Post by Lord Zasham on Nov 1, 2014 20:02:55 GMT -5
The rejuvenation tank’s “timer” stirred William from pleasant dreams. When his eyes were close he was playing with his sister in a calm meadow on Earth. Their parents sat under a nearby tree holding one other and smiling, watching the children with glee. When his eyes open he is just a lone fish in a cramp tank. His father is dead, his mother ill and his sister and he are nearly orphans. He just stares through the thick glass as the fluid slowly drains. “So close to healing her, so close to saving my family,” he reflects sullenly.
Was he even capable? It was something he often had to ask himself. Without Conri, he would never have made it off Belegost. Would he be enough to save them again? Would anyone? The glass dome of the chamber lifted once the last of the healing fluid had seeped through the drains at his feet. Stepping out he grabbed a towel that he had placed beside his clothes. As he dried himself and dressed he noticed Kurosanai’s gear. Turning around he found the human in the adjacent medical machine, complete with breathing apparatus and other various wires used to monitor his vitals.
Stepping to the computer Willie tapped a few buttons instinctively, as he checked on his begrudging ally. It was not until after he saw that Kuro would be fine did he realize that he had never operated such a device before. In fact he did not even recall how he set himself up in the machine after the gravity training. Torn up from his battle with the simulated shadow demon, his memory was a blur, only half remembering exiting the chamber or entering the tank. His ability to interact with technology seemed instinctual or perhaps a result of subconscious effort, though either way he knew he had to learn to actively control it.
With a sigh he let the thought drop for now, leaving Muzai to rest as he floated, unconscious, in his respective machine. He had had a rough fight with Arpatiko and then Sebastian, his body needed to recover. William understood, after all he had once been human. Now, however, he was majin. He had no need to breathe and a powerful healing factor. It was odd not needing to breathe and something the boy was still getting used to. Looking at his watch as he roamed the halls he realized he had only been in it for an hour. It was all he needed to fully recover.
After a quick stop to his room, he found himself once more at the training room. There was only twenty four hours until they reached Mement Mor and Willie was sure he was nowhere near ready. He had to be stronger, if he had any hope of completing his mission; or saving his friends. However he was not ready for another battle with the sharp dressed man who had attacked Ninjin and himself on Alpha Prime some time ago. Instead, he had a different idea. As he walked up to the gravity chamber’s console at the back of the room, the door sliding closed as he entered, he pulled a rectangular case from his pocket.
Opening the delicate plastic casing, which had the ominous word ‘Fate’ written upon it, revealed a metallic disc, which he removed before entering into the machine’s disc drive. He had no idea if this would work, but he figured it could not hurt. Better the virtual world of a game he loved than another haunted memory of one of Zasham’s victims. Placing his hand on the console he closed his eyes and tried to focus his technarcana powers. Then, in an instant, he was enveloped by a white light.
“Gravity increased twenty-five times,” echoed a haunting voice as the light receded to darkness and William wearily opened his eyes to blurred surroundings.
Then another sound penetrates the void, a male voice with a certain mechanical, yet warm and eager, tone. “Is it possible?” is followed by a whirring, electrical sound. Blinking, Willie looks up to see what looks like a black sphere surrounded by an orb of blue light, similar to a barrier. Floating amidst the blue sphere are eight silver miniature pyramid like shapes, each ending with a flat gold tip. On the black orb at the center of the transparent blue sphere is a similarly blue rhombus, appearing to be an eye of sorts, contracting and expanding in size as it moves and speaks. “There you are.” Then another blinding flash…
“Sentinel… Sentinel… Eyes up sentinel,” struggling to his feet as his vision finally begins to clear, William comes face to face with the floating machine, though the blue light had receded and the eight silver pyramids were now attached to the black center, with only the eye being uncovered. “It worked, you’re alive! You don’t know how long I’ve been looking for you. I’m a specter, actually now I’m your specter and you… You’ve been dead a long time, so you’re going to see a lot of things you won’t understand.” The little light is then interrupted by a strange roar, as a strange sense of familiarity settles in on the boy.
“Well this all sounds rather familiar,” so his idea had worked after all. Willie used his favorite video game, which he played in the little spare time he had when not on a Delivery, to create a training simulation. “This is Fallen territory, we aren’t safe here. I have to get you to the City,” his specter claimed upon turning back from the unsettling noise. “I think not, Dink,” William said to the levitating artificial intelligence. “But we… Wait, did you just call me Dink?” With a smile Watson replied, “Well yes, yes I did.” There were a few moments of awkward silence as it stared at him, the metal protrusions from the black epicenter in near constant motion, the four in the back often spinning.
“Don’t do that,” it finally stated. “Lighten up, Dink,” the boy says with a laugh as the harrowing noise returns. “Now, I must insist we go to the City. You have no weapons, no armor, no way to defend yourself,” it states as it turns to lead William to safety. With a snort the boy turns the other way, running across the sea of rusted, long abandoned cars, away from the enormous wall at his back. “Something tells me you’re not a good listener,” the specter says as it appears beside Willie. “Don’t worry Dink, I’m no ordinary sentinel.”
Willie comes to an abrupt stop where an overpass is destroyed, the other half having crumbled centuries ago. But his previous hubris dissolves quickly as they come upon a troubling sight. In the sky is a Ketch, a massive Fallen ship capable of light speed travel. “I don’t remember that being there…” Willie mumbles as he watches dropships traversing to and from the large vessel, carrying troops to the ground. On said ground were already hundreds of troops, everything from Dreggs to Walkers; and more were coming. “We should probably get out of here,” came the specter’s excellent advice. But then they heard clacking and hissing from behind them, “Too late…”
There were five of the two armed Dreggs and three of the four armed Vandals; the former lightly armored while the latter wore slightly more. They all were brandishing shock daggers. Leaping forward, much to his specter’s chagrin, William smashed the first Dregg right in the face, sending him hurtling off the shattered overpass. Despite the weighted clothing and increased gravity, he was still quite strong. The second lackey received a face full of Vanishing Beam, before falling, headless, to the ground. However William had underestimated them, as the third buried his blade right into the boy’s back. As he let out a scream he spun around, grabbing the creature by the side of the head with an audible slap, lifting him off his feet, and slamming his head through the concrete.
Not wanting a repeat he spun around and completely incinerated the remaining two Dreggs with dual crimson beams. Retrieving the blade from his back he then turned to the three Vandals, each with two blades of their own. Rushing in the boy tried to recall all of Vespasian’s training as he bobbed and weaved between slashes. Twelve arms and six blades did not make a good ratio however, as he sustained cuts all over his body. He did manage to slice one’s throat though, grabbing one of his daggers in his free hand as it fell from the Vandal’s lifeless body. Spinning around whilst simultaneously squatting he sliced the legs of the remaining two, causing them to drop to their knees just as he pops back to his feet.
Without hesitation William drives a dagger in each of their heads, killing them instantly. Taking a moment to breathe, the boy hears a commotion down below. Peering down, he sees that many of the soldiers gathering below are now aware to his presence. Immediately Willie turns and begins racing back towards the wall he so easily dismissed a minute ago. “Ready to go the City now?” the specter added with an “I told you so” tone. “Yes, yes, let’s get the hell out of here!”
[Pl; heavy weights, simulator 2.0, 25x gravity]
Was he even capable? It was something he often had to ask himself. Without Conri, he would never have made it off Belegost. Would he be enough to save them again? Would anyone? The glass dome of the chamber lifted once the last of the healing fluid had seeped through the drains at his feet. Stepping out he grabbed a towel that he had placed beside his clothes. As he dried himself and dressed he noticed Kurosanai’s gear. Turning around he found the human in the adjacent medical machine, complete with breathing apparatus and other various wires used to monitor his vitals.
Stepping to the computer Willie tapped a few buttons instinctively, as he checked on his begrudging ally. It was not until after he saw that Kuro would be fine did he realize that he had never operated such a device before. In fact he did not even recall how he set himself up in the machine after the gravity training. Torn up from his battle with the simulated shadow demon, his memory was a blur, only half remembering exiting the chamber or entering the tank. His ability to interact with technology seemed instinctual or perhaps a result of subconscious effort, though either way he knew he had to learn to actively control it.
With a sigh he let the thought drop for now, leaving Muzai to rest as he floated, unconscious, in his respective machine. He had had a rough fight with Arpatiko and then Sebastian, his body needed to recover. William understood, after all he had once been human. Now, however, he was majin. He had no need to breathe and a powerful healing factor. It was odd not needing to breathe and something the boy was still getting used to. Looking at his watch as he roamed the halls he realized he had only been in it for an hour. It was all he needed to fully recover.
After a quick stop to his room, he found himself once more at the training room. There was only twenty four hours until they reached Mement Mor and Willie was sure he was nowhere near ready. He had to be stronger, if he had any hope of completing his mission; or saving his friends. However he was not ready for another battle with the sharp dressed man who had attacked Ninjin and himself on Alpha Prime some time ago. Instead, he had a different idea. As he walked up to the gravity chamber’s console at the back of the room, the door sliding closed as he entered, he pulled a rectangular case from his pocket.
Opening the delicate plastic casing, which had the ominous word ‘Fate’ written upon it, revealed a metallic disc, which he removed before entering into the machine’s disc drive. He had no idea if this would work, but he figured it could not hurt. Better the virtual world of a game he loved than another haunted memory of one of Zasham’s victims. Placing his hand on the console he closed his eyes and tried to focus his technarcana powers. Then, in an instant, he was enveloped by a white light.
“Gravity increased twenty-five times,” echoed a haunting voice as the light receded to darkness and William wearily opened his eyes to blurred surroundings.
Then another sound penetrates the void, a male voice with a certain mechanical, yet warm and eager, tone. “Is it possible?” is followed by a whirring, electrical sound. Blinking, Willie looks up to see what looks like a black sphere surrounded by an orb of blue light, similar to a barrier. Floating amidst the blue sphere are eight silver miniature pyramid like shapes, each ending with a flat gold tip. On the black orb at the center of the transparent blue sphere is a similarly blue rhombus, appearing to be an eye of sorts, contracting and expanding in size as it moves and speaks. “There you are.” Then another blinding flash…
“Sentinel… Sentinel… Eyes up sentinel,” struggling to his feet as his vision finally begins to clear, William comes face to face with the floating machine, though the blue light had receded and the eight silver pyramids were now attached to the black center, with only the eye being uncovered. “It worked, you’re alive! You don’t know how long I’ve been looking for you. I’m a specter, actually now I’m your specter and you… You’ve been dead a long time, so you’re going to see a lot of things you won’t understand.” The little light is then interrupted by a strange roar, as a strange sense of familiarity settles in on the boy.
“Well this all sounds rather familiar,” so his idea had worked after all. Willie used his favorite video game, which he played in the little spare time he had when not on a Delivery, to create a training simulation. “This is Fallen territory, we aren’t safe here. I have to get you to the City,” his specter claimed upon turning back from the unsettling noise. “I think not, Dink,” William said to the levitating artificial intelligence. “But we… Wait, did you just call me Dink?” With a smile Watson replied, “Well yes, yes I did.” There were a few moments of awkward silence as it stared at him, the metal protrusions from the black epicenter in near constant motion, the four in the back often spinning.
“Don’t do that,” it finally stated. “Lighten up, Dink,” the boy says with a laugh as the harrowing noise returns. “Now, I must insist we go to the City. You have no weapons, no armor, no way to defend yourself,” it states as it turns to lead William to safety. With a snort the boy turns the other way, running across the sea of rusted, long abandoned cars, away from the enormous wall at his back. “Something tells me you’re not a good listener,” the specter says as it appears beside Willie. “Don’t worry Dink, I’m no ordinary sentinel.”
Willie comes to an abrupt stop where an overpass is destroyed, the other half having crumbled centuries ago. But his previous hubris dissolves quickly as they come upon a troubling sight. In the sky is a Ketch, a massive Fallen ship capable of light speed travel. “I don’t remember that being there…” Willie mumbles as he watches dropships traversing to and from the large vessel, carrying troops to the ground. On said ground were already hundreds of troops, everything from Dreggs to Walkers; and more were coming. “We should probably get out of here,” came the specter’s excellent advice. But then they heard clacking and hissing from behind them, “Too late…”
There were five of the two armed Dreggs and three of the four armed Vandals; the former lightly armored while the latter wore slightly more. They all were brandishing shock daggers. Leaping forward, much to his specter’s chagrin, William smashed the first Dregg right in the face, sending him hurtling off the shattered overpass. Despite the weighted clothing and increased gravity, he was still quite strong. The second lackey received a face full of Vanishing Beam, before falling, headless, to the ground. However William had underestimated them, as the third buried his blade right into the boy’s back. As he let out a scream he spun around, grabbing the creature by the side of the head with an audible slap, lifting him off his feet, and slamming his head through the concrete.
Not wanting a repeat he spun around and completely incinerated the remaining two Dreggs with dual crimson beams. Retrieving the blade from his back he then turned to the three Vandals, each with two blades of their own. Rushing in the boy tried to recall all of Vespasian’s training as he bobbed and weaved between slashes. Twelve arms and six blades did not make a good ratio however, as he sustained cuts all over his body. He did manage to slice one’s throat though, grabbing one of his daggers in his free hand as it fell from the Vandal’s lifeless body. Spinning around whilst simultaneously squatting he sliced the legs of the remaining two, causing them to drop to their knees just as he pops back to his feet.
Without hesitation William drives a dagger in each of their heads, killing them instantly. Taking a moment to breathe, the boy hears a commotion down below. Peering down, he sees that many of the soldiers gathering below are now aware to his presence. Immediately Willie turns and begins racing back towards the wall he so easily dismissed a minute ago. “Ready to go the City now?” the specter added with an “I told you so” tone. “Yes, yes, let’s get the hell out of here!”
[Pl; heavy weights, simulator 2.0, 25x gravity]