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 Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2005 2:03 am
Chapter 2: Breakdown. ::Cold. Dead. Silence. In death no one truly cares what you are, what you want to be, your potential is meaningless, your memories are forgotten. You are nothing, but a pile of your collected parts. For M4X this took on an even more literal meaning. Here in the unforgiving cold, he was lost. Within mere minutes he was completely buried under snow, to be forgotten... His purple eyes had lost their glow, and his view screen...had red flickering text in its corner...wait, thats not right. But its was true none the less. In the corner of M4X's vision there were a few simple words of hope, blinking red.:: Catastrophic Failure Recovery Systems....Engaged.::His once dead eyes sprung to life! A sharp reddish glow stared through the snow, as a red emergency light poured from his eyes, and the status screen continued.:: Emergency Nano-Pod Released.::What? There were systems even M4X himself did not know about systems made to survive even in this sort of case. The Emergency Nano-pod, consisted of a small ball of nanites no bigger than the average super ball. The pod would seperate on contact with the ground releasing a small pool of nanites, not to repair and upgrade, but to research the surroundings for the sole purpose of restoring M4X's functionality. They're discovery went as follows:: Researching surroundings...
Base compounds include...
Mineral Base Solids...granite, iron, graphite...
Large quantities of frozen liquid detected...
Liquid recognized as H20...
Processing...::The nanites had discovered the snow and ice that filled this place, several of them scurried as close as possible to each other and strangely began to spin in place building and increasing heat in the area until slowly, a bit of the ice melted into water, and then evaported into.:: Water Vapor detected.
Installing new power supply.
Time Remaining...12 hours...--12 hours later-- ::M4X's fingers began to twitch. Slowly, a few seconds later, his eyes began to blink. And a few seconds after that, he began to move, his hands pressed down into the deep snow as he leaned his upper body upwards, and with a triumphant grind of metal the android broke up from his snowy grave. But he was changed. As his servos grinded through snow and he pushed his way to his feet a loud hiss could be heard, as a shoot of steam was released from the back of his legs, and arms, and from one of the large tubes which once circled his spinal column but had broken free in his "rough" landing. M4X would find that several other tubes had been revamped and given new purposes. Tubes carried steam down to his arms, and his legs, and even to his torso which had been reformed by the nanites to be air tight, with the exception of a bubble on his back in which one could clearly see steam rushing around inside him. Very soon a familiar whirring could be heard inside his chest as his graviton generator came back online....It took all of 30 seconds for a warning to go off.:: Heat levels dropping.
Catastrophic System Failure, iminent.::No! Not after coming this close. Deep burried in the snow M4X's systems were protected, like an eskimo in an igloo. But here exposed to the air, his metal frame was generating too much heat to build up steam. And then...a powerful howl bellowed across the tundra. What stood behind him, was a wolf. Sort of. The creature was definately Lupine in origin but its features were far different. And it stared down M4X with hungry eyes. On a normal moment he would have scanned the beast, but his scanners were far from being operational. It was a miracle enough that any of his systems were backwards compatitable with something as archaic as steam engines. But as he turned to face the beast that was the last thing which came across his processors. Infact as it jumped at him like it would jump on its prey only one thing came across his processors. A single automated command:: Emergency Defense Mode Activated...Graviton Crush Engaged at Maximum.::The androids right hand rose at an angle and pointed toward the creature, and without even a moment of warning, there was a bright flash of purple. A ball shot from M4X's hand, one about the size of a softball, and it struck the unsuspecting Warg in mid air. M4X was a weapon afterall.The creature hung there, confused for a moment as to why it had yet to taste its preys soft flesh. And suddenly it fell. Without warning, it rose again, and then just as suddenly fell. This time harder, one could hear the wheeze as air escaped its lungs. Again it rose, and again, it fell even harder, this time a welp was heard as it smashed into the snow, the Warg was not happy to say the least it lashed its claws out at M4X only to find it was too far to actually reach...and then it fell yet again, harder. Cracks were heard as its bones began to give under the pressure, the beast grew furious as it rose again it roared, and slammed back down again, the pattern repeated, again, and again. Each time growing hard and faster, until all that was left was a blur of grey as the beast rose and slammed so hard that no sound was heard at all, save for a wet scultch as the remaining pile of flesh and organs settled onto the floor. M4X could already feel his systems beginning to lock up. Desperate times call for more desperate measures, and so he reached his thick mechanical fingers downward and pulled a large sheet of the creatures skin from off the pile of meat, and drapped it over itself. The warm bloody fur did its job. At this moment the android had no memory of itself, or anyone else. And so it simply walked. A machine without a purpose.:: --2 Hours Later- | -Present Time-- Doctor...what is that?::Bloody Mary's voice could be heard saying as she pointed toward what looked like a statue in distance, shuffling through the snow.:: I dunt know, but Itz...coming tovard uz.
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 4:14 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 2:28 am
Chapter 3: Welcome To The Family. ::The wind howled and screeched past rocks and crevices as the figure continued to shuffle toward the Doctor and Mary. And he drew closer the red glow of his right eye could be seen clearly through the blizzards snowy downpour. The Doctor was the first to speak, his feet crunched in the snow, as he stepped towards this mysterious being. He lifted his right hand to slightly adjust his glasses, and then took a breath and began to try and speak when the figure cut him off. As it spoke, its voice cracked and skipped like a broken record, it sounded like a man trying to speak through a horrifically broken microphone. But his tone was on of definite seriousness.:: I-I-I-Identify yours-s-s-s-sself i-mm-e-e-diately. Or I wil-w-w-w-w-w-ill be forc-c-c-ed to ter-terminate y-y-ou.::As he spoke, M4X raised his right hand, and slowly but surely a purple glow began to fill the center of his hand. Strangely, the Doctor, was unphased by this threat, or this show. He flicked two sets of red lenses onto his glasses. Almost immediately his face grew a very wide smile. Like a child looking at a brand new bicycle. Even despite the warning, he stepped forward even closer and spoke, his excitement was obvious by just the speed at which he spoke.:: Oh my krauzk...quadra titanium alloy, graviton genorator, nano-azzembly, and zhose are juzt zhe partz I recognize! You are truly a vonderfully amazing creation!::He stepped even closer, and began to circle around M4X simply trying to soak in all that he saw. Needless to say the android was not pleased. His voice was yet firmer this time.:: This i-i-i-is your final, war-warning. Wh-who a-re you?::This question caught the Doctors interest, he stood upright from analyzing M4X feet, and stood directly in front of him, his arms open, and a wide smile on his face. In this cold, with the rosey red invading his cheeks, he seemed quiet jolly.:: I am zhe Doctor.D-doc-tor?::M4X froze. As his left eye opened wide. In the crash his memory had been mostly destroyed or corrupted, but a few bits and pieces remained. And the sight of the Doctor in his lab coat with that smile on his face brought back many memorys. M4X remembered many men in labcoats talking to him during the early years of his life. The memories came back as still scenes and sometimes as video. At times they depicted a man, in white clothes with a screwdriver, or a computer, working at M4X's circuitry or programming. And at other times they involved, simple conversations with him regarding one of the lab tech's personal life. But while the details of these were mostly lost, M4X still could still clearly see their nametags, and still remembered the title that these men were referred to by...Doctor. In his broken mind, this made a sort of wierd sense. Those were Doctors, this is THE Doctor. This man must be his creator, immediately his right hand fell and the purple glow in it dissolved. His tone of voice was drastically changed, instead of a demand this was a plead.:: W-who-am I?::As opposed to being shocked, the Doctor merely smerked.:: You are monzterous, you are alone, you are broken, and you are--::As he spoke this next word he reached forward and whiped a bit frost off of M4X's shoulder:: --cold. I do not know your name, but it iz obviouz you belong in my family. Fa-family?Come Son. Ve head north.::With that, the Doctor made a hard tug on the strap across his chest which held the rather large tube on his back. And walked past M4X his adopted Son, patting him on the shoulder as he did so. Mary in-turn gave the android a wink, and continued behind the Doctor. Perhaps maybe it was for lack of a better plan. Perhaps maybe it was the loss of his memory, or maybe it was fate. But M4X quietly spoke two words, and followed behind the group, and off into the blizzard.:: Y-yes Father.
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 2:54 am
Chapter 4: White Picket Fence. Ve're here!::The Doctor said as he came to a stop in the middle of a wide blank snowy field. Just like the other wide, blank snowy fields they had been walking across for the last day. There was wind, there was snow, there was rocks. That was just about all there was but...:: We're...where?Zhiz place iz zpecial. I can feel it. ::Mary cocked an eyebrow as she looked down at the endless field of white. And looked up from her task. For the past few hours she had been walking beside M4X with a screw driver and a wrench as she tried to make basic repairs to as much of his system as she could. When she saw the field, she was utterly confused. She opened her mouth to say something but was immediately cut off as the Doctor spoke again:: Ready zhe shovels! Ve muzt ztudy zhis la--::The Doctor was immediately cut off as M4X began to speak. The Androids face was pointed straight down at the ground directly ahead of him, and both of his eyes could visibily be seen glowing a bright green. He read off information like a food shopping list, fast and direct.:: Surface Scan Complete.
Soil contains traits of sodium, iron, copper, steel mixtures, wood....
Analyzing...
Wood appears to be over 42,000 years old.
...granite, hemotite, bronze, various cloths.
Deep Scan Complete.
Anomoly Detected: Lower layers reveal a vast majority of Dark Steel. Wieght Calculations exceed 82 tons. This is not a naturally occuring compound.
Detailed Area Scan complete.
Deep scans reveal several 72,867 humanoid bones.
Remains of over 36,000 broken armorments and weaponry, not including arrows.::The glow in M4X's eyes finally fades as he turns up to face the Doctor and speaks again.:: This was a battlefield. Calculations estimate a minimum of 50,000 soldiers died on this field.You sure can pick'em.::Mary added in, with an amused smiled across her pale face.:: I knew it felt special! Zhiz is perfect! Von could not azk for a better place to build our home! Mary ready zhe drills, vhe must dig!! Ve need a foundation!::Again M4X spoke. This time his eyes glowed a bright blue. He raised both his fists up much like a boxer would, and just like he had done at the arena. He swiftly punched the icey ground with his right fist, slowly followed by his left fist, then again with his right, then left, then right, left,right...until finally his fists began moving so fast that they began to blur. And soon all that was left was the rapid sound a jackhammer striking stone and the period gust of steam. A warm smile crept across the Doctors face as he began to speak:: Zo it beginz. Ve vill build our home tall, and ztrong. Vith a great vide lab! Vith new equipment, new helperz!::As the doctor continued to list the great benefits of this new home. A smile grew on Marys face, until finally she began to join in with him.:: A drawbridge!?Two.New pets for security?!Oh ho ho, zeveral.New uniforms!?More zhan you can count.Fresh stitches?From head to toe!Vhe vill have a new family!And a white picket fence! To keep the nieghbors dog out!::There was a moment of silence. Between the two of them, as Mary grabbed, her mouth shocked at what she just said. The Doctor cocked an eyebrow.:: ...Ve dont need a vhite picket fence.::Mary nodded sheepishly with her hands still over her mouth.:: But...ve vill get zhat looked at.::She smiled silently, as they both waited with heads full of hope for the construction that would soon begin.::
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 2:16 pm
Strange.
The Kyonuske were some of the few beings that knew when Bander was coming, usually popping out of god-knows-where and asking him if he'd like an escort. The smug bastards - the hunter figured they did it just to prove to him they could spot him coming. Underneath his layers and layers of skins and hides, he was nearly invisible on the vast tundra, blending in perfectly as he moved shadow-like from place to place; always walking toe-heel, silently, and sometimes on all fours. An alert warg would have trouble spotting him. But them. They always knew.
This day was different however. The hunter was a bow's shot from their great ice towers, yet they hadn't come out to meet him yet. Very perculiar. And another thing struck him as odd - some time earlier he had fealt some subterranean vibrations through his feet, the type that polar worms made as they travelled beneath the snow. But why would the Kyonuske let the beasts get so close to their domain? Something was wrong here. Great warriors and animals of the land were said to possess a type of sixth sense that alerted them to danger, even if they couldn't see it.
Bander was both.
As he stealthily crept along the grounds he slid the Dwarven-crafted blade out from its sheath beneath one of the layers of his clothing, slowly and quietly, as not to attract attention. Bander was well aware of the way the buildings were designed and structured, as he'd been here many times before to trade his wares, so finding the entrance to the structure was no problem. Moving spider-like along the ground, blade in one hand, body propelling itself along in the three-point position, all of the hunter's senses became expotentially more acute as he shoved the door to one of the structures open and a wave of noxious fumes assaulted his nose.
Burnt flesh and blood the most predominant.
The scarf about his face kept the majority of the stench out of his nostrils, but no amount of muffling could have blocked it all out. For someone with a nose as sharp as a wolves, the scent was dizzying. But Bander didn't let his basic urges to throw up and black out get the best of him, pushing onward with his creeping gait and blade readied.
Death had found the Kyonuske.
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 2:54 pm
Bander stalked the halls, years of hunting the most monstrous of beasts in the most horrific of battlefields keeping him from wretching - and just barely. Blood and fragments of bodies were splattered everywhere, in quite a few places he'd find half of a person, and some time later find its accompanying portion. After a while, he just kept his eyes locked on the hall ahead of him and stopped glancing downwards; too many familiar faces, too many haunting stares - it was getting a little creepy. The hunter fealt a hot anger rising up in the back of his throat and burning at the back of his eyes, threatening to burst through his blank visage and scream outwards.
What kind of monster could have done this?
After perhaps an hour of his careful creeping he spotted a door ahead in the dark hallway with an eerie light flooding underneath the door, illuminating the corpses and rubble in the immediate area with a faint white light. Stalking silently up to the door with all the stealth of a hunting cat, Bander arrives in front of the wooden portal in a crouch, weapon at the ready. Was this the person who had perpetrated these haenous acts?
Only one way to find out.
The door was not open, and cracking it slightly would have shifted aside quite a few bodies which had apparantly died trying to protect this particular entrance. Suspicious. Bander took half a step back and braced his foot against the wall opposite the door, twisting it a bit for traction - blade rising in front of him. Dangerous blue eyes narrowed and his teeth gritted, body becoming tense all over. Camoflauged body rocked backwards, and...
Knock knock.
... the hunter flung himself bodily at the door, silver blade flashing in front of him - and, to even his surprise, shearing clean through the door. The door was split down the middle, and moments later the projectile that was Bander reduced the structurally unfit wooden portal to splinters. He came out of his dive in a roll, regaining his feet in a crouch, slightly curved sword at the ready. The blade was leveled squarely at the chest of a ghostly woman, clasped tightly in both hands, leather-bound hilt creaking under the pressure of his vice-like grasp.
"Is this your work?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 3:26 pm
"Not even my idea." The soft, fluent voice of the woman who seemed to 'exist' out of the mist of space that filled the chamberf spoke, tilting her head slightly at the young man. "Forgive the melodrama of the scene, I am afraid with the current situation destabilizing more rapidly than I had hoped, I had no time to prepare for your coming."
It might have seemed weird for one to be conversing with a spirit, but then again, only in Gaia were such things commonplace.
"Perhaps this was for the best. Most of the others are already on the move." The dead priestess said, smiling sadly as she turned to guide the young man towards the rest of the room, motioning to the slain bodies that were strewn about, and the shattered remains of what looked to be a shrine of sorts.
"You may be surprised of what I have to ask of you... But if we are to succeed, a great deal of help will be needed to combat this threat."
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 5:56 pm
"I care not for the double-talk of spirits and tricksters. Get to the point."
Bander was, essentially, a very intelligent animal. And animals are skitish. Something that he couldn't face on even grounds and didn't comprehend made him nervous, and that is probably why he didn't move from his defensive crouch. If it turned out this was a hoax or some stupid scheme conjured up by spirit, he'd be all too prepared to spring away, or even more likely spring ahead, blade flashing.
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:54 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 7:07 pm
"A hunt, then, is it?"
Bander said, allowing his blade to dip to the floor. This spirit would not, could not harm him, and as it now stood she apparantly needed him. Not to say he completely trusted her now, however, as his icy blue eyes still burned accusingly through her uncorporeal body, as if searching for deception. Nostrils were flaring, his heart was thumping, he was even licking his lips every once in a while to taste about for foul play; but, no matter what he tried, the hunter could not detect any hints of falsehood.
And, he had to admit... this 'Victor' monster seemed like a worthy challenge.
The mix-breed Ice Elf rose to his full height and sheathed the blade on his back, crossing his arms across a hide-swathed chest. This all seemed a bit suspicious, but the bodies of the dead Kyonuske all about him made him think otherwise.
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 7:20 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 12:38 pm
"Go on."
Bander wasn't stupid, and he desired nothing more to live his life out on the Tundra. But this Victor character wanted to destroy Gaia, and Guldor was in Gaia. Bad call. Growing less and less fond of Mister Victor by the second, the hunter grunted quietly and tightened his arms.
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 1:47 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 2:02 pm
Bander was becoming surly. The man was a hunter and basically a beast, having lived in the harshest conditions imaginable for the better part of three hundred years. And, to top it off, he'd had so little human interaction and chances to exercises his verbal skills, some of the words the ghost was speaking were flying right over his head. He didn't like to feel stupid. Eyes narrowed just slightly, jaw clenched a bit, his own voice adds to her dreary monologue.
"First, what in the frozen circles of hell is a 'Deepwater'?"
"Second, who is the 'current leader of the Kyonuske'?"
"And third," He added with a sarcastic smile, "you're welcome."
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 2:37 pm
"I cannot give you anymore than what I have already told you." Ashe said, turning her ethereal back to the hunter now as she bagn floating/walking on over towards a gilded cabinet, merely extending an arm towards the thing.
"The man you must search for is called Vahn... Vahn Kyonuske." She finished, before turning her gaze back to the hunter now. "If you accept.. I will remove the barriers I've placed, and allow you to take possesion of a most curious item... that will aid you in what I've set out for you to do."
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