Stage 2: Road Trip Arc 3.0
Tuesday, Feb 23th, 2010
Your Disguise skill has increased by 1
5 of 5 events achieved for Quest: 'Become a Cape!'
+1650 XP, Quest: 'Become a Cape!' completed
+4400 XP, Quest: 'End Stage Boss Fight' completed
+825 XP, +3 Lightning Affinity for assisting in defeat of Sparky
+633 XP, +2 Earth Affinity for assisting in defeat of Granite
You have gained an Achievement: Assisted Parahuman defeat: Sparky
You have gained an Achievement: Assisted Parahuman defeat: Granite
You have gained a level! You are now level 16
You have gained a level! You are now level 17
Sparky has gone from Enemy to Nemesis
Granite has gone from Annoyance to Enemy
+231 XP, for evading Cops, PRT and Protectorate
Disguising my golems, and myself for my civilian look, had earned me a level. Then defeating Sparky and Granite gained me two levels. Why wasn't Granite mentioned in the quest? Why is it called 'Lightning' Affinity? I guess that's the unknown reward. Why did Granite only give +2 Earth, compared to Sparky's +3 'Lightning'. I have 6 Earth affinity now, so I guess 5 isn't a magic number for whatever the fuck it does, maybe at 10? My power likes multiples of 5.
I'm surprised that even worked, I cheated wholesale there. Guess my power doesn't care. I was willing to abandon the quest if it hadn't. Definitely burned any bridge with the Protectorate there, Potter needs to retire. Guess that 'increased rep with 'Potter' will go to waste, not that I found any measurement for it anywhere in my interface.
Most significant lesson learned? 120 lbs. is my max total golem weight among all of them, not the max for one golem. That's a lot more limiting. I gave myself another INT so I'd have enough MP to put level 6 reinforcement on the 120 lb. Golem, only to discover I had to max it out at 109 lbs. due to still having 11 snakes left. Now I don't have any left, or any clay or sand. Whatever, I'll make more in New Hampshire. Now I need to make the most of my time grinding before I leave tomorrow morning. I did get XP for evading the PRT and such. That should mean I already succeeded. Hopefully I'll get another prompt if I have to evade again, but I think I can risk venturing out to resume mundane training.
-1 HP (1 deflected, 4 resisted) x24
For practicing your whole-body reflexes you have gained 1 AGI
Your Observe skill has increased by 1
I kept an eye on the news and check out PHO. Yeah, my fight with Sparky and Granite is the talk of the city. The fight is speculated to have caused several hundred thousand in damages, from blown out windows, wrecked cars, shorted out street lights (the other cause of wrecks besides the chase) shorted out other stuff, lightning damage and so on. A few dozen injured, 17 hospitalized, from car wrecks and flying glass, but no fatalities.
"Nobody got seriously hurt, and two villains are off the street. Win-win"
"You don't know that. There could be plenty of people hurt from the rampage you just provoked Sparky into."
"His actions aren't my responsibility."
My conversation with Olympus plays back through my mind. No, I didn't know that, yes there were people hurt. I did fuck up, in not planning it better to minimize collateral damage. This should bother me a lot more than it does. Is this Gamer's Mind effecting my emotions? I've twenty-five skill levels in Gamer's Mind vs. ten in Empathy. But his actions aren't my responsibility, am I just rationalizing this…callousness? Empathy has barely moved much since Maxing Gamer's Mind, is that because of apathy or just because of a lack of social interaction? It's not productive to dwell on this right now, though that could be more apathy talking.
Sparky didn't use his EMP during the fight. Perhaps he heeded Eidolon's warning about a kill order? The current speculation is that he or Granite will be sent to the Huntsville special detention unit. They probably won't be bird-caged, no known murders, or qualifying actions. Sparky's run was short-lived, and Granite was apparently always more a henchman-like follower to whomever. Whatever, it won't be my problem after tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
-1 HP (1 deflected, 4 resisted) x30
For testing the limits of your endurance and vitality, you have gained 1 CON
-1 HP (1 deflected, 4 resisted) x40
Your Drug & Poison Resistance skill has increased by 1
4am, time to meet Miguel and get out of here. I make a final pass at cleaning, because not getting my deposit back will screw my plans. They don't complain; cash safely in inventory I head to the day labor place. I'll waste a lot of HP and Stamina overflow on the bus ride, well not Stamina, my CON is high enough now that Stamina loss no longer makes any progress toward training the stat, only damage does.
After we get to the bus station, I pay Miguel $60 plus his rail ticket back. My money is nearly exhausted, less than $10 to my name, but I have lots of stolen food in my inventory. I pan through my notes and check my email one last time over the station's Wi-Fi. There's still no response from Julia. Damn, I won't be able to check again for a while. Am I doing the right thing to follow? It's too late to be debating that now. I listen to the bus start up and pull out, while I use observe on all the other passengers. What am I going to do when I get there?
I have a few days to think about it, plus books, stuff I downloaded, and games to keep me occupied. At least I researched in advance and figured out what motels take cash. I'll have to steal and sell stuff for a while before I can afford it. At least I figured out how to cheat at cleaning my clothes and pseudo-showering with an inventory sweep; that will help. They have campuses in Brockton too; can always pretend to be a freshman sleeping on a couch or in a study room between classes. I get into as comfortable a position in my seat as I can, and practice meditation while I read about my cape exploits in the morning paper.
****
Your Observe skill has increased by 1
+330 XP, It's Elementary quest completed
You may gain the Science (Chemistry) skill
You have gained the 'Physical' specialty for Science (Chemistry)
At least that's finally done. Not like there's been much to do on the bus so far. Burn myself with my lighter in the bus bathroom for Fire Resistance, after disabling the smoke detector of course.
I don't want to cut myself in there because that will make a mess. There doesn't seem to be a slashing, piercing, bludgeoning category, so why bother? Well, maybe next time. Avatar makes the blood fade away, but not immediately. It'd suck if I someone came in after me and saw it before it disappeared. At least I can just throw a few Power Strikes at pit-stops for physical damage, and five-finger discount the occasional snacks to heal back up. Though, healthy optimal HP gaining munchies may be hard to find in roadside travel stops. Beyond that, spam grinding Observe, can't make any golems right now, studying while meditating, or playing puzzle games on my handheld.
Too bad Power Strike on inanimate things or myself and petty shoplifting don't get gains anymore. At least the pills still give Drug Resistance. The weed is tapering off, I'll know for sure at the next pit-stop.
****
Joanna Kirkland has gone from acquaintance to stranger.
John Roman has gone from acquaintance to stranger.
Katy Schmidt has gone from acquaintance to stranger.
More relationship decays, guess people are forgetting about me already. Fuck even Julia's went down a point, still at 125 though. Rachel's is still steady. My sheet is getting bloated, seems every person I've ever had a brief conversation with and gotten a partial name from is on here. That makes most of it useless. At least I can sort them. Hmm, don't see a way to turn off notifications for the people I don't care about, guess it's all or nothing. The default sort seem to be based on most recent interactions, unless I change it, at least I can organize it better. Oh, filter tabs, good!
Well, here we are, first stop, New Orleans, I get out, show my ticket and change buses, next stop Nashville and another transfer. Only a few fellow passengers transfer with me, and a whole new set of passengers come aboard. It will be a while before we leave. Good, more chances to grind Observe on fresh faces. Typical, typical, typical, ugh TMI, typical… whoa, wait. What is that one?Name: Chela Sánchez
Level: 5
Alias: None
Gender: Female
Age: 14
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Race: Human (Parahuman-Candidate)
Class: Teenager / Migrant Worker
Faction: None
STR: 8 (+0) 8
AGI: 11 (+0) 11
CON: 15 (+0) 15
INT: ?? (??) ??
PER: 16 (??) ??
WIS: ?? (??) ??
CHA: 13 (??) ??
LUC: ?? (??) ??
Allure: 3.0
Armor: 0.1
Speed: 2.67 (+0) 2.67
Attack: ??
Dodge: ??
Health: 230/230
Stamina: 260/260
Stress: ??
H/T/F: ...
Summary Description:
Chela is a 14 year old Hispanic immigrant from Yucatan, Mexico; she grew up in a tiny house with her parents in a small fishing-farming village on the coast. Already struggling to live day by day, she felt devastated when members of her extended family were, and her father almost, lost when their boat capsized in a storm.
Although thankful her father survived and was rescued, the loss of the boat meant her family was forced to sell everything to pay a man to smuggle them via boat to New Orleans. She had hoped that arriving here had meant a better life and escape from the difficulties of her old one. Alas, she only found herself, more often than not, required to clean dishes and do housework alongside her mother to earn additional income more often than attending school.
Her father, unable to find consistent year-round work on a fishing vessel, became a migrant farm worker for half the year. Her family was forced to uproot again numerous times as they traveled to different work camps around the country throughout the harvest seasons, before returning for the winter in New Orleans. She has already found herself required to work in the fields alongside her mother and father over the last two years, even lying about her age to do so. Not that she ever thought the crew chiefs believed her, they just didn't care.
It had become necessary because her father's age and health issues are slowing him down and making him earn less.
She is once again heading north with her family to pick various spring harvests in March and April before moving again to pick early summer harvests.
The lack of a stable home and schooling, and the constant moving has left Chela feeling very lonely and without any consistent friends. She and her family do not speak any English and she is fearful her family's illegal status will result in being deported at any moment. She has felt a long-tern, desperate desire to escape the situation that is her current life and yearns for friendships and stability, but can't see any means with which to achieve that.
She has short wavy black hair, dark brown eyes and ruddy-brown skin. She is 5'1" tall, and weighs around 120 lbs. She appears to be slightly overweight. Her hands are lightly scarred and calloused from outdoor work.
Status Effects:
Mental: Very Stressed, Minor General Anxiety
Physical: Teenage Acne, Mild vitamin deficiency
Currently Feeling: Very Stressed, Anxious, Lonely, Shy, Very Hungry
Motivations: Find something to eat, Avoid being noticed too much, Not be bored the whole trip, Fantasize about becoming Latin pop-star, ...
Equipment list:
Blue Jeans, Long-sleeve Shirt, Jacket, Sneakers, ...
Click to shrink...
Wow, what? Parapedia. Yeah, no shit. I know what the definition of candidate means. So, she is a not yet triggered Parahuman, one that is already very stressed. Damn I still can't see stress points on the Observe windows. Fuck no. No one deserves to go through a trigger event. I observe the mother and father as the family sits down in the seat across the aisle from me. Their info-boxes tell a similar tale. At least there isn't any abuse going on, loving, hard-working family all in all, just poor, and having a very hard-time.
<"Hello, what's your name? I'm Simon"> I ask in Spanish, even though observe already told me her name.
<"Hello, my name is Chela."> She says shyly.
<"Where are you going?"> I ask. Again, observe had told me they were going north, though it left out the exact destination.
She looks to her father. <"Harrisburg, PA, to work the farms. Where are your parents?"> He asks me.
Harrisburg. That is my fourth stop-over before Brockton, after Nashville and Roanoke. I'll be on this bus or other buses with them for next thirty hours. Well, no red flags from observe and good vibes, no harm in telling them where I am going or that I'm traveling alone. <"I'm stopping in Harrisburg as well, then continuing east, to meet with my parents"> I reply. Of course I wasn't actually meeting my parents; some things can be left out.
Chela Sánchez has gone from stranger to acquaintance.
Carmen Sánchez has gone from stranger to acquaintance.
Rubén Sánchez has gone from stranger to acquaintance.
Rubén is a passionate talker about his work. I hadn't thought there would be a lot of crops to harvest as early as spring, but I guess there is. Spring Cabbage, Swiss Chard, Kale, Parsnips, and so on. I think he prefers fishing, and telling lies about the size of fish he's caught in the past, going by the earlier conversations. At least I got her parents warmed up to me enough they're less concerned about a teenage boy talking to their daughter.
****
Thursday, Feb 25th, 2010
Your Observe skill has increased by 1
Stat Bonus Cheat: For playing related video games you have gained 1 INT
That was unexpected, but it shouldn't have been. I've been playing puzzle games on my handheld for six hours now. I keep forgetting about those stat cheats, and I really shouldn't. I've got INT, WIS, and PER covered now. What would I play for the rest? Have to think about it when I get to Brockton, can't do anything about it now. Well, can probably stop playing these puzzle games then.
Looks like we're coming into the outskirts of Nashville now, it's just past 5 in the morning, most everyone else is asleep. Last update from driver said we pull in around 6am. Plenty more chances to grind observe and some resistances again.
Your Damage Resistance (Fire & Heat) skill has increased by 1
Your Observe skill has increased by 1
****
<"Are you sure you want to give me this? It seems expensive."> Chela asks me again, gesturing to the handheld I've been playing with for much of the trip.
<"Yes, its fine, I swear. I've already beaten all the games I have for it anyway."> Since I got the stat cheat INT bonus, it had less utility for me. I need to focus on studying other stuff, rather than goofing off grinding video game skill which is already obscenely high. <"It will help you learn some English too; there are some word puzzle games in there."> Plus it's not like I paid for any of it, I left unsaid.
"Tha… thank you" She responds in English. Using the phrases I taught her earlier. I check my sheet, +10 Relationship with Chela Sanchez.
"You're welcome." Her expression is still a bit confused. "De Nada" I say in Spanish.
She turns her attention back to the game. <"How do I move the boxes to get the character through the maze again?">
I hope this is helping. She needs this. Get over her shyness some; try to be a friend to her even if she isn't there yet according to my relationship sheet. I doubt she'll actually get there, not in time before we'd have to depart. It's almost 30 now, still a long way from 100. Even so, I want to get it as high as possible before we go our separate ways. If she does trigger, I really hope she doesn't, then if we ever meet again, we could be allies or at least cordial with each other. For now, I can't tell if I'm having a positive impact on her stress levels. I doubt my five levels in psychology is enough for any real impact.
I can't see the stress point values in observe, and the status effect hasn't changed, so I can't be sure. The questions marks there imply I might be able to eventually. I can see AGI modifiers, and Speed now when I got to level 20. Things tend to get revealed in five level increments, and if my suspected skill feature pattern holds true, I should get something significant again at level 25.
****
Everyone on the bus gets up to look to the right toward the south as we pass by the Eagleton Containment area. Sure we're far enough away that we're safe on the highway, but we can't help but gawk at all the signs. We can see military and PRT helicopters flying overheard toward the south, patrolling. Definitely throw some observes at them. Hell, might as well get a better view. I go to Free Camera mode, turn FRAPS on and sent my camera up into the sky. My POV keeps heading East along with my body as the Bus continues on its way. From this vantage I can see a hell of a lot more, even into the outskirts of the enclosed area, even though it's far away.
Wow, there is some strange spired structure the helicopters are shooting at in the distance. It looks somewhat like a giant termite mound. I'd have never been able to see it if my POV hadn't been a few hundred feet up in the air. "Observe".
Machine Army Spore Tower
This structure was built by the 'organisms' that make up the machine army in an attempt to gain height to help the distribution of their seeds. They have yet to obtain a height significant enough for this tactic to be viable, as every time they erect one, the army and PRT gunships shoot it down after it reaches a certain height. Despite failing repeatedly, the single minded machine organisms just start building another one each time the prior one is lost.
Structural Integrity: on the verge of collapse
Hardened HP: 116/3467
Occupants: 7,577 Machine Army Workers, 2,058 Machine Army Soldiers, 1 Machine Army Queen, 33,678 Machine Army seeds.
And just like that, another gunship missile hit it and my observe changed to looking at debris as the whole thing comes crumbling down. Well that was a hell of a thing.
Soon enough we drive on past and leave the warning signs of the nearby containment zone behind us. We drive though the complete ghost town that used to be Knoxville, TN. Well, almost ghost town. There must some stubborn hold outs. But seriously, who wants to still live in a major city that is only a short ways north of Eagleton? No wonder the city got abandoned.
I swap my camera back as I feel someone touch my shoulder. Chela is asking me a question, about what all the signs and activity were for. Well, it's still another seven something hours to Roanoke, may as well get that Speech, CHA, and Empathy up some more. This is a good enough lead in, I should probably explain some cape stuff to her so she's prepared, just in case, without giving too much away about myself.
****
Your Observe skill has increased by 1
Your Damage Resistance (Physical) skill has increased by 1
That's enough of that. I make sure the bloodstains fade away before I exit the bathroom stall in the Roanoke bus station. Power Strike is too noisy and damaging during pit stops. It's becoming too problematic to train resist any more while in transit, I should just focus on studying. Still haven't gotten 25 observe yet either, despite the fresh targets as we travel.
The next leg of the trip is to Harrisburg, and my last period of interaction with the Sanchez family. As much as I want to tell her about her trigger potential, I have no way of knowing if it will actually happen, and it will probably make things worse for her. According to Observe, her mood seems to have been improving greatly after my interactions with her, just still not enough to affect the long term mental status effects that are still present.
I eat lunch to recover some HP, and get back on the next transfer bus, double checking to make sure the Sanchez family boarded this one too. A quick nap should let me max my HP back up again.
****
<"Simon, Simon, wake up."> Chela says rousing me from my nap.
<"What is it?"> I ask mid-yawn.
<"The bus driver made some announcement; we don't know what he said.">
I nod and walk up to the front and get his attention. "What were you saying earlier? I was asleep." I ask as I look over the driver and the other passengers.
"I was saying we got to make a detour, some cape fight took out multiple chunks of I-81 and I-64 around Lexington that still hasn't been repaired yet. We've got to go up 220 through George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, before cutting back over. It will take a bit longer, but you get to see the scenic route." Harold answers.
I sit back down and translate what he said to Chela and her parents. Since Chela is engrossed in the handheld I gave her, I go back to my textbook quests, which I've been neglecting. Some hour and a half later, I look up after overhearing a few comments from my fellow passengers as we pull into Fallen Spring, VA.
"How come there's nobody around?" someone asks.
It's dark. I pull my phone out of my inventory to check the time; waiting for it to get a signal to update itself, but no signal arrives.
"What time is it?" I ask.
"7:30" is someone's response. There are very few lights on as we drive through the town, and like someone asked, I don't see anyone around when I look out the window, nor any cars on the road. No wait, there were cars on the road, wrecked and abandoned.
I go into free camera mode to get a closer look at things and the cars on the side of the road; all I'm seeing is a fair amount of broken glass, from both car windows and shop fronts. I hear the soft ping of a notification. I hate it when I get notifications while in free camera mode. Some awkward moments later I finally open it up.
This random encounter is OP!
Survive with full control over your mind and body.
Time Limit: ?? It's over when it's over.
Success: Duh, still being alive and fully in control of your mind and body, and +10,000 XP
Bonus Condition: Save your fellow passengers, +2000 XP per life saved that escapes with you. Increased relationship with those you save.
Failure: A fate worse than death.
Saved: 0, Dead: 0, Pending: 44
This quest cannot be declined.
What??? Fuck me. I futzed with my interface as quickly as I can to get back into first person mode.
I manage to crank my volume controls up and turn FRAPS on just in time to hear a high pitched screaming hum, as the windows on the bus suddenly started to vibrate. I pull Chela down into the aisle just as everything explodes.
-34 HP (6 Resisted)
I look up, I'm cut up, Chela was more protected but not without injury. Everyone is screaming,
What the hell. My phone and the handheld I gave Chela are exploded, the screens cracked into tiny pieces on the floor of the bus. Some quick observes on her and her family show injuries that are bad but not life threatening.
<"We need to get out of here!"> I yell, we barely got to our feet, when some weird bug-balloon thing flies in through a broken window and explodes in a shower of ichor and putrid green gas.
I hold my breath as I see people closer to it start to choke and fall over, but it's too late I'm already feeling the effects from a lungful. Notifications kept firing off as I try to drag an unconscious Chela to the emergency exit in the back.
I'm still holding my breath and my stamina is ticking down. I can't move my legs anymore. There is some whistling, why is there whistling? I slump down on to the floor at the back of the bus. I can hear it better now. It's… the Andy Griffith theme song? Why do I even know what that is? A man steps onto the bus whistling the tune, white skin, bloody dress slacks and shirt, neatly trimmed goatee, is all I can make out as my vision becomes blurred. He is flipping a long thin object around in his hand, casually juggling it. A short, little blonde girl follows into the bus behind him.
The man stops whistling and speaks. "Well now, looks like some new toys have shown up for us to play with, and just when I thought this sleepy little town had nothing left to offer..."
"Oh, Goodie! New Specimens, I have so many things I want to try!" the little girl squees.
"Not too hasty now, you don't want to be like the others and dispose of your toys so quickly. We need to let this play out, maybe come up with a whole new game for them to play…"
Observe, observe. Can't read the text, too blurry, vision fading…
Stage 2: Road Trip Arc 3.1
Thursday, Feb 25th, 2010
I peek open my eyes. Where am I? Not on the bus anymore. Damn I can't move, paralyzed somehow. Fuck. Well not entirely, I can move my eyes, tongue, and jaw, everything from the neck up. Throat is hoarse though, can barely whisper. Maybe best not to speak at all; not let anyone know I'm awake.
I'm in some kind of room, chained to the floor. Several of the other passengers also chained to the floor. Notifications are still flashing, still can't move yet. Still can't speak above a whisper, don't need to, sub-vocal activation works.
Harold Williamson has been removed from your relationship sheet
Peter Johnson has been removed from your relationship sheet
Sarah Johnson has been removed from your relationship sheet
Oh fuck, that means they're dead doesn't it? The Bus Driver, that was that couple with the… No, don't think about that. There's other names, I read and dismiss them. Oh thank god the Sanchez family isn't on there. Can't see them in front of me, but can't turn around. Haven't interacted with everyone one the bus, a lot aren't on my sheet. Maybe some are still alive? Just finish looking through notifications and stats.
Your Drug & Poison Resistance skill has increased by 1
Your Drug & Poison Resistance skill has increased by 1
Your Drug & Poison Resistance skill has increased by 1
The status effect 'Unconscious' has been removed
Escape the house that Jack (sorta) built! (Sub-quest: This random encounter is too OP!)
Get through the traps and trials of this uncreative knock-off of survival horror genre.
Success: +2000 XP
Failure: If not death by the hands of the others; snip, snip, chop, chop, drill baby, drill...
This quest cannot be declined.
Click to shrink...
Sub-quests? Well fuck. My HP is back to maximum, MP is almost there, fatigue fully recovered. Blood on my clothes from the broken bus windows has done its weird voxel fade-away. I slowly lift my head. Ow, dizzy headache. How long have I been unconscious? Couple hours at least, based on what I recovered. Time? Watch is in inventory, means it's in stasis, won't be accurate. Phone is destroyed. Hmm, Fredrico's phone's still in there. Don't have enough maneuverability to retrieve anything.
"Status Effects" I sub-vocalize.
Paralytic Poison Effect
Created by Bonesaw as an inhalant poison to knock people out and keep them still so her subjects can be moved about before she gets around to operating on them. It is non-lethal and temporary in nature.
Time Remaining: 46 minutes.
Click to shrink...
Well damn it, no wait. That's counting down a lot faster than that. Drug Resistance at work? "Skills", Yep, steady, active increases; can only do so much till it's gone. Bonesaw, why's that name familiar?
I'd observed two people that came on the bus before I blacked out. The Observe windows aren't open anymore, but FRAPS is still running. Rewinding to review might take too long. Cape Database? Yep there she is, and it captured my Observe info.
Last Observe: 2/25/2010 7:31PM EST
Name: Riley Gray
Level: ??
Alias: Bonesaw
Gender: Female
Age: 11
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Race: Human (Parahuman)
Class: Villain / Brainwashed Kidnap Victim
Faction: Slaughterhouse Nine
STR: 6 (+14) 20
AGI: 8 (+10) 18
CON: 14 (+20) 34
INT: ?? (??) ??
PER: 12 (??) ??
WIS: ?? (??) ??
CHA: 10 (??) ??
LUC: ?? (??) ??
Allure: 3.0 (+1.0) 4.0
Armor: 7.2
Speed: 3.1 (+0.5) 3.6
Attack: ??
Dodge: ??
Health: 540/540
Stamina: 520/520
Stress: ??
H/T/F: ...
Summary Description:
Riley is an 11 year old girl. Originally from a very loving home, even at a young age she was no stranger to cape life due to her parent's own status as capes. Everything changed in 2005 when the Slaughterhouse Nine came calling. She triggered when forced to constantly provide medical care to her parents over the course of several hours, as the Nine repeatedly, purposefully injured them. Her mother's final words to her before she died was to 'be a good girl', which she has interpreted in unusual ways, and is the core reason for her continued adoption of a cutesy persona and minor appearance modifications.
Nevertheless, her mind and views of the world, and right and wrong was thoroughly twisted by Jack Slash who kidnapped her in order to raise her to be something twisted and make horrible gruesome use of her power, a task which he has thoroughly succeeded in, to the point at which she views him as a surrogate father figure.
...
She has a young appearance of about eleven years of age. She has blonde hair done up in a ringlet of curls, bright blue eyes, and a rosy cheeked porcelain face that is almost doll-like. She is the very definition of cute. She is 4'8", and weights 87 lbs. including enhancements, ...
Status Effects:
Mental: Severe Stockholm syndrome, Trauma induced Sociopathy, Mild Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Conflict-Seeking, ...
Physical: Tinker-induced regenerative effects, Tinker enhanced strength, reflexes and durability, Cute as a button, ...
Currently Feeling: Excited, Curious, Anxious, Deeply hidden fear, Severely repressed guilt, Severely repressed shame, ...
Motivations: Be a Good Girl, Examine Parahuman brains, Induce triggers to study effects, Experiment with new specimens, ...
Equipment list: Mildly blood-stained blue frock, very blood-stained white apron, black knee-high buckle boots, blood-stained black and white striped tights, small Hello Kitty backpack, set of surgical tools, ...
Click to shrink...
A wave of disgust, loathing and pity washes over me. What about the rest of the Nine? I click on the links to read the rest of the entries. There, that's Jack, the other one I observed.
Last Observe: 2/25/2010 7:31PM EST
Name: Jacob Kellerman
Level: 38
Alias: Jack Slash
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Race: Human (Parahuman)
Class: Villain / Psychopath
Faction: Slaughterhouse Nine
STR: 18 (+5) 23
AGI: 15 (+8) 23
CON: 17 (+15) 32
INT: ?? (??) ??
PER: 20 (??) ??
WIS: ?? (??) ??
CHA: 27 (??) ??
LUC: ?? (??) ??
Allure: 6.0
Armor: 7.1
Speed: 3.27
Attack: ??
Dodge: ??
Health: 550/550
Stamina: 550/550
Stress: ??
H/T/F: ...
Summary Description:
Jacob grew up in an oppressive household with mentally unbalanced parents, who suffered from paranoia and a deep need to exert control over their own lives and the lives of others, resulting in a very restrictive childhood that he frequently rebelled from and was punished for. At the age of 11, his parents convinced him there was a nuclear war going on and locked him into a bomb shelter. For a year they only speak to him mostly via radio. He finally escaped and trigged upon exiting and realizing he had been lied to and the world was fine...
...so after killing King, Jacob and Harbinger parted ways. Thereafter Jacob became known as Jack Slash and led the Nine to...
...he is manipulative and cruel. Often prideful, and thinks highly of himself and his abilities to get people to do what he wants, especially his other team-mates. He loves to hear himself talk and strives to always make world a worse place with each plan he takes.
Lately however, Jacob has been getting very bored with the repeated routine of the Nine rolling in, slicing everyone up too quickly and then poking around for a bit before moving on. He has gone so far to even wonder if his muse has left him. Lately, this has resulted in him seeking external ideas for how to set up his next game. He is looking for something new and interesting, a challenge he can match wits with, but has thus far failed to find anyone that could satisfy that criteria. Until then, he keeps setting up his games. His games are rigged, so that you can't win without cheating or twisting the rules. Despite this, he'll knowingly and hypocritically call the players out on their cheating, and use it as an excuse to cheat himself, merely because he thinks it is somehow ironic.
He has the appearance of someone 36 years of age. He is tall and slender, with a height of 5'10" and weighs 175 lbs. including enhancements. He has dark, well kempt hair that is tied back and gelled. He has pale blue eyes. He beard and moustache is immaculately trimmed into a goatee with saw tooth edges pointing inwards. He has a lean muscular figure with no obvious body hair. His skin tone is slightly tanned. He generally bears a smile showing clean, white straight teeth, ...
Status Effects:
Mental: Severe Psychopathy, Major Narcissism, Conflict-Seeking, ...
Physical: Minor Tinker-induced regenerative effects, ...
Currently Feeling: Fundamentally Bored, Intrigued but skeptical, Amused, ...
Motivations: Find something or someone that will alleviate boredom, maintain group integrity, get group to move on to a new location, ...
Equipment list: Blood-stained black dress slacks, blood-stained white dress shirt, fine brown leather boots, black leather belt, switchblade, bowie knife, pocket knife, folding straight razor, hair gel, hair tie, ...
Click to shrink...
God-damn, just why? Why? I haven't even seen the other members yet. Clearly, Shatterbird is around to have done that to the bus. The others have to be nearby as well. How? How can I possibly have a chance at escaping these murder-hobos?
Out run them? Can I even do that against the likes of Crawler or Siberian? I have to get out first, and I'm chained up in here. Play dead? No, Bonesaw will just dissect me. Out-think them? Is that even possible? Out talk? I don't want to be near enough to have a conversation…
My limbs start feeling tingly as sensations are coming back into them, another notification fires off.
Your Drug & Poison Resistance skill has increased by 1
Think about this. What can I plan? What can I do? I need to know where I am and what I'm dealing with. What are my immediate obstacles? What resources do I have? Can I help or save the others? I want to, is it feasible? I look over my inventory, still can't fully make the gestures to pull anything out yet. I have weapons in there, a first aid kit, my costume, things I'll need. I have to get creative.
Wait, not yet, am I being watched? I glance at my stealth interface. One Camera and two persons observing, fuck. I have to wait, get the feeling back into my hands; hide my movements. I can't get out of here while chained to the floor. I activate stealth but it doesn't take, still not sure how that skill works, probably doesn't while under observation; but try again as much as I want, no risk there.
Every so often the person count observing me would drop to zero, someone is looking away? Wait for it and make faster movements then. Is it someone in the room watching or someone behind the camera? Does my observation detector even work like that? Must be behind the camera, my hearing is cranked up and all I can hear right now is the others breathing, no footsteps, no shuffling. Or is it a Stranger?
"Observe, Observe, Observe, Observe, Observe" I sub-vocalize again, a pretty heavy duty chain and combination lock, securing my hands and ankles. I wait till the human observe count hits zero. Shit, can't inventory it while it's attached to the floor. Maybe I can pick it, generic combo-lock, nothing special.
I glance at the other unconscious passengers I can see:
"Quests" I murmur under my breath and look over the stupidly named main quest. Random encounter my ass.
Saved: 0, Dead: 23, Pending: 21
I wince; more than half already gone. Why are we still alive? What's being planned? Some kind of game based on what Jack said on the bus, and his dossier; fucking psychopaths. His games are rigged, cheat, don't play by his rules. Make that my mantra. Meditate; I can meditate while I wait for the poison timer to drop. Can't chant, don't want to make noise. Patience, wait for them to look away, and then move. Finally, after nudging with my tongue and jaw, then my shoulders and hands, I get my interface to where I can slowly operate the free camera controls with one tingly finger.
Now I can see the whole picture. One set of stairs leading up to a single door, no windows. Are we in a basement? There are sixteen of us, chained to the floor, the Sanchez family is here. I'm the only one awake. I observe everyone.
The four from before: Jordan, Arthur, Robert, and Macy. There's myself, Carmen, Rueben and Chela. Chela went down to level 0? Just a five level drop from being paralyzed and unconscious? She's also the youngest, then me. Level drop is not consistent among the rest. Stop it, that's not important! Focus!
Well there's hope for David, he knows how to fight, I may not be able to get out of this by myself. The last person in this room is… On no, just… fuck me.
Shit, she's not unconscious and not paralyzed, but pretending to be both. Melinda is still in there, terrified, and desperately wishing to die. Can she be saved? If not can she be removed without creating suspicion? Do the nine already know I'm a cape? Can I even do that? I feel sick, want to throw up after reading…. can't force it down. She's a plant, an observer, the source of the camera or one set of human eyes watching me? No can't be, not facing in my direction at all, unless Bonesaw put eyes in the back of her head. No, Observe didn't mention it. I spot an electronic camera in the corner of the room, that's it.
We're chained up in was some kind of McMansion. Probably once nice looking, now mostly bereft of furniture and items, except various trash, or things I suspect may have been placed on purpose. I zoom around the house, memorizing exits, door, and windows. But they're all trapped and boarded up in a variety of ways, even some of the interior doors between rooms. The number of old blood stains I see… They must have been using this house for a while, prepared it multiple times for whatever they are going to put us through. The cameras in the rooms are installed, not part of the original house. Some clearly destroyed and fixed or replaced. Probably some hidden ones too, that's what I would do if I was a sick sadistic fuck… But why? Why go through all this trouble?
Nobody else is in the house and I can scry into all the rooms. That doesn't match the occupant count Observing the house directly gave me, which is twenty-seven. Seven fucking 'biomechanical spiders', whatever the hell that means, and twenty people. Since I can't find them, that means they're hiding, somewhere.
Where is the rest of the nine? Where are they, presumably, watching all this from? I push the camera further to outside the house. It's dark, late at night, full moon, but no lights. Wait, no there is one lit house down the street. Free camera can't reach it. Twenty one occupants, ten spiders and eleven people. No ten people, the fuck? Did someone leave? A notification fires off.
Cindy Mitchel has been removed from your relationship sheet
Fuck.
Saved: 0, Dead: 24, Pending: 20
I see something moving in the moonlight on the street as I navigate my view around.
Name: Ned Parker
Level: ????
Alias: Crawler
Gender: No longer relevant
Age: 28
Ethnicity: No longer relevant
Race: Monster (Parahuman)
Class: Villain
Faction: Slaughterhouse Nine
STR: 312 (+0) 312
AGI: 63 (+0) 63
CON: 740 (+0) 740
INT: ?? (??) ??
PER: 52 (??) ??
WIS: ?? (??) ??
CHA: 6 (??) ??
LUC: ?? (??) ??
Allure: 0.0
Armor: 144.0
Speed: 4.6 (+3.0) 7.6
Attack: ??
Dodge: ??
Health: 10,520/10,520
Stamina: 8,030/8,030
Stress: ??
H/T/F: ...
Summary Description:
Ned Parker was originally a small, feeble, unassuming man with a serious lack of self-confidence, and constant sense of dread over what he perceived was a lack of sufficient masculinity. That all changed when he received powers after triggering in...
...Crawler likes nothing more than to get hurt. Each injury received adapts it to make it stronger or more resistance to what caused it harm. These masochistic tendencies make it to pursue any conflict with great fervor, as it looks forward to the pleasure received in expanding its ever evolving abilities.
...
Ned Parker, the beast of the Slaughterhouse Nine, is a Parahuman Monster. It is the only one of its kind. A gigantic multi-limbed former human composed of twisted, mutated flesh. It has black very thick skin. It has six legs studded with bone. It has 274 ferocious red eyes covering its body. Its skin is covered with hard scales. It has one powerful tail, which menaces with spikes of chitin. It has one gigantic mouth, full of razor sharp, misshapen teeth. Corrosive spit constantly drips from its jaw. Its tongue is forked and prehensile. Its front legs split into three pairs of smaller limbs at the knees. Beware its corrosive venom! Crawler is associated with terror, monsters, corruption, and adaptation.
Status Effects:
Mental: Complete Loss of Empathy, Severe Masochism, Irreversible inhumane mindset, Conflict-Seeking, ...
Physical: Rapid Adaptive Regeneration, Projectile Corrosive Spit, ...
Currently Feeling: Hungry, Unchallenged, Mildly Impatient, ...
Motivations: Evolve into an something ever stronger, Get Siberian to fight him, Find something that can harm him, ...
Equipment list: None
Click to shrink...
Crawler was… eating something… oh god. No don't throw up, look away.
Your Empathy skill has increased by 1
What? Why is seeing all this suffering giving me Empathy skill?
I don't….I don't have time to dwell on it. That's enough, get back to the house. Select First Person view. Wait a moment, still only the sounds of breathing. I can move my hands more now, wait for it. No longer being watched… Stealth on; grab the lock. Still can't raise the thing to my ear, need to, to listen to it click to pick it. No, I can remote view again; double check Melinda; okay. She's still facing away from me on the other side of room, pretending to be unconscious.
There, maneuver the free camera inside the lock, zoom in, listen. Quietly turn the dial. Try, 1…, fail; reset. Stealth broke, freeze, being watched? Yes. Wait… can't wait forever, small slow movements, 1, 2…, fail; reset. Not being watched, stealth on, faster movement, 1, 2, 3… fail; reset. 1, 2, 3, 4…, *CLICK* Success! Shit, did anyone hear that? What numbers are those? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. What? That's the stupidest combination I've ever heard in my life! That's the kind of thing an idiot would have on his luggage!
Stupidities aside; take what advantages I can get. Refocus my camera, re-observe the locks. Same make and model. Bulk purchase? Yep, same stupid combination works on the lock at my feet. I can move even better now, muffle the click this time. Success, detach the second lock.
Now what? I have to rescue everyone else. As soon as I move to do so, it'll be obvious to those watching me. What do I do about Melinda? She is still in there. I don't want to kill an innocent person. Even if she's faking it she is still chained up. All part of the ruse? What game are you playing at Jack? What else? Can't forgot about the spiders and four other persons hiding in the house; still have to find them.
Your Drug & Poison Resistance skill has increased by 1
Oh, check my paralysis counter, moving faster again, few minutes more. Can't be hindered when I make my move. Check the others, they have longer to go, how can I speed that up? I got a first aid kit in inventory. Damn, can't check what's inside a container in inventory. Can't do anything about it now; focus on different problem.
Free camera again, zoom through the house, double check everything. Where are those fuckers? Aha, there you are:
Christopher Wilkinson has been removed from your relationship sheet
Saved: 0, Dead: 25, Pending: 19
Well, god damn it. That answers that.
****
The status effect 'Paralytic Poison' has been removed
Finally, I wiggle my toes just to be sure. Some lingering tingly after-effects, but that's all. Not being watched, scoot closer to the person next to me. My hands are already near their feet, so… wait, watch, move. Muffle the sound, *click*, Jordan's feet were unlocked. That's it though, nothing else closer without getting up and moving, not even Jordan's hands. That very probably means detection.
How much longer can I afford to wait? Bonesaw probably knows when her stuff is due to wear off. Can't let it be that long. Get up while they're looking? Detected, Wreck the Camera? Detected. Wait some more then. There, no one is looking again; pull the first aid kit out, shield the view and light show with my body as best I can, open and re-inventory all the contents individually and the case. What do I have? Bandages, medicines, scissors, threads, ointments, smelling salts… There! Those will help me wake people up. Don't know if it will help lessen the paralytic effect. It's only one small ampule though, is that enough for everyone? How do these things work? Can I reuse it? Guess I'll find out.
Think; think; think! There's probably no avoiding eventual detection, just need to give myself as much lead time as possible and work as quick as I can. I'll need a distraction, to focus their attention on something else. Back to free camera, another round of Observes on everyone, check their timers and wait. Longest timer is 20 minutes now; hope waking them will somehow shorten it. Pre-select my censor sound something loud and obnoxious, move out with free camera to my furthest range, to the best spot to pull them away from the house and still be able to hear it. Profanity filter on, curse like a sailor…
[CENSOR] [CENSOR] [CENSOR] [CENSOR]
First person mode, no eyes on me, one camera, stealth on, pull out my bat as I stand up, move quick now toward the spot below the camera, jump up and swing. "Power Strike." Lucky hit, first try, camera is wrecked, zero cameras watching me, zero people.
I pull the first aid supplies and the smelling salt ampule from my inventory, break it open, and rush over to each person; I skip Melina but keep an eye on her. It's working. Everyone starts waking up, still under the lingering effects of the paralytic though.
"We got captured locked up by the Slaughterhouse Nine. The drugged us, but it's temporary, I woke up first." I whisper to each person, not entirely sure how cognizant each one is as I do so.
I start opening the locks, first Chela's, then her father's, then her mother, then Jordan's hands, then David's…
"Huurrk!"
-12 HP (6 resisted)
-0 HP (1 resisted)
Fuck.. getting strangled, David's chain… He's awake… "I'm trying to…" He squeezes tighter.
-0 HP (2 resisted)
-0 HP (2 resisted)
-0 HP (2 resisted)
You are suffering from the status effect 'Asphyxiation'
There are people screaming now, saying they can't move. Clearly some can as I hear the chains rattling. "Stop..." I mutter out, David is ignoring me though, and squeezes tighter
-0 HP (3 resisted)
-0 HP (3 resisted)
"HEY!" Jordan yells. "I think he was trying to help you I saw him undo the lock on your feet!"
"What the fuck is going on?" David asks as he loosens his grip.
The status effect 'Asphyxiation' has been removed
No point in whispering anymore. "Was on the bus with you, we got captured by the Nine, they drugged us, locked us up. I woke up first, got free."
"Sorry" David managed to say, before a cacophony of screams and cries followed.
<"SIMON!" What is happening?" I can't stand up"> I hear Reuben shout in Spanish at me.
<"The Nine, they captured and drugged us, locked us up in here, I woke up first and got free, was trying to free everyone else."> I respond. <"We have to hurry get up as best you can, paralysis is temporary">
"Why can't we move?" one of the women yells.
"Some kind of paralysis drug it will wear off" I answer, as I get David's lock off his hands.
"Carefully try to stand, you want to get blood flowing to all your limbs, massage them to help speed it along." Jordan shouts. "They can't speak English?" she asks gesturing to the Sanchez.
"No, but I can translate", then I did so.
"You're wearing scrubs." David says to Jordan, "that mean you're a nurse?"
"Yes. Use those bandages to help whoever is still injured." He says in a commanding tone.
"How the hell do we get out of here?" Jeremy asks while vigorously rubbing his limp legs.
"Well, now!" A loud masculine voice, cracks over the intercom. "Allow me to answer that. Seems like someone decided to start the game early." The voice matches the one I heard on the bus before I blacked out. It was Jack. "No matter, the rules are simple. One of you just needs to kill one of the others in the room, and then I'll tell you the combination. After that—"
"Power Strike" I smashed my bat into the intercom, destroying it. Fuck, one camera on me, and more eyes on me than the number of people in this room. I look at Melinda, she is sitting upright and staring at me.
"How come some of you are unlocked and I ain't?" Michael yells.
"That was Jack Slash wasn't it?" David asks.
"Yeah, everything he says is a lie."
"We have to kill someone to get out of here?" Michael asks again.
"No way, fuck that..." someone says.
<"Simon we don't understand, what is everyone saying?"> Chela asked me.
Angry voices threaten to drown out everyone, so I yell. "The Combination is 1, 2, 3, 4 5! I had to lock pick mine to find out." Everyone actually quiets down. "Yeah it was that stupid, probably meant to make us feel guilty someone killed someone to learn something so ridiculously idiotic."
Everyone starts unlocking their chains, and I start translating for the Sanchez's. I look up as I hear someone run up the stairs.
"NO WAIT!!!" I yell. It's too late, Jeremy opens the door. A soon as he does, a trip wire goes off and several kitchen knives affixed to some wood swing down from the ceiling, and stab him in the throat. He falls over backwards, tumbles down the stairs, and bleeds out in seconds.
Jeremy Ford has been removed from your relationship sheet
Saved: 0, Dead: 26, Pending: 18
The screaming resumes at full volume