"I think this changes nothing at the moment," said Mehir. "We still have our missions, and we'd better complete them; we simply will have to defeat those two evildoers after that... And, to be honest, they seem to be as bad as the Tharis. It seems that evil is truly widespread among the multiverse..."
He sheathed his scimitar and formed two Magic Arrows, one around each hand. "Let's do this," he said.
On empty crossroads, seek the eclipse -- for when Sol and Lua align, the lost shall find their way home.Earlier
The monster loomed before her as she swept along the rooftop, sword raised and mouth open in a fierce battle-cry -
Then a gust of wind blew past the transformed schoolgirl’s face, and with it, the streets of Japan melted away, leaving the Chosen Hero of the Goddesses standing in the middle of the rolling, infinite plains of the outskirts of the Crystal City, eyes wide in shock and chest heaving at the sheer abruptness of the change in scenery. His hands were trembling, he realized –
He dropped his sword. His hands?
A single, frantic glance at the leather palms of his brown gauntlets confirmed his mounting suspicion, for the skin that did show through the various slits in the material was rough and callused. They were no longer the hands of a schoolgirl, but the hands of a ranch hand. The hands of a warrior.
So, he had returned. He had finally left that world, with all its strange customs and overwhelming oddities… and with it went his mother. For a moment, the slightest hint of disappointment showed in Link’s eyes – then he shook his head and smiled softly, kneeling down to pick up the Master Sword where it lay. His right hand was still clenched even as he grasped the sacred weapon’s purple hilt, and only after he had safely returned it to its gilded sheath did he straighten up and open his fist.
In it was a small piece of stiff, laminated paper, about the size of a large postage stamp, with an incredibly realistic picture of his mother’s smiling face on the embossed side. She was wearing a green apron and holding a batter-smeared spatula in her left hand – as if the image had been taken impromptu, during the middle of a baking session. He wondered… was it Lyn herself who had taken the photo, unaware of it as he was in his ignorance regarding his female counterpart’s previous life?
Smiling to himself at the question, Link turned it over, looking for a long moment at the message he had found in his lunchbox that one day after Aiko-sensei’s class.
Have a great day, Honey.
Love forever,
Mom.
So, that was it. He had finally seen the truth. Being able to see his mother’s face…. it had been a gift of the Goddesses - and for that, he was grateful. He would always be grateful.
His mother loved him. She would always love him, no matter where he was.
Forever.
Later
It was with this encouraging hope in his heart that Link followed the others into the portal, and it was with a smile on his face that he followed Gray and his compatriots through this strange world of high technology he called his home, taking in the red-haired man’s information about rogue robots and dead colleagues and a destructive, corrupting gadget without much more than a determined nod in acceptance of their mission.
He had been surprised when the Mavericks had raided their train carriage (it seemed that other worlds had trains, too), but that brief feeling soon passed – only to be replaced by a feeling of pointed antagonism and suppressed outrage as the malicious duo who called themselves Prometheus and Pandora left the car.
“If it’s a game they want… we’ll give them a game,” he muttered. “Let’s go.”
edited 8th Jan '12 5:10:27 AM by troydenite
Grey nodded slowly to Dubix; it was pretty obvious he wasn't relishing the prospect. He thought they were finally done with Model W once and for all, but two people from his past who should have been dead by all rights had shown up to prove otherwise. Aile looked up to Jail, deep in thought. "I know those two - it's pretty obvious that they wanted to provide an extra incentive for finding the Model Ws... but why?"
"No," Master Thomas shook his head. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but those two are probably custom built, and they certainly haven't been showing up at Legion facilities, so we have no information on them beyond what Grey and Aile can provide, and they don't know much more than we did. However, we can provide you with weapons. They're only handheld busters, but they should work well enough. We'll get you to the areas via TranServer - teleporters. Aile and I will provide guidance via radio."
Master Thomas paused. "Many of you do not appear to have one, though, so you will either have to get instructions from those or do or we can offer you our own. It's the least we can do after what has happened."
"Let's get going," said Grey, staring out at the scenery as it whipped by.
A while later...
The group stood in the white, utilitarian room of a lab; they had all been outfitted with the necessary equipment*, and now they were waiting for the TranServer to activate. Those who could not sufficiently protect themselves against the environmental conditions of the polar ocean were wearing slim, streamlined suits that used a large, blue tinted visor to allow the wearers to see. Standing at a bank of computers were Aile and Thomas. Grey, for his part, was quietly observing the group, desperately wishing he could join them.
The trip through Legion had been uneventful. Massive city blocks stabbed at the sky, and vehicles of all sorts bobbed and weaved through the myriad streets. Humanoids and reploids of all shapes and sizes ambled along the pavement, sparing a friendly wave or smile as the group's transport passed. Mechaniloids skittered to and fro, oblivious to the everyday lives going on around them. The tallest building of all, however, was Legion HQ
◊, which almost appeared to be a giant's misplaced sceptre planted square in the centre of the capital. The way through the building to the lab was somewhat confusing, but Grey was fairly sure that he could have found his way back.
"Do you have any last questions or requests?" asked Master Thomas. "Once we transfer you to your objectives, you will not be able to return unless something goes seriously wrong or if you complete the mission. We are counting on you."
edited 8th Jan '12 10:14:08 AM by Flanker66
Locking you up on radar since '09Cletus finished fiddling with the wires on the stolen sabers, having used Energy Cells as a power source and trying to activate it. It sparked for a moment before dying out.
"Are there any security measures in the missile base we need to be wary of, and is there any way to bypass them?"
...and that's terrible.Hey, wait up! Called out Matt...seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
"You guys should have warned me that you took off...that crystal city had nothing to kill in it so it gets boring..."
Some people say I'm lazy. It's hard to disagree."They may have bypassed or hacked the base defences such as automated turrets, the mechaniloid security force, and a new security system that's been installed. It takes advantage of the geographical conditions, so be careful. There should be security terminals in the main building that control these things, but who knows what the Mavericks have done," said Thomas to Cletus. Before he could continue, however, Matt interrupted. Ushering him into the TranServer, he tried to hide his confusion. "Anyway, there is something unusual about that temple - we have no real records of having discovered it before. Curious, considering our extensive network of satellites. What we can tell from photographs we have obtained, however, is that the temple was likely built as a sort of crypt for an important leader and the worship of a death god of some sort, although the last tribe in the world was dissolved a long time ago, unfortunately."
"Oh, I forgot..." gasped Aile, who promptly gave Jack a lightweight, inconspicuous radio. "Sorry."
Locking you up on radar since '09
This post was thumped by the Shillelagh of Whackingness
Fluttershy stood in the Tran Server with everyone else. Due to her being a quadraped rather than a biped, the tech people had really no idea how to accomadate their equipment for her. All they given her was a headset radio and some sort of metal stick, but other than that nothing. "Um.....sir......" she asked Master Thomas. "What this metal stick they gave me?" she said. The grabbed said item with her teeth pulling out.
She bit into a button - *click BWEEM*
"EEK!!" she squeeked, dropping the beam sabre on the floor. "Um.....nevermind...." the pegasus sheepishly said. A beat. "How do I turn this thing off?" she asked.
DAMMIT MARK, STOP HITTING HELPY!!Shotaro was handed a Power Fist while he was still in his Joker form. He then remembered something. "Wait... Did Grey just nod to Dubix?" Shotaro muttered.
"YEAH... I'VE FINALLY MANAGED TO TALK OUTSIDE OF YOUR MIND." Dubix said. Shotaro heard an odd noise coming from his Lost Driver. "DURING YOUR STAY IN THAT GIRLY WORLD, I MANAGED TO MOVE PART OF MY PROGRAMING INTO THE GAIA MEMORY YOU HAVE. NOW I DON'T HAVE TO POSSESS YOU IF I WISH TO TALK." Dubix said as the Lost Driver flashed purple.
"... Okay then..." Shotaro said. "So, shall we go?" Shotaro asked Grey.
edited 8th Jan '12 1:03:49 PM by Psyga315
Aside from the trio jumping back a good few feet or so when Fluttershy activated the beamsabre, Aile, Master Thomas, and Grey seemed ready to continue. At Shotaro's question, the young reploid nodded. "Defi - ...Oh. I still need to get upgraded. Um... see you later. I wish I could help."
"Don't be so uptight about it," said Aile, patting him gently on the shoulder. "You've already done more than enough. It's about time someone else got the job, don't you think?"
"I guess," replied Grey.
Meanwhile, some technicians were making final adjustments. After a few button presses, a large half hoop swivelled horizontally to bar entry to the Trans Server. "Locations set. Transferring now..."
A circle of energy wrapped itself around the group, slowly rotating. Small pinpricks of light began to flicker nearby. Within a moment, they had all disappeared, leaving the universe's natives to their own devices.
"...Good luck..."
Jungle: Ancient Trail
The gang that chose to go to the jungle
found themselves in the middle of a leafy rainforest, the plants (both biomechanical and otherwise) crowding around them and making it feel more busy than it actually was. Small frogs hopped from leaf to leaf, and other creatures scampered across the forest floor and through the treetops. It was humid, almost uncomfortably so, and the midday heat wasn't helping matters. There was plenty of concealment; it would be alarmingly easy to get lost...
Someone had apparently cut a clearing here, and a small trail lead further into the forest.
Polar Sea: Ice Floes
The group that elected to go here
found themselves standing on a thick slab of permafrost, its' surface pitted and jagged. Slivers of ice ran through the iceberg, covered with a thick coating of snow. Speaking of which, there were huge flakes drifting down from the sky, settling down on the cold floe. It was night, and a large moon shone cool light down upon them. The black sea lapped gently against the edges of the ice, swallowing any snowflakes that came too close.
It would have been perfectly picturesque if not for the biting chill, which seemed to penetrate even the thickest clothing, as well as the large entrance they had seen in the hologram. It looked even more weatherbeaten in real life than in the image, and its' stark blue lights only served to draw attention to this. Perhaps surprisingly, the door was unlocked.
Jail's map merely indicated that this was the research station entrance, and that a tunnel took people beneath the waves.
Missile Base: Building #1, Missile Battery Maintainence
This group
appeared in the cramped confines of a corridor that was lined with machinery of all sorts, though their purpose was unknown. Some of the machines emitted sharp, terse beeps, while others were content to merely wink at the interlopers with dull status lights. The walls were a uniform rust colour, whereas the floor was covered with a protective material that was coloured green. The corridor went on a fair distance, before widening out to a large maintainence bay, which at this time was empty. It was hard to tell anything further, but there appeared to be a yellow catwalk positioned nearby the empty bays, probably so that engineers could inspect equipment.
Aside from the purposeful hum of generators, the group was alone.
High Altitude Convoy: Miscellaneous Cargo Craft - Current Altitude: 5,000 feet and climbing
This gaggle of adventurers
was abruptly deposited on top of a manta ray shaped aircraft, its' jets screaming as the machine clawed ever higher through the cloud wrapped sky. It was chilly and very windy, but bearable. Dotted haphazardly were various containers and secured equipment, which appeared not to be going anywhere any time soon. The floor vibrated underneath their feet, confirming beyond any shadow of a doubt that they were on top of a vehicle. Between gaps in the cargo, they would have been able to see some aircraft that resembled the destroyed Hunter vehicles, but they were subtly different
◊. Some of them even had what appeared to be giant hand guns - or at least energy weapon versions - strapped to their "backs", while others had their "heads" removed and replaced with ampules containing an orange liquid. There appeared to be something inside these containers, but they were too distant to see.
The path ahead was clear, leading to another aircraft holding similar equipment. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a gap between them...
Locking you up on radar since '09

"Deal with it, 'Shy, it only gets worse from here," Rey said, somewhat bluntly. "Look, if the stuff around here still has anything organic to it at all, then just let me deal with it. I can melt apart anything I can get my hands on. It'd probably be a hell of a lot quicker."
Easing back into life one step at a time