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Post by someclown911 on Aug 10, 2011 6:02:15 GMT
You decide to focus on creating minerals and metals. The uses seem nearly endless. On top of that, for whatever reason, you now feel like you know you can pull off a creation. Right now. You reach for a metallic mug sitting on the end table and grab onto it. There was a story in an old book called The Bible in which a mysterious voice assisted a family in escaping a disaster. His only condition was that they not look back. When that condition wasn't met...
"Incredible..." your father whispers. He extends his hand, and you place the mug in his open palm. He squeezes gently, and the now brittle mug simply crumbles in his hand. Salty. "I had high hopes you'd have it figured out before nightfall, but on the first try? That has... literally never happened before."
You feel your face turn a little red. Such high praise, and from just the person you want to impress. Not to be outdone, and likely desiring similar praise, Lilith reaches for an identical mug, but stops short, holding her index finger a couple of inches away. She closes her eyes for a moment, concentrating intently. When she opens them, electricity jolts from her fingertip to the mug and completely eradicates a third of the container. If you blinked, you'd have missed it.
"I did it!" she exclaims, mostly to herself.
"I'm so proud..." your father says, looking as though he's about to cry. Maybe a little over the top, but it feels good. Suddenly, he's smiling again. "So... I guess that's that! You two have the rest of the day to do with as you please, but try to get back at a decent hour. We're starting again bright and early."
"What will we be doing?" you ask.
"You two get to embark on a wonderful journey!" Malduin explains.
"A journey?" Lilith asks excitedly. "To where?"
"To the store, to replace those mugs you just broke!" he replies gleefully. Lilith looks crestfallen. You did just break a mug without permission, you rationalize. "Go on and play."
"Yes sir," you and your sister say in tandem. Your father pats you each on the head before heading to the bedroom.
"So, what do you want to do?" Lilith asks.
A. Visit the market district B. Entertainment district C. Schoolground D. Residential E. Outside 1. Explore 2. Continue training --- Calm like a bomb
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Post by someclown911 on Aug 11, 2011 2:33:02 GMT
"Let's get some fresh air," you suggest.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Lilith informs. The two of you hop up and exit your home, following the path that leads out of the cavernous city. It's a long, uphill stroll, but you finally reach the exit. Unfortunately, a large, heavy door blocks the way out. You and your sister try your hardest to budge it, but it doesn't give an inch. You push until you can't push anymore, then sit down to rest.
"We didn't just walk for two hours just for this..." Lilith pants in disbelief.
"I planned on seeing the outside today," you say. "So, that's what I'm going to do."
Lilith sits in silence for a moment before her lips curl into a mischievous grin. She asks, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"You want to break the door..." you reply knowingly. "We could get into a lot of trouble for something like that."
"Oh, I see," she says, clearly still up to no good. "You're a chicken."
"Lilith... Seriously? Reverse psychology?"
"Bock! Bock! Bock!"
"You don't even sound like a chicken."
"How would you know? You're too much of a chicken to go outside, so you'll probably never observe one in person."
"..."
"Sorry..." she says innocently.
"It's okay," you say. "Besides, if we're going to break out, maybe we should find a less conspicuous place to do so."
"The storage room?" she suggests. Exactly what you were thinking. On the other hand, though, it would take you an hour to get there, and who knows where you'll come out? One of your extremely accurate 'hunches' tells you you could end up in the ocean. "So, Titus, what are we going to do?"
A. Make the door brittle and bust through. B. Make a storage room wall brittle and tunnel through. C. Go get help. This could take hours. D. Go somewhere else for now. --- Calm like a bomb
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Post by Yushinoki on Aug 12, 2011 8:06:58 GMT
"Let's just get someone to open it for us," you decide. Lilith nods and follows you down the hallway back toward the city. An hour down the tunnel, you pass the storage room. Not two minutes after you pass, a man comes into sight, heading your way. You wait for him to approach before greeting him.
"Hello," you say. "How are you?"
The man simply scoffs as be passes by.
"Hello? My brother was speaking to you," Lilith states defensively.
"What do you want?" he asks impatiently.
"Would you mind opening the exit for us?" you ask.
"Oh, I guess I should stop what I'm doing because Malduin's brat asks me to," the man says. Suddenly, there's a loud smack, and the man begins running around, cursing.
"There's no need to be so bitter, Hoyt." A new voice. Behind Hoyt's original position stands a man with medium length blonde hair, slicked back and held in place with a red bandana. He has short horns that protrude straight out in an upward direction from his forehead. Now, where on Earth did he come from?
"What the hell, man?" Hoyt exclaims accusingly.
"You're acting like a child, Hoyt. Stop acting like a child, Hoyt. Get back to work, Hoyt. Don't invoke the wrath of the back of my hand again, Hoyt," the man says, with rising emphasis on 'Hoyt'.
"Alright, alright. Damn, Marcus, you don't have to get physical all the time..." Hoyt mumbles as he sulks away.
"Sorry about that, kids," Marcus says, with one edge of his mouth raised up in a sort of half smile. "What did you need help with?"
"We're trying to go outside," you explain, "but we can't get through the door without breaking it."
"I see. That's quite the predicament," he says, stroking his chin. "We're here!"
... What? Sure enough, the three of you are on the other side of the door. You didn't even register traveling. "Matter relocation..."
"That's right! Learned it from your dad himself, kiddo. But, I'm the best now," he explains, still equipped with his half grin. "But on a serious note, it's very dangerous out there. The woods near the exit are infested with wolves, the terrain is mountainous and slippery, and the most dangerous thing of all: humans are scattered around nearby. You should steer clear of them for now. They just don't understand us."
"Humans?" Lilith echoes, clearly interested.
"...yeah, I should probably come with you two..." Marcus decides. "That cool with you, 'Malduin's brat'?"
A. Take Marcus 1. Explore the woods 2. Walk the coastline 3. Hike up the mountain
B. Leave Marcus 1. Woods 2. Coastline 3. Mountain 4. Try to find a human settlement
"No problems here," you say.
"Good. Malduin would be pretty mad if I caused his kids to get hurt within an hour of arriving here," Marcus comments as he begins to lead you down the remainder of the hallway. As you get further down, you can hear rain and see a gloomy light at the end of the corridor. It's not too far off now.
"So, what did you come here to do, Mr. Marcus?" Lilith asks.
"Well first of all, drop the mister. You can call me Marcus, or Marc, whichever sits better with you."
"Sorry, Marcus," she replies.
"No problem. Anyway, I was given a curse by your father called 'matter relocation'. I just had to go and learn how to actually send myself to different places. Now, I'm basically an errand boy."
"An 'errand boy'," you say skeptically. "That's... pretty vague."
"Heh, shoulda known better than to try to elude you... Alright, I'll tell you the truth, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Got it?"
"Got it," you confirm.
"No, I mean really promise," he says.
"I swear I won't tell anyone," you promise.
"I'm an errand boy," he repeats.
"So who was Hoyt?" Lilith asks slyly.
"..."
"You sure did seem to have an awful lot of power for a simple errand boy," you chime in.
"..."
"I'm sure a species of our intelligence appreciates the value of someone who can travel instantaneously," says Lilith.
"..."
"I'm sure that your teacher, the leader of our people, wouldn't stick you with such a mundane task," you add.
"Oh, look, kids! The exit is just up ahead!" he says, obviously looking for a distraction. You let it slide, as you're way more interested in the outside world.
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Post by someclown911 on Aug 12, 2011 8:21:07 GMT
Finally, you've left behind the darkness of the caverns you call home. The outside world is... almost just as dark. Gray clouds completely blot out the sky, pouring down rain for as far as the eye can see. Not that you can see very far. The exit of the tunnel is hidden in a mountain pass, and the exit of the mountain pass is hidden by vast woodlands. Despite the gloominess, you are titillated by all of the new sensations. The air doesn't smell so dank, the rain massages your skin, and despite the cloud cover, the sun shines through enough to illuminate everything around you.
"How do you like it?" Marcus asks, grinning on one side as always.
"It's... amazing," you reply. Lilith is too absorbed in the environment to register Marcus' question.
"Where are we headed?" he asks. A dull roar in the distance piques your interest. The ocean. You really want to witness it with your own senses.
"Let's head for the coast, you decide.
"You're the boss," Marcus complies. He leads you down the pass, hanging a right where the mountains meet the thickly wooded foothills. There's a small path that leads to the shore. As you get closer, the roar intensifies until it's almost deafening. Eventually, you emerge from the path, no longer sandwiched between rocks and trees, and the view is magnificent. You can literally see for miles. Your group trudges onward through coarse sand, following the coast and just taking it all in. As wonderful as the experience is, something is making you feel really uneasy. Something in the back of your mind tells you should turn back. Oddly, you almost feel like these aren't even your thoughts.
"Are you feeling alright, Lilith?" you ask.
"I feel really anxious," she admits.
"Oh, a dolphin!" Marcus points out. You scan the water, and see nothing.
"Where is it?" you ask.
"Beats me," he shrugs.
"What's wrong with you?" Lilith asks in disbelief.
"What? You can't hear it?" Marcus asks. "Listen carefully."
You listen intently. All you can hear is the crash of waves, the patter of rain, and the wind blowing by your ears. Then, something else. It's a feint ringing noise. Or is it? You almost feel like you're imagining it. No, you hear it, and it's growing louder. Now it's overbearing. The roar of the sea becomes background noise. The ringing becomes a loud whir. The whir becomes something else.
"Below!" a voice in the back of your mind tells you. Below?
"Can you hear it, Lilith?" you ask.
"Yeah. It's really obsessed with sand crabs," she says.
"I didn't hear anything about a sand crab," you say. You think about what a sand crab is. This particular file is fuzzy. Thinking on it, you don't know much about dolphins, either. Still, you understand that sand crabs are small crustaceans that burrow underground or sprint for the sea when in danger.
"Sand crab... below," the voice says. It's really monotonous.
"Uh huh, sand crab in the sand. That's fascinating..." you say facetiously.
"Duck, boy!" the voice says, this time with emotion behind it. You don't ask questions. A massive claw the size of your body emerges and clamps down where your head was a split second prior. You reach up and tap the opposable section of his claw before springing backwards. As you land on your butt, Lilith passes between you and the now fully emerged crab. It tries to break her with the same claw.
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Post by someclown911 on Aug 12, 2011 22:42:59 GMT
You panic as she finds herself standing between the pincer. The claw clamps down, but she blows off a chunk of the fixed section of the claw. The opposable side smashes into her, only to crumble into salt. There's enough mass behind it to knock her to the ground, and the crab closes in with its usable claw. By now, you're on your back on your feet, but there's no way you'll make it in time. Even if you could, your puny ability couldn't save her. Marcus isnt helping... she's really going to die. The panic you felt is intensified, and time seems to slow down around you. To create, you have to feel, and you've never felt an emotion this strong. You will utilize it.
A. Try to manipulate the sand around you B. Try to create iron for 1. Offensive purposes 2. Defensive purposes C. Try to turn his claw to salt from a distance --- Calm like a bomb
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Post by someclown911 on Aug 12, 2011 22:52:32 GMT
I appreciate the archiving, Yushi
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Post by Yushinoki on Aug 18, 2011 22:41:09 GMT
The easiest way to crush this beast is to turn its environment against it. There's plenty of sand... you fabricate a will and touch the sand, giving it your gift before all suddenly goes black. An unknown increment of time passes before you come to. You open your eyes just in time to see a beautiful sunset, unhindered by clouds. What are you doing here? Lilith! you quickly turn your head to witness another marvel. A large sand sculpture of a hand grips a dead crab, crushing it slowly but surely. A fire is set up around the sandy wrist, with Lilith and Marcus warming themselves nearby.
"Hungry, kid?" Marcus asks.
"What happened?" you ask, ignoring his question.
"You caught a crab," he shrugs. "Then you got tired and passed out. Hungry?"
"Yes, I am," you say. In fact, painfully so. You walk up and take a seat between the two.
"Thanks for saving me! That was so cool!" Lilith exclaims. Cool? Does she not appreciate the danger she was in?
"Thank you for saving me," you reply. "But please, don't put yourself in that position again."
"Okay," she says. Marcus stands up and approaches the crab before hesitating.
"You uh... have any attachment to this sculpture?" he asks.
"Not really," you reply. Marcus proceeds to approach the hand again when it just blinks out of existence, along with the fire around it. The crab falls in front of his feet. He kicks it over, pulls back the underbelly, and tears it in half top to bottom. The smell of the meat is enchanting.
"Dig in!" he suggests. You do so. The three of you eat every last piece of delicious meat, talking about nothing in particular. Finally, Marcus stands. "Well... it's been fun, kids. I've got errand boy stuff to take care of. You guys should probably get home."
A. Hitch a ride and hit the sack B. Feign compliance, but explore some more when he leaves 1. Plenty of coast left 2. Woods 3. Mountains C. Comply, but don't go to bed yet 1. Entertainment 2. Market 3. Residential
"Can we get a ride?" you ask.
"Here we are," he replies. "Have a good night!" Then, he's gone. You and Lilith make your way inside, head to the bedroom, and crawl in between your parents before crashing immediately. You wake up feeling refreshed in the next morning. Also, pretty cramped. You must have grown two times your size last night. This is confirmed when you feel your father fall off the bed with a crash. He jumps up immediately.
"Morning, son," he says, clutching the back of his head.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he replies. "Just fine..."
"Sorry," you say. He quickly removes his hand from his head.
"Sorry about what?" he asks. "Lilith, Kara! Wake up."
Lilith hops out of bed immediately. Yep, the two of you have definitely grown. Probably comparable to a ten year old human. At this rate, there's no way it'll take five months to grow fully. "Morning," she yawns.
"Morning," you and your father reply. He walks over to Kara and holds open her eyelids.
"Go away," she mumbles.
"Wake up, sweetheart," he coaxes.
"Don' wanna," she says. She rolls on her side and buries her head under the covers.
"Today's the big day, Kara," he explains. "Our children need you."
She pokes her head out and looks to you, then Lilith, and a loving smile spreads across her face. "Right, I'm up," she says.
"Titus, Lilith, are you two ready to get those mugs?"
"Yes sir," you both reply.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I don't just make them myself. Well, they were intricately designed mugs made by an artistic mind. Well, not literally..."
"To the point," Kara reminds, her voice devoid of hostility. He must have a habit of going on tangents, and she's become used to keeping him on track.
"Right! You two will need to travel to a human settlement to get these mugs. I'm sure you have an appreciation for just how dangerous the outside world is, so I want you to learn something before you go. This is the basis for defending yourself. Your mother is a master of the art, so I'll leave you in her hands." He promptly leaves the room.
"Come sit on the bed," Kara offers. She scoots to the middle and you and Lilith take each a side. "Within each of us is an energy field that fits perfectly inside of our bodies. This field is what makes it impossible for one to create things on the inside of another person."
"I wondered about that..." you say. "That would have been a really easy way to take a life."
"Exactly. You two need to learn this and learn it well. I don't know what I'd do of something bad happened to either of you..." she says sadly. You can tell she's running all the scenarios through her head and worrying sick. "This field can be strengthened to reject matter as well as to extend outward, for up to fifty-five feet. With a lot of practice, of course."
"That's pretty far..." Lilith says.
"That's right, but besides distance, one must practice a very, very long time to elongate this field for extended periods of time. But, with good timing, it can be an effective defense from the moment you learn it. Are you ready to learn 'Merkaba'?"
You both nod and say, "Yes." She teaches you the breathing method as has you sit in a meditative position and think about nothing at all. You try again and again, but to no avail. Finally, you think about nothing. Awesome! Wait, you just thought the word awesome. Not to mention, you comprehended the fact that you were thinking of nothing. Back to square one.
Nothing. Darkness. Emptiness. Now, a feint light. You almost can't see it at all. It grows slowly brighter, until it washes away the black. You can feel its warmth spread through your body. Then, for just a second, you force it to reach out, then it fizzles away.
"Wow! You both got it at around the same time! I'm really proud of you two. Are you ready to set out?"
Point of no return! This kicks off the beginning of the end of Titus'/Lilith's prologue
A. Yes. B. No.
You and Lilith walk quietly through the thick forest immediately East of the door to the underground. Your goal is to purchase two mugs from a skilled metal worker in a human establishment right on the Western edge of the woods. The mission didn't seem too complicated, but after the sand crab incident, you find it easy to second-guess yourself. For all you know, you could be missing vital pieces of information on just about anything. You decided to tackle the woods with a humble mentality, favoring stealth to a care-free stroll. Part of you wants to test your ability along the way, but you do have another person's safety to worry about. When you told your mother you were ready for this mission, she struggled and failed to keep a straight face. Her expression became pathetic, and tears welled up in her eyes. You and Lilith were to take care of each other and come back safely.
"What was that?" Lilith asks, bringing you out of your thought process. Her tone of voice startles you a little.
"What was what?" you ask back. You were too deep in thought to stay observant.
"A noise up ahead..." she whispers. You slow down, Lilith following your example, and listen for it. You can hear an almost systematic crunching of dead leaves. There's definitely something walking around directly up ahead, which is East. To the South is a fairly vast drop-off to sea level. That could be dangerous in and of itself, but there's no creature impeding your progress. That you know of, at least. To the North, the only danger you can think of is losing direction. Right now, you have a decent sense of which direction East is, and the cliff to the south should run parallel. To the North, however, there is only dense plant-life. You could also just try to go over it...
A. Stay the course. You'll deal with it as you come to it. B. Circumvent South C. Circumvent North D. Go up.
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Post by giga on Aug 18, 2011 22:44:25 GMT
Pretty cool how Yushi pretty much single-handedly saved CYOAs by archiving them before everything blew up.
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Post by xTacticalSniper on Aug 22, 2011 3:41:17 GMT
"Let's stay the course," you decide.
"O-okay," Lilith says unsurely. You continue to sneak in that direction. Despite lack of experience in espionage, it comes second nature to you. There's just something common sense about not making any noise. As you approach whatever's making the noise, your confidence is shattered. Something large emerges from the bushes and swats at you. You try to dodge, but gain only enough distance to lessen the blow. Your body goes almost completely numb, and your vision triples and becomes decorated with tens of tiny exploding stars. Then, you hit the ground. Hard. New symptoms include loss of oxygen in the lungs and a ringing sensation in your ears. You see the creature stand on its hind legs and roar. A bear.
"Get up!" Lilith cries desperately. You feel her tugging on your shirt collar, trying with all her might to pull you to safety. You're literally going nowhere, and the beast is closing in. As you struggle to remain conscious by reuniting your scattered vision, you see the beast rapidly lose balance and slam to the ground. The bear is torn to pieces by a pack of large wolves. There are probably seven of them, three considerably larger than the others. Those large ones in particular rip off several pieces of flesh, but simply lay the meat off to the side instead of consuming it for themselves. They stop, letting the others feed, and turn to you.
"Get up, Titus!" your sister exclaims. Or at least, that's what you gathered from the movement of her lips. Your head is still ringing terribly. You definitely can't get up. Your body won't obey your mind, which has become cloudy anyway.
"Climb a tree..." you instruct. Or you think you instruct. You can't hear a thing. Your vision is beginning to fade again, too. Lilith moves her lips again. You don't know what she said. Whatever it was, it was irrelevant. "GET OFF THE GROUND!"
She simply shakes her head and sits next to you, ready to accept fate. The three large wolves grab a chunk of bear meat a piece and walk up to you, dropping it at your side. They let forth a throaty bark and the others clear out; the big wolves follow not far behind.
"We're alive..." you mutter.
"Brother?" Lilith begins. You can hear her over the ringing now.
"Yes?"
"Let's use our heads from now on," she says.
"I'm sorry..."
"It's not just you. I was a sheep. Now... Let's take a look at your injuries..."
*Durability : 1/5*
"You're in no condition to go on," she says.
"None of my bones are broken," you say, testing your theory. It holds true.
"You're probably concussed..."
"We'll worry when we get back home," you say.
"Let's go back now."
"Out of the question."
"It's a mug, Titus. Let's go!" she urges.
A. Go back B. Push onward C. Set up camp, cook up some bear meat, and set out again when you're ready D. Set up camp, cook some bear meat, then head back home when you're ready
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Post by Yushinoki on Aug 24, 2011 7:10:26 GMT
"Let's start a fire," you suggest. "Whether we go back or push forward, I'm not in any condition to move around."
"Thank you for being sensible..." Lilith sighs. She runs around and gathers dry pieces of wood before piling them and zapping them. She breaks off the end of one stick, creating a sharp end, and runs it through the chunks of bear meat. She holds the stick over the newly created fire until the meat is safe to eat. The two of you sit around the fire and eat without a word. Every bite calls forth a wave of pleasure from the pit of your stomach. You feel a lot better, but you're so sleepy. Your sister catches you dozing off.
"If you suffered brain trauma, you can die in your sleep, Titus," she complains worriedly.
"If you stress out too much, you can develop cancer," you retort. "I'm fine. Let's get some rest so we can travel."
"Okay... you go to sleep first. I'll keep watch for a while," she instructs. You lay down and begin to doze off again when you hear the crunch of leaves not very far from your location. The smell of the meat cooking must have attracted another predator. What good is all the information in your head if you can't call upon it when you need it?
"We need to go up," you say. Lilith nods and makes her way to you to help you up. It's pretty hard to move, so the process of getting to the tree is painfully slow. The crunch of leaves continues to approach. You can't get into the tree on your own, and there's no way Lilith can climb it for you. She absolutely refuses to leave you behind, so there's no point in saying anything. It looks like you're both going to die, if the approaching creature is anything but one of the wolves that helped you. They've had their fill, so there's no reason for them to return. You feel the panic build up in your gut, just as it did on the beach. When it comes down to it, you're the same way as your sister. You'll utilize this panic and kill whatever threatens her, even if you die in the process.
"We won't make it in time," she says matter-of-factly. "We'll have to kill it or die trying."
"Hey, hey," a deep voice calls from the woods. "You can't just waltz into my woods and threaten my life, you know."
"Identify yourself..." you reply. The crunching continues, until a large figure, over six feet tall, comes into your line of vision. It looks like a wolf learned how to walk on its hind legs and threw on some clothes.
"I'm Griff, pup," he replies.
"Okay... Now what are you?" Lilith questions.
"Heh... well, I'm a dog, of course."
"A dog?" you ask in disbelief. What's wrong with your brain? All this incomplete knowledge...
"That's right, a dog," he replies. "You two do realize how dangerous these woods are, don't you?"
"We found out a little while ago," you reply.
"I know. My wolves told me that two pups were lost here, and that one was hurt. You seem relatively unharmed."
"I just got hit really hard," you explain.
"I see. You need help finding your way back home?"
"Yes," Lilith says.
"No," you say simultaneously.
"Titus!" she protests.
"Take her back safely, please."
"Why do you have to be so difficult?" she asks, tears forming in her eyes.
"Ah ha ha," Griff laughs. "If I may ask, where is it you two are going?"
"We're going all the way through the woods, to the East."
"...That's quite the journey, you know..." he warns.
"We need to do it," you say.
"Poor little girl," Griff says, having just noticed Lilith's tears. "Okay, I'll stick around so that you two don't have to take turns at watch. Get some rest. When you wake up, I'll make you a map of where my wolves roam. You should be much safer in those areas. Hell... it would be faster if I just guided you there myself..."
An awfully generous offer. Can you trust this thing you met only minutes ago?
A. You don't need his help. Tell him so. B. Take him as a guide C. Just take the map
"We'll take all the help we can get," you answer wisely.
"Alright," Griff replies. "Get some rest so we can get moving."
You won't argue. You lay down by the fire and fall asleep nearly instantly. You wake up to a much darker forest. Night must have fallen. How long were you asleep? You see Lilith and Griff standing nearby, waiting patiently. Griff seems a lot less intimidating than he did before you slept. Lilith is less than a head shorter than he is, now. You also note that she's a lot... curvier. You stand up to find that you're taller than both of them.
"I can't get over this," Griff comments in mock sadness. "You look away for one second and they're already all grown up..."
"Good morning, brother," Lilith greets.
"Morning..." you reply sleepily. You almost want to just go back to sleep, but you have work to do. You casually flick your wrist, and a bit of dirt is tossed on the fire, putting it out. Did you just do that?
"Neat trick," Griff says. "You ready?"
"Yeah, let's go," you reply, almost commandingly. You didn't mean for it to come out like that. You note that you feel inherently aggressive. Your voice is deeper as well. Must be puberty.
"Follow me!"
Your tour guide leads you through the woods for days. Tree after tree, step after step. You start to feel a sense of deja vu; everything looks the same in these woods. You almost begin to question whether he is leading you in circles. Your growth after each passing day is dropping exponentially. Looks like it'll take months to reach adulthood, after all.
"We're almost out!" Griff says. "That'd have been a b**** on your own, huh?"
Fishing for compliments... You'd appease him. "Yeah, without your keen nose, we wouldn't have been able to avoid fight after fight."
"Aww, it was nothin'," he replies, scratching his nose to signify his embarrassment.
"Thank you very much for the help!" Lilith says.
"Of course!" he replies. A few moments later, he stops in his tracks and raises an arm to communicate that you should stop too. He whispers, "Another bear up ahead. Since you two will be coming back through on your own, maybe we should make sure you can handle yourselves."
A. Fight the bear as a pair B. Fight the bear as a team C. Choose to bypass this obstacle as well
"We'll take care of it," you assure. You feel very confident. Maybe it's the hormones, but you'll find out soon enough. You continue forward with Lilith not far behind. You carefully move through the brush and into a small clearing. Sure enough, there is a large brown bear. Significantly bigger than the last, in fact. This behemoth notices you and stands on its hind legs, issuing a threat. You continue to approach the beast, unwavered. It suddenly charges you, preparing to maul you with a massive right. You reflexively expand your Merkaba to nullify any damage done. You raise your left hand just in time to purposely allow the paw entrance through your guard. It connects with your face, but you don't feel a thing. You quickly grab on with your left hand, and the paw begins to turn to salt. Even after the beast effortlessly pulls away, the salt spreads slowly through its arm, rendering it useless. The bear goes to all fours, attempting to follow with a swipe with its left paw. Unfortunately for it, the saltified leg crumbles under its weight. It rolls over expertly before using its hind legs to launch into another attack. Your Merkaba is useless for a while now, so you attempt to hop back out of range. A wasted effort. You see a blue flash, and the bear's remaining front leg is instantly mangled and unresponsive. It falls flat on its face.
"Huh..." Lilith remarks. "That was... fairly easy. Let's put the poor thing out of its misery."
"Alright, go for it," you say.
"N-not me!" she says nervously. "I couldn't... kill something..."
Looks like it's up to you.
A. Manipulate the ground beneath it, opening a grave. Don't worry, the pressure of the actual burial will kill it instantly. B. You have time to practice turning something to salt from a distance. C. Create a small knife made from iron. Do with it what most people do with knives. D. Experiment. You might not be able to pull it off, but it's not like you're in any danger. (Create a Mineral/metal based ability)
Your ability to turn things into salt is obviously very useful, but its biggest drawback is equally obvious. You can only spread this disease by touching your target. Needless to say, your opponents aren't alone in the fact that they have only one life to live. Mess up, and it could be over.
You extend your arm towards the injured bear, hoping to reenact your ability from a distance. You find it quite impossible. For now, anyway. So, you try a different route. You touch your hand to the ground, turning the patch of grass into salt. You remove your hand and watch it go to work. The salt eats away a trail in he ground, headed for the bear. It's a fairly quick process, but you notice that the spreading slows severely when the trail meets the bear's head. Still, the head is turned to salt in a matter of moments, and the bear is dead. So, why did it slow down? The obvious answer is the fur, which brings to attention another weakness to the attack. Simple clothing will be a great obstacle. The salt only spreads for a limited time, and if something is in the way, damage could be minimized. On the other hand, thin clothing won't impede the progress by much.
"Let's get out of these woods," Lilith says anxiously.
"Good idea," you agree. "By the way, where did Griff go?"
"I... don't know," she replies in surprise. "I guess he helped enough."
You shrug and continue East. You emerge from the woods a few minutes later. Finally, some unobstructed sunlight. You can see your destination from here. The settlement consists of only eleven stone buildings and a dock. Across the ocean, about a couple minutes long swim from the shore, is another great landmass. It fills the horizon. Looks like a fun place to explore another time. You make your way down to your destination. Upon witnessing your arrival, the inhabitants literally run into their homes.
"Are we that scary looking?" Lilith asks.
"I guess so... this is going to make finding the right building pretty difficult."
"Hello there, strangers," a voice aggressively greets. You turn to see a man in a brown duster make his way from between two buildings. "What brings your kind to my town?"
"We're here to buy some mugs," you reply.
"Ha!" the man mocks laughter. "That's real ****in funny."
"It's true!" Lilith says.
"Ok... I believe you."
"Great! So, where is-"
"Hold on little lady," the man interrupts, producing a strange metallic object from his long coat. A gun. Standard police issue glock, your brain informs. Whatever that means. "Your kind aren't welcome here."
"What?" you ask in disbelief. "We've done nothing to you."
"You haven't, no, but I know your kind," the man says. The power he feels from holding a gun on two unarmed people is mind clouding, and the man approaches you, pointing the gun a half a foot from your face. Idiot.
"Sir, please," Lilith persuades.
"Only thing that'll please me is if you disappear. The way I see it, I could let you walk away, but then I'd have to look at your backs on the way out. Easiest way to make you disappear is to put a bullet in your head and bury you real quick."
The man clicks off the safety.
A. Sling dirt in his eye B. Quickly grab the gun to disarm him C. Quickly grab the mans hand to spread the salt disease D. Try to calmly talk your way out of the situation
You quickly reach up to grab the gun, placing your hand over the top while bringing up your thumb to dislocate the man's trigger finger at the first joint from the fingertip. He reels in pain, completely letting go of the firearm.
"H-help! The monster has a gun!" the coward yells before running off for his life.
"Who's the monster?" you ask rhetorically. Lilith nods in agreement.
"Let's do what we need to do and get out of this place..." she suggests.
You make your way down the village's main street until you come across a building unlike the others, due to its large chimney. That has to be it. You approach and knock on the door.
"Huh? Coming!" you hear a voice call from inside. A few moments later, it opens. A short old man stands in the doorway. Unexpectedly, his mouth curls into a friendly smile upon seeing you.
"Well hello! If you aren't the spitting image of Malduin," he says.
"You... know my father?"
"Heh heh, we go way back, actually. So what brings you all the way out here?"
"We're here to buy a couple of your mugs," you reply.
"Buy? Not a chance. Come on in, make yourselves comfortable."
You walk in, but you're too on edge to make yourself comfortable. Lilith looks the same way. Can any of these humans be trusted? The man walks into a room and returns with two mugs, identical to the ones you broke. He tosses one to you and the other to Lilith.
"Thank you very much," she says.
"Yeah, thank you," you echo.
"It's my pleasure," the man responds warmly. "Now, I'd like to talk trade for just a moment, if you don't mind."
"Trade?" you ask.
"I see you have a gun. If I'm not mistaken, it's Michael's. No doubt, he tried to intimidate you with it and had it taken away."
"How'd you know?"
"He is a weak person. His actions are so very predictable. I apologize for his behavior, but that gun is necessary for the continued survival of this village. If I could offer something in trade I'd be much obliged to do so."
"The gun's of no importance to us," Lilith says.
"Now, hold on," you argue. "It's true that I don't care about the gun. What I'm worried about is what you'll do with it after I give it to you."
"I understand," the man says with a reassuring grin. "If you leave the gun on the edge of the forest when you return, would you feel more comfortable with our bargain?"
"Much," you concur.
"Very good, then. Besides, the gun won't do you much good without more ammunition... though I guess if you put your mind to it you could eventually learn to make the bullets yourself... Oh, I guess I'm not helping my point at all. Anyway... I can offer one of several weapons I forged myself in return. Take a look at the weapon rack and see if there isn't something you like."
The man points out the weapons, and you make your way there.
"How rude of me... you should take one too, young lady."
A. There's a massive claymore, a replication of a common ancient European weapon. Carefully forged into the weapon is the design of thorns running up from the handle to the tip of the blade.
B. There's a much smaller blade here as well. It's of similar shape to the claymore, but a little shorter and a lot lighter. Etched into it are strange symbols, possibly from a dead language.
C. There's a sword of similar size to the smaller sword, but only one side is sharp. A weapon from the ancient orient, the katana is sharp and light.
D. Of identical design to the katana, there is an even shorter sword. The ancient orient's wakizashi.
E. There is knife, less than a foot in length. The blade extends in a wavy pattern. Another ancient oriental weapon, the keris.
F. A large piece of wood with a bladed wedge attached to the end. The hatchet is more of a tool than a weapon, but it can kill just as easily as the others.
G. On second thought, you'll keep the gun
You decide you'd be better off with the claymore. Lilith chooses the middle ground, the wakizashi.
"Thank you again," you repeat.
The old man smiles and says, "Of course. Now you two should get out of here before that fool Michael tries something again."
"Good idea. Let's go," Lilith agrees.
You wave goodbye to the smith and return to the forest, leaving the gun near the tree line as promised. You head directly West, eager to return home with your task accomplished. You and your sister travel for days, killing threatening wildlife here and there, until you're only a few hours away.
"We're almost there," you say, breaking the monotony of your silent travel.
"I can't wait to sleep in a bed," Lilith replies.
"Me too. The outside world is too stressful. I feel like I'd be much happier away from it all."
Yes, homecoming would be a sweet thing indeed. Your eagerness to explore dwindled over the course of your first adventure. What could be so different about everywhere else? Trees, water, grass, dirt, sand, precipitation. You have that right around home. Not to mention, the people there don't try to kill you for no reason. Suddenly, a faint booming sound breaks you out of your thoughts.
"Did you hear that?" Lilith asks nervously.
"Yeah, I did," you say. A few moments later, you can hear another soft noise, like a strong wind off in the distance, growing slowly louder. Then, you can hear trees hitting the ground further to the west. The racket is unbearable, and only grows louder and louder as it rapidly approaches. Finally, the forest in your line of sight begins to fall, the effect of some massive shockwave. You call upon your Merkaba by reflex, and it's only a matter of milliseconds before the wave reaches you. The sound is deafening, and the dense wood is replaced by a thick cloud of dust and debris. You can't see a thing.
"Lilith?" you call out, fearing the worst.
"I'm fine! What on earth was that?" she asks.
"I don't know, but it came from home! We have to hurry!"
The two of you run full speed ahead, carefully avoiding the fallen trees that seem to appear out of nowhere in the fog. The dust starts to clear up, and you almost wish it hadn't. Now, you can clearly see the damage done. Everything, all the way to the horizon, has been completely leveled. You stop in your tracks. Everyone is dead. They have to be.
"If we could survive it, then surely others could have as well," Lilith says, as if reading your mind.
"What was that? Who knows if it'll happen again?" you point out.
"I... don't know, but we have to check on our family, right? We have to!"
A. Of course we do B. No, we should stay as far away as possible.
"Of course we do," you reassure. "I'd say 'be careful', but if something like that happens again there's nothing we can really do."
"It doesn't matter where we go, either," Lilith says, pointing behind you.
The sight is the same as in front of you, besides the fact that you barely make out trees still standing way off in the distance. You turn back to face the direction of home.
"Let's go," you say.
The two of you run onward, with nothing to look forward to besides piles upon piles of rubble and debris. It seemed small from afar, but there's a literal mountain of the stuff. Upon finally reaching it, you begin your ascent. The sight of the sheer amount of debris is jaw-dropping, but nothing compared to the view West from the top.
"Damn..." you mutter, after considerate effort to form words in your mouth.
Before you is an enormous crater. While far from perfectly smooth, the shape of the crater is perfectly symmetrical. And the opposite cliff is very far away. There's no doubt about it. The place you, for such a small fraction of time, called home is if not precisely in the middle of the crater, close enough to have been completely eradicated. Chances are, anyone nearby had no chance of protecting themselves before being disintegrated by the force of whatever caused all this. For the sake of hope, you start your descent anyway. The trip down will be much longer than the trip up was.
"Look!" Lilith says happily. "I think I see someone!"
Sure enough, you can make out two small figures at the center of the crater. You can't make them out, but you're almost positive you see movement. Excitedly, but still cautiously, you speed up your descent. Eventually, the downward climb becomes a downhill jog, then a fairly straightforward run. Suddenly, something that should have been obvious dawns on you. The only way someone could have survived this is if they knew it was coming. They'd have to be ones who caused all this. You halt, motioning for your sister to follow suit. You explain your thoughts.
"I was just thinking the same thing. What do we do?"
"If we get too close, they might try to kill us, too. On the other hand, if we see them, they probably have already noticed us, as well."
"I don't care if I die," Lilith says firmly. "We're completely alone now. If there's a chance the survivors didn't cause all this, I want to find out."
If your friends jump off of a bridge, do you follow?
A. "I agree" B. Leave her to her fate and get somewhere safe
"Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page," you say.
The two of you take off for the survivors.
"Do you think it was Marcus?" your sister asks. Your mind was too panicky to even take the time to guess who they were.
"He was pretty suspicious," you agree. He did have an accomplice, as well. Hoyt. As you quickly approach their position, their features become rapidly more clear. Marcus and Hoyt were about the same height, but the furthest suspect from you is noticeably shorter. Marcus had relatively short hair, whereas both of these guys have long hair. One with black hair, the other looks red, like yours. It could be a coincidence. The one furthest from you is a woman. It has to be a coincidence. As you are within hearing distance of them, you stop in your tracks.
“M-mom? Dad?" you sputter, finding it hard to form words.
"Come no closer, you two," your father says commandingly.
"How nice of you to come home, kids!" your mother says. She looks different. She has sort of a twisted grin that she wears only on one side of her lips, yet the other side is smiling slightly as well. She grins so happily that she's almost squinting. "Don't you like what I've done with the place?"
She lets out a wicked laugh, almost like a cackle, only with a certain strength behind it. The kind of laugh only someone who just killed countless living creatures and found it to be amusing would have.
"Why?" It's the only thing you can really ask.
"Shut up," she says through bared teeth. Her lips instantly sunk into an annoyed snarl upon saying this. Her upper eyelids dropped a little, indicating lack of interest. She might as well have been saying 'Don't make me'. "Your father and I were just starting to have an interesting conversation. Don't interrupt."
She's smiling again.
"It's a good question, Kara," your father says calmly. "In all of this 'interesting conversation', I don't think you've answered that yet."
“What the f-" your father begins, showing anger on his face for only a moment. "What could they possibly have done to deserve this?"
"They're just like the humans! No, worse! With all that intelligence, they don't learn a f***ing thing. Admit that they deserved it!"
"They didn't-"
"You used to do s*** like this all of the time to the humans! We all did. They deserved it! You know they did.”
"At that time, we had to kill them. They refused to live peacefully."
"After such a short time, too!" she adds.
"Those times have passed."
"They didn't learn a thing," she argues, her face showing disgust.
"Even if they do deserve it, you killed our own kind!" He's wearing his anger calmly, now.
"'Our kind' are the exact f***ing same!"
"You tried to kill me! The kids could have been killed in the process! Don't you have love for any of us?"
"I used to love you, Malduin. A lot. I changed who I was to be with you. Now I realize I hate you more than anyone else! I mean that, you bastard. You made me change who I was!"
"I didn't make you do anything, you idiot."
"How dare you question me, anyway? You're the traitor! Peace and harmony? Where did it all come from?"
"I grew up. I thought you had, too. But it turns out that you're just a good actress."
"Okay, whatever. I'm bored. Were you going to punish me, baby? If not, I'm going to go ahead and leave."
Punish her? Yes, she deserves it. Even though she's your mother. She was just a liar and a murderer. Your father stands silent.
"Lover?" she mocks, "Are you paying attention?"
"..."
"Go ahead, kill me!" she laughs. "I deserve it, as well!"
"It's not my place."
"You're a coward. Come on, show the kids the real reason they call you an 'eraser'. I can't wait to see it again!" She approaches him until he's a few inches away from him, smiling seductively and running her finger over his chest. "Just put us all out of our misery! The world's a horrible place!"
"Kill her, dad!" you yell. You can't help it. She's disgusting.
"You're not going to do it?" she asks. She turns around and walks away for a moment before stopping to face him again, looking almost hesitant to leave. "You're sure, right? You're just going to let me go on my merry way?"
"Of course not," Malduin says. "I don't have the right to take a life, regardless of your actions. All I can do is keep an eye on you to make sure you don't cause any more harm."
"Heh, good luck following me!" she laughs. "Wanna see what I've learned?"
It was a rhetorical question. Two large wings sprout out from her back, and the wounds left behind quickly heal. Blood drips from the black feathered wings, so she quickly shakes them, splattering it everywhere.
"So, you've learned to force evolution."
"That's right! Aren't you impressed? You never would have guessed that the first one to figure it out would be me, did you?"
"Idiot. Who do you think you picked up all the answers from?" Malduin asks. He grows wings in the same sickening manner, only with white feathers. "Without your realizing it, I've been teaching you all this time. Every improvement you've made since we met long ago has been under my tutelage. You're my responsibility. I'll make sure you keep out of trouble."
"You make it sound like I'm some kind of pet," she says, followed by a condescending laugh.
"That's what you've become. Lead the way."
"F***! Why can't you just kill me?" she rants, before taking to the sky.
Your father turns to you and says, "You two, especially you, son: don't let this get to you. The world keeps turning. There's no sense in living with anything other than enjoyment."
With that, he takes off after her, leaving you to make sense of what just happened. You turn to Lilith to see tears streaming down her face.
"I'm so sorry," she sobs.
She's sad? She couldn't possibly imagine how you feel right now. She just doesn't have the bond that true blood has. No, you're being selfish. You've both lost everything in just a few hours. The future was taken away from anyone you might have known, at the hands of your own mother. Then, your father abandons you to babysit her instead of giving her what she deserved. It's completely unfair. You become enraged; your mind focusing so much on hate that even your vision becomes second-hand. You're seeing red. The dirt beneath you starts to turn to salt, spreading from your feet in an uneven circle.
"Get away!" you say, snapping out of your anger induced state. These negative thoughts don't go away for long. They continue to play in the background of your mind. They've probably found a permanent home. "I can't stop it!"
She jumps back to avoid the rapidly spreading disease. The salt on the ground near her begins to rise up, forming a hand that reaches out to grab her. She narrowly avoids this as well.
"Get away from me! I'm no longer safe."
"You're all I have left!" she yells. “I don't care if I die!"
"I do!" you yell back. "I don't think this will stop any time soon."
"I'm not leaving!"
Obviously, your driving her away is crushing her, but wouldn't you prefer she be alive and hate you rather than to die at your hands? You can't just let it go just because you were told, and these emotions are what's causing this. You feel you'll never be safe to be around again.
"Please?" she begs pitifully.
A. Push her away. B. Stick together.
"Okay... I won't leave you alone," you say, against better judgement.
"Thank you..." she says, relieved. She backs up far away from you for now, giving you the time to pull yourself together.
You try your best to clear your mind. Even when you think of nothing at all, you feel the anger weighing down on your shoulders. Your disease continues to spread. You think about what your father said. Maybe he was right. You do still have your sister, after all. She was most important to you, anyway. Your burden lifts a little, and the ground stops being converted.
"See, you can control it!" she says.
"I guess so..." you say, unconvinced.
"Let's go somewhere far away from here."
"Good idea..."
The two of you set out again, with no real plan. You coincidentally head North, hoping to find a new place to call home. You venture onward until nightfall, neither of you keen on talking at the moment. When it gets dark, you set up camp in the nearby wood. You're hungry and uncomfortable. Your clothes are way too small now, and you're all caked with dust. Still, you just want to go to sleep. You need to put your mind to rest. Your sister gives you a hug before laying out a few yards away. It doesn't take you long to fall asleep.
"Good morning, little one!" your mom greets. "Or I guess you aren't so little anymore... would you like some breakfast?"
You groggily open your eyes to find yourself in a warm bed, back at home. It takes you a little bit to get your thoughts about you.
"Mom?" you ask in disbelief.
"Well who else?" she gently asks. "Come on, I made something special, just for you."
You get up and follow her to the dinner table. Your plate's already made. Eggs and bacon. Your mother places one of the mugs you got from that old man on the table and pours you some orange juice.
"What happened?" you ask. You can't seem to remember much from the days before. You know you were tasked with getting the mugs, but that's it.
"We found you and your sister in the woods to the East, laying unconscious. So, we brought you here. I'm proud of you for succeeding."
So it was all just a dream. You take a deep breath of relief before chowing down.
"So, where's dad and Lilith?"
"Oh, haven't you noticed?"
"Hm?"
"You're eating them."
Suddenly, the warm, cozy home becomes a worn down shack. Everything darkens, but there is an eerie red light illuminating the room. The eggs and bacon become ears and eyes and fingertips. Your orange juice is now red and thick. Your mother begins cackling maniacally. Your fear is soon replaced by anger. You lunge at your mother with your kitchen knife and use all of your strength to stab it through her chest. You remove it to stab her again, repeatedly. She never stops laughing. Blood gushes from her body, and she tries catching it with her hands in order to drink it up.
"Hahahahaha! Keep it up, little one! You take after your dear mother, do you know that?"
The taste of salt in your mouth wakes you from your nightmare. You open your eyes just for some to get in there, too. You rub it away and sit up. The tree you're laying under is crumbling away. You look towards Lilith.
"No! No!" you deny. She, along with everything within a twenty yard radius, has been turned to salt by your strange ability. You scramble over to hold her, but she disintegrates on touch. Now it's official. Everyone you know is gone. This time, it was your fault.Tears of guilt and loneliness begin to roll down your cheeks. You've been on Earth for a matter of days, and you can already see so clearly how meaningless life is.
A. Continue B. Sacrifice one of your lives for a redo.
"No! Go away! I don't need you around anymore!" you yell. It's obvious reverse psychology, but you need her away from you. You know it won't be easy to be alone, but you need her alive, if only to preserve your sanity.
"I hate you!" she yells.
Yeah, yeah. That won't work.
"I mean it!"
"..."
"Say something!"
"Go away," you say firmly. You struggle with your state of mind. You have to focus really hard in order to move. You travel North, away from her. The salt still spreads where you touch the ground, conveniently making it impossible for her to follow. You continue to lumber forward, not stopping until it became dark. You regained your control only a few hours prior. You carelessly plop down under a tree and try to fall asleep; your exhausted mind and body making it easy to do so.
"You're just like me, son. You know that, don't you?"
You wake up with a start to find everything around you turned to salt. Nothing's safe from you, even when you sleep. It was that nightmare that did this. You push it to the back of your mind and continue forward, where you would eventually find a place to call home.
That place would be a mid-sized, isolated village near the border of two ancient countries, Scotland and England. This village was tucked into the hills, where no one seemed to visit and no one seemed to ever leave. The inhabitants had little means of self-defense, relying instead on their hidden position. They'd send a guy or two every now and again to some nearby village or trading post to get whatever they might need that they can't acquire on their own.
When you arrived, the villagers reacted typically. Lacking any means of self defense besides farming tools, no one dared try to threaten you. They all just ran inside their homes. You had gone straight for the bar. The terrified bartender handed you an entire bottle of whiskey when you asked for a drink, free of charge. You sat where the bar touched the wall, as far from everyone else as possible. Ever since the first human settlement you came across after that traumatic event, you hid yourself in the bottle. Now was no different. You chugged away, feeling all eyes on you. They eventually seemed to lose interest as they drank. Later into the night, the tough guy came out in a few men. Three of them had approached you and told you, with some authority, that you should leave and never come back. Otherwise, something bad would happen. Something bad did indeed happen, when their talking finally got to you after many attempts of shrugging it off. You lost control again. It had been years of moving from place to place, and your unrestrained power grew only stronger over time. The men simply became 'infected', turning to salt in a matter of moments. You didn't mean to do it. A beating, maybe, but not that. Everyone ran in fright. You continued to drink. Eventually, a group of maybe ten men returned with plows and axes. You gave them a snarl. 'Don't make me'. Their resolve was quickly shattered. The bartender poked his head in a while later.
"Do... you have a place to stay?" he asked.
You simply shook your head.
"Those guys, I saw it in your face that you just wanted to be left alone."
"..." You took another sip.
"They were just bullies. No remaining family to claim their bodies. What should we..."
"You need salt?"
"...What?"
"Salt. Everyone uses it..."
The man grimaced. "Is that what you did to them?" he asked. "I can't do that..."
"They're not people anymore. Just salt. Just like what you use to preserve your meats and season your food."
"It's the concept..."
The man grabbed a broom and dustpan, poking at the salt to make it fall apart before sweeping it up. He put it in a vase of some kind.
"I'll be back."
You finished your third bottle by the time the man came back.
"Follow me," he said.
"They deserved it..." you muttered aloud. Something inside you died a little when the thought crossed your mind.
"You don't mean that," the barkeep said. "I can tell."
"I hope you're right."
You followed the apparent bar owner to the spare bedroom, stumbling all the way.
"It's not the best, but it'll have to do."
You stumbled across the room and laid on top of the bed.
"How far away do you sleep?"
"My house is connected, but this room is still a part of the bar. A decent distance, I guess. Why?"
"Sometimes it happens in my sleep."
"... you'll just have to work off the cost of repair," he said before walking out.
You had lain there with your eyes open for some time. Maybe those words that had so often haunted your sleep were true. You had never managed to forget, but your mind had done a good job of obscuring your recollection of that day. But when you said 'they deserved it', you could almost see that sick b**** saying the same thing with such certainty.
"You're just like me, son. Don't you see it?" This was the theme of several reoccurring nightmares. You had come to hate your mother more than you thought imaginable. You detested her enough without having to see her constantly in your sleep. Worse still, she's convinced you that she's right. A part of you felt so good to take your anger out on them. You weren't even upset that they're dead. Just the fact that you caused it bothered you. Finally, you gave in and closed your eyes.
This became your routine. You drank and slept and dwelled. Eventually, you built a stone house with your own two hands. You earned money by selling none other than salt, and began to grow your own food. You lived in that stone house for ten years. Now, you're twenty. The villagers are comfortable with you now; you leave them be, they leave you be. The only person you ever speak to is the owner of the bar, and even then it's only to keep from going insane. You've kept this same routine for years. You almost feel trapped, but you know it would be the same s*** somewhere else. You woke up this morning with no idea that the cycle would finally be broken.
Chapter One: Fickle Pangaea
You get out of bed and get dressed in your go to the bar attire. In other words, one of your multitude of simple cotton outfits. Never too early for a drink, right? What the f*** else would you do, anyway? You've picked your potatoes already. So boring. Sometimes, you take comfort in your dark memories. Self-pity and anger beat the monotony of a meaningless life. You walk to the bar and take the usual seat.
"Here you go," Clyde says. He hands you your umpteenth bottle of whiskey.
"Thanks."
"Any time. You're by far my best patron."
"Mhmm."
Conversation over. Clyde leaves the bar for whatever reasons he might have, leaving you alone. Just the way you like it. You drink and dwell, as usual. There's nothing else for you to think about. 'Oh, I wonder how many potatoes I'll grab next harvest. I wonder how identical the next bottle of whiskey will taste.' Sure, you could try growing different crops. F*** yeah...
You think about the usual. Is Lilith alive or dead? What happened with your father? Were you really just like mom? You'll never know the answers. You'll die and be buried next to your f***ing potatoes. None of it will have mattered, then. Before you know it, the bar has filled with the usual patrons, and night has fallen. You have to admit, the sound of them chattering away has become a comforting feeling.
Suddenly, the door swings open. You would have paid it no mind, but the chattering around you stopped. When the door shut again, you could hear a mixture of anxious and enthused murmurs. One man in particular whistled loudly. You turn to see a beautiful woman scanning the room. She has straight, medium length blonde hair, with a short ponytail tied tightly by medical wrap. The wrap tied her hair tightly, concealing all but the tail end, which blossomed downward. It looked kind of like a torch. She wore a fitting black one-piece. It was sleeveless, and showed some cleavage. The skirt end left plenty of leg unconcealed. Her ankles and wrists were wrapped, and she has a bag slung over her shoulder. She spots you quickly, and smiles like she recognizes you. She approaches and takes the seat next to you, placing the bag on the ground.
"Wow, aren't you handsome?" she says shamelessly.
"..." No one comes or goes. Why is she here?
"Aren't you gonna offer me a drink?"
"Do I look like the bartender?" you grunt.
"Ooh, feisty!" she flirts. "I like that. And such an exotic look... can I touch your horns?"
"No." She didn't come all the way out here just to ride the bull. She was clearly looking for someone in particular. You apparently fit the description.
"I see... you'd prefer I touch you somewhere else, no?"
"What do you want?"
"... why are you being so serious, honey?"
"I'm not an idiot. Who are you, and what do you want?"
Her expression remains the same. Trying to manipulate you with her green eyes. You're not stupid.
"I'm Holly. What's your name?"
"What do you want?" you repeat.
"Fine..." she sighs. "I'm here for your life, Titus."
"What have I done to you?"
"It's nothing personal, honey," she says, as though comforting you.
"An assassin," you think aloud. Who would take a hit out on you? That man named Michael? You doubt it.
"Mhmm! I was going to give you a little taste of heaven and put you to rest without your knowing, but-"
"But now you're pissed, right?" you scoff.
"Nope!" she says cheerfully. "It's because you look so distraught. I couldn't just blindside you like that."
Her eyes told a different story. She didn't see distress. She saw power. Her facial expression is still seductive, but in her eyes you see a different kind of lust. This woman was blood-thirsty. Finally! Someone to take it out on. Someone who you could say deserved it and not have to feel guilty. You've not been so excited in a long time.
"Well... looks like I was right about you!" she exclaims. Her smile lost its manipulative qualities, radiating genuine excitement. "I can see it in your eyes. You're hungry for it."
"Hahahaha!" You got a kick out of that one. "What a coincidence..."
"It's impossible to hide," she shrugs.
Heh. Your new favorite person. You can't wait to crush her.
"Let's do this outside," you say.
"Hold your horses! What about my drink?"
A. Buy her one. You can't get answers from a corpse. B. You're itching to fight right now
"Take the rest of mine."
"Classy..." she comments, but takes the bottle anyway.
"Who put the hit out on me?"
"Not allowed to say," she says after a swig.
"You may as well..."
"I'll be too dead to suffer the consequences, right? Or maybe, you'll be too dead to tell anyone."
"..."
"I see your point. There were five people that showed up at my village. It was about ten years ago," she explains.
"It took you ten years to find me?" you ask mockingly.
"No, actually. I refused the contract."
"What?"
"Actually, I abandoned it."
"Why?"
"Because you're so cute," she says.
"..."
"All business. Right. It had nothing to do with the contract itself. In fact, it was the highest paying contract I've seen in years. It just so happened that I grew tired of my village and my lifestyle."
"Yet here you are."
"Believe it or not, I found this place completely by accident. See, the thing about my village is: you're not allowed to leave. I was the strongest there, but any pair of my peers could spell the death of me if I'm not careful. Running for my life wasn't as fun as I expected... This place was nice and tucked away, far from home. By some dumb luck, I found you here."
"I see. You intend to take my head as a peace offering?"
"Mhmm."
You decide to get the conversation back on track. "Who were they?"
"Only one person actually signed the contract," she says. "She looked a lot like you. In fact, there were two others who seemed displeased with the whole thing. One of the others looked a lot like you, too."
"..."
"Hm?"
"My parents," you say.
"A hit on her own son... What did you do?"
"Couldn't have done much. Last time I saw her, I was new to this world. Ten years before you even got your contract."
That sick b****.
"That's... messed up. Unfortunately, we don't require a good reason to fulfill a contract."
"Who were the other three?"
"One was tall and bald, covered in tattoos. He was terribly amused by the whole situation. An unpleasant man. One has black hair, slicked back with grease. He patted your mom on the shoulder in congratulation for signing the contract. He seemed to have an air of authority about him. Then, the other stoic. He was... hard to take my eyes off of."
"You're pathetic," you say. You're starting to feel angry.
"It had nothing to do with his looks or anything!" she defends. "There was something about him. Looking back, I don't see what it was. He wore a brown duster with no shirt underneath, black slacks, and a black beanie on his head. His hair was long and straight. Blonde... scruff on his chin... and he carried a katana. What was so special about him?" she ponders aloud.
You aren't really listening.
"Was it... fear? I don't remember what that feels like."
"She said nothing about a reason?"
"No... sorry, can't help you. Although, you weren't the only hit she put out."
"What?" you roar. You already know who it is.
"Described as a young horned woman with blue eyes and black hair... Hey! What is this?"
You're losing control again. It's been a while. This one's bad. The disease spreads through everything around you. Clyde didn't make it. Everyone in the bar, as well as the building itself begins to crumble away. Oh well, you've got more important things to do now. Pity about Holly. The fight wouldn't make it outside. You pass her salt memorial and head for the door.
"Hey! That was a pretty cheap trick!"
You turn to see something that just... doesn't compute. You see her seemingly pulling herself out of the statue. First her head, then an arm. She uses her arm to push herself all the way out, leaving the statue perfectly intact.
"What... are you?"
"What do I look like?" she replies angrily. The air seems to feel a little a thinner under her glare.
"I've never met a human who could do anything like that..."
She ignores you and goes to kick her bag. It all crumbles away.
"Son of a b****..." she curses under her breath. She reaches into her shirt through the neck end and pulls out a fairly long knife of oriental design. "I was wrong about you!"
"It was an accident," you say.
"Oh." Back to normal. "Well, good. Shall we begin?"
A. Run home and grab your sword B. You can take her as you are C. You've got more important things to do. Flee.
"Yeah," you say. You turn to make you way out the door. Right as you open it, you feel her behind you. You duck just in time to hear her blade sink into the doorframe. You take off towards your house.
"Why are you running away?" Holly asks with a tinge of disappointment.
You ignore her and enter your home. Your grab your massive sword and return to your fight. She's waiting patiently.
"Oh, right. I should stop jumping to conclusions. Sorry about that," she says.
"Stop talking so much," you complain.
You cover the distance between you quickly, despite your massiveness. As you get in range, you lift the claymore above your head. Your opponent doesn't budge. She's underestimated your speed. This will be a quick bout. You bring down the weapon from top-left to bottom-right. To your surprise, she waits to the last minute, then simply ducks and weaves to her right as your blade sails harmlessly by her head. You recover quickly, swinging straight across back to the left. She hops up, lifting her knees, and lands safely back on the ground after your swing. Once more, you swing back across and upwards. Before your weapon gains momentum, Holly is already falling backwards. She hops back just in time to avoid the reach of the sword. She dances just out of range, letting you swing away. You feign fatigue after numerous attacks. You fake everything from the heaviness of your breath to the gradual slowing of your swing. She lets you 'tire', continuing to backpedal until she finds the perfect time to counter. She snaps back forward a split second after your sword passes by her face, bringing her knife straight for your throat. Bingo. You release the sword with your left hand and bring it up to grab her wrist. She stops mid-stab and hops back.
"You!" she cries in excitement. "You're a sneaky one!"
Right as she finishes her sentence, she launches her knife into your left bicep. You allow it to turn to salt in your wound. The pain is excruciatingly exciting. You smile a big crazy smile, baring your teeth to the max. This feeling is foreign to you. You want to chop her in half, but you're not angry in the least.
You ready your weapon for another swing, but your left arm isn't any help. You'll have to switch to one hand and rely more on the weight of the sword. Not a good tactic at all against someone like her. By the time you finish this thought process, she's found her way far beyond your range. She reaches down her shirt again and pulls out a small, handle sized piece of wood. Attached to it is a chain that is still hidden under her clothing. She lifts up what little skirt she has to reveal the chain wrapped around her leg, held in place by a weight. She undoes the chain and pulls the rest through her top. With a flick of her wrist, a blade flips out of the wooden handle. A kusari-gama. She spins the weighted end around to gain momentum. She doesn't seem to be looking at you anymore. It's almost like she's looking through you.
No, that's not it either. She seems to have zoned out. An obvious trap... Right?
A. "Hello?" B. Take this as your cue to get back in close range. You can do more a little more than just swing your sword. C. Use your surprise ranged attack, involving the creation of iron. D. Try to think of something that pisses you off.
You'll kill her from where with you stand. A long time ago, you began creating simple sharpened iron rods in order to hunt down wild animals for your survival. You were clumsy with them at first, but you quickly became more accurate. The downside to using these rods is that they fly slowly and don't travel very far, even with your strength. To compensate for this, you began setting the creation in motion along with your throw. It seemed like aiming this properly would be an impossible task, with the constantly changing shape and weight of the projectile. But, what happens once can happen again. You just have to pay attention to your body. You concentrated on the speed and angle of your throw and took note of where the spear landed. Then, it was just a matter of figuring out how fast the object should form in mid-flight to get the same results. With a little practice, you got it down to a science.
You stab your sword into the ground and make a throwing motion with your right arm. To most people, it would seem to materialize from nowhere, and with the speed at which it flew, they would panic and be unable to move in time. By the time most would notice it, Holly shows no signs of reaction. She continues to spin her weight in the same manner. The spear is milliseconds away from the point of no return; the range at which dodging becomes realistically impossible. Holly's face expresses obvious surprise at the exact moment she leans her body to her right. The spear passes by close enough to her head to brush against her hair. She turns her head to watch it stick into the ground yards away. When she turns back, she gives you a frustrated look.
"What the hell was that about?" she asks.
"We're in the middle of a fight..."
She blinks and looks to her right, noticing the chain still spinning in her hand.
"Heh... Sorry about that," she says, embarrassed. "I got lost in thought."
"Yeah? What were you thinking about?" you ask accusingly.
"...Shut up!" she says.
"You blanked."
"No I didn't!" she cries, hurling the weight at you as if to add emphasis. You barely dodge both the approach and return of the weight, hurling another of your spears at her in the process. She dodges it easily before sending the weight your way again, this time with more slack, swinging it with the flow of the chain rather than hurling it you. You duck under it and fall back, making it out of range just in time for the next come-around. She approaches you as she makes this circular motion with her chain, edging you back further and further. You hurl a few more spears, but she dodges expertly.
You know that you can't let yourself be distracted. Her straightforward throw with the weight has a better range than her swing, because she has to use the fingers on her opposite hand as a fulcrum to reapply momentum. This is probably the trap she's setting. But, if you back into something, the trap won't even be necessary. You're pretty sure there's nothing behind you, but you've never actually walked through the village backwards before.
A. Check behind you to see if you're about to back into anything. B. Create an iron spear and hold onto it, then try to block the weight with it. C. Continue throwing spears at her in an attempt to increase the speed of your throws while keeping your accuracy. D. Take off for cover behind a building.
You take off for nearby cover. You choose your own home, as the typical wooden houses of the village might not survive her onslaught. You kneel with your back against the house, waiting to draw her into close range.
"You're hiding from me?" you hear her call. "How boring."
You can hear the whirring of the chain come to a halt. She's likely trying to bait you into coming out. A few moments later, you feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Shortly after, you find yourself with a sickle to your throat.
"Boo!" Holly whispers right by your ear.
"You're not human at all, are you?" you ask.
"Of course I am," she says.
"You wanna tell me how you can walk through walls?"
"What's the point? Do you have any last words?"
"What's the point?"
"I just like saying that," she explains. "It strikes a little fear into the hearts of my victims."
"Hahahaha!" Hysterical. Fear death? S*** happens. "Bury me in that f***ing potato field behind this house, I guess."
"I can do that," she says. "Goodbye."
"Wait."
"Not so fearless, after all?"
"I just now decided that it would be anti-climatic if neither of us survived this," you say.
She looks down to find a spear-tip pointed at her throat. Instincts don't lie. If you feel like someone's sneaking up on you, you shouldn't ignore it.
"Sneaky, sneaky," she comments, disappearing into the wall behind you. Then, you hear a voice from atop your roof. "It's not precisely walking through walls."
You toss your spear at her. Once again, she dodges easily. You'll never be able to touch her at this rate. She begins twirling her chain again.
"You really do talk too much," you say. "You should have just killed me."
"I was holding onto hope that you were stronger than you were letting on," she shrugs. "No offense."
"None taken," you say. You're doing it, too. Something about a life and death battle urges one to speak his mind, apparently. You want to drag it out as much as possible. This feeling is amazing. This must be 'fun'... But then, something dawns on you. Your sister is in danger. You think... it's been ten years. Did she find a good hiding place? Or was she already dead?
"What'cha thinkin' about?"
You simply grunt. Now this feeling has been replaced by anxiety.
"You look like you're itching to go somewhere... we can't have that, can we?"
She launches the weight at you again, and you dodge without retaliation.
"Your heart's not in this anymore, I can tell. I guess I should wrap it up, then..."
A. Try to talk her into a raincheck. B. Try to practice throwing spears with more momentum. C. Use a trail of salt to force her off the roof. D. Try to flee.
You touch the ground, causing the grass to turn to salt. It trails towards her, moving up the side of the house and onto the roof beneath her feet. She just stands there, allowing it to climb up her legs.
"This didn't work last time," she says. "Why would you try it again?"
In a matter of seconds, she becomes a statue. You chunk another spear, right into where her heart would be. The salt statue crumbles away. The next thing you know, she slips out of the wall in front of you and slings the weight at you. It hits you right in the cheekbone. This probably would have ended you, but she was unable to swing the chain for momentum in her sneak attack. Still, it hurts. It even dazes you a little. She takes full advantage and charges with her sickle. You raise your right arm to stop her from swinging before lowering your head to gore her. She simply jumps over you, but you manage to catch her wrist and sling her into the wall. She lets out an 'oomf' and stays on the ground, propped up against your house. You create another spear.
"Any last words?" That good feeling is back. A few minutes won't save your sister. And if you die, you won't be able to care anyway.
"..."
"Knocked the wind out of you a little bit?"
She doesn't respond. The full moon casts light from the other side of your house. Being in what little shadow it casts, she could easily try to sneak an attack. You almost let loose your spear when she clasps her hands together in an odd fashion. A signal for 'good match', perhaps?
"My last words?" she says with a minor struggle.
"..."
"There's no point," she says. "My time hasn't come, yet."
Once again, you feel a tingle at the base of your neck, and you find a sickle pressed to your neck. But, she's still in front of you. Another unreasonable thing has happened.
"This is getting annoying," you say. "Just do it this time."
"You're a hypocrite!" she defends childishly.
"I realize that. I'm just saying that it's grown old. Do it or don't; please decide quickly."
"I can't make quick decisions like that..." she says. You can believe that.
Fine. You take a chance and toss another surprise spear. She simply slumps down a little and lets it hit the wall above her head. Your neck is still nice and attached. Go figure.
"Let's make a deal," she says.
"What?"
"Tell me, what were you so anxious about?"
"..."
"It was the hit on that young woman, wasn't it?"
You feel your upper lip twitch in annoyance.
"Or maybe you're the vengeful type. Either way, you'll die. Trust me. Look at the position you're in now."
"When I die, I won't be able to care at all," you explain.
"But the world still goes on without you," she argues. "Your mother will still walk the earth. Your sister will still be in danger. You're okay with that?"
You let out an annoyed grunt. She's right, you're not okay with it.
"I'll help you," she says.
"And in return?"
"Well, like I said, I've got my fellow assassins on my tail. I'll die, too. It's inevitable. I say we watch each other's back."
"Sounds like a nightmare."
"We don't have to be friends."
"You're not to be trusted," you say bluntly. "Do you take me for a fool?"
You cringe slightly upon saying this. You could have died, twice. Yet, here you are.
"Your head isn't worth much without the contract," she shrugs.
The sickle at your throat drips away, as though made of ink. When you look behind you, all that's left is your shadow.
"Without the contract?" you echo.
"It was in that bag you decided to destroy."
"You b****..." you say, amused.
She laughs and says, "So, what's it gonna be?"
"I-"
"And if you don't believe it's gone... you could always search me..."
Durability Titus: 20/40 Holly: 25/30
A. Accept the offer of mutual back-watching, then set out. B. Accept the offer, but continue the fight. C. Attempt to murder her with another spear. D. Decline, then set out.
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Post by dragonfantasy on Aug 24, 2011 23:45:54 GMT
Pretty cool how Yushi pretty much single-handedly saved CYOAs by archiving them before everything blew up. Yeah, but it was almost too convenient. What if.....Yushi was in league with the mods!?!?!?
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Post by Yushinoki on Sept 21, 2011 21:21:59 GMT
"I think I'll just take your word for it," you decide.
If she was going to kill you, she probably would have done it by now. If not, she would play the game with you until the end instead of resorting to some cheap trick. At least, that's what you think.
"Good!" she says, pushing off the wall with her to hands to effortlessly stand on her feet. She brushes off her butt before beginning to walk out of the village. "Follow me!"
So, you do. This game you just played was so enticing that you welcome any chance to play it again. A fight for survival... It sparks up such a strange emotion in you. You can forget yourself while you play. No, it's not even that. If you felt the way you felt during the fight, memories of the past would be laughable. Hell, they're laughable right now, in the afterglow.
This is the reason you find yourself following Holly. You look forward to taking on these assassins; to playing with them. In the meantime, you might as well check up on your sister.
"So, what's your name?" she asks out of the blue. You had been traveling south for a few hours without saying a word.
"It's Titus," you inform.
"Titus," she repeats to herself. "I have a question, Titus."
"What is it?"
"Where are we going?"
"What? We've been traveling for hours and you don't even know where you're going?" you ask.
"It's not that! I just forgot we were supposed to be going somewhere important. You forgot, too, didn't you? And you were making fun of me, earlier. Hypocrite," she says, her body language towards the end saying, 'Hmf!'
"You're wrong," you say. "Last time I saw her was twenty years ago... who knows where she is now? I don't know where to start."
"Well, where was the last place you saw her?" she asks, trying to assist your thought process.
"She couldn't still be there... if she is, she's living in the wild somewhere. The only nearby settlement was... unfriendly."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," she says knowingly. "She could be a mile away and you'd never know."
"Wow," you say almost arrogantly; in reality, you're genuinely impressed. "So you were actually using your brain that time..."
"Of course I was! Jerk... I was thinking during the fight, too!"
"You're lying," you accuse.
"..." She continues walking in silence.
Is she... that upset over the words of a stranger? How amusing... Without even realizing it, you raise only the right side of your lips to smile. You watch her walk forward in silence, waiting for the right time to goad her.
"So, where are we going?" you ask. She probably doesn't have any idea.
"South," she says with a shrug. "I don't have any destination in mind, either."
"I see..."
She looks back at you. "What? Did you really think I was wandering aimlessly because I couldn't remember where I was going long enough?"
"Yes," you reply honestly, having temporarily lost your interest in trying to piss her off.
"Maybe we should camp out here for a while, then. You might decide you want to go somewhere if you sleep on it."
You simply stop where you stand and sit down. She walks back up the hill you happened to be walking down to share your elevation, gives you some distance, and does the same. You think to warn Holly that you might accidentally kill her in her sleep, but you're very confident you won't be having that dream again. The past doesn't bother you anymore. At least you won't be so damn bored. After a while, you feel yourself begin to doze off.
"Titus?"
"...what?" you ask, annoyed. You don't feel like talking about why she's mad.
"I'm cold..." she says suggestively.
"...what?" This time, in surprise.
"I said, I'm cold..." she repeats. You see her prop herself up on her elbow in your peripherals, prompting you to look at her. "Won't you warm me up?"
"Hahaha!" You thought she was pissed.
"You're pretty arrogant..." she accuses.
"What?"
"...if it isn't that, then what was so funny?"
"Weren't you just mad? Now you want to sleep with me? What's not funny?"
"...Not everyone dwells on things forever," she says defiantly. "Why do you have to be all business, all the time anyway?"
"I'm going to go to sleep; this isn't funny anymore," you say in disappointment.
"You're pretty rude-"
"We don't have to be friends, remember?"
"...F*** you," she says in dismissal, lying back down with a shrug.
This response wasn't as entertaining as you expected. She's not too easy to manipulate. Maybe she's smarter than she lets on... You catch yourself drifting off again. Finally, sleep.
"Titus?"
"..."
"...Hey."
"..."
"Hey!"
"I'm trying to go to sleep," you say through gritted teeth.
"I think we're underestimating each other," she says anyway.
"Maybe so," you say, tired of talking.
"We're a lot alike, you know."
"Mhmm."
"Most people aren't like us. When death comes knocking, they turn tail or freeze up. There are some who face it calmly, but precious few people enjoy the feeling."
"I see."
"So, I think we should be friends."
"Yeah, best friends. Would you please be quiet now?"
"Okay, I'll go to sleep," she says.
Peace and quiet.
"Wouldn't hurt to throw a girl a bone every now and again, though."
"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Uh huh," you say. You're not listening.
"...You're not even paying attention."
"Good night, Holly..." you say with authority.
"Okay, okay. Maybe another time?"
"Not if you say another word tonight. You're starting to piss me off..."
You see her sit on her elbow to show you her middle finger.
"See, you're not the only one who can piss people off. Hypocrite," she says with a smirk.
"Heh!" Apparently, humans could be interesting.
With that, you fall asleep under the stars. You wake up the next morning without memory of a nightmare and a refreshed feeling. No more stone house. No more Clyde's bar. No more f****ing potatoes. It doesn't matter where you go, as long as you don't have to stay there. You welcome anything that will distract you from your boredom. But it's such a big world. Where do you start?
A. You don't care where you end up. It's the blind leading the blind. B. Turn back and head north into 'Scotland'. C. Return to 'Wales' to find a needle in a haystack. D. Travel due south. E. Choose your own specific destination.(Don't be afraid to pick this when I give it to you)
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Post by Yushinoki on Sept 23, 2011 20:02:16 GMT
"Finally up, huh?" Holly asks. She looks like she's wide awake.
"Yeah," you reply groggily.
"Did you decide where we're going?"
"South sounded good," you say, shrugging slightly.
"Let's go!" she says happily. You grab your sword and follow her through the monotonous landscape. You feel like you're never walking on level ground, but the scenery is all the same. Grass. Lots of it. A tree here and there. It's an overcast day today.
"So, Titus," Holly says, breaking a long silence. "I've been trying to remember the night I met your parents in better detail."
"Yeah? Find something useful?"
"No... I guess not. I'll be quiet now."
"Wow... good girl," you say condescendingly.
To your surprise, she smiles mischievously at this comment.
"...What?" you ask.
"It turns me on when you talk to me like that," she says seductively.
"Heh! I thought I had problems..."
"Don't stop bossing me around, Titus. Treat me like an animal."
"...I see what you're doing."
"What am I doing?"
"You're trying to annoy me into being nice to you," you accuse.
"I'm not annoying..." she says, almost to herself.
You come upon a large dirt trail etched into the vast grasslands, perpendicular to the direction you're traveling. You take it South, away from the mountains and foothills.
Over a few hours, the open hills flatten, and tree-life becomes more dense. The sky has become ominous, you note. You feel a mosquito land on the left side of the back of your neck, so you swat it.
"Ouch! Son of a b****..." you say, experiencing an extremely sharp pain in your left arm.
You reopened the knife wound you got last night. How could you just... forget about it? You let Holly's knife turn to salt in your arm because it acts as an antiseptic, preparing it for further procedure. Then, you just forgot about it. You were completely distracted by your newfound ambition.
You stab your sword into the ground and stop. Holly stops and begins to turn to you, her eyes not seeming to want to take themselves off of something up ahead. She reaches back over her head and undoes her ponytail, then places a fairly long needle between her teeth and holds the medical wrap in her hands.
"Did you forget something?" she asks condescendingly, before shaking her head to let her hair fall in place.
"Heh... I guess so," you admit. "It's... kind of deep, too."
"It's hopeless," she says matter-of-factly and with a wise-ass grin. "You really are numb."
"Yeah, maybe so," you agree. "You could have said something..."
Her grin turns into a sheepish one.
"You just remembered, too, didn't you?" you observe with certainty.
"It was dark!"
"Full moon," you say off-handedly, rubbing your fingers together over your wound to sprinkle salt on it.
Her body language says 'hmf!' again. "It's not my responsibility to look after you, Titus."
You either smile or grimace in this painful or pleasurable sensation.
"Damn... you almost look like you enjoy that.... I thought you were just trying to intimidate me last time," she says.
"Enjoy it?" you ask. No, not you...
"We could incorporate that into our love life, you know. Would that make it more appealing?"
"Seriously, Holly. When are you going to give it a rest?"
"It's your fault!" she accuses while beginning to wrap your wound for you. "Have you ever even heard of a shirt? You can't just put on a pair of pants and call it a day!"
Why not? Who does she think she is?
"You've never worn one before, I can tell. Who doesn't wear a shirt in a bar?" she continues.
"I've worn shirts..." you argue. You can hear the grass rustling a ways away, but you pay it no mind.
"Yeah? When was the last time you wore one?"
You scratch your hair as if it would catalyze some lost memory. "Uhhhh..."
"That's what I thought," she says, finishing your wrap. The rustling grows closer.
"I've worn shirts," you say firmly, daring her to argue.
"You two! D'you know where you are?" a very stupid-sounding voice says nearby.
You look to see two rough looking men standing a few yards away. One of them is holding an old, cheap looking gun, pointed at you. The other, a simple hand-axe.
Yuck. Guns are boring... you could die without the thrill of a fight. This one seems to be a modern replication of the true relics from the past. You snarl at him angrily.
"I was in the middle of a conversation!" you scold.
"...What?" the gunman asks, confused.
"What he means is," Holly interprets, "'Oh no, he's got a gun! We'll give you whatever you want; don't take our lives!' I'd agree... think of all the horrible things you could do to an innocent girl like me... Please, sir, take our money, but let us go free..."
"Heh heh... Heh heh..." the axeman laughs a stupid laugh. "I like this'n!"
"Heh, yeah, mate," the gunman agrees. "We may 'av' to change the offah 'is time!"
"Aw yeah, mate, the things I would do to 'er!"
They start to get into detail on the things they would do to Holly.
"Why do they sound so stupid?" you ask.
"They're the natives," she shrugs.
"I see." An accent. It only makes them sound more ignorant than they already are.
"Excuse me," Holly interjects. "I believe you were asking if we knew where we are."
"Oh yeah, tha's right. You're in Ralph's territory!"
"Are either of you Ralph?" she asks.
"No! But we'll axe the questions! We was gonna axe you for all your possessions and send you on your way, but now we're gonna kill the ox and take you wiv us, sweetheart!"
You hear a faint but strong and sudden exhalation. Holly's needle finds itself lodged in the gunman's adam's apple. He falls to the ground, suffering.
"Where's this... 'Ralph'?" she asks the remaining man.
"H-he's at the camp. Please don't kill me!"
"Did you come here from camp?"
"Yes..."
"How long since you left?" she continues her interrogation.
"Maybe... three hours ago! We just came straight here! Can I go now? Please?"
Holly gives you a look to signify that she's satisfied.
"How many at the camp?" you ask, reaching for your sword.
"About... twenty... I guess," he answers honestly. You step and swing your sword, extending your reach fully. The tip of the sword slits his throat, and he falls to the ground to die as well.
"So, we could have some fun..." Holly suggests. "It'll only take a few hours..."
"Please cut it out for a little while," you say in annoyance.
"That's not what I meant! How'd you even get that?" she fusses. "Now you're the one being perv..."
You raise an eyebrow as you see her shift of attention evident on her face.
"A few hours? Damn, Titus..."
"Focus," you remind.
"Yeah, got it," she says. "I meant we should go kill those bandits. I mean, they're robbing innocent people. Can't just let them go, right?"
A. "Of course not. They deserve it, after all." B. "That sounds like fun. They're idiots, but twenty of them could be a challenge." C. "Let's just keep going. That sounds boring."
"That sounds like fun. They're idiots, but twenty of them could be a challenge," you say.
"Okay, let's take a small detour," she says. "Follow me!"
"Where do we need to be going, anyway?" you ask rhetorically, following behind her.
"South, right?" she says, looking back to grin at you.
"Heh!"
You follow her as she walks ahead, in the daze she goes into during all of your silences. Her demeanor changes when she takes you off the beaten path and into the grass again. She's tracking; looking for disturbed plant-life, footprints, or other signs of human traffic. You walk for a couple of hours through the sparse but ever-thickening wood, and she doesn't say a word.
So, she actually can focus on something for a long period of time. You did underestimate her; however, she has to blot out all of her other thoughts to focus on one thought process. You can tell easily, as the silences you've shared haven't really been true silences. She'd often start the beginning of a sentence then stop suddenly, followed by a short yet awkward silence, followed by a quick apology when she suddenly remembered that you didn't really want to talk to her. Sometimes, she'd talk aloud anyway for a short time, just in case you were listening.
"I could get used to this..." you unintentionally say under your breath.
"What?" Holly asks, giving you a sharp look.
"Uhhh..." you say, half growling at her for hearing you and half trying to make an excuse for you to resume the silence.
"You could get used to this?" she asks angrily.
"Yeah..." you say, as if you were being forced to be honest this time. She's got sharp ears. "You're acting as if I hadn't said it before."
She just glares at you. The air seems to thin again. You find yourself on your guard. Ironically, the sky darkens considerably. You hear the roar of thunder in the distance, and you feel a raindrop on your chest. You bare your teeth in a smile with an emphasis on the right side of your mouth. Her anger is real, and you find yourself responding aggressively. You stop in your tracks. Maybe this could turn into a fun game...
"Yeah, you've said it before," she agrees, stopping and turning fully to you. "You said it to my face, then. You might have been an ass, but at least you were being honest!"
What? You were being honest... it was just a slip of the tongue. "That's not-"
"-and look at how happy it made you to piss me off!"
That's not even why..."You're wro-"
"Whatever. Enjoy your silence," she says, walking forward in a tiff. What's her problem? She's definitely overreacting. She's not even tracking anymore. You stab your sword into the ground and grasp the hilt to rest your arm on it, awaiting the inevitable.
Holly stops in her tracks, seeming to stare onward. After a few moments, she turns to you reluctantly. "What was I supposed to be doing again?"
"You were reverse-tracking the bandits to their base camp," you remind, sighing.
"Oh, right!" she says cheerfully, then she remembers she's mad at you. "...Jerk."
You follow her now that she's on the right track. Over time, the woods really seem to thicken, as does the storm overhead. The sound of thunder and the feeling of a raindrop happen more and more frequently, in harmony with the darkness of the sky. Eventually, Holly signals for you to stay quiet and leans against a tree. You simply stand where you are.
Up ahead, the trees begin to clear out. You can see rickety wooden walls decorated with equally rickety palisades. The woods only really begin to clear right before a separation in the walls. Holly beckons for you to follow her and leads you around the camp through the woods. There is no one in the clearing between the trees and the back wall at all. No entrances, either.
"Loose nails," Holly whispers confidently. You follow her to one of the tall boards and she pries the nails off it. She looks at you and points up. "Can I get a lift?"
"Yeah," you reply, closing in to help her get higher.
"Don't be afraid to use the butt," she says, biting her bottom lip.
"Meh..." you grumble, but do as instructed anyway, easily lifting her up by supporting her ass with one hand.
"It's nice, isn't it?" she asks flirtatiously.
"The nails..." you remind impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah..." she says, going to pull them out. "Higher. I want to peek over the fence."
You follow your instructions.
"Perfect! We're right behind a tent," she says. You let her down and remove the board. As you go to squeeze through, you see her simply enter the wall. She doesn't immediately emerge from the other side.
She leans her upper body out of the fence a moment later to look at you. "You're such a hassle, Titus."
"Yeah, yeah," you say.
She exits the large plank completely. The sky is so dark now that it casts the illusion of nighttime. Lightning begins to briefly light up the sky, and the rain begins to pour.
"You ready?" she asks, speaking loudly over the pouring rain.
"Yeah, let's play," you say excitedly, beginning to slowly walk around the right side of the back of the tent.
"Did you hear that, mate?" a voice yells.
"'ear what?"
"Sounds like somebody's talking!"
"The rules of this game..." you yell to Holly over the roar of thunder. "Don't let a single one escape! They all die here today!"
"Whoever kills the most wins!" she calls back, beginning to enter the fabric of the tent. "The loser has to do something for the winner!"
"Ha! Deal!" you wager. You turn the corner of the tent to run into the two investigators. They each have a rusty steel sword at their waists, and the one to your right carries a torch. They halt a few feet away from you, terrified by your bloodthirsty demeanor.
"H-help!" the torch carrier cries.
A. Cut off the torch carriers head and simultaneously stab the other with a surprise spear. B. Cut off the torch carriers head and turn the other into a pillar of salt. C. Swipe through them both in one powerful swing. D. Sling mud into their eyes, then beat them down mercilessly.
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Post by Yushinoki on Sept 24, 2011 0:20:08 GMT
You don't waste a second. You put your whole body into a one armed swing, cleaving through both of them with your massive sword. They both scream in realization of the end.
"Two!" you call out, hoping to hurt her morale.
"Two!" she echoes from somewhere in the camp.
"Heh," you laugh, approaching the light of a nearby torch. It's raining so hard, you can see no more than a few yards ahead of you, and that's probably assisted by the torch held firmly in the dead man's grasp.
"You're gonna die, you bastard!" a voice calls from the light.
As you and this torch-holder approach each other, you can make out three others with him. They all have some derivative of sword on their waists like the others. They draw their weapons, each right handed but one.
You can hear a very short struggle in the background. "Five!"
"Kill 'im!" one of the bandits in front of you yells. Despite this, they approach slowly, each sort of hiding behind the other rather than crowding you. The second furthest from you holds his sword in both hands on his left side. His body language screams, 'I'm going to attack you from my bottom-left'. The third one holds his sword back to his right, and pointed straight at you. Gonna stab me, huh? The torch holder stands back, bringing to the battle nothing but light.
Suddenly, the one nearest you leaps forward, holding his sword well above his head. He's putting all he has into this one, and the little guy is surprisingly fast.
A. A left jab would definitely beat him to the punch. You'll kick the second one before he can react, and the third is in perfect reach for a quick swipe of the sword. You'll quickly finish off the two on the ground, then target the torch-holder with a spear. Punch the first, kick the second, cut the third, then clean up.
B. You'll try to quickly cleave through all three in a massive swipe, then spear the fourth.
C. You'll quickly swing your sword, pulling it closer with your swing. It'll kill the nearest bandit. You'll use your strength to quickly recover, stepping into the second one with a back-swing; hoping to kill him before he even starts to swing. You'll sidestep the third, tapping your left hand to his head to infect him with your salt disease, then spear the torch-holder. Swiftly slash twice at the two nearest, then infect the third. Clean up.
D. Keep a distance from them, using your range and accuracy to your advantage. Can't win the game if you're dead, right?
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Post by Yushinoki on Sept 24, 2011 17:32:46 GMT
Quickly, you formulate a plan and react. You step left, bringing your sword across with your body. It slices halfway through the leaping bandit and slings him a few yards off. The second bandit reacts a little more quickly than you thought, but to no avail. You step back towards him, swinging your sword with the flow, just as he rears back for an attack. Your claymore slices through him like he was hot butter, separating his head at the jaw-line. Even as you resist the weight of your sword for a quick recovery, it lops off his forearms. The remaining bandit takes full advantage of your wild swing. You'd have to be blind to miss an opening like that. He charges you; his sword pointing at your belly. You simply continue your rightward movement to sidestep him, tapping his forehead as you pass. You can hear him panic and die as the torchbearer tries to take off. He finds a spear lodged into his spine.
"Six!" you yell, trying to make out any torchlight through the heavy rain.
The ground beneath you has become a grassy mud. You can hear voices yelling over the rain, but can't quite make them out. Still, it seems the surviving members are congregating. Fun. Sure enough, as they meet up, their torches give off enough light to give away their position. You jog towards them. As you reach the light, you find nothing but a bunch of torches stuck into the ground.
"Ey, that worked pretty good, boss," a voice says. Many other voices agree.
A trap. Who'd have thought they were capable? You laugh aloud at the situation. A slew of men walk into the light from all directions; eleven, to be exact. Hm... doesn't quite add up, but the man you interrogated did say 'about'... One of the men is quite large, standing up to about eye level to you. He has to be Ralph.
"Who do you think you are?" the man spits. "You think you can just waltz into MY CAMP, attack MY MEN, and just... waltz back out? Congratulations. You've earned yourself a slow death. First, we're gonna beat you within an inch of your life, then-"
"Eight!" Holly interjects from a distance, causing your assailants to scan the darkness around them.
The rain begins to slacken slightly. A temporary change, says the blackened sky.
"Hey, Holly!" you call. "Extra points for the leader?"
"...what?" Ralph asks.
A pause. "Leader is five points!" she decides. Heh, fair enough.
"Boy, don't you understand your own situation?" Ralph says threateningly. "Don't you-"
"Let me tell you something, Ralph," you interrupt sternly. "I didn't 'waltz' all the way out here to listen to you flap your gums. Kill me, or I'm going to kill you!"
"Heh heh!" Ralph laughs, his crew along with him. "You're dumber th-"
"Make a move!" you roar. The men don't, choosing instead to petrify in fear.
"Eleven!" Holly cheers. "You're behind, Titus!"
"Yeah, ye-" you start. What? That doesn't add up at all.
"Raaagh!" One of the bandits became brave, charging at you with his sword held high.
You point your sword in his path at the last second, causing him to run face first into the tip. That's seven... Holly's supposedly killed eleven. Twenty-eight total? Clearly, something's off. Whatever, as long as you end up with more points than she does.
"Anyone else?" you challenge. The men look ready to attack, but stay firmly planted. That's fine; you don't mind taking the fight to them.
A. Try to quickly dispatch Ralph with a surprise spear, then contend with the remaining men.
B. You've got to keep from being surrounded. Charge one of the smaller men, killing him and reclaiming your freedom.
C. Try to cleave through as many as possible in a bloody rampage.
D. Escape the circle, but with Ralph as your target.
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Post by Yushinoki on Sept 26, 2011 2:22:37 GMT
You make a left-handed throwing motion, and Ralph reflexively flinches. Your spear rests firmly in his heart, and he falls to the ground, dead. Boring. Holly would have dodged that...
"Leader's dead!" you shout. Twelve points total.
The bandits stand, shocked. "'e... 'e killed Ralph, man..."
"Run!" one yells, as the sun struggles to peak through the clouds, illuminating the camp temporarily. The rain slackens further, as well.
"No!" the one nearest Ralph's corpse yells. "James and his men will be back any second! Kill him!"
They all charge as instructed, rapidly closing the circle around you. This probably won't end well. You swing your sword full circle just as they enter your range, attempting to kill them all before one gets to you. Your sword slashes out the eyes of the man to your two o'clock, cuts through half of the second one's throat, beheads the third, and finally comes to a halt embedded deep into the shoulder of the man at ten o'clock. To your surprise, five swords don't stab into you. You glance behind you to see your remaining attackers on their knees, each bleeding from the throat. Five Hollys drip away behind them, turning black and conforming to the men's dead bodies, becoming their shadows once again. The real Holly waves at you with her sickle, which is detached from its chain.
"Sixteen," she says.
You approach the blinded man, ready to finish him off. He's tripping over himself and slipping in the mud. He quickly gives up trying to escape.
Pointing the wrong direction, he says, "You ain't s***! James and his men will be here any second!"
"How many?" you ask.
"Seven, including him!" he threatens. "The most badass mother f-"
You cut him off with a sword to the brain, then turn to Holly. "Sixteen."
"Who'd have thought we'd be tied?" she asks rhetorically. "You must have been really holding back during our little bout."
"You'll be eating those words soon enough," you say.
"We'll see..." she argues.
The two of you stand patiently, waiting for these so-called badasses. Within moments, you watch them walk through the gates, shocked at what they see. Six of them looked just like the others, but carried themselves with a little more presence of mind. The one in the middle looked more refined than the others. His clothes weren't dirty and his beard wasn't unkempt. He carried a hand-axe in each hand instead of one rusty sword.
"Hey! Over here!" Holly waves.
The men respond by instantly drawing their weapons and charging. The sun is overcome by clouds again as the two of you charge them as well. Holly is gaining distance on you, trying to rack up all the points first. You hurl a spear at the axeman, but right as it passes Holly, she kicks it, sending it hurtling into a different bandit.
"Seventeen," she says. She engages the axeman, and the rest ignore her and run at you. Determined. No diarrhea of the mouth. You like these guys.
You dodge and parry as they attack, more interested in the axeman. You can tell that he's strong. Stronger than Ralph, that's for sure. He's got to be worth more than one point. He's actually contending against Holly.
"Four points?" Holly asks, as if reading your mind.
"Fair enough," you agree. He should be worth more than that idiot, but then it wouldn't be a fair game anymore.
You're brought back to reality after a sword swipe narrowly misses your face. Bah... you don't want to fight these guys. You want to fight him. Badly enough to make you feel really anxious. You want these other guys out of the way, and now.
A. Use 'that' ability, involving the creation of iron. Exhausting, but efficient. B. Try to spear James while throwing down with the others. C. Use manipulation to trap your opponents in the mud, then go for the prize. D. Ignore James. If you kill the men in front of you, Holly can't win.
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Post by Yushinoki on Sept 27, 2011 0:29:59 GMT
{"Holly," you start, perched atop a grassy hill, overlooking a grassy valley. "Why did you ask me my name when you already knew it?"
"What makes you want to bring that up?" she asks, standing beside you.
"Well, you're dumb... but not that dumb..."
She turns her head to look at you through squinted eyes. "Ass."
You ignore the comment, continuing to stare into the clear, blue sky.
"Titus..." Holly starts after a few moments. "You ever get the feeling-"
"Hey," you say, oblivious to the fact that she was talking first. "Do you feel like we're supposed to be doing something?"
"..." She squints her eyes further, but decides to shrug off your rudeness. "Yeah. I feel like I'm supposed to be fighting or something..."
"That's exactly what I was talking about..." you say. "Weird."
"Yeah..."
You pluck a weed and begin to chew on it.
"So... are we just going to forget about it?"
"Forget what?"
"You're seriously not that dumb," you reason. "You might have some brain damage or something."
"Shut up, Titus. I feel like... that wasn't exactly me who made that mistake."
"I see."
"You're not going to call me crazy?"
"I... kind of feel the same way sometimes. Like I'm not even making my own decisions."
"So I'm not the only one..."
"Haha! Now that I think about it, how do I know I'm ever really making my own decisions?"
"It's like we're characters in some kind of story or something," Holly laughs. "That's what I was about to ask you earlier."
"Haha, maybe you're right," you say, shifting your view straight up. "Whoever the 'author' is... he's got some real emotional problems."
"Why's that?"
"How're you just gonna kill off everyone I know like that?" you yell to the sky. "I function on alcohol thanks to you!"
"Haha... there is no 'author'," Holly reasons. "He could have planned any life for you, but he chose that?"
"Maybe he's just a jerk."
"Maybe so. Who really knows?"
"Man... life really is pointless," you sigh.
"They're getting minds of their own again..." says a strange voice, either from the depths of your mind or from the vastness of heaven. Either way, you pay it no mind.
Suddenly, from the same place, you hear the snap of fingers.
You're brought back to reality after a sword swipe narrowly misses your face. Bah... you don't want to fight these guys. You want to fight him. Badly enough to make you feel really anxious. You want these other guys out of the way, and now.
A. Use 'that' ability, involving the creation of iron. Exhausting, but efficient. B. Try to spear James while throwing down with the others. C. Use manipulation to trap your opponents in the mud, then go for the prize. D. Ignore James. If you kill the men in front of you, Holly can't win.}
You're going to go all out and win this in an instant. You take a few more moments to concentrate as you dodge and parry the bandits' swings. They close in around you, ready to coordinate an attack. Unfortunately for them, everything within a three yard radius from where you stand is coated in a metallic shell in the blink of an eye.
Immediately after you flash freeze the bandits, you see Holly's weight connect with the back of one's head, causing a loud ringing sound.
"You were... too slow," you say in-between breaths, at such a volume that you were only really talking to yourself. You feel heavy, so you stab your sword into the ground and lean on one of the newly-created statues. You grin at your work of art. "Sorry guys... you won't stay conscious for long."
You intently watch the battle between Holly and James. You've got probably one more spear in you, and you'll use it at the perfect moment. Holly is applying all the pressure, using only the sickle in her left hand. The chained weight simply drags along the ground, grasped tightly in her right hand. She swings for his temple, using the hooked nature of the sickle to simultaneously attack and defend. He barely moves his head out the of way after a successful block. She kicks him before he manages to counterattack, sending him stumbling backwards. That's when you launch your spear. He sees it form in his peripheral and raises his axes in panic, miraculously managing to block it.
"Son of a b-!"
He's interrupted by another swipe from Holly's sickle. He ducks it and stumbles over to get away, thinking too fast for his feet. He recovers quickly and without a drop in speed, launching one of his axes at you in the process. You lazily unearth the tip of you sword, letting the dangling blade easily deflect it. James wisely keeps himself a moving target, but after only a few steps, Holly's chain wraps around his legs. James slams face first into the ground, and Holly immediately closes in for the kill. A spear could easily beat her to him, but you're not sure you have another one in you.
A. Attempt to kill him with a spear B. Chuck your massive sword at him C. Let her get the tie
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Post by Yushinoki on Sept 28, 2011 16:48:25 GMT
You summon your remaining strength and step forward, dragging your massive sword behind you. You crow hop, putting all your weight into a mighty throw. You feel light-headed, and your vision doubles, but you recollect your vision in order to watch your sword sail through the air towards James. Holly gets low to the ground, ready to pounce. You've never used it as a projectile before, but the claymore looks like it might just hit its mark. Holly quickly approaches the downed man, leaping on him and sinking her sickle into his spine just as the claymore stabs through the back of his head and into the ground. Holly's reaction tells a different story, though. She simply stares down at the dead man she's straddling as you approach.
"What's wrong, Holly?" you instigate. "Did I beat you to him?"
She turns to you with an uneasy look on her face. "...what are you going to do to me?"
"Haven't decided yet," you say, plucking your sword from the mud. "Some damn peace and quiet sounds nice, though."
'Hmf!' She walks off without responding, reassembling the kusari-gama and concealing it. You follow her to the biggest tent in the camp. Upon entering, she turns the place upside down. You start to look around a little, yourself. You come across a shirt your size. Must be Ralph's... As you pick it up in front of you to examine it, a knife tears it asunder.
You give Holly an irritated look. "What the f***?"
"Come on... you don't need one of those..." she suggests, her face expressing poorly hidden mischief. She immediately resumes her search.
You scratch your head and grunt impatiently as you go through more of Ralph's belongings. You find an expensive-looking leather chest-piece and pick it up for a closer inspection. It's tough; really good protection against slashing weapons, blunt objects, and smaller blades. It doesn't cover much ground, though. Your neck and sides are still fully exposed. You strap it on. If you decide you don't like it, you'll sell it when you get the chance.
"Ah! Here we are!" Holly says, picking up a very clean looking heavy cavalry saber. It's mid-length, straight, single-edged, and comes equipped with a sheath and strap. She throws it on over her shoulder before drawing it and playing with it for a second. "Not the weight I'm used to, but it'll work..."
"Let's go," you say.
"Alright," she agrees.
She leaves the tent without looking at you. She's overreacting again; playing the sore loser. Amusing. You subconsciously grin your own mischievous grin before following her out. It's the perfect time to piss her off... What should your prize for winning be?
A. Make her carry your sword for you until you get to the next town. B. You've earned some peace and quiet. She won't be allowed to speak for a while. C. Have her sell her new sword she likes so much. D. Make up your own. Could be almost anything; you have imaginations. E. My choice
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Post by Yushinoki on Sept 29, 2011 2:57:48 GMT
"Holly," you call, following her out of the camp.
"What?" she responds shortly.
"...You better lose that attitude."
"...sorry," she says, scratching the back of her head in shame. "I thought I was mad that I lost."
"You thought?" you ask condescendingly.
"Yeah... turns out, it just makes me hotter for you," she says, turning to smile seductively.
"You're annoying," you grunt, tracking through the mud back toward the trail South, the rain picking up again as you go. "Maybe I should shut that mouth of yours for good."
"You never want me to talk again?" she asks sadly.
"..."
"Nah," she says, newly self-assured. "You talk back too much for that to be the case."
"Heh!"
"And when you thought you were hurting my feelings, you couldn't make yourself go any further," she adds, smiling happily. "You're a real sweetheart."
"I'm going to wait..." you say, ignoring her accusations.
"Hm?"
"Let's go get drunk. Then I'll think of something embarrassing for you to do that'll make this detour worthwhile."
"You even want to drink with me again?" she asks, ignoring your taunt. "Admit it, you want to be friends."
"If you'd shut your mouth every now and again, I might want to."
Surprisingly, she shuts up with no signs of attitude. You enjoy several hours of peace as you journey to the trail and follow it South. Eventually, the trail branches off to the East, and you follow it that way.
"The town's up ahead," Holly says, breaking her fast a short while later.
"I'm going straight to the bar," you say with a hint of enthusiasm.
"Come on, Titus... you don't need a drink that badly..." she says with sincerity. "We're soaking wet!"
"It rains," you say. You might not need it, but you want it.
"We should go to the inn, get a room, and dry off for a while," she says. Then, an idea is evident on her face. "We could warm each other up under the sheets while our clothes dry..."
"Damn, Holly." You do note that the normally cool early autumn air has become somewhat chilling.
"It's the muscles!" she says defensively. Her face then expresses sincere sadness. "I'm sorry I ripped your shirt, Titus!"
"Haha! You forgot about it, didn't you?"
She nods shamefully. "I'm sorry I was a sore loser, too."
"Shut up. Let's get a drink. The alcohol will warm us up," you say as you approach the town. It's about three times larger than the village you lived in.
"Okay," she agrees happily.
You find a bar fairly close to the outskirts of the town, and head straight there. The two of you enter and take your seats. As usual upon entering a new place, the people are terrified. A few run out screaming, the bartender being one.
"T-take whatever you want!" he cries before he makes his escape.
The remaining people trickle out over time, afraid to do anything but whisper. Only a handful of men stick around, minding their own business and drowning their own problems.
"Well, looks like we've got the place to ourselves," Holly says, sliding over the bar to grab some bottles of whiskey. She brings four of them over and reclaims her seat.
"Thanks," you say, unscrewing the cap and taking a deep drink. Holly follows suit.
"How much are you planning on drinking?"
"I don't intend to remember much of tonight," you say.
She takes another swig. "Sounds fun! We probably have three days or so before we should start really watching our steps, anyway."
"How'd you get that?" you ask skeptically, beginning to chug.
"It's the way it's done," she shrugs. "I've been handed the death penalty, but I'm not that special. Master dedicates only twelve men, six of them hawk-bearers, to tracking down any particular deserter; divided into teams of two. I've killed them all. In a matter of days, my master, with no update, would have sent a single group of three to the final hawk-bearer's general position. Fast as they might be, they won't have caught scent of me for at least three more days."
"Damn," you say, having finished your entire bottle. "You're smarter than it seems, after all."
"Finally, some respect," she sighs, then takes another large sip. "This town is a good place to prepare. We should spend all three days here."
"How much preparation is really necessary?" you ask, opening a new bottle.
"Well... a fight against two of my peers is not a joke at all. Nothing but close calls, one after the other. Throw a third into the mix and I would have died ten times out of ten. Even though I have you with me..."
"What're you trailing off for?"
"I'm not trying to be mean, Titus," she says, looking you in the eye seriously, "but you're not strong enough to make that much of a difference."
"Heh... maybe not. Who cares?"
"You're forgetting something again," she says. "I'm not the only one being hunted down relentlessly. If we die, your sister dies as well."
"If she hasn't already..." you say, chugging away again. To care is such a burden.
"I didn't want to say it..."
"It's fine. I've got to try anyway."
"So, we're in this to win it. I underestimated you at first. I never thought you'd actually beat me today, so I'm impressed. If you follow my strategy to the letter, you'll make all the difference. I'll get into that later. We need to prepare first."
"Got it," you say.
The two of you sip in silence for a while. You feel Holly was right about the mutual underestimation. She may talk too much, but she's at least interesting, and most importantly, offers you countless life or death battles to come. You can't help but grin in anticipation.
A. Get to know her a little better B. Find out more about her village, peers, and master C. Ask her about the specifics of preparation D. Drink until you're too drunk to stay awake E. Custom question
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Post by Yushinoki on Oct 2, 2011 16:12:33 GMT
"Why'd you leave your village?" you ask.
"I'm tired of all the senseless killing," she says.
"You mean you had a lot of contracts you couldn't agree with," you comment. She clearly has no qualms when ending a life.
"Exactly. But 'a lot' is an understatement. We didn't discriminate one bit. Money took precedence over all else."
"Money for what?"
"Hm..." she ponders. "Good question."
Hm... 'master' is up to no good. "Tell me about your master and the origins of your village."
"My master is the origin of our village. He founded it with a group of his followers a hundred years ago."
"...a hundred?"
"That's right. He's looked like an old man of his late sixties for as long as I've known him. According to the villagers, he's looked the same way as long as they've known him, too."
"...interesting. Continue," you say.
"After the village was founded, master's followers entrusted their children to him so that he could teach them his ways, as well. When the children were skilled enough in his arts, master's small village became a formidable military force. He offered to take in nearby villages if they accepted him as their leader. Most gladly accepted, eager for protection, but a few refused. He had them destroyed and indoctrinated the surviving inhabitants.
Despite his relatively small numbers, he was powerful enough now that a military power to the North requested his help in destroying one to the East. He accepted, and took in a number of orphans throughout the short war. Since then, he's divided the responsibilities of running the village amongst his most skilled subordinates and taken up a cane," she explains.
"Oh, he's been sixty for a hundred years and now he's too old?" you ask skeptically.
"Yeah... it's strange but true," she says. The two of you break for a bit to drink.
"And where did you fall into all this?"
"Well..."
"Short story," you interrupt before she gets going.
"Right. War orphan, only student trained by Master Miagi since he took up his cane, elite squad member, elite squad leader, elite ninja instructor, elite squad leader instructor, lone wolf, and now... deserter," she paraphrases.
"S***, that's a long list. How old are you, anyway?"
"I'm eighteen," she says, almost proudly.
"What?" you ask in surprise.
"What?" she repeats defensively.
"You're... young!"
"So?"
"You were eight when you were assigned my contract? That's impressive..."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I kind of don't believe you."
"It's true!"
"I know, I know. Calm down," you reassure.
"...do you like that, Titus?" she flirts. "You prefer them young and naive, don't you?"
"Why are you asking me that?" you grunt.
"That's not a 'no'," she grins.
"Seriously, though. Why do you always say things like that? I get your point, damn it. You don't have to keep reminding me."
"...got it," she says hollowly, going back to her drink.
You drink as well to an awkward silence.
A. It's a good time to call it a night. B. Ask her about herself. C. Ask her about preparations. D. Ask her what the problem is. E. Ask her to elaborate on the abilities of her fellow villagers. F. Custom
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Post by Yushinoki on Oct 6, 2011 2:32:01 GMT
"Holly, how do you do what you do?" you ask curiously.
"Are you finally coming onto me?" she asks happily.
"Just stop," you grunt. "Walking through walls, killing people with their shadows..."
"Oh..." She sighs disappointedly. "I'm going to go over that later."
"I'm interested now," you complain.
"I thought we were going to have a good time..."
"I said I was going to drink a lot," you correct.
"You're not drunk yet?" she asks, surprised. "Damn, Titus."
"No. Why don't you tell me about this before I do get drunk?"
"Hey, I drank a whole bottle. I don't know what kind of creature you are, but we humans normally get a little drunk after that," she explains sassily.
You grunt in frustration. Holly turns away from you to lean on the bar, and the awkward atmosphere returns.
Overreacting again. It makes a little more sense now because of her age, but she's still being ridiculous. Throwing a small fit because she's not getting what she wants... 'Master' had spoiled her, you're sure.
"Holly, don't you understand?" you manipulate. "I'm interested in something about you."
She perks up a little and turns to you. "Hm?"
"You heard me," you say with false gentleness.
"You're lying," she skepticizes. "You're trying to manipulate me into telling you."
"Holly..." you plead, pseudo-hurt. "I know I can be rough sometimes, but I wouldn't lie to you..."
She looks down for a moment, contemplating your statement.
"Would I?"
"No, but you'd definitely f*** with me," she says dismissively, turning away again.
"True," you laugh.
"S***, you're an ass. Your laughter even sounds like growling."
"Just answer my damn question," you command.
"You first."
"Uh..." You try to recall the things your father told you long ago, but it's all so hazy. "I don't remember. I just can."
"And you want me to go into detail?" she sighs.
You nod.
She fully faces you and sits cross legged. "I won't, but I'll give an overview. We all have seven chakras. At the bottom, we have the base or root chakra." She points to her legs, then moves up. "Then we have the sacral chakra, the solar plexus chakra, the heart chakra, the throat chakra, the third eye-"
"That's it!"
"Hm?"
"That's how I do it. My 'third eye'," you explain.
"Really?" she asks excitedly. "You're a ninja, too!"
"Heh, I guess so..." you joke.
"Although, if you were going by the same concept, you'd be using your crown chakra," she says, pointing slightly above her head. "Maybe that's why I was so impressed with you. Master is the only one I know who can pull his chakras all the way through the crown. I'd have to write a long scroll to be able to imitate the power of the crown chakra, but you two can do it at will. It's genuinely impressive."
"Chakras, huh..." you ponder. Doesn't ring a bell. Few things have failed to ring a bell for you in your life, so 'chakra' must be a word for something else. The word brings back a fuzzy old memory that squirms out of your grasp every time you try to recollect it. A fuzzy image of your still incognito mother is all you can grasp. Frustrated, you take a break from it.
"More drinks?"
"Mhmm. What kinds of abilities do you gain from the other chakras?"
"None, until you can manipulate them with the third eye chakra," she explains, retrieving four more bottles.
"What kinds of abilities are gained through that?"
"Oh... that's a long list. We can travel through dense objects, manipulate shadows, mold perfect disguises... just to name a few. Those are the ones we need to really look out for, anyway. Few of my peers have mastered any of them, and fewer still show any talent in more than one individual skill."
"Can you get more into detail?
"Enough for now. I'm bored. I'm going to go pay for a room."
"Fine," you say, returning to your drinks.
You drink in solitude as you always had, only with a sense of euphoria. You're very excited, and all you care about is your dance with death. You drink to the point that even you can't navigate without stumbling. You think you got up from your stool, then the next thing you know, you're out of the bar. You trudge through the mud, concentrating only on walking. You enter a building that, by some miracle, happens to be the inn. The owner helpfully guides you to your room. It's dark, but you can make out a bed, which you crawl into.
"Mm... I knew you'd come around..." a tired voice whispers in your ear.
You reflexively shove her away, clear out of the bed, and begin to drift away seconds later.
"What the f***?" she whines, standing up groggily. "There are two beds, you know."
You mutter unintelligibly at her.
"That's my bed. I saw it first," she explains. "I was in it first. In fact, I was already sleeping. How are you just gonna push me out?"
You mumble again, with some authority. Whoever was in your bed was really annoying you.
"What? Your bed? I paid for the room! I'm sleeping in that bed, Titus."
You say something at her again.
"You're really drunk, aren't you? Hehe... I could do whatever I want to you right now, can't I?"
You muster up the cognition to say, "Go away!"
She whines, but gets into the other bed and keeps quiet. You fall asleep nearly immediately.
.....
"Titus..." a small boy says. He looks a lot like you, only his hair is very straight and thin, and red is still its primary color.
"..."
"Yes, it's me," he says.
"..."
"Welcome home."
"I have no home," you argue.
"..."
"This is a dream, isn't it?"
"Follow me."
.....
You find yourself in a large, blurry library. The ground is either blue carpet are dark cement. You can't really tell. Out of a thick mist, the tops of bookshelves and ladders make themselves apparent. On their own, the ladders seem to glide to the left-hand side of the large room. You follow them.
"Read whatever you want, Titus," a strangely familiar voice says.
You're filled with the desire to follow the voice's instructions. But where do you begin? There's a lot here to choose from...
"Go ahead..." the voice ushers.
"..."
"Fine. I'll narrow it down for you, Titus. There's an important test for you to study for, isn't there?"
Suddenly, a selection of books appears on a table, which seems to have appeared from nowhere as well. You have a feeling that all of it has been here all along, though. You take a seat at the desk and everything else seems to fade away. You look at the covers of the five books before you.
A. Earthen manipulation(Mold your environment) B. General primal creation(Take a step towards mastering the 'elements') C. Earthen creation(Learn new earthen techniques and further understand current ones) D. Body and Mind(learn to listen to your body) E. Earthen manipulation(Molecular reconstruction of metals for beginners)
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Post by Yushinoki on Oct 7, 2011 20:36:51 GMT
You pick up the book entitled Body and Mind. You close it again with the strange feeling that either a lot of time flew by, or none at all.
.....
You see a gentle brightness, surrounded by an intense white, almost like a tunnel. Two human shapes stand before you, pure white, yet hazy. They have no features; just white silhouettes. They seem almost unstable, like they were pure energy.
"Hello, Titus," the one on your right says, his voice both comforting and demanding of respect.
"...who are you?"
"I'm Titus," he says.
"Oh... and I guess you're Titus, too, right?" you ask, looking to the being on your left.
"Yes, I'm Titus," it explains. "I'm also Holly, Lilith, Kara, Marcus, Malduin, Hoyt, Michael, Clyde..."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well-"
"Ehh," the being on your right interjects. "He's not going to remember this anyway. Maybe another time?"
"Yes... for now," the being on your left begins, "let's talk about you."
"Me? Nothing to talk about."
"Everything to talk about," 'Titus' corrects.
You remain silent.
"Fine," 'everyone else' says. "Let's talk about living through the next few days, then. You'll never grow up if you're dead."
"Titus... you have many dreams every time you sleep," 'Titus' says. "And you have a bad habit of forgetting them."
"That aside, you need to try your best to remember one. Do you remember a library?"
"...no," you respond honestly.
"You read a book about your body and mind?"
That does sound familiar...
"What did you lean from it?"
A. I remember reading about muscle memory. (Titus masters weapons even more quickly, and gets a boost in skill to those he already uses.)
B. I remember reading about the separation of body and mind. (Titus masters his individual abilities more quickly, and gets a boost to those he already knows.)
C. I remember reading about breathing exercises. (Durability increase, and abilities are less tiring)
D. I remember reading about having trust in my body. (Reflex boost, and the feeling that something bad is about to happen is more prominent)
E. I didn't read about the body and mind. I read about... 1.Earthen Manipulation 2. Primal creation 3. Earthen creation 4. The molecular manipulation of metal objects
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Post by Yushinoki on Oct 9, 2011 4:06:33 GMT
"Separate the body from the mind," you recall.
"You chose well," 'Titus' says.
"What does that really mean?" the other being asks.
"I..."
"What you have here is a stepping stone. Try... dwelling in something worth dwelling in."
The being that claims your name reaches to you. You find yourself reaching back. As soon as you touch, all goes white. Your skin horripilates intensely, and you almost feel like crying.
Startled, you sit up in a cold sweat. You take in your surroundings, trying to remember where you are.
"Finally up, huh?"
"Holly?" you ask. She's leaning against her bed, sitting cross-legged in front of a long piece of paper.
"Who else?" she asks with an eyebrow raised. "How much did you drink last night?"
You shrug. You can't remember what happened last night, but you know that if you try, you'll lose sight of some vague memory that's trying to escape your grasp.
"What were you dreaming about?" Holly asks.
"I don't remember..." you reply, shrugging again.
"Whatever it was, it must have been stressful," she comments, returning to her work. "But not as stressful as reality. Now would be a good time to start preparing. It's noon."
"Yeah..." you reply, stepping out of bed.
"There's a smith and a leatherworker in town," she suggests.
"Yeah," you say, beginning to walk out of the room. Despite this nagging memory, you feel oddly refreshed.
"What's wrong?" she asks.
"Nothing," you reply. "I... think I'm in a good mood today."
"Really? You have those?" she teases.
"No... Never," you answer honestly, leaving the room.
You exit the inn to another stormy day. The wind and rain feel good on your skin. You take a moment to stretch. Today feels like a great day. You can't help but grin as you step through the mud. Why?
Yesterday, you were looking forward to a glorious dance with death. Whether or not you walked away didn't matter. You told yourself you would at least try to live for the sake of an old bond, but you couldn't truly care. Numb and bored. That was the story of your life. Suddenly, you find yourself appreciating the rain. Maybe you should value your life. But why?
Stumped, you tell yourself that it's because there are many more fights ahead. A small voice laughs at you condescendingly from inside your head, but you don't notice. There's no point to life. Your sudden desire to live must stem from a need to grow stronger. You want to survive only so that you can fight again. Preparations might be necessary, after all.
A. Visit the smith B. Visit the leatherworker C. Find a quiet place to train D. Sit around and try to remember your dream
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Post by Yushinoki on Oct 10, 2011 17:37:32 GMT
"Can't afford it, huh?" you ask, disappointed. You approach the counter with your claymore held high, tip down, and stab it into the counter. The man falls back and leans against the wall behind him. "Maybe we can work out a trade?"
"P-please... I have a family!" he pleads.
"Relax..." you say ambiguously. "It's just trade..."
"Y-yeah..." the man stammers.
"Your family needs a way to preserve meat, right?"
"Yes..." he answers.
You touch a rusty sword in clear need of repair, turning it to salt. The man attempts to shrink back further, sliding down the wall a little.
"I'll give you plenty-"
"Don't kill me, sir..."
"What part of 'trade' don't you understand?" you scowl. "You think I get off on scaring pitiful little humans like you?"
"Isn't that what demons do?" the man asks nervously, his cowardice strangely giving him a twisted sense of courage.
"Demon?" you ask, suddenly distracted. "Is that all you humans ever talk about?"
"N-no sir... I mean yes... What do you want me to say?!"
Frustrated, you hop over the counter and pick the man up by his shirt, bringing him to eye level. "I want you to say you'll accept salt as currency for those nice toys you have over there."
"Yes!" the man says. "Anything!"
You growl and release him. "I'll throw in some iron, too. Say 'thank you'."
"Thanks, sir..."
You walk out of the building with three throwing knives in your pocket, a nice piece of steel protecting your right shoulder and part of your neck, the unwieldy zweihander resting on it, and your lighter, more manageable claymore in your left hand. You feel like a walking armory. You could probably pick up a few leather pieces from the leatherworker in a similar manner. After that, there would be nothing to do but practice for a few days. You have at least two left.
A. Visit the leatherworker B. Find a secluded place to practice your sword play. C. Train your mental abilities. D. On second thought, you'll mess around today. 1. Scout out the town. 2. Go bother holly 3. Visit the bar 4. Take a nap
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Post by Yushinoki on Oct 14, 2011 17:51:44 GMT
You make your way out of the town and into the woods, not stopping until you find a nice, open area by a stream. You stab your swords into the ground and take a seat on a fallen tree that bridges the stream. You'll spend some time perfecting your arts like you used to do from time to time before you became bored with life. But, where to start?
As you sit, pondering, an image of white light flickers in your mind's eye. It felt like a memory. You try to recall the mental image, but it's hard. Another slippery thought. This time, however, you find a place to grab on. You remember some being of pure white. You know he spoke to you, but you can't remember what he said.
'Book', an inner voice suggests, just when you were ready to give up. Sure enough, you remember reading one, but you can't remember what it said. In a fit of frustration and indecisiveness, you hop up and grab your new sword. You swing in an arc with both hands. It's not too heavy for you that way, but the weapon is still awkward. Recovery is a little tough. You swing again and again, trying to perfect your stroke, but you find it hard to pay attention. Your mind drifts as you cut down invisible targets.
'Twisting and contorting, you swallow yourself whole.'
A line from the book in your dream. A start, you figure. You rest your sword on your shoulder and grab the other one, incorporating that into your shadow-fighting. You have to use a lot of body weight to swing the zweihander one handed. Once it's in motion, it's like an unstoppable force, but you're extremely open after a swing. In your left hand, your claymore can't cleave through more than one unarmored person, probably, but you can make swift stabbing motions and light swings to cover yourself while preparing the zweihander for another swipe. You practice for a few minutes before losing track of your thoughts again.
'Twisting and contorting, you swallow your Self whole.'
That's how it was worded... But what is your 'Self'? You hate potatoes and boredom, and like to drink and fight. That's what defines you, right?
'Fear not your shadow. Poke it and prod it until it regurgitates you.'
That doesn't make any sense at all. Maybe this is a waste of time. You swing heavily with your claymore from right to left, letting the weight of the stroke assist you in bringing your larger weapon across as well. You abandon it post-swing, continuing your rotation and releasing a spear as fast as you can when you come full-circle. The aim is incredibly off. You grumble, drop the claymore, and return to your seat. You need work. Holly was avoiding two-handed swings of your claymore, and your future opponents will act similarly. If they have her ability, your salt disease and iron encasing abilities will have no effect, as well.
'Your Self is pure; your shadow black. It twists and schemes and lies, but it is not evil. It is a part of you, as well. Embrace it. The shadow is where creativity hides. Separate its confusing properties from the pure Self, and instead manipulate your shadow.'
"Of course..." you say, placing your palm to your cheek, covering an eye in a strange sense of embarrassment. It's always been about emotion. When you get a little too upset, your abilities go out of control. This 'shadow' deals in that emotion, and it has swallowed you up. If you can appreciate your anger instead of becoming overwhelmed, you could get the same result without loss of control. Efficient creativity.
But how do you separate them? Stumped, you hop up again and launch another fast spear. This time, it thuds into a tree, right where you expected it to land. You smile in triumph. It may seem impossible, but it'll only remain that way unless you try to change it. You'll give this 'separation of body and mind' a shot in the dark.
Where to start?
A. Try to develop a new creation B. Try to master earthen manipulation C. Try to manipulate the water in the stream D. Improve on an already existing ability E. Meditate on your past
You'll start practicing your manipulation. As you are now, you can use the mud to your advantage, but its hold on your opponents is weak. You can use it on one opponent at a time. Not very useful, so you stopped using it. Now, however, you can see the potential.
You can make similar particles work together as a whole, like dirt or sand. You can control only small quantities when manipulating the particles to act quickly and then cease. You use this to shoot a bit of dirt or sand into an opponents eyes. If you try to control more, the movement of the materials is slow. You could create a moving wall, but you'd have to see an attack coming from a mile away to get it up in time, so you never bothered.
It's difficult, but you can move chunks of earth in a similar manner. You might one day be able to toss boulders, but as it is, you can't pick up more than a few pebbles.
A. Improve mud shackles B. Practice manipulating quantities of particles C. Practice manipulating dense objects.
You decide to focus on the manipulation of dense objects. You'll have to start small. You focus on a tiny chunk of the fallen tree, looking beyond the bark. Hours pass before you successfully pull the chunk away from the tree. The small, somewhat spherical piece of wood levitates, bobbing up and down, closer to you. The next hour you dedicate to throwing this piece of wood with enough force to knock someone out.
After only doing each action once, you never fail to replicate them again. You move on to picking out more than one chunk at a time, collecting them in a strange, seemingly gravitationally bound revolution around you. You find that once this force has been established, it takes less concentration to keep the objects afloat. You can collect six small objects at once. If you try another, the first falls to the ground to return to its lifelessness. You only have the mental focus to throw one at a time, and make no progress in improving this. You move on to making heavier projectiles. You manage to grab a section of the tree and put it in revolution in a relatively short amount of time. The speed at which it revolves is slower, but paired with the size, the object could knock someone unconscious just by floating into them. Before nightfall, you manage to throw it at bone breaking speed. It's easier to dodge than the smaller pieces, though.
You realize that the spears you create would be easy to control using this method. You create one and lift it into the air effortlessly. Imagining the body motion you make when you throw a spear, you send it flying into a tree with perfect accuracy. How's that for body and mind?
You find you can lift four at a time. You can only throw them one by one, but using your real arm, you can throw two simultaneously. By now, it's late, so you begin your return to the inn. Along the way, you practice tearing pieces of earth from beneath the flooded grass. It dawns on you that you could pull up a large section of earth temporarily. You stop every few steps to practice this. By the time you make it out of the woods, you can lift an earth wall, seven feet high, for about five seconds.
You stop your creations as you enter the town, headed straight for the inn. You clean the mud from your feet and enter your room. Holly is in the same spot she was when you left her, doing the same thing with a bored expression.
"Hey, Titus," she greets, happy for a distraction.
"Is that the same one as from earlier today?" you ask.
"Yeah..." she sighs. "This here is our trump card."
"What is it?"
"It's a jutsu called 'Dragon's Breath'. All you need to know is: stand behind me when I use it."
"Ooh..." you say in admiration. "I like the sound of that."
"Haha..." she laughs to herself. "No you don't. Not if you're a fan of eardrums."
"Heh! I like it even more!"
"Unfortunately, I've got a time limit, and more scrolls to prepare. Sorry, but I need to concentrate."
"Peace and quiet?" you ask happily.
"Ha ha," she mocks.
You get in your bed and suddenly realize you're exhausted. You close your eyes heavily. What will you do tomorrow?
A. Stick around Holly B. Scout out the town C. Hit the bar D. Train some more E. Sleep
You wake before you know it to another dreary morning. Holly sits cross-legged in front of a scroll.
"Is that still the same one?" you ask incredulously.
"Nope!" she says happily. "I finally finished that one about... five minutes ago. You're up early this time. Didn't you drink?"
"No," you reply. "Not me..."
She blinks. "You're still in a good mood, I see."
"I guess so," you reply, sitting up.
"What did you do, then?"
You answer her question by making your new sword float.
"Oh, learned a new trick? That's so cool!"
"Thanks..." you reply, standing out of bed. You grab your things and make your way to the door. "Have fun..."
"Yeah yeah," she sighs, grumpily returning to her work.
You head back to your training ground.
A. Work on creation 1. General primal 2. Earth
B. Work on manipulation 1. General primal 2. Earth
C. Work on swordplay/ meditate
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