Written by Tanith 09-11-2002 09:28 PM
"Dead?" she repeated, for the third time. The words didn't seem to be sinking in.
Z-man snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. "Yeah. Dead. Y'know. Kicked the bucket. Gone to that big... whatever... in the sky. Dead." He paused, then added the qualifier. "Well, his spirit, anyways."
Tanith took a deep breath. "You'd better tell start from the beginning. I haven't kept tabs on Mg since he'd asked for privacy. So what happened since he hired PaDT for his vacation?"
Written by Z-man 09-12-2002 12:04 AM
"They didn't report to me too much about what he did there, mainly typical life stuff and something about a crack addict girl, so I had him bumped down to once a week monitoring.
"Our clairsentients are a squeamish lot, so I don't know much about the actual death, except for the fact that there was a shoot out with no survivors, and I only found out aboput it a week later.
So I got the body and had Rommie do what she could to get him in working condition, but he seems to be missing a soul. I planned tp go to the Gargoyles universe now to see if Anubis will tell me what happened to it. I'm kind of hoping he had some unfinished business and managed to stick around as a ghost, 'cause that would be easiest," Z-man said, in one very long breath. "Unless you can think of a better way of doing this."
Written by Jaffa 09-12-2002 05:54 AM
Jaffa stood in the window of his office building in Sunnydale, looking out into the evening that was slowly swallowing the few lingering rays of light. Soon, the creatures of the night would come out of their hiding places and prowl the streets again.
It had been a lucrative operation for him here, these past few months. A person who could handle supernatural problems quickly and efficiently would not go out of business in this universe any time soon. He had, of course, bases in a few places on Buffyverse Earth, but his personal headquarters were here on the Hellmouth, where the dimensional barriers were weaker.
And those weak barriers had made what was going to happen tonight possible.
"Eversharp", Jaffa called, and a sword appeared in his hand. It was a gift from the thundergod Thor himself, given to him for his help in freeing Asgard from the Meddler's grasp and enchanted to return to him whenever called. The sword was not too fancy, only a few runes signified the enchantments placed on it, but it's balance was perfect, and Jaffa could feel the power unlocked inside the nearly indestructable Uru metal. Famous for it's ability to hold magic, Uru was one of the most sought after materials of mages all over the multiverse, and today, that ability was going to make Eversharp even more powerful.
For despite the ease with which he had established himself in Sunnydale, effortlessly defeating the vampires and demons that had tried to get in his way, Jaffa had not forgotten the defeat he had suffered in the hands of the Temptress. Even though he had grown stronger since, he had only barely escaped the Munchking's petrification spell as he had left the Andromeda. Both of them had used magic, and no matter how powerful he was, the very nature of magic kept him from properly protecting himself against it. Unease over this matter had bothered Jaffa, who had gained his own share of enemies over the years for some time now, and finding a solution to the problem had been one of his highest priorities ever since leaving Tanith's vessel.
But tonight all that was going to change. As Jaffa stepped through the door of his office and into the hallway, he thought of all the work-filled months it had gotten to get here, the sacrifices he had made, and he was glad. Tonight he would finally collect the fruits of his labour. Past the offices, through the hallways he walked, descending through a seemingly endless downward spiral of stairs. Finally he reached the inner sanctum, a place deep under the surface of his glass tower, where most of the equipment confiscated from HALST was stored and where all the most secret and dangerous projects were being worked on. There, hidden from the eyes of man and demon alike, was also a chamber that now served as a place of gathering for a most mysterious and powerful crowd. The doors opened as the master of the building approached, and the two Ghosts guarding the entrance nodded as their commander passed through.
The crowd silenced as Jaffa stepped inside, their undivided attention focusing on the man who had brought them all here. As the host walked through the chamber, he let his eyes wander, noting the different parties that were present.
There was a contingent of hooded wizards clad in black. The Black Robes from Krynn, led by a tall, pale elf Jaffa recognized as Dalamar the Dark, leader of their guild. A small nod to their direction confirmed that their deal was still valid. The Krynn wizards would give their sevices in exchange for access to the greater multiverse - a rather modest price, all in all.
The next group were all tall, beautiful men and women. Black Numenoreans, all of them students of the dark arts. These people had found it difficult indeed living in the world after Sauron's defeat, and had gladly accepted an offer from Jaffa to arrange for their teleportation into a more suitable world.
There was a group of Sartans that kept to themselves, clearly considering themselves far superior to the other races in the room. Powerful they were, no doubt about it, and eager to escape their dying worlds. Undoubtedly they would have ignored Jaffa's offer completely and just taken what they wanted from him, had it not been for the one thing that kept them in check - water from a world of their own creation, Chelestra.
There were also others, mages from a dozen dimensions all trying to further their own goals and dwarven smiths specialized in enchanting weapons, some of whom had even required no reward other than the chance to work on a sword made of the legendary Uru. There were dark elves, exiled from their underground homes, survivors of dead houses. There was even a dragon in human form, whose true identity was betrayed by his unnaturally sharp facial features and the reddish tint of his skin, a refugee from a world where his kin were all but extinct. All of them had something to gain, all of them were expecting a reward of some kind, and after this much of the resources Jaffa's organization had gathered would be gone. Jaffa thought of this as he stepped into the forge in the middle of the room and smiled. It would be worth it.
* * *
Outside the relative safety of closed doors, the streets of Sunnydale were still a dangerous place. The girl could hear her heart beating like a drum as she ran, so fast and so hard she was sure it was going to burst. Every now and then she gazed over her shoulder in terror, hoping to have lost her pursuers.
She had just moved into the town a few days ago, and had been warned not to go outside after sunset. How sad these people were, she had thought, letting fear of muggers and human scum restrict their lives so, she had thought. She would not - after all, if nothing more, she had Bruno to protect her.
Bruno, the 100 pound German shepherd, was now dead in a gutter somewhere, it's neck snapped effortlessly by the assailant.
Too tired to run any further, too breathless to even scream for help, the girl made a quick turn and darted into a dark alley. Her pursuer, a huge man with a horribly twisted, almost inhuman face, was nowhere to be seen. In the corner of her mind that was not in panic, she reasoned that she would be safe, just hiding here until the man was gone, or some help arrived. Or anything.
Still catching her breath, the girl turned to retreat further into the alley, only to bump into something. The man was there again, laughing as the girl backed away in fear. How could he have gotten there so fast? No human could do that, the girl heard herself say somewhere in the back of her head, in the part of her mind that was still analyzing the situation even as most of her consciousness was overwhelmed with fear. As the man stepped forward, his face twisted into a monstrous shape again, long, sharp fangs glistening in the moonlight.
The girl screamed.
Then, suddenly, there was movement in the shadows. piercing red eyes opened in every dark corner, twisting masses separating themselves from the blackness. Ghoulish whispers filled the air, and the girl watched in astonishment as even the vampire that just moments ago had been ready to kill her, now seemed confused and disoriented, even afraid. His fear soon turned to utter horror as the first few creatures lept at him from the shadows, being little more than shadows themselves. The vampire's screams of terror were shortlived, as he was torn to pieces by fangs and claws, every touch draining strength from his being.
The girl watched as her unlikely saviors turned their attention her. Their endless whispers grew louder in her ears as they came closer and closer, and then, there was just darkness.
The walking horrors stepped out of the alley and into the streets, and looked upon the luminous tower of glass that stood some distance away, in the middle of the town. There was power inside it, power that they knew and were drawn to. Some of the fiends returned into the shadows to send their grim message across the dimensions, as the rest disappeared into the night.
Written by Jaffa 09-13-2002 06:38 AM
Jaffa sat in a chair built on a large platform, positioned so that he could easily see the entire large hall from it. Around him were the numerous wizards, sorcerers and magicians that had been hired or otherwise persuaded to join in on this occasion - and despite their original motives, they were all excited now as their attention focused on the center of the cavern.
Over a gigantic forge, heated magically by the dragon to a temperature so high that without heavy magical protections many of the audience could not have survived even being in the same room with it, an aged dwarven smith slowly raised his hand. Raising Eversharp high into the air so that all the audience might see it, he solemnly placed the sword into the forge.
The Realms of Shadow
The Shadowling hurried through the realms of Shadow, carrying the news it's ghouly kin had relayed to it. This wraith was one of the few imbued by it's lord with the power of interdimensional travel. It could shift from the Shadow dimension as it wished, as well as bring others with it, but it could never leave the Shadowy limbo between the realms, for it had no power to escape a material dimension after entering it. Mostly it served only as a transporter and as a spy, and sometimes, like now, as a messenger.
The creature passed through the many pale kingdoms of it's kin, filled with wraiths and spirits of Shadow that once had roamed the planes uncontrolled and chaotic, but had in recent years all been subjugated by a single will, driven by resolution unprecedented in the Shadow Realm, whose inhabitants' minds were as much shades as their bodies. It saw the endless regiments of shades and fiends as they stood watch over the darkness, waiting for a sign from their lord. It saw the wights, creatures that had retained more of their will than the other shadows, cast their dark spells in in the darkest of shadows.
And finally, it came to the castle of Shadow.
Jaffa's HQ, Sunnydale
The sword was glowing red now, almost molten. Two hooded mages stood constantly on opposite sides of the forge, chanting a continuous spell to keep both the enchantments that were yet to be cast on itand the ones already in it from leaving the Uru. It was ready for the ceremony.
One by one, the groups went to the forge and worked their magics on it. Some had prepared the required spells for days, even weeks, some used only their natural ability, but all of them poured their power into the Uru. Enchanters cast their blessings on the glowing sword, dwarven smiths worked their special magic that only they knew, and dark mages muttered their secret incantations.
And the Uru absorbed everything into itself. The mages charged with keeping the power inside the blade were now dripping with sweat not only from the incredible heat, but from the strain of their spell. Two archmages under a Geas now came and cast two Wish spells.
Observing from above, Jaffa smiled as the blade now glowed even brighter.
The Realms of Shadow, The Castle
exhausted, the shadowling passed through the gates into the silent courtyard. It did not stop to note the signs of battle, the lingering sense of gloom that signified the deaths of others of it's kin. All it knew was that the message had to get through, and it made it's way to it's master who stood in the middle of the yard, talking to an unknown creature whose form much resembled the master himself.
Shadowstalker was slightly disturbed by the sudden interruption. His own daughter had just entered the realm and walked through the shadow like only he had done before, and he hardly expected the mindless shades to bring any news that could possibly have even begun to rival this. He was wrong.
Jaffa's HQ, Sunnydale
The process was almost complete now. The last group to cast their spells on the sword were the Sartans. Guarded constantly by Ghosts ready to soak them in the magic-negating water of Chelestra, they added their own share into the power of the sword - but as great as that power was, it was only the lesser part of their enchantment. They imbued the sword with enough sentience to protect it's master even on it's own should he require it, and the will to use it's own power against any who would harm it's rightful owner.
As the Sartans used their rune-magic the dwarven smiths hammered the sword back into shape, it's blade even sharper than it had been before, reforged with both incredible skill and magic - but the dwarves made sure to finish their work before the Sartans did. As the Sartans finished their spell, the now completed sword lay on the anvil waiting, still burning hot and glowing red.
Now, for the first time since the beginning of the ceremony, Jaffa rose from his seat and walked to the sword. Smoke rose from his hand with a gruesome sizzle as he grabbed the sword. He let it burn, and as his bare skin made contact with the blade, Eversharp accepted him as it's master once again.
Jaffa lifted the weapon high above his head and let it's magic flow through him, probing him and learning to recognize it's now undisputed master. As he gazed upon the astonished crowd of men, women and creatures that were not easily astonished he could not resist. Swinging the sword, he shouted: "I HAVE THE POWER!"
Written by Tanith 09-14-2002 02:58 AM
Immediately a gale swept through the island, growing stronger by the minute, becoming a raging hurricane. Rune gasped as the winds swept her off the balcony. That wasn't how it was supposed to go!
Without the time to cast a stable-fight spell, she tried to go for a more instinctive spell - a rift. But, again, the spell did not go as planned; the gaping rift that appeared below her did *not* lead to safety as she'd aimed for... but instead, it opened to the gaping Void.
Frantically, Rune tried to throw up the defenses that Pug-sensei had taught her to shield herself from the ravenous hunger of the Void. She strained her abilities and power to the utmost to raise the defenses quickly and without all the prerequisite rites. But with her full attention focused on the shields, she could not split her attention to steer her path as she fell...
and fell....
and fell....
...through the endless darkness of the Void.
Written by Parallax 09-14-2002 03:30 AM
*****
The sound of power systems quietly hummed in the background as the figure leant back in the chair, listening to the music gracefully coming from unseen speakers.
The dimmed lights of the room helped create the calm atmosphere - they also half illuminated the disorientatingly advanced control console that sat in the middle of the room. The console was not connected to the floor, but instead a clear tube rose from it to the ceiling and in this tube a column rose up and down. The figure in the chair paid the console no heed, content that everything seemed to be working just fine and taking the time out from administrating a certain school of magic just enjoy the simple pleasure of listening to good music in an environment where absolutely no one could ever interrupt...
A light on the control console started to blink and the figure arched an eyebrow in its general direction.
"Lights."
With the spoken command, the lighting level increased revealing the rest of the setting - a set of double doors were on the opposite side of the room with a single door on another of the eight walls. Roundtels covered many of walls, light coming from each of them.
Fingers danced over the console with the figure occassionally clicking his tongue in annoyance; not even here (literally in the middle of nowhere!) could he find some peace.
Pressing a finally button, one wall was suddenly covered in a holographic display - a display which showed a teenage girl helplessly tumbling through the void.
"I don't believe it." muttered the Figure as he looked at the hologram, "Even here people need my help."
The column on top of the Control Console slowed as the figure carefully piloted his TARDIS towards the figure - grinning to himself slightly as the six foot high Police Box that was the Time/Space representation of the TARDIS came within two feet of the girl.
"Computer," said the figure as he stepped away from the console, "keep positions of the outer shell relative to the girl the same. Now extend the door defense shield."
Outside, a glowing corridor extended from one side of the Police Box - surrounding the shape of the girl. The doors opened and the Figure poked his head out and extended an arm towards the quickly steadying girl.
"Relax," He said, "You'll be OK now, it's Parallax..."
Written by Tanith 09-14-2002 03:48 AM
Tanith had been deep in conversation with Z-man, discussing what needed to be done for Mg's current state. Suddenly, an alarm rang out in the room. Tanith's head snapped up. "Rommie?!" she called.
"An incoming urgent transmission from Metaphysician," reported the Andromeda AI. "From Midkemia, evidently. The signal is a bit scrambled, but I do believe something untoward has happened to Rune." Even the AI's normally even voice sounded obviously concerned at the news.
Immediately, Tanith ran for the bridge. "'Port us there directly, Rommie. Shadowwalking will take far too long."
Even as she spoke, she could feel the hum of the deckplates beneath her feet crescendo. Then, the world suddenly tilted, before righting again before the aforementioned tilting could even be noticed.
Before Rommie could even annouce their arrival in orbit around Midkemia, Tanith had beaten her to the punch. "Beam me down to where Meta is, Rommie," she ordered. And with a bare shimmer, she disappeared from the bridge of the Andromeda.
*****
On the TARDIS:
Rune took a deep gasp of air as she stumbled into the comforting arms that steadied her. Already the dizziness and strain she had just undergone were rapidly healing under her immutability. She blinked up at her rescuer.
"It wasn't s'pposed to go that way," she coughed at first, her thoughts still not straightened out yet. Absently, she pushed a wayward lock of her ebony hair back from where it fell across her eyes. "Was just s'pposed to be a localized weather spell... for light winds..." She trailed off as she once again tried to get her thoughts into order.
"Sshh... it's alright. You're safe now." The comforting voice above her helped soothe her still jangled nerves.
Finally, she leaned back a little to meet Parallax's gaze. A light blush of embarrassment appeared on her cheeks. "I... I'm okay now, oniichan." Before Parallax could reply, though, her eyes suddenly flew wide again in alarm. "Oh no! Meta! He was just beyond the balcony where I'd been! And the estate! Oh dear... Pug sensei is not going to be happy."
Written by Parallax 09-14-2002 04:01 AM
"Well, Rune," said Parallax as he pressed various buttons on the console, "I suppose I'd better get you back to the others before you worry."
Rune sat in the chair Parallax had been sitting in earlier, looking around in some wonder - she'd never been in a TARDIS before was was a little surprised about the difference in size between the outside and inside dimensions.
The column started to rise and lower steadily as the TARDIS changed course in the Time Vortex - on a direct course for Midkemia.
Rune looked toward the single door, a look which Parallax noticed.
"I wouldn't go through there if I were you, kiddo." He explained, "Corridors and rooms that stretch for many miles are byond that door - you'd easily become lost. Just stay in here until we get back."
Rune silently nodded and continued to stare around the Control Room as the TARDIS sped towards Midkemia...
Written by Jaffa 09-14-2002 02:24 AM
Even the good citizens of Sunnydale, who were not easily startled, soon realized something was wrong. The advancing troops destroyed everything in their path, burning down buildings, attacking everything that moved, human and demon alike. Soon, the night was lit by only by flames, black clouds of smoke covering the sky and making sure the Sun would not hinder the advance of the demonic taskforce.
In his sanctum, Jaffa was interrupted by a group of Ghost scouts, informing him of the coming attack. The shadows were all around his tower, and they were all coming straight at him. The Sunnydale police force had tried to stop them, but they had been swept away like like driftwood by the rising tide.
Jaffa gazed at the crowd of mages. "Ladies and gentlemen", he spoke in a grim tone. "We have a problem."
- - -
Shade Jada led his troops steadily towards the tower. Nothing in the unexpecting town could stand in their way. Humans, vampires, even the occasional demon, all were slaughtered by the shade army. After taking only negligible casualties, the first wave of shadowlings reached Jaffa's defenses. From out of nowhere, heavy fire mowed down the first line, as Ghosts engaged the assaulting force. They did well, but they were few where the shades were numerous. Their stealth fields ran out of energy, and they fell to the swords of the shadow knights and the spells of the wights, or were clawed down by shadowlings.
The army engaged the tower's defense systems.
- - -
As the sounds of battle reached Jaffa's contingent, they were already on their way to the teleporters on the level above them. None of the wizards that had taken part in the reforging of Eversharp were too happy about the turn of the events, but for now they were willing to follow Jaffa. After all, their deals were still on. Jaffa led his troops through the wide hallways of his underground complex. It looked like the defense systems of the upper levels would be enough to buy them the time they needed.
Then, the first horde of fiends poured into the hallway.
The group was full of powerful mages, and dwarves who could have slaughtered tens of orcs without breaking a sweat. They had no hope against the onslaught of the endless shades.
.
..
...
Jaffa knocked down the door to the teleportation chamber. He was beaten and battered. Hundreds of shades had fallen before him, dozens of shadow knights had attacked with him with their gloomy weapons. His energy reserves were depleted, his willpower concentrated on just keeping his broken body together. He still gripped his sword tight as he stepped into the safety of the teleport room.
Dozens of red eyes opened in the darkness to greet him.
Written by Tanith 09-14-2002 12:06 PM
Tanith stood at the jagged edge of torn stone that marked where the balcony used to be. Pug, aka Milamber, one of the greatest mages of the Feist-multiverse, stood beside her, frowning as he tried to read the traces of magic that had caused the devastation.
"Strange," he muttered finally. As Tanith turned to look at him inquiringly, he elaborated, "The spell and magic used to weave it is Rune's... but I also sense a... a slightly different touch as well. It seemed to be interwoven with her spellweaving."
"Another force?" asked Tanith, concerned. "Someone was interfering with her casting?"
"Not... someone, I would say," Pug said slowly. "It has more of the mark of some kind of inanimate artifact of strong magic. And I don't think the interference was too intentional... the magic seemed more benign than harmful."
"Benign forces don't tend to cause that," replied Tanith, nodding toward the rubble.
"No they don't," agreed Pug. "But I don't think that's what it was doing, on purpose. The spell Rune was trying was a very complicated and precise one. Even the smallest devation from the weaves or the control could have sent it out of control. It may well be that whatever the thing is, tried to aid her, but only succeeded in tipping the delicate balance of the spell." He sighed. "And unfortunately, there would have been little chance of Rune sensing the difference in the spell until *after* it was activated, when it was too late."
*****
On the TARDIS:
Rune figetted in her seat as the TARDIS unit hurtled through the Void. She thought back and tried to determine just how the spell went wrong. It had been years since she had last miscast a spell, and she didn't want to think that she was slipping now. With the newer, more complex and large scale magics that Pug-sensei was teaching her, she really didn't think it would be a good thing for such a miscast to happen again.
Absently, she wrung her hands together in her lap. It was then she noticed that one of her gloves was missing, probably fallen off sometime during the miscast of her spell. Looking down, her eyes were immediately caught by a triangular mark that adorned the back of that hand.
She blinked. That hadn't been there before. Slowly, she brought the back of her hand up to her eyes and stared at the mark. It was nothing she recognized, but a light probe revealed that it was far from just a mere decoration.
So entranced was she in scrutinizing the mark that she almost didn't hear the voice from behind her announcing their arrival on Midkemia.
*****
Midkemia, continued:
"...Very well, then," sighed Tanith as she looked once more to Pug. "But that still leaves the most important question: where is she now?"
"It didn't look like the rift she opened led to anywhere... safe," interjected Metaphysician (3.0) from behind them. He had been lucky enough to grab ahold of something to anchor himself in the midst of Rune's runaway spell. Aside from a light bruise or two, he was unharmed - except maybe his pride. He casually leaned against a nearby wall, his arms folded across his chest, and with one hand clutching a shimmery glove that Rune had dropped.
Before Pug could reply, though, Meta suddenly stiffened. He tilted his head slightly, as if listening to a far off sound... and the he blurred out of the room.
"Meta? What..." Tanith's question was cut off as a familiar sound whirring sound reverberated in the air as well. She looked over the edge of the rubble again. Sure enough, she could see the faint shimmer as a tall police box began to materialize in the lower courtyard of the estate.
Written by Parallax 09-14-2002 04:57 PM
"You know, a 'thanks' would be nice..." came a voice from inside the blue box. Parallax stepped out from the door, pulling it shut behind him and looked around at all the people that were now staring at him.
"What? Haven't you seen a 1960s London Police Box appear out of nowhere before?"
Written by Yeoman 09-14-2002 05:12 PM
ZY: "Man, six months of Nerima is waaay to much for this lifetime. Tanith can I crash on the 'Dromeda before.... Hey, whose the dude with the phone booth? British version of SUperman hanging out here or something?"
Written by Tanith 09-14-2002 09:50 PM
...only to get immediately run over by the small form of Rune (1) as she made a beeline for Metaphysician, who had been the first arrival into the courtyard.
"Meta! You're okay! I'd thought..." Rune's words were cut off as she gave Meta a fierce hug, before suddenly realizing the two people behind him. "Oh. Sis! Pug-sensei!" An embarrased blush crossed her features again as she jumped back. "Uh... about the damage, Pug-sensei..."
Tanith, however, had turned her attention from Rune after making sure the younger girl was unhurt. She was staring at the form who had stepped forth from the TARDIS. "Parallax?" she called, surprised, as she began walking toward the TARDIS. "What are.... how did....?"
"Yes, Tanith?" Parallax replied with an amused smile, as walked forward to join the group. As well as giving Yeoman a helping hand up from where he'd been trampled to the ground.
"Oh sure... just pretend I'm not here..." grumbled Yeoman under his breath.
"Oh. Nothing. It's good to see you again - both of you." So saying, Tanith grinned and gave each a brief hug.
As she pulled back from Parallax, though, a thin beam of green light, so faint that it almost went unnoticed, jumped from the back of her hand into his. But one person did notice it.
"What's this?" Pug said as he walked toward them from where he'd been patiently listening to Rune explain her mishap and the strange mark she had found on her hand. "May I?" he asked Parallax, indicating his left hand. After receiving a cautious nod, he turned over Parallax's left hand. Sure enough, a triangular marking was emblazoned there similar to Rune's.
"Tattoos?" Tanith joked. "I didn't think you were the type."
"Huh." Parallax lifted his hand up to his eyes. "I don't remember getting this."
"I believe it came from the back of Tanith's hand," Pug informed them. "Rune seems to have a similar one on her left hand as well. It might have been the cause of today's... mishap."
"It looks like the Triforce," Yeoman remarked as he leaned forward to get a better look. "Hm... this one looks like the Triforce of Courage."
"Triforce?" Tanith mused as she pondered the information. "That's... from the Zelda video games, right? Come to think of it, the we did make a short stop near Hyrule recently... I'd forgotten all about it. Could that be where they came from?"
In the meantime, Rune had wandered up too. "So what's my mark, Yeo-chan?" She held her left hand up to him for study as well.
"Hm.... looks like the Triforce of Wisdom," Yeoman replied.
"And what do these triforces do?" asked Parallax as he eyed the marking on his hand.
"Uh... well..." Yeoman scratched the back of his head as he tried to explain. "They were left behind by the three goddesses who created Hyrule. And when these two are put together with the Triforce of Power, the complete Triforce is can be used to grant a wish; kinda like the DBZ Dragonballs... Individually... that's much harder to tell..."
As Yeoman was about to explain further, a sudden beeping sounded from Tanith's pocket. She pulled out her comm unit and turned it on. "What is it?"
"I think you need to come up, Tanith," came Z-man's voice. "Rommie just picked up another distress signal and incoming emergency d-port."
Tanith sighed. "Never rains when it pours..." she muttered. Then, taking a quick look around, she asked the rest of the people there, "Anyone object to continuing this on the Andromeda?" Receiving no objections, she spoke into the comm again. "Have Rommie beam *everyone* up to the meeting room. The larger one. ...and the TARDIS too."
"Right." The comm signal ended with a click. Moments afterward, the Andromeda teleported the small group up.
1) Humorous anime-style, of course. ^_^
Written by Mg_knt 09-14-2002 10:13 PM
Mg in uniform: I am glad you are here to turn youself in.
*Mg(spy) realizes that he can't run, his thoughts are his own but the actions of the spy are just like he remembered*
Mg(spy): Yes I would like to. I will provide all the information I have.
Mg in uniform: That is very well I promise you won't be harmed once we take you into custody. *Mg in uniform steps forward and puts a hand on Mg(spy)'s shoulder. The single was sent and Mg felt the bullet enter the back of his head, his head rocked forward from the impact and Mg(spy) blacked out.*
Written by Tanith 09-14-2002 11:50 PM
"The distress signal seems to be from Jaffa," the AI intoned. "Scans show that he has been quite heavily wounded. I am directly transferring his incoming transport signal to the infirmary."
"Then to the infirmary it is," said Tanith as she moved toward the door. Before she left the room, she called back over ther shoulder, "Pug, Rune -- why don't you two keep working on looking over the Triforces in the meantime. Yeo can help." And then she was out the door.
By the time she'd arrived in the infirmary, Serra had already begun working on Jaffa. Under the white planeswalker's magics, Jaffa was soon mostly restored to his old self.
"So what happened?" Tanith asked him. "Where have you been and who attacked you?"
Written by Jaffa 09-15-2002 12:00 AM
"Creatures?" Tanith replied. "That doesn't tell me much."
"Oh, but it should," Jaffa growled, stopping for a moment to cough up blood. "My entire base was annihilated. As far as I know, all the personnel were... slaughtered. Hell, the entire Sunnydale was reduced to a smoking ruin!"
Tanith just looked at him in astonished silence, surprised by his outburst.
"I'm sorry." Jaffa sighed. "I didn't mean to... I've been through a lot." He pulled out a small laserdisc. "One of the advantages of shapeshifting. I took this surveillance disc from the control room before I had to escape and stored it within my own body. Perhaps you should see for yourself."
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 12:37 AM
Tanith nodded to her. "Keep me informed."
She then left the infirmary and rejoined the others in the meeting room. Z-man had joined the crowd as well, and Pug and Rune had seemed to come to a conclusion to their discussion.
"It seems something has happened in Sunnydale, the Buffyverse," she told them as she inserted the disc into a computer slot.
Silently, they watched as the surveillance tapes showed the shadow creatures as they overwhelmed Jaffa's base. Finally the tape ended.
Z-man spoke up first. "Those were shadow creatures... the only person I know with those powers--"
"It's not her," Tanith interrupted. "I've been up close to her shadow-crystalline constructs. These are made of pure shadow. Much different from what we encountered in Ravenloft."
"It still bears investigation," mused Z-man. "You might want to at least take a look there... But there's also the two other problems at hand..."
"Yes. Speaking of which," Tanith turned to Pug and Rune. "What have you got on the Triforce?"
"Well, the most obvious solution is to bring the three fragments of the artifact together again so they would leave their hosts," lectured Pug. "Since neither of these two bearers here have any particular wish to keep them, we'd only need to find leave the Triforce back on it's world of origin once completed."
Tanith thought for a moment. "Sounds simple enough. And I know I'd rather not have Rune accompany me to Sunnydale... and be exposed the kind of gruesome things that we might encounter there..."
"Meta and I'll go look for the Triforce of Power then!" Rune proclaimed. "It oughtn't be too hard, and I think I got the trick of adjusting my spells for the triforce now." She gave Parallax a smile, "I can send you a call when I find the third piece."
Z-man spoke up again. "Well, if you're going to Sunnydale, Tanith, then I suppose I'll start looking into Mg's current condition then. I'm not much for fights, anyways."
Tanith nodded. "Well, hopefully, this was a local Hellmouth occurence and not something.... more. We'll join you later if that's the case." Seeing Z-man's nod, and she then turned to the others in the room.
Before she could speak, though, Pug interrupted her. "I'm afraid I can't accompany any of you," he said apologetically. "My duties to Midkemia still bind me here."
Tanith nodded at Pug understandingly, and then turned to the last two in the room. "What about you - Yeo, Parallax" she asked. "Would you like to accompany any of us?"
Written by Parallax 09-15-2002 12:46 AM
Quickyly looking at the repeating video display he continued, "We should probably go down to Sunnydale in the TARDIS; there's no way they'd be able to get past either the defense shields or the dimensional walls. And I think my Power Ring will be more useful fighting those thing off than looking for a piece of this 'Tri-Force'."
Written by Yeoman 09-15-2002 12:54 AM
Written by Jaffa 09-15-2002 12:59 AM
"You are not in any kind of shape to go any..." started Serra, but was quickly interrupted by Jaffa.
"Don't you worry about that. My body doesn't work the same way as your average carbon-based machine. I'm a shapeshifter... all I need is to channel energy into myself and I'll be fine." He coughed up another drop of blood. "Of course, that might take a while after that beating... but that is my concern."
Using his shapeshifting and psychokinesis, Jaffa forced his bones to hold together and his muscles to reform as they tore themselves apart with each move.
"I have things I need to discuss with Tanith", he said to the planeswalker, who tried to convince him to stay put. "I'm not sure if she understands how severe this attack was."
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 11:50 AM
"Tanith!" a raspy voice called out from the door. She turned to see Jaffa stumble into the room.
"What are you doing here?" she exclaimed at him as he collapsed into a nearby chair. "You should still be in the infirmary!"
"There's something I have to tell you," Jaffa insisted stubbornly. "The shae that attacked me in Sunnydale are a more serious problem than I think you realize."
Tanith sighed. It doesn't look like Jaffa was about to give in until he had his say. "Very well then," she acquiesced. "Why don't you tell me why they're so dangerous, and then get back to the infirmary."
Written by Jaffa 09-15-2002 12:50 PM
"There is... There is something more I need to tell you. Something I held back before. Something the surveillance tapes did not show." He pointed at a small amulet hanging on his neck, concealed under clothing. "Eversharp," he spoke, causing the small sword-shaped amulet to shimmer and disappear, as a full sized sword appeared in his hand.
"Eversharp?" Tanith asked. She recognized the name of the sword gifted to her then bodyguard by Thor, the Asgardian god of thunder, and there was certainly something familiar in the sword - and yet it was not the same sword.
"Yes," Jaffa replied, managing to grin proudly. "My greatest achievement! It took years of planning and making contacts across the dimensions, months of hard work making the preparations. You are looking at a sword more powerful than any other on most worlds..."
Tanith looked at the sword. She could feel it's power, radiating from it as if the sword were a small sun, burning with magic. She could also feel a sentience in it, a sentience that was hostile, even somewhat malevolent, and yet completely bound to service of it's master.
"Yes, I can see why you kept this a secret", she mused. "I wonder what the creation of that sword must've taken."
"Much," Jaffa admitted. "Powerful magic, not all of it the most benign kind, nor imbued by the most well-meaning mages... but everything has it's price, I suppose."
Tanith raised her eyebrow, and Jaffa could see the disapproval in her eyes. "And just who have you been consorting with after you left Andromeda?" she asked in a stern tone of voice.
Jaffa smiled to himself. This was the Tanith he had known and traveled with. It was good to know that some things did not change, but his voice was serious as he answered her question. "That's the thing. It took many favours, many deals with powerful wizards to get what I needed. Admittedly, some of them were of... dubious morality, but all of them had unimaginable power. Some were feared everywhere on their native worlds." Jaffa gave Tanith a look unlike anything she had seen on his face before. "And they were all with me when the creatures came. Whether the others survived, I do not know, but what I do know is that their numbers and fury were too great for even us to defeat. Even I just barely managed to escape with my life."
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 01:37 PM
Jaffa shook his head, and then decided that it probably wasn't a good idea. "No. They weren't that powerful individually, though there were magic users. But they had such *sheer* numbers..."
"I see," replied Tanith. "I'll take that under consideration." She peered at Jaffa again, and noticed that he was nigh unconscious. "Hm... I don't think you're up to continue this conversation. You should... ah, you'll probably never make it there yourself like that." So saying, she straightened and addressed the Andromeda AI. "Rommie, beam him directly to the infirmary. And tell Serra to keep him there. If he's anything else he just *has* to tell me, he can do it easily enough over the intercom."
With a flash, Jaffa disappeared from his seat as the onboard transporters displaced him back into the infirmary. Tanith turned to address the others in the room. "Well, you heard him. Thoughts?"
Written by Yeoman 09-15-2002 01:53 PM
Zel-Yeo: we should also find out the situation in Sunnydale. What year it is, any slayers and/or scoobies we can call in. Depending on the time frame we could try asking Angel for reinfocments, but my knowledge of what happend with him after he left Sunnydale is pretty thin.
Written by Parallax 09-15-2002 04:31 PM
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 04:47 PM
With that, she pushed off from the table she'd been leaning against and headed toward the bridge, addressing the omnipresent AI in the ship as she did so. "Rommie, you've got the coordinates of the place Jaffa beamed in from?"
"Affirmative," came the disembodied reply.
"Good. Send the information to the pilot consoles and inform Engineering," commanded Tanith. "Engage full stealth as well; let's not give our presence away prematurely."
*****
Soon afterwards, unseen and undetected, the Andromeda glided into orbit around Buffyverse Earth. Ultra-advanced sensors focused on the tiny city of Sunnydale, and began to scan...
On the bridge, Tanith addressed the Andromeda AI again. "What do the sensors say, Rommie?"
Written by Jaffa 09-15-2002 05:13 PM
"How many creatures would you say there are?" Tanith asked.
"Impossible to ascertain", Rommie replied. "Thousands, at least, but there could be more."
"Can you give us visual?"
"I can," the AI said. A holographic screen appeared in the middle of the room, revealing the ravaged Sunnydale. There were fires all over town, and shadows skittered across the streets like ants in an anthill. Whether there were any humans left, hiding among the rubble, it was impossible to say."
"Correction", Rommie continued. "I am, now, picking up some weak lifesigns. They're extremely weak, keep breaking up and I cannot pinpoint them, but there are some there."
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 05:27 PM
Written by Jaffa 09-15-2002 05:49 PM
He had been gone from the Andromeda for a long time. How would he fit in now, when others had undoubtedly taken his place. Where did he stand with Tanith? He had been involved in things he knew she did not approve. Would he be considered an ally at all anymore?
Jaffa stared at the infirmary roof, trying in vain to suppress the unpleasant thoughts.
Written by Parallax 09-15-2002 06:28 PM
With an exagerated bow and sweep of his arm he proclaimed "All aboard, good people. TARDIS express down to the planet leaves momentarily. Please don't touch any buttons upon going in, you don't want to end up so many assorted molecules spread throughout the galaxy... and the ol' girl really doesn't like unfamiliar people touching things."
Skipping ahead of everyone else, Parallax went in through the doors and straight to the control console and started to enter in possible shapes the TARDIS could take on landing while he waited for the others to both enter and get over their surprise at the dimensional transcendant interior.
Written by Z-man 09-15-2002 02:57 PM
He started with a trip home, to get some help. He knew ghost types were notoriously hard to control, with their power and playful disposition. Because of this, he had been helped by Morty, tje Ecruteak gym leader, in raising Jessie, his Gengar.
Jessie could talk, a helpful tool when dealing with the spirit world. He also used it to play pranks on people, of course, but that was to be expected. He had learned to spread himself out so he could sense things over a larger area, and he had learned the same shadow jumping trick Houndoom used. He also mimicked Z-man's shadow, so as to stay inconspicuous.
Z-man picked Jessie up, and they went to the Gargoyles universe in Miami, close to where Mg died. He showed Jessie a picture of Mg and a sketch of the girl made by a former police sketch artist who went to work with PaDT in order to get pictures off the clairsentients. Jessie went to work searching the area for one of those two ghosts.
About a minute later, Jessie can back, having found the girl. If anyone knew where MG was, she would.
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 06:37 PM
"Just arranging for some support units," she told him nonchalantly. "It's always nice to arrange for things to be in our favor as much as possible." Her smile widened. "You'd never think those dinky rotherothopters we picked up ages ago from Dominaria would come in handy... after Mac got through tinkering with them, of course."
*****
As Tanith started to enter the TARDIS, she was stopped by a voice from the door to the Andromeda's bridge.
"Hey! Wait up!"
She took a step back and looked over to see Drunkard Kid stumbling onto the bridge. "DK? I thought you were planning on leaving for Earth?"
"Yeah, well, what can I say..." The young man grinned at her ruefully. "I procrastinated a little too long. Anyways, I hear we're going down to Sunnydale to whack some shadow-demons. Can I come along?"
Tanith considered his offer, and nodded. "I suppose so... but you are not coming with us without any kind of protective gear on."
"No problem," returned DK as he pulled out several color photocopeis of various manga and other mediums. With a flick of a wrist, he sent one into the air, which immediately morphed into a large black cat. "Meet Ura, from El Hazard." Before Tanith could inquire about it, the cat also blurred onto DK's body, becoming a suit of armor around him. "Cool, ne?" he asked with a silly grin.
Tanith shook her head ruefully. "Whatever, DK, c'mon in. I think that's all of us then?"
"Not *all*." A voice corrected her. She turned again, to see Jaffa standing at the door of the bridge. No trace of his wounds and hurts could be seen on him, just the angry fires of rage in his eyes.
"I see Serra was finally able to get you still enough for some high powered healing spells," Tanith teased him.
"Yes," he replied, and then under his breath, "and those foul potions."
Laughing at his expression, Tanith waved him into the TARDIS. Then, waiting for a moment more just in case yet someone else would walk in, she entered the TARDIS as well, the door closing behind her.
Written by Mg_knt 09-15-2002 07:28 PM
Written by Yeoman 09-15-2002 07:32 PM
Zel-Yeo: Come on... Say it! Say "it's a living."
Tanith: Yeo, stop bugging the armor cat construct!
ZY: Awwww....
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 07:58 PM
*SPLASH* 
Written by Yeoman 09-15-2002 08:01 PM
ZY: So anyway, what's the plan when we get down there?
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 08:17 PM
"Well, the sensors show that the heaviest concentration of those shadow creatures is near Jaffa's place; along with a few life signs that probably belong to the people he had hired there."
She hit a few more buttons.
"There are another few scattered life signs in the area... many seem to be concentrated in the general area the high school... and across the city in the... Bronze?"
She looked up.
"Okay. Someone tell me what these readings mean. I've never watched Buffy."
Written by Yeoman 09-15-2002 08:21 PM
ZY: More likely they're at both. I'd bet Giles is at the school, and buffy is out trying to save people so she's probably at the Bronz....
ZY: But that's just a guess...
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 08:25 PM
"Okay, then we need to decide where to go.
"Option 1 would be to split up. I'm not too sanguine about that one, considering what's happened to Jaffa and his people.
"Option 2 would be to take the three spots one by one, in which case we need to decide where to go first. Should we try to find the source of the problem first, from Jaffa's place, and get his people - who are probably good fighters or mages all - to help us? Or should we hope that their powers and skills will keep them alive long enough for us to rescue the survivors native to Sunnydale?
"Thoughts?"
Written by The Drunkard Kid 09-15-2002 08:31 PM
Written by Yeoman 09-15-2002 08:30 PM
ZY: There is the slight chance though that Giles library may have something on them. Sending someone to the school might work in out favro, but it's a long shot.
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 08:35 PM
"What about you two?" she asked.
Written by Parallax 09-15-2002 09:16 PM
Pressing a button on the console, a realtime holographic display of a birdseye view of Sunnydale appeared against one wall.
"We've stopped?" asked Jaffa.
"For the moment," came Parallax's reply, "we're currently hovering approximately a mile above the ground. I thought it best if we had a small look at our destination and decided on the best place to land."
Manipulation of a dial zoomed the display in so they could all see greater detail.
"I say we land in the graveyard. Not only is that where evil tends to gather but I can easily conceal the TARDIS as a Tomb. And splitting up, to me at least, would seem like a pretty silly idea..."
Written by Parallax 09-15-2002 09:21 PM
"What do you think?" Tanith asked. "Should we split up or not?"
"I have to agree with Parallax, Jaffa replied after a moment's consideration. "We'll be as discrete as possible, but if we are revealed, we'll need all the help we can get, and that means no spreading our resources thin."
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 09:23 PM
Written by Yeoman 09-15-2002 09:26 PM
Written by Jaffa 09-15-2002 09:29 PM
Written by Mg_knt 09-15-2002 08:07 PM
Elizabeth: I heard you wanted to see me. Are you going to help me?
Written by Z-man 09-15-2002 08:19 PM
Written by Mg_knt 09-15-2002 08:26 PM
Elizabeth: I don't know a Mg and I want to live again, Mr. Smith was helping me turn my life around and we got caught by my former pimp. I heard some shooting before I died and I thought it was Mr. Smith coming to rescue me but he never came and I bled to death.
Written by Z-man 09-15-2002 08:32 PM
Written by Mg_knt 09-15-2002 08:45 PM
Written by Z-man 09-15-2002 09:27 PM
"My body?" Elizabeth seemed shocked at first. Most ghosts have a hard time dealing with the fact that they're in two places at once. She calmed down. "I don't know what might have happened to it. I don't like to think of things like that."
It only took a few seconds for Z-man's clairsentience to find the coffin that contained her remains. After all, he could help Elizabeth right now, but Mg would definitely take awhile.
"Wait here a minute," he told Elizabeth. "I'll be right back."
He returned a minute later carrying a small plastic bag with some hair, a small bone from the foot, a fingernail, and some other equally grotesqu things in it.
"Is that?" Elizabeth asked, slightly fading out at the question.
"It is," Z-mage confirmed, smiling slightly. "It's all the DNA I need for cloning, though. You'll be back soon. Can you posess something for me, so I can take you back to the ship and get started on your new body?"
Elizabeth looked spooked still, but grateful. "Thank you." she said, entering a mirror Z-man happened to have brought with him.
He teleported them to Rommie and had the ship get to work.
But the easy part was over. Now he needed to get onto Avalon somehow to talk to Anubis. This was not going to be easy at all.
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 08:56 PM
On Hyrule:
Rune and Meta sauntered up to the Temple of Time.
"So you're going to retrace the path of the third Triforce fragment from here?" asked Meta.
"Yep," replied Rune with a smile.
"YOU!" Interrupted a voice from nearby. They turned to see a man with a large nose glaring at them. Or, more specifically, at the mark on the back of Rune's hand. His expression was far from friendly.
"Ah no," mutter Meta under his breath as he readied himself for a confrontation against Ganondorf. "Murphy's Law strikes again."
Written by Z-man 09-15-2002 09:11 PM
Rune and Meta exchanged a look.
"You want it?" Rune asked, as she let tears fill her eyes in her ultimate display of cuteness. "I really wanna get rid of it, but I need the other two before that can happen. Maybe if you'd help me instead of yelling at me, I could do that." And here she burst into tears.
Ganon had never really bothered to comfort anyone in his life, and even now the tears did nothing to affect his heart.
"Very well," Ganon said, "If I help you track down the woman who took the Triforce from me, you will give it back to me, correct?"
Rune stopped crying, but still sniffled a little as she agreed. "Okay."
Of course, Ganon had no intention of allowing these two to get away with stealing the Triforce from him, but they could go on believing whatever they liked as long as it helped him get the Triforce, and the land of Hyrule, all to himself.
But Ganondorf didn't for a minute stop to think that they might have a hidden motive of their own. Rune had known for a long time about this hidden power of cuteness.
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 09:27 PM
Written by Z-man 09-15-2002 09:30 PM
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 09:40 PM
"Ganondorf." Came the reply.
"Um. Okay. Mr. Ganondorf." She shot a nervous glance at Meta. "So... did you know where this lady was heading after she got the tri-thingy?"
Written by Yeoman 09-23-2002 12:03 AM
CBY: So, before I entered into any negotiations with your military to have you and your crew transferred, I thought I would come to you first, and ask if you might be intrested?
Tylor: I don't know... I kinda like it here....
Yuriko: And the rest of us to have responsibilities you know. We can't make decisions for the rest of the crew.
CBY: Yes, yes I understand that. I wouldn't dream of forcing you to stay. I can easily arrange for transport back to this world, should any of you require it.
CBY: And you and your crew would all be getting some heavy promotions, I'm quite in need of competent Military officiers. Even... Unconventional ones such as yourselves.
CBY: Anyway, discuss is amongst yourselves. I'll be back in a week or so to ask for your answers.
Written by Parallax 09-15-2002 09:35 PM
The column rose and fell as Parallax flicked a couple more switches, only for it to stop just a few moments later - this time the entire group feeling a small bump as the TARDIS materialised on the ground.
"We've landed," said Parallax, explaining the obvious, "and I've changed the TARDIS so it looks like a Tomb. I've also placed a carved symbol of a Police Box above the outer door so we know which one is the ship and not just another tomb."
Tanith and co nodded in comprehension; it was probably a smart thing to do considering none of them particularly wanted to rush into a dusty old mausoleum by accident.
"As for where to strike first? I really have no idea - which place is closest?"
Written by Tanith 09-15-2002 09:48 PM
"The high school is the closest target," she announced. "Jaffa's place is just a bit further away, but in the opposite direction. And the Bronze seems to be on the other side of the city."
She looked up and shrugged. "So it's between the school and Jaffa's tower. I think we should head for the school first. It's closer and easier to get to. However, I also think we should try being as stealthy as possible in either case, so as not to tip our hand about our location."
Written by Jaffa 09-15-2002 09:53 PM
Written by The Drunkard Kid 09-15-2002 10:11 PM
Written by Parallax 09-15-2002 10:55 PM
"I've extended the TARDIS defense shields," said Parallax who was hovering just off the ground via the power of his Power Ring, "which should be more than enough to keep any of those shadow creatures away. Just don't stand too far away ... I'd say they go out about ten feet from the door."
Darkness seemed to stick to everything around them like wet tar. No stars or moon were visible in the sky - even the streetlights (those that hadn't been already destroyed that is) looked dimmer than usual.
Written by Tanith
*plink plink plink*
"Radio-telepathy nanites," she told them with a wink. "Just like in the Authority." With that, she activated her gelsuit's chameleon features and advanced sensors. /This way - down that street with one remaining streetlight./ her transmission came to them.
Written by Z-man 09-17-2002 10:40 PM
Dragonite flew over the stormy sea, keeping pace easily as he approached Avalon. Z-man could have teleported them both there directly, but he needed a show of good faith or he'd have no bargaining chip. Dragonite might be mistaken for a Gargoyle, giving them enough time to talk.
Oberon and Titania were on the shore when he approached. Oberon was about 3 stories tall.
"You have come a long way, traveller" he said, his voice booming out over the ocean, "But you have come in vain. There is no shelter on these shores for any humans."
"Please, Lord Oberon, Lady Titania," Z-man responded. "I seek only to speak to one of your children on a matter of great importance!"
"Then you have travelled in vain," Oberon responded. "For my children are not at the beck and call of every mortal who comes here on a Gargoyle."
"Not so fast, my lord," Titania cut in, as she often did. "Gargoyles do not fly like that. If can get a creature like that to ride on, he might be able to prove himself worthy against one of our children."
"Hmmm.." Oberon thought. "Very well. If you can prove yourself in battle against one of my children, you may speak with the one you seek. Banshee! Come, entertain us!"
The ghostly lady appeared on the shore, with what appeared to be a metal clamp over her mouth.
"I return to you your voice," Oberon told her, and the clamp disappeared as he said that. "If you win, you will not have to give it back, at least until the next time you forget your place. Now, you may begin!"
"Dragonite," Z-man called to his mount, "Use safeguard!"
As Banshee's first scream reached him, Dragonite had just finished putting the force field around them. While the wind of the scream caused Dragonite to lose air, the deafening affect of the scream was largely negated. Dragonite managed to skim the water as he got control over his flight path back.
Banshee floated over the water to get closer and deliver a much more powerful close range scream. She was incorporeal in this form, so physical attacks weren't an option.
As Dragonite began gaining air again, Z-man yelled over the now almost gail force winds, "Dragonite! Hyper Beam!"
As Dragonite opened his mouth, a glowing white beam began to form in it. It shot out at the Banshee with speed too powerful for her to dodge. Unfortunately, she didn't need to. Her noncorporeal form was completely unaffected by a blast of pure force. Obviously, physical attacks wouldn't work at the moment, so Z-man switched tactics. He pulled one of the pokeballs from his belt, and aimed it at Banshee, who was quickly rising up to meet him. He pressed the release button on the pokeball, and a beam of red energy shot out towards Banshee. Expecting nothing, Banshee didn't even flinch as the red electricity passed her harmlessly and strike into the ocean. Banshee came up again for another scream, this one right into Z-man's ear, when Z-man yelled over the wind and waves, "Octillery, psybeam!"
A series of concentric purple circles began shooting out of the ocean towards Banshee. As her brain was buffeted by psychic energy, she almost lost consciousness. She was the one who normally messed with people's heads.
A small red head, belonging to the octopus pokemon surfaced in the water.
"Keep it up, Octillery!" Z-man yelled. Banshee retreated to land to get away from the barrage.
"I shall get revenge on that little creature of yours," Banshee replied. "But since I can't get you with my scream, I'll get you witha more physical form!"
The Banshee began morphing into her giant worm form, intent on winning a physical confrontation.
"Aim for her head, Dragonite!" Z-man yelled.
Dragonite swooped towards Banshee, and began letting loose with hyperbeams. After the second one, Banshee looked a little woozy.
"Time to finish this!" He yelled. "Energy is energy," he said, as he lifted an empty pokeball from his belt, and tossed it at the Banshee. It struck her on her head, turned her into red energy, and wrapped her in the pokeball. It shook for a few seconds, then grew still. Banshee was caught.
As Dragonite landed, Z-man let his breath out. "If she weren't a being of magical energy, I don't think I could have done that. So, have I won?"
"You have indeed, Summoner," Oberon replied, shrinking to just higher than human height. "That was very impressive. Let the Banshee go, and you may speak to whichever of my children you wish."
Z-man bowed to the ground. "Thank you, my lord," he said, as he let Banshee out of the pokeball. "I seek an audience with your child Anubis."
"Very well," Titania replied. "Right this way."
Written by Tanith 09-17-2002 06:42 PM
Our motely group of heroes stealthily made their way to the high school. There was actually a fair concentration of shadow creatures around the school, probably attracted there by the dormant Hellmouth. The group stopped there to take their bearings.
Tanith looked up from her scanner. "Well, obviously they're concentrated on the library, but I don't think they're in any danger of opening up the Hellmouth or anything like that, the near mindless creatures that they are."
"Any luck with pinpointing the life signs?" asked Jaffa.
"Hm... they seem to be near a large building a bit to the side of the library. Most likely the gym. So I guess we go thataway." Tanith looked up from her scanner and pointed. "Let's hope we get there in time."
"Sneaking in among so many creatures is going to be hard," muttered Yeoman as the group began to move forward.
"We might need a distraction then." So saying, Tanith made a secure call up to the ship and murmured some directions.
They waited. Not moments later, large booming sounds could be heard on the far side of the school. Immediately, large swarms of the shadow creatures swarmed toward the commontion, leaving only a light guard among the rest of the school buildings.
"Let's make this quick," warned Tanith as she urged the group forward, "before they come back."
Written by Yeoman 09-17-2002 07:00 PM
Zel-Yeo carged the remaining gaurd on the gym, cutting through them and kicking his way into the building.
Tanith: Remind me why we brought him again?
Meanwhile inside the gym as Zel-Yeo crashes through the doors.
ZY: Don't worry we're here to resque you!
Xander: Okay, where did Luke Skywalker with the bad skin condition come from?
Written by Parallax 09-17-2002 07:16 PM
"There isn't a fourth piece of this tri-force thing is there? Maybe He's got the Tri-force of irrational thought..."
Parallax clenched his first by his side, the Power Ring flaring with green light to reflect its wearers slight annoyance before he walked into the Gym, carefully looking around for any creatures that might still be lurking...
Written by Tanith 09-17-2002 07:29 PM
The first thing she noticed was a brunette who seemed to be facing off with Yeoman. Well, perhaps facing off was too strong a word. While she was clueless about the Buffyverse in general, she did remember to download the episodes into her gelsuit before going down to the planet.
/Faith. Second Slayer called after Buffy./ reported the machine. A quick look around the room revealed a few more people who have been named in the show. /Alexander Harris. Joyce Summers. Principle Snyder. Rupert Giles. Amy Madison. Cordelia Chase.../ The list ran on. Finally, she stopped it. She didn't need to know everyone's names. It was enough that they were all innocent bystanders who had survived this calamity.
As she walked closer to where Yeoman was, she could hear their conversation...
Written by Yeoman 09-17-2002 07:41 PM
Faith: Yeah, right! So you can shove that thing through me when I'm not looking.
Amy: He doesn't look much like the other ones.
Xander: But he's still got the, shall we say.... rocky disposition. I say we let Faith take care of this one.
ZY: You know, you are even more annoying in person. You wanna do this? Fine! I've got six months of tension from living in Nerima, and I've got no problem with taking it out on Faith the wonder traitor.
Xander: On what planet does that even make any sense.
Written by Tanith 09-17-2002 07:47 PM
"You need to calm down, Yeo," she muttered to him softly. "That last rant about 'six months of tension' can be taken in *so* many ways."
Then, turning, she addressed the rest of the people in the room. "Now, as Yeoman here said, we are here to rescue you all from these shadow creatures. Now, if you'll all gather around, let's discuss how to get you to safety, after which we can track down the cause of the problem here and pull the plug on it."
She looked around. Everyone seemed more of less skeptical of her words. It seemed this would not be so easy after all.
Written by Yeoman 09-17-2002 08:24 PM
Xander: And for once, Cordelia actually got it right.
Giles *Cleaning his glasses*: Now, there's no reason to intresically distrust them. We haven't seen anything as human looking as even... their... blue... friend here with the shade creatures. There may be some truth to it. Perhaps you could tell us more about your plan?
Written by Parallax 09-17-2002 08:38 PM
"First of all," he continued but clearly audible this time, "all the civilians should go to the library and barricade themselves in there. Snyder will undoubtedly make an ass of himself so feel free to knock him out if you feel the need. Giles, you do your research thing as see if you can find any spells or wards which will keep those buggers out."
Snyder moved to protest almost immediately but he failed to get a word out as Cordelia and Xnder covered his mouth with their hands.
"There are weapons in the library which you should distribute. They're only swords and axes but they're better than nothing."
Giles took off his glasses again and starting to clean them on his vest, pondering for the moment on Parallax's lengthy comments.
"Yes ... well, that all makes a certain amount of sense..."
Written by Tanith 09-17-2002 11:47 PM
"You know, that aura of yours sure comes in handy sometimes. But wouldn't it be easier to tell them not to panic while I set up a clear signal so Rommie can just lock onto them and beam them up? Down here, there's still a large chance of them getting hurt."
She paused and considered.
"Unless you want us to escort them to the TARDIS and drop them off there. It is right on the way to the tower."
Written by Parallax 09-18-2002 12:02 AM
"Heh, you're right. You get in contact with Rommie and we'll get these civillians out of here."
While Parallax used his Aura of Command power on the gathered people, Tanith patched through a message - in moments everyone except for the people from the Andromeda and TARDIS were left in the Gym.
Written by Mg_knt 09-18-2002 12:24 AM
Anubis: What do you want human?
Z: I have come to barter for a friends soul.
Anubis: The one who calls himself Mg right?
Z: Yes, him.
Anubis: You will have to go into the underworld for that. This mortals soul is bound in punishment for he has killed multipule times.
*Anubis opens a portal to the underworld*
Anubis:Procede to my realm mortal.
(Meanwhile on the Andromeda:)
*The infirmiry bay. Serra is making rounds on the rescued Sunnydale people. A mirror follows her floating through the air*
Elizabeth: So how do you know Mr. Smith?
Serra: He was the one who welcomed me here.
Elizabeth: So what do you do?
Serra: I am a healer mostly and a provider of magical aid.
Elizabeth:So I will have a body soon?
Serra: Yes as soon as the machine gets done. *sigh* It takes too long. Here let me make you a suitable holdover.
*Serra starts making a magical construct paying attention to detail, almost an exact copy of Elizabeth's original body except for the four foot wings on the back. Serra examined the construct and smiled. Angels were always her favorite creation.*
Serra: Here possess this contsruct.
Written by Z-man 09-18-2002 01:37 AM
He stepped into Anubis's realm, and found himself standing before an altar. On top of the altar was a scale and a feather. Z-man was enough of a mythology buff to know what that was for. If the heart of the dead weighed more than the feather, they were hell-bound, more or less.
Anubis materialized on the other side of the scale. "If you were dead now, what would the scales read, I wonder?" he mused.
"I honestly have no idea," Z-man responded. "If you were to dispense with the intimidation attempts, could we get on with this?"
"Your friend has done many things," Anubis continued, "That weighed down the scale. He has killed with little remorse and even less regret. If he were to return, why wouldn't he do it again? What's to stop him from doing more? If you bring him back, how will the deaths he will cause be represented on the scales?
"If I bring him back because you asked me to," he continued, "His murders could just as well become your murders."
"I don't know whether he would continue," Z-man responded. "But I do, in some ways, know him. He can change his ways, and I believe he deserves every chance to do so. His time is not yet finished, nor does he belong in this plane's afterlife, either heaven or hell. I want to give him every chance he has to change his ways or at least repent for his sins, because I know he can do it if he tried."
"And what makes you think he will even try?" Anubis retorted. "He had more than one chance before he died. His every chance for redemption, for making right the things he made wrong, he threw away. He left that woman and her crew, despite the great good he would have helped them do in the world. Why would he not turn down this chance at repenting as well?"
"Because now he knows the consequences," Z-man responded. "Even before that, he was seeking to restore the life of a young girl after she had had it torn apart."
"Your response has merit," Anubis responded. "But if he does not repent, it would be on your head. Would you be willing to suffer the punishments he has? To be held responsible in my realm or one like it for crimes you did not commit simply because you misplaced your trust in a friend?"
"Even if he doesn't repent," Z-man replied, "I believe that trust is never misplaced when put in a friend, and I would be willing to suffer for that belief."
"You have argued your case eloquently," Anubis once more responded, his face unreadable. "And yet, the Jackal god can not play favorites. My son has done more to deserve life than Mg has, and I did not bring him back. Mg must remain in here, suffering through the deaths of everyone he has killed or helped to kill. That has not changed, so he will remain here, unless one of those deaths is somehow undone. I have opened a portal out of this land, but I also opened one to Mg's punishment, so that you may explain to him how you tried to help, but could not rescue him."
And then, it seemed to Z-man, the Jackal winked at him and two portals opened in front of him. Suddenly, Z-man understood.
"Then I must go," he said. "Oh, and thank you."
And with that he jumped through the portal to Mg.
******
Mg knew the drill by now. Everyone he killed he was forced to live through the death that he caused them. He was currently in the body of a teleporter who was not immune to bullets and not superfast, but sold government secrets to the highest bidder. So Mg had decided to keep it simple. As soon as Mg, in the teleporter's body, walked in front of a window, a sniper would fire and hit him in the head.
He also knew that there was nothing he could do to change it, so he didn't even bother. This one would be short, and then he could get on with his deaths.
"Just take the shot," he mumbled to himself before stepping in front of the window that he knew all too well.
But instead of his head, he found himself hit in the back by something. The window shattered overhead as he fell from the impact Z-man had made when colliding with his body.
"I'm not dead?" Mg asked the world, totally confused.
"Yes, you are" Z-man responded. "But not for long." And with that, he grabbed Mg and pulled him through the portal.
The next thing Z-man knew, he was back on Avalon, holding a strange gun that he knew he hadn't brought with him. It wasn't made of iron, of course, since no child of Oberon would ever dream of giving a weapon of that alloy to a mortal on their own island. It seemed to be made of a durable plastic, the same kind that his pokeballs were made of. It had the letters "Mg" engraved on the barrell, and something told him t had Mg inside it, too. Ghosts, after all, didn't travel well without something to contain them in. And this was Mg's container now.
Z-man went back to Rommie triumphant. He could put Mg back in his body, and then he was going to rest for awhile. Of course, there were also refugees to tend to first, but after that.
