|  Author | Topic: PD- Universe Eternal Ch. 3-4 (Read 161 times) |
lycaniantraveler
Enrolled Student
member is offline
Lupine Hero
![[homepage]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/www_sm.gif)
Joined: Sept 2005
Posts: 12
|  | PD- Universe Eternal Ch. 3-4
« Thread Started on Oct 6, 2005, 5:17pm » | ![[Quote]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif) |
I just thought that perhaps if anyone was interested...this is what my character was based off of.
These two chapters have the test that may make or break the PD, forever.
Chapter 3 Space Station Midspace
“So, you said there was no chance of failure? It seems that YOU have failed me, as well.”
“I’m sorry, sir. My calculations all pointed to the success. It was random chance that brought the intruders to the ship.”
“Have you discovered their identities from the ship’s cameras?”
“Yes. The Aquari is actually very famous in his line of work, and the Sunian, Tiejaz, I’ve discovered, is a prime example of what an assassin should be like. It’s too bad neither of them…support us.”
“Yes, whatever. Now that this plan has failed, we need another, something that won’t falter when we implement it. It seems that we have found a contact who would be willing to do our bidding."
"Ah, those assassins? Good choice, sir. I've heard nothing but great things of their skills."
"At least the one. Now go and work on whatever project you're on now."
"Yes sir! I'll work with diligence!" ********************
“What?! You’re the president of Food Inc.?!” Camis exclaimed.
“Yeah, yeah, but keep it quiet. I’m on vacation,” Aaron said.
“Pffft. Yeah, on a 3 year vacation,” Tiejaz mumbled. “You realize that you’ve been away from that place longer than you’ve actually worked there?”
“So…you’re actually THE ONE president of the second largest company in Universal Sector 4?!” Camis asked, still astonished. “It said on the news you’d died!”
“Oh, yeah…about 15 times and counting, so far,” Aaron replied, laughing. “After a while, I got to be so famous that I had to fake my death. You know, cut off an arm here and there, sacrifice a head. I’d make it look different every time: suicide, murder, accident, freak disappearance. It’s beginning to become a hobby. It’s kind of scary when you spend your nights thinking how you’re going to die tomorrow.”
Everyone had become very situated aboard the Aquari delivery ship. Camis had been broken free of the cage, and now sat in a very comfy chair on board, with a Kaffo in hand. Aaron had taken up the pilot’s chair, even though the ship was on auto-pilot, and had it turned around to face Camis behind him. Tiejaz had taken the co-pilot seat, it being the last available seat in the place.
They had left Goud tied up aboard his own ship, and had forced it to return to wherever it had come from. Though Tiejaz suggested following it to the Shadoh Empire HQ, Aaron said they were too busy and had to become a guild quickly.
“So…this guild you’re building…what do I have to do to join?” Camis asked.
“I’m not sure, exactly, but it’s a series of tests. I know that, at least,” Aaron explained. “They’re held on the Space Station.”
“Test of Knowledge, Skill, and Fear,” Tiejaz further elaborated. “Three quizzers give their tests. Pass all three, with at least three members, and you get to create your own guild, and take missions for cash and shiny weapons.”
“How long until we get there?” Camis asked.
“Oh…I’d say about now,” Aaron said, smiling.
Multiple screens flashed on the ship’s computers, each one telling the three that they were there, the Space Station was inhabitable, and that they would be docking at any moment.
Aaron stood up. “Ok, get ready. Our tests await!”
********************
Andy Ruper wasn’t in a very good mood.
As a Bobeune (a humanoid plant-based life form from a planet the size of a golf ball, only accessible through size rays), and a Bobeune prince no less, he would never have thought that he would be forced to become a delivery boy.
Oh well, he sighed, I don’t expect any special treatment. Bob changes rulers more often than they change ion-drive prices.
It wasn’t the recognition he hated, it was his client.
The man had come in, a tall Dromerian, demanding that they bring Andy to him immediately. Andy didn’t know this man particularly, but the guy demended that only he deliver this particular package, which was damp and smelled of mold.
As Andy was walking out, he found a small electronic device with the names of all the employees of the delivery company, with his name highlighted. That jerk! He had randomly chosen a person, and proceeded to make their life miserable.
So, Andy found himself delivering a strange moron’s package to Midspace. There wasn’t anything wrong with the last part, however. Andy thoroughly enjoyed the sights and activities on Midspace. There were so many things to do there.
You could join a Traveler’s Guild and accept missions across the galaxy. You could pick up news, brand new technology, or just a bite to eat at any one of the great restaurants that had set up shop there. You could meet other travelers and even challenge them to 1-on-1 fights in the various arenas there.
That was the life Andy wanted. Not as some average prince delivery boy, but as some famous traveler with a Class S license. He wanted to challenge someone to a battle with his patented weapon, the axe-saber, a sword with a small axe blade that covered the hand when you held it. It could be used as an actual axe as well, in terms of strength.
It was of his own brilliance that he designed a weapon of that caliber. He was good at that, making devices. His room on Bob and his ship that he was currently in were littered with small objects that he had toyed with and built. Even the ship he was flying was custom made, and was dubbed the “Golden Potato.” He was definitely an expert inventor.
Andy sighed as Midspace loomed closer and closer on his monitor. It loomed like the giant ball of metal floating in space that it was. Surrounding it were large curved tubes connected by smaller bits of metal that connected them to the ball. Those were used as generators for force-fields and storage places.
A small blip appeared on his ship’s radar.
“I wonder what they’re doing here,” Andy asked himself as he opened more menus and viewed the other ship. “If they’re starting a guild or in one, I’m going to join. I HAVE to do something to relieve me of this extreme boredom.”
With a few more button taps, he sped faster towards the looming space station ahead.
********************
On the space station, in a small room with a few beds, a mini-fridge, and a TV-like device with over 5,000 channels, Camis and Tiejaz waited for Aaron to return from the Guild Center. The entire room was metallic, with little color. The builders had put as little effort into decorating it as possible in order to save their decorative talent for people with more money.
The three had scattered their things across the room in an unbelievable amount of time, giving the room the appearance that they had been there for days. The fridge had already been half-emptied, and weapons and computer parts were strewn about the beds and desks.
Camis was sitting on the side of one of the room’s odd beds. They were shaped like a half-sphere, with the rounded part set on the floor and the flat part with a wide array of sheets depending on size and species. There were four of these beds in the room.
Camis kicked the bed impatiently.
Tiejaz glanced over at Camis from the TV, which he stood in front of.
“What’s up with you?” he asked.
“I don’t really know. I’m nervous, I guess,” Camis said, continuing to kick the bedside, “partly from anxiety for the tests, and partly because I may never get a chance to go home again.”
“We told you we’d let you visit anytime, but you’d have to pay for the transportation. Come on! Have a Kaffo! Things always seem better after a Kaffo!” Tiejaz said, trying to cheer Camis up. There was a long pause.
“So…what exactly do the exams entail?” Camis inquired.
“Oh, it’s not much,” Tiejaz said. “First, they test the group’s physical battling skills, followed by some sort of test they change for every exam, and ending with a test they’ll announce later, when they feel like it,” Tiejaz said, beginning to ruffle through the nearby mini-fridge. “Seriously, Kaffo?”
“No thanks, I’ve already had five,” Camis declined.
Tiejaz stared blankly at Camis.
“More for me, then!” he laughed, grabbing five cans of the carbonated beverage.
********************
A few minutes later, Aaron walked back into the room, leading a person who was obviously shorter than Aaron’s 10’ stature, but still very tall and thin. Any knowledgeable traveler could tell by his green, chlorophyll-filled skin, bright-red hair, and very thin tail with a leaf at the end of it, that he was a Bobeune. He was also carrying a small package in his hands and a weird sword on his back.
“Hello, guys! This is apparently Andy Ruper, a Bobeune prince of the week and delivery boy who wants to join the guild we’re starting. Any objections?” Aaron asked.
“Nope,” Camis stated.
“Can’t think of any reason to have any,” Tiejaz said, pointedly.
Andy looked slightly shaken by the non-caring.
“You…you’re just going to let me in without knowing my background or loyalty to the group?” he asked, shocked. “Listen, /\/\4I\I, I’m an assassin, Aaron’s a good fighter, and this short guy is apparently pretty handy with swords. What, is there a problem?” Tiejaz explained.
“No, not really,” Andy said, regaining his composure.
“Good, then welcome to the team!” Aaron laughed, giving Andy a large slap on the back, and accidentally sending him flying to the opposite end of the room.
Andy hit the wall and slowly slid down it. He caught his breath for a few seconds, and then got back up shakily.
“Does he always do that to the new guy?” Andy asked, still slightly gasping for air. Tiejaz and Camis looked at each other.
“No, not really,” they said in unison.
“So, did you get the exam passes?” Tiejaz asked Aaron.
Aaron fished in his pocket and pulled out several crumpled credits, an empty can of Kaffo, a ship license to some guy named Wally, and finally revealed three plastic cards. He handed them to the other three, who looked at them for a few seconds after they received them.
“So, these’ll get us into the exam wing?” Camis asked.
“They just get us into the Battle Test. They’ll give us the rest of the cards as we proceed,” Aaron explained. “So, are we ready to go?”
Tiejaz shrugged. Camis jumped up off of his bed and grabbed his backpack and sword. Andy reached back and grabbed the handle of his axe-saber.
Aaron walked over to his bags and picked them up.
“Then what are we waiting for?”
********************
The space station maps were built to be as difficult to read as possible. They only reason the group consulted a map at all was because the hallways themselves were just as confusing, if not more. Twice the group had gone down a hallway, through some airlock door, and somehow appeared three levels below where they had started. It didn’t help that the space station was round, as it implored them to get lost in circles as well.
An hour later, Aaron was dragging Camis by one arm, Tiejaz was floating and making a sport out of combusting hall-lights, and Andy was walking slumped against a wall.
“Didn’t the designers take into account that people might actually want to GET SOMEWHERE in this place?” Andy asked despairingly.
“I don’t find the set-up too obnoxious,” Aaron said.
“That’s only because you enjoy insane challenges like this,” Tiejaz replied wearily, blowing up another two lights.
“So, Andy, your father’s the current king of Bob?” Aaron asked, ignoring Tiejaz. “That has to be pretty awesome.”
Andy laughed. “Not so much. You know, Bobeune rulers are elected by throwing stones into a crowd of people every other weekend. It’s done by a computer for the randomization. Whoever the stones hit are the kings of the planet for the 2 weeks until the next election,” he explained.
“Who started that strange tradition?” Camis asked, still being dragged by Aaron.
“Apparently the planet’s creators thought it to be a cruel joke. According to their lab reports I found, they never thought their mini-planet would grow any intelligent life. Instead, we ended up inventing the size-ray, bio-guns, and many other inventions that improved space travel tenfold.”
“And so you’ve become a delivery boy for what reason?” Aaron asked.
“It’s none of your business,” Andy ended pointedly.
“Wait…how’d we get here?!” Camis asked, struggling free of Aaron’s grip.
Everybody stopped in front of a huge door. To the right side of it was a silver plaque that read ‘Battle Hall.’
Aaron slapped his forehead. “What?” Tiejaz asked.
“Duh! These floors are psychic navigation oriented,” Aaron explained. “I’ve seen this type of thing before. The only way to get to where you want to go is by releasing your mind from any thought whatsoever.”
“So…,” Camis said with a skeptical face, “the only way you can navigate around floors 239-250 is by lounging while walking?”
“Yep! Ingenious plan, if I do say so myself,” Aaron smiled widely.
The doors suddenly began to slowly open into a large room. Everyone looked at each other in confusion, shrugged, and walked into a very dark room.
Once the four had all entered, lights flickered on. The room became even vaster in the light. They were on a thin platform only 6 feet wide which led to a large octagonal platform in the center of the room. The central platform had a line across it, and it hovered over an expanse that even the light didn’t reach the bottom of. None of the sides were closer than 20 feet from a wall.
And in the center of the octagonal platform stood a red-scaled muscular half-dragon holding a pole.
The half-dragon, amazingly, and to the shock of everyone, was the same height as Aaron. His tail was bare, no spikes, and he had a white stripe that went down from his lower jaw. He wore a turquoise-colored uniform with bronze-colored armor and long brown pants, with two thin but powerful wings sticking out from the back of his shirt, but folded. He stood straight with the pole on his right side and his other hand at his side. On every toe and finger was a sharp black claw, and two white horns curved across the back of his head.
“You must be the examinees for the guild,” the half-dragon said. His voice made him sound like he had plenty of experience of anything. “My name is Brazen, and I am the Battle Test examiner. Would you like an explanation of the test?”
“Whoa….this place is awesome!” Aaron said in awe, looking around.
“So, what’s up with the vastness? You really don’t expect someone this big to try out for a guild, do you?” Andy asked.
“Yes, we’d like an explanation,” Camis said, apart from the others.
Everybody turned to look at him. Camis stood there facing Brazen with a set look of determination on his face. Silence took over the large stadium for some time.
Aaron whispered to Tiejaz, “I kind of wonder what’s up with him. He’s been edgy since the rescue.”
“He said nervousness,” Tiejaz explained. “But it’s probably something more. Forget about it, he’s fine, I think.”
“Very well, I shall explain,” he announced. “This test will be one of skill. Any weapons, traps, and devices may be used, as well as any skill or technique. On my armor there are four touch-sensitive markers. All you must do is fight me 4-on-1 and have each person hit me with an attack force of 50, which then will instantly pass them. I will both defend and attack, so stay on your guard. To check the force of your blows, you can check these watches,” he threw each person a small computerized watch, “and determine your progress from there.
“If, by any means, you are to fall off the octagonal platform, you lose, as does your team,” he continued. “This also is true if any one person says that they give up. Your victory depends on your teammate in all parts of this test, all three parts. Are you ready?”
Camis pulled out his sword, eager to fight. Aaron slowly pulled out his katana and stood with his left foot in front, holding his weapon behind him in his right hand. Tiejaz pulled two identical plasma guns and put his hands to his side. Andy pulled out his axe-saber and stood still. Brazen still stood still.
“Good. Give me your best,” Brazen requested, “and go!!!”
Brazen moved almost too quickly to watch. With his wings spread, he charged Aaron first. With barely enough time to react, Aaron parried the oncoming staff hit, but was knocked off his feet from a blow from behind. Brazen had quickly taken his back quicker than Aaron could react to. Camis charged forwards and tried slashing Brazen with his sword, but only got air. From behind, Brazen smacked the back of Camis’ head with the back of his hand, causing Camis to fly forwards a good 6 feet and collapse in a heap.
“Isn’t he the fast one?” Andy asked Tiejaz.
“Yeah, I guess. This guy is probably only faster, though, because of the wings,” Tiejaz replied.
“Aerodynamic?”
“Yeah.”
Tiejaz quickly strafed around the octagonal arena, raising his guns and shooting at Brazen. All the examiner did, however, was summon a few balls of flame to hit the blasts, which cancelled each other out.
Andy stood where he was and closed his eyes. He concentrated his hand into a fist and punched the platform with all his power, creating a small hole. Reaching into his pocket, Andy pulled out a tiny bag and poured its contents into the divot, and said some words in Bobeune. He then stood up and pointed towards Brazen.
Immediately, hundreds of vines burst from the small hole and wrapped themselves around Brazen’s arms and legs. Thorns extended from the vines, digging into the half-dragon’s scaly skin. He had been completely immobilized.
“How’s that for increased speed?!” Andy yelled triumphantly.
“You PWNed that dragon guy!” Tiejaz gasped. “You gotta teach me those M4D SK1LLZ!”
Aaron and Camis shakily stood back up. “Those must be the techniques of a Bobeune. It’s a first for me. Impressive!” Brazen said, strangely not struggling against the constricting vines.
“Now’s our chance! Everybody attack at once!” Aaron shouted.
Andy, Tiejaz, and Aaron simultaneously rushed forward with their weapons ready. After a blow from Aaron’s katana, a strike from Andy’s Axe-Saber, and a shot from Tiejaz’s pistols, Brazen was freed from the vines and sent flying towards a wall. Just in time, he flipped in mid-air, unfolded his wings, and did a spin back on to the platform.
“Very good, very good. It seems that you are a good beginning team,” Brazen commented, “despite the fact that the Bobeune has only recently applied and never fought with you other three.
“However,” he continued, “the wolf did not land a hit, or even try to attack when he had the opportunity. Therefore, the testing is now only him against me.”
“What?!” Tiejaz screamed in surprise, turning to Camis.
“Why didn’t you attack!?” Andy yelled, doing the same.
Camis didn’t respond, but only looked at the ground.
“He wanted to face him one on one, didn’t you, Camis?” Aaron asked. “You saw he had the opportunity to easily break free of the vines. It took a while to figure it out, but I finally realized that you’re probably annoyed that you got captured by that drone, Goud. You want to prove to yourself that you can take on stronger opponents, right?” Camis gave a slight laugh. “Yeah, something like that.”
“So you trust that he can pull this off? If he fails, then you all fail, and there won’t be any guild for your team,” Brazen explained. “Do you still wish to let him fight alone?”
“Yeah, I’d like to see what he can do,” Aaron said.
“Very well, Camis, get ready,” Brazen commanded, turning to the Lycanian.
“You’re the one that needs to be prepared!” Camis said, laughing.
He rushed at the half-dragon at a very-fast speed and instantly tried to get him with his sword. Brazen easily jumped out of the way, but Camis swung upward, recovering from a feint. Brazen unfolded his wings and got a little more height from his jump, but gave Camis his opportunity.
To the three observers, Camis seemed to emit a light from his body, which traveled to his sword. Immediately, air began to twist and speed around it, picking up a little floating dust, showing that the wind was actually spinning around his arm.
With a flick of his arm, Camis seemed to launch round blades of wind from the tornado around his arm, which flew towards Brazen, who was still stuck in mid-air. Brazen was able to disperse a few with his pole, but two of the blades hit him in the sides, though only light enough to leave a small impact. Brazen landed, immediately falling to one knee. He laughed, and Camis smiled.
“Yes! That must be an aura attack, the Air Blades! It’s a fairly complex but popular wind attack that examinees use to beat me, but the way you used it showed a great amount of aura control!” Brazen congratulated.
“So, does this mean we pass?” Andy asked, hopeful.
“Yes, yes,” Brazen said. “You all have passed the first exam!”
Everyone handed him their cards. On each, he put his symbol, a red triangle altered to look like a diagonal clawed dragon’s hand. It must have been his own personal symbol, what with the simplicity and color on the design.
“You held back again, didn’t you?” Camis asked Brazen.
Brazen chuckled. “I thought you might figure it out. It’s not my place to fight you. I am only a tester. I am a temporary sensei who decides whether or not you are ready for the challenges ahead. However…
“Compared to the next challenges this will be your lucky break. The other two tests, I must say, are the hardest I’ve seen to date. I’d watch your step if I were you,” he continued with a warning.
Aaron laughed.
“I guess we’ll just have to see for ourselves how difficult it is,” he said. “It’s time for test #2! Let’s go!”
Aaron re-sheathed his katana and began walking towards the door. Everyone followed suit. The new quartet walked victoriously through the opposite door.
“Good luck!” Brazen called out as they disappeared into the hallway that led to the second examination room.
********************
Minutes later, Brazen appeared in a huge room with a spacey desk in the center, with a rather important looking human behind it, rather important enough to be the Overseer of Space Station Midspace and the head of the Galactic Guild Department. Of course, he was in a bluish suit with a black and white tie clinging to his neck, a cyber-magnetic clip-on.
“So, how went the test?” the man asked Brazen, who stood perfectly still in his usual pole-up position, mostly out of habit. “Do you think they did well?”
“They were certainly not our usual testers. They all had a drive, but not for fame, wealth, or power. It was like they all wished only to test because it was a challenge, they enjoy the adventure. It’s more like something out of an Ethervision show,” Brazen explained. “And the small one…he actually cut the scales on my left side. Not seriously, and it was even controlled not to do any serious damage. However, I sensed another power. Something deeper, more mysterious, yet familiar.”
“Hmmmm….interesting,” the man said, thinking about this. “Well, thank you for your time. That is all. You can take the week off, if you’d like. I’ll M-Mail you if we need you at any given time, so keep in contact with us.”
“Thank you, sir. I will continue to support you in the future.”
With that, Brazen teleported out of the room.
Once he appeared in his personal examiner room, he packed his things and left.
Hmmm. Familiar, yes. It was an artifact, I’m sure of it. Is it a sign of hope, or a precursor to the apocalypse? I guess only his actions will tell.
| |
|
lycaniantraveler
Enrolled Student
member is offline
Lupine Hero
Joined: Sept 2005
Posts: 12
| | Re: PD- Universe Eternal Ch. 3-4
« Reply #1 on Oct 6, 2005, 5:31pm » | |
Chapter 4, longest of 'em all. Follow closely...
Chapter 4
Fear and Memories
“Master, I’ve come to report on the status of the Empire’s uprising. They seem to still be operating in the shadows; they haven’t done anything too drastic yet, but that will probably soon change.”
“So, what have they been after?”
“Well, apparently, it’s a young Lycanian. It seems that he has risen with the first of the artifacts.”
“What?! Already? I assumed they wouldn’t surface for some time! But, instead, they come right now?!”
“Yes. Should we take action?”
“Not now! There’s only been one so far. We should at the least wait for another to arise. Just stand by and enjoy the testing, Brazen.”
“Yes, if you say so, my master.”
********************
In the corridors of the Space Station Midspace, which floated silently in space, unabated by any meteors or black-holes, four extraterrestrials walked from their first testing area to their next challenge via a long and wide hallway.
Camis walked in the center of Aaron and Andy, with Tiejaz hovering overhead them all. The hallway seemed tall enough to allow transportation of that height, so nobody questioned it.
“Well, now that you have that chip off your shoulder, Camis, we can finally get serious on these next exams,” Tiejaz said.
“It’s not entirely my fault. You wouldn’t have trusted me with anything important if I didn’t have any credibility of my skills,” Camis retorted, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed face.
“Speaking of skills, that was a great tactic you pulled back there, Andy! Welcome to the team!” Aaron said.
“Thanks! But…I thought I was already on the team,” Andy said with a slightly confused look on his face.
“You were…I think,” Camis reassured. “So…are you good at creating tactics like that? It seems that it was tailored especially for him…well…any quick opponent.”
“Yeah. I’m an inventor by nature,” Andy explained. “I never planned on being stuck as an errand boy for some delivery company.”
“Same here! I never planned on inheriting a super-mega conglomerate company and gaining so much revenue that I’ve actually reached the MAXIMUM amount of money any being is supposed to have, but look at me!” Aaron attempted to empathize.
“Um…Aaron, no offense, but you skirt all your CEO duties and travel around the universe avoiding press and getting into trouble,” Tiejaz said, floating closer to Aaron and speaking in a mock whisper.
“And the fact that Andy was still doing his job up until the point where he wanted to join us,” Camis added.
“Bleh, same thing,” Aaron waived the conversation aside.
The group stopped walking/floating. The hallway seemed to end at a rusty door attached to a dim wall. The lights around it weren’t broken or burnt out; they had just been dimmed for the occasion. Behind the cracks of the door the group could see weird, red light pouring out, insinuating something strange on the other side.
For a moment, everyone stared unblinking at the door.
“You can open it,” Tiejaz nudged Camis forward.
“What, me?!” Camis turned around, surprised.
“Oh, come on, it’s just a simple door! Look, I’ll open it!” Andy groaned, stepping forward and grabbing the door’s metal handle.
When Andy opened the door, a small clay cup flew out of the room and struck him square in the forehead. Dazed, Andy fell backwards to the floor in a stiffened position as the cup shattered on the ground.
From inside the room, an old, weathered voice rang out, “Knock before you enter!”, and then began mumbling nonsensically.
While Andy shakily stood up, Camis opened the door a bit more and peeked inside.
The room was much smaller than the Battle Arena, and was decorated in more than metal walls and large pipes. A single dark-blue paint lined the walls, with black runes all over. There were no pits, but in the center, there were five metal chairs, one of them housing a very small and wrinkled, grey-skinned old man, sitting in a meditative position with clothes that looked to be for a 7-foot monk.
It was the geezer who had pelted Andy with a clay cup.
Camis ducked back inside the hallway and walked to the other three.
“Um…it’s only 1 old guy. He’s most likely the 2nd examiner,” Camis said.
“Yeah, but he throws like a professional…ow…,” Andy insighted, still rubbing his forehead and temples.
The group began walking towards the door, but Andy stopped them, walked forward and gave the door a few cautious knocks. The doors immediately flew open, knocking Andy backwards again.
He recomposed himself, got back up, and looked backwards towards the others, all of whom were trying to suppress a laugh. With an annoyed look, Andy turned back and walked through the imposing door. After a few seconds of catching their breath, Camis, Aaron, and Tiejaz followed suit.
********************
Above the door, looking out into the 2nd exam hall a good 40 meters from the floor, there was a darkened room with a one-way mirror that showed every happening in the room below. Brazen, sitting in a seat, looking out upon the entry of the four extraterrestrials, quietly waited for instructions from the computer-television behind him.
He had been silently studying them during their hallway journey. Aaron had a cool, calm personality that shadowed an assassin’s heart. Tiejaz had a quick-to-act, hasty personality that gave him the advantage of sheer randomness in battle. Andy had a collected, thinking personality that allowed him to rationalize the situation before acting on intuition.
Camis seemed to be another matter entirely. In passing Camis seemed to be shy and awkward around nearly anyone, yet in battle…
“How goes the second exam, Brazen?” a voice said from the monitor.
“They have just begun, and yet something tells me that this won’t be their biggest challenge,” Brazen replied in an informational manner, not turning around to look at the face.
“Ah, you are talking about the Test of Fear?” the voice verbally prodded.
“Well, the man is an ex-member of the Shadoh Empire, and I’ve heard stories…”
“Yes, we all have. Well, sorry to waste your time, continue viewing them! I have great hopes in their skills!”
“Yes,” Brazen said, “their skills…”
********************
Minutes later, Camis, Aaron, Tiejaz, and Andy all found themselves sitting in chairs, facing the elderly 2nd examiner, who stared at them behind a grand mass of grey hair that fell to his knees (which wasn’t very far) while sitting in a meditation position on a small stool. His short, stubby stature allowed his ridiculously long robes to touch the floor and billow out from there. On a table next to him, he had half a dozen half-filled cups of water, the back-ups most likely for the occasion of someone forgetting to knock on the exam room door.
There had been a long, awkward silence as the 2nd examiner continued to stare into what the group could only guess to be their souls. Tiejaz began to fidget, Aaron had begun to lounge in what seemed to be the deepest state of nirvana as was mortally possible, his eyes glazed and his arms slacked over the back of his chair, Camis had whipped out his laptop and began checking up on Lycanian news, and Andy had taken a metal box, some screws, and an industrial strength adhesive, and was working them together in a variety of shapes and combinations. The room was silent for several minutes before the examiner seemed to break out of his trance and jump up on his chair.
“The exam starts NOW!” the old man yelled, startling the others. “The rules are simple! I will ask each of you a question about a topic of my choosing, and you must answer a total of 3 questions correctly! You hear me?! 3!!! That means if two of you miss the answer, you fail! You see?! Fail!!!”
The old man seemed to sink back into his meditation position and calm down. He spoke again, but in a calm, surreal voice.
“Ok, now for the Aquari. First question: What is the purpose of an aura’s strength?”
Aaron seemed to respond almost immediately, despite still being in his lounging state.
“An aura’s strength is the power at which a person’s soul functions. At a high enough power, a being can impose their own soul over matter, and can do things such as making air flow, heating the atmosphere in close proximity, altering water, and even communing with a planet itself. In short, the purpose of an aura’s strength is how much matter influence a being has,” Aaron explained in a monotonous voice.
Andy whispered to Camis, “Does he do this often?”
Camis just shrugged, whispering back, “I’m as new as you to this group, mostly.”
“Very good!” the old man yelled, on his chair again. “Now you, talkative Bobeune! Answer me this: When and why was the Space Station Midspace built?!”
Andy thought for a moment, and finally answered, “I’ve read that it was built 47 years ago ever since the last one was driven into a wormhole by a confrontation with an unknown fugitive. Knowing that the universe needed the freelancing law enforcers, the Galactic Bureaucracy immediately petitioned for a new one to be built in a segment of space that was paralleled to multiple dimensions, making it difficult to get to and nearly impossible to destroy. The fugitive has yet to be found, however, and the cause of the previous Guild Station is still unknown.”
“Yes, yes, fine,” the old man said, calming down again. “Fire-boy, your turn. What is Soul Fusion?”
Tiejaz became slightly annoyed.
“I thought these questions were supposed to be practical?” he complained.
“I never said that, answer the question!” the old man said, seemingly trying to stay between his two personalities.
“Whatever. Sol Fusion is the effect that occurs when two people completely fuse their souls, mind, and body. The Base, the person who initiates the Soul Fusion, will stay mostly intact after the fusion is complete. The Base is usually the one with the most aura strength. Then there’s the catalyst, the person whose soul sorta wraps around the Base’s, causing the Base to gain some features of the Catalyst. Obviously, though this has never been performed. It’s only theorized by some freakin’ scientists who found some tablet on a backwater planet that said it was possible. Ancient history, literally,” he explained, somewhat lazily.
Camis sat up.
“My turn?” he asked, slightly excited.
“Nope, you all passed. Congratulations,” the old man said.
“What?! I thought these exams were supposed to be difficult!” Tiejaz said, becoming even more annoyed. “This whole set-up is confusing me!”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, your tests are not yet over. The Test of Fear, however, is much tougher than the tests you’ve faced so far,” the old 2nd examinee said. “Besides, I already examined your minds. You all pass in the intellect, some more than others.”
“Phew, I’m glad that’s all there was,” Andy said, wiping some nervous sweat off of his forehead.
“Wait,” Aaron said. “Is there anything you can tell us about the next exam?”
The old man looked at him, or at least seemed to, as his long, grey hair completely covered his eyes, and laughed heartily.
“Very good! Becoming more knowledgeable is the best way to face challenges head on!” the old man said, smiling. “Just for asking, I will give you some information!”
“Oh, good!” Aaron said, pulling a small, handheld computer and an electronic handheld stylus pen, ready to take notes.
“First, the Test of Fear challenges each guild member separately. Each member will experience a different fear, not their greatest, but one strong enough to disorient even the strongest of wills. Second, in order to succeed in this challenge, EVERY person will have to pass their fears,” the old man explained. “The final, and most vital thing to know is that the examinee is an Ex-Member of the Shadoh Empire.”
“What?!” Camis yelled in surprise.
“I say this only to warn you, not only will he have a personal bias against your abilities, but he will not relent until you either fully complete the exam, or admit utter defeat,” the old man warned.
“Why are you telling us this?” Andy asked, with a startled look on his face.
The old man sighed.
“I give you information, and yet you still question my motives? Can you not take information at face value? How do you expect to become smarter Perhaps I was wrong in allowing you to pass this test,” the man said, sadly.
“Leave that task to me,” a mysterious voice said, seemingly from nowhere. “I will determine whether or not they deserve the rank of ‘guildsmen.’”
A dark shadow suddenly fell upon the room. The candle lights flickered out simultaneously, showing that the only light in the room came from dim domes about 20 feet from the floor.
A mass of something even darker seemed to crawl from the end opposite the examinee and examiners. Red, glowing slits of eyes appeared in the darkness, seeming to look into the very souls of all it viewed.
“Wh…who are you?!” Camis said, joining in with his friends as they all drew out their respective weapons.
With a wave of his hand, the figure seemed to cause every weapon to fall to the floor and off to the side. The group kept their defensive stance, but they were now unarmed.
The figure emitted a content laugh.
“Heh. Don’t you know that the Battle Exam is finished?” it laughed. “No, no, calm down. I don’t plan on hurting you, but I must say, if you force me to, I won’t have any regrets.”
“Who exactly are you?” Aaron asked coldly, giving the figure a cold, assassin’s glare.
“I am Uhilon, the Demosian in charge of the third test, the Test of Fear,” the figure said, something about its composure suggested a feeling of content. “Gamarth, you can leave now. Your test is over.”
The old man sighed again.
“If you say so, though I still believe that they have much to learn yet,” he said, sadly. And with a final angry outburst, he screamed, “Good riddance, you class A slackers! I hope you fail! I hope you faaaaaaaaail!”
Another extremely black mass split from Uhilon and drifted towards Garmath, as if being directed by an evil breeze. The darkness engulfed the old man until nothing, not even his faint shadow from the lights above, could be seen. Once the mass cleared, the old man was gone.
The group tensed up and shot sideways glances to their weapons, but nobody moved. Even breathing was barely audible, seemingly muffled by the darkness.
“Don’t worry, I‘ve only transported him to his own dimension. He’s completely unharmed,” Uhlion said, still smiling, but now emitting a slightly impatient aura. “Now, if you’d stop acting like a bunch of fight-happy idiots, I’d be happy to explain my test.”
Four chairs forced themselves on the active extraterrestrials, making them sit down in them. Camis felt his power begin to drain from his body, and assumed that the others were feeling the same thing, which they were.
“Now that you’re all relaxed,” the Demosian grinned, “we can get down to business. As I said, and you already knew, the final test to become an official guild is the aptly named Test of Fear, for, you see, you must survive for 5 minutes with your deepest haunts coaxing you to throw the test. You all must pass THIS test, like the first, in order to become an official adventuring guild.”
“I don’t like this guy,” Camis whispered as quietly as possible to Aaron.
“Eh, I don’t really care for him either, but he’s not evil,” Aaron replied calmly. Camis hadn’t noticed it very well, but Aaron hadn’t tensed up at all, either when Uhilon had appeared or when he had enveloped the 2nd examiner. In fact, Aaron seemed to be emitting a very calm aura at the moment.
“The rules are simple,” Uhilon continued. “I will place you each in a separate state of consciousness, where you’ll be faced with your deepest fears. Keep in mind that I will not control whatever happens next. If you are forced into insanity, injured, or just give up, then you will fail. No second chances for another year. Do you understand the terms of this test?”
Nobody said anything.
The fools. Fear is already beginning to grip them. Fear of me, nonetheless, Uhilon thought to himself. Don’t they know there are worse things from the Shadoh Empire than a coward Demosian like me who fled at the first sign of danger?
Aaron coughed rather loudly.
“I…accept,” Andy said slowly.
“I’ll do it, already!” Tiejaz said.
“I’ll…do it, too,” Camis agreed.
Everybody looked at Aaron, who was leaning back in his chair, all three eyes closed. Opening his left one lazily, he just waived his hand.
“Well, of course I’ll do it! I wouldn’t go against the team for something like that! Besides, it’ll be fun!” he replied, grinning.
“Very well, Test #3 begins now!” Uhilon announced, raising his shadowy limbs into the air as the lights went out.
| |
|
lycaniantraveler
Enrolled Student
member is offline
Lupine Hero
Joined: Sept 2005
Posts: 12
| | Re: PD- Universe Eternal Ch. 3-4
« Reply #2 on Oct 6, 2005, 5:32pm » | |
(So long, in fact, that I had to split the post up...)
To Camis, it seemed like every single light in the world had gone out. Total darkness surrounded everything, but looking around, he could see himself perfectly. What was this? Were the lights off or not?
A small dot of light appeared directly in front of Camis, seeming to follow his vision wherever he turned. The light grew brighter and brighter, and began changing shapes. The glowing ball shifted to a glowing sock, which shifted to a giant glowing spider-like beast, which finally shifted back to that singular tiny point of light.
What’s it doing? Calibrating my fears? Reading my thoughts? Or is it just acting randomly? Camis asked himself in his own mind, though he felt it would have had the same volume if he had spoken it out loud.
The light began shifting again, and began making strange humming noises. The light grew bigger, faster. It began to waver from the direct center of Camis’ vision, and became more chaotic in its core. The light seemed to harden, becoming corporal. It’s shape seemed to widen, still wavering, until it finally seemed to explode in a great burst of flashing light.
When it all cleared, Camis gasped.
The entire scenery had changed. He was no longer in a lightless void, but rather in a small, trimmed clearing in a forest. And judging by the looks of things, Camis saw that the setting wasn’t the only thing that had changed.
Upon standing up, Camis noticed that his sweatshirt seemed a lot bigger on him, and his pants two, as he quickly readjusted them. Everything seemed larger in size, but Camis could tell where he was at the least, which, after a moment, filled him with dread.
He was in the exact place in the exact form (minus the oversized clothing he had been wearing before this little detour) as he had been 8 years ago, the day his parents had disappeared.
Camis had tried to erase this little memory from his mind ever since it happened. So many traumatic things had happened that day, escalating from a mere encounter. When the Demosian tapped into his mind to find Camis’ deepest fear, however, he must have uncovered this small bit of information, and was now going to play it back, as if on a 3-D recording, exactly how it happened so many years before.
Camis suddenly went cold, every single strand of fur on his body twitching. He now knew exactly what would happen next, and if he was right, Camis wasn’t sure if he’d even live past this shock again.
A loud, piercing shriek came from behind him. Before even turning around, Camis knew what it was. Slowly and stiffly rotating himself, Camis wasn’t disappointed.
A giant, 50 foot bird was in the air, stalling in the air a good 30 feet from Camis. It was a roc, native to Lycania, and also the Lycanian’s natural enemies. Though the Lycanian government had signed all sorts of documents to try to move them to a desolate planet, the problems still remained: 1) Scientists had no idea what the lack of rocs would do to the near-perfect environment, and 2) It all depended on who was brave enough to get anywhere near the avian horrors.
Everything about the 50-foot bird terrified Camis, from the slightly hooked and sharp beak, to the ugly grey 100-foot wingspan, to the lethal talons attached to its powerful legs. Even more, despite having all of his clothing, Camis, reaching back, discovered that his backpack was gone, as well as any hopes of defending himself. He was scared stiff, and couldn’t bring himself to move. He was in deep trouble.
“Oh…..god….no…..” Camis whispered to himself, somewhat surprised with his younger-sounding voice.
Camis slowly stood up, trying to keep eye contact with the huge, beady eyes of the 50-foot predator. Backing away slowly, nearly tripping over his now-oversized pants, Camis kept on yelling a single command in his mind.
Run! Run you idiot! Come on! There’s absolutely no way you can take that thing on without a bazooka, or at the least, your swords! RUUUUN!
Camis stopped. The roc was beginning to settle into a hunting mode. Slowly getting closer to the ground, the huge bird hit the ground with its feet, causing a tremor to move across the ground despite the soft-ish landing. This successfully knocked Camis over, sending him flying to the ground behind him headfirst.
Barely dodging a rock, Camis bit back the pain in his arm and stood up, quicker than he wanted to. The memory, Camis now drew everything he knew about this day to his consciousness. He had been wandering the forest after seeing a particularly action-packed movie he had downloaded via the Mentonet.. Going into the forest, looking for adventure, he had stumbled across a roc nest, an OCCUPIED roc nest. Of course, this angered the roc, whom chased Camis through the forest until he got far enough away.
This, however, was not the traumatic part. Camis laid, bleeding and tired, in the forest, waiting for his parents to come rescue him, and had grown suspicious when they had not. Hobbling back to his home, Camis found it in disarray, and empty of any life. That was the day his parents disappeared. That was the traumatic memory he faced, having to live from then on by himself, going to school, making his food, and doing enough odd jobs to afford his home (though the Lycanian government did take off some of the hardships, what with the extra cash and occasional free delivery meals.)
The only thing Camis had to overcome his missed childhood was the Lunar Orb, an object he had never seen before. After some research, Camis discovered that this ball was used to store lunar energy off-planet, to allow Lycanians to survive while traveling elsewhere. It was the one thing he still cherished to this day.
Camis knew that his hopes probably relied on that one object; except that the object, if it really was his memory being used as a fear, was already at his home, waiting to be discovered. If Camis was unable to overcome this one fear, then he would fail this test.
I’m losing focus, he thought to himself. I have to stay calm. If I let this Demosian freak me out, then we lose it all, we lose our shot at becoming an official Midspace Guild!
Camis quickly recomposed himself as the Roc stopped just a few meters away, beady eyes glaring at its supposed prey.
“This time I won’t run away. This time, I’ll fight you head-on. I don’t care what awaits me at home, but I will stop the sequence of events that leads to my life!” Camis yelled at the roc, who, of course, didn’t understand a word of it. “Get ready! I’ll destroy you this time!”
Camis felt his clothes get a bit tighter. Looking down, Camis found that he had grown to his full height again (of course, his full height was only 4’ 9”.)
Maybe, since I overcame some of the fear, the illusion has made me a bit stronger! I can win at this rate! Camis thought, grinning to himself.
Looking back at the roc, Camis’ composure quickly brightened up. A light appeared from behind him, and upon turning around, Camis found his backpack and sword, newly polished and sharpened, lying in the forest only 20 feet away.
A shadow overcast him, and Camis gained the sense to jump backwards, just in time to dodge a fierce peck from the now annoyed roc. Settling into a roll in midair, Camis flew back, grabbing his sword. Pushing off from the ground behind him, Camis grabbed the hilt, drew the sword from its sheath, braced his muscles and cut…
…through thin air.
Startled, Camis flew forward from the force of his jump, but quickly sprang to his feet and jumped against a tree, springing into the air. He quickly positioned himself for another downwards stab, but again the giant bird seemed to dissolve where he cut, not taking any damage, whatsoever.
“Why can’t I cut this thing?” Camis furiously muttered. He landed, a bit hard, not ready for the changed dynamics of his jump, but he stopped, and just turned around to face the bird, whom, it seemed to Camis, to be mocking him.
“Oh well, you stupid bird. If I can’t hit you, then it’s obvious you can’t hit me,” Camis said, turning around and walking towards the surrounding forest, hoping to get away from this test as quick as possible. He had faced his fear, so the test was over, right?
As if it had understood Camis, and was trying to prove a point, the great bird raised its gigantic talon, and slashed Camis across the back. Something suddenly spooked the huge beast, however, as it immediately took off quickly from where it stood, flying quickly into the dawn sky above.
Camis could feel muscles and skin ripping as he fell to the ground, paralyzed in pain. Blood gushed out of the diagonal wound in his back. Camis began to yell, partly of frustration, partly of the searing pain in his back.
“Well, I guess I was wrong about that…” Camis gasped, grimacing at the pain.
As his adrenaline began pumping again, not that he could move at all, a sudden rush of voices came to his head, along with a headache large enough to make him drop his head to the ground, bumping his snout on the tough terrain before letting it rest uncomfortably sideways. As he began to lose consciousness, Camis listened to what they were saying.
“Just give up, it’s not worth it.”
“You know what will happen next.”
“Is becoming an adventurer really worth risking your own life?”
“Your friends are depending on you to succeed.”
The last one gave him a start. He opened his eyes and tried to stand up, forgetting that his back had just been slashed open by razor-sharp talons of a gigantic bird.
Whatever it meant, it was right. Camis had selfishly risked the team’s success when he took on Brazen on his own, and couldn’t bear to do it again. Though everybody understood, Camis still wasn’t happy that he had done that. Besides, Camis had a reason for becoming an adventurer. If he gained enough prestige and fame, perhaps he could find out where his parents were. Even though he was haunted by that day of losing them, Camis still knew that he could find out what happened to them if he just moved forward.
I won’t back down, this time! I’ll live through this, and I won’t live in fear. I can’t. My new friends and old friends helped me escape from capture, and I’m sure they’ll help me too as I move on.
Camis attempted to look up to see what was going on around him, but immediately blacked out. This was followed by a sudden burst of light, as the forest instantaneously disappeared, and was replaced with an oddly brighter exam room.
He was laying on the floor, but he no longer felt any pain. Readjusting himself and rubbing his back, Camis found that the wound was gone, without a single trace of blood or shirt holes.
“Heh, we were wondering when you’d wake up,” Aaron said, smiling, as usual.
“Took you some time, though. You were flailing in your sleep, dude,” Tiejaz laughed.
“So, how was it? Did’ja pass?” Andy asked quickly, excited at the prospect of finally becoming a guildsman.
“Yes. You have all passed. Congradulations,” Uhilon announced, also smiling. Something appeared brighter about him to Camis, despite the extreme lack of light that created his shadowy body. In this light, however, Camis found it wasn’t so much a shadow as a somewhat dark fog.
“YES!” Andy yelled, throwing his arms in the air and running in circles.
Camis looked somewhat embarrassed. He had almost given up; they had no idea that they had come close to losing it all, twice.
“Awesome. What was your greatest fear you had to overcome?” Aaron asked Camis, quizzically.
“It…it was nothing. Howabout yours?” Camis replied, dodging an answer.
“Eh, apparently I have a deathly fear of soap and leprechauns. Don’t ask how they were combined, please,” Aaron laughed.
“Mine’s…like...you know what happens when you get sucked into the center of a black hole while holding a fistful of computerized pencils?” Tiejaz asked.
“No…I can’t say I do,” Camis replied.
“Oh.”
“Ahem,” Uhilon cleared his throat. “You each are officially issued these pass cards, which give you access to your HQ, keeps track of rewards, and such. There will be more information in the personal PC in your rooms. Do you all understand the rules of being an official Midspace Guild?”
“Already took care of it!” Aaron said, proudly.
“Wait, when did we read any of that?” Andy whispered to Aaron.
“I’ll go over it later,” Aaron whispered back. “Don’t worry, just nod.”
“Ok, in that case…” Uhilon raised his arm, and four cards dropped out of a black mist that spontaneously formed over their heads. Almost everyone fumbled with the cards and dropped them as they fell. “Welcome to Space Station Midspace’s Official Guild service.”
With that final word, the Demosian seemed to implode in on himself and fade away.
“Well…so now what?” Tiejaz asked, suddenly becoming impatient.
“Um…I guess…we…go to HQ?” Andy asked.
“Yeah, sure, let’s go!” Aaron yelled.
As they were walking out, Aaron began to stride slower, next to Camis.
“So, are you ready to take on missions, put your self in harm’s way, personally see to the Shadoh Empire’s destruction, and all that stuff?” he asked.
Camis thought for a moment.
“Yeah, you know, I guess I kinda am, now,” he replied, smiling with everyone else.
| |
|
lycaniantraveler
Enrolled Student
member is offline
Lupine Hero
Joined: Sept 2005
Posts: 12
| | Re: PD- Universe Eternal Ch. 3-4
« Reply #3 on Oct 10, 2005, 12:22pm » | |
^_^' Awwww.....no comments? Or maybe it's a bit too long for here....
| |
| |
|
![[Home]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/menu/home.gif)
![[Help]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/menu/help.gif)
![[Search]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/menu/search.gif)
![[Calendar]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/menu/calendar.gif)
![[Login]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/menu/login.gif)
![[Register]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/menu/register.gif)
![[Search This Thread]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/search2.gif)
![[Reply]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/reply.gif)
![[Send Topic To Friend]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/sendtopic.gif)
![[Print]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/print.gif)
Logged