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Author Topic: They told me I could be anything...  (Read 78862 times)

joemoben

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1350 on: November 01, 2012, 08:35:10 am »

I'll go with commune as well. We have time to waste after all.
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Something about this game makes me wonder why God lets it exist.
Say, if you give birth on a ranch and then murder your baby will a corpse drop be guaranteed?

Silleh Boy

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1351 on: November 01, 2012, 10:33:06 am »

Every fiber of your being was set against permitting this other self to once more steal control of the body that was yours and yours alone.

You could feel the tendrils of their consciousness clawing at the edges of your own, seeking to enter and overpower you, to take control of the body that would once more permit them life.

As if sensing your resistance, all at once that other mind crashed against your own, attempting to overwhelm your mental defences with a single overpowering attack. Despite your current state, despite how weary you felt, your defences held fast against that ancient mages onslaught.

Like walls erected against the ocean however, you could do little more than weather the storm, while praying that your defences did not crumble before its end was in sight.

Tenacious as you were your limits were not tested as the initial push ceased, making you wonder if this was a test of your resistance as well as an attempt to wrest control.

One hand closed about the stone as you brought it up to your head, your elbow braced against your leg, your forehead against your palm. You could feel the cool of the stone itself contrasted by the warmth of the symbol, that seemed not to lend any of its head to the surrounding rock. Heat and cold, mundane and mystical, opposing states all within one small stone as if it was an unintended reflection of your own impossible nature.

With your focus both on maintaining your mental defence against another mind imposing upon it and signalling that you wished to talk, you closed your eyes.

You closed your eyes so that your minds eye may open.

"You deny me my freedom, Sleep-walker," came the words of the Aspect as you hovered between consciousness and freedom from your mortal shell sleep would grant.

"I deny you no more than your lack of manners dictates I should. You are attempting to hijack my body, to take control from me without my permission simply because you look down upon all others, including myself."

"Heed my words," the Aspect started as you felt the displeasure they felt radiating from them, yet you had no intent of allowing them to finish this.

"Heed my words, Aspect, you are an echo of your former self who has already had their day. You failed whatever grand scheme you may or may not have had to gain immortality beyond your alloted span and irritated as I am with you, I am still able to emphasise. This does not however excuse you for trying to steal from what little time I myself have remaining, not when I myself need to figure how to escape this accursed cycle still."

"Listen you-"

"No, you listen to me," you commanded with what felt like the combined weight of your many lifetimes authority behind your words. "If you are willing to assist me, I will be free to entertain thoughts of permitting you time to enjoy life once more, via my body as it may be. If all you desire to do is fight me and attempt to steal control for your own petty agenda, then I shall fight against you with every fiber of my being. Are we clear?"

There was a long moments silence, a pause that felt as if it stretched on forever, yet in reality you knew it could have been over in but an instant.

"Very well, it appears at this time I have little choice but to acknowledge your authority, much as it is to my chagrin," came the response, followed by another, though thankfully brief pause. "A gesture of good faith I suppose, would be in order then to make it clear, obvious as it may or may otherwise not be, that I am not your enemy here. Your memories are still scattered, incomplete, for you have a plan in motion already to escape this cycle. Seek out the clock tower, seek out your servant, for they are the key."

With that you found yourself forced back to consciousness, your head spinning as the stone as dropped upon your lap.

It was at that moment that Joy returned with the officer, that man who had doubted you prior, a man who you could see now was dejected and defeated, no doubt crushed by the revelation. He knew no doubt now, that you were who you said, that you were as important as you claimed to do.

"All the details that were relevant to the report deemed acceptable have been relayed," Joy stated flatly as she reached down with one hand to aid you in reaching your feet. Even as you were hauled to them, you couldn't stop yourself from almost unconsciously taking hold of that stone once more, as if it was somehow precious to you. "The flux in your nature was not relayed. The taint causing the loss of the mine was relayed. The need for funding was relayed. Requests for further orders returned that they wish us to do what we can for the people here, then return by any means."

Your brow furrowed as you felt your thoughts settle, your head no longer spinning from how disoriented the entire experience with the Aspect had left you feeling. "Families, children, the elderly should consider staying with family and friends inland so any assault minimises potential for their casualties," you mused as you rubbed at your forehead.

"That... Makes sense. I can relay it to th' other bobbies an' have them relay it then 'elp with evacuations," the uniformed man stated as he shifted awkwardly.

"We can't afford to leave the costal towns unmanned however, it's just a shame that the Guardian's are too few in number to spare for a defensive force for each town. Even one in each tactically viable port however, refitted with artillery weapons set to bombard-"

"Acknowledged. Refitting and redistribution will commence," Joy stated in that emotionless and powerful tone you had come to associate with the Guardians. It was something of a chilling reminder of how much of a mess you had made with the Guardians, hundreds, if not thousands of tainted minds supressed and formed into a vast network. A network, that even now seemed active, yet commanding them in this manner via Joy was not something that should have been possible.

"On who's authority, on what protocol?" you inquired, feeling nausea deep in the pit of your stomach. They couldn't possibly have reverse engineered your work, figured how to impliment further commands without unbalancing the entire thing, could they?

"Upon the creator's authority."

"And the protocol?"

"Unknown. Over-ride authorised by Administrator Ego."

Ego.

There was no Ego in the network, it was-

"Joy, go and buy a stack of boxes of fudge while I get some air."

"Acknow- ...Yes, okay," Joy stated, her eyes almost burning into your back as you stumbled out of the ruined doorway before you.

It was all catching up with you once more, the horrors you had visited upon others, the acts you had justified to yourself as being borne of nescesity. You would do your best to fix them after this was all over, to rehabilitate them, to do what little you could to undo how you had wronged them. It wouldn't excuse you of your responsibility for this, it wouldn't buy forgiveness for what you had done.

You didn't want it to absolve you of your guilt, no, you had their blood on your hands and no charity you could do could would ever fix this.

But now wasn't the time to let the fact you had been a greater monster than that what you fought get to you, now as the time to rise up, to shine, to ensure that this nation could survive. Survive, so that they could fix the problems they faced, to come out of this entire situation stronger than they started, able to stand proud, without you holding their hand.

With the aquisition of fudge underway and what you could do for the safety of these people tackled, you knew that your next task was getting back home.
Did you have any other business that you felt needed taking care of?
Did you plan to travel by sea, by rail or by road?

joemoben

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1352 on: November 01, 2012, 04:55:01 pm »

We are weary, and need a rest, but priority right now is speed. Ask the man which way is faster. Also should probably muse about who this Ego could be.
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Something about this game makes me wonder why God lets it exist.
Say, if you give birth on a ranch and then murder your baby will a corpse drop be guaranteed?

mcclay

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1353 on: November 01, 2012, 05:41:01 pm »

As badly as rail went last time it still is the fastest and safest way back.
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Am I back? Its a mystery to everyone

joemoben

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1354 on: November 01, 2012, 06:45:42 pm »

As badly as rail went last time it still is the fastest and safest way back.

And it'll let us rest which we sorely need.
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Something about this game makes me wonder why God lets it exist.
Say, if you give birth on a ranch and then murder your baby will a corpse drop be guaranteed?

Armok

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1355 on: November 01, 2012, 08:39:53 pm »

> You have a hint that a network critical to national security has been compromised, time to get your hacker on!
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So says Armok, God of blood.
Sszsszssoo...
Sszsszssaaayysss...
III...

mcclay

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1356 on: November 01, 2012, 10:59:24 pm »

> You have a hint that a network critical to national security has been compromised, time to get your hacker on!

Expect that we are the hacker ((Kinda...) so we might not want to do that.
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Am I back? Its a mystery to everyone

Nicholas1024

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1357 on: November 02, 2012, 12:51:01 am »

Why not ask Joy for info about this Administrator Ego? Using the creator's authority, she should be able to at least run a search to figure out who the guy is.
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Silleh Boy

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1358 on: November 02, 2012, 11:35:34 am »

Ego.

It couldn't be the same Ego that you had encountered before, could it?

No, there couldn't be another Ego, not with a name like that.

The Enlightened were as crazy as anyone else in this accursed world, but they were consistant. A name like Ego or Pride was a powerful name, one that would not be re-used. Not until the original one to possess the name was lost to the chapter. You had seen the lists of names of Enlightened brought in over time to be converted, you had seen hundreds of different names over time, the only time. Names that only saw repetition between, much as you hated to term them as such, batches.

Between, never within.

The memory was one you wished hadn't surfaced, yet you knew there was nothing you could do about this yet. It wasn't important though, it was a mere detail in the tapestry of your history, a detail that paled in comparison to the greater picture.

There was only one Ego that you ever knew of, and this Ego was the one that you had encountered within the last rememnants of their chapter. This was the same Ego that if not for you, wouldn't have been captured by the Clockworkers.

The other thing that troubled you about this, was that when you had originally created the Guardian's and their network, that there were only two types of role within it. The more common minds that had been used for the Guardians themselves who obeyed their overseers. Overseers, being the minds with talents that allowed them to be the network, to communicate with and command them within the set boundries they themselves were allowed.

There was no such thing as an Administrator so the fact that Ego was calling himself such was worrying.

You couldn't help but note the bitter irony that an ego was active within the network that required its supression, a free mind that could command the others freely due to how... Prone to suggestion they were.

The cloud always had a silver lining, however.

The same figure that troubled you could potentially be the answer to undoing much of the damage that had been caused by you. A free mind within the network was one that could help bring it down and leave those who had been enslaved by it ready for rehabilitation.

You'd have to pursue diplomacy with Ego, make it clear to him that you were not his enemy, that you wished to have him aid with the war effort. Then once peace had been attained, you would work alongside him to undo some of your wrongs.

A deep breath you were unaware you had been holding was released, clouding the air before you as warmth met the growing chill of the night.

Your attention turned towards the skies as you looked up at the rising moon, for a moment basking in its silvery glow. It was one constant that had been there all these lifetimes, the moon that watched you every night, silver and pure beauty in contrast to the blighted land below.

You had dreamed of making this a land of beauty and peace, so that the moon could gaze down upon it and see something as pure as it. It was a simple, innocent dream and you had deviated so far from it.

This moment of reflection was one that told you that jaded and weary as you had become over your lifetimes, that there was still hope for you. You could still turn things about in the time you had left and set the gears of change in motion, get the world you had left your mark upon turning to the right path.

A moments reflection was all it took to put that what troubled you into perspective, to figure that you needed to confront your past and deal with Ego. This left the question of who your servant was however, as the Aspect had hinted at and what the plan you had left in motion was.

This was something you could worry about in due time however.

"I have aquired-" started Joy's voice from behind you, prompting you to turn about, a small smile gracing your features as you saw the petite woman struggling beneath the stack of boxes she held.

"Here, give me some of those," you laughed as you placed your hands beneath the stack, supporting it as Joy moved to take the upper half of it herself. "I promised Anne some fudge, so lets go back to the cart before she come to hunt us down for taking too long."

"Eurochkoles?" Joy started as you turned to make your way back down the street towards the outskirts of the town.

"Yes, Joy?"

"I am... Afraid."

"There's no reason to be afraid, I have everything worked out, trust me."

"I am not afraid of the war."

"Then what's troubling you?" you asked as Joy fell into step along side you.

"I am afraid of the uncertainty regarding your lifespan."

"Ah," you inwardly frowned, you had no idea how long you had left exactly before Anne once more found herself holding that pin to your neck. "Don't worry, you'll be tired of me long before I'm gone," you offered as means of reassurance, wondering if it was true or not yourself.

"There is a part of me that wants to hate you, but cannot. It is... Not because you made me what I am that I cannot, it is because..."

"What stops you doing so?"

"I... Look upon you and I feel... Sorrow. You are the brightest star, yet you shine alone. Even when surrounded by others, you do not feel you belong. It has taken me some time to come to this conclusion, but..."

"Joy, don't worry about me," you laughed, yet something about this sent a shiver down your spine. "Your concern's touching, but I have too much to do to simply roll over and accept whatever fate I'm told I'm to have."

Joy smiled, reassured by those words, yet you couldn't help but feel stung by what she had said, that observation that she had made. For one who was so emotionally closed off she was closer to the mark than you wished to admit to, though you suspected that it was because she had seen a similar pattern between yourself and her.

The rest of the walk back to the cart was done in silence, nothing but your thoughts and the steady breathing of the woman to your side to punctuate it.

Before she was even fully in view for you, Anne's words rang out in the darkness.

"I see your game. You don't want a repeat of the cake issue, so you got enough fudge to make sure that-" there was a brief pause. "Joy, are you smirking at me?"

"She's the one that got all of this, maybe she planned to make sure I could at least get a little myself?" you quickly interrupted as you finished the approach to the cart. "Besides, there's more important things to deal with than the fudge."

"Nothing is more important than fudge. Except maybe cake," Anne huffed as she hopped down from the cart to relieve you of the boxes.

"Where's the two headed one?"

"Asleep in the cart."

"We're not going to be able to take it with us, the best way to get back to London is via train and there's no way we can take something of it's nature with us. Especially not with the news."

"News?" Anne echoed as she placed the fudge on the side of the cart, hauling herself up beside it as she did so.

"France declared war, cleansing the taint from this land was cited as one of their reasons."

"Fuckers. Only I deny you cake and fudge, they have no right."

"Uh..." You couldn't help but echo how caught off guard that comment left you feeling. Though you couldn't make out her features clearly in the dark, you had a firm impression that she was smug at this moment with having managed to do that.

"So, we're going to set him free to roam the wild, head back to London and you're going to win the war while we sit back and eat fudge. I like this plan!"

"Anne. Please, take this seriously."

"I am serious. Serious about fudge."

One hand came up to pinch the bridge of your nose as you sighed. Sleeping through the journey back sounded very appealing right now.


End of Part Seven

---

Not as long a part as I'd normally do to wrap up but, it gets us moving along for the final chapter - that may or may not be the end of the story, all things depending!

Hopefully everyone's still enjoying this, too. Slow as it's been, the action should pick up again in the next part.

I'll answer any questions and clarify any points that don't give too much away before we start the next part, though additionally, I was going to give a final point to each of the main three for them to 'grow', along with a few suggestions.
If this is desired, i'll repost the three's stats, along with said suggestions and leave you to decide if you use those or suggest alternatives of your own.

Armok

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1359 on: November 02, 2012, 08:11:54 pm »

Enjoying this a LOT, but I dint have much comments right now.
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So says Armok, God of blood.
Sszsszssoo...
Sszsszssaaayysss...
III...

Nicholas1024

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1360 on: November 05, 2012, 06:19:06 pm »

Hm, could you repost the main three's stats? I'm not particularly sure where everyone stands at the moment.
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Silleh Boy

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1361 on: November 06, 2012, 10:40:26 am »

The soft glow of the rising sun cast itself through the window of the carriage you resided in as the train swept through a gentle curve in the track.

Pink, orange and red were cast about the inside of the well decorated carriage, bathing it in soft hues as one hand reached up to pull the lace curtains to a close. While it did little to stop the invading light that roused you from your slumber, it spared your eyes as they protested against the sudden influx of light into your world.

Across from you there was the figure of Anne, curled up awkwardly atop the opposite bench, one wing draped over her body lazily as she used it unintentionally as a blanket. To your side Joy sat, already awake as she gazed at the far wall, as she watched light dancing upon it, scattered patterns dancing where they were cast by the window and curtains.

It was a new day, a fresh day, one in what you had awoken feeling better than you had the prior day. It was one that you greeted feeling well rested, despite how you could only have had five hours sleep up until this point.

But that didn't matter, you'd slept, you'd slept well and you had no lingering sensation of exaustion to contend with. Your body protested less as you moved today, too, telling you that while you slept a fair amount of damage had been healed. It left you feeling somewhat stiff, but that was nothing that moving around wouldn't rectify.

Your sleep had been untroubled too, that you were uncertain if you should be worried over, as you knew that there were at least a thousand things to concern you at this point. Additionally, there were at a number of voices that mirrored your own, that you had expected would have made themselves known in your sleep.

Perhaps those other selves had some decency after all.

"I'll be back with you shortly Joy, I'm going to stretch my legs and see if the staff are awake, see if we'll be able to aquire breakfast soon."

Joy's lips parted, yet no sound came from them, though you passed this off as her being startled by the sudden movement and sound you made.

It wasn't until you had reached the end of the carriage that something about this entire scene struck you as wrong.

The door was locked, that as you hurried to the other side, you found was repeated on the other end.

And then there was pain focused upon your neck, brief, sharp and stabbing before warmth flowed from it. Warmth, that as you brought you hand up to touch upon it was revealed to be blood.

You spun about, looking for your assailant, yet there was no more than a tiny silver pin resting upon the carpet, bloodied.

Your blood.

It was your blood upon the pin, your mind screamed as you sank down against the door, clutching the wound from what you could feel your very essence pouring from.

"No," you whispered, suprised by the sound of that unbidden word as you started to draw a deep breath in. "No!" you thundered as you rose to your feet.

Your hands balled and swung outwards as the carriage buckled, then shattered about you, metal sheared and wood splintered as you lashed out at the world about you. Your anger and rage bubbled up as you slammed your foot down, smashing the bottom of the carriage out as you launched yourself from it.

With the force you had put behind that action you soared through the skies, skies that slowly went from rosy pink to blue.

Blue that faded into black as you closed your eyes, drawing in a deep breath as you prepared yourself to open them again, to view the stars that you knew would be there.

Your eyes opened once more, though the silvery glow you expected to see dotted through the heavens was not there.

Instead, you opened your eyes to the rose glow of mornings light cast into the carriage, to Joy's bemused expression as she offered you a hand.

"You were dreaming, I presume," came her words as she assisted you in climbing to your feet.

"I'm... I'm going to go stretch my legs and... I'll be back shortly," you mumbled awkwardly as you rubbed at your eyes, stepping from the room into the main carriage as you hurried away.

A quick glance was stolen towards the far end of the carriage as you entertained your fears, looking to ensure that there was no silver pin sat upon the carpet.

There was not, thoughthere was a trail of straw leading to the door from the compartment nearest to it.

You were uncertain you could bring yourself to care about someone elses mess before breakfast.

You felt different this morning, as if you had changed, as if you had grown in some manner.
As you pondered over this, flexing your fingers testingly you once more considered if you should concern yourself over what could be nothing, or simple go for breakfast.


---

As I suggested that the characters may be permitted growth, one last time, here's their latest stats along with a point each, suggestions for use, etc.

Spoiler: Eurochkoles (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Anxiety (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Joy (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Suggestions (click to show/hide)

Armok

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1362 on: November 06, 2012, 08:34:46 pm »

Phoenix sounds useful,and if you're suggesting it it's probably not to bad as well.

Joy should probably just get a point in fire, given how much that has been used.

Not sure about Anexity, maybe start on a new power even?
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So says Armok, God of blood.
Sszsszssoo...
Sszsszssaaayysss...
III...

Nicholas1024

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1363 on: November 06, 2012, 10:22:01 pm »

Personally, I like the idea of the new named powers, or perhaps a point in water for Eurochkoles.
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RAM

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #1364 on: November 06, 2012, 10:46:42 pm »

Adding fire to Joy would make her an excellent bodyguard, but likely stifle her character development. Water would make her much more capable of functioning socially, which in turn would cause her to attract less attention...

Erinys sounds interesting and has my support for Anxiety.

I am tempted to put Euro's point into air.
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