Hallucinogen_NA

Percy glanced calmly at Penny as she nearly ran into him.

"Oh, do not concern yourself with that," he said, smiling as she ran off into the building. "As long as you are able to get around."

Following her, he inclined his head in a little bow to the security desk.

"Yes, good morning. Do keep up the good work. . ."

He walked into the elevator at a precisely calculated pace, entering it as the door closed without having to break into a run.

Percy stepped into a corner. "Hmm. Third floor for me," he said to Penny. "So how has your day been? Nice seasonable weather." He said this as though he had said it a thousand times before. It was dubious whether he actually cared, but Percy felt that it was worth something that he asked at all.

((And it is SO hard to stop him from addressing her as "Priestess". I feel so lost. ))

"I do not know what my destiny is," Reginald said to After-Image. "The Oracle knows the future, but she cannot tell me, because. . ."

"Because telling the future changes it," Reginald and the Oracle said in unison.

"But don't worry, dear!" the Oracle continued. "I can assure you, she's pretty."

"Oracle!" Reginald complained. "I do not need to hear about THAT aspect of the future!"

When Darkvapor mentioned his research, Reginald glared at him. "And do you ask the dead if they wish to return to life? How do you know there is not a life after death? And would you tear them away from it, oblivious?"

The Oracle smiled and clapped politely.

The Phantasm did not even try to dodge the attacks. The strikes appeared to go right through it, and though it was clearly hit, it hardly moved from the spot it floated.

((Whaddya know. Phantasms are resistant to Lethal damage. ))

And flashes of light appeared around Namikaze's head, threatening to blind him as he struck at the Phantasm. Followed shortly by a blast of light from behind him. Hallucinogen was giving away his position now, but it would be worth it if the ninja was blinded. . .for then the blast of light would be that much more deadly. . .

Percy's car drove up to the Tharomar Enterprise corporate building. He parked perfectly, as usual. He was about ten minutes early this time. After all, he had to make up for having been late the previous day.

He stepped out, wincing slightly as the morning sunlight hit him. He had never liked the sun quite as much as the moon or the stars. He didn't hate it. . . he just felt. . . nervous. Like it was an old friend that had fallen out of favor.

He walked through the parking lot, leaving footprints in the snow. Anyone who looked at them would see that they were almost perfectly symmetrical. Percy insisted on doing everything well. . . even walking.

((My deepest apologies. Somehow, I wasn't aware anyone had attacked. ))

A blinding light tore through the area, tearing at the shadows the ninja hid themselves in ((no, it doesn't necessarily dispel the effect, just mentioning it's the sort of thing Hal's light can do)).

And it all seemed to solidify itself into a being of shimmering light, Hal's Phantasm.

"I have no idea who you are, but I'm not going to just watch," said a voice out of nowhere near Andrew, and then the Phantasm was hurling huge waves of light at the ninjas as bright flashes appeared out of nowhere, tearing at the shadows further.

"I don't WANT to think about my love life!" Reginald returned angrily as he followed. "The Oracle is helping me find my destiny, I can't help it if she's. . . well. . ."

"Willing to help in other respects also," the Oracle finished, causing Reginald to kick one of the humming machines as they passed.

((This is a story concerning my Hero character, Hallucinogen. Hopefully you will enjoy it somewhat. But please don’t post comments in the thread until it’s over. I don’t think it will take too long.))

PART ONE

The walls were white and spotless, the floor likewise. No windows lined the long, white hall, but it was not dark. There was no visible source of light, but light there was regardless.

Pictures lined the walls, most of a small boy, with wild yellow hair and a gas mask over his face, clouded in green haze, so that hardly any of his features could be discerned. At the end, however, was a picture of a little girl in pink armor, smiling. Her picture was set in an ornate frame, and was nearly twice the size of the other portraits.

And sitting on the floor was the boy who adorned so much of the walls. He sat lost in thought, ruffling his hair, his hand passing through his gas mask as he did so, for it was an illusion, as was the vast majority of his appearance.

“Hallucinogen?” said a muffled voice. “Hallucinogen? Please pick up.”

Hallucinogen sighed and pulled his communicator out of his pocket, although the pocket was obscured by his illusionary appearance, and thus it looked as though he had drawn it out of thin air. “What is it, Moonscribe?”

“Ah, yes. Hello, Pharaoh,” the voice said. Hallucinogen restrained another sigh. He was really growing tired of the hero’s use of bizarre honoraries. He honestly thought he did it primarily so no one would know if he forgot their name. “Essex wanted to see you. She said she would be at the Talos Island station.”

“Essex?” Hal said, brightening instantly. He hadn’t heard from her for at least two days. He was beginning to worry something was wrong. . . but of course, she must simply have been busy. Silly, really, to worry at all. . . embarassing. . .she had to want some time to herself. . .

“Okay,” said Hal, sounding much more confident. “I’ll be there. . . when is she meeting me?”

“In about two hours,” Moonscribe returned.

“I’ll be right there,” said Hallucinogen. “Although, I’m embarassed that I even CAN be there on such short notice, honestly. . .”

“Oh, do not concern yourself with that, Pharaoh,” said Moonscribe calmly. “It is of little importance. . .”

A note of hesitation crept into his voice.

“What is it?” Hal said, suddenly worried. If it had been anyone else. . . but Moonscribe was never worried. He was always calm and focused, unless something was really wrong. . .

“Well, ah. . . Do be careful, Pharaoh.”

“What do you know?” Hal said instantly. He knew what was going on now. Moonscribe knew far more than he let on, indeed far more than was actually possible for him to know. He had to know something he wasn’t supposed to. . .

“I did not say anything,” Moonscribe said, immediately confirming Hal’s suspicions. “I have told you everything I am supposed. . .I mean, everything I know.”

“Look, Moonscribe, I know perfectly well who you are!” Hal said angrily. “You don’t need to keep secrets from me!”

“Hmm. You are a human. You are bound by the laws of this world, Pharaoh. Just because some of us can see beyond those boundaries. . . and know things we are not capable of knowing. . . just because we cheat, so to speak, Pharaoh, does not mean we have the right to share with you our ill-gotten gains. I am sorry, Pharaoh.”

“Dangit!” Hal yelled into the communicator. “Tell me! Please! What if it’s important?”

“Oh, I can assure you, Pharaoh,” said Moonscribe’s voice, “it is really of no importance.”

The communicator turned off. Moonscribe had hung up. Without a moment’s hesitation, Hallucinogen ran down the hall and pushed into the wall at the end. It swung open like a door, and Hal rushed outside. Moonscribe claimed to be of no importance himself, as well, and he harbored the spirit of an ancient god. This was bad.

"No," said Hallucinogen to Experiment, "but most things are weak to being blasted into next week."

His Phantasm pulled him into the air, and rays of searing light rained down on the mechanical monstrosity. . .

((And thus did Hal use his Mutation power on the thread. It will be going strong for a few days, then slow down, then finally return to normal posting pace.))

((. . .I think you missed Devious's point. If the Malta want to kill someone, they find out where he lives, go there in the middle of the night, and kill him in his sleep. And no one ever finds out about it. Or at any rate, that's more like their style.

And yes. . . I am really only posting because I'm tired of waiting for the next freakin' day.))

"We really should proceed with caution," Reginald said. "This is advanced technology. I do not understand it, but it appears comparable to that of my world."

"Oh, don't be such a worrywort," the Oracle fussed. "Cheer up! Maybe you'll meet someone nice."

". . .In a bizarre high-tech stronghold inside a sewer?!?" Reginald exclaimed. "Oracle! I really do NOT think this place is going to be beneficial to my love life!"

"Well, of course not," said the Oracle scoldingly. "Not with an attitude like THAT."

"Hey!" Hal yelled, as his green smoke vanished and he turned into a perfectly ordinary baby in a green one-piece outfit.

"Waaaah!" Schizo yelled as he vanished from existance.

Moonscribe laughed, clapping his hands together.

((Without his powers, Schizo doesn't actually exist. He'll come back when powers are back on. ))

Hehe. Yeah, Gunslingers are nasty, but ALL the Malta units are nasty, except Herc Class Titans.

And I love fighting Malta too. I hate groups where you can just go "CHARGE!" and run in randomly and win. Although I can get scarily close to managing that with Hal. . . if running in is equivalent to "summon Phantasm, buff, put on defensive toggles, summon Decoys in middle of mob. . ."

But it's not like it's hard when you've been doing it all game.

And Sky Raider FFGs suck, yes.

Hehe. I liked those books too.

And yeah, Reepicheep was great.

"Excellent," said Reginald, and nocked another arrow. He tapped a button on his hand, and a tiny jet of flame shot out, setting it ablaze as he fired it at the weakened Kraken.

"Ugh! Where did he go now?" Hal thought to himself, scanning with his radiation to try to spot Archlich. Hopefully the mage's invisibility didn't make him undetectable by Hallucinogen's personal radar, but it certainly didn't seem unlikely. . .

Essex would hear Hal's voice in her head again.

"Uh, hi again . . . Essex, you might want to get over here with Ian. . . There are some weird guys here, I can't even see them properly and I can't scan them. . . I might need your help. Archlich is already up to something, and I'm worried it could turn into a fight. . ."

". . . Oh, and, uh, please be careful, Essex. . . I don't want anything to happen to you. Heh. Just follow the light. . ."

And a faint light shone on Essex's face, at least in her mind. It was another hallucination, but if she walked toward it, she would head straight for Hal's location. . .

"Hmm," Reginald said as he nocked another arrow. "This world certainly has an awful lot of dangerous creatures. Surely even the Noo'Ki were not this resilient. . ."

"You'd be surprised, dear," the Oracle said under her breath. Or at least, she said it quietly, since holograms rarely breathed.

". . .What?" said Reginald, distracted.

"Um, nothing, dear!" the Oracle said hastily. "I was just saying, that After-Image girl has nice eyes. . . dear! You should ask her out!"

"Oracle!" Reginald complained, nearly dropping the arrow. "Not now! And. . . with no offense to her intended. . . she's dead!"

"No! I stop you!" Hallucinogen yelled, and his Phantasm appeared in midair, shining little beams of light on the flying spiders. While the creatures were most likely blinded slightly, it had little effect on their trajectory.

[ QUOTE ]
And AIM Triton is the suck. -_-

[/ QUOTE ]

Bah. So naturally that's what I have.

Oh, I remember! I had a gun once! I think it was a "Super Soaker" model!

Um. . . I saw a gun once. I think. I've seen a flashlight, does that count?

Bah! Prikker does more damage than Vern! It's only single target though, and Vern not only hits areas but can boost his intelligence instead of attacking. . . they're both useful.

BUT ANYWAY, enough thread hijacking!

You can name them whatever you want.

Prikker is some orc thing. Essex is a healer. Vern is this big slug thing, I was going to make him a dragon, but I relented. It's mainly because it uses the Intelligence stat and conjures lightning. . . Archlich is this mystic class.

I think I did a good job of finding classes that fit them all, haha.

Hehe. Maybe I can talk to you on AIM too. . .

Screenname=LoveTCompose.

. . .What? Shut up! It's really old!

Oh, I suppose I really ought to mention something before, well, yeah.

I am currently playing Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories on the PS2. You can have 10 characters out at once, so I naturally focus on a team of ten.

One of those ten is a MiniOrc named Prikker.

And yes, my theme for the game is characters you guys have on the forums. So my team also contains Essex, Vern, Archlich, etcetera. But I felt that first was most relevant in this case.

I probably have time, well, most times. . .