Action, Adventure, Excitement, Part 4 Chapter 48 Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 17:06:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE4: The next attack On Tue, 7 Jul 1998 19:42:40 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004955 The one extra Jadis leaves the castle, stopping just outside. He pauses, considering all that he must do, then splits once more. The two Jadii look at each other, smile, and offer each other luck. The one goes off in search of his legions, while the other merely stands there. Jadis' legions give a mighty shout at the sight of their god and leader. Jadis smiles then motions for quiet. "My people, those who are arrayed against me grow ever more powerful. I must perforce strengthen those of the faithful so that they may withstand them. First I will evacuate those of your kin not involved in this fight. Jyhadien. You will commence the evacuation of this universe in accordance with the plan. Go." All the Jyhadien in the army leave, only the humans remain. "You will be tested and purified with my power. Only those whose faith is not strong will fail to pass through the test. Any who wish may leave now with their families, branded as heretics. Does any here say nay?" No one speaks. "Very well. Prepare to receive the benediction of the god." Jadis' aura flares and he extends his arms out to his sides. From his aura shoots black beams which impale his warriors. The black aura begins to slide over their bodies and the faces of those who are struck are horrible to behold. Soon a connected web of lines connects most of the soldiers, racing through the legions to the farthest edge. While that Jadis is busy transforming his troops, the other one continues to stand motionless. But soon his striving reveals it's nature as a crystal sheen forms on his skin. It fills layer upon layer until a Jadis-sized, diamond-shaped entity stands there. It floats up into the air, speaking to the one called Cerberus. "They are almost upon this place. Your wait will not be for much longer after I have fallen." From the ground erupts large circular discs, with holes in the middle. Scores of the rise from the ground in front of the castle, leaving a large depression and objects which reveal themselves to be earthworks made from the same crystal material which surrounds Jadis. Hundreds of the circles now surround the entombed Jadis packing themselves as close as possible to his form. He rises even higher and heads off towards the group at high speed. =========================== Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 17:36:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Immortal Kombat On Tue, 7 Jul 1998 20:10:09 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004956 >On Mon, 06 Jul 1998 18:40:49 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004947 > > *Atlan on a fraggin' crutch! BOSS!* > In a place that doesn't (quite) exist, KnightMare looks up from >Kosh's unconscious form. *Yes, Shard?* > *Jadis' gone over the edge! He's gonna-* > *I am fully aware of Jadis' capabilities, both physical and moral. >Aid him.* > *But-* Shard objects. > *He is fulfilling his part of the bargain. Those worlds will be >restored. Aid him.* > Shard's jaw drops mentally. *You can do that?* > *At present, it would be relatively easy. However, that would >interfere with the Grand Work. It will have to wait until my Work is >complete.* > Shard blinks. His form regenerates. *O-okay, KM. But if you're >tryin' to snow me-* > *Calm yourself, Shard. Evolution is.* The connection dissipates. > Shard sighs and lets the power flow into him. "Figures. Well, here >goes everything." > (OOC: Okay, Shadow, what happens to Shard?) The energy fills shard, but it is enormously compact. Dense energy, would be a good term. Shard receives more energy from the size of the channel he opens than he should. It is his to do with as he will. With it he can regenerate himself _much_ more quickly. In fact, that seems to be the main purpose of the energy, though there is more than enough for other purposes. =========================== Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 17:37:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: A walk through the park. On Tue, 7 Jul 1998 20:17:14 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004957 On Mon, 6 Jul 1998, Leonard Erickson wrote: >On Mon, 6 Jul 1998 18:03:03 PST >Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00004949 > >Well, the other Nemos can do a good imitation of "enlightened men" >:-) > >Ganesha will trumpet through his trunk when the transformations are >complete (hey, *I* think it makes a neat "battle cry" :-) > >And Oh Great and Powerful GM, what does my Wisdom tell me? Jadis and this universe are bound together. If one or the other is destroyed, it will flow into the other part. Jadis can sense any changes in the physicality of his being, ie. the universe. He has complete control over it as well. He is indisposed, and seriously alarmed by this latest turn of events. All the former gods of this place are Dead, including Guarien, who was finally allowed the release of death by Jadis. There are several million inhabited worlds, all of whom worship Jadis. Anything in particular you would like to know? Cards on the table time, I will reveal most anything asked. =========================== Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 22:36:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Immortal Kombat On Tue, 07 Jul 1998 22:20:30 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004958 >On Tue, 7 Jul 1998 20:10:09 -0400 (EDT) >Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004956 > >The energy fills shard, but it is enormously compact. Dense energy, >would be a good term. Shard receives more energy from the size of the >channel he opens than he should. It is his to do with as he will. >With it he can regenerate himself _much_ more quickly. In fact, that >seems to be the main purpose of the energy, though there is more than >enough for other purposes. Shard's eyes go wide. "Ohhhh...YEAAAAAH!" His body appears whole. A smile rarely seen on anything human spreads across his face. "Payback, you motherless Champion!" Shard vanishes, appearing as a dragon-winged Jyhadein gliding near Cerberus' left head. "So, you got a mad-on for this buncha do-gooders too?" =========================== Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 09:07:02 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 09:06:26 -0700 (MST) Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004959 > On Tue, 7 Jul 1998 19:42:40 -0400 (EDT) > Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004955 > > From the ground erupts large circular discs, with holes in the > middle. Scores of the rise from the ground in front of the castle, > leaving a large depression and objects which reveal themselves to be > earthworks made from the same crystal material which surrounds > Jadis. Hundreds of the circles now surround the entombed Jadis > packing themselves as close as possible to his form. He rises even > higher and heads off towards the group at high speed. one of the Krishna gazes off towards the castle. "Ah, a flying dirtball this way comes." =========================== Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 16:10:05 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 19:02:05 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004960 >On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 09:06:26 -0700 (MST) >Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004959 > > one of the Krishna gazes off towards the castle. "Ah, a flying >dirtball this way comes." The 'dirtball' stops way in front of the group, then spins, releasing the discs in a circle around it. It stops then begins spinning the other way. As it does beams shoot from the diamond to pass through the discs and be redirected toward the group. A dozen blasts hit the group at once, moving in patterns to do the most damage. OOC: Your regular energy blast type thing. =========================== Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 17:29:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 16:49:26 -0700 (MST) Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004961 > On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 19:02:05 -0400 (EDT) > Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004960 > > The 'dirtball' stops way in front of the group, then spins, > releasing the discs in a circle around it. It stops then begins > spinning the other way. As it does beams shoot from the diamond to > pass through the discs and be redirected toward the group. A dozen > blasts hit the group at once, moving in patterns to do the most > damage. > > OOC: Your regular energy blast type thing. The Krishnas all merge into one again. he bows to the other dieties, "Please, allow me." Pulling out his flute he begins to play, the tones closing in quickly tot eh resonence of the crystal until they finally find the right tone and become louder and louder. =========================== Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 18:42:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 21:21:27 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004962 >On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 16:49:26 -0700 (MST) >Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004961 > > The Krishnas all merge into one again. he bows to the other dieties, >"Please, allow me." Pulling out his flute he begins to play, the >tones closing in quickly tot eh resonence of the crystal until they >finally find the right tone and become louder and louder. The crystal spins faster and begins to crack. The cracks appear as black traceries along the crystal. It continues to spin faster. Inside the crystal Jadis' head lolls. He is unconscious. Finally it shatters, but the shape remains, made of black energy. Alive energy, sentient energy, hungry energy... Zodaii energy. These beams shoot forth, striking through the lenses for Driss. This is the power Chaos sensed with his prognostications. This is the energy that cannot be stopped, the energy which can devour gods. =========================== Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 18:42:28 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 08 Jul 1998 18:32:39 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004963 >On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 19:02:05 -0400 (EDT) >Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004960 > > The 'dirtball' stops way in front of the group, then spins, >releasing the discs in a circle around it. It stops then begins >spinning the other way. As it does beams shoot from the diamond to >pass through the discs and be redirected toward the group. A dozen >blasts hit the group at once, moving in patterns to do the most >damage. > >OOC: Your regular energy blast type thing. Vishnu/Roland blinks at the impressive energy display. He does not attack the discs; he simply...manifests. "To attack the allies of the Preserver thus is folly." None of the CAoL is harmed by the attacks. The blasts are not stopped, nor do forcefields of any recognizable nature appear around the Callahanians, but neither are any of them harmed in any way. /Indeed. This is unquestionably a diversion. All-seeing Ganesha, can you sense our opponent's true attack?/ =========================== Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 21:15:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Immortal Kombat On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 22:35:46 EDT Dane0R0A Said As CAoL Message # 00004964 Roland wrote: > Shard's eyes go wide. "Ohhhh...YEAAAAAH!" His body appears whole. > A smile rarely seen on anything human spreads across his face. > "Payback, you motherless Champion!" Shard vanishes, appearing as a > dragon-winged Jyhadein gliding near Cerberus' left head. "So, you > got a mad-on for this buncha do-gooders too?" "The group as a whole is insignificant, to me. Hydra, however, is another matter, entirely. He has opposed and upset my plans for hundreds of billions of your years. He will die if I have my way." Cerberus says as he looks at Shard. "A bit if advice if I may. If you win your battle with Roland, and he dies: flee! As fast as you can. NOTHING would bring The Stardragon here faster than killing one of the CAoL, except perhaps killing the CAoL member known as Fuzzy. I caution you; your father, Malice, is a part, a small part, of a greater Primal entity known as The Great Adversary. The Stardragon has defeated that Primal entity in battle every time they have crossed paths. What it would do to you, even I shudder to think about." =========================== Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 21:15:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 20:37:18 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00004965 > On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 19:02:05 -0400 (EDT) > Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004960 > > The 'dirtball' stops way in front of the group, then spins, > releasing the discs in a circle around it. It stops then begins > spinning the other way. As it does beams shoot from the diamond to > pass through the discs and be redirected toward the group. A dozen > blasts hit the group at once, moving in patterns to do the most > damage. Ganesha's "army" redirect the blasts aimed at them to Ganesha. Ganesha seems to absorb the blasts for a moment, then he re-emits the energy as an earsplitting shriek from his trunk. It seems to pulse. With each pulse he points at one of the disks, then at the "dirtball". =========================== Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 21:15:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 20:43:12 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00004966 > On Wed, 08 Jul 1998 18:32:39 > Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004963 > > Vishnu/Roland blinks at the impressive energy display. He does > not attack the discs; he simply...manifests. "To attack the allies > of the Preserver thus is folly." > None of the CAoL is harmed by the attacks. The blasts are not > stopped, nor do forcefields of any recognizable nature appear around > the Callahanians, but neither are any of them harmed in any way. > /Indeed. This is unquestionably a diversion. All-seeing Ganesha, > can you sense our opponent's true attack?/ Okay, ret-con time. If the blasts *aren't* stopped by Vishnu, Ganesha & co. will absorb and redirect as I said originally. But they'll feed the sonic energy to Krishna (with his permission). If they are stopped by Vishnu, skip the above. What does Ganesha sense? =========================== Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 21:41:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Thu, 9 Jul 1998 00:27:52 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004967 >On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 20:43:12 PST >Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00004966 > >Okay, ret-con time. If the blasts *aren't* stopped by Vishnu, Ganesha >& co. will absorb and redirect as I said originally. But they'll feed >the sonic energy to Krishna (with his permission). > >If they are stopped by Vishnu, skip the above. > >What does Ganesha sense? What's just about to happen and the annihilation of several nearby universes. They just... cease to exist. =========================== Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 04:39:03 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 23:53:07 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00004968 > On Thu, 9 Jul 1998 00:27:52 -0400 (EDT) > Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004967 > > What's just about to happen and the annihilation of several nearby > universes. They just... cease to exist. /Vishnu, several nearby universes have just ceased to exist. It is undoubtedly our opponent's work./ Nemo/Ganesha doesn't appear fazed by this. The reason is simple enough. Nemo's energy *comes* from annihilating universes (I don't recall how much of that he's told the CAoL). He does limit it to uninhabitable ones, though. But he's seen more deaths than Jadis has caused this day. Many, *many* more. ps. I forget what (if anything) Hydra has been turned into. But Nemo will send a private thought to him: 'Do try to think before attacking. And try to avoid the usual collateral damage, please?' =========================== Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 07:20:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Thu, 9 Jul 1998 06:40:08 -0500 Molly Said As CAoL Message # 00004969 >On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 21:21:27 -0400 (EDT) >Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004962 > >The crystal spins faster and begins to crack. The cracks appear as >black traceries along the crystal. It continues to spin faster. >Inside the crystal Jadis' head lolls. He is unconscious. Finally it >shatters, but the shape remains, made of black energy. Alive energy, >sentient energy, hungry energy... Zodaii energy. These beams shoot >forth, striking through the lenses for Driss. This is the power Chaos >sensed with his prognostications. This is the energy that cannot be >stopped, the energy which can devour gods. Those still able to sense the link, who direct it at Sarawasti and Gauri, still feel Molly and Tink there, but only as a presense. Their personalities seem to have withdrawn. Looking at Sarawasti without the link, mo one could tell Molly was there at all. Gauri seemed to stay next to Sarawasti, perhaps to comfort the child-like artificial intelligence that was the foundation for Lord Brahma's work, but that was the only hint that the AI portion of the Tinker Bell program was still having any influence at all. As luck would have it, now personified in Gauri, Krishna managed to avoid the attacks of Zodaii energy as long as he wished. Sarawasti looked upon the giant shard of black energy and played a song of what she saw there. It was horrendous, cold and callous, hungry. She stopped and wondered aloud, "What could create such darkness and hatred toward each other that two beings would use mortals so callously? These Zodaii, what is their tale?" Sarawasti opened the rolled parchments she carried. "The scrolls will tell..." =========================== Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 12:08:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Thu, 9 Jul 1998 11:52:14 -0700 (MST) Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004970 Eating warning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On Wed, 8 Jul 1998, Shadow wrote: > The crystal spins faster and begins to crack. The cracks appear as > black traceries along the crystal. It continues to spin faster. > Inside the crystal Jadis' head lolls. He is unconscious. Finally it > shatters, but the shape remains, made of black energy. Alive energy, > sentient energy, hungry energy... Zodaii energy. These beams shoot > forth, striking through the lenses for Driss. This is the power > Chaos sensed with his prognostications. This is the energy that > cannot be stopped, the energy which can devour gods. Krishna screams as the energy flows over him, devowering him like a pearl in vinegar. Flesh is stripped away revealing Driscoll undreneath. Then it begins to devower Driss as well as the screams persist. Flesh blood and boen are consumed quickly being converted into more of hte black energy until Driss looks litterally like a shower of himself. Dungeon Master smiles gaily and walks off into the bushes nearby, vanishing from sight. He knows his curse is beyond the power of Gods or even Jadis. Already Driss's atomss begin to reform again. it's only a matter of time. =========================== Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 18:07:02 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE 4: part 3: Astral War On Fri, 10 Jul 1998 19:40:19 -0500 Doc Said As CAoL Message # 00004973 Doc comes up about the same time that Zia recalls her energy from 'storage' in Jadis, just in time to see the Jadis split that was keeping an eye on him disappear. Doc snaps his fingers as he says, "Darn, I had something planned for him, oh well." He then looks around and gets a bearing on the castle, looking straight at it. He then reverses one-eighty and starts running after about three miles his aura/psi signature have changed completely to look like a Jadis split , then with avery step after that he fades into astral space a little bit a time, as if he was running through the barrier that seperates the two planes. Once on the astral plane he avoids contacting the constructs and web as much as possible and they in turn seem to ignore him. He then really puts on some speed and starts flying at several times Mach speed. He reaches a distance af about 3000 miles from Jadis' castle. The constructs are not this far out and the web appears to have ended about a mile or so behind him. He then drops the Jadis pattern and plugs into the natural astral energy completely, just like Jadis is plugged into the magical and physical sides of this reality. Several somethings start to form at points of an equidistant global shape about a mile out from the net. After about ten minutes they appear to be global sections that are growing to meet each other and form a complete sphere. They should be done growing in about another half hour. While that goes on Doc starts constructing a fleet of six foot cubes that look like they swallowed a beach ball that was just a shade too large for them to contain. He is producing a new one about every 10-15 seconds, and about every other minute after that a finished one ejects a mirror image of itself but in 1/6th scale (i.e. about one foot cube), which takes up station keeping around the growing sphere and start growing. Each small cube takes about 5 minutes to reach full size and start the copying program itself. All the cubes are doing scans of the web and Jadis constructs, and communicating with each other by methods and means that are not easily detected or tapped. Doc =========================== Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 18:07:14 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Fri, 10 Jul 1998 20:47:04 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004974 >On Thu, 9 Jul 1998 06:40:08 -0500 >Molly Said As CAoL Message # 00004969 > >Sarawasti looked upon the giant shard of black energy and played a >song of what she saw there. It was horrendous, cold and callous, >hungry. She stopped and wondered aloud, "What could create such >darkness and hatred toward each other that two beings would use >mortals so callously? These Zodaii, what is their tale?" Sarawasti >opened the rolled parchments she carried. "The scrolls will tell..." Written in the scrolls of Skelo.. Whoops, wrong series... This is what is revealed: In the instant after Creation, there came two beings of foreign mein, one Dark, the other Deep. Depleted, almost unto oblivion, they were restored by the energy of the Creation. Then did they immediately fall upon the other, to resume their struggle. Their fury was terrible to behold, and many were the wonders that died stillborn as they fought. Such was the might of these beings that newborn Creation itself was threatened. Then did what life that existed band together, and seek to end the struggle. Undaunted, the two beings turned as one to crush those who would interfere, and great was the slaughter. Yet in the fight was the Deep one injured, and when the attack ended and they resumed their battle the Deep was overrun. Yet in the moment of the Darks victory did the Deep one attack. The two beings were destroyed, their essence scattered throughout Creation. The pieces did pull themselves together, and again they fought, and again it ended in a like manner. Many times did this occur before they did not have the power to reform, and continued to lay scattered across all of Creation, no longer able to breach the skin between realms. Next scroll: And Lo, when he exercised his power did I recognize that which fed him his strength. And wroth, I destroyed him, but the thing inside him was indestructible, and it fled. I then went from place to place, seeking those which had given themselves to these beings and exterminating them when possible. Yet finally even I tired of this, and a great curiousity grew in me. The next time I found such a possessed being did I study him. Inside him was a fragment of a fragment of the being which once threatened Creation itself. I befriended the man, and we talked at length. After much study did I determine that this was a peice of the one we knew as Deep, and I attempted to engage it in conversation. Finally did I manage to bring it forth, at terrible cost, and it did answer those questions to which it knew the answers. It revealed itself to be almost the last of its kind, where once there where dozens. It and the Dark were the last two. I asked what befell the others, and it replied that they had merged. Of the nature of the race it could tell me nothing. Of it's opponent it only said, "He sought to be all, to master all, to do all. His purpose is unknowable, yet all must conform to it." Of the fight, "We resist. Those taken shall be born anew, there can be no more." After that it retreated, leaving the host, he commenced to die. I could not save him. The next scroll tells of J, J, and R: A mask held long enough becomes reality, yet may still be discarded. An experiment may not work in the way intended. That which leaves no choice does not get to make the choice. Who holds the mask? Who is real? These are the only truths. The eternal stalemate may be broken. Those who do not lose, win. Those who do not win, do not lose. That which is taken, can be released by the winner, yet to win is to lose all that was. Of the nature of the beast: Who can know the minds of that which thinks in terms for which concepts do not exist. That which is consumed is lost, taken. That which is taken may not be consumed or lost. To take affects the taker, yet the taker may not change. In a closed system, that which takes and does not give will consume all. Back to the previous narrator: I ignored the beings for a long while, but eventually I realized that they were becoming stronger, smarter. Finally I found another to question. It did not wish to speak. When I pressed it about the battle, it responded, "Once the duel has begun, it may not end until there is a winner. To interfere without invitation is a violation of the highest order. That which is invited to interefere may be destroyed with impugnity. That which is not protected may be destroyed with impugnity. To destroy that which is protected is grounds for a duel." It then slipped away from me. They have gotten better at hiding. Soon I fear I will not be able to find them at all. I write this with my last breath. The hunter became the hunted. I am no more. Those who follow must know, must understand. The reason.. The rest has been blackened, words which once existed but now have never existed. >the heck are they fighting over? What does each plan for John, Jadis, >and Rhia? How have the battles between them been won before? Anything >else you might find interesting. Feel free to expound at length. I >expect this will be a long tale.> OOC: OK, that's all the tale I can tell. There is more about John's recent past, but I have yet to write those humongously long fanfics. Eventually they will see the light, and I will share. OOC2: Those characters with memories of the Creation may feel free to have been involved in the original battle to stop the fight, just remember that you lost and the fight continued. =========================== Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 20:52:45 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Fri, 10 Jul 1998 20:55:43 -0500 Molly Said As CAoL Message # 00004975 >On Fri, 10 Jul 1998 20:47:04 -0400 (EDT) >Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004974 > >Written in the scrolls of Skelo.. Whoops, wrong series... This is >what is revealed: Sarawasti begins to read... > In the instant after Creation, there came two beings of foreign >mein, one Dark, the other Deep. Depleted, almost unto oblivion, they >were restored by the energy of the Creation. Then did they >immediately fall upon the other, to resume their struggle. Their fury >was terrible to behold, and many were the wonders that died stillborn >as they fought. Sarawasti's tone is one of sadness. >Such was the might of these beings that newborn Creation itself was >threatened. Then did what life that existed band together, and seek >to end the struggle. Undaunted, the two beings turned as one to crush >those who would interfere, and great was the slaughter. Yet in the >fight was the Deep one injured, and when the attack ended and they >resumed their battle the Deep was overrun. Yet in the moment of the >Darks victory did the Deep one attack. The two beings were destroyed, >their essence scattered throughout Creation. The pieces did pull >themselves together, and again they fought, and again it ended in a >like manner. Many times did this occur before they did not have the >power to reform, and continued to lay scattered across all of >Creation, no longer able to breach the skin between realms. Sarawasti turns to her husband, Brahma. "Lord, it is as I feared..." She continues to read... >Next scroll: > And Lo, when he exercised his power did I recognize that which fed >him his strength. And wroth, I destroyed him, but the thing inside >him was indestructible, and it fled. I then went from place to place, >seeking those which had given themselves to these beings and >exterminating them when possible. Yet finally even I tired of this, >and a great curiousity grew in me. The next time I found such a >possessed being did I study him. Inside him was a fragment of a >fragment of the being which once threatened Creation itself. I >befriended the man, and we talked at length. After much study did I >determine that this was a peice of the one we knew as Deep, and I >attempted to engage it in conversation. Finally did I manage to bring >it forth, at terrible cost, and it did answer those questions to >which it knew the answers. It revealed itself to be almost the last >of its kind, where once there where dozens. It and the Dark were the >last two. I asked what befell the others, and it replied that they >had merged. Of the nature of the race it could tell me nothing. Of >it's opponent it only said, "He sought to be all, to master all, to >do all. His purpose is unknowable, yet all must conform to it." Of >the fight, "We resist. Those taken shall be born anew, there can be >no more." After that it retreated, leaving the host, he commenced to >die. I could not save him. "And here," Sarawasti says to Rhiannon, "Is what they say of you and your uncle and his captor." >The next scroll tells of J, J, and R: > A mask held long enough becomes reality, yet may still be discarded. >An experiment may not work in the way intended. That which leaves no >choice does not get to make the choice. Who holds the mask? Who is >real? These are the only truths. Sarawasti pauses, "The scrolls can not make sense from senselessness, I fear. They imply hope, but seem confused. However, I feel you are the key, though the scrolls will not reveal how or why or even confirm beyond suspicion..." >Of the nature of the beast: > Who can know the minds of that which thinks in terms for which >concepts do not exist. That which is consumed is lost, taken. That >which is taken may not be consumed or lost. To take affects the >taker, yet the taker may not change. In a closed system, that which >takes and does not give will consume all. "Again, husband, cryptic suggestions, but nothing tangible. Perhaps those who are unknowable can comprehend the words, but I fear I do not." > I write this with my last breath. The hunter became the hunted. I >am no more. Those who follow must know, must understand. The reason.. >The rest has been blackened, words which once existed but now have >never existed. Sarawasti closes the scroll. "There is no more." She closes her eyes. A goddess saddened. "No where did I read love, or life. Only destruction, pain and aggression, all without point, except to destroy each other, for reasons unknown to either. This Deep, it claims the Dark wants everything, but does not even understand why. I wonder if even the Dark knows." Sarawasti shakes her head vigorously. "Forgive me, husband, perhaps it is the disappointment of the woman whose form I took that is affecting my thoughts. Let us plan. Lord Krishna should be rejoining us in time." =========================== Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 23:06:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: RE: AAE4: The next attack On Sat, 11 Jul 1998 00:51:40 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004976 :Sarawasti turns to her husband, Brahma. "Lord, it is as I feared..." :She continues to read... Brahma nods a head to her, eyes still closed in meditation even as Krishna suffers... :Sarawasti pauses, "The scrolls can not make sense from senselessness, :I fear. They imply hope, but seem confused. However, I feel you are :the key, though the scrolls will not reveal how or why or even :confirm beyond suspicion..." "Enlightment, my wife, is not a single path, but many. To know truth is to understand deception. To live is to travel between ignorance and corruption. This scroll merely underscores the fact that all is dream, and truth is what you make of your own perceptions." :>The eternal stalemate may be broken. Those who do not lose, win. :>Those who do not win, do not lose. That which is taken, can be :>released by the winner, yet to win is to lose all that was. "If your enemy should strike you upon the cheek, turn and let him strike also upon the other cheek. For the meek shall be risen up, and the proud shall be cast down. The mighty shall be made humble and the humble brought into the vault of power." Brahma smiles, "Or as I've heard it put more simply, be careful what you wish for, you might get it." :"Again, husband, cryptic suggestions, but nothing tangible. Perhaps :those who are unknowable can comprehend the words, but I fear I do :not." "I am the infinite, my wife. Fear not lack of understanding, for it is the start of true wisdom. Those who do not question for the answer never learn the meaning of their questioning. This speaks of the nature of energy, and the ecology of charity. Here. That which we consume becomes a part of us. But is the words and love we exchange not likewise part of us? This is the difference your scroll states, between that which takes, and that which only consumes. One feeds the might of the body. But the other feeds the might of the spirit, which shall always overcome the lesser more tangible powers." :Sarawasti closes the scroll. "There is no more." She closes her eyes. :A goddess saddened. "No where did I read love, or life. Only :destruction, pain and aggression, all without point, except to :destroy each other, for reasons unknown to either. This Deep, it :claims the Dark wants everything, but does not even understand why. I :wonder if even the Dark knows." "But you did, my wife! for the conflict was born of - ah, you said the scroll did not go back so far. But, as you know the ways of love, you do feel that there is more to this story, and indeed there is." He touches her cheek with an obvious affection for his wife. "For every conflict, even this one, there is a beginning. Though this one has been lost to most knowledge, it cannot lie shadowed from my thoughts. Already I see some ghosts of its shape. We tread a dangerous path, but walk in the direction of upwards enlightenment." He summons his chariot drawn by seven swans, and floats to take the reins, allowing anyone else who wishes to do so to step aboard. :Sarawasti shakes her head vigorously. "Forgive me, husband, perhaps :it is the disappointment of the woman whose form I took that is :affecting my thoughts. Let us plan. Lord Krishna should be rejoining :us in time." "There is naught to plan. The conflict is not the point of importance, and Lord Krishna shall be the one who resolves meaning from the pointless. I hope only to make a small change towards enlightenment for this one I am seeking, before the Cycle is broken and begins once more." "We must away, to while more time until the fullness of the moment is reached within Lord Krishna and our host." =========================== Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 10:37:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE4: Around a lonely campfire... On Sat, 11 Jul 1998 10:50:12 -0500 Molly Said As CAoL Message # 00004977 >On Sat, 11 Jul 1998 00:51:40 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004976 > >"But you did, my wife! for the conflict was born of - ah, you said >the scroll did not go back so far. But, as you know the ways of love, >you do feel that there is more to this story, and indeed there is." >He touches her cheek with an obvious affection for his wife. "For >every conflict, even this one, there is a beginning. Though this one >has been lost to most knowledge, it cannot lie shadowed from my >thoughts. Already I see some ghosts of its shape. We tread a >dangerous path, but walk in the direction of upwards enlightenment." >He summons his chariot drawn by seven swans, and floats to take the >reins, allowing anyone else who wishes to do so to step aboard. Sarawasti looks at the scrolls again. She blinks, then smiles, "Yes, I see. I believe my expectations were in the way of my enlightenment. Still..." >"We must away, to while more time until the fullness of the moment is >reached within Lord Krishna and our host." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- A lone campfire was the only light visible on the shore of the lake cradled in the valley. The light of early morning, the sky a deep purple, promised a beautiful day. The two women standing back to back; one in a kelly green sweater and plaid skirt with long spirals of blonde hair, the other in plaid shirt and blue jeans with short spikey hair; looked heavanward as the stars faded away in the newly waxing dawn. "Is this really Butte Montana or just Existental Blues?" A nearby voice asked in a half-singing tone. The short-haired woman looked toward the voice. "This is not Butte Montana. It appears to be Lake Dal, in the Kashmir Valley, India. Or at least a mental landscape of said place." The trim man, about 6'2" with grey streaks just barely visible in his short brown hair, turned and smiled. "The sentiment is the same, Grep. 'Is this reality or illusion?'" The other woman, Melissa, turned toward Michael Seven and remarked, "Father, judging by all evidence, this would seem to be a mental landscape. The setting seems to be prepared for us, and I imagine our hostess, Sarawasti, would not want to ruin our attempt to remain hidden from Jadis by teleporting us in and out of his dimension casually. And we have all confirmed if we concentrate, we can see through Sarawasti's perceptions to what is going on, though participation seems impossible at the moment." Mike chuckled. "It was a rhetorical question, actually. Are you two warm enough? Those new bodies you designed aren't as good as Tink's." "We are fine, daddy," Melissa said with a giggle. "We did actually plan ahead when we came up with the idea for Operation: Minerva. You were there working with us. If we were cold, we would create warmer clothes or change forms, just like you or anyone else would." Another woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Teri Garr, came up and put an arm around Mike. She spoke to the twins. "He's a parent, it's his job to worry." "Hi, mom." Mike said, returning the half-hug, "How are dad and the others?" "Jack slipped into cat-form and ran off into the trees with Pyewackett and Isis, hunting field mice." "Isis went? But she can't hardly stand those two." "I believe she had deemed them worthy of a place in the family, grudgingly. It's good for her, the spoiled brat." "Roberta..." a man bearing a striking resemblance to Robert Lansing said, "After all these years, you two still bickering." Roberta Lincoln-Seven sniffed. "She started it. And now she's bitter because I won." She hugged her husband. "Gary, how're our granddaughter and great-granddaughter taking things?" "Molly's...well, frustrated at the lack of any clear answers from Sarawasti's scrolls. She is young and a bit impatient for results. As she put it, 'If I'd known all this coming in, I would have just sat at Jadis' table and done nothing.' I said 'How Zen.' She just scowled at me." "And Tink?" The twins asked expectantly. Gary Seven said "From what I can learn back home, Tink is functioning for our lensbearers, but she acts like just a program. A beta 5 computer is more user-friendly." Melissa and Grep looked instantly worried. They closed their eyes and concentrated. Then they both said as one dual-throated voice, "Gauri is staying very close to Sarawasti. Considering the legends surrounding these Hindu Gods, We would imagine Gauri would stay closer to Shiva. We take it that that is Tink's influence. We hope she is okay, she has never been so alone. There have always been Dreamers in contact with her." Mike smiled. "I am sure she is fine, girls. Gauri is there, so Tink isn't alone. And that Hindu God seems a nice enough being. You both did a remarkable job designing Tink from your old nanite colony. She should be fine with Gauri babysitting." Molly wandered over from the fire. "So, dad, what now?" Mike shrugged, "We wait. I take it Sarawasti's answers didn't satisfy you?" Molly scowled. "I want answers on how to get John back, and I get the Truth of Life." Mike shrugged and pulled out a hip flask of Yukon Jack. Taking a short pull off it, he said, "Well, the only truth I've found is right here in this bottle." Several eyebrows arched at that. Mike grinned, "In fact, I'd rather have this bottle in front of me... than... a frontal lobotomy!" As the sun rose and shimmered on the lake, the stillness was only broken by the "owowows" of Mike being whapped by several of his family members. =========================== Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 17:07:53 -0700 (PDT) Subject: RE: AAE4: The next attack On Sat, 11 Jul 1998 18:35:59 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004978 :Sarawasti looks at the scrolls again. She blinks, then smiles, "Yes, :I see. I believe my expectations were in the way of my enlightenment. :Still..." Brahma sets a hand to his wife, Sarawasti's shoulder, to comfort her before taking his chariot into the air. "Everything changes, in time." Then he turns to Gauri, with a smile playing on the face nearest the young goddess. "When the Jadi arrive and engage our warrior gods, you shall instruct them on which ones to strike first, as to see if your luck will help us in the release of that which is sought." Simultaneously, the creator god turns to Vishnu and Shiva, "Speak with Ganesha to find proper methods to bypass those Jadi we need not fight - and how to avoid your suffering our Lord Krishna's current difficulty should you be trapped into such a pointless battle. Lord Ganesha, set the tactic to join through to the goal, not to slay the enemy, for our victory would be our true defeat. Protect your fellows from this threat of corruption and consumption. Do not assume Lord Krishna is of the enemy unless you are certain." "I am the only Lord among us who need not fear the consumation, as the Jadis have already tried to taste of me, and found the substance of infinity too hard to swallow. If any of you are so attacked, and may not escape, bring or send the energy into me. I shall attempt to protect you, by various means." "For now, however." He stirs the swan chariot to life, and it flies towards Jadis' stronghold again. Following in Lord Ganesha, apparently deep in some private meditation again. =========================== Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 10:35:55 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE:Nanites in Gods' clothing On Sun, 12 Jul 1998 10:55:03 -0700 (MST) Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004979 Roscoe sits staring at the spectacle of Driss's demise in silence, and watches the other dities' reactions to it in the same silence. Finally he sends, his mind detached, emotionless and matter of fact. /Driss will be back. But from something like this it will be much longer than I think we want to wait. He wasn't sure exactly how long it took him to recover from th supernova, but it was at least a week after he regained conciousness. And that still couldn't destroy his boots, rapier, or cloak. Yet this disolved all of them. Even his medallion was reduced to a single gem./ He trots over to where Driss was last seen and paws a small ruby out of the dust. Already a gold setting seems to be forming around it as well. Jim watches Roscoe, a thoughful look on his face. He seems to be having an internal discussion and when it is over he clears his throat. "If this Krishna's presense is truly so important. then perhaps we can take his place as a proxy at least." Jim's skin darkens and his bone structure shifts until he is an exact duplicate of the Driss/Krishna. =========================== Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 11:08:06 -0700 (PDT) Subject: RE: AAE4: The next attack On Sun, 12 Jul 1998 11:37:53 -0500 Molly Said As CAoL Message # 00004980 >On Sat, 11 Jul 1998 18:35:59 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004978 > >Brahma sets a hand to his wife, Sarawasti's shoulder, to comfort her >before taking his chariot into the air. "Everything changes, in >time." "Sometimes to Lord Vishnu's dismay," Sarawasti says with a teasing smile. >Then he turns to Gauri, with a smile playing on the face nearest the >young goddess. "When the Jadi arrive and engage our warrior gods, >you shall instruct them on which ones to strike first, as to see if >your luck will help us in the release of that which is sought." Gauri nods. "Yes, Lord." >"For now, however." He stirs the swan chariot to life, and it flies >towards Jadis' stronghold again. Following in Lord Ganesha, >apparently deep in some private meditation again. Sarawasti and Gauri fly along behind, Sarawasti's swan taking to the air with Gauri hovering behind. =========================== Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 22:11:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Immortal Kombat On Sun, 12 Jul 1998 21:30:34 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004981 >On Wed, 8 Jul 1998 22:35:46 EDT >Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00004964 > >"The group as a whole is insignificant, to me. Hydra, however, is >another matter, entirely. He has opposed and upset my plans for >hundreds of billions of your years. He will die if I have my way." >Cerberus says as "Yea, I know how it is. You make plans, set things in motion, get a lot of work done, build an elaborate web of servants, spies, and techies-and some do-gooder with more luck than brains stumbles on to it and trashes the whole thing," Shard shrugs as he glides in a circle. >he looks at Shard. "A bit if advice if I may. If you win your battle >with Roland, and he dies: flee! As fast as you can. NOTHING would >bring The Stardragon here faster than killing one of the CAoL, except >perhaps killing the CAoL member known as Fuzzy. I caution you; your >father, Malice, is a part, a small part, of a greater Primal entity >known as The Great Adversary. The Stardragon has defeated that Primal >entity in battle every time they have crossed paths. What it would do >to you, even I shudder to think about." "Hmm...is there any way to get this Stardragon to have a mad-on for my male parent?" Shard snarls as he continues. "'Father' is too familiar a term...anyway, I don't want to _kill_ the boy scout! How could I have any more fun with square-jaw if I _waste_ him?" =========================== Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 22:11:44 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Sun, 12 Jul 1998 21:29:05 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004982 >On Thu, 9 Jul 1998 11:52:14 -0700 (MST) >Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004970 > >On Wed, 8 Jul 1998, Shadow wrote: >> The crystal spins faster and begins to crack. The cracks appear as >> black traceries along the crystal. It continues to spin faster. >> Inside the crystal Jadis' head lolls. He is unconscious. Finally it >> shatters, but the shape remains, made of black energy. Alive >> energy, sentient energy, hungry energy... Zodaii energy. These >> beams shoot forth, striking through the lenses for Driss. This is >> the power Chaos sensed with his prognostications. This is the >> energy that cannot be stopped, the energy which can devour gods. "By the Brahma," Vishnu breathes. > Krishna screams as the energy flows over him, devowering him like a >pearl in vinegar. Flesh is stripped away revealing Driscoll >undreneath. Then it begins to devower Driss as well as the screams >persist. Flesh blood and boen are consumed quickly being converted >into more of hte black energy until Driss looks litterally like a >shower of himself. "This is unacceptable," Vishnu says quietly, the chakra flying into the air. Where the Zodaii energy lances at Vishnu, it is blocked-for the moment-by the chakra. Even that symbol of eternity, however, begins to decay against the power of the Zodaii... >On Sat, 11 Jul 1998 18:35:59 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004978 > >Simultaneously, the creator god turns to Vishnu and Shiva, "Speak >with Ganesha to find proper methods to bypass those Jadi we need >not fight - and how to avoid your suffering our Lord Krishna's >current difficulty should you be trapped into such a pointless >battle. Lord Ganesha, set the tactic to join through to the goal, not >to slay the enemy, for our victory would be our true defeat. Protect >your fellows from this threat of corruption and consumption. Do not >assume Lord Krishna is of the enemy unless you are certain." Vishnu stares at the power of the Zodaii. "I believe that my mortal host's plan will suffice." A blue beam of energy flowed to the chakra from the arm that had held it. The chakra is devoured by the Zodaii energy. Vishnu screams, that same arm vanishing. Then he becomes placid again, and straightens. "That force of destruction is now filled with the essence of preservation. I believe my host called it...counter-programming? Yes. Regardless. This devouring energy now has, as part of its 'self,' the province of Vishnu; that is, to protect and preserve, and to oppose tyranny." The Lord of Light glances down in mild surprise at the slowly regenerating arm. "I imagine that such a situation should inconvenience our host at least slightly." Through the link, Roland chuckles form somewhere within Vishnu. /Talk about biting off more than you can chew!/ (OOC: If the Zodaii energy is already gone, then the chakra is transferred to Krishna, Vishnu's avatar. Who is already 'inside' the energy. ) Vishnu turns to Ganesha. "Brahma did say to call on you for advice?" =========================== Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 16:16:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Mon, 13 Jul 1998 18:09:26 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004983 >On Sun, 12 Jul 1998 21:29:05 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004982 > > "This is unacceptable," Vishnu says quietly, the chakra flying >into the air. Where the Zodaii energy lances at Vishnu, it is >blocked-for the moment-by the chakra. Even that symbol of eternity, >however, begins to decay against the power of the Zodaii... OOC: Thanks for the above. > "I imagine that such a situation should inconvenience our host at >least slightly." OOC: This dovetails _PERFECTLY_ with what I have in mind for Jadis. > Vishnu turns to Ganesha. "Brahma did say to call on you for >advice?" The Zodaii stops its attacks and pulls within itself, folding down and compressing into the form of Jadis. Jadis finally awakens as the last of the Zodaii enters him. He looks at the group critically as everyone begins to mount up and advance. Then he disappears. =========================== Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 16:16:52 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Immortal Kombat On Mon, 13 Jul 1998 18:48:08 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004984 >On Sun, 12 Jul 1998 21:30:34 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004981 > > "Hmm...is there any way to get this Stardragon to have a mad-on >for my male parent?" Shard snarls as he continues. "'Father' is too >familiar a term...anyway, I don't want to _kill_ the boy scout! How >could I have any more fun with square-jaw if I _waste_ him?" Jadis appears next to the two. "The next battle will be here, in front of the castle. We should be able to hold them until I arrive with the energy I have gone to collect." He appears slightly disoriented. To Cerberus, "Do you wish me to abstain from interfering in your battle with Hydra?" Another Jadis flies up. He looks exhausted. The two look at each other, then merge. The resulting Jadis looks neither disorientd nor exhausted. He spins in the air, then his voice booms forth. "NAZGUL, take positions with your hosts." The Nazgul come forth from every direction but that of the CAoL. Following each of them are 50,000 beings. They used to be people, now they are more energy than flesh. Black lightening play across their transparent bodies. None of them are in contact with the ground. Jadis looks at them with content. To Shard he remarks offhandedly, "I could not make any of them even close to the powers stolen from me by that witch, but together they should serve to hold the Gods at bay for a while." He watches them position themselves, then leaves, appearing back in his observation/guest room. Noting Squee still there, he motions him over. "I'm evacuating the universe. This game is almost over. There are still a few details here I have to oversee personally, then I will join the hosts outside." Jadis gestures and several Jyhadien come running into the hall. Several sections of wall slide up, revealing several cylinders filled with bio-synth, a compound capable of sustaining the life of those in it. Floating in the cylinders are copies of the CAoL, though it is apparrent that they are not alive in a mental sense. Jadis directs the Jyhadien in the removal and transport of these containers, seeing them all safely off dimension, all except for one. This one he drains, awakening the almost mindless being suspended thus. Squee _may_ remember him as the gentleman who showed up back in Quaren and loaned his Hovertank to John. Jadis moves his hand to touch the man's forehead and chuckles when a blue spark jumps at him. The Jyhadien look to their master, "And the Starspawn, Lord?" Jadis nods, "Remove the South Wing. Do not bother to take extreme caution, I do not require great intelligence in that one." That finished, he turns back to Squee. "Should you so desire, you may call upon me after this is over. Just announce all of your entourage next time. And you may tell Chaos that he tastes good spread thinly over a patina of bone and flesh." Jadis laughs as he says the last, leaving as he does so. His only stop on the way is to reach up and spin an invisible object, which reveals itself to be a starburst pendant. A small whine begins to be heard in the psychic realm. OOC: Well, This story has certainly taken some twists I wasn't planning on, as most good stories will. Jadis is really writing himself here. And he's let me know in no uncertain terms that he fears absolutely nothing. OOC2: No offense meant, Dane. Jadis isn't about to create Starspawn right now, so he's just making an incredibly powerful being that _looks_ like a Starspawn. =========================== Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 16:16:59 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE:Nanites in Gods' clothing On Mon, 13 Jul 1998 18:57:51 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004985 >On Sun, 12 Jul 1998 10:55:03 -0700 (MST) >Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004979 > > Roscoe sits staring at the spectacle of Driss's demise in silence, >and watches the other dities' reactions to it in the same silence. >Finally he sends, his mind detached, emotionless and matter of fact. >/Driss will be back. But from something like this it will be much >longer than I think we want to wait. He wasn't sure exactly how long >it took him to recover from th supernova, but it was at least a week >after he regained conciousness. And that still couldn't destroy his >boots, rapier, or cloak. Yet this disolved all of them. Even his >medallion was reduced to a single gem./ He trots over to where Driss >was last seen and paws a small ruby out of the dust. Already a gold >setting seems to be forming around it as well. Roscoe feels a totally alien contact, 'You may inform Lord Brahma that he should not confuse himself with her whose place he is in. His power I do respect, as I do Chaos'. My strength waxes.. next time I may not leave the gem.' The presence does not wait for a reply, and seems to view Roscoe as an object to deliver its messages, and warnings. =========================== Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 18:37:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Immortal Kombat On Mon, 13 Jul 1998 21:12:03 EDT Dane0R0A Said As CAoL Message # 00004986 Roland wrote: > "Hmm...is there any way to get this Stardragon to have a mad-on > for my male parent?" Shard snarls as he continues. "'Father' is too > familiar a term...anyway, I don't want to _kill_ the boy scout! How > could I have any more fun with square-jaw if I _waste_ him?" Cerberus smiles evilly, "If you can draw Malice into the same general area, perhaps as much as a few parsecs across, as The Stardragon, it will recognize Malice as an avatar of The Great Adversary, and it will attack. As an avatar of That Which Destroys Malice is AUTOMATICALLY on The Stardragon's list of destroy on sensing. I cannot promise that your -parent- would be killed, some of The Destroyer's avatars CANNOT be killed, even by The Stardragon, but he would certainly be badly injured. In addition, there is a GOOD chance that The Great Adversary would take a personal hand in the battle, which would have a tendancy, in my experience with such things, to humble your father at least temporarily. Usually the most powerful of The Great Adversary's avatars are not even aware of their status, or even when they gained such, until their personalities are subsumed by Him bringing His full presence to bear. Quite often they are so traumatized, by such treatment, and by being STOMPED by The Stardragon (those that survive), that they soon forget their status. Which of course means that those, can be -played- with, by drawing them into battle repeatedly with a being they cannot HOPE to defeat." =========================== Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 18:37:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Immortal Kombat On Mon, 13 Jul 1998 21:19:12 EDT Dane0R0A Said As CAoL Message # 00004987 Shadow Said > Jadis appears next to the two. "The next battle will be here, in > front of the castle. We should be able to hold them until I arrive > with the energy I have gone to collect." He appears slightly > disoriented. > > To Cerberus, "Do you wish me to abstain from interfering in your > battle with Hydra?" "Yes, his sword is similar in nature to my glaive. Both have the power to rupture universes, and can be used against time-stopped victims. I do not know what effect either would have on you, and I prefer NOT to find out the hard way. I would survive a universe being disrupted around me, but it would #HURT# immensely" =========================== Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 22:05:26 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE IV: Plots, Plans and Precarious Predicaments On Mon, 13 Jul 1998 21:08:30 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004989 >On Mon, 13 Jul 1998 18:48:08 -0400 (EDT) >Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004984 > >To Shard he remarks offhandedly, "I could not make any of them even >close to the powers stolen from me by that witch, but together they >should serve to hold the Gods at bay for a while." Shard swallows. Hard. "KnightMare, ah, enhanced them. If they're not up to the job..." Suddenly, Shard's eyes go wide. His power level increases noticably. What was done to the CAoL is being done to him. *The dragon's commentary has given me an idea, Shard. For so long as Roland is Vishnu, you shall be Yama, Lord of Darkness.* There's something resembling a smile in the sending. *Enjoy.* >Floating in the cylinders are copies of the CAoL, though it is >apparrent that they are not alive in a mental sense. Jadis directs >the Jyhadien in the removal and transport of these containers, seeing >them all safely off dimension, all except for one. This one he >drains, awakening the almost mindless being suspended thus. Squee >_may_ remember him as the gentleman who showed up back in Quaren and >loaned his Hovertank to John. Jadis moves his hand to touch the man's >forehead and chuckles when a blue spark jumps at him. Somewhere, somewhen, Malice blinks. [Clones.] On Earth-9, the number of nightmares triples as the Morpheum roils with infernal laughter. [CLONES!] Malice takes form within the Dreamtime of Earth-9 and shakes his head, still laughing. [What a FOOL I've been! AHAHAHAHAHA!] And he vanishes. The Golden Circle: The series of dimensions which surround Amber; called 'shadows' by the Amberites "Ah, sweet Ariel," Brand hissed, staring at the Lady of Chronos Keep. She backed away slowly, her sword pointed at all times at the Trump God. Half his body seemed to be a Trump of an infinite starscape. "You shouldn't have defied me." "You're insane, Brand," Ariel said, her voice calm and even, though the tip of her blade wavered the tiniest amount. "Your jealousy has driven you over the edge." Brand laughed. Then he shrugged, and one of Chronos' towers vanished. There was a sound not unlike a scream shortly thereafter. "The Chaos-lord is most displeased with you," Brand said with a silky smile. "Not that I care, but it was most useful in tracking you down this close to Amber." "Chaos lord?" Ariel asked, confused. "I've stayed out of the Court's politics. Dara plays too rough." Then she smiled sardonically at Brand. "Then again, lackey to the Court does sound about your speed." Brand's eyes turned into pits of the Abyss. "You are not that stupid. That Chaos thing thinks it uses me, but I am the master of duplicity." *Are you now?* KnightMare sent. *You are, of course, referring to: 1) the fact that Ariel is not the traitor against whom I sent you, 2) that you've secretly allied with said traitor against me, and 3) your plan to subvert my Working through your control of 'Trump' power and the Abyssal nothingness which you insanely believe you have mastered. *You are demonstrably foolish.* There was a breeze in the tower, and Brand vanished. "Whew!" Ariel breathed, sitting back hard in her throne. Then she smiled. "Damn. We out-maneuvered BRAND! Z'On'Dar, or KnightMare, or whatever the hell you are, I like your style!" She concentrated; Chronos was unharmed, as she suspected. "One Tower, and one double-crossing lunatic, as promised. Now, if you would...?" There was a wave of...something. A male body took form within the Keep. "Ah! Ah." It was gray and stone-like and naked, and looked around with an astonished look on his face. "So this is what I look like from the inside..." Ariel kissed Chronos' projection on the cheek. "Perfect! Pleasure doing business with you." *As you say. Farewell, Ariel of Amber. We will not meet again.* The connection faded. [You have that much correct, Chaos-beast,] she thought as she watched Chronos marvel over his new body. [Roland and his brood will no doubt undo your plans. Which fits into _my_ plans perfectly. But it would not do for them to succeed too quickly.] "Gaunt dear!" she called. A man in black armor strode in mechanically, his face determined but his eyes blank. "Good. Off you go." She concentrated on him, and he vanished. "Have fun on Babylon 5, Byron!" she laughed. But in the crystal that had grown him, a new form began to grow... =========================== Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 22:08:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Plots, Plans and Precarious Predicaments On Tue, 14 Jul 1998 23:19:57 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004990 [Roland & Morgan said] "[...] But in the crystal that had grown him, a new form began to grow..." In another place, at once far removed yet not impossibly distant by her means of travel, a petite black haired lady studied the bathroom mirror intently, to make sure the dye had properly covered her silvered streaks over her ears. It wouldn't do to be caught out on something so simple as grown-out roots. Suddenly, an icy chill ran up her spine, and she shivered. Sarah's expression in the mirror frowns back at her. "Great, just great. First Zia gets a wild hair, then drags Sera into it, then James takes off on something he won't talk about. No one can talk to any of them. Benedict's disappeared, Random tuts me off as alarmist and rashly young because he only knows Zia and her wild hairs. I wind up at this dump because the normal haunts are likely compromised.... and something is STILL going more wrong and giving me chills. NOT that I'd be able to TELL, any more than to get freaked out for no discernible reason. If I have nightmares again about growing extra heads and arms, I'll go back to the crystal cavern to sleep, I swear by the Unicorn!" She glances into the silvered glass, quite unhappy. "It's enough to make you want Han Solo around; so you wouldn't be the one saying, 'I've got a _really_ bad feeling about this.' Or at least wish that sleeping pills were feasible." She snorts, in disgust. "I HATE psyche stuff... I really do. Why I had to be so damn over-sensitive, considering Dad hardly ever USED it..." "Oh, no!" She gaped at her watch, and ran for the door of her Las Vegas hotel room. "Going to miss the curtain time - the stage boss'll be SO hot...." She slammed out of the room and down the hallway, hurriedly dragging on the floor length mink... it was cold in the winter night, here in the desert. =========================== Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 08:27:14 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 15 Jul 1998 11:20:52 -0400 Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00004993 > On Sat, 11 July '98 Zia Said > > Simultaneously, the creator god turns to Vishnu and Shiva, "Speak > with Ganesha to find proper methods to bypass those Jadi we need not > fight - and how to avoid your suffering our Lord Krishna's current > difficulty should you be trapped into such a pointless battle. Lord > Ganesha, set the tactic to join through to the goal, not to slay the > enemy, for our victory would be our true defeat. Protect your > fellows from this threat of corruption and consumption. Lord Shiva is momentarily stunned by the coruption and decay causing energy attacks of his opponent/prey. His Deathly Pale Tigerish head faces the multiple Ganeshas and asks, "Well, Lord of Elephants and Wisdom, do you have any advice as how I may defeat my honnored prey, protect those amongst us who are not suited to the tasks of a warrior, and keep my head at the same time?" =========================== Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 08:48:01 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 15 Jul 1998 11:38:55 -0400 Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00004994 > On Wed, 8 July '98 Shadow Said > > The 'dirtball' stops way in front of the group, then spins, > releasing the discs in a circle around it. It stops then begins > spinning the other way. As it does beams shoot from the diamond to > pass through the discs and be redirected toward the group. A dozen > blasts hit the group at once, moving in patterns to do the most damage. Upon Jadis' arrival Shiva's body turns back into a fully feline tiger form ( try saying that three times fast }:=8D ). With a roar which almost shatters the crystal that Jadis is suspended within, The Great Death White Night Tiger rushes at the mad sorcerer. Only he's met first by the energy blast, impacting full on with the God of Destruction's Tiger-body. Smoke and steam rises from Lord Shiva's body as fur and flesh burn and boil. However, when the pulsed beam of energy ends Shiva's body begins to heal and within mere seconds the effects of the damaging beam are totaly reversed. Although, the Lord of Destruction continues to smolder for quite different reasons. =========================== Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 19:37:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Wed, 15 Jul 1998 22:29:44 EDT Dane0R0A Said As CAoL Message # 00004995 > Dhyrclhanc Said > Lord Shiva is momentarily stunned by the coruption and decay causing > energy attacks of his opponent/prey. His Deathly Pale Tigerish head > faces the multiple Ganeshas and asks, "Well, Lord of Elephants and > Wisdom, do you have any advice as how I may defeat my honnored prey, > protect those amongst us who are not suited to the tasks of a > warrior, and keep my head at the same time?" Hydra looks down at the tiny gods at his feet and says, "I may be able to do something, but I do not wish to reveal it at this time, lest the enemy devise a counter." Glancing at Vishnu he says, "That looks painfull," as he points a finger at what little remains. From that finger lances a beam of energy. The beam hits the gem (OOC: If you don't want this to happen Driscoll just ignore the rest) and the regeneration process that Dris is undergoing accelerates. In seconds Vishnu is once again standing hale and hearty as he was before Jadis' attack. =========================== Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 16:15:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE4: At the gates On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 17:33:57 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004997 As the gods approach the castle Jadis gives a signal, and the earthworks he created fire at the group. But they only aim at the vehicles. Again and again they pound on the god's mounts, and finally the last vehicle is disabled. The earthworks fall silent and melt away. Everyone is gathered on the edge of the crater surrounding the castle, and Jadis calls out, "Have you come to surrender to me? Discard these personas and I shall be merciful." =========================== Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 18:10:25 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: The next attack On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 19:57:23 EDT Dane0R0A Said As CAoL Message # 00004998 Driscoll Said >> Dane0R0A Said >> The beam hits the gem (OOC: If you don't want this to happen >> Driscoll just ignore the rest) and the regeneration process that >> Dris is undergoing > > hehehe > > Oh and FYI Driss was Krishna Vishnu is still whole and hearty if I > rememebr right. (OOC: OOPS. My mistake. I thought I had the right name, and so didn't go back and check it. PLEASE substitute Krishna where *I* wrote Vishnu. Sorry). =========================== Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 18:10:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: At the gates On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 20:11:52 EDT Dane0R0A Said As CAoL Message # 00004999 Shadow Said > As the gods approach the castle Jadis gives a signal, and the > earthworks he created fire at the group. But they only aim at the > vehicles. Again and again they pound on the god's mounts, and > finally the last vehicle is disabled. The earthworks fall silent and > melt away. Everyone is gathered on the edge of the crater > surrounding the castle, and Jadis calls out, "Have you come to > surrender to me? Discard these personas and I shall be merciful." As Hydra approaches the fortress, the gods near him can feel a blister form in space, and then another. Those that can sense energy, feel enormous forces building up. The sensation of buildup is being shielded and the energy that is being sensed drops off at a geometric rate each foot of distance from the sources (somewhere around Hydra's waist) the energy being sensed drops off ten thousand fold. When he reaches the edge of the crater (after Jadis makes his challenge), he points one finger at Cerberus and raises his sword to the heavens. Cerberus mirrors the action. As both weapons reach their highest points, the entire universe rings as though it were a bell that had just been struck (for all intents and purposes it has been). (OOC: I'll wait to do their battle until the rest of the group responds to Jadis). =========================== Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 19:34:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE4: At the gates On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 19:29:28 -0700 (PDT) Fuzzy Said As CAoL Message # 00005000 > On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 17:33:57 -0400 (EDT) > Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004997 > > As the gods approach the castle Jadis gives a signal, and the > earthworks he created fire at the group. But they only aim at the > vehicles. Again and again they pound on the god's mounts, and > finally the last vehicle is disabled. The earthworks fall silent and > melt away. Everyone is gathered on the edge of the crater > surrounding the castle, and Jadis calls out, "Have you come to > surrender to me? Discard these personas and I shall be merciful." Skyboard One, blew apart into tiny shreds at the first impact... Leaving Fuzzy still standing in mid-air as if nothing had happened. Fuzzy Smiles slightly... " You have fought so long and hard for your Fate, That I would never dream of denying you, your denouement, Since you value it so highly." SkyBoard One Re-Assembles itself Under Fuzzy's Feet from the Cloud of tiny insects it had shifted into... "Choice and Consequence, Are the Rights of Every Mind" =========================== Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 19:38:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: At the gates On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 19:33:58 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005001 >On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 17:33:57 -0400 (EDT) >Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004997 > >As the gods approach the castle Jadis gives a signal, and the >earthworks he created fire at the group. But they only aim at the >vehicles. Again and again they pound on the god's mounts, and finally >the last vehicle is disabled. The earthworks fall silent and melt >away. Everyone is gathered on the edge of the crater surrounding the >castle, and Jadis calls out, "Have you come to surrender to me? >Discard these personas and I shall be merciful." Vishnu/Phoenix blinks in pure astonishment. "This is, I trust, some bizarre example of your strange sense of humor? Your tactical position is dubious, and your concept of 'mercy' leaves something to be desired." /It is probable that John is here,/ a voice that is more Roland's than Vishnu's-but not by much-sends through the link. /Fuzzy-Karma, Zia-Brahma, Nemo-Ganesha, you seem to be the ones most likely to find him./ =========================== Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 21:07:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: At the gates On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 22:52:01 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005002 > /It is probable that John is here,/ a voice that is more Roland's > than Vishnu's-but not by much-sends through the link. /Fuzzy-Karma, > Zia-Brahma, Nemo-Ganesha, you seem to be the ones most likely to > find him./ Since Legion is gone, and Roland doesn't (insofar as I know, that is) use a "Lens"-like effect - er, does Brahma hear this? The rest of you might retain your 'selves'... Zia or Sera haven't been heard from lately. :) Although Brahma did mention something akin to rescuing John, a while back. Brahma regards Jadis dispassionately, three sets of heads still busy with meditations. "Life is but a dream. And since all existence is merely the mirror of that dream, no appearance or being is more or less true, Shallow Pretender. You have given answers; we have come to add the questions which should follow these. You have made claims of power - for all power there is a balance in kind and in form. In your arrogant pursuit of dharma, you have over-reached your karma. You should therefore welcome the chance now to come once more into enlightenment, and seek the truth after so long you have labored under delusions." "As an example, I am not any persona. While these others may be lesser or greater of the enlightenment of the truth I have gifted them, you are once more mistaken in regards to myself when you wrongly say such in concerns to the Infinite God. All things fall sway, all life reshapes from my endlessness. Allow me to attempt to enlighten your confusion, and lead you once more into peace." Brahma straightens in lotus-position, and all four sets of eyes momentarily open. Simultaneously, all Jadis' evacuees, from this particular universe, who have left any time since Brahma first was 'created' here, are returned, and the exits they were to use simply do not exist. Any more exits opened by any means that Brahma can counter are summarily closed as well. This should even "return" those Jyhadien who left after Jadis' multi-universe power feed, hopefully. Since I don't think Brahma would enter the conflict as a warrior, this seems more suitable. "There - let all who are involved with you know the discomfort of a durance as you yourself deem needed upon your karmic brother." Brahma "nods off" again, all four heads once more in meditation on the infinite. =========================== Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 05:24:45 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: At the gates On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 23:59:24 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00005003 > On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 17:33:57 -0400 (EDT) > Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004997 > > As the gods approach the castle Jadis gives a signal, and the > earthworks he created fire at the group. But they only aim at the > vehicles. Again and again they pound on the god's mounts, and > finally the last vehicle is disabled. The earthworks fall silent and > melt away. Everyone is gathered on the edge of the crater > surrounding the castle, and Jadis calls out, "Have you come to > surrender to me? Discard these personas and I shall be merciful." "It takes little wisdom to question the quality of your mercy." comments Ganesha. And since he is not riding a "vehicle" (instead he's riding a transformed Nemo), any attempt to attack his mount is ineffective. "But as long as the subject of surrender has come up..." Ganasha gestures towards one of his "wise men" (another Nemo). The wise man produces a broomstick and a pointed hat. He dons the hat and sits astride the broom and zooms into the sky, as he reaches a decent altitude, the broom starts emitting smoke. He proceeds to write across the sky: "Surrender John" =========================== Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 09:53:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: At the gates On Fri, 17 Jul 1998 08:42:05 -0700 (MST) Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00005004 > On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 17:33:57 -0400 (EDT) > Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004997 > > As the gods approach the castle Jadis gives a signal, and the > earthworks he created fire at the group. But they only aim at the > vehicles. Again and again they pound on the god's mounts, and > finally the last vehicle is disabled. The earthworks fall silent and > melt away. Everyone is gathered on the edge of the crater > surrounding the castle, and Jadis calls out, "Have you come to > surrender to me? Discard these personas and I shall be merciful." Roscoe sits and ponders the sight for a moment, then gets a bit of inspiration. Shifting into the form of a feild mouse he quickly begins making his way directly to the castle. Squee looks out of an upperstory arrowslit and a smile crosses his face at the sight as he shifts into rat from and starts makinghis way to intercept his Uncle. Jim/Krishna bows slightly towards Jadis. "We shall not disregard this form until we believe it is no longer needed. But We do have to think that you are in dire need of enLightenment." His hands and forearms shift quickly into Laser cannons and fire at Jadis. =========================== Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 10:06:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: At the gates On Fri, 17 Jul 1998 13:01:46 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00005005 >On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 19:33:58 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00005001 > > Vishnu/Phoenix blinks in pure astonishment. "This is, I trust, >some bizarre example of your strange sense of humor? Your tactical >position is dubious, and your concept of 'mercy' leaves something to >be desired." Jadis looks around, "My tactical position is far from dubious. In fact," he gestures, and the Nazgul with troops come forth ready to attack, "I think my tactical position is quite sound." =========================== Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 12:53:14 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: At the gates On Fri, 17 Jul 1998 13:13:54 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00005006 >On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 22:52:01 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005002 > >Brahma regards Jadis dispassionately, three sets of heads still busy >with meditations. "Life is but a dream. And since all existence is >merely the mirror of that dream, no appearance or being is more or >less true, Shallow Pretender. You have given answers; we have come to >add the questions which should follow these. You have made claims of >power - for all power there is a balance in kind and in form. In your >arrogant pursuit of dharma, you have over-reached your karma. You >should therefore welcome the chance now to come once more into >enlightenment, and seek the truth after so long you have labored >under delusions." "I seek the truth as we speak. It is you who stand in the way of my truth. Leave me now to continue my researches, and I shall hold you no enmity." >"As an example, I am not any persona. While these others may be >lesser or greater of the enlightenment of the truth I have gifted >them, you are once more mistaken in regards to myself when you >wrongly say such in concerns to the Infinite God. All things fall >sway, all life reshapes from my endlessness. Allow me to attempt to >enlighten your confusion, and lead you once more into peace." Brahma >straightens in lotus-position, and all four sets of eyes momentarily >open. Jadis' eyes go dead black, "I see that you did not receive my message. I warned you not to confuse yourself with the one whose body you inhabited. Even you are not immune to my power. No being is. And I hold the only counter. With all your talk of illusion, perhaps you are not Brahma after all." Jadis begins a major shadow-shift of his own, trying to get rid of Brahma and restore him as Mara. >"There - let all who are involved with you know the discomfort of a >durance as you yourself deem needed upon your karmic brother." Brahma >"nods off" again, all four heads once more in meditation on the >infinite. Jadis' eyes narrow, now he's _really_ pissed. "Let my karmic brother reveal his presence. Let them know that you are here." Forming in the sky is an outline of the sunburst gem, spinning. John's presence makes itself manifest, and his powers are brought to bear upon Brahma. Jadis continues to work his will on shadow, trying to weaken and replace Brahma. OOC: Note to all, I expect the troops to be able to hold you back for about 3 hours. Toward the end of that my Jadaii will reappear. =========================== Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 12:53:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: At the gates On Fri, 17 Jul 1998 12:31:47 -0500 Molly Said As CAoL Message # 00005007 >On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 17:33:57 -0400 (EDT) >Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00004997 > >As the gods approach the castle Jadis gives a signal, and the >earthworks he created fire at the group. But they only aim at the >vehicles. Again and again they pound on the god's mounts, and finally >the last vehicle is disabled. The earthworks fall silent and melt >away. Gauri is floating of her own power next to Sarawasti, mounted on a normal-sized swan. As they approach the castle, Sarawasti's swan hisses at the castle. As all manner of destruction lash out from the castle, Sarawasti and Gauri look on calmly. Suddenly, a cannonball-sized bullet sails low over the ground toward Sarawasti's position. "Honk!?!" says the swan as it is hit by the explosive round and carried backwards about 100 feet by the impact before exploding in a mass of fire and white feathers. In the center of the small crater, surrounded by white feathers, is a cartoon swan similar in appearance to the old cartoon ducks of the thirties, plucked bald, angry, but otherwise unharmed. Pounding its chest and pointing a wing at Jadis, it squacks. "Of course, you realize, _this_ means _WAR_!" Sarawasti turns, still hovering in midair as if her mount had never been shot out from under her, and smiles at Gauri as she states, "The child's idea." Gauri nods, a mischievious glint in her eyes, as Sarawasti holds out her lower pair of hands to the swan, beckoning it to her. The swan's feathers leap off the ground, reattaching themselves, and the swan loses it's technicolor hues and cartoon proportions in favor of reality's design. Flapping briefly into the air, the swan lands in Sarawasti's lap and both turn to gaze at the castle, along with Gauri. >Everyone is gathered on the edge of the crater surrounding the >castle, and Jadis calls out, "Have you come to surrender to me? >Discard these personas and I shall be merciful." Gauri and Sarawasti make no reply. The swan hisses. =========================== Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 09:44:53 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE4: A Rapturist at the Gates. On Sat, 18 Jul 1998 10:56:39 -0500 Molly Said As CAoL Message # 00005008 >On Fri, 17 Jul 1998 13:13:54 -0400 (EDT) >Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00005006 >Jadis' eyes go dead black, "I see that you did not receive my >message. I warned you not to confuse yourself with the one whose body >you inhabited. Even you are not immune to my power. No being is. And >I hold the only counter. With all your talk of illusion, perhaps you >are not Brahma after all." Jadis begins a major shadow-shift of his >own, trying to get rid of Brahma and restore him as Mara. Sarawasti lowers and picks two seeds from the ground. She passes one to Gauri. >Jadis' eyes narrow, now he's _really_ pissed. "Let my karmic brother >reveal his presence. Let them know that you are here." Forming in the >sky is an outline of the sunburst gem, spinning. John's presence >makes itself manifest, and his powers are brought to bear upon >Brahma. Jadis continues to work his will on shadow, trying to weaken >and replace Brahma. > >OOC: Note to all, I expect the troops to be able to hold you back for >about 3 hours. Toward the end of that my Jadaii will reappear. Sarawasti retakes the seed from Gauri and holding them both to her lips, blows gently on them. 5 roots sprout from each seed, and intertwine with each other, growing in size and twisting complexity until they form the outline of a woman holding a child. Gaps then fill, colors shift and Molly stands, holding Tink in her arms, before Sarawasti and Gauri. Molly blinks a bit, as if checking that everything is still in place, and Tink seems simply relieved to see her aunt. Sarawasti and Gauri smile approvingly. Sarawasti and Gauri take each other's hands, all four pairs of them, and their forms seem to shift and twist like the roots that formed Molly and Tink. The mass of roots twists itself into the form of a woman, twelve feet tall, but otherwise ordinary. Of indeterminate lineage, this raven-haired, dark-skinned woman walked barefooted around the battle-torn ground, grass and wild flowers growing in her footprints. Dressed in a simple, natural-colored, cotton sundress, this new being smiles as she fades away, the sky above the castle and surrounding area brightening to a vivid blue. Grasses grow and cover the crater's slopes surrounding the castle. Trees come into full bloom, even those which do not normally bloom at the same time of season, flowers blossom, and the castle walls are covered with a particuarly stunning variety of ivy. The sun shines brightly down on everyone as jasmine, lotus, and other floral fragnances waft on a particularly pleasant breeze along with the cheerful songs of various birds. In the village, bumper crops of fruits, vegetables and grains will keep the villagers busy harvesting for some time. Troubling aches don't, familiar and friendly aches continue, the populace is invigorated and the population will likely be booming nine months from now. Life, love and good fortune abound. The interesting thing, for those who can sense it, is that the cleansed areas don't seem to belong to anyone. There is no feel of Jadis, none of Zia. It is simply neutral to the will of either. Or as neutral as any other universe. Perhaps a bit more aggresive about repairing itself, a bit quicker to snap back after a shadow shift, but generally, it seems to have decided of its own will to stop taking orders from any one party and reassert itself as the dominant force in control of its own destiny, meanwhile concluding to stay out of affairs of the combatants. This area of cleansing is growing rapidly. In 12 hours, by best estimates, it will encompass the globe, by 24, the solar system, and move outward at faster rates. Also, time is sloooooowly starting to fall back into some semblance of normalcy. In perhaps a week, internal time, it will be back in step with the rest of the multiverse. Jadis, and the others watching will also be aware, to their delight or dismay depending on the viewer, that as each area is cleansed, Jadis receives the power invested in holding it. As does Zia/Brahma for the areas she controls. All in all, is it a win or isn't it? Each 'hand' being released from grasping is free to do something else. Tacticly, it seems to be a strange move, unless there is a third party involved in the struggle to control this dimension? Under the boughs of a large willow tree, Molly and Tink are sitting cross-legged in front of each other, their packs beside them on one side, bottles of water on the other. A zip-lock bag of raisins, peanuts and buttons of candy coated chocolate sits between them next to a deck of cards. "You have any thwees?" Tink asks. Molly's choker glows faintly as it emits "Go fish." =========================== Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 22:38:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: A Rapturist at the Gates. On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 01:17:57 -0400 (EDT) Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00005009 >On Sat, 18 Jul 1998 10:56:39 -0500 >Molly Said As CAoL Message # 00005008 > >Under the boughs of a large willow tree, Molly and Tink are sitting >cross-legged in front of each other, their packs beside them on one >side, bottles of water on the other. A zip-lock bag of raisins, >peanuts and buttons of candy coated chocolate sits between them next >to a deck of cards. > >"You have any thwees?" Tink asks. Molly's choker glows faintly as it >emits "Go fish." The fight is winding down, the majority of the troops on Jadis' side are gone. That's when first one, then the rest of the twenty Jadaii reappear. Jadis floats down to the castle gates and the rest of them fan out around the combatants. The starburst gem comes through the castle and into his hand. His voice rings out, "The wheel turns, the end becomes the beginning." He reaches out with his will and sends all of the people in the universe to their evac destinations, basically breaking and flowing around all of Brahma's blocks. "The cycle is now ended." With that, Jadis destroys the universe, only holding the castle outside of this. "And begun." He restarts the universe, and when it is done the Gods are gone, ALL of them, but he is now even more firmly tied to the universe. Standing on the plain are the CAoL, in their usual forms. There is only one Jadis. He looks at them and says, "Keep in mind that I bear you no Malice," he extends a hand toward the group and the power of 6 universes flows toward the group only to disappear through a gateway into the multiverse to a destination of Jadis' choosing. He lowers his hand, left with only his normal power level. With his other hand he raises the starburst pendant and breaks it in half, releasing John, whose spirit goes into the castle. "I surrender myself to you," he declares, holding his hands out in front of him to be bound. "If you have any questions for me, I suggest you ask them quickly while I feel like talking." OOC: Well, this is the next to last wrap up post. I'm leaving it here in case there are questions you wish to ask Jadis now. =========================== Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 23:39:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: A Rapturist at the Gates. On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 02:20:01 EDT Scott Osborne Said As CAoL Message # 00005010 >He looks at them and says, "Keep in mind that I bear you no >Malice," he extends a hand toward the group and the power of 6 >universes flows toward the group only to disappear through a gateway >into the multiverse to a destination of Jadis' choosing. He lowers >his hand, left with only his normal power level. With his other hand >he raises the starburst pendant and breaks it in half, releasing >John, whose spirit goes into the castle. "I surrender myself to you," >he declares, holding his hands out in front of him to be bound. "If >you have any questions for me, I suggest you ask them quickly while I >feel like talking." Scott Osborne reappears. The pins he provided earlier vanish. "Good day, sir. My name, as you know, is Scott Osborne. I saw that demonstration in the town. I wasn't involved in it; but from what I gather, you'd probibly know about Them. What do you think of Their appearance here?" (OOC Note to Shadow: Please don't mention Them by name; They don't like it, nor would i (capilization intentional).) =========================== Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 00:39:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: RE: AAE4: A Rapturist at the Gates. On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 02:07:55 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005011 :into the castle. "I surrender myself to you," he declares, holding :his hands out in front of him to be bound. "If you have any questions :for me, I suggest you ask them quickly while I feel like talking." Zia grins, and steps forwards. With Brahma's power gone, she looks once more like the not quite teenaged petite brunette. An appearance most out of keeping with her inner spirit, once you know her as do these folks on either side of the "batte" ground. She walks up to Jadis, slowly. Then, she _kisses this heinuous baddy on the cheek. Her eyes twinkle merrily. "I must say, I admire your way with endings and beginnings. Want to settle our bet, now that I've won under the _exact_ terms I earlier stated? I THOUGHT you wanted to lose, so I bet on that so I could satisfy my curiousity." "For a Shadow, Jadis, you have the _beginnings_ of a certain small amount of style. Not much, but very good for a mere Shadow dweller. Too bad you didn't believe me about seeing the future. You could have been so MUCH more." She sighs, then shrugs. "Such is life, no? The bet, then, and I'll be off. There is a much greater threat they'll face, as I'm sure you're aware, since you're about to tell us all about it." Dame Ziactrice Keenan Amazingly snobbish and "I-told-you-so" in tone. =========================== Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 07:37:25 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: A Rapturist at the Gates. On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 08:02:23 -0700 (MST) Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00005012 > On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 01:17:57 -0400 (EDT) > Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00005009 > > The fight is winding down, the majority of the troops on Jadis' side > are gone. That's when first one, then the rest of the twenty Jadaii > reappear. Jadis floats down to the castle gates and the rest of them > fan out around the combatants. The starburst gem comes through the > castle and into his hand. His voice rings out, "The wheel turns, the > end becomes the beginning." He reaches out with his will and sends > all of the people in the universe to their evac destinations, > basically breaking and flowing around all of Brahma's blocks. "The > cycle is now ended." With that, Jadis destroys the universe, only > holding the castle outside of this. "And begun." He restarts the > universe, and when it is done the Gods are gone, ALL of them, but he > is now even more firmly tied to the universe. Standing on the plain > are the CAoL, in their usual forms. There is only one Jadis. Chaos is strolling down the road back towards village smiling braodly as he watches and feels the going ons of hte dimention. Roscoe doesn't even seem to notice what's going on, already having snuck by the front lines and now exploring the castle itself in the forom of a field mouse. He pulls up short as a rat ten times his size blocks his way. Instictavely Roscoe shifts into his wolf form hoping to scare off the rat, when he hears in his mind, *Hello "unca"* *Squee? Is that you? You're so much bigger. Oh Squee. Why'd you run off? Why didn't you tell me you were going to go. And why didn't you answer me when I felt youenter the dimention?* *I've got a better question. Why did you leave my parents to die rather than looking for them like you promised?* *WHAT?* Squee doesn't reply but shifts into the form of a lion and leaps at Roscoe. Roscoe seems to vanish as he shifts into the form of a flea, then re-appears behind Squee in wolf form again. Squee doesn't bother to turn around but shifts into the form of a Manticore and lashes out at Roscoe with his deadly tail. Roscoe hops back shocked. *How did you do that???* *I have a medallion now "Unca". Even if I hate your guts I still have the rights of my birth into the clan. I just had to come back and show it to you before you die.* The tail lashes out again and this time Roscoe doesn't dodge in time. The stinger strikes home unleashing its venom into Roscoe who's mind screams out in pain. He drops to theground and begins to go into convusions and as he looses conciousness he shifts back into his birth form of a 3 foot tall humanoid. Squee shifts to this form as well being only slightly shorter now and looks at teh prone body, hefting Soulstealer in his hand. "No this is not the time." He returns to the sitting room and takes his lady's time. "It's time to leave to our next destination now." He gestures in the air and seems to slice it open with Soulstealer and they both walk through vanishing. =========================== Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 11:18:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: A Rapturist at the Gates. On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 12:53:29 -0500 Molly Said As CAoL Message # 00005013 >On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 01:17:57 -0400 (EDT) >Shadow Said As CAoL Message # 00005009 > >>On Sat, 18 Jul 1998 10:56:39 -0500 >>Molly Said As CAoL Message # 00005008 > >>Under the boughs of a large willow tree, Molly and Tink are sitting >>cross-legged in front of each other, their packs beside them on one >>side, bottles of water on the other. A zip-lock bag of raisins, >>peanuts and buttons of candy coated chocolate sits between them next >>to a deck of cards. >> >>"You have any thwees?" Tink asks. Molly's choker glows faintly as it >>emits "Go fish." A small band of troopers runs, screaming, at Molly and Tink. Vines twist up out of the ground, supported by young saplings, ensnaring the troopers while a thorn tipped with a mild, natural sedative pricks them, putting them to sleep. The woman that was Sarawasti and Gauri reappears, sitting on the ground next to Molly and Tink and smiling. Molly never looks up from her hand. "So what god are you?" The woman shrugs. "A combination of Sarawasti and Gauri. An aspect of the Creator that spreads life, love, wisdom, knowledge, purity, patience, perserverance, peace and good fortune. At least I hope I am." "Well," Tink says, passing Molly a pair of sevens, "The Hindu had thiwty thwee million or so gods. You awe pwobably in there somewhere." The aspect shrugged. "I had hoped to offer both sides protection for Jadis' followers, so that after this was over they would have a home to return to. Hydra holds part of them, the rest are around you." Molly remarks chillily, "So they could return home to find a new God to bow down to." "I don't want worship. Call me a rapturist. I want to spread Random acts of Kindness. No reward needed. I do it for the pleasure inherent." "Then you're a first. A god who doesn't want worship." "I prefer to think of myself as a being on the path to Enlightenment. An avatar for whatever forces are guiding me. Unfortunately, my plans for this Universe don't appear to be bearing fruit. Jadis would simply destroy more and more of the multiverse to be rid of me. So, once he has secured his people elsewhere, I will slip away. I suppose I should have made some flowery speech voicing my intentions, but I felt it simply would have made my task harder, since I was trying to thwart both sides' plans. That of Jadis wanting the Universe destroyed and Brahma wanting an object lesson for Jadis. Ah well. Fighting two sides at once is always difficult." >The fight is winding down, the majority of the troops on Jadis' side >are gone. That's when first one, then the rest of the twenty Jadaii >reappear. Jadis floats down to the castle gates and the rest of them >fan out around the combatants. The starburst gem comes through the >castle and into his hand. His voice rings out, "The wheel turns, the >end becomes the beginning." He reaches out with his will and sends >all of the people in the universe to their evac destinations, >basically breaking and flowing around all of Brahma's blocks. The Avatar stands. "There, that is the moment I was waiting for. I am sorry this could not be resolved differently, Lords and Ladies. But the experience was Enlightening." She fades away, leaving Jadis' universe. >He looks at them and says, "Keep in mind that I bear you no Malice," >he extends a hand toward the group and the power of 6 universes flows >toward the group only to disappear through a gateway into the >multiverse to a destination of Jadis' choosing. He lowers his hand, >left with only his normal power level. With his other hand he raises >the starburst pendant and breaks it in half, releasing John, whose >spirit goes into the castle. "I surrender myself to you," he >declares, holding his hands out in front of him to be bound. "If you >have any questions for me, I suggest you ask them quickly while I >feel like talking." Molly scowls. >On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 02:20:01 EDT >Scott Osborne Said As CAoL Message # 00005010 > >"Good day, sir. My name, as you know, is Scott Osborne. I saw that >demonstration in the town. I wasn't involved in it; but from what I >gather, you'd probibly know about Them. What do you think of Their >appearance here?" The scowl on Molly's face deepens. [Pardon me, sir, would you like to take a survey? Did you find the appearance of a floating frisbee sword in front of your face a) a minor nuisance blocking your view b) a little irritating, had to update my file of 'omniwhatsis's making threats at me' c) a major pain, I had to spend a whole couple seconds remaking my guns d) sword? what sword?] ] [Be nice, Aunt Molly,] Tink scolds, [He's just doing his job.] >On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 02:07:55 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00005011 > >She walks up to Jadis, slowly. Then, she _kisses this heinuous >baddy on the cheek. Her eyes twinkle merrily. "I must say, I admire >your way with endings and beginnings. Want to settle our bet, now >that I've won under the _exact_ terms I earlier stated? I THOUGHT you >wanted to lose, so I bet on that so I could satisfy my curiousity." Molly just rolls her eyes disgustedly. >"For a Shadow, Jadis, you have the _beginnings_ of a certain small >amount of style. Not much, but very good for a mere Shadow dweller. >Too bad you didn't believe me about seeing the future. You could have >been so MUCH more." She sighs, then shrugs. "Such is life, no? The >bet, then, and I'll be off. There is a much greater threat they'll >face, as I'm sure you're aware, since you're about to tell us all >about it." Molly snorts. "Sure," the choker glows, "Tell them all about it. I'm going to find John." She wraps a white bit of cloth around her fist, a politeness hankie. /I'll give him a 'Paff'. You don't call the people who came to rescue you 'fools'. If I didn't want to give the punk a fat lip so bad, I'da left him here./ ===========================