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Mar. 3rd, 2008 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
korafoxThe saga continues...
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Even after I awoke, as dawn broke over the lake, exhaustion pulled at me so that I could barely drag myself to my medical case. But several of the others were badly hurt or unconscious, and the ordeal I'd been through was no excuse to leave them in such a state. We limped back to Stonehenge, to find a bus that would take us back to London proper. Once we were aboard, I stopped struggling against the exhaustion and fell asleep, holding tightly onto Excalibur.
I suppose, due to what happened on the bus and later in the barracks back at base, I need to explain what happened to me while I was sleeping.
I hardly ever dream, anymore. It's best for everyone that way...nothing like waking up to the smoke detector going off and smoldering bedsheets. But this didn't feel quite like a dream, in any case...more like an out-of-body experience. I was drawn upward, to an Avalon that floated amongst the clouds. Fire began to flicker up and down my arms, but my panic was quelled by a multitude of voices. They claimed to be kings, all belonging to a noble lineage that included Arthur and stretched forward and back through time. If I wished to prove myself worthy of joining their number and wielding Excalibur, I must hold myself to the same virtues they did. In addition, they set me three trials--mind, body, and spirit. I could return when I wished, to attempt them.
I awoke to find Seth poised over me with a syringe, and heard the screams of tourists as they poured off the bus. It seemed I was on fire.
But it felt different, this time. The anger that usually threatens to overwhelm me was gone, leaving in its place a sense of calm. I quickly doused the flames and we set about trying to convince the driver that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Unfortunately he didn't seem to be buying it, and when he went to radio in to his controller, Verris tried something that backfired in a bad way. All in all, we had to call in some mage resources to clean up the mess and cart Verris away.
Back in London, we were informed via radio that our ride out of the country would be shut down by eight the next morning. Understandably, this caused a big argument within the group. We had an invite to the Mage's council the next day--only for one person. Seth and I wanted to drop it, get out of the country, but I knew the others would never go for it. So the debate was over whom we should send. Consensus was that our two candidates were Carter and Dex. Everyone else was too high-risk, whether by personality or by being indispensible for future missions.
We went back-and-forth for hours, and had several failed attempts at procuring more information. Seth tried a vision, but some entity blocked him and nearly tore him apart. On Dex's part, the Prioress showed up again and wreaked havoc. But in the end, we decided to entrust this mission to Dex. Carter had some sort of a breakdown, during the discussion. Perhaps not a breakdown...but he cut himself off from the group and retreated into the other room. I followed, to make sure he wasn't falling to pieces, but he wouldn't tell me what was going on. I'm just hoping he's not heading into a downward spiral. As always, there's not much I can do but sit there with a net and hope I can catch him if he jumps.
So we left Dex behind when we went to the airport the next morning. Back on base, things were fairly business-as-usual. Sam caused a giant explosion and got confined to barracks. Dex showed up a day or two later, frozen nearly to the bone.
Sitting Raven foundus, somehow. He killed himself, walking all the way here, just to deliver us a short piece of advice. We were affecting the course of events by our actions, he said. The choices we made, though they seemed like the quickest way to our goal of the overthrow of Draco, were not necessarily the best for the world.
And I attempted the first trial. I never thought it would be so dangerous for those around me, or I would not have tried it in the barracks. I hope the military doesn't mind that my bed is now a pile of slag.
Draconis is dead, and I succeeded. Dex isn't talking to me...I wish I hadn't been set against him, if only for her sake. But he was the opponent given to me, and I'm not going to hesitate trading a demon's "life" for the power to defend humanity. And I did gain power, and knowledge...I am not sure if I can control this new flame, but I will try. I also learned something of our opponents--the CEOs of Draco and company may be the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Just another sign that we're in for a tough fight here, I guess.
Our next mission was going to take us into China, to an R&D facility where we would hopefully find information to fight the scion plague. We geared up and headed out.
Most of us still have serious issues with Carter being our leader. I merely consider it an obligation to note that for the record.
Thankfully, there were no problems getting ourselves or our equipment across the ocean and into the rural mountain town the R&D facility was located in. We did some recon and decided that a nighttime approach via the river entrance would be our best bet. Sam, Mori, and Carter did most of the infiltration work, clearing us a path into the complex. There was apparently a lot of animal testing being done here. Something was wrong, though. As we made our way inward, guards kept turning up inexplicably dead. Something was obviously going on, but we had no recourse but to continue on a try to escape the trap once it was sprung.
Well, just as we made it into the heart of the complex, sirens and lights started flashing everywhere. Things had gone haywire, within the building. Apparently their experiments were turning against them because animals were running everywhere and wreaking mayhem.
We grabbed some binders and harddrives from the first floor and headed lower. We only had a short time before Draco decided to cut their losses and destroy the facility.
On the way down, we encountered many sealed rooms with animal inhabitants. It looked like they had machinery grafted onto their bodies, and Dex said that they all seemed to be intent on completing some sort of a mission. In all truth, it was probably for the best that Draco was going to eradicate the facility. I'd hate to be up against these creatures in the field.
We all made it down to the lowest floor of the place without too many injuries--Dex, Mori, and Sam encountered a troop of wolves before my group made it to the lower level--and went in search of whatever top-secret things they were keeping down there.
We found the door to an office which had appeared on a security tape upstairs. But several of the others were having their evil-radars go off, so we decided to explore the rest of the floor first. Behind a door marked "Prometheus Project", we found a giant mechanical apparatus and two old friends.
We had seen, upstairs, that there were two bodies underneath sheets lying in this room. But of all the places to have found them, this was certainly not where I would have expected to meet Admin and Sixteen Tons. They were both comatose, hooked up to machines and a computer bank. Sam, in his usual approach to problems, immediately moved to cut the lines. A countdown began on the computer, and he yelled at us to get out and finish sweeping the floor. There was little we could do, I think, but hope he had done the right thing and wasn't going to die of radiation exposure before we got back to him.
So we went to the office. Whatever was lurking beyond that door, I was goign to protect the others from it to the best of my ability. As long as I have this sword and this power, it's my responsibility to use them for our side. To offset the times I've caused destruction, at the least. So, Excalibur drawn, I kicked in the door.
A...man waited for us in the office. He offered no overt threat, but there was something about him that was terrible beyond words. The others shrank back as he explained that it was he who had killed the guards on our way in. Seemed he was the one meddling with Seth's visions earlier, too. He offered us a gamble: if any of us could beat him in a card game, he would leave this plane forever. But if they lost...they would be destroyed. I suppose Carter's rabbit foor was good for something after all, because he played and won.
We grabbed more documents from the office and went to check on Sam. But on the way there, we passed by a room labeled "Ben". Within was a massive bear, covered in metallic armor. Dex spoke with it, and it seemed willing to go along with us. Back in the Prometheus room, the countdown finished. We watched as Admin and Sixteen Tons awoke from unconsciousness, and made ready to exit the facility. The only problem: when Sam woke those two, he also woke something else. Several somethings else.
Never thought we'd see Erickson's ugly face again. Never wanted to, either. And now, we were being chased by an army of him. Now there is evidence that Draco's pure evil, aside from the whole demon CEO thing--they cloned that bastard and left dozens of him under the mountain. We ran upward as quickly as possible (which, because Dex insisted on bringing the bear with us, was not very swiftly). Sixteen Tons stayed behind to hold them back, and we fled the mountain with Admin in tow.
Next: Angels and Demons
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Even after I awoke, as dawn broke over the lake, exhaustion pulled at me so that I could barely drag myself to my medical case. But several of the others were badly hurt or unconscious, and the ordeal I'd been through was no excuse to leave them in such a state. We limped back to Stonehenge, to find a bus that would take us back to London proper. Once we were aboard, I stopped struggling against the exhaustion and fell asleep, holding tightly onto Excalibur.
I suppose, due to what happened on the bus and later in the barracks back at base, I need to explain what happened to me while I was sleeping.
I hardly ever dream, anymore. It's best for everyone that way...nothing like waking up to the smoke detector going off and smoldering bedsheets. But this didn't feel quite like a dream, in any case...more like an out-of-body experience. I was drawn upward, to an Avalon that floated amongst the clouds. Fire began to flicker up and down my arms, but my panic was quelled by a multitude of voices. They claimed to be kings, all belonging to a noble lineage that included Arthur and stretched forward and back through time. If I wished to prove myself worthy of joining their number and wielding Excalibur, I must hold myself to the same virtues they did. In addition, they set me three trials--mind, body, and spirit. I could return when I wished, to attempt them.
I awoke to find Seth poised over me with a syringe, and heard the screams of tourists as they poured off the bus. It seemed I was on fire.
But it felt different, this time. The anger that usually threatens to overwhelm me was gone, leaving in its place a sense of calm. I quickly doused the flames and we set about trying to convince the driver that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Unfortunately he didn't seem to be buying it, and when he went to radio in to his controller, Verris tried something that backfired in a bad way. All in all, we had to call in some mage resources to clean up the mess and cart Verris away.
Back in London, we were informed via radio that our ride out of the country would be shut down by eight the next morning. Understandably, this caused a big argument within the group. We had an invite to the Mage's council the next day--only for one person. Seth and I wanted to drop it, get out of the country, but I knew the others would never go for it. So the debate was over whom we should send. Consensus was that our two candidates were Carter and Dex. Everyone else was too high-risk, whether by personality or by being indispensible for future missions.
We went back-and-forth for hours, and had several failed attempts at procuring more information. Seth tried a vision, but some entity blocked him and nearly tore him apart. On Dex's part, the Prioress showed up again and wreaked havoc. But in the end, we decided to entrust this mission to Dex. Carter had some sort of a breakdown, during the discussion. Perhaps not a breakdown...but he cut himself off from the group and retreated into the other room. I followed, to make sure he wasn't falling to pieces, but he wouldn't tell me what was going on. I'm just hoping he's not heading into a downward spiral. As always, there's not much I can do but sit there with a net and hope I can catch him if he jumps.
So we left Dex behind when we went to the airport the next morning. Back on base, things were fairly business-as-usual. Sam caused a giant explosion and got confined to barracks. Dex showed up a day or two later, frozen nearly to the bone.
Sitting Raven foundus, somehow. He killed himself, walking all the way here, just to deliver us a short piece of advice. We were affecting the course of events by our actions, he said. The choices we made, though they seemed like the quickest way to our goal of the overthrow of Draco, were not necessarily the best for the world.
And I attempted the first trial. I never thought it would be so dangerous for those around me, or I would not have tried it in the barracks. I hope the military doesn't mind that my bed is now a pile of slag.
Draconis is dead, and I succeeded. Dex isn't talking to me...I wish I hadn't been set against him, if only for her sake. But he was the opponent given to me, and I'm not going to hesitate trading a demon's "life" for the power to defend humanity. And I did gain power, and knowledge...I am not sure if I can control this new flame, but I will try. I also learned something of our opponents--the CEOs of Draco and company may be the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Just another sign that we're in for a tough fight here, I guess.
Our next mission was going to take us into China, to an R&D facility where we would hopefully find information to fight the scion plague. We geared up and headed out.
Most of us still have serious issues with Carter being our leader. I merely consider it an obligation to note that for the record.
Thankfully, there were no problems getting ourselves or our equipment across the ocean and into the rural mountain town the R&D facility was located in. We did some recon and decided that a nighttime approach via the river entrance would be our best bet. Sam, Mori, and Carter did most of the infiltration work, clearing us a path into the complex. There was apparently a lot of animal testing being done here. Something was wrong, though. As we made our way inward, guards kept turning up inexplicably dead. Something was obviously going on, but we had no recourse but to continue on a try to escape the trap once it was sprung.
Well, just as we made it into the heart of the complex, sirens and lights started flashing everywhere. Things had gone haywire, within the building. Apparently their experiments were turning against them because animals were running everywhere and wreaking mayhem.
We grabbed some binders and harddrives from the first floor and headed lower. We only had a short time before Draco decided to cut their losses and destroy the facility.
On the way down, we encountered many sealed rooms with animal inhabitants. It looked like they had machinery grafted onto their bodies, and Dex said that they all seemed to be intent on completing some sort of a mission. In all truth, it was probably for the best that Draco was going to eradicate the facility. I'd hate to be up against these creatures in the field.
We all made it down to the lowest floor of the place without too many injuries--Dex, Mori, and Sam encountered a troop of wolves before my group made it to the lower level--and went in search of whatever top-secret things they were keeping down there.
We found the door to an office which had appeared on a security tape upstairs. But several of the others were having their evil-radars go off, so we decided to explore the rest of the floor first. Behind a door marked "Prometheus Project", we found a giant mechanical apparatus and two old friends.
We had seen, upstairs, that there were two bodies underneath sheets lying in this room. But of all the places to have found them, this was certainly not where I would have expected to meet Admin and Sixteen Tons. They were both comatose, hooked up to machines and a computer bank. Sam, in his usual approach to problems, immediately moved to cut the lines. A countdown began on the computer, and he yelled at us to get out and finish sweeping the floor. There was little we could do, I think, but hope he had done the right thing and wasn't going to die of radiation exposure before we got back to him.
So we went to the office. Whatever was lurking beyond that door, I was goign to protect the others from it to the best of my ability. As long as I have this sword and this power, it's my responsibility to use them for our side. To offset the times I've caused destruction, at the least. So, Excalibur drawn, I kicked in the door.
A...man waited for us in the office. He offered no overt threat, but there was something about him that was terrible beyond words. The others shrank back as he explained that it was he who had killed the guards on our way in. Seemed he was the one meddling with Seth's visions earlier, too. He offered us a gamble: if any of us could beat him in a card game, he would leave this plane forever. But if they lost...they would be destroyed. I suppose Carter's rabbit foor was good for something after all, because he played and won.
We grabbed more documents from the office and went to check on Sam. But on the way there, we passed by a room labeled "Ben". Within was a massive bear, covered in metallic armor. Dex spoke with it, and it seemed willing to go along with us. Back in the Prometheus room, the countdown finished. We watched as Admin and Sixteen Tons awoke from unconsciousness, and made ready to exit the facility. The only problem: when Sam woke those two, he also woke something else. Several somethings else.
Never thought we'd see Erickson's ugly face again. Never wanted to, either. And now, we were being chased by an army of him. Now there is evidence that Draco's pure evil, aside from the whole demon CEO thing--they cloned that bastard and left dozens of him under the mountain. We ran upward as quickly as possible (which, because Dex insisted on bringing the bear with us, was not very swiftly). Sixteen Tons stayed behind to hold them back, and we fled the mountain with Admin in tow.
Next: Angels and Demons
