8am - Portal Corps Infirmary - 9.8.2006
Jo, what have you done to you hands?
I didnt look up, couldnt look anyone in the face. Theyd peeled my jacket from my back to find split skin. I couldnt tell them what had happened and that was the worst thing, I didnt know myself. Still though they asked again and again about what appeared to be a large tattoo stemming from between my shoulders and arching across my back to crawl down my arms. It hadnt receded at all this time and that worried me somewhat.
I stared at the spirals of blackness on my fingers as they fussed over my wounds, exclaiming at how I bled black from where the tattoo crept across open wounds. Somewhere I was vaguely aware of all the electrical aspects of everything but it seemed pale in comparison to the stark emotions floating around me like fine mists.
A Man entered the room somewhere behind me. He was afraid of seeing his own blood
of falling... or being alone
We found the place where she came out of
Archeon Vyros was there
Carla... my friend since joining freedom corps looked up expectantly. Cockroaches
needles
going blind
I put my head in my hands with a groan.
I doubt we have to worry about him any more, he was just a corpse... with a face of terror. The man glanced at me anxiously, The rest of his men in the base were all gibbering wrecks
. All babbling about different things. I think its best if we just put them down, Carla, It would be cruel to send them home to families...
Everyone looked at me, despite all their own fears all I could see was me coming to the forefront of their minds. They tried to comfort me as I wept but I knew they were just as lost and alone as I was right then, how could they resist so strong my feelings of despair
They were terrified of me. I couldnt stand it..
Noon, Portal corps courtyard, 9.8.2006
I sat with a cup of tea in my bare hands, watching sullenly as people moved around me at a distance. I could see how far my own black aura of fear and desperation extended and could tell empaths by how they skirted around me further than everyone elses subconscious avoidance.
About an hour ago theyd taken in a young boy of about 18... I couldnt stay inside anymore and I reckon the portal corps staff and people indoors holding the lines were also relieved at my absence.
I couldnt focus, couldnt find the source of my depression, couldnt contain the bitter anger and insult from the council the day before
Drowning
No. I shook my head to clear it again of the things I kept seeing, it was something coming more and more unbidden since yesterday and before long like before
thered be screaming and pleading and nothing I could do about it until I took it all from them just to stop the pain.
If there werent heroes on the front lines I knew Id have been sent to deal with myself already, somewhere I could do more good than harm... for portal corps of course... Somewhere that the only gibbering shells of people left would be Requiems forces.
Perhaps they were right, that would be the best way
Requiem Update: Part Two of Three 9/8/06
Paragon City, a city of constant reconstruction, a city always in flux, a city always changing.
War never changes, but people adapt.
People survive.
People rebuild.
Over the last several days the fighting in the city and across North America has died down. The tidal-waves of reinforcements have slowed to a trickle, and some areas have not been supported at all, or have even seen forces retreating through their portals.
True, what is left behind is shattered and ripped, but is is free.. and people rebuild.
Perez Park, the Hollows, and Peregrine Island. These are the last salients of the Requiem invasion, and the soldiers still manning the bridgehead fortifications seem to have lost their inspired fervour.
It is as if their controlling force, their God, is elsewhere. Unconcerned. Preoccupied.
Captured prisoners indicate that factionalism is riving Requiem's hasty alliance. The driving will of Requiem and his legion of Nictus lieutants no longer forcing Council of many worlds and times together. Individual leaders are withdrawing their forces. Civil wars are reigniting within the colossus of Requiem's forces.
Something else has his attention now.
Something which makes the war even less important.
Something which comes... soon.
Requiem Interlude, Part One of Two
Voices in a black void.
"It is nearly finished, Lord. Soon the process will be complete, and the heroes of Paragon will be helpless in the fact of their destruction."
"You assume too much," comes the hissing response. "They have been distracted by my little invasion, but they will try again, perhaps. A disappointment about this Coile, but such things are immaterial."
"Apologies, Lord. A thousand apologies," the other voice grovels.
"No matter. The alliance of troops is falling apart, and it is not worth our while to divert my loyal Nicti to maintaining it. Let what happens to the Council happen... those without the power of our kind are doomed in any event. Move the generator to its final home. We need not use humans to guard it in its final moments... I shall trust only the Path of the Dark.. or those affected by our shards."
"Yes, Lord. I shall unleash the hounds."
"Good. Soon, soon. And then.. a new beginning."
Requiem Update: Part Three of Three
Within the passing of a few nanoseconds:
>AJAX requests connection to CIRCE
>>CONNECTION: AJAX to CIRCE
>Connection Established. Data Pending.
>>SUMMARY
>Dimensional Instability Rising Exponentially
>Conclusion: Riptear Generator Final Activation Commenced
>Reccomendation: De-activate Generator by Incursion
>>TIMESCALES
>Estimated Duration Until Multiversal Collapse: 6h44m 23:00:00 GMT 09/08/06 +/- 2h
>Estimated Duration Until Beacon Lock: 4h44m 20:00:00 GMT 10/08/06 +/- 4h
>>BOTHER
>Affirmative
>>CONNECTION TERMINATED. CONNECTION: CIRCE TO GODNET
>Connection Established
>>CONNECTION: GODNET TO ALLIED GROUPS
>Connection Established
---Message Begins---
To: All Allied Groups associated with Anti-Requiem Aactivity
RE: Upcoming Apocalpyse
Importance:High
Reminder:1 hour
Dear All,
Data indicates that Requiem has commenced final activation of his Riptear Generator. This will result in the obliteration of the multiverse including all and every associated dimension, plane, parallel world and enclave, as previously discussed.
Portal Corporation and allied scientists have been able to stablise the situation somewhat, leading to the timescales indicated in attachment #1.
<Attachment 001: OhGodWereAllGoingToDie.xls>
Target lock of the relevant dimensional location is anticipated within 5 hours. See Attachment #2 for details.
<Attachment 002: HopefullyInTheNickOfTime.xls>
All available personnel are encouraged to assist with the pre-planned mission to deactivate the generator by force.
Mission Plan:
Stage 0: Gather Personnel at GG statue at 19:00 GMT
Stage 1: Beacon Lock
Stage 2: Transit to Location
Stage 3: Locate Generator
Stage 4: Destroy Generator
Stage 5: Get Back Home
Have a Nice Day.
CIRCE-01
---MESSAGE ENDS---
Requiem Interlude: Part Two of Two
A familiar cyborg figure stands on the wide balcony of a building overlooking Galaxy Plaza. Despite the strong breeze, his cloak doesn't flap, nor does his hair ruffle. Haloed in blue fire, it's as if he isn't really there, as a pigeon proves by walking through his legs.
A nervous man in a rumpled business suit climbs out of a window, not seeing the figure standing on the balcony, despite shouts from inside the office block. He prepares to jump.
"It's not really that bad, you know. She does love you, despite what she said. Worth giving her a call, perhaps? Hard to end it this way without saying one last goodbye, no?"
The suited man staggers back in shock, falls back in through the window, and is pounced on by co-workers.
The victorian cyborg pulls a pocket watch from his utility belt and looks out over the plaza.
"16:50 local time. And so it begins. Good luck, everyone."
The figure explodes into shards of light and vanishes.
The end of Requiem: Or is it?
Several Hours Later
A tired Red Commissar looked at the odd crystal he had stolen from the ashes that were Requiem. It was odd, transparent with a slight tint of greasy evil left behind. Unsure what to do with it, he shrugged and threw the thing into the ocean of Imperial Port.
Maybe if the Doctor was alive or Akkarin was still magical, he could have given it to them. He paused for a moment and let those thoughts drift from his mind. He needed to repair his kevlar armour and some other pieces of equipment.
He turned around, his major thoughts were home, sleep, a message to Hana. Then to help find Meadow and bring things back to normal.
On the ocean floor, the crystal was slowly dragged towards a certain Island slowly but surely, as if a force of evil was pushing it...
The Hunt for Requiem: Coda
The shattered streets of a ruined dimension, a final bolthole for a castrophic scheme.
The ruined shards of an immense crystalline device sat deep within a freshly-built but now devastated bunker complex.
A black council uniform with marking of high rank left lying on a shattered street, the dust which fills it dispersing slowly as the harsh wind of this dimension blows hither and yon.
And so it ends.
The ferry had pulled into port at Talos several minutes ago, yet Ves hadn't made it down the walk way to dry land yet. Every few steps he stopped and lent against the hand rails, clutching his arm to his side as he did. The pain was fading a little as the nanobots within his body went to work repairing the damage he'd sustained, both before and after the hounds of the enemy had dragged him down.
It wasn't the physical pain that was bothering him, it would heal given enough time and rest. It was the fight in the bunker that was weighing on his mind. He'd faced off against those he was ment to be helping, granted he wasn't alone in this, but he wasn't responsible for the actions of others.
Pushing himself from the rail he activated his armoured shell beneath his clothing, pride wouldn't allow him to walk the streets looking weak, it didn't help his pain but at least the rigidity would support his arm while his shoulder rebuilt itself.
He turned slowly, slight dizziness causing him to sway for a second before regained his senses fully, then he strode off towards the hospital. He had an apology to make.
Pink looked down at her hands, no longer the mess of darkness they were before - She hadn't even had to make any sort of big show of heroism.. It was all to easy to get back to normal.
With a sigh Pink shifts into pure electricity and enters one of the big generators of Terra Volta.. King's row would have been safer but what with the clockworks building themselves they tended to steal energy more often.. and so it would be easier not to lose herself here..
..and so she slept.. and recovered...
Butterfly effects - Galaxy City, 2 am 10.8.2006
The green trees near the pond had not been changed by the war. Keeping his arm around Nadia's shoulders Andre remarked to himself that they were more or less the only things to do that. He had changed. So had Nadia. It felt good to have her so close without neither in tears.
When they got home Nadia would call her parents. Then they would go to meet them the next Friday. He felt slight uneasiness at the prospect of meeting her father again. Still that worry was secondary to the fate of Meadow. She had fallen prey to some nicti just as Requiem fell. He wanted to help the girl out. She had offered to go with him on his quest back to Tien Shan. Such gestures of alliance should never go unnoticed, even if they went unheeded.
With more that slight trepidation he thought about the creatures who had made the capture. He had himself been among their numbers briefly after being taken out of the fight against Requiem's fiercest forces. There had been sensations he could not possibly understand. But he was aware of one thing. The man who had tried to talk him into betraying the resistance, and who had been so very close to killing Sword near the end of their escape, had been alive right before the Riptear Engine was destroyed.
Maybe he still was.
That worry was for later. Andre moved to face Nadia better and looking around quickly but closely made sure there were no others in sight. Then he stole another kiss. Things would work out. They were better already. Different from before, and definitely better.
My Silent Tempest: Requiem War - To Search A Thousand Worlds movie poster is up in the creative section (Silent Tempest pictures-thread). Feedback and comments welcome to it. [img]/uk/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Big thanks to Doc, once again.
Subaiku
((Could you make a series for everyone who has involved themselfs? The Tempest, the workers, The Fletched, The Cirque, the GoD, the Clocks, The Council and anyone who I have missed? Post soon))
((Really nice work Pyr - cool. Do we get action dolls too? *closes his eyes and thinks happy thoughts*))
((...Christ. I missed ALL of this? Remind me NEVER to go on holiday EVER AGAIN.))
All of it, I'm afraid. And you apparently had me, the above Midnight Rose, and Hydronaut rather worried too. Dissapearing like that...
Wednesday - 4am
Cap Au-Diable: Efranof ran through the streets, sword in hands, cutting up as many of the Council soldiers as possible. His body ridden with bullet holes and scorch marks, he was getting weaker.. That was it, he needs help.. After many hours of fighting, he makes his way back home and picks up the phone and calls a number, "Hey, remember that you said you owe me one? Well, I need a favour..."
Council followed Efranof home, they broke in and destroyed it, but Ef was not seen anywhere. A large building was on fire nearby, the door opened, Efranof was standing there with a sword in one hand and a gun in the other. Grinning widely, he screamed at the top of his voice "CHARGE!" The walls of the house fell down, it was hollow accept for a large amount of Family with chain guns, all firing off at once.. Efranof charged into the Council..
__________________________________________________ ____
Beet scrounged up as many people as he could, people from his time like General Ryno and some Magnes, and some heroes who he helped, like Psigale and Rusty Bolt. The aim of the game is to get reinforcements.. The villains are in as much danger as the heroes and the civilians, he didn't want to do this.. But he had to.
First stop, the Zig, there's an army of villains in there just itching for a fight, but he wanted to save allies.. Friends.
He didn't know the death toll so far, he didn't know who was still in battle, he didn't know where anybody was or what they were doing. He was at the Helicopter to Warburg in Kings Row, first stop.. Independence Port, see if the family were fighting the fight.
The journey was tough, they fought their way through Council in the port, some of his teammates were down, hopefully the hospital hadn't been taken out. His armour battered, energy low and reinforcements being defeated, he knew he wasn't going to make it out of this, when an odd sound filled the air.. A fog horn.
The Ghost Ship flew from the waters, as hundreds of ghosts came at the Council, they would fight for a while, Beet knew this, so this was his chance to look for reinforcements. He put on his cloaking device and signaled for the rest to follow. Beet flew off, making sure he was being followed by his allies, he was, but Council were not far behind. He knew what to do. He flew onto a nearby cargo ship, his allies close behind. "Find somewhere safe, this may not work."
His allies went away and took refuge in a nearby warehouse, Beet dug deep into his belt and pulled out the last explosives he had.. This ship was carrying oil, and he was going to make it go boom. He flew around and set the explosives, he waited.. Council soon came, guns blazing, Beet got hit hard, but he had to wait for as many as possible to get there, he wanted this to effect the war.. Mortar launchers were fired, Beet was blown off the side of the ship, this was his only chance.. He detonated the explosives, windows shattered, bodies flied everywhere, shrapnal covered the area, but Beet was not to be seen...
Meanwhile, at the warehouse, Psigale and General Ryno were the only that remained. They looked around the building to see if there was anything they could use, and there was. They found that a large group of Family were hiding in there aswell, when they say the heroes, they drew their weapons, Psigale quickly declared "Truce."
Current count, Psigale, General Ryno and 34 Family.
They carried on with the plan, under the cover of a snow storm created by Psigale, they escaped to Brickstown, the Zig was in sight. They made their way there, Escaped Prisoners and Freakshow were found, some were met with a truce. Current count, Psigale, General Ryno, 31 Family, 19 Freakshow, 27 Prisoners.
The Zig was a big place, they had to make their way to the control room. Current count, Psigale, General Ryno, 31 Family, 19 Freakshow, 27 Prisoners, 25 Riot Guards. An announcement was made across all of the Zig which was made by General Ryno, "War has broken out across Paragon City between us and the Council, help is needed. All prisoners shall be released from this prison in order to aid us in the war, all weapons and armour shall be given to you in time. Remember, if you do not help us, you shall be killed on sight by any and all Council."
At that, the Zig was open to all.. Current count, Psigale, General Ryno, 129 Family, 283 Freakshow, 264 Tsoo, 212 Hellions, 191 Skulls, 261 Trolls, 240 Outcasts, 103 Warriors, 101 Malta and 60 Riot Guards.
The army marches towards Creys Folley, to fight..
I am the Blaster, I have filled the role of Tank, Controller and Defender
Sometimes all at once.
Union EU player! Pip pip, tally ho, top hats and tea etc etc