BubblegumcAndi: It is…the game? Andi doesn’t want to believe it at first, but she knows it is the most likely answer anyway. Stithis never would have kept something this cool from her. She begins to type a message to him, but jumps when the wall suddenly disappears, and the room gets larger.
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis: Just don’t make the floor disappear from under me, alright? This shit is a bit scary on the receiving end.
She gets another message, and gives a small nod before typing again.
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis: No, but I think drugs might be able to have a similar effect. Are you sure we aren’t on some…? Hell, you are just words on a screen—maybe I am just hallucinating.
A machine appears in the new alcove, and Andi walks warily over to the Totem Lathe. She tilts her head, recognizing the new item from the manual, and goes over to her bag, flipping through it to reread the section. Since she isn’t a host yet, she doesn’t know if there is more information there. Thinking about the purpose in real life suddenly makes her care much more about understanding the manual, and she reads through the paragraph twice. She needs pre-punched card blueprint of an item to make it, but mixing cards will mix items.
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis: Alright… I think I can cope with this. There is more equipment in the manual that I need, right?
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis: And by the way…can you hear me when I am talking…or just see me?
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis: And is it just in this room?
Before she gets a response, she decides to test it out. She goes over to Autumn, shaking her awake and saying her name. She can’t exactly leave the girl there passed out, even though she wants to. “What the hell is going on?” Autumn asks. “Don’t touch me, you freak!”
Rolling her eyes, Andi steps back a bit. “I should ask the same thing for you. The program wasn’t doing what you wanted and you flipped out and dropped the monitor.” Andi gestures to the broken equipment in front of her, and Autumn’s eyes widen, immediately claiming that she hadn’t. She rushes out of the room before she notices the alcove, and Andi wonders for a moment if the other girl sees it, and what excuse she will make if they do.
Leaving the room, Andi goes to the workshop and checks on her mold, seeing Autumn flee the work room, presumably to go upstairs to the Teacher’s office an talk to them there. She checks on her mold, talking to a few of the other students briefly. When she returns to the computer lab, she checks for messages from Stithis, realizing that she should probably just turn Pesterchum on her phone, to make it easier to check these things.
-.-
A short while later, a stack of pink cards appears beside her, and she grabs the manual, which feels more like a bible at this point, to re-read what those things are for. Apparently, they are for storing items. Though she really
really wants to test it, she isn’t sure if things can be made un-items, or if she only has 12 for this entire game duration.
-.-
And then the message from Fire Lord. Slightly detached, totally uninformative, a little weird, even for him. Andi feels like usually he is at least a bit more conversational. Perhaps he
really needs the escape.
BubblegumcAndi →
Fire Lord: Of course. I shall have the disk ready momentarily. You’ll know when.
Remembering the prompt that appeared on her screen when she let Stithis be her host, she figures Fire Lord will know right away. Removing the first disk, Andi puts in the second one, and reads the prompt asking for the name of the user she would like to host, and tentatively enters Fire Lord.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Baker →
Skip: I can assure you, it’s very real. Because my stuff is all scattered about now.
He was really glad he didn’t have that much stuff. Even more so because he wasn’t in the kitchen. At this point, the floating book didn’t freak him out as much, but he did flinch and cover his head to prevent getting hit. He then picked it up and waved the book in front of the computer. He didn’t remember setting up the webcam feature for the game. . .
Baker →
Skip: See? I’m waving the book you dropped. Real as can be.
Another message popped up as he went over to return the book back to it’s place on the shelf.
Baker →
Stithis: The same thing happened to me. Except books were flying over my head. This game is freaky! I don’t even know the point of it besides invade people’s homes.
Tim started clicking on other things in the house. He couldn’t move Stithis, so he tried moving the chair he was sitting in, then tried for something larger like pushing the wall next to him. This game was way too realistic. What could this game possibly add to make this even more weirder than it was? Shouldn’t he have called someone about this. . .
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Seeing a few messages from Bubbles the gamer pulls up her window and reads.
Stithis →
BubblegumcAndi: Yeah, a few more, but you may wanna clear the room first. I think we were lucky with her passing out an all to let me put down the first one. Also, no, no drugs for me, I'm clean, and I don't think you're seeing things Bubbles.
He watches as she moves over the girl to wake her up, chuckling at the obviously less than friendly exchange. He decided not to address the floor thing since he's quite sure she knows he wouldn't.
Stithis →
BubblegumcAndi: No, can't hear you. And let me check on the room thing.
Playing with the arrow toggles at the top left of her window he begins looking around her environment, finding he can only go so far from her before his select cursor turns red. He takes this as a sign that he can't use it outside the room they started in, until it suddenly turns green and he sees her enter the room he was looking at. “Oh, cool, so it only works in an area around her. . .Got it!” Pulling up Pesterchum he decides to fill her in on this new info.
Stithis →
BubblegumcAndi: Hey chika, it looks like I can only affect an area of about 20-30 feet around you, not really sure the exact distances yet, but yeah, it's not confined to the room you started in, it's confined to the area around you specifically. Is this sweet or what!?
With a sigh Marcus sits back in his chair and pulls up a few news feed. If kids all around the world are playing this game,
someone must have reported these strange incidents. He moved a friggan wall, at a school! Someone has to know what's going on. Unfortunately he finds nothing about moving objects or houses changing shape, but what he does find stops him cold.
'This isn't. . . .' Pulling out his game booklet once more he reads the last part again.
The final note I have is about the Timer on the Cruxtruder. If that sucker reaches zero before you enter the game, it's Game Over. See, it's counting down to the time when the place you're standing gets hit by a meteor.Without even contacting her he begins deploying all of her machinery before sending a link to the news feed he found to all of his contacts.
Stithis →
BubblegumcAndi/
Skip/
Baker: Guys we gotta get a move on! All the stuff in the manual is real so far, and that means the last part too, and I think the only way we're gonna survive this is getting into the friggan game!!!!! [Link]
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM →
BubblegumcAndi/
Skip/
Baker: You receive a link to a news feed, the story: All over the world there have been reports of a frighteningly high amount of falling stars, many of them causing rather devastating damage upon impact. None have hit any major cities thus far, the damage normally contained to rural areas, but a few have been spotted coming close to major cities such as London and New York. More on this situation as it progresses.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: He hears the bing from his Pesterchum just as he finishes stuffing the last thing back into his bag and after carefully setting it next to his fridge he slides into his seat once more, hitting the 'Y' with a smile before reading her message.
Fire Lord →
BubblegumcAndi: Thank you so much. I do hope you do not find my room a frightful mess, I tried cleaning up before you were forced to see it.
Turning in his chair he smiles up at where the camera had been for him and waves before turning back to his computer.
Fire Lord →
BubblegumcAndi: This game is quite fascinating, I can't wait to begin the creation and building parts, not to mention perhaps some combat later on, as we are informed we will need weapons. Have you seen anything worthy of fighting yet?
Quickly he pulls up Pesterchum on his phone and moves to stand by the window next to his desk so she can get on with giving him his items without having to worry too much about squishing him. Looking at the window sill he feels a small wave of sadness as he spots a dead bird, a hummingbird, resting there.
'Poor thing, must have run into the window. . .'_+_+_+_+_+_
Skip: Smiling wide she watches as the guy waves the book, then says he's waving the book. “This is freaky, and I'm not sure if I believe it yet. I guess I'll see what happens when that person from before gets back to me. . .” With a grin she begins playing with the other buttons. Finding some really large objects she decides that it would be fun to drop those next. Plopping 2 upstairs, she zooms downstairs and drops the biggest one, the Alchemiter or whatever, in the middle of the shop, then goes back upstairs and drops the card on the guys head for fun. On it is what looks like a blue muffin, but she doesn't really care, eager to watch him react to the new form of teasing. She ignores the message from the other guy, to busy teasing the young man.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Seeing a message from Baker, Marcus pulls it up, staring for a long moment before typing back.
Stithis →
Baker: Dude, watch the feed, then drop me my stuff, use the shop if it won't all fit. We gotta get on this.
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: It is a bummer that Stithis can’t hear her. She was already imagining how she could make herself look like she had super powers by calling for things and having him bring them over to her in front of her classmates. When she returns to the room she sees all of the other equipment appearing there.
Pulling up her pesterchum on her phone, she sees a few messages from Stithis. Sweet is… certainly one word for it, though Andi prefers to think that it is a bit creepy. Her second thought is that if she gets a wedgie, she is done for, because that is just utter embarrassment on all fronts when she has someone else watching her.
The next message is quite unsettling however. She pulls out the manual again and rereads the end for herself. They need to complete their chain, but she hasn’t even gotten the response from Fire Lord that he has accepted her as his host. She clicks the link to the news story about freak meteors and groans.
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis: Shit. That’s not pleasant. But it isn’t counting down…yet, right? So as long as I don’t open the box, I won’t have to deal with a meteor…right? Stithis?
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis: I’m not even a host yet. Fire Lord asked me to host, but he is so flaky—he might never get around to the ‘accepting’ part.
As soon as Andi finishes the message, she gets a shockingly calm one from Fire Lord—and he seems to know what is going on and expect it. Thank god. He has accepted her Hosting. She goes back over to her computer and sees his apartment, which doesn’t look like a mess at all—not compared to her room at home. He waves, which is just eerie, really, and messages her again, that it is all fascinating and he is acutally looking forward to the combat.
BubblegumcAndi →
Fire Lord: You know that there is a meteor coming to you, right? Read the last bit in the manual… I don’t know how you are so calm about this… Must be a British thing.
She looks over the host controls, manual next to the computer, to try to figure out what she needs to do. There are four things that she needs to give to Fire Lord and he has already made some space for it, it would seem. She selects the items, one at a time, and places them in his living room. She only accidentally clicks and moves a few things, and she is pretty sure that she hasn’t broken any of his stuff. Andi is confident that she has never been this nervous. One flick of the wrist and she might impale Fire Lord with his own desk.
Once the items are placed in the large open space, she messages him again.
BubblegumcAndi →
Fire Lord: There. I think you have it all now. I take it you have someone to host, right? Do they have someone to host as well? We need to get this chain closed.
BubblegumcAndi →
Fire Lord: I don’t want to go out like the dinosaurs…
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis: I am hosting Fire Lord, who is already hosting someone I think, since he is incredibly calm. What about you—Who is hosting you?
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Chewing his lips he watches her pull up the feed them message him. He bites his bottom lip a little to hard and lets out an “Ow!” before pulling his keyboard closer to type.
Stithis →
BubblegumcAndi: I don't know, I just don't know. I think it might be counting down no matter what. Like, as soon as the game is downloaded. That, that makes sense to me, that it starts counting down as soon as the game starts. There's no way that all these strikes came from gamers, and no way that all of them even got as far as turning it on since there are a lot of people I can see just DLing it, then being too bummed about the host thing and just putting it aside. I think. . .I think even without opening it we would get meteored. . .I just don't want to risk it. . . .Also, get him to friggan respond. We need to find and finish this chain!
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: As asked he reads the last bit of the manual over again and find himself unphased.
'Is there really anything around here I would mind losing? Anyone I really want about?' He thinks for a long minute, trying to recall all the people in his life, and the only faint flicker of sadness comes when he thinks of his older brother who had been disowned when he was still very young. He remembers having fun with him, play fighting in the back yard with fake swords and his brother playing the dragon every once in a while.
'But he's gone now. . .' He thinks with a soft sigh. Looking down at the screen he looks at the last line and smirks. Over the top of his phone he notices a few thing appearing out of nowhere but he ignore it for now, trusting that the woman would be a more than sufficient decorator.
Fire Lord →
BubblegumcAndi: I doubt my dorm mates would react quite as calmly as I. Perhaps the idea of what's coming is simply a calming feeling. After all, there is nothing I can think of in this world that I would really miss, and as the game has provided us with all the things needed to survive, I find myself content with the idea of leaving all the depressing and loathsome things in my life behind.
He knows his “Fuck the world” attitude may disturb his post, but as the last item is placed he smiles gently and types to her.
Fire Lord →
BubblegumcAndi: Thank you so much.
Another set of messages pops up before he can put his phone away and he nods.
Fire Lord →
BubblegumcAndi: I am hosting a green haired girl who seems to be a bit scatterbrained, but I am sure she will find someone soon enough, now that she is no longer freaking out. I too wish to survive this. Thank you again for the assist, but would you mind opening the Cruxtruder for me? As you can see I really have nothing which which to strike with the necessary force.
He refrains from saying that even if he had, he would have no way of wielding something that heavy and instead tries to phrase it to imply he could, had he only the means. He doesn't want to appear weak, for this is a game, and in games, he is not weak. Tucking his phone into it's hip holster he moves around the room, examining each device until he is quite sure he understands them all quite well before picking up the card of the floor. Looking over at his desk he spots the stack of pink ones and nods to himself before reaching out to touch them, bringing his inventory cards up before him to examine as well.
Experimentally he reaches out and grab an empty one. The card settles right into his hand and turning it around to the back side he sees 00000000 in hard-to-read colors on the back. With a huff he puts it back, then wanders over to his desk. Touching one of his many pencils he thinks “Chapalog” and much to his delight the item vanishes. Pulling up the cards again he grins as he spots the pencil on the card now. Reaching out he mentally demands the pencil back and, like magic, it appears in his hand. “This is so cool. . .” he murmurs, putting the pencil back on to his desk and looking around for a weapon of some sort. Pulling out the manual he begins getting ideas of things he wants to grab from the surrounding area before entering the game.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: With a sigh he watches another message pop up just as he finishes writing his and sending it. Looking over his shoulder, not exactly leery but a bit curious as to how Baker is getting along with his own host, he looks back at the screen and replies.
Stithis →
BubblegumcAndi: I'm being hosted by my friend Baker. I think he's got a host already. He said he's got stuff flying all around his house. I'll ask if his host has a host. Man, this feels like trying to play Snake, but the tail keeps getting further and further away and harder and harder to catch with each “Dot” that gets added. . .
Before he messages Baker however he grabs a table from the room with all the clay in it and brings it into the lounge where the Cruxtruder is, the object becoming incorporeal as he adjust the view, and becoming solid once more once he moves the cursor back on to the screen. “Sorry Bubbles, I need to know. . .” he murmurs, and with a flick of his wrist he smacks the top of the pipe jutting out the top of the Cruxtruder. It almost looks like th table bounces off the thing, but just to be safe he sets the table aside to watch what happens.
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM →
BubblegumcAndi: After being struck, the Cruxtruder does this -
mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002077 Except the flash and the Kernel are Aquamarine, as is the Dowel inside the pipe. A timer on the side lights up showing a 45 minute timer, counting down.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Looking at the timer he lets out a hissing breath. “Oh boy. . . .” he mutters. He knows he needs another one to be opened in order to see if his theory is correct. That the timer is more of a warning than an activation.
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Stithis seems to be a bit more composed than Andi—maybe. He suggests that the meteors are on their way from the time that the game is downloaded, which is far from reassuring. His message later says that he has a host, and that person has a host, but Andi knows that they need these names.
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis: Exactly. Give me the Pesterchums of your host and his host—we need to set up a group chat and try to close this thing before it gets too big.
She looks up in surprise as a table from the other room appears overhead and hits her Cruxtruder. She moves closer once the glowing stops, and frowns. 45 minutes. That isn’t very long. Looking over her shoulder where she remembers him saying the camera is, Andi gives a weak smile, and then plops back down at her computer.
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis: We only have as long as the shortest person in the loop…right? What’s yours?
Fire Lord’s response is a bit unsettling, but she is used to him being a bit dark. He says that there is nothing he would miss, and Andi shakes her head a little as she types a response to him.
BubblegumcAndi →
Fire Lord: But if you die, you don’t get to figure out what kind of enemies you might need to fight in this game :P
Fire Lord explains that he is hosting a girl, and Andi follows up with asking for her name.
BubblegumcAndi →
Fire Lord: What is her Pesterchum? I want to get this tied up as soon as possible. If we don’t get this handled, I’m going to pull the fire alarm, at least get as many people out as possible. Can you see where it is in your building?
While she waits for an answer, she rereads the part about opening the Cruxtruder, and opens up the manual again. How is everyone else suddenly so comfortable with this shit? She rereads how she is supposed to bounce some sort of heavy object off of the top of it, and looks around his room for something to use. She sees a book on his desk, beside the laptop, and tries that first. The book bounces off of the top, but nothing happens. Having just seen what hers looks like when it opens, Andi is pretty sure that she needs something heavier, and looks around again.
Since there isn’t much else around this guy’s apartment, she tries something a bit weird and lifts the bed. That does the trick, and she drags it back to the corner as the Cruxtruder does a crazy glowy thing. She leans in towards the screen, wondering how much time Fire Lord has.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Bubbles asks how long he has and with a huff he looks over his shoulder.
Stithis →
BubblegumcAndi: D'know on my time. Baker hasn't dropped my things yet. And his Name's Baker. Don't know his Host's name. Lemme ask.
Stithis →
Baker: Yo, dude, what's your Host's handle?
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: Watching in fascination as his bed rises off the floor, the book from before laying forgotten on the carpet, James smiles as it goes about opening his Cruxtruder as requested. Bringing his phone up he reads her message about him apparently wanting to die. He rolls his eyes at that, then reads her next message. “Hmmmmm.” he hums, looking about. “There's one in every room actually. . .”
Fire Lord →
BubblegumcAndi: There is a fire alarm in each room that will set off the entire building. Selendri is her handle. And yes, a complete chain is a good idea. Mandatory for beating the game, right? Oh, and thank you for opening that for me.
Slipping his phone away he walks over to the flashy orange ball, only looking at it for a few seconds before turning away, clutching his head. “Ow.” he mutters, looking at the timer on his Cruxtruder. He's pleased to see that he has an hour and seventeen minutes, giving him plenty of time to gather stuff from the area around his room to play with once the game starts.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Baker: Timothy hears all the stuff moving about in his home, but he becomes a little preoccupied by Stithis’ message, along with another message that pops up. “As freaky as it is, the end can’t really happen because of a game, can it?” He didn’t sound very convincing. The next message that popped up made his uneasiness grow more. Falling stars? Falling in cities!? That didn’t sound good at all. “Oh dear that’s not good, that’s not good!” And he couldn’t just shut the game down. That wouldn’t work. No, now he had to finish what he started.
He noticed the punched card with the muffin and set it to the side. It looked important. “Oh, Stithis said something about his equipment. “Um…” Looking at the controls, he figured out which went where. They were supposed to go in the cards right? But what looked like it could be used? With how pressured he felt- who wouldn’t feel pressured when they were told they could possibly die because of a game- Tim hurried and selected a few items. First was the Alchemiter. He put that in the living room. The Cruxtruder didn't fit with it so he put that in the dining room. There was a Totem Lathe thing (Tim had to go back to read what each of these things did) and he ended up placing it by the door. “I think that’s-oh wait.” The card was then placed on his desk.
Baker →
Stithis: I really hope this is a cruel joke dude. But I got all your equipment out. Check your rooms.
He had to find his things too. He still was a player in this after all. Swiveling the chair around he spotted the Card and the Alchemiter but where were the other two things??
Baker →
Skip: Did you see the news feed? About the falling stars? I really hope that’s not real, but I’d rather not take any chances! Can you tell me where those other two items are so we can get this game over with...or started? Make sure you get your host to do the same!
Baker →
Stithis: My host’s name is Skip. Something else isn’t wrong is it?
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: As he says this however things begin appearing in his house and Marcus swivels around in his chair to watch. With a nod he quickly makes note of all their locations, watching as the card settles gently on to his desk and he smiles, giving a thumbs up in the general direction of the ceiling, hoping Baker would be able to see it. Since his apartment is distinctly lacking in walls he can see everything fine from his seat and as he swivels back around he smiles at the screen.
Stithis →
Baker: I got'em all dude, thanks. I wish this was a joke, but no, it's real as far as I can tell. You may wanna get a move on.
A few moments later, before he can stand and get to work he spots Baker's next message and quickly replies.
Stithis →
Baker: Nah, my player is just setting up a group chat for all of us, needs our names. Thanks, bro, and hurry!
Stithis →
BubblegumcAndi: His Host is Skip, good luck. I'm going to see if I can get myself in the game now. Ping me when you need things!
With that he clips his phone on to the collar of his shirt and begins running around his apartment. Finding nothing suitably heavy that he can still lift to open his Cruxtruder, he slips past the Lathe and heads down into the shop. The newly rearranged shelf is already looking quite dusty and a strong wave of sadness runs through him, threatening to freeze him on the spot, as he thinks of his friends and family.
'They're all going to be dead soon. . .' He forces himself on however, quickly selecting an antique sledgehammer his uncle had repaired recently and heads back upstairs with it. He can barely lift the thing, but once in his apartment his adrenaline allows him to swing it with an almighty force and crash it into the lid of the Cruxtruder.
Covering his eyes against the flashing colors he waits until the red flare dies, smiling softly at the Kernel as it comes to float around him. Something about it makes him feel very peaceful. His mind flashes over the instructions in the manual and he glances down at the timer. His heart jumps into his throat as he sees that he has only fifteen minutes and twenty eight seconds. Glancing out his window he sees several flashes of light and flame in the distance, some not all that distant, and he forces himself to calm down and think.
'I need to get something that can, or once could vocalize. That's what I need, for, for the sprite thing. . . .'_+_+_+_+_+_
Skip: Letting out a sigh of disappointment Laurra's attention is caught by an odd sight. The near wall sized window behind the desk gives her a lovely view of the city from her place on the seventeenth floor, but for all it's loveliness it's the strange sight of flashing lights and what looks to be a fiery glow that actually catches her attention. Standing up she moves over to the window and looks out, trying to find the location of the fire. To her surprise, she sees that there are actually several fires, and as she watches, another thing flashes and this time she gets a decent look at it. “What the fuck?” she murmurs, watching the small meteor strike a building several streets away. Scowling, she looks at her computer which is making noise again.
Plopping down with a bit more attentiveness her scowl deepens. “Feed? What feed?” she says aloud, pulling up a web browser to try and find what the silly man is talking about. Looking up just “News, top story” she finds about a hundred online articles about shooting stars and devastation. Scowling the the point that he eyes are nearly closed she pulls up her Pesterchum again and types back.
Skip →
Baker: What the fuck is going on!? There are real fucking meteors out there!!! I saw one take out a Starbucks! THE FUCK!
She forces herself to relax, taking a few deep breaths and thinking about it logically for a few seconds before typing again.
Skip →
Baker: I ain't fucking dying here, so you'd better get your ass up and do what you need to do. I'll deal with my shit. Your other crap is downstairs, now move your ass!
With that she pulls out her cellphone and begins downloading Pesterchum, worrying about getting into the kid's account later, one of her little gadgets sure to make the job rather easy. Setting it aside she heads downstairs in Baker's house and without warning grabs a fridge and uses it to open her player's Cruxtruder.
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Baker, So it was Baker → Stithis → BubblegumcAndi → Fire Lord→…
At least it is a start. Andi jots down the names on her manual in some blank space, figuring she will want to keep them close. She also starts a group chat, inviting Stitis and Firelord, and inviting the user Baker as well. Being productive, at least in some small form, calms her down a bit, and Andi can finally take a few breaths.
…Selendri. She checks and has received the message just after she invites the others, and adds an invite to Selendri to the group chat as well. Andi begins to compose a message to all of them, asking how much time they have, and how they can prepare for this the best, while stressing the need for them to find the end of their chain and connect them quickly.
Her pesterchum pings with another name. Skip, and she adds it to the top of her list. She hopes that Stithis communicated the need to know Baker’s host’s host’s name as well, but she will put that in the group message anyway.
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis/
Baker/
Skip/
Fire Lord/
Selendri: You are all the people I have so far in this chain:
Skip →
Baker →
Stithis →
BubblegumcAndi →
Fire Lord →
Selendri. I don’t know how long all of you have. I am running at about 40 minutes to get in the game. I am still re-reading the manual, but I am pretty sure to get through this, we need to complete our chain, which means the last person needs to host the first. Selendri, if you are already hosting someone, please add them to our chat. Skip, if you already have a host, please add them as well. If not, we
need Selendri to host Skip, and ASAP.
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis/
Baker/
Skip/
Fire Lord/
Selendri: The only way we are going to get into the game (let alone beat it) is by working together. By the look of the news reports I’ve seen, the place we are each standing in
will be struck by a meteor. I guess the difference is just if we are still there to experience it. I, for one, would prefer not to be. And if someone in the chain is struck by a meteor before we get this chain complete, then we need to find a new person to fill that spot or the rest will be doomed too. I might miss things, but I am going to list the things I know we each need to do…
…Andi has never been a particularly tanky character in games. In group MMORPGs, she tends to play a buffer, someone who works with everyone, and is generally helpful. Sometimes that means healer, and sometimes that means bard. Thinking of this whole thing as a game is a relief in a way. She can fall into her natural element, which in this case means making sure that everyone has the information they need to be successful, including her….
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis/
Baker/
Skip/
Fire Lord/
Selendri: Your host needs to release the 4 items from their host equipment. The big pipe needs to be struck with a heavy object—that will tell you how much time you have left, among other things. You will have a pre-punched card with a picture of an item on it. You need to damage or break it to enter the game, but first, you need to make it using the giant Lathe machine. Put the totem from the lathe on the Alchemiter and your totem will become the item you need.
BubblegumcAndi →
Stithis/
Baker/
Skip/
Fire Lord/
Selendri: You also need to proto-type your sprite at least once. This means you need something that can/could vocalize sound, and any other object. It will be combined with the vocalizing thing to make….what I assume will later be some helpful sprite, like Navi. So if you hit the Cruxator, you should have a glowing ball of light following you. You need to put the vocalizing thing into it… I think. I am getting a bit fuzzy on that, so I will experiment and follow up. If anyone else has advice/tips, please post here! We all need the support.
Have read, and typed, most of the things she thinks she needs to do, Andi feels far more prepared to enter this game. She caught up to the things she needs to do, and has a place to start. The pre-punched card. Thinking of it she picks it up off her desk, and she glances at the object briefly before going over to the totem lathe and finding the slot for it. She grabs the bright blue down and turns the wheel until it is clamped in place, and then waits as the machine whirrs into life. Thinking of this all like a game, it certainly does seem like a tutorial. She has to use each piece of equipment correctly before she can prove that she is ready to go out and…do whatever this game requires to live. Still, Andi is pretty sure she prefers the games where the information box just appears when she goes up and clicks a new object.
When the machine stops, she takes the dowel and places it on the Alchemiter, and then looks over at her glowing sprite. She needs something that has or had the ability to speak. Immediately the snake upstairs comes to mind. Her professor keeps it to help teach students about the texture and color of scales. It feels a little… cruel to try to put her snake into the sprite, but she tries not to think about it too much as she goes upstairs and looks around for her professor. Unfortunately, they are all around, and she is going to have to get rid of them if she wants to proceed much further.
Just wait a bit longer, maybe until there are 20 minutes, and then pull the fire alarm. Get everyone out, and then finish your sprite. The logic is decent, to her, but she still has the issue of people staring and pointing at the glowing ball following her around. “It’s the ghost of my dead father.” She blurts out. While Andi has a few friends among this group who chuckle at her remark, the others look shocked and confused. She storms off, back down the stairs, and looks for things that might be able to be used as weapons, the crowbar being the first thing to come to mind, and the airbrush—oddly enough—second.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Marcus hears the notification on his computer but after seeing it as just an invite for the group chat he decides to get on with things rather than stick around and chat. Instead he just accepts the invite then runs downstairs. He has an idea. Through his panic, he can see an interesting image forming of what he wants to do, aided by the flickering light of the Kernel following close behind. “Don't worry little buddy, I know
just what I'm going to do with you!” It simply continues flickering as it follows him down into the antique shop like some glowing, flashing, enamored floating puppy. Once in the shot he runs over to a line of lamps along one wall and locates the one he wants. The light fixture has a deer skull as it's base, one of the antlers snapped off near the base, so it looks a little lopsided, but it's the first organic thing that could once vocalize that he could think of on the fly, and not only that: Deer skull, need he think beyond the awesome that is that?
His phone goes off, letting him know he;s got messages. He looks at them briefly then puts his phone away, the skull tucked under his arm. There is a hole in the forehead, but as far as he's concerned that will make the sprite look even more awesome so he doesn't feel put out by it. He knows Andi needs some processing time and since he already knows most of what she's saying and he can't really give her any real input he lets her do her thing. Other messages pop up but he ignores them for now, knowing he has little time left.
Smiling at the sprite he takes aim, then tosses the skull in. Covering his eyes as there is another bright flash of light he waits until it dies down before looking again. Letting out a happy little “Whoop!” he grins at the now prototyped ball and chuckles. The skull is now red, settled in the middle of the ball and looks totally badass as it's about the size of a cocker spanial. It's just a skull, no arms or legs or anything, yet, and if he recalls the picture of a fully realized sprite correctly they never get legs, but as it's been prototyped once he turns his attention to more important matters.
As he goes to head past the sprite to continue with his work however he stops dead, his eyes landing on exactly what he needs right now. A sweet ass weapon. Without hesitation he grabs the stepladder from the back room and sets it in the middle of the store. Hanging from the rafters is an antique scythe, and with the skull dude following him around Marcus knows that, of course he needs a scythe for a weapon! What else could there be?!
'Now I just need to figure out how to work this “Strife deck” th-' His thoughts are cut short as the scythe vanishes, a green card appearing before him with an image of the bladed weapon on it for a few seconds before the card fades. “Okay, cool, that works.”
Pulling out his phone as he runs upstairs he types in the group chat quickly.
Stithis →
Group: I just figured out this weapon thing. Hold the desired, and think “Strife”. It should get put on a card. And thanks for the lowdown Bubbles. I'll respond more later, I only got about seven minutes before I'm a smoking crater, so, laters dudes!
Putting his phone back he snatches up his Pre-punched card and slides over to the lathe. Slipping it in the side he climbs the Cruxtruder and pulls the dowel out of the pipe. The red is really a rather attractive shade and in the back of his mind Marcus wonders if the game somehow knew he would like the color. However, at the forefront of his mind he notes that he has only six minutes left. Hurrying over to the lathe he puts the dowel in, smacking the green light on the side when it lights up. He notes that there are 2 other buttons above the green one while the lathe does it's work. One with && on it, the other with || on it. Shrugging it off for now he snatches up the totem and runs over to his Alchemiter and placed it on the small pedestal.
The large mechanical arm almost smacks him in it's enthusiasm to scan the totem but he manages to duck in time. “Geeze, need a warning sign much?” he murmurs, watching as a green light on the big button on the side lights up. Once more, there are two other buttons, one and up arrow, the other a down arrow, with a little display above it with a 1 on it. He doesn't have time to analyze it right now however and instead smacks the lit button and with a sharp pop, a big red book like thing appears. It opens to reveal it's one of those old fashioned disc holders, the ones where the discs are kept in sleeves. There are many disc and while he's wondering if he has to pick one – worrying greatly if it's possible to pick the
wrong disc, one of the disks pops out all on it's own and the book disappears.
Staring at it for a second he takes a slow shuddering breath before glancing at his Cruxtruder. “Three minutes. . .” His voice is soft, and a little scared. With slightly trembling fingers he pulls out his phone once more and types up a message in the group chat.
Stithis →
Group: Hey guys. I'm about to head in, whatever that means. I'm not sure where things will go from here, but I hope you guys the best of luck. If I don't get to speak to you again for a while, just know I will be doing my best to beat this game and do. . . Whatever it is we're about to do. I thinks it's a good thing. I hope it's a good thing. I'm pretty sure I'll still be able to contact Bubbles, as I'm her host, but nothing is really sure right now, so. . .See you all on the other side!
Putting his phone away he picks up the disc, his hands notably steadier since he got to say his piece to his fellow players. Taking a deep breath he stares at the oversize d disc for a moment longer, the sound of crashing going on outside his house now very audible, and then with a steely look, he snaps the sucker in half like an angry gamer.
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM →
BubblegumcAndi: You can hear a kind of commotion outside. It seems that something is causing a disturbance and you can hear shouts and some screams. Through the window can be seen meteors every so often, falling to earth, but there aren't that many yet, but it is clear people are getting worried.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: He gets a slue of messages while running around the felicity, picking up anything he can get his hands on he thinks will be useful and tasteful in his alchemic endeavors. Many of his classmates have taken one look at his Kernel and fled in fear, but as he really doesn't care at this point about keeping up appearances he ignores them. He's had to run back to his room several times to drop things off, his weak arms making it less than a breeze to carry more than a few pounds of stuff at a time, but in the midst of it all he'd managed to accept the invite to the group chat. As much as he's although to admit it, he will be needing their aid in this endeavor. As the messages all pour in at once however he lets out an exasperated sigh and reads them all carefully.
Not really caring about the updates from the one Baker, and already knowing all about what his host has stated he ignores them for now and instead decides to address the one called Stithis.
Fire Lord →
Group: Thank you for the advice Stithis. This will make the job of retrieving weapons for my arsenal a bit easier.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Baker: Timothy gave a satisfied nod seeing that Stithis got his items. But they were still in a rush. He quickly hopped up, grabbing his phone off the coffee table and adding the Pesterchum there. Now he could be mobile- in regards to moving about to do what was necessary. He didn’t get far though. His host had sent him a message that made his eyes go wide.
Baker →
Skip: No way! It can’t be happening already??! I’m going, I’m going! Get your Host to get your stuff too! We can’t break this cycle!
Now he was in even more of a rush.
Baker →
Stithis: It’s already starting! My host just saw a meteor hit not too far from them! We need to make a move, quick!
First was the Cruxtruder. He hurried down the steps of his apartment floor, barely managing to slip his shoes on. The bottom floor was fortunately his bakery. Fortunately the shop was closed and he didn’t have to worry about anyone coming around, nonetheless he still closed the blinds. It wasn’t hard to spot the contraption behind the counter. He rushed behind it, grabbing a metal rolling pin off a counter. “Skip opened it already. Great.” The colors made him step back and wait. The last thing he needed was to be blind while the world ended around him. When it ended with a flashing blue light, once again he was back in front of it. “Ahhh, what’s next, what’s next…”
The sound of car alarms and the faint quake of the earth told the male that time was ticking. He didn’t even go peek to see how close the meteor had hit. “The vocal thing! Crap…” He didn’t have anything that was vocal. Not even a radio! “Crap, crap, crap…” He paused in his tracks. He had a pet...Well, a stray cat, but he came around all the time. He couldn’t use his Zorro! That was-
Another message.
This time a group message. He paced as he read. “Have to get the sprite thing. Have to make a-” He looked at the card in his pocket. “-a muffin.”
Baker →
Group: On it now! I’m grabbing the vocal thing now. Though it’s so...cruel.
He opened the door to the shop and looked around. “Zorrooo! Oh, Zorrooo?” As if on cue, a one eyed gray cat ran inside, eager to be fed. “Oh you’re such a cute thing. I’m so, so sorry.” He grabbed a small bowl and poured some milk inside. If he was going to do this, Zorro was going to at least be happy. He checked the time. Fifteen minutes. All Timothy could do was whine in frustration and anxiety. At least while he let Zorro drink, he could rush upstairs to make the muffin- which was right across from them. “Almost done...I still have a little time.”
Baker →
Group: How are you guys doing? I’m almost done! There’s still a little time left for me and I’m kind of still on the Sprite part. It seems really cruel. Especially to a living animal…
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: Another message comes in while he's typing and he rolls his eyes. “Yes, we need a moment by moment update on your life choices, how useful. . .” Letting out a sigh James clips his phone back on his belt and heads out for one last item. He saved it for last as he knows he may have to dodge a few teachers in order to get it. Making his way to the cultural center on the other side from the dorms he sneaks slowly inside, making sure that no one is around before slipping in with his rather flashy counterpart.
Once inside he heads right over to the section on Asia and grins up at the impressive samurai blade inside it's glass case. Every lord needs his sword, right? Quickly scoping out his exit he picks up a heavyish statue from a nearby pedestal and with the best swing he can manage smashes the box open. The alarms sound all at once, but by the time the teachers show up he's long gone, the blade safely tucked away in his Strife Deck. Once back in his room he smiles and pulls up his deck and grins at his weapons. He only has two so far, a book on dragons taking up the other card, but he feels satisfied with it. “Now, on to you. . . .” he mutters, looking at his Kernel. With a sigh he moves over to the window, opening it and looking down at the still rather fresh dead bird and shudders.
As he reaches for it however, an idea comes to mind. Pulling scissors and an ace bandage out of his desk he sets them aside before bringing the bird and placing it down next to them. He is rather grossed out, but he wants to test his theory. Very carefully he cuts the bandage so it's not the same width as the bird itself, cutting off a long enough strip to work with before tucking the scissors under the bird's wing and bandaging it all together. As soon as he's satisfied the young man grabs the bird - a little less grossed out now that it's half concealed in bandages – and tosses it into the Kernel. It flashes brightly and he covers his eyes. Once it's done however and he looks back at it he lets out a rather wicked sounding laugh. The head of the hummingbird is now almost as big as the Kernel itself, and the scissors appear to be open and resting like crossbones behind the bird's orange head.
Feeling he must share his triumph James sits down and begins typing up a message for the group chat.
Fire Lord →
Group: I have just discovered the most fascinating thing about the sprites, and I feel I must enlighten you all to my brilliance. I was wondering if the sprite could be weaponized in some way and while I am sure that even without this revelation of mine the sprites would be okay, I think that this makes everything just that much more amazing. By strapping something, say scissors as in my case, to the intended item, in my case a bird, you can put both in and it will count as one prototyping! This means that, with the second one, I can insert a bundle of items and further my sprite's awesomeness. So, if any find this useful, good, if not, at least I've said my piece.
He reads the messages he's missed and smiles as he notes that someone has entered the game already. He doesn't feel bad though, a little put out that he wasn't first, but as he's already got everything he needs, he knows that his entrance is imminent. The faster he can leave this world, the better.
Standing, he makes his way over to the Cruxtruder and climbs carefully up on the base. He still has plenty of time, but he sees no point in staying any longer. He has a nice selection of items, and once the game gets started, he can begin venting his anger on the enemies they are sure to face. Pulling out the dowel he slips down off the device and makes his way over to his desk. With a hum he picks up his Pre-punched card, the image all orange and looking like a ball of some sort. Shrugging he takes both over to the lathe and lets it do it's work. Once the totem is ready he runs through a mental list of all the things he may need for this and with one final nod he decides it's time.
Placing the totem he activates the Alchemiter and waits. When the item appears however he falls back in shock. On the platform has appeared a perfect orange replica of his father, and in his hands is not a ball at all, it's a mirror. A perfectly round mirror. Swallowing hard James stands, glaring at the static figure as his heart tries to jump out of his chest. As he rises however he can see it, his face reflected in the orange crystal like flat surface of the mirror, and with a yell he punches it as hard as he can. The image, and the mirror holding it, shatters, and James is enveloped in a blinding white light.
iFain
Merule