blitukus pulled out the bologauge, and took a reading of the approaching machines emissions. It read 710 W... which was over 7 times that of Blitukus' body. Likely the machine was intended as some sort of remote guard to prowl the tunnels, putting an end to both intruders and escapees... and Blitukus was both simultaneously. Blitukus hid behind the corner again, Kazo standing next to him... 710 watts was a decent amount of power... perhaps it could be harvested. Blitukus would be no match for the machine in a fair fight... so the fight would have to be unfair. Either it was a prowling guard... or it was sent explicitly to do away with Blitukus. Since none of the guards had followed him into the tunnels, the latter was likely. Blitukus had to find a weakness, and exploit it. The machine approached... as it began to cross through, weapons pointed out in all directions, Blitukus fired at the red light on the front... the light was extinguished, and the sound of breaking glass could be heard. The machine stopped, beeped loudly as if letting out a yell, then opened fire at Blitukus. Fortunately for Blitukus, the machine was cumbersome at aiming, and was ineffective at close range. Blitukus darted away, bolts landing near his feet. It seemed some of the bolts stuck in the front of the machine, revealing several black lenses on pivoting objects. As Blitukus ran, he turned and fired at these lenses, breaking every single one he could see, the glows of the bolts revealing further ones which he shot at as he ran towards the front of the machine. The machine now seemed to have further difficulty aiming. Blitukus leapt onto the front of the machine, sliding over it, and continuing his run upon falling off of the other side. The machine turned, changing its aim to find Blitukus again. Blitukus noticed the glint of other objects tracking him... Blitukus fired at them, but after two shots, ran out of ammunition. Blitukus slid to a stop, detaching the clip and fishing out a new one. It seemed though the metal of the machine was invulnerable to bolts, its sensory devices were fundamental weak points. Kazo leapt on top of the machine, the machine distracted with Blitukus, and began to bite and kick at the various devices on the top. As Blitukus was about to load the new clip, the machine fired an immense bolt at Blitukus. Blitukus leapt back and dove... but before he could reach the ground, the bolt struck the ground behind him, fragmenting in an explosion that knocked Blitukus further back, some of the shrapnel grazing him, a piece embedding itself in Blitukus' leg. Blitukus grunted, hitting the ground. He pulled the fragment out, tossed it aside, and got up, taking up the clip that had fallen near him. The machine then proceeded to fire conventional bolts. Blitukus noticed it seemed to be ignoring Kazo, even though Kazo was, bit by bit, rendering it blind. Blitukus darted to the side of the tunnel as he reloaded. He reached the side of the tunnel, slammed against the wall, and was too slow in rebounding... he was hit twice, once in the side, once in the gut, knocking him down.

Blitukus grunted loudly, barely stifling a yell, and rolled as he finished reloading. Kazo had already moved to the side closer to Blitukus, and was further blinding the machine... Blitukus, despite the pain, aimed along this row and fired, the bolts whizzing across and into the sensing top of the machine. Another bolt struck Blitukus in the gut... Blitukus yelled, feeling blood pooling beneath his armor... but if that had only gone a little higher, it would've been his head. The machine seemed to stop firing as the last sensory device was destroyed. Blitukus grunted loudly, slowly sat up, then shakily stood... he felt weakened by the shock of his wounds... but he was still alive. His insides would probably have been partially mush had it not been for the armor. The machine then let out an electronic screech, and began firing randomly in all directions, finally deciding to fire upwards across its own top at Kazo. Kazo jumped off, the machine striking Kazo with a large explosive bolt in midair, the blast causing Kazo to fly forward and land face first on the floor of the tunnel, causing a splash. Kazo hesitated, then got up, both he and Blitukus hiding against the wall as the machine again fired randomly in all directions. The machine again stopped, as if waiting patiently for something... Kazo felt along the joint in his back, finding it to be slightly damaged, the upper joint of his tail damaged a bit as well. None of it was major... although the fact that a direct hit managed to damage Kazos plating meant that it would tear right through Blitukus' armor... he felt glad to have leapt away in time. The machine still waited... Kazo ran forward, landing in the water with a splash. The machine aimed quickly and fired at Kazo, Kazo jumping back again. It continued firing... not at Kazo, but at the water where Kazo had landed. After a few moments of firing, it stopped, and once again waited patiently... the whirring and clunking of it reloading from an internal stock could be heard. Apparently it did still have some sensory devices left... they just weren't optical. A few moments passed... Kazo and Blitukus both looked at one another. Blitukus then began to slowly make his way forward, walking digitigrade, his careful footsteps muffled further by his fur. The machine seemed to not notice Blitukus. As Blitukus moved, several times he had to stifle a grunt from the pain of his injuries, and luckily, he was successful in doing so. As Blitukus made his way toward the intersection, the machine seemed to slowly aim towards Blitukus, as if its suspicion were aroused... perhaps it had rather sensitive hearing... Kazo then darted into the water, then darted down the other side of the tunnel toward the machine. The machine immediately aimed away from Blitukus, and fired at Kazo. Kazo jumped forward, landing on the back of the machine and sliding across. Blitukus ran to the front of the machine... there had to be a weak point somewhere... right on the front, an area normally monitored by the weapons of the machine, lay an access port of some kind, kept shut by a lock. Blitukus stood in front of the machine, and fired into the lock... each shot dented the lock further, but it seemed rather strong. Blitukus ducked in front of the machine as one of its weapons swept across, firing a line of bolts above Blitukus. Again, the machine seemed to fire randomly. Blitukus stood and again fired on the lock... the machine began to move forward, nearly running Blitukus over. Blitukus grunted, but managed to step away fast enough. Blitukus kept firing, finally, the lock came apart. Blitukus jumped onto the front of the machine, bolts whizzing around, and pulled the broken lock off, proceeding to open the panel... highly delicate, complex electronics lay below. The machine was nearly done aiming at Blitukus, ready to reduce Blitukus' head to a red mush... Blitukus fired into the port, delivering such a fate to the machine, the electronics inside shattering and melting. The machine fizzled, let out a stalled, broken sound, and finally stopped moving.

Blitukus dropped down, and lay back against the wall of the tunnel, thin smoke slowly rising from the opened panel. Kazo appeared from behind the machine. Blitukus grunted, placing a hand over his wounds... it was not a mortal wound but it was still weakening him. Blitukus snickered a bit, and gestured toward the now dead machine with his other hand, "Dinner time for you, friend." Kazo grinned, waved his tail around, and then began searching for more panels. Kazo found a panel near the rear, easily broke through the lock, and opened it, finding stacks of batteries within. Kazo licked his lips, and bit into the wires, draining the batteries into his own mana supply. Blitukus sat and waited... the pain only reminded him of his anger... it would only get in the way. He could not afford to be consumed in emotion... especially in a place like this. Blitukus kept waiting... Kazo repaired himself as he finished absorbing his fill of energy. Perhaps humor was an ideal substitute for anger in this situation... he must keep his spirits up, otherwise, this place indeed would get to him. As Kazo finished, Blitukus took off his coat and armor... all of the fragments reigniting the burning pain as they were pulled out. Blitukus nearly yelled. Kazo approached. Blitukus spoke, "I could use some help!" Kazo replied, "Sure thing!" Kazo, having gotten his fill of energy, repeated the previous healing technique. As Blitukus' wounds mended themselves, Blitukus asked, "How did it taste for you?" Kazo replied, "Low voltage direct current... kinda sour, but I still like it!" Blitukus snickered, then proceeded to pull out the fragments from the armor. The armor was now getting somewhat damaged... its protective value would be diminished the more it gets hit. When Kazo had finished, Blitukus put on the damaged armor as well as the coat, took up his equipment, then stood. He spoke, "Thank you again, friend." Kazo smiled, "It's not often I get to heal kobolds. I love trying new things!" Blitukus snickered. Kazo once again topped off his mana stores... the batteries within the dead machine were nearly depleted anyway afterward... Then, Blitukus and Kazo continued down the tunnels. Eventually, they reached a large shaft, with a stairwell going upward, and downward... a waterfall of the rancid fluid. Blitukus surveyed the waterfall, then proceeded upwards. There was no doubt his actions had brought the guards to alert... but he was now far away from the scenes of his actions. Blitukus climbed the stairs... Kazo leapt across the room onto the stairwell, then leapt across again to the stairwell higher up, leaping upwards to the top. At the very top of the stairs lay a large iron cover. Blitukus felt his strength had returned... when he reached it, he pushed it upward, and slid it away. Blitukus climbed out, Kazo leaping out... they stood very near what looked like a storage facility consisting of 6 large, cylindrical tanks, pipes leading all around. Behind them lay the prison... ahead... only the facility... then wilderness. Blitukus looked at the facility... it seemed the entire prison was surrounded by these tall concrete walls... but those tanks were high enough up to reach the top of the wall from. There were stairs leading up the sides of these steel tanks... well, one of them... the other 5 had no such staircase. Blitukus and Kazo walked up to this one tank, and climbed the staircase.

Atop the staircase, they found that an old abandoned railroad connected the area near the facility to the now somewhat closer glow in the distance. Blitukus and Kazo made their way across the connections between tanks... Some of the tanks were open topped, exposed to the rain... why they would be exposing their products to the rain... perhaps they were intent on delivering damaged product, or were simply intent on wasting resources. They carefully stepped along the edge of an open tank... the liquid within looked exactly like pure, good water... but it smelled very strongly of acid. Blitukus carefully avoided it. They also passed another tank... Blitukus accidentally bumped into Kazo, causing Kazo to slip on the metallic surface and fall into the tank, becoming covered in the dark, gooey substance within. Kazo slowly emerged from the top, and held his hand out. Blitukus carefully bent over, and tried to pull Kazo out... but their hands slipped apart, Kazo falling right back in. Kazo tried again this time gripping Blitukus' hand tightly with both of his hands. Blitukus pulled Kazo out, and in doing so, nearly pulled himself in. Blitukus spoke, "My apologies for that..." Kazo smiled beneath the fluid covering him, "Thanks for pulling me out!" They continued on across the tops of the tanks... eventually, they reached the tank nearest the edge of the wall. Kazo hopped up onto the top of the wall. Blitukus jumped off from the tank, grabbed to the edge of the wall, dangling several stories above hard ground, and pulled himself up... at least on the other side the ground wasn't so hard... he would still rather not fall. Kazo slid down the side of the wall, landing on a ledge, then dropping off from there, landing on the ground. Kazo looked up at Blitukus, then began to wash the goo off, using puddles of rainwater. Blitukus walked along the top wall, and found a decayed section of the wall. He slowly made his way down it, using imperfections in the wall to slow his descent, eventually making his way to the bottom, and walking back to Kazo. Blitukus waited for Kazo to finish washing up, then they both made their way toward the train tracks. Suddenly, a light sprang forth from the wall, and soon spotted them. Turrets on the side of the walls deployed themselves, and fired at Blitukus and Kazo. They were unwelcome... but did not wish to stay anyway. Blitukus darted away, down the tracks. Kazo hesitated for a moment, looking at the turrets, looked at Blitukus, looked back, then decided to follow Blitukus. Blitukus ran down the tracks, then ran away from the tracks... the glow of a flying machines engines could be heard overhead. Blitukus and Kazo left the area near the tracks... the dark flying machine whirring overhead shone a spotlight down, searching the area near the railroad... nothing of interest was to be seen there. Now the darkness had become an advantage... Blitukus and Kazo moved forward, toward the glow on the horizon, the chance of the flying machine overhead discovering them very slim, even without cover. For quite a while, they calculated their moves, dodging the spotlight, and continuing forward... eventually, the flying machine had lost track of them entirely. Blitukus and Kazo then moved back toward the railway, staying close enough to effectively use it as a reference, but not moving too close. They continued walking toward the glow, and as time passed, it very gradually drew closer. Blitukus still had his gift from his mother... although he had yet to see an opportunity to use it. Blitukus looked around... due to size, he would spot a search party quite a bit before they spotted him... he had successfully escaped from the facility behind him... but what lay in the one ahead? All that mattered was transportation to Rametaru laying ahead... what it would take to acquire it from likely demonic hands... what it took mattered little, Blitukus told himself. He thought, no matter what happened, somehow, he would prevail and gain the fourth component... not only would it save him and his mother... it may prevent the demonic takeover, as well as giving Kazo a bit more time with Arkus, those many years ago... It seemed Blitukus' quest had grown in importance as time had passed... The end outcome... even whether he would make it back from this journey... were still yet to be observed.

[Reign on your Parade]

First post.

*theorizing* Infrared sensors were why it ignored Kazo?