Troubling Heaven

[Brilliand]

Janem dragged himself to his feet and lunged toward Lance, grabbing an orb in the process. Although hurt, he was still determined to fight off the invaders.

 

[TheCheat1]

Ethian zipped at lightspeed in a circle at lightspeed, grabbing the artifacts before they left Lance's hands. He returned to his former spot and mumbled, "I just hope they don't kill me."

Ethian activated the first artifact and winced as it flashed brightly. "Magic negation for thirty seconds," it said. Ethian slapped his forehead. He was without his powers.

 

[NavyGuy7]

"Urm, well... good thing that Silencer is still there! The bad guy can't use any of his powers, either, right? Speaking of which... where IS he?!?" Lance shouted. "Try another! Quick!"

((I'm assuming one is the rod artifact Brilliand described; see the earlier post))

 

[TheCheat1]

Ethian nodded and activated a second artifact. Although he didn't know it, this was the Curse Tool. A skeptical look appeared on Ethian's face and he tapped his foot. "Is this even good for anything?"

 

[Brilliand]

A horrified expression grew over Janem's face as he falsely assumed that Ethian had activated the Storm Tool. Dropping the artifact he had been carrying, Janem raised he right arm and looked confused.

Gresholm appeared directly behind Janem and scooped up the artifact he had dropped, then whispered something in his ear and vanished.

Janem nodded, then shouted "Anedusip!" Suddenly the walls, floor and ceiling were crawling with small vermin, intent on eating Ethian and Lance.

((That was a command to the computer, not magic, so the Silencer doesn't prevent it. By the way, you may want to shut off the regenerator to some extent immediately, so that Gesholm and Janem don't regenerate. If Lance hacks into the computer system from this room, he can control the whole world.))

 

[NavyGuy7]

"Ugh... I'm afraid that's not it either!!!" Lance exclaimed. "According to what limited knowledge I have of the artifact database, based on the effect it has caused, it's some sort of Curse Tool. It's only good for practical jokes!"
Which meant of course.....
"The last one! The last one has GOT to do something useful! I bet those other two were there only as diversions!"

Lance looked around at all the vermin... they seemed intent upon attacking the other two.... but somehow, he went unnoticed himself.
"What, I'm not even a large enough threat to be attacked by stupid mindless beasts?!?" Lance muttered to himself.
Then he saw it. A computer. An IMPORTANT looking computer.
Lance smirked. He had a feeling he knew what it did. But he would have to hack wirelessly, as when he started, he might have to run around a good deal. And that Silencer might not last long, either. It had been labeled under "temporary" effects.
He gave it another 30 seconds before it fell to the ground.
"Here, Iban, catch! One of these might do something!" Lance shouted, as he tossed both spears to him.
Lance immediately cloaked, and ran to the computer. He began the hack, and before he knew it, he was in. It was surprising really. Perhaps he'd go challenge Tek once more, after this.
The first thing to pop up was something called "regenerator".
"Well, now, we can't have that...." Lance laughed, as he set it to overload. That way it could not be turned on again. It wasn't long before the status on the holo-screen of his wrist-com showed the sabotage coming into play. It was officially disabled now.
He then came across something very familiar. Computer commands.
"Aha! I know what to do..." Lance said. He disabled all computer commands in the room, save for the ones only he would be able to give. He was now in complete control. Assuming Ethian and Iban could handle themselves, those vermin would be unable to be redirected towards him.
"Never underestimate a member of the Martyr Militia...." Lance said, as he continued to wreak havoc within the system.

 

[Brilliand]

Suddenly a computer shattered and Iban burst through the wall, the black spear stuck through his side. He had time to vaporize most of the vermin before Gresholm appeared in the center of the room, stroking his hand across two artifacts. All three artifacts rose into the air, glowing, and Iban vanished in a puff of smoke. The black spear fell to the floor, a malicious black aura around it. The white spear ricocheted off the wall, then vanished and reappeared in Lance's hand.

All motion, even that of Ethian's energy blasts, slowed to a snail's pace. Running in slow motion, Gresholm made his way to the Silencer Orb and rubbed the orb he was holding against it. The Silencer Orb went out and fell into his hand. Gresholm vanished, holding both orbs.

((The Artifacts:
-Orb of Second Death kills anyone who returns to the battle they died in. It remains until deactivated by the Orb of Retrieval.
-Space Equalizer reduces the speed of light to 1 meter per second, which means that everyone moves at about the same speed (Ethian is about 10% faster than the others). Even energy blasts can't go faster than this.
-Gresholm carries Orb of Retrieval, which can deactivate any artifact and return it to the way it was before it was activated.))

 

[NavyGuy7]

"There's gotta be a way to track that guy..." Lance muttered. He was disappointed to learn that he had not shut down the "Regeneration" completely, but was glad that it would become useless within five minutes. He was surprised to see the white spear come back into his hand.
"Guess only I can use it for now, unless I drop it..." he muttered, and seeing one of the bad guys (not Gresholm, unless he reappeared... I'm not sure who is still in the room...), he aimed, and chucked the spear at him.
"Now back to our current program..." he muttered, continuing to sabotage systems.

((What is the system that would control a sort of "self-destruct" mechanism for the entire planet? He won't come across it until much later, I think, but I need to know for that later. AND if there is some way to reveal Gresholm's position.. .well, you know.))

 

[TheCheat1]

((All motion... including sound waves. ))

Ethian tried to move forward, but everything was slower now. This is just great. Ethian began attempting to formulate some sort of strategy to take out Janem, and that annoying Gresholm. But how...?

 

[NavyGuy7]

Lance then had a moment of inspiration.
"If I weren't just some run of the mill Militia man, I would have thought of this five minutes ago..." Lance muttered. He found the Radar program in his wrist-com, and set it to tracking motion. He then colored his allies, Janem, and one remaining dot different colors.
"Yikes! Ethian, Gresholm's behind you!" he shouted. He took his rifle off his back and fired a shot... a normal bullet shot.... at where he would expect Gresholm to be. Ethian was not in the way, and Lance was an expert marksman.

 

[Brilliand]

Janem started toward Ethian, trying to chase him down with the large blue shield. Just as he took his first step forward, the Dove Spear cut through the blue shield, glowing a bright red as it pushed the intense heat aside. It grazed Janem's back, slicing his clothing and leaving a thin trail of blood down his back. Janem dove to the ground in alarm, then looked back just in time to see the Dove Spear. The spear vanished, teleporting back into Lance's hands.

Gresholm cast Wound on Ethian and vanished again. He was gone before the bullet ever reached him.

 

[TheCheat1]

Ethian yelled to Lance, "Throw that thing again... aim better this time!" as he felt the Wound hit him. Ethian grunted and rolled his eyes. This was getting aggravating. "And can we shut this thing off already?!" he said, wishing to go faster than everyone else once again.

((Ethian can get Lance off the planet before it is destroyed, so NavyGuy, use the fast... lever... thingy that Mr. Brilliand was talking about.))

 

[NavyGuy7]

((Fast lever thingy? What???))

"Hey! I'm a good marksman! Just not with such a primitive-looking weapon like a spear!"
Lance could see Ethian wasn't really performing his best.
"Here. Use this orb I found. I thought I could use it, but you need it more. It says it's a 'Reverter' Orb. Means you'll return to normal, no matter what. One use every minute, though!"
Lance threw it to Ethian, then threw the Dove Spear at Janem again, but with more precision.

 

[TheCheat1]

((Read the OOC... ))

Ethian caught the Reverter Orb and turned it on. He smirked as he could now use his powers again. "Alright, Janem, time to give you a little run for your money!" Ethian zipped over to the Dove Spear and grabbed it out of the air. He infused it with energy and sent it flying at Janem's chest, at lightspeed. "You're through!"

 

[NavyGuy7]

((K i'm subscribed to the OOC now. BTW Iban isn't dead, in my opinion. Read the OOC for a more detailed explanation.))
"Alright.... obviously I can't do much damage to the systems... I'm better off just setting this thing on self-destruct..."
Lance began to figure out how to set the self-destruct, now that his hands were free.
"Man.. if I were Tek I could hack through most of this with ease..."

 

[Brilliand]

Janem jumped a bit when time went back to normal, but he didn't have time to respond before the Dove Spear thudded into his chest. He toppled over backward, then lay flat on his back as the Dove Spear teleported back to Ethian and blood gushed out of the hole. Seconds later, Janem's shields vanished, showing that he was dead.

Gresholm appeared next to the Reverter Orb and touched it with the Orb of Retrieval. Motion instantly slowed again, giving him time to grab the orb and take it with him as he vanished once more.

 

[TheCheat1]

Ethian rushed at Gresholm, but too late. He was now slow again. "This is getting frustrating. Let's just get out of here and blow this place to pieces!"

 

[NavyGuy7]

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Lance, as he picked up the black spear. Iban had never used it. He was dead. But Lance would fix that later, by restoring minimal regeneration capabilities, enough for only one person, and he would bump Iban's signature to the top of the regeneration list. He had learned a few things from the computer, as well as from his briefing before he had touched the surface of Hollowstar.
Lance thought of the strange creature named Gresholm. Then he threw it at the dot on his motion tracker that could only have been the invisible foe.
"Death awaits you!"
Lance then went back to executing his regeneration plan. He had only fifteen minutes.

 

[Brilliand]

The black spear vanished as soon as it left Lance's hand. A few seconds later, Ethian and Lance saw Gresholm appear in midair three feet above the ground. Although his face had been white to begin with, the new expression of pain and horror made the white look like a deathly pallor. His body began to disintegrate even before it hit the ground, and when it struck, it shattered into white dust that scattered across the floor. The dust wasn't fine enough to form a cloud, so Ethian and Lance were able to see clearly as the black spear skittered across the floor. More difficult to see was the rod artifact in the midst of his remains - a sad testament to Gresholm's health problems. The rod had given him what little strength he had, maintaining a body that would otherwise have been broken by a light breeze.

 

[NavyGuy7]

"Alright... we haven't got much time, Ethian. Iban is in this database somewhere... I just have to find him. Once I do, I'll kick on the regenerator, get Iban back, then boom! We'll have him back."
Lance didn't know why he cared; the job was done. All he had to do was leave the planet, and his service would be rewarded. But Lance had the feeling Iban had not yet played his full part. He still had things to do, and...
...Lance perked up, smiling. He had found something.
"According to this information, there was a modification made to the original Iban, or something like that. It's difficult enough to decipher, even with the algorithm I have in my wrist-com. Apparently he was given the desire to destroy planets. So... I was thinking if I can salvage Iban's mind...."
Lance heard footsteps.
"Crunch time. Guard the door. And Ethian? Don't try to help me escape. My own ship will come and pick me up. It's hovering just outside that hole in the wall..."
Lance chucked a grenade-like weapon at one of the walls.
"Well... now there's a hole."
Lance hunkered down and began piecing together Iban's genetics with his mind. The damage Lance had done in the systems had scrambled him in the first place, and Lance was sure he wouldn't be able to get everything, though he would be able to get most, especially his recent memories.
"Download, complete. Now uploading gene schematics..." said his wrist-com. It had kept quiet now because Lance had ordered it to, but now that his mission was nearly complete it was perfectly fine.
"Navi, I need you to start the regeneration process up again, but with the genetics I've just uploaded into your memory bank. No other signatures may be regenerated. Do you understand?"
Navi took a little bit to process the information, then replied in its feminine voice.
"I understand, Lance. Initiating regeneration cycle..."
Lance took out his rifle and aimed at the stairs. He took a few headshots when they presented themselves, but left most of the work to Ethian. He could handle it, now that all artifacts were offline.