FKL Voiceovers: Fanworks Edition (Now with approved names)

[Ness]

I got a mod's approval so don't fuss at me about recreating the topic.

Most of you that frequent FKL know about my voiceovers. Well after FKLV: In Hell I decided to make the next edition more detailed and story-like. All the other ones were written like plays, but this will be an actual story. However, it will still maintain the humor that made the Voiceovers so famous.

Alright, here we go.....

"What the hell?" asked Photon Drop (referred to as PD from now on). "What's with this new format, and why do my lines no longer contain typoes?

"Because this is not a play, it is a story," replied Ness.

"What?!" shouted Sef. "You're ditching the classic the format? I feel cheated!"

"And worst of all it's not in Fresh Kills, it's in Fanworks!" shouted Scott_Kuda (referred to as Kuda from now on).

"Sheesh, guys, will you just give this story a chance?" pleaded Ness.

"I agree," stated Tai. "The story hasn't even begun and you guys are already attacking it. Whatever happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?"

"You're right," conceded PD. "I'm sorry, Ness."

Everyone else apologizes as well. "I accept your apologies," said Ness. "Now let's work together to make this story rock!"

Everyone cheers.

[Tact]

Hooray for approved names! Will what happens in the first chapter be any different, or will it be just the names?

[Ness]

It'll just be the names.

Prologue: The Shadows of a Dying World

In recent years, PSO World had become a dark place, both literally and figuratively. The planet's sun, Dreamcast I, was a dying star. This caused the planet to have longer nights and shorter days. However, it was just one of the many problems PSO World faced. The impending death of the sun caused several people to leave the planet, leaving several places in PSO World's urbanized surface uninhabited. These uninhabited areas suffered from urban deterioration and became havens for crime lords, trolls, and strange new cult known only as the Void.

No one knew anything about this strange cult, other than people disappeared for days, or even weeks, at time and came back praising the Master. Who was the Master? No one would tell. It was unsure whether or not the cult members knew.

At first the Void was just dismissed as fanatics, but its actions soon became violent; it attacked places near the abandoned areas of the planet. The attacks became more frequent and reached further into the occupied areas. No one knew when or why they would strike. All they knew is that its attacks left no survivors. People feared for their lives and the attacks became an issue of much discussion among politicians. They knew so little, but everyone knew one thing: it would only be a matter of time before the attacks reached the heart of PSO World.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-18 06:16 ]</font>

[Tact]

Ooh, the Master. Is he the guy snuffing out the candles?

[Ness]

You will just have to wait and see.

Note: I changed a few things so it would make grammitical sense, but all I really did was use the "replace" function on Word.
------------------------------------------

Chapter 1: Four Extinguished Candles

Moderators at PSOW were nonexistent; they had all left for better planets. Even the admins had abandoned this once thriving utopia for worlds that were not dying. After a brief but bloody period of anarchy, five of PSO World's most respected citizens rose to form a legislative council to take over the functions of the government. Samantha, Shattered_Weasel (referred to as Shattered from now on), Roygbiv, Shadowpawn (referred to as Shadow from now on), and Ness. The five of them were currently having a meeting in the Grand Council Hall, a cylindrical room at the top of a 150 story skyscraper.

"I don't know what we shall do," said Samantha, brushing back her short black hair and placing her hands on her head. "The attacks keep getting closer and more frequent." She closed her brown eyes and sighed.

"What's worse it that we still don't know how and when they are attacking us," added in Roygbiv.

"We can't even defend ourselves because the attacks are over before our forces even get there!" shouted Shadow. "Not only that, but we still have to deal with the issue of our dying star."

"This fucking sucks," said Shattered.

"......" was Ness' only remark.

"You have to have something more than that to say!" shouted Samantha. "You're always the quietest in these damn meeting and hardly contribute anything at all!"

"It's better to say nothing than to open my mouth and say only crap," retorted Ness. "Your voice shouts loudly the sound of nothing."

"Samantha just got Shakespeare'd!" chuckled Roygbiv.

"Ness wins," stated Shattered with a smile.

"Damnit, this is why I don't like you, Ness!" shouted Samantha.

"I'm not on this council because you like me, I'm here because the citizens of PSO World need me--need all of us," said Ness.

"Cool it guys, how are we going to fight this threat if we are always fighting each other?" asked Shadow.

"Shadow is right," agreed Shattered. "Ness, what do you suggest we do?"

"Run," stated Ness. "Run and go into hiding. I had a vision last night, a vision that I saw as clearly as I see you guys. Tonight they will come for us, and tonight we will die. With us dead, our already struggling government will crumble and the Void will take over. They will put out our dying star and like the Void, PSO World will be cast in a frozen darkness. That is why we must leave this place immediately and go into hiding."

Ness stood up and gave everyone a datapad. "Each datapad contains a specific location for you each of you to hide in. With me I have a datapad that contains all your locations and in six months I will come and get you guys. Until then, don't leave the areas I gave you to hide in," said Ness. He stood up and walked to the door. "Come, we must leave now."

From behind came the sound of incessant laughter.

"Oh noes, Ness had a bad dream and wants us all to leave our homes! Honestly, did you expect us to believe this shit?" chided Samantha.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh what a loser!" shouted Shattered.

"Is this your idea of joke? Because it's as funny as hell! Thanks, Ness, I needed that," said Roygbiv.

"Ness, you've said some weird things in the past, but his takes the cake!" yelled Shadow.

"FOOLS!" shouted Ness. "Fine, don't believe me. If you desire to die, than so be it!"

Ness threw open the two golden doors that allowed entrance into the chamber and the slammed them shut behind him. Even behind the doors he could still hear their laughter. It was no matter, they will know he's right by the time it was too late. He ran down the hall towards the elevator.

*****

In a pitch black room lit only by five candles and wrinkled hand held a metal spoon. Each of the five candles had names written on them.

*****

Roygbiv walked home that night still chuckling over what Ness had said to them. However, Ness did look pretty pissed when he walked out the room. Maybe there was truth in his words after all. Roygbiv doubted it, but he put is hand on his Varista just in case. Behind him was the sound of metal clanging together. Roygbiv quickly whirled around to see that two trashcans falling over caused the noise.

"I'm getting too jumpy," thought Roygbiv to himself. Then he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He looked down to see blood trickling down it, onto his hand, and finally on this his middle finger where it dripped on the ground. Roygbiv quickly grabbed his arm and attempted to stop the bleeding. "What the hell?" he thought to himself. "Show yourself!" he shouted.

A black, furry figure appeared in from of him. It walked upright like a human, but had the face and mane of a lion. It's body could barely been seen in the dark of the night, but it's glowing yellow eyes were plainly visible. Roygbiv pulled out his Varista and shot the beast several times. Each photon bullet hit its target, but the creature seemed unaffected. The beast charged, leaped up in the air, and came down on Roygbiv. Roygbiv screamed in pain as the beasts fangs sunk into his neck. Roygbiv felt light headed and then everything went black.

*****

A Shaky, wrinkled hand smothered the flame of the candle with "Roygbiv" written on it with the spoon."

*****

Samantha stood in the middle of an alley with her bloody hand on a puncture wound she received on her leg. In her other hand was a paint brush. "What was that thing?" she asked herself. "Was Ness right? Will this be the day I die? No, I will not die tonight! I will not die and then rub it in Ness's face six months later. Yeah, that's what I'll do! Then I will once and for all prove that fool knows nothing."

However, her moment of pleasure was short lived for the furry beasts that attacked her stood up again and charged. Samantha swung her brush around and painted a red streak across the creature's chest. The red streak became and open wound that gushed out blood, but the creature kept coming. "What the fuck?" thought Samantha. "It's as if he doesn't even know he's wounded."

In an instant the creature was above her head and in another instant, her head was no longer attached to her body.

*****

The wrinkled hand extinguished another candle with "Samantha" written on it.

*****

"Ha, that was easy!" stated Shadow as he looked at the charred smoking corpse of the monster that attacked him. He pulled out a bottle of GOD and downed the entire thing one gulp. "Man, all this fighting sure does make me thirsty!" However, he didn't notice the giant black serpent sneaking up on him and within seconds Shadow was wrapped in its coils. Shadow coughed up blood as the serpent crushed him. The intense pressure caused his ribs to crack and cave into his heart. He managed to make one last expression on his face: o.O, and then he died. The serpent let go of Shadow's lifeless body and slithered away quickly soon as it has approached. The empty bottle of GOD rolled out of his hand and into the alley.

*****

Deranged laughter resonated throughout the room as the wrinkled hand extinguished yet another candle. This one had "Shadow" written on it.

*****


Shattered had managed to kill two of the furry beasts without suffering any major injuries. He was running at full speed now. "If I could just get home, I'll be okay," he thought to himself.

Out of nowhere a third beast appeared and tore out Shattered's throat. Shattered fell to the ground and a pool of blood formed under him. "I can't die yet," he thought to himself. "I haven't had sex!" His heart stopped beating and his body became motionless.

*****

The laughter got louder as the hand put out the "Shattered" candle. Only one candle continued to burn, Ness' candle. The laughter became screams of anger and pain once the hand realized it would not be able to extinguish the final flame and leave the room in complete darkness.




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-18 09:37 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-18 15:50 ]</font>

[Tact]

As I stated before, very nice beginning. This leaves us readers thinking "Will PSOW be destroyed? Who is snuffing the candles?".

[Ness]

Find out on the next episode of Fresh Kills Z! Just kidding.

--------------------------------

Chapter 2: Taking the Case

Two weeks later.....

PSOW was in almost complete chaos even two weeks after the fact; the murders of four of the five council members were still all over the news. The event divided the populous into two political factions: those that think Ness had a part in it and those that don't. However all knew that two things were true: the Void directed the attacks and Ness' location was unknown. Fortunately the police force and the military prevented the planet from going into complete anarchy by continued to enforce the laws passed by the council.

Businesses continued to function as well, especially those dealing with investigation and exploration. Most private investigators hired only worked on small parts of the overall investigation, but one in particular was about to get in deeper than all the other investigators combined.

Unlike most private investigators, Hrigg worked from home. He said it was because of the convenience, but he really just didn't like driving to an office just to sit around and wait for people. He sat as his lamp lit desk staring at his favorite picture: a picture of him kissing Samantha on the cheek. Tears started running down his face. "Oh, Samantha," whispered Hrigg between sobs. "Why did you have to die? We had a future together, and those bastards took it away!" Hrigg continued to cry.

He probably would have cried for hours, but he heard a knock on his door. Hrigg brushed back his blonde hair, dried his blue eyes, and ran to the door. He opened the door to see a beautiful young woman not too much older than him. He invited her in and led her to his desk. They sat down on opposite sides.

"So do you have a case for me?" asked Hrigg.

"Yes I do," replied the woman as she adjusted her glasses. "My name is Rachel and this will probably be the most dangerous case you have ever received."

"Go on."

"You may have to kill some people and enter many life-threatening situations. You may come back missing a few limbs, or may not come back at all."

"This is getting interesting."

"Hrigg, I need you to find Ness."

Hrigg remained silent, but his bottom lip began to quiver.

"I will pay you well. How does 100,000,000 @'s sound?" asked Rachel.

Hrigg bursted out into sobs. "Oh ma'am, I will not accept money for this case," said Hrigg between sobs. "I will take it for love! Samantha was my girlfriend and finding Ness may be the key to avenging her death!"

After a ten minute crying spell, Hrigg calmed down. "So do you have any idea where he may be?" he asked.

"No clue," replied Rachel. "But my guess is that he's in one of the abandoned regions."

"Great," replied Hrigg. "Just out of curiosity, why are you interested in finding Ness?"

"We took an art class together about six months ago. He always used to talk to me and tell me how good my art was. He made with laugh with comments about how hot I was with glasses on. Oh, he made me feel so--Ummm..... I mean... I want to find him so that our government can have some stability."

"Right..."

They shook hands and Rachel left his home. Hrigg went back to crying over his favorite picture.




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-18 13:13 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-18 16:03 ]</font>

[Hrigg]

*waits for updates*

Good so far.

[geewj]

Now, all things known and thought about you aside, I'll write my post in regards to only the writing.

First off, it's a load of self serving crap.

Don't write a story that can be summed up with "Look how cool I am!" Not only is it going to be one fucking boring story, but it's going to make you look like a clueless and confused egomaniac.

There's a definition for this kind of story. It's called a Mary Sue/Gary Stu story.

---

Mary Sue: A story in which a new character is so brilliant, witty, amazing, attractive and wonderful that one (or all) of the main canon characters completely falls head over heels for. Basically, this character tends to be a thinly disguised wannabe of the author themselves. This type of fic is usually associated with romantic stories in which the female author lives out her fantasy of being with a particular character through her story. However this designation has come to mean any character that is over-emphasized, whether in the fanon or canon world. When you see or hear something or someone called a "Mary Sue," it tends to be meant as an insult.

more...I'm not positive where "Mary Sue" really started, but I do think it began in the "Star Trek" fandom. Specifically with the character of Spock and the female authors who wanted to vicariously be the ones who broke him out of his emotional shell. In my opinion, Mary Sue stories are generally fun only for the author themselves.

---

That's your biggest problem.

I was going to get into the other problems, but I think I'll leave it at that for now.

[Ness]

I think someone is jealous.

[ABDUR101]

Frink, jealous of your fic? Are you trying to make me burst my lower intestine? Ness, try and take the constructive criticism. Reflect on what you're writing and compare it to what Frink said.

[geewj]

On 2005-06-18 14:48, Ness wrote:
I think someone is jealous.



What a brilliant, witty, amazing, attractive and wonderful reply. I should have known better than to suggest that you were capable of doing something that was not perfect. I'll just have to go back to ignoring you so I don't have to put myself down with the constant reminder of how I will never be as brilliant, witty, amazing, attractive and wonderful as you are.

[Solstis]

Some grammatical errors, such as:

In an instant the creature was her head and in another instant, her head was no longer attached to her body.


Where an "at" would make the sentecne less confusing. I agree with Frink, and would like to motion that this kinda like watching a film noir, full of the same level of melodrama, but with only one character worth noting.

Yours.

This is Nesstopia, where everyone else is just one of your little playthings. I just love it how people fall for this demagoguery.

But, hey, if you can find a receptive audience, continue writing your heart out. It at least seems interesting, and I do wonder how Ness will manage to solve the problems of the world.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Solstis on 2005-06-18 15:30 ]</font>

[Ness]

Sheesh, guys, I was just screwing with him. Don't be so quick to jump on my back.

@Sol

Something messed up when I tried to run that chapter through a word document and it turned out that I had copied part of it twice. I probably deleted the section I corrected. I'll get to it.

--------------------------------------

Chapter 3: The Search Begins

Hrigg didn't know where to start looking for Ness. Unlike the other four council members he pretty much kept to himself, making it hard to find people who knew him personally. Such matters would have to wait, however, because Hrigg's thirst took first priority.

He entered one of the few functioning bars on PSOW that didn't have ties to a crime syndicate. Gallon's Crashpost, the name of the bar, was one of the oldest bars on PSOW--and it looked like it, too. Decades of neglect and poor funding caused the bar to fall into disrepair. Unlike most of the other bars, Gallon's Crashpost had only one floor and a basement--both of which were usually rather empty. The other bars were well funded and several stories high--one of the perks of being endorsed by the mob. Hrigg would be at one of the other bars, but private investigators like himself found only trouble at those places. Besides, he and the bartender were good friends. Hrigg entered the bar, took a whiff of the musty he had become accustomed to, and sat at a rusty barstool.

"Welcome back, Hrigg." said the barkeeper with a smile. "Will it be your usual martini?"

"Nah, I'll take a double shot of tequila; I just got a case and I want to celebrate a little," replied Hrigg.

"Congratulations! What's the inside scoop?"

"It's a 'search and retrieve' case."

"Oh come on, man, you have to hell me more than that."

"No way, that's top secret!"

After he downed the tequila the alcohol started flowing in him and his mouth loosened up a bit. "Well I guess I can tell you a little bit more," Hrigg finally said. "My mission is to locate Ness."

The bar filled with gasps of shock and then went completely silent. "I guess I said that louder than I thought," said Hrigg.

"Hey, I'm not running this place for you all to stare down my customers. Get back to your drinks!" shouted the bartender. Everyone complied. "Listen, I know a man who can help you, a man named Allos."

"Where can I find this 'Allos'?"

"He's scheduled to fight a match in the pit in ten minutes; if you head down there right now you can catch him before his match begins."

"Why not after?"

"He may not be conscious after."

"Good point."

"Tell the bouncer to go milk a cow."

Hrigg slapped fifty Meseta onto the table to pay for the drink and headed across the room toward the stairs by the back wall. The stairs descended into a dark hall with various old posters on the wall. As he walked he could make out the faces of various now dead or washed-up singers and actors. None of which were worth a second glance, but one poster in particular caught his eye. It looked newer than the other posters and the girl on it was someone he didn't recognize. It was too dark to read the writing so he pulled out his pocket light and held it up to the piece of paper. The light was dim, but enough to make the words readable. It read:

JOIN THE GRASPING HANDS!!!

Times are tough. The murder rates have reached a record high, and employment rates have reached a record low. To make matters worse, Void attacks have become more violent and more frequent.

When facing such tribulations wouldn't it be better to have protection? To have guidance? To have love? To have a helping Hand? Grasp the Hand and be given all these things plus more.

For more information, travel to sector Oberon: Level 1-10.

Hrigg paused for a bit after reading the poster. "Why would someone put up a poster in an obscure are of a run-down bar?" wondered Hrigg. He gingerly peeled it off the wall. He neatly, and quietly, folded it up and placed it in his pocket. He put the light back into his pocket with the poster and continued heading toward the pit.

As soon as he entered the light on the other side, a bouncer confronted him. "Do you have a ticket?" he asked.

"Oh just go milk a cow!" shouted Hrigg.

The bouncer looked surprised to a second, but quickly regained his composure. "Ah, so you know the password. Right this way."

The bouncer started walking toward yet another ill-lit hallway. Hrigg sighed and followed him.






<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-18 15:48 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-18 15:50 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-18 16:34 ]</font>

[Deathscythealpha]

I dont want to seem to be jumping on a Bandwagon here, but the fic does seem to be going in the 'Ness is Great' direction. It doesnt seem very flattering or modest, and can be awkward to read.

Some rewriting may be able to fix this, give Ness a more modest role, bring the other characters up to his level.

Also some of the text didnt seem to read right either. "Hrigg Cried Like A Little Baby" doesnt seem like a description, but more of an insult (adding to the be-littling compared to Ness). Maybe if you reworded it it wouldnt seem so harsh.

[Ness]

It's all written in good fun; no hostility is intended. Also my role in this minor compare to the roles of the some of the other characters.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-18 16:24 ]</font>

[KodiaX987]

A young Ness who's loved and admirated by all is minor?

Jesus Murphy on a flatbed truck, spare me the major, thanks!

[Ness]

*EDIT*

I fucked up. See below post for chapter four.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-19 13:12 ]</font>

[Sagasu]

Insulting and trying to 'fix' Ness' attitude is quite the sickly useless hobby.

Please, find something constructive to do with your time. ^_^

[Ness]

*EDIT* Added a bit more to Ch. 4

---------------------------------------

Chapter 4: The First Destination

The bouncer opened up the rusty door at the end of the hall and led him into what appeared to be a waiting room for all the fighters. Usually these places would have five or six fighters at once, but since this bar was relatively empty, there was only one.

"I take it that this must be Allos," assumed Hrigg. The bouncer just nodded.

Allos was a well-built man of about average height. He brushed his blonde hair out of his eyes and extended his hand. "I'm Allos," he said as the two of them shook hands.

"I'm Detective Hrigg, private investigator."

"Interesting, are you on a case?"

"Indeed. I heard you and Ness were good buddies."

"Yep. We fought against each other while I was in the DTPA, but after single handedly destroyed the group we, surprisingly, hit it off. It turns out that we were fighting for the same thing, but on different sides. Both of us wanted to create a peaceful, flourishing world where everyone could live in. But I ramble, what did you need?"

"Well as you probably know, Ness has disappeared."

"Go on."

"I've been hired to find him, but I don't have clue where to start."

"That's a very dangerous job. The Void is after Ness and will stop at nothing to get him. Ayone one caught in the middle will just get used, or abused. I say you back out of it right now."

"That's not an option for me, Allos. You see, I have other reasons for wanting to find Ness. The Void took somone precious from me and finding Ness may be the key to avenging her death."

"Ah, so this runs deeper than your next paycheck. All right I'll help you."

"AND NOW PLEASE WELCOME ALLOS INTO THE RING!" shouted a loud speaker.

"Well, I'll help you after I get done," said Allos as he ran toward the entrance to the pit floor.

Hrigg followed him to the entrance, but stopped shortly before entering the light. He decided to watch the match since he was already down there.

Allos walked to the center of the pit where he met his competitor. The referee said something to the both of them and the two fighters shook hands.

"AND NOW LET THE MATCH BETWEEN ALLOS AND GUNTHER BEGIN!" shouted the announce.

Both fighter put up their arms to block oncoming attacks and started circling around each other. Allos made the first move with a punch to the face.
Gunther grabbed his arm and kicked Allos in the back, causing him to stagger for a bit. Taking advantage of this moment, Gunther nailed Allos in the chest with a roundhouse kick. Allos bent over in pain. Gunther charged at him, but Allos looked up at him and smiled; he was only pretending to be hurt. Allos clothes-lined Gunther and sent him to the ground.

Gunther stood back up. "The spirit of the Hand flows through me, you shall not win!" shouted Gunther.

"I'm not into that religion stuff so I'll just kick your ass with my superior fighting skills!" retorted Allos.

Gunther tried to kick Allos in the face, but he grabbed Gunther's leg and flipped him over. Before he landed on the ground, Allos kicked him in the back and knocked him up into the air. Allos joined him with a great leap and appeared above him. "Now it's time for my Lion Strike!" shouted Allos. Allos's left foot started glowing orange and the audience gasped with awe. Allos slammed his foot into Gunther's chest and knocked him back on the ground from 20 feet into the air. Gunther landed flat on his back and was rendered unconscious. The crowd cheered.

"IT LOOKS LIKE ALLOS HAS WON!!!! THE PIT HAS A NEW CHAMPION!!!!!" shouted the announcer.

Allos started walking back toward where Hrigg was, but Gunther stood back up. "The Hand will tolerate this!" shouted Gunther. "For Its sake, I will terminate you!" He formed a green energy ball into his hand and hurled it at Allos. Allos turned around quickly, and fired an orange energy ray out of his hand. The Ray not only cancelled out the green ball, but it went through Gunther's chest and hit the wall behind him.

Chapter 4 (continued)

Gunther's lifeless body fell to the ground and everyone cheered.

"Don't worry about the body," said the referee. "The bouncers will take care of it."

Allos walked back over to where Hrigg was standing. Hrigg clapped for him and said, "That was a good fight. You even beat him after he cheated!"

"I did not want to kill him," said Allos. "Anyway, I promised you some information about Ness."

"Yes you did," confirmed Hrigg.

"However, in return I want you to help me out with something."

"Fine then, as long as I get the information I need."

"I don't know Ness's exact location, but I know the area he will be in. Have you every heard of the Untouched Lands?"

"You mean the once dead continent of Fresh Kills Landfill that Ness used his ego to mold the land into something more desirable?"

"Yes. Using his gigantic ego he turned that waste land into a thriving ecosystem full of forests and plains. If he's anywhere that's where he is; there are millions of places to hide there."

"Do you know how to get there?"

"Yes I do. I'll take you there as soon as you help me out."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to check out the Grasping Hands with me."

"What?"

"My instructor, Tact, went into their church and never came out--this was two months ago."

"Any reason why>"

"All he said is that he thought he found a connection."

"A connection between what?"

"Hell if I know."

Hrigg and Allos left the bar and got in Hrigg's car. Hrigg started the car and headed towards the Oberon sector. While driving Hrigg pulled the poster out of his pocket and handed it to Allos. "What the hell is this?"

"It's a Grasping Hands poster I ripped off the wall."

Allos unfolded it and immediately noticed the girl on the poster. She jet black hair and purple eyes that seemed to glow. She wore a loose purple robe, but parts of her voluptuous shape could still be seen.. "Who the sexy lady?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Join Lisa Redart in worship of the Hand," read Allos. "Maybe she's a high priest or something."

"Hey don't fall in love with her yet," warned Hrigg. "We may have to kill her."

Allos chuckled. "Yeah, considering how the last guy reacted. The funny thing is he's not the first one to attack me."

"Really?"

"Yes. I have been attacked by three members, counting that last one. They all approached wanting to convert me and when I refused they all said then they had orders to kill you."

"Odd."

"Indeed. So where exactly is this place?"

"Oberon sector, Level 2."

"Oh man, that's a really bad part of town. I hope you have a weapon."

"I have Handguns Guld and Milla in the back seat and I have a Flame Visit in my trunk. I also have a Heaven's Punisher in my glove compartment."

"Damn!"

"So what do you have?"

"I have no weapons, but don't need them. Like Ness, I can utilize mana in battle, and I'm a martial artist."

"So does that mean you have telepathy like Ness?"

"No. I only learned how to use in combat."

"Ah."

The two of them continued to head toward Oberon Sector. After about thirty minutes of driving, the arrived at Oberon Sector. "So how do we know which one is the right building?" asked Allos.

"It's probably the one up ahead with the giant sign with hands on it," replied Hrigg. The two of the stopped a few feet away from the building and Hrigg turned off the car. He reached behind him, pulled out Guld and Milla, and stuck them in his holsters. They stepped out of the car and entered the building. They stepped into a small reception area that led to the preaching area. Through the large wooden doors they could hear the loud words of a male voice, "For Ness was far too egotisitcal to help anyone but himself and for that the Hands punished us all by covering up our sun!"

"They are using religion to spread anti-Ness sentiment!" declared Hrigg.

"It's a bunch of lies, too." said Allos. "Ness helped this place just as much as all the other council members, and it isn't his fault that our star is dying!"

"It's a sad thing. So many people are convinced the Ness is a self-serving egotist that they label everything he does as an attempt to stroke his ego, and blame everything that goes wrong on his ego."

"Ah, welcome friends! Have to come to worship the Hands today?" asked a tall black man wearing the same purple robe Lisa was.

"We're just checking it out right now," replied Allos.

"Well don't be afraid to go inside," said the man. He opened one of the large wooden door, revealing a large room packed with people. "By the way, I'm Alandor."

They all shook hands and then Allos and Hrigg stepped inside. The door closed the behind them and when they tried to open it again, it wouldn't budge. "Shit!" shouted Allos.

"Well," shouted the preacher. "It looks like we have two new visitors." A large, bright spotlight shined on Allos and Hrigg. "Well now, these aren't just any visitors, these are two special visitors! Everyone please welcome Hrigg and Allos to the congregation!" The roomed filled with cheers. "Now I will present a special person to meet with these two special visitors."

A man dropped from the sky and landed on his feet in front of Hrigg and Allos. He turned around and removed the purple hood covering his head, revealing his pink hair and green eyes.

"Tact?" asked Allos with confusion.

"It is me, Allos," he replied.

"Why are you with these people?"

"Because they have shown me the way of the Hands, just like they will show you the way."

Tact started to glow with an orange light brighter than the spotlight shinning on them. Allos and Hrigg shielded their faces and felt their bodies losing energy. Eventually they lost consciousness and fell to the floor.

"It's done," said Tact. "Alandor, take them to the 'converting' room."

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-19 13:33 ]</font>

[Ness]

Chapter 5: The Wheel Turns

Despite their name the Untouched Lands were inhabited by people; however, the strict environmental laws placed enacted to maintain the forests of the land required its inhabitants to adapt their homes to coexist with the land. Other than that, people live peaceful lives away from the crime and corruption of the city.


Two men were mediating under the shade of a large oak tree. The first one, Sef, was concentrated on melee combat, but was also proficient mana usage due to the lessons Ness taught him. His primary fighting style centered around the use of his Yamatos. The second man, GreyPhantasm (referred to as Grey from now on), was almost completely dependent on mana in combat. While it was also a weakness, his abilities made him a formidable adversary. When he needed to use weapons, he whipped out his power Soul Eater.

The two of them had been sitting there for two hours and suddenly Sef stood up.

"What is it?" asked Grey.

"I've found him," replied Sef.

"The third point?"

"Yes, he recently just caused a disturbance in the flow of mana. He's in the Oberon sector, but I don't know how long he's going to be there."

"Then I guess we will have to leave immediately!"

Grey stood up and the two men leaped up into the air.

*****

In another region of the Untouched Lands stood a small hill with a door on its east side. This door led to Tai's underground home. Despite their external appearance, the homes in the Untouched Lands were pretty advanced. Tai's home had a fusion reactor that served as a power supply and a trash incinerator. Tai decorated his home several expensive items, but his most valuable treasure was his wife. The only problem was that they couldn't have a kid. They tried several times, but with no success.

"Maybe we should head back to city, Tai," suggested his wife. "I'm sure they can find out what exactly is wrong with us."

"Perhaps you're right, but we can discuss it later," he replied. "Right now, I need some fresh air."

Tai opened his door to find a little girl standing there. She was holding a small basket of flowers and looked at him with empty blue eyes.

"Well hello there," said Tai.

The girl said nothing, but handed him a datapad. Tai read the small note on the datapad:

Tai, it's been awhile since I've asked for a favor and I'm sorry to do this to you on such notice, but I don't have a choice.

You must protect this girl no matter what because she is the key to saving our dying star. If he dies, than the Void has won. Fortunately, they don't know she exists yet so there is still hope.

I know this is a lot to ask of you, but because of my connections keeping her with me would only put her in danger. Thanks in advance.

My regards,
-Ness

Tai stood their motionless for awhile. Then he let the girl inside and took her by the hand. "Hey, honey!" he shouted. "I have a surprise for you!"

*****

The few hours of daylight had passed for Oberon, and now it was time for yet another long night. On the roof of one of the many rundown buildings in Oberon Level 2 stood a figure covered in head to toe in what seemed to be a mix between combat armor and rags. His face was completely covered in rags, except for the red goggles on his eyes.

"How’s the search going?" asked a voice on the man's radio.

"Well, she's definitely invisible," he replied.

"It's time to give those goggles a test."

The man activated the goggles and everything became red, except for the rats and other stray animals that roamed the streets--they were white. However, one figure in particularly caught his eye--he figure of a woman running through one of the alleys.

"How are the thermal vision goggles working out?"

"Just fine, I've found the target!"

The man leaped off the roof and hit the ground running. Even though she was already a mile ahead of him, he caught up to her in under a minute. He hit her with the back of his arm from behind, sending her into the wall. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up into the air.

"Do you have any idea what you have stolen?" he said angrily.

"Some pills that allow you to become invisible," she replied in a calm tone.

"Who hired you?"

"I work for no one. I'm just a girl looking out for number one."

The man tightened his grip around her neck. "Who hired you?!"

The woman started to panic. "A woman by the name of Lisa Redart!" she shouted. She screamed as she felt herself punctured with a sharp object.

"Don't worry, it's just a counter agent," said the man. "It will make you become visible again."

Her face become visible again and it was quite red. He thought it was because he had her bey the throat, but once her whole body became visible he saw why. She was completely nude. Under the rags that covered his face, he was turning red, too.

"So you figured you just pop a pill and go streaking, huh?" he asked. Without giving her a chance to reply, he knocked her out with a quick strike to the collar bone. He loaded her onto his shoulder and turned on his radio.

"This is Agent Panda reporting," he said. "I got her."

[Tact]

Ooh...I'm a bad guy. I hope I don't end up dying later. *coughjoinHriggandAlloscough*

[Ness]

Chapter 6: Ghost in a Shell

The girl opened her eyes and realized she was encased in a container full of liquid. She squirmed furiously in a desperate attempt to escape, until she realized she could still breathe--then she calmed down. She looked down and realized she was now wearing clothes--it was just a bikini, but it was still better than being nude.

She tried to look around, but because he was in liquid everything was blurry; however, she did manage to make out a white object moving toward her. It moved to what looked like some kind of console on the right side of the room. She couldn't make out what it was doing, but a few small hole in the bottom of her tank opened up and the liquid slowly started to drain out. After a few minute the liquid was completely gone and she could clearly see the figure. He was a man with long, spike blonde hair wearing a white lab coat. One of his arms was normal, but the other one was large and robotic. He smiled and waved at her with his normal arm. She smiled back and gave him the finger.

"You know," he said, "these things aren't sound proof. You could have just told me you were uncomfortable."

"Tell you?" she shrieked. "How the hell can I fucking tell you I'm uncomfortable when I'm unconscious?!"

"Hey Panda, she's a nice catch, but I don't like her mouth."

She turned to see who the white-coated man was talking to and she saw the rag-covered man who caught her.

"Should I throw her into the fusion reactor like I did all the other ones?" asked Panda.

Her eyes widened and she started shaking.

The white-coated man and Panda look at her and laughed.

"We were just playing with you," he said.

Her fear quickly turned to anger. "Let me out of here this fucking instant so I can fry your blonde ass!" she screamed and gave him the finger again.

"That doesn't give me much motivation to let you out," he responded. "Do you always swear this much?"

She calmed down a bit and said, "Only when I'm angry. Now please let me out of here."

The white-coated man pressed a button on the console next to her tank and the glass lifted. Immediately she leaped toward him and managed to wrap her hands around his neck. Her victory was sort lived, however, because she had forgotten about his large, robotic arm and felt its cold metal around her waist. "I could snap you in half right now if I wanted to!" he said in a compressed, but angry, voice. She immediately let go of his throat and he put her down. "I have to commend you, though, you have the spirit of a lion," he said. "Who are you anyway?"

"PD," she replied, too scared to lie.

"Well PD," said the man. "My name is Kuda and this place is known as Kuda Labs. Here, put this on."

He tossed her a red robe and she immediately put it on. "Now come with me," he ordered her. She was thinking about disobeying, but the she noticed Panda following close behind her. He led her out the door into a hall made almost completely of beige metal, computer consoles, and various other things she couldn't identify. Kuda stopped a large metal door and typed in a series of numbers on the keypad next to it. The door opened into a dark green with various weapons, androids, and computers covering the walls. One object in particular caught her interest, a white, one piece bathing suit being displayed in a glass tank similar to the one she just got out of.

"What this thing with you and women's swimwear" asked PD.

"For one thing, that's not a swimsuit," he said. "It's made out of a light fabric that has been enforced with carbon nanotubes and nanobots. That fabric is stronger than any metal on the market and the nanobots allow the suit to repair itself and the person wearing it."

"Interesting," said PD.

"The suit also will become invisible with the wearer so they won't have to run around nude to maintain their invisibility. The suit also multiplies the strength and speed of the wearer tenfold allowing even the weakest individual to lift several times his own bodyweight."

"Amazing! And you build this yourself?"

"Yes, as I did everything in this lab. The suit is shaped like a woman's body because it was made to fit the wearer--you."

PD quickly backed herself up against a wall and her face turned red again. "Whoa now," she said, "I'm not going to be your little guinea pig here--or your errand girl. If you want someone to run around in that thing for you, call a swimsuit model!"

"Very well," said Kuda, "I guess you can go back on to the streets fighting for any job you can get and praying for you next meal to come in less than three days."

PD's face was no longer red. She thought about had she constantly had to fight for survival. How as a child she had to pretend to pick pockets and take food from stores just to have something to eat. Then her thoughts went to her teenage years when she got her first job with the mod and finally her assignment from Lisa. Did she really want to continue doing that for the rest of her life? No! He had offered her a chance to turn away from that life and she almost passed it up. "PD," she said to herself, "you're such a dumbass." She stood up and walked toward Kuda. "Fine, I'll do it."

Kuda pressed a button and the tank opened. Kuda pulled out the suit and PD took of the red robe she was wearing. She was about to take of the bikini top, but Kuda stopped her. "No, leave that on," he said, "It's part of the suit. The top will monitor your respiratory and circulatory systems and restart your heart in necessary. The bottom will allow you to control your legs until the nanobots repair your spinal cord in the event that it is severed. I take good care of my guinea pigs." He smiled. "And my swimsuit models."

PD chuckled and Panda felt his stomach turn. "Oh god, he's flirting with her," he thought to himself.

Kuda said, "Now before you put on the suit, I want you to try to lift that piece of equipment over there." Kuda pointed to a big black piece of machinery that looked like it was part of a spaceship engine.

"You're joking, right?" asked PD.

"Just try it," he said. PD tried and, as expected, it wouldn't budge and inch. "Now put on the suit and try it again."

PD put on the suit. It fit tightly around her body and was surprisingly warm. After a few seconds the black lines on the suit started glowing blue and this purple, mesh-like material started covering her arms and legs. White gloves formed around her hand, and white shoes formed around her feet. PD tried to lift the machine again using the same amount of effort. Not only did she lift it, but she sent it through the roof. "Umm... sorry about that," she said.

"It's all good, the nanobots will repair the hole," Kuda said. Already the large hole was starting to close up.

"So why did you give me this suit?" asked PD.

"Because I could use someone like you. Your strong spirit prevents you from giving up even when all hope seems lost and you know the Oberon sector better than I know my own lab."

"Wait how do you know all this stuff?"

"I have been watching you for quite awhile. I knew you were coming to steal my pills so I allowed you to get away with it only so I could catch you and bring you here."

"WHAT THE FUCK? YOU SET THIS ALL UP? WHY?"

"Because I knew your parents, I knew what they were fighting for, I knew why they were killed, and I knew you wanted answers; and that drive would bring you here to me."

"My parents were killed over 15 years ago. How old are you?"

"My body is only 25, but my mind is nearly 200."

"What? Are you immortal like Ness?"

"No, I just found a way to slow my aging process."

"And my parents, why did they die?"

"I'll tell you as soon as you do me a favor."

"Fine what is it?"

"There is a person who is fighting the same enemy I am. He doesn’t know it yet, but he's going to need all the help he can get. I want to you to find him, and whoever's with, and bring them back here. His name is Hrigg and he's lacked at the GRASPING HANDS church in Oberon Level 2."

"Am I to do this alone?"

"No Panda here will be with you, but he cannot become invisible like you can so he will be taking a more 'direct' approach."

Kuda gave her a green pill. "Here," he said, "Take this."

"It's an invisibility pill!"

"Yes, it will allow you to become invisible for five hours so try to complete your mission within that time frame."

"Okay."

PD swallowed the pill and disappeared from sight.

"Panda, make sure to keep a close eye on her. She has the spirit of a lion and the independence of one, too."

[PhotonDrop]

let's all go streaking! ;x

Nice work so far. Keep it up http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Scrub]

On 2005-06-20 12:08, PhotonDrop wrote:
let's all go streaking! ;x



You first.


>:3 I'm a wizard guy, yay! Though uhh...

<Scrythe> Hey sef
<Sef> huh
<Scrythe> http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_frown.gif Why were we together under a tree for two hours?
<Sef> I brought drinks.

[Ness]

You two were under the tree meditating and looking for Tact's mana signature.

[TheOneHero]

Y helo thar!

Good story Ness, can't wait for more. =)

[Ness]

Chapter 7: A Room Lit by a Single Candle

That single candle still lit the room and ever since that night, the room was filled with the howls and moans of the old man whom that shaky, wrinkled hand was attached to. His moaning was often disregarded because old people are always moaning about something, but it had been going on for two days.

In another dark room, a robed man sat on a throne. Unlike all the other members, his hooded robe was black instead of purple. Also he never took his hood off so his face was always hidden in the darkness. He was the one they called Master, the ruler of the Void and their god.

Even in his throne room, he could hear the constant moaning of the old man. "This has been going on for three days, there must be something wrong with him!" shouted the Master. He pressed a button on his throne and a screen came up in front of him. One the screen was a room with a woman sleeping. "Lisa!" he shouted. "Lisa, wake up!"

The nubile stirred a bit. "Just five more minutes, mommy," she said. The Master sighed. He knew who could wake her up. He closed the screen and activated another one. This one had a guy sleeping.

"Bret! Bret!" he shouted. "I need you to wake up Lisa!"

Bret stirred a bit. "Don't make me do it!" he shouted. "Daddy said that place was full of snakes."

The Master sighed again. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," he said to himself.

He got up from this throne and walked towards Lisa's room. He moved through the long, twisted halls that led away from his throne from and arrived in one of the few lighted places in the entire complex: the main hall. This was where members of the Void would eat, plan things, and have meetings. Everyone he passed kneeled down in respect. He made his way to the second floor and arrived at the door to Lisa's quarters. He banged on her door profusely until it opened and he almost banged on her head. "Why did you wake me up so early; the Mistress of Destruction need her beauty sleep?" she asked in a groggy voice.

"Lisa, it's 2:00 PM!" he shouted. "I swear out of all the people here you and Bret sleep the longest."

"Yeah whatever," said Lisa nonchalantly. "What did you need me for anyway?"

"I need you and Bret to go see what the old man is moaning about."

"Fine, let's go wake up Bret."

Lisa and the Master started walking down the hall and came to another door. The Master banged on the door profusely. "Oh no," said Lisa. "That wont work with Bret. You have to wake him up in a special way."

She took and deep breath and screamed, "This is Lisa and if you don't open this door up right now I'm going to go in there, jump on top of you, and tell Wendy you were cheating on her!" Bret opened the door instantaneously.

"I live with a bunch of freaks," said the Master to himself.

Like Alandor, Bret was black but he wasn't as tall or as muscular. However, he understood a remarkable number of different languages and had skills with mana usage that rivaled even Lisa's. He also had more hair, which is something he always joked around with Alandor about. Bret was second in command among the Void because of his intelligence. He interpreted the sacred texts of the Void and revised them for usage among the common people without losing any of the texts' richness. He was also the only one who could understand the old man.

Lisa and Bret walked toward the room where the old man stayed and knocked on the door. "So long gunhack tuy rol?" asked the old man.

"Hji," replied Bret.

"What did he ask?" asked Lisa.

"The same thing he always asks when we knock on the door: is the 'gifted' one there?" responded Bret.

"Why does he consider me gifted?"

"Because...he um... admires your talents and your abilities."

"I wonder why he doesn't call you gifted." mused Lisa.

"Because he only respects power and strength."

"And that's the way it should be." said Lisa contently.

They entered his room and immediately the old man's head turned to Lisa. He said in his distinct language, "Good to see you again, Bret!"

"It's good to see you, too," replied Bret in the same language. "So why have you been moaning this time?"

"Because I have had a vision!"

"Tell me about it."

"That one lit candle signifies that Ness still lives, and this will result in the death of our Master. Also he has found the key to reviving our dying star."

"Tell me more."

"Ness will kill our Master the day the mummer dances, but he will not be alone. Several others will be with him: Hrigg, Sef, Tact, Grey, PD, Kuda, Allos, Panda, and TheOneHero (referred to as TOH from now on). Also be wary of you allies because some may end up becoming enemies."

"What do you mean?"

"Love is a powerful emotion, one that can cause people to move from one side of the fence to the other. As for the girl, you must find her and kill her. If she lives then the world will have sun once again and everything the Void as assimilated will be lost."

"Where is this girl?"

"Find Ness and you will find the girl. That is all I can tell you, now leave me."

Bret turned to Lisa and said, "It is time for us to go now." As they closed the door they could hear the old man laughing.

"I noticed that even though he talked to you, he never took his eyes on me," said Lisa.

"That's because he respects you and your gifts," replied Bret.

"So what did he say exactly?"

"I'll tell you as soon as we reach the Master's throne room."






<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-21 11:06 ]</font>

[PhotonDrop]

lovely bunch of villians, aren't they? http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

It's probably just me, but the way the old man said who exactly would be with Ness was kinda weird, I dunno..

[Tact]

Yay! I get to be a good guy!

[TheOneHero]

Woo~

I got mentioned. http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

Very nice Ness; now gib more! D:

[Ness]

Chapter 8: Rescue

PD dashed through the alleys of Oberon Level 2. "The sooner I get to them and get out of there the better. This suit may make me super strong, but it's only one of me and at least five of them. Besides, if they were able to take Hrigg down, then they must be strong," she thought to herself.

*****

Sef and Grey landed in the Oberon Sector. "Do you still have his signal?" asked Grey.

"Yes, it seems like he's in Level 2," replied Sef.

The two mean started running toward level 2.

*****

Hrigg and Allos woke up to find themselves chained to the wall and with a TV in front of them. "So I see you two have woken up," said a voice on the loudspeaker. "You two can either convert or face 1000 years worth of pain!"

"We will never join you!" shouted Hrigg.

"Yeah," agreed Allos. "Besides, I know that you guys have ties with the Void!"

"Fool," said the voice on the loud speaker. "We are the Void! Who do you think those Grasping Hands belong to? They are the Hands of the Master!"

"What did you do to Tact?" shouted Allos.

"Simple, we used the same brainwashing spell we've used on most of our other followers; however, because he is so strong we had to have Bret come in and cast the spell."

"YOU BASTARD!" shouted Allos as the struggled to get free.

"That's it," said the voice, "It's torture time."

The TV turned on and it was Lindsay Lohan in her Rumors music video.

"Oh god," said Hrigg. He started drooling. Allos started staring at the television with a far-way look in his eyes. Both of them were trembling.

*****

Alandor stepped away from the microphone and laughed. He turned to Tact and said, "Look at them! The pain is so intense they are foaming at the mouth and moaning!"

"Those aren't moans of pain," said Tact. "Those are moans of pleasure. What the hell are you making them watch?"

"One of Lindsay Lohan's music videos. Seriously, how could anyone derive pleasure from that?"

"Oh it's quite easy."

*****

PD had made it to the church and stepped inside. She looked around and found a well guarded door. "That must be where they are," she thought to herself. She gently tapped the two guard on the shoulders and knocked them unconscious. "That wasn't exactly how I planned to do it, but it works." She continued running through the long and narrow corridor until she got a large metal door. She punched a hole through the door and used the hole to grab the door. With little to no effort, she pulled the door completely off the wall. She saw Hrigg and Allos drooling.

"Lindsay Lohan is so hot," said Hrigg.

"I agree," said Allos.

She quickly freed them from the wall. "What the hell?!" shouted Hrigg. PD put her finger over his lips.

"Shhhh," she whispered. "I know you two can't see me, but I'm here to help you."

She hoisted both of them on to her shoulders and started running back down the hall. She managed to get out the church in less than a minute and was heading toward and alley, but Alandor and tact stood in her way. "You're a pretty crafty girl, PD," said Tact.

"You can see me?" asked PD.

"Of course we can," he replied. "Your suit may hide your body, but it doesn't hide your mana signature. All I had to do was detect it and follow you."

"I don't want to kill you so just let me go."

"I think it's you that has to worry."

PD put Allos and Hrigg down and prepared to fight. Allos and Hrigg quickly stood up. "You don't have to do this alone," said Hrigg. "You helped us out. Returning the favor is the least we can do."

"Tact, you and me one-on-one, apprentice versus master," said Allos.

"Very well," said Tact, "If that how you choose to meet your end, then so be it."





<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-21 15:17 ]</font>

[Tact]

On 2005-06-21 14:51, Ness wrote:
"Those aren't moans of pain," said Tact. "Those are moans of pleasure. What the hell are you making them watch?"

"One of Lindsay Lohan's music videos. Seriously, how could anyone derive pleasure from that?"

"Oh it's quite easy."



http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif That was awesome! You said there'd be humor, and you weren't joking!

[Ness]

Chapter 9: Dark Alley Beatdown

"I think you two are outnumbered," said Panda as he landed behind them.

"Yeah," agreed Hrigg as he dual-wielded Guld and Milla. "There's no way the two of you could be the four of us."

"Look behind you and you will see that the numbers are more in our favor," said Tact.

Hrigg turned around to see a large and angry mob full of people wielding chains, pipes, bats, and other makeshift weapons. "Leave the servants of the Hands alone!" they shouted in unison.

"Oh shit," said Hrigg.

Suddenly Sef and Grey landed behind him. "You take care of Alandor and Tact, we'll handle the mob."

"Sef? Grey?" saked Tact. "How did you find me?"

"That move you used to stun Allos and Hrigg gave you away."

"Damn."

Sef and Grey charged at the mob. Hrigg turned around and started firing photon bullets at Alandor. Alandor easily dodged them, ran to Hrigg, and hit him in the chest. The blow knocked him back twenty feet and temporarily stunned him. Panda came in with a kick that knocked Alandor 10 feet into the air. PD leaped into the air to meet and knocked back to the ground with a punch in the stomach. Alandor hit the ground so hard that the impact created a small crater. Panda and PD gave each other a high five, but then Alandor stood up like nothing happened. "You're going to have to do better than that if you want to hurt me!" he shouted.

Allos was not faring well either. Even though Allos was a good fighter, the difference in power and skill between the two was obvious. Tact was landing power hits left and right, but Allos could not touch Tact. "Damn," he thought to himself. "I knew he'd be stronger than me, but I thought that I'd at least stand a chance." Shortly after finishing his thought, he was kicked in the face and knocked out.

"Two down, two to go," said Tact as he joined Alandor in the battle against Panda and PD.

"Great," thought PD. "We were barely keeping up Alandor and now we have tact to worry about." Shortly after finishing that thought, Alandor punched PD in the stomach and caused her to cough up blood. PD wiped her mouth and punched Alandor square in the nose, giving Alandor a bloody nose.

"My dose!" he shouted. "Do broke my dose!"

"I'm going to break more than that!" shouted PD. Tact tried to intervene, but Panda kicked him in the stomach, sending him five feet backwards. "Why are we suddenly stronger?" thought PD to herself. "A few minutes ago we could barely land a hit on them." Then she noticed that she was glowing with blue and red light. "Shifta and Deband?" she thought to herself. She turned around to see Allos and Hrigg stand up again. "Reverser?" Then she noticed that her injuries were healing. "Resta? Who could be doing this?" She looked up to see Grey and Sef floating in the air. They landed in front of Tact and Alandor. Sef knocked out Tact with a punch to the face, and Grey killed Alandor by triple-casting Grants. PD then noticed that her invisibility had worn off. "Everyone, follow me!" she shouted as she took of running. Hrigg, Allos, and panda complied without question. Sef hoisted tact onto his shoulder and then he and Grey followed them in the air.





<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-21 16:01 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ness on 2005-06-21 16:33 ]</font>

[Tact]

Ouch. But, one thing: You didn't really give much detail about how Sef knocked me out.

[Ness]

I fixed it.

[Tact]

Okay, now I feel good. At least I know I wasn't knocked out because Sef used the cheap "You're knocked out because I say so." method.

[PhotonDrop]

Sweet.

[Hrigg]

Awesome.

[Allos]

Yeah...so when do the rest of my DTPA boys show up?

[space_butler]

On 2005-06-22 10:07, Allos wrote:
Yeah...so when do the rest of my DTPA boys show up?



yea, we want in!

[Ness]

Like I said, I won't be able to put everyone in there. I almost have too many characters as it is.

-------------------------------------------------

Chapter 10: Organization

Tact was placed on an operating table in the Medical section of Kuda Labs. Kuda has all of his tools ready and several syringes full of various colored liquids. "I've been able to break spells like these before, but according to my scanner, this one is much stronger than anything I've dealt with before," said Kuda.

"Step aside," said Grey as he walked toward the operating table. Grey sat down by the table and concentrated. Soon both he and tact were surrounded in a dark blue light. After a few minutes, the sound of glass shattering could be heard, but there was no glass in the room.

"What the hell was that sound?" asked Kuda.

"The spell was so strong that its dispersal left an echo in the flow of mana. Since you cannot see mana like I can, your brain processed this echo as a sound," explained Grey. "Tact will be fine; he just needs some rest."

*****

Everyone, including Tact, sat down at a large table in Kuda's meeting room. "Okay, since it seems like we are all in this together I think it's time we become a bit more organized," asserted Kuda.

"I agree," said PD. "We need to determine our objectives."

"I think our primary concern should be finding Ness," said Hrigg. "He may have some information that we need."

Everyone agreed. Kuda pressed a button on the table and a screen came up. Kuda typed in "Find Ness" on the screen. "I think it's safe to say that our second objective should be defeating the Master," said Panda.

Everyone agreed so Kuda typed that in next. "I would like to know more about the Void," said Kuda. "I think that if we found our more about the cult, then our resistance against it may be more effective."

"I think we should do that before trying to defeat the Master," said Allos.

"I agree," said Sef. "How do we know the Master can even be defeated by conventional means. He could be just some big living mass of mana like Ness."

"I'm hoping that's not the case," said Hrigg. "Because that means normal weapons will not work on him, or if they do work they won't be as effective."

Kuda moved "Kill Master" down and put "Find out more about the Void" above it. "Okay, lets get to work," said Kuda, "Does anyone here know where Ness might be?"

"Sef and I have been trying to trace him for the last week, and all we know is that he is somewhere in the Untouched Lands," said Grey.

"Well that narrows our search down to one continent," said PD. "But stat still leaves the question of how we are going to get there."

"I have a spaceship that is also good for atmospheric travel," said Kuda. "We could use it."

"Can a car fit on it?" asked Hrigg.

"Yes, why?"

"Because I left my car by the Grasping Hands church and it has two very powerful weapons in it, one of which has a mana based attack."

"Oh don't worry about your car, I send one of my robots to pick it up after the battle and it's already loaded onto the ship."

"What the- How did you-"

"I was watching the battle the entire time and my robots are capable of by passing locks and hacking computers."

"You really are a genius."

"Okay, let's board the ship!" shouted PB excitedly.

*****

The members of the Void were also planning things out. Bret, Wendy, Alan, Lisa, Becky, Melanie, and Dirk had all been summoned to the throne room. Wendy was black like Bret and had hair almost as dark as Lisa's. Unlike either of them, she specialized in melee combat and once took down fifty guys by herself. Melanie and Dirk were twins. Each had blue hair and green eyes. Separately, they were relatively weak, but together they were invincible. Their styles complemented each other and the weakness of one was made up for the by strengths of the other. Alan was a pretty interesting guy. No one knew his style because no one had ever seen him fight. All they knew is that Alan always won every fight we participated in, no matter how badly he was outnumbered. Becky was also a very good fighter, but she was "distracted." She spend most of her free time reading shoujo and acquired an obsession with love and romance because of it. However, her well-rounded fighting style made her invaluable in solo missions.

They all entered the throne room only to be greeted by the Master and a woman who they all respected and feared almost as much as the Master: Ashley. Ashley was a tall blonde woman with green eyes and was also considered "gifted" by the old man. Her skills with a sword scared even Bret, who was a master at defeating melee-oriented fighters. Her swordsmanship was only exceeded by her skills with a bow, which allowed her kill enemies several miles away from her. Everyone immediately kneeled out of respect.

"I didn't expect to see you here," said Bret. "This is truly an honor."

"The pleasure is all mine," said Ashley. "I heard that you do a lot of work with Lisa and Wendy now. How is that going?"

"When they aren't playing tug of war with my body, they are arguing over with one of them deserves me more. In other words--"

Lisa jumped on his back and put his hand over his mouth. "He's just kidding," she said. "He loves working with me."

Wendy ran up and pushed Lisa off his back. "He loves working with me more!" she shouted.

"No he loves working with me more!"

"No me!"

The two of them started duking it out.

"Hey, girl fight!" shouted Dirk.

"Get the camera!" shouted Melanie. Alan pulled out the camera and started filming the fight, Bret managed to crawl behind the Master's throne, Becky pulled a shoujo book out of her pocket and started reading, and Ashley stood there laughing at Wendy and Lisa. The Master just sighed and put his hand on his face.

"Anyway," he said. As soon as they heard his voice, everyone got back into a line and stood at attention. "I have had time to meditate on what the old man said and we have to kill Ness immediately. I know he's not in the city so he must be in the Untouched Lands. I'm sending all of you guys and a bunch of the creatures I used to kill the other councilors there to find and kill him."

"I was wondering when you were finally going to send us off," said Alan.

"I can't to get my hands bloody again," said Bret.

"Now I can test out my new bow," said Ashley.

"You will all leave tomorrow so be ready," said the Master.

[Hrigg]

Sweet. Can't wait for more updates. http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[Ness]

Chapter 11: The Night Before

Lisa went to bed early that night, partially so she would be prepared for battle and partially because she was depressed--Bret gave her less attention than he did Ashley. She was awoken by a disturbance in the flow of mana. "He's here," she whispered to herself. She quickly got out of bed, opened up her window, and stepped out into the warm, rainy night. As soon as she got outside, she took off running. She didn't know exactly where she was going, she was just following the disturbance.

*****

PD was also having trouble sleeping, but for a different reason--fear. PD had been through several dangerous situations, but never before had she taken on an entire cult. To make things worse, the furthest she had been away from Oberon sector was Puck sector. She would have to regain her bearings in the Untouched Lands. She tossed and turned for awhile and finally decided to get up. She put on the red robe Kuda gave her and exited her sleeping quarters. She walked around the lab until she came to a large room she had never seen before. She decided to proceed and walked inside the room. Her attention was immediately drawn to the huge screen that took up the entire back wall. The screen contained several images of a set of ruins in the Untouched Lands and a red square indicating a landing destination. "Can't sleep?" asked Kuda. PD nearly jumped out of the robe she was wearing.

"Kuda, you scared me!" she shouted. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry," he said.

"Don't worry about it."

"You're scared aren't you?"

"No, of course not...”

A long pause followed.

“...yes I am."

"So am I. This will be the first time in awhile that I've engaged in direct combat. Is that what you are afraid of as well?"

"No, it's not that. I just feel so...weak."

"Weak?"

"Yes, I used to think I was awesome until I met you and Panda. Then I realized that I wasn't as strong as I thought I was. Then I got the suit and thought I was a total badass, but I couldn't even take one of the Void's high ranking members without help. I just feel like I'd be a burden to you guys."

"You are stronger than you think. If it weren't for you, Allos and Hrigg would probably still be in that building--or worse. Also just because you couldn't take down a high ranking official doesn't mean you're useless. Don't you remember how easily you beat down those guards? And what about all the things you did before you got the suit? I mean you survived in Oberon as an orphan—that’s something I could never do. Speaking of things I could never do, I never told you about your parents."

"That's right, you did promise to tell me about them."

"Your parents were both two well liked and well respected citizens of PSO World. Your father was one of Roygbiv's personal assistants and your mother was a commanding officer in the PSO World army. I knew both of them because I would always invent things for your mother and they would often come to my lab together."

"How did they die?"

"Before the Void, there was an invasion of trolls. Your mother was one of the people captured by their army. Your father went to rescue her, but was killed before entering the gates to their compound. You mother was killed to make up for the casualties they suffered in the attack. I admired them both. They both had an amount of courage that I lacked and could never have. Like I said, they died fighting and they never gave up until the bitter end. Just like you never gave up when you were left alone. That's another thing that makes you so important, your spirit inspires the rest of us to continue fighting."

"Thanks Kuda, you're a sweet old man." She leaned over, kissed him on the cheek, and walked back to her room.

"I'm not that old!" he called back to her. "My body is only 25!" She just giggled and continued walking back toward her room.

*****

She had finally arrived; he was definitely here. "Okay, Ness, I know you came back here for a reason!" Lisa shouted. "Now show yourself!"

Ness appeared behind her. "I knew you couldn't resist pursuing me once you detected my signal," he said.

"I should kill you right now!" she shouted. "If for nothing else than making me come out here in the rain."

"You won't kill me because you don't know what will happen next."

"Some say we will both die, some say that the remaining one will lose all of his or her power, but others say that one when of us dies the two energies will be reunited once again."

"You're risking a lot to become a god again,"

"Goddess, you mean because it's also said that the one that dies will have no control over the reunited body."

"Like I said, you're risking a lot on an empty theory. Besides, how do you know you'll win?"

"Because when one of us is ascending the other one is decline. Your ascension cycle has finished and your power is already starting to decline. It is once again time for me, Destruction, to have the power."

"That may be true, but I'm still strong enough to kill you. Besides, I have one last act of creation to perform--and you aren't going to stop me."

"But you see your act of creation interferes with my act of destruction. You want to revive the sun and I cannot allow that. If killing you is the only way to prevent it's rebirth than so be it."

"You can try to kill me. You will fail, but you can try."

Lisa threw a punch, but Ness grabbed her arm and tore it right off. She fell to her knees and screamed in pain as she held the bloody stump that was once her arm. In a few seconds, another arm grew in its place. "Hmm, your regeneration rate is faster than it used to be. Perhaps you're further into your ascension cycle than I thought," mused Ness. Lisa responded by zapping him with black lightning. Ness screamed as dark energy moved from her fingers and into his chest. Ness managed to kick her in the face, knocking her backwards twenty feet. Lisa stood up and leaped into the air, coming down on Ness with a double-fisted strike. This blow stunned him for a bit, allowing her to attack him again with dark lightning. Blood started to run out of Ness’ mouth. “If I don’t do something fast, I’m finished,” he thought to himself. He made a fist with his right hand that soon started glowing orange and eventually combusted. "Fist of the Demon Fox!" shouted Ness as he rammed his burning fist right into Lisa's chest. This time was Lisa crying. Not because she just got hit with something that was 1000 degree Fahrenheit, but because he punched her in both boobs at the same time.

"Damnit, Ness," she screamed between sobs. "Did you forget that you were fighting a woman?"

"It would have hit in the stomach had you not tried to be a badass and duck out of the way," Ness said coldly. "Don't worry, I'm about to do something that will make you forget all about the pain in your breasts."

His whole body started glowing orange and eventually burst into flames. He extended his arms and fired and linear blast of fire at Lisa. In an instant she was completely engulfed in flames. He was right; she had completely forgotten about the pain in her chest and focused instead on the pain all over body. She would have traded fifty punches in the breasts for what she was going through right now in a heartbeat. In fact, she tried to focus on the pain in her breasts in an attempt to lessen her suffering. Then the pain stopped, everything stopped, and there was nothing but darkness.

Ness would have kept burning her, but a spell cast at him blew off one of his arms. "You monster!" shouted a male voice hidden in a purple robe. The man pulled off his hood revealing himself to be Bret. The rain quickly put out the flames covering Lisa, revealing her charred, bloody. Once Bret saw what Ness had done to her, he could hardly contain his anger. "You bastard!" he shouted. "Lisa may have been an annoying, attention hungry bitch, but she was still my friend and she didn't deserve what you did to her! You are scum, just like the other four councilors were and here I thought you had some kind of noble spirit!"

"Well I would have killed her in a painless manner, but fire is my only means of attack," said Ness nonchalantly.

"Oh you didn't kill her--that's what makes it so bad. She's still alive, she's still suffering!"

"I didn't force her to come here and try to oppose me. I told she could try to kill me, and that she would fail but could still try."

"Enough with the indifference!" Bret shouted and he blasted Ness with another spell, but Ness blocked it with a force-field made out of mana.

"That was good, but you're going to have to do much better than that," said Ness. "Don't worry, you'll get another chance.” And with that, he disappeared.

Bret quickly ran over to Lisa's body. He would have to apply his healing magic right now just to keep her from dying. He would completely heal her wounds once they got back to the Void compound.

*****

Lisa awoke in her bed. It was still raining outside and the clock on her night stand indicated that it was only 1:00 AM. She rubbed her hands all over her body and felt nothing but skin--no burns, no nothing. "Was it just a dream?" she asked herself. "It all felt so real." She could still remember the pain of being burned alive, and then an image of appeared in her head. "Nah," she said to herself, "It couldn't be real. Bret wouldn't wake up because of something like that--not even an earthquake could wake Bret up." She closed her eyes again and rolled on to her back, but she felt something hard underneath her. She rolled back over and felt for the object. She pulled it out and held it up in front of her. It was Bret's book of spells and a bookmark had been planed in the healing section. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and she smiled

[TheOneHero]

w00t!

Nice job at building the tension; looking forward to more. =)

[PhotonDrop]

great job on making me look like a pity party http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

I liked it none the less

[Ness]

Chapter 12: The Untouched Lands

After a one hour flight, Kuda's ship landed in the Untouched Lands by a set of ruins. Everyone gets out of the ship and Kuda immediately turns his attention to the ruins. "This building looks over 1000 years old, but it was made with technology far more advanced that anything we have ever created," he asserted.

"What advanced alien race could have made such a structure?" asked PD.

"It wasn't a race, It was an entity," replied Ness. Immediately everyone turned around to and saluted. "Come on guys, that's not necessary." Everyone stopped saluting. "Anyway, Ansem was the name of the being that created this structure and it also created that tall tower over there. Ness pointed to the east at a tall tower that seemed to be at least a mile high. "That structure can be seem from anywhere in the Untouched Lands."

"Wait a second, who is Ansem?" asked Kuda.

"Ansem was a genderless entity made completely out of mana. It could take any shape or formed it pleased and could create or destroy a planet with the snap of its fingers. It used his power to rule the universe with an iron fist until finally a hero finally rose up and split it into two halves: Creation and Destruction," explained Ness.

"So you mean this thing was here at one time?" asked Hrigg.

"There isn't a single place in the universe that hasn't been touched by Ansem," answered Ness. "These ruins are still very important to us, however."

"Why?" asked Kuda.

"Because these ruins will activate that tower over there, and that tower is one of the things needed to revive our dying star."

"So you're the great Ness?" asked Panda.

"I wouldn't exactly say great, but yes, I am Ness."

"Okay, then I will finally reveal who I am."

Panda removed the face mask he made out of rags and showed every one his face. "Shattered!" shouted Ness. "I thought you were dead."

"I would have been, but Kuda found me just in time and used nanobots to repair my body. He told me he would keep my identity a secret until you showed up."

"Kuda," said Ness, "You have done us all a great service, thank you."

"No problem," said Kuda.

"Now that we have found you, what can you tell us about the Void?" asked Shattered.

"Those creatures that killed the other council members were called Prowlers. They are creatures created by the Void to do their dirty work. The reason we couldn't see them is because they have the power to become invisible at night. However their black fur makes them stick out in the daylight."

"Anything else?" asked Kuda.

"They want to finish off our dying star so they can finish consuming this solar system. They started off on the furthest planet from the sun and slowly consumed their way here. The Master is a mass of mana like me, but he fell into a black hole and came out twisted and contorted. Now he consumes planets with his darkness and becomes more powerful with each new planet he assimilates. We have to kill him now because this may be our only chance."

"Then what do you suggest we do first?" asked Sef.

"I used my powers to create a girl made completely out of solar mana. If she is taken to the tower than her energy can be launched toward the sun, and when that happens our star will be reborn. Right now she is in the care of a friend of mine named Tai. The Void cultists are going to land near his location and that's why I called up some of my other friends to help him out until we get there."

*****

The members of the Void also took a ship to the Untouched Lands and landed near what seemed to be a residential area, but they didn't know for sure because everything there looked like it had been reclaimed by nature.

"It seems like this place is uninhabited," said Alan.

"Then that will make the searching easier," said Bret as the tried to walk forward. Wendy jumped in front of him.

"No, it might be dangerous. Don't worry I'll walk in front of you so I can protect you," she said. Wendy expected to Lisa to put up some kind of resistance, but Lisa didn't even budge. Wendy was surprised but she shrugged it off--after all no resistance meant more time with Bret. What surprised Wendy even more is that she didn't leap behind Bret, but was happy to go in last. "Maybe she found someone else," Wendy thought to herself. "Or maybe she is finally giving up. Either way, she is still acting weirder than usual."

"According to what the Master told us, this girl should be somewhere-" started Dirk.

"In this residential area," finished Melanie.

"Well, it looks like we are going to have to tear this place up finding it," said Alan.

"Such destruction will not be necessary," said Bret. "We will simply just ask around."

"Okay then, let's go!" shouted Wendy as she proudly stepped in her position at the front of the line. Bret followed after her and he was followed by the twins. Becky got behind them. Lisa was about to bring up the rear, but Ashley stopped her.

"You've been really quiet lately," said Ashley. "Is anything wrong?"

"No, I'm just happy--happier than I've been in quite some time," Lisa replied.

"You don't look happy. Did something happen between you and Bret?"

"Maybe, but what do you care?" asked Lisa. "He likes you the best out of the three of us anyway."

"Don't be so sure about that. Bret has saved my life before but never had he gone out into a storm and faced a powerful entity just to keep him from killing me," replied Ashley. "And he didn't expend all of his mana trying nurse me back to health either."

"How did you know about last night?"

"I know many things."

"But if Bret used all his mana then does that mean he's weak right now?"

"Nah, his mana has already replenished itself."

"Hey!" shouted Alan. "You two can have bonding time when we get done!"

Ashley and Lisa nodded to each other and ran to catch up with the rest of the group.

*****

Tai looked at a screen inside his house. He looked at Space Butler (referred to as Space from now on) and Infinity and said, "They are now in the area get ready to fight."

[Ness]

Chapter 13: Three versus One

Tai, Space, and Infinity used a secret tunnel in Tai's home to get to an area outside the city. "Okay, Space," said Tai. "Use your Justy to shoot at them from a distance and lead them out of the residential area."

Space complied and fired a couple of shots at the member of the Void with his Justy. "They're coming," said Space. Infinity pulled out his Red Saber and Tai readied his SS-Mechs.

Within minutes the members of the Void arrived and just started laughing. "I can't believe you three plebs are going to try and take the eight of us, the Elite of the Void," chuckled Bret.

"We don't expect them to take you all on alone," said Hrigg. The Elites looked to see Hrigg, Ness, PD, Kuda, Sef, Tact, Shattered, and Allos standing together.

"You guys take care of Ness and the others, I'll deal with these three!" ordered Alan. Ness and the others moved further away from the residential area. "Okay, now it's time to take care of you guys."

Infinity leaped at Alan, but Alan slapped him to the ground. Tai and Space started shooting at him, but the dodged all the photon bullets. "You three are completely powerless again me!" shouted Alan. "This will be easier than I thought, much easier!"

[Tact]

On 2005-06-25 07:52, Ness wrote:
Infinity leaped at Alan, but Alan slapped him to the ground. Tai and Space started shooting at him, but the dodged all the photon bullets. "You three are completely powerless again me!" shouted Alan. "This will be easier than I thought, much easier!"



Dun dun DDDUUUUUNNNNN!!~!~!!!111

Whee! I get to fight for the forces of good! I can't wait to see how the cool fight scene turns out.

[Ness]

Chapter 14: I Need a Hero

"Damn, what are we going to do?" asked Tai. "We can't even touch this guy."

"We need a hero!" shouted Space.

"Ask and you shall receive!" shouted an unknown voice. Every one looked up to see a man in a ninja suit flying on a blue Yoshi. He hurled Oreos at the ground that exploded on impact and distracted Alan, allowing Infinity to get a good hit in; he slashed Alan across the chest. The Yoshi landed behind Tai and Space.

"TheOneHero (referred to as TOH from now on)!" Space and Tai in unison.

"Yes, it is I, TOH," he replied. "Ness sent me here to help you guys out!"

"Good because we need it," said Space.

Alan cradled the wound on his chest. "Now it's time for me to use the technique that has allowed me to win every fight I've been in: Spirit of the Buccaneer!" he shouted. He started to glow with a black aura, his purple robe changed into a black suit with a skull and crossbones on it, two pirate swords appeared in each of his hands, and a pirate bandana appeared on his head. "Arrgh, matey! Shiver me timbers! You're going to die!" He charged towards Infinity, but TOH leaped in front of him and kicked Alan in the face.

"Ninjas hate pirates," said TOH.

"Shiver me timbers!" shouted Alan in response. He charged at TOH, slashing with all four of his swords as he moved. TOH pulled out one of his kunai and got Alan right in the throat. Alan fell to the ground, squirmed for a bit, and died.

"That was easy," thought TOH. Space, Infinity, and Tai clapped for him.

"What are we supposed to do now?" asked Tai.

"Ness told me to lead you three and the girl to the tower," said TOH.

[TheOneHero]

Bought damn time. http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

I seriously burst out laughing when you mentioned the Yoshi, Oreos, Ninja, and pirates! http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_yes.gif

Good job Ness, you made ToH happy. =)