Stage 3: Timed Mission Arc 4.2
I immediately charge her, "Power Strike", and miss as she teleports away again. Fuck, now the grass and other vegetation is on fire. Chela is screaming.
-18 HP [Fire Damage] (6 Resisted)
There goes my shirt again as the flames around us die down and wink out. Chela is still half in the water, I see Burnscar on the opposite bank when several more fireballs get lobbed at us. I rush back over to her and we dive under the water as an unopened portal materializes above us. And what the fuck, is that ? Now's really not the time for that.
The water shields us from the eruption of flame that happens all around us. Our heads are just above the water, even though we're crouched. Several fireballs impact the portal shield and bounce off. I can feel the cold of the water and the heat in the air coming between the gap between the water surface and the bottom of the shield we're hiding under.
<"Can you use her flames against her?">
<"I… tried… her… con… trol... too… strong…"> Chela stutters as she shivers.
<"Do you have to open the portal once you've made one half or can you dismiss this without doing so?"> I gesture to the shield and shout to her. <"Chela, tell me!"> It takes precious seconds to get an answer out of her but she shakes her head no. <"What about underwater? Can you make one underwater if you can see?">
<"I…think…so…">
I get up close and speak into her ear. <"When she stops firebombing us, dismiss this, look immediately and find any spot upstream on the ground that you can see that's beyond the flames, and open one there, take a deep breath and dive back down. Open one underwater close to us but downstream of us. After we're both pushed through with the torrent, close it immediately."> I sure hope 'she thinks so' is accurate. I pull my flashlight out of inventory again, but it might not be needed with enough flames giving light.
We wait for the bombardment to let up. <"Are you ready?"> Chela nods. We take a deep breath and the portal shield above us winks out. Chela stands up and looks, then dives under the water again before me.
-12 HP [Fire Damage] (6 Resisted)
-10 HP [Concussive Damage]
I move too fucking slowly. The portal apparently opened because I'm sucked through along with a massive torrent of water and we wash out onto the ground elsewhere completely drenched with freezing water. A few seconds later Chela manages to close the thing and the torrent stops.
I stand up and rush over to her, she is shaking uncontrollably. I notice despite whatever pyro power she has, the scarf I gave her is burned and the hat is missing. She's either going to burn to death or freeze to death. At least the ground is so thoroughly soaked that Burnscar lighting a fire on it will be difficult. Or might be difficult, her power might not care how wet something is.
I steal a glance at my mini-map. Burnscar and Shatterbird are closest. The Siberian isn't even on my map currently, while Jack, Crawler and Mannequin are clustered together? Where's Bonesaw and her puppets? Running off to the edge? Away from us so that's good, but why? Where did Hatchet Face fall? I can't tell.
<"Come on, get to your feet, we have to keep moving"> I force Chela to stand up and move. I keep an eye on my map, Shatterbird has been consistently tracking us even though portal hops. Is it via the tracking bug or something else?
I Observe Chela again, 'Minor Hypothermia' great, fucking ironic. I minimize the window to keep it handy. She'll need dry clothes if we can get anywhere. I brush off some of the wet dirt and sand stick--- Fuck. "Inventory sand, inventory sand particles" I hug Chela tight and pass my window over the both of us. I don't know if it did anything to get all of what's sticking to her but it should have gotten anything also touching me. She doesn't protest, still shivering.
Chela pushes me down again as more fireballs fly overhead and a nearby tree bursts into flames. We try running but a wall of flame sprouts up in front of us.
<"Look out!"> Chela yells as she dives out of the way, but again I'm not fast enough.
-45 HP [Fire Damage] (6 Resisted)
-21 HP [Concussive Damage]
A fireball clips me on the back and knocks me over separating us.
-10 HP [Fire Damage] (6 Resisted)
We're both on fire but Chela's winks out, her hair and clothes are half burnt off. Fuck I still have flames on me. I roll on the wet ground even though the HP doesn't drop anymore. Then it all winks out again.
"Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!" Burnscar yells from the top of a flaming tree. We're surrounded by fire on all sides in a large ring. As soon as I hear the POIT from nearby I charge at her again, "Power Strike" another miss as she teleports away at the last second. Fuck, all I hit is her empty wall of flame.
-8 HP [Fire Damage] (6 Resisted)
Three more times I try to power strike her and only end up with a burnt up arm.
-7 HP [Fire Damage] (6 Resisted) x3
<"Simon! Punch through the Portal when it opens!"> Chela screams at me, she's standing in the only unburnt patch of ground, as I realize I'm standing in low sputtering flames. So much for the wet ground doing much.
<"Okay!"> I yell back, might as well make it hurt, "Inventory." An unopened portal appears next to me, and I get ready, it opens and I see Burnscar's surprised face inside a wall of flame.
"Power Strike!"
-98 HP, Backstab, Critical Hit!
-25 HP [Corrosive Damage]
-45 HP [Fire Damage] (6 Resisted)
-1 HP [Corrosive Damage] (4 Resisted)
I stab Burnscar right in the face with Bonesaw's poisonous spiderbot. She screams, gurgles and crumples to the ground. Shit my arm and torso are on fire, again. I drop the sizzling, broken bot and retract my arm as the flames suddenly intensify.
-13 [Fire Damage] (6 Resisted)
Fuck! Why am I always on fire? The portal closes, but I can hear Mimi still screaming and gurgling in the fire wall surrounding the 30 something foot radius of no fire zone Chela has somehow managed to create around herself.
-3 [Fire Damage] (8 Resisted)
I move back towards Chela and the fire on me winks out. Suddenly the whole fire wall surrounding us sharply reduces in height, as Burnscar starts screaming…less. She is still inside the middle of a nasty inferno though. I'm not going to wade through that again.
<"Now's the chance for us to move, Chela!"> I yell at her as she's watching Burnscar. <"Chela? Come on, we need to go."> Chela ignores me, and just looks up at the sky and opens a portal over Burnscar's raging pyre. Then she looks to the river. Oh fuck…
<"DROWN YOU BITCH!!"> She screams, and the portal opens. A raging torrent of water falls, dousing the inferno and Burnscar with it, the weight of it driving her into the ground. I grab Chela by the arms and drag her away from the rising tide of freezing water suddenly extinguishing everything and washing up well past our ankles.
****?
"Observe." Fuck Chela is unconscious but her Portal is still open? She has minor hypothermia still, but the timer has improved. I guess she got a little warmer. I drag her away from the morass of washed out ground her localized rainstorm is eroding out of the clearing. At least nothing is on fire anymore. I can't see Burnscar anymore. We were not too far from the riverbank, so the torrent quickly found its way back into the river in seconds.
I glance at my mini-map again, Shatterbird retreated? Was she caught in the torrent, or did it just interfere with her flying or whatever? I'll take what I can get. I make several window passes over myself and Chela to inventory any bits of sand or glass on us just in case. I observe the icon representing the glass bits and the sand in my inventory. The mass of glass hasn't changed, but the sand has gone up, even if minutely. Burnscar isn't a risk anymore. I need to find a place quickly to get Chela warm.
"Fuck!" I scream as I trip in my haste. I shield Chela from my fall. My own scrapes don't get past my resistances. They're too far away to hear that right? There's a building beyond the edge of the woods. It's still far, but I can't keep doing this. If it weren't for Gamer's body I'd have twisted my ankle.
"Status" I'm level 21 now? I've got 15 unspent points, fuck the quest, stop being stupid. +5 STR, +6 AGI, +4 CON, which only nets me an actual +2 because CON is already so high. A notification fires, and I ignore like I've been ignoring all the others.
Oh man, that feels weird. My ruined shirt falls off and, holy shit I'm not a beanpole anymore! I…don't have time to think about that. I lift Chela up with my new found strength and bridal carry her through the trees.
I breach the trees and semi-run up to the building, but it's surrounded by a fence. What the fuck is this place? I put Chela down and pick the padlock on the gate, then carry her further inside. It's a medium sized building; a gravel road leads up to a large metal shed with a roll-up garage door and a small door on the side. Another path leads to a smaller attached building and another door. It's definitely not a residence, no lights on. Banging on the doors get me nothing, fuck. Break in or get Chela warm first?
<"Chela, Chela? Wake up."> She is shivering badly but comes to. She has to get out of her soaked, ruined clothes.
<"Wh…wh…where, ar…are we?"> she asks.
<"I don't know, you need to get warm immediately, you're getting hypothermia."> I answer her as I pull out my chemistry textbook and a lighter and set it ablaze, throwing my discarded ruined clothes on it as well.
Chela recoils and extinguishes the flames with her power. <"The T….t….el….p…por…ter!">
Mimi isn't on the mini-map and hasn't been. I run through my notifications just to make sure.
For performing a repeated action you may gain the 'Damage Resistance (Sonic & Concussive)' skill
Mimi Willow has gone from stranger to annoyance
Mimi Willow has gone from annoyance to enemy
Your Damage Resistance (Fire & Heat) has increased by 1
+275 XP for destroying Bonesaw's Mechanical Spider
+1732 XP, +3 Fire Affinity for assisting in killing Burnscar
You have gained an Achievement: Assisted Parahuman death: Burnscar
You have gained a level! You are now level 21.
Mimi Willow has been removed from your relationship sheet
Quest: 'Get in Shape!' has failed.
You have gained the flaw: 'You still look like a Wuss'
<"She can't, she's dead. It's safe."> I say as I click yes to another damage resistance skill.
Chela throws up as I light the book and clothes back on fire.
<"Did…I…kill…"> Chela manages to stutter out.
<"I stabbed her in the face with Bonesaw's poisoned spider bot, I don't think the river you dropped on her would have changed the final outcome, but it helped. Shit, is your portal still on?"> Chela's eyes widen and she looks in the direction of the forest. <"What is it?">
She just shakes her head. <"P…p…portal's…off">
<"You turned it off? Or it went off on its own?"> I ask as I keep reading my screens. A wuss flaw? Really? Fuck you too then.
<"I…t…turned…it..off">
I glanced at my quest timer, 12 minutes into Burnscar's turn. Will the next one start early or will we get a break? It wasn't the full 12 minutes, but that's a long time to have had the portal open, especially since for some of that she was unconscious. She doesn't need to see them to turn them off either. Chela was still staring vacantly and shaking, looking even paler than a moment ago. <"They're trying to kill us. If you see an opportunity to take them out, do it, don't hesitate. Don't feel bad about it, they're monsters. How did you know where she was going to teleport to anyway?">
<"Th..there's…weird…space...something…ap..appears…b…before…she…arrives…">
Hmm, part of her spatial sense? I dress her into my last set of not-ruined clothes from my inventory. I have to cut the ends of the pant legs off and give her my only belt so she won't trip. At least I have a couple spare pairs of pants left for myself. The shirts got used up as bandages.
<"Get warmed up, but let me know if you sense any of them getting close."> Man, I wish I hadn't sold that sleeping bag with the rest of the crap I pawned. Fuck, could I have used it earlier? Would that have worked? If it did, I didn't have the strength. I wouldn't have been able to run. Also my fault; I should have spent all the points sooner.
I check my map again. Shatterbird is with Crawler, Jack and Mannequin. The Siberian, Bonesaw and her puppets are off the map. Worse case, I have to assume they went to collect Hatchet Face. Since that was the direction Bonesaw was heading towards when I last checked. The Siberian didn't seem to be affected by Hatchet Face when I saw them standing near each other previously, nor did Crawler.
Chela has flared up the meager fire to give off more heat, but it's burning through the fuel faster. I'm not going back into the woods for firewood, and there's nothing significant nearby. I need to get into the buildings and get these trackers out, no I need to contact help.
I pull Fredrico's phone out of my inventory again. Still no fucking signal! Not even any signal after running around the building holding it in the air. Wait, fuck? Can Shatterbird sense the glass and stuff in this thing moving around? I put it back into my inventory, and start picking the side door to the giant metal shed. What the fuck is this place anyway? I pull my lock picks out again, and get into the side door to the giant shed.
I shine both visible and invisible flashlights into the giant metal shed. Large hooks hanging from the ceiling. A big stained apron hangs on the wall near the side door, there's a narrow kind of fence structure with gates in the middle of the room leading to the roller door. Wait, why the fuck am I being dense right now?
"Observe." Oh, you've got to be shitting me…
"Oh, hell no. I mean really can you make this any worse?" I shout to the air, as I step out and close the door.
<"Simon"> Chela says <"It's snowing, and were running out of stuff to burn.">
"Fuck you Murphy!" At least she's not shivering anymore. I start picking the door to the front office. I break in and find a dusty desk and chair, a waste basket, a couple of old metal filing cabinets, and a wall adorned with antlers, and stuffed deer and boar heads. <"Chela, come inside, get out of the snow."> I break apart the chair for firewood, and rummage through the desk and cabinets but find nothing useful except crumbly old papers, they go into the fire we make inside an overturned file cabinet. The wastebasket is wooden, it gets burned too. <"Phone, there's no phone? Why does this place not have a phone?">
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
<"It's getting smokey."> Chela says, keeping near the door.
<"Yeah just get warm then we go. We can't stay, have to keep moving."> I check my map again. Shatterbird and Mannequin have moved, but aren't vectoring on us, yet. <"Sense any new frequencies?"> I asked as I watch a portal pop in over the fire. <"What are you doing?">
<"Getting the smoke out">
<"Will they see it? Or will it let the snow in?">
She shakes her head. <"The other end is under the metal awning by the other part of the building.">
I nod my head. <"Good idea, thinking straight right now is important. You're a lot calmer than I expected you to be. Do you feel any different?"> When Chela triggered Jack got hit with something, he even said something about mistiming something. He asked the others if they were clear, Bonesaw said Burnscar was too close, but she was okay. Shatterbird said she was okay, the others didn't say anything at all. They were expecting this. They were trying to trigger people on purpose. If someone triggers next to other Parahumans something happens. Something sure as fuck happen to me. It's significant enough to make the S9 want to get the hell away from the person who is triggering. Just what the fuck was the light show that was over Chela head when it happened?
<"I'm not, not really.">
<"Care to explain?"> Her Observe window is still up. Mild Hypothermia was rapidly wearing off. Secondary Powers 1, 2 and 3. I know I got hit with something, and given those odd log messages... What did those represent? A notification fires off.
<"No"> Chela says, going sullen again.
Your Parahuman Lore skill has increased by 1
Duh, really? Fine, smack me with the clue-bat, but I don't have time to figure it out right now. I turn away from Chela so she can't see what I'm about to do.
"Inventory" I pull out the parasite corpse that crawled out of Chela's father and camera zoom onto it. "Observe, observe, observe, observe…" It's tinker-tech and it's not entirely biological. Bonesaw doesn't use just organic material. There are copper filaments, quartz crystals, transistors, epoxy, and nylon threads among other crap. Alright, ya little fucker. Can you live without your inorganic parts?
"Inventory Copper filaments, inventory quartz crystals…" Oh fuck its squirming. Were those quartz crystals also letting Shatterbird track me?
"Inventory transistors"
-2 HP
Ha! Take that. "Inventory epoxy…"
-1 HP
-0 HP (1 Resisted)
You trying to bite me you little bastard? "Inventory nylon threads" I continue until everything not 'a living creature' is dimensionally ripped out of the fucker.
-1 HP
Still not dead? I slam the bump on my back hard onto the corner of the desk. Chela jumps at the noise and is now watching me.
-1 HP
+13 XP for killing 'Bonesaw's Tracking Parasite'
Finally, "Inventory Bonesaw's Tracking Parasite"
Invalid Inventory Target
What? Oh fuck you too. "Inventory Corpse of Bonesaw's Tracking Parasite"
-3 HP (12 Resisted)
"Ow damn it; the bastard still had a parting gift." Now how the fuck do I get it out of Chela?
<"What are you doing Simon?">
<"I uh, just venting some of my frustrations">
<"You look different. Why are you not so skinny now?">
<"What? Oh.."> I shrug my shoulders. <"Powers, why can you make portals?"> Chela suddenly stands up, closes the portal and extinguishes the fire. <"What is it?">
<"They're moving, one is moving very fast.">
I glance at my mini-map. Mannequin and Shatterbird are both moving fast toward our position. Mannequin is moving even faster. Did they notice the loss of a tracker bug? <"Shit. Get ready to go."> I glance at the quest timer again, 6 minutes of Burnscar's turn is left. Who goes after? Can't spend time checking my FRAPS logs, it might tell me, wait Shatterbird lost to Mannequin that's why she cursed at him. Is he next? Assume he's next. How do I defeat him? I break the windows and inventory all the glass shards to deny Shatterbird ammo.
They can track Chela, but presumably not me anymore, unless Crawler is around and he's not, for now. They don't know I have a mini-map. First, know your enemy. I pull up the cape database and look at the Observe snapshot I last made of Mannequin.
Huh? 20 HP? 45 Armor!! Oh, holy fuck! SIMURGH'S SONG?
Simon's Character Sheet:
Name: Simon Clarence Anderson
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Race: Human (Parahuman)
Class: Teenage Runaway / Rogue
Faction: None
Money: $5.16
Title: Gentleman Thief
Level: 21 (8.34%)
XP: 40342
Primary Attributes
STR: 16 (-1.00) 15.00 (0.00%)
AGI: 15 (-2.00) 13.00 (0.00%)
CON: 55 (-4.00) 51.00 (0.28%)
INT: 30 (-1.00) 29.00 (0.00%)
PER: 12 (-1.00) 11.00 (31.37%)
WIS: 22 (-1.00) 21.00 (33.07%)
CHA: 14 (+0.00) 14.00 (0.00%)
LUC: 15 (+0.00) 15.00 (74.62%)
Unspent Points: 0
Secondary Attributes
Health Pool: 1061/2442
Stamina Pool: 1435/1435
Mana Pool: 7635/7875
Stress Pool: 451/520
Attack: 16.50
Speed: 2.93
Dodge: 16.26
Armor: 0.40
Carry: 150.00
Allure: 3 (-0.50) 2.5
Status Effects
Teenage Acne: ALU -0.50
Alluring Charm*: ALU +1.00
Fractured Ribs: STR -1.00 AGI -1.50 CON -3.00
Bruised Organs x4: AGI -0.50 CON -1.00
Mild Concussion: INT -1.00 PER -1.00 WIS -1.00
Visage of a Wuss: ALU -1.00
Skills
Max Slots: 61
Free Skill Slots: 19
Artistry: 10 (85.89%)
Athletics: 13 (6.75%)
Basic Academics: 9 (0.00%)
Computers: 10 (11.23%)
Crafting (Stone & Pottery): 10 (5.67%)
Create Mana Golem: 12 (18.03%)
Damage Resistance (Corrosive): 2 (37.07%)
Damage Resistance (Electrical): 3 (24.35%)
Damage Resistance (Fire & Heat): 4 (0.75%)
Damage Resistance (Physical): 6 (45.45%)
Damage Resistance (Sonic & Concussive): 1 (0.00%)
Disable Device: 12 (6.46%)
Disease Resistance: 7 (44.66%)
Disguise: 4 (25.98%)
Drug & Poison Resistance: 20 (18.65%)
Empathy: 13 (2.97%)
Firearms: 1 (0.00%)
Gamer's Body: MAX (0.00%)
Gamer's Interface: MAX (0.00%)
Gamer's Mind: MAX (0.00%)
Language-English: MAX (0.00%)
Language-Spanish: MAX (0.00%)
Mathematics: 4 (0.00%)
Medicine: 3 (4.53%)
Meditation: 12 (48.91%)
Melee Weapons: 4 (31.06%)
Null Resistance: 12 (29.76%)
Observe: 23 (19.77%)
Parahuman Lore: 11 (4.65%)
Power Strike: 10 (8.19%)
Programming: 10 (0.54%)
Psychology: 5 (12.61%)
Science (Biology): 1 (53.22%)
Science (Chemistry): 1 (0.00%)
Science (Earth): 1 (0.00%)
Speech: 11 (0.83%)
Stealth: 12 (87.45%)
Strategy: 5 (45.47%)
Thievery: 11 (12.42%)
Unarmed Combat: 5 (6.20%)
Vehicle Operations: 3 (0.00%)
Video Games: 26 (16.74%)
Unspent Skill Points: 6
Perks
Free Perk Slots: 1
Gaia's Blessing: Mana Pool and Mana Skill access
Gaia's Attunement: Elemental Affinity access
Light Sleeper: Need only 5 hours to get fully rested
Mana Reserve: Bonus MP per level increased by 25%
XP Whore: +10% Level XP
Fast Recovery: x4 HP and Stamina regeneration speed (Free at 50 CON)
Toughness: Bonus HP per level increased by 50%
Flaws
Selective Amnesia: We had to make room for stuff in your head
A Bit of a Troll: Sometimes you just can't help yourself
Unnatural Curiosity: Can't always resist the urge to find stuff out
You still look like a Wuss: Even with a few extra muscles, you still look like a wuss.
Affinities
Earth: 6
Water: 1
Plant: 1
Lightning: 3
Fire: 3
