Stage 3: Timed Mission Arc 4.5
-15 HP [Corrosive Damage] (4 Resisted)
One of my picks right now to start blaring. Remnants of Crawler's Acid and splash-back that I dropped on Shatterbird burn my hand as I backpedal while pulling Chela away from the murder-hobos. <"Portal now or we're going to die."> I tell Chela as she clings to me.
<"You came back for me?"> Chela utters hoarsely.
"Skin deep, eh?" I hear Jack shout over the noise of my song as he stands up, raises his switch-blade, and simultaneously walks backward away from the campfire rapidly. Worse, I can see both the Siberian and Crawler rushing up to the campsite from behind him. Jack's arm moves…
-84 HP, Critical Hit (24 Resisted)
"Ahhhh Fuck!" I scream as I feel pain across my face and eyes. Oh fuck, I can't see, I can't see.
Despite being blinded I see a wash of bright light and feel a wave of heat roll over me. Jack curses loudly, over Crawlers roar and my song. Headcrab attack Jack, switch third person view.
I can see now, Jack's coat is on fire and he's removing it as the Siberian touches him. Jack's camp chair, the RV, and the rest of the camp site around the campfire are aflame, everything except a pocket around Chela and I. The flames rapidly diminish in the snow, as I hear the sound of a Portal opening beside me. I grab Chela and dive through as Crawler barrels through the dying flames.
We roll to the side immediately as Chela gasps in pain. Crawler's in the portal, thrashing his limbs toward us, but we're just out of reach. Acidic spittle flies about, sizzling in the snow. I pick Chela up and move further away. Crawler doesn't follow. Holy shit, he's stuck. He's stuck in the portal, too big to fit through. Only his head, one shoulder and two and a half of his multiple front limbs are through. He pounds at the edges of the portal trying to pull himself out, but the portal isn't budging at all.
-1 HP [Cold Damage]
<"Chela! Close the portal!" Chela? Chela!!"> I yell as I awkwardly view her lying on the ground in the snow through my third person camera. Her eyes are closed. "No, no, no, no…." <"Chela, wake up!">
She's cold to the touch but I can tell that she's still breathing. I summon Shatterbird's big coat from my inventory and wrap her up in it as I wake her. She groggily awakens as I lift her up in my arms. <"Chela, close the portal!"> I shout at her.
She's dazed; her eyes don't focus on me easily. <"Simon, your eyes…"> she says softly when she finally looks at me.
<"CLOSE THE PORTAL!"> I yell again.
<"What?"> She asks and I turn her head toward the portal and Crawler who is still struggling.
<"CLOSE IT!"> I shout again.
<"Trying,"> she says softly as I carry her further away from Crawler's thrashing. She's only ever been able to make one pair of portals at a time so far. If it can't get closed we may be even more fucked. I hear the familiar tinkling sound and turn back to bring where Crawler was into my camera view.
-1 HP [Cold Damage]
There is a steaming mound of flesh in front of where the portal was. A giant pool of hot acidic blood is melting all the snow around it and dissolving the grass and dirt underneath it. Crawler's flesh starts to rapidly decay. <"You cut Crawler in half. You fucking cut Crawler in half!"> I say as I turn to bring Chela into view again. Her eyes are closed; I glance at the notifications on my dislocated HUD. Lots of unread ones, I don't have time. I glance at my mini-map. Fuck Crawler's icon is still present and has started to move toward us. Getting cut in half didn't fucking kill him? Worse, the Siberian's icon is closer. "Power Dash!"
-1 HP [Cold Damage] x5
Still night, still dark, still snowing, Power Dash, keep going, can't stop, Power Dash, don't die Chela, don't die on me. Power Dash, how far have I gone now, how many times? Power Dash, it's not far enough. There's less trees in the campgrounds, less trees up ahead. Power Dash, where is that road at? Power Dash. Trees behind me crashing and falling. Power Dash. Crawler or the Siberian, or both are knocking them down. Power Dash. Chela moans with every jostle. I'm sorry, I can't stop, keep moaning, means you're not dead.
There's water coming up on my mini map. Power Dash. Fuck, go around don't get trapped by the shore. Fuck they're coming can't go that way. Power Dash. Shit it's a peninsula. Power Dash. I've trapped us, nowhere left to run. <"Chela!">
I set her down on the ground next to the water. There's blood on the coat, too much. <"Chela!"> I check her pulse as I turn her head to be in view of the far shore. It's weak.
-1 HP [Cold Damage]
<"Chela wake up! We need a Portal now, to the other side of the lake. Please">
Status <"Come on Chela, portal there now."> No amount of HP will let me live against those two. <"Chela!">
<"Simon?">
I can only dodge and evade. <"Yes, Chela, Portal now, or we die, please."> +8 AGI.
I wait, thunder rolls or was that trees exploding? I look at the mini-map. They're getting closer. Lightning flashes and I see a blue oval appear on the far side of the lake. Oh thank god, the orange portal appears right next to us. I pick Chela up into my arms again as it opens.
I turn to step through and my camera swings around to view behind me. A tree shatters as the Siberian explodes through it. I step through the portal as Crawler leaps over the ruined stump. They both charge toward the shoreline. A wake of devastation trails behind them.
<"Close it! Close it now!">
The portal disappears in a cloud of triangles. Crawler, he's huge, twice as big as before, the size of a large car. He dives into the water, shattering the thin ice and in a few leaps he's fully underwater, severely slowed, but still coming at us. The Siberian leaps across the water, gliding far and then landing. What the hell, did she land on the surface of the water itself or was that ice? Tiger-Not-Jesus jumps again, repeating the process. I turn and run, again. Power Dash.
-1 HP [Cold Damage]
Power Dash. Over and over, I keep running, toward a tall structure. I view it above the treetops whenever lightning flashes and soon its outline appears on my mini-map. It's some kind of tower. We're in a clearing now. Chela has stopped moaning, her eyes are closed again.
<"Chela?"> Observe.
Death imminent? No, no, come on. I have to find something. <"Chela look there, when the lightning flashes there is a building, a tower. Maybe it has something to help."> Her eyes follow to where I am pointing. I don't have anything in my inventory to treat the wounds. What I had was all used up. There's the oxy, it could be painless. Fuck no, I…
-1 HP [Cold Damage]
I hear a loud snapping noise and reflexively summon Julia's gun to my hand from inventory. I spin around toward the sound and point the gun. What am I doing? This is stupid, it doesn't even have ammo, fuck...
The Siberian is right there. I point the gun at her and she just smirks at it and walks forward. Well, we're fucked. My music starts. She stops walking and listens? What the fuck can I do? I lower the gun and raise my other hand up in a stopping motion as if that will do anything. Her eyes widen with some kind of recognition as the lyrics play out and her face turns to a snarl. "I read a thing about you. You just bite and---"
The Siberian is on me in flash, and she grabs my outstretched hand. Inventory the Siberian.
-84 HP (0 Resisted)
"AHHHHHH!" She crushes my wrist and shoves my hand in her mouth. She's still there? Dump it all…
-80 HP (0 Resisted)
I'm still screaming and barely have time to curl some of my fingers away before she bites two of them off. Something pushes us apart, forcing her hand, my hand and its bloody stumps, away from her mouth. I yank my hand back with all my might, feeling the bones in my hand break as I rip it out of her grasp.
-66 HP (0 Resisted)
"Ahhhhhh! Fuck, fuck, fuck…what the hell?" Despite the wracking pain, I immediately bite my lip to shut up. What the fuck just happened? The Siberian is standing there; weird misshapen lumps of stuff are intersecting her head and upper torso. She raises her arms to poke and touch at the, semi-phased in textbooks, roller backpack, chunks of glass spear, pill bottles…
I did that. I dumped it all, everything in my inventory right as she bit my fucking fingers off. Avatar should have prevented that, what the fuck? I don't know what else to do. She can't see? Julia's gun is in my other hand, I inventory it. I didn't need to subvocalize? When have I not needed to do that?
Not everything is intersected with the Siberian. I tap the Brain Wave analyzer that has fallen to the ground with my foot and inventory it. I don't want Bonesaw to get that back. The stupid spider-bot is on the ground too and attacks my foot. I inventory it too. Fuck everything else; get the hell away from the vorpal-kitty while she's what, stunned?
I turn around and Power Dash back to Chela as the Siberian swipes around in the air. She seems seriously off balance. There's an open portal next to Chela's prone form; she did it. I pick her up and step though onto the high, narrow balcony of a tower on a hill rising above the surrounding forest.
-4 HP [Cold Damage]
<"We're through, Chela, close the Portal. Chela! Close it!">
The portal finally closes, but the wind up here is fierce. The door to the inside of the tower is locked. "Observe."
I move to pick the lock, but I have no tools. All that's left in my inventory is Julia's gun, the tinker thing and the damn Spider-Bot. Fuck it; she's dying.
-4 HP [Cold Damage]
Power Strike, Power Strike. I kick the rotten door in and carry Chela inside. I lay her down on a dusty counter that lines the windows. At least we're out of the wind. A flash of lighting outside shows there's a far view despite the storm. Maybe being inside the tallest structure around isn't good in a lightning storm.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
No time, what's here? Medical supplies please? Ratty Army Cot, Some map thing on a circular table, crumbly boxes, old musty sleeping bag, old cans with faded labels, flashlight which doesn't fucking work. I drop the flashlight as the entire tower suddenly shakes. Was that a lightning strike? No, it wasn't a loud enough boom or bright enough flash. I glance at my mini-map. Fuck, it's Crawler.
I inventory everything I can touch, as the tower starts to lean. I rush over to Chela when she starts to slide down the counter, to stop her from falling. A portal opens up again, and a massive gust of cold wind and snow pours into the tiny room. I see trees, a rock face and snow drifts on the other side.
<"Simon… leave me... they're… tracking… save yourself."> Chela says as she stares blankly out the window. A flash of lightning illuminates a distant mountain top.
"No." I say as I pick her up and the tower shakes again. It leans even further but the portal is fixed in place so it doesn't move. Power Dash; I run up the slanting floor as it starts to give way and leap through the portal to land in a snowbank. I hear the smashing of wood and look through the portal as the tower collapses around it on the other side, leaving the other end of the portal hanging in midair.
I glance at my mini-map. The nine are all off map. Chela is unconscious. No, you're not going die after living through all of that. I summon the musty sleeping bag from my inventory and hastily wrap it around her cold form and zip it up. Please let this work.
Inventory Sleeping Bag; as soon as Chela and the bag disappear into my pocket dimension the portal shatters and closes. I'm left kneeling alone on a mountaintop, in the freezing snow, wearing nothing but ripped up pants and soiled underwear. My wrist is crushed; my hand's a mangled mess. I'm missing two fucking fingers and they're bleeding all over me. Avatar didn't do what it was supposed to do! There's a pile of notifications pulsing at me. I don't fucking care, despite the cold I lay down and rest.
-6 HP [Cold Damage]
"I'm done. I'm so fucking done with this. Why me? Why the hell am I getting put through this? Are you really some agent, some passenger? Like what Bonesaw believes? Yeah? Then fuck you! Fucking Answer me!"
My music starts but there are no members of the nine anywhere near. Cute, very funny you fucking troll. Is that my own theme song or something?
****?
You are suffering from the status effect 'Cold'
+1595 XP, +1 Earth Affinity, +1 Air Affinity for killing Shatterbird
You have gained an Achievement: Parahuman death: Shatterbird
You have gained a level! You are now level 22.
Balluri Ababil has been removed from your relationship sheet
+4400 XP 'Monster Hunter' quest completed.
You have earned a new title: Novice Monster Hunter
You have gained a level! You are now level 23
Chela Sanchez has gone from acquaintance to friend
Charisma 'Skill' challenge, 3 of 10 friends achieved
You are suffering from the status effect 'Injured eyeball'
You are suffering from the status effect 'Injured eyeball'
You are suffering from the status effect 'Blinded'
Headcrab has been destroyed
Your Power Dash skill has increased by 1
Cannot Inventory Dimensional Matter
Avatar state has been violated
You are suffering from the status effect 'Crushed wrist'
You are suffering from the status effect 'Severed finger'
You are suffering from the status effect 'Partially-severed finger'
You are suffering from the status effect 'Broken hand'
You are suffering from the status effect 'Bleeding'
+33 XP for defeating Bonesaw's Mechanical Spider
-6 HP [Cold Damage] x3
I clear out my notifications from under the shelter of a rock overhang that's mostly out of the wind and wait. I'm done running for now, they'll either find me or they won't. There's no notification saying Crawler or the Siberian was defeated. No notifications saying Chela was removed from my sheet, but the people saved status on my quest still has one pending.
I go through the supplies I got from the fire tower, while I stare at my mini map in case they make an appearance again. There are some bandages I use on my hand. There's some salt and a couple tins of crackers. I eat them; they taste like sawdust, but give me some HP. There are three cans of food, labels faded beyond recognition, but that's what Observe is for.
Botulism? Yeah, fuck no. I put the cans back into my inventory. Last item is a long metal handled flashlight which doesn't work, but will make a good club. Nothing to do now but try and meditate until the storm is gone.
****?
The status effect 'Bleeding' has been downgraded to 'Minor bleeding'
+660 XP, Quest Timed Missions Suck, 6 of 8 members evaded.
Crawler's turn expires. The Siberian's turn starts, or was it Bonesaw's? Probably vorpal kitty's, or maybe I got Crawler's and hers mixed up. It doesn't matter.
-6 HP [Cold Damage]
For performing a repeated action you may gain the 'Damage Resistance (Ice & Cold)' skill.
Yes.
-4 HP [Cold Damage] (2 Resisted) x38
Your Damage Resistance (Ice & Cold) skill has increased by 1
-2 HP [Cold Damage] (4 Resisted) x21
+660 XP, Quest Timed Missions Suck, 7 of 8 members evaded.
Vorpal Kitty's turn comes and goes and there's still no sign of the nine appearing on my map. I'll rest easier in thirty more minutes. I continue meditating, shivering in the snow. I have enough HP to ride the storm out, if the cold damage doesn't worsen, I'll just skill up and resist more.
****?
You are suffering from the status effect 'Infected Wound'
You are no longer suffering from the status effect 'Minor bleeding'
Well that sucks, but at least the bleeding has stopped.
-2 HP [Cold Damage] (4 Resisted) x60
+660 XP, Quest 'Timed Missions Suck' completed, 8 of 8 members evaded.
Quest 'Now Recruiting, Part One' has failed
You have gained the 'Wanted by the S9' flaw
+11000 XP, Quest 'This random encounter is OP!' completed
You have gained a level! You are now level 24
You have gained a level! You are now level 25
Oh thank god it's over. Well, not completely. I'm lost somewhere in the Appalachians in winter with no supplies, or clothes, and badly injured. Without powers I'd have frozen to death already. Status Effects
I look at my mangled hand as I review my injuries again. Fuck, missing my pinkie finger, half my ring finger and the very tip of my middle finger. Middle finger isn't listed though, only skin deep? Wrist is crushed, hand is broken. Only my missing fingers and crushed wrist show up as permanent status effects.
At least my injured eyeballs have short timers on them. Why? The injuries I got from Hatchet face when Avatar wasn't working are still there and on long timers. Avatar state got violated when the Siberian attacked me, otherwise nothing should have gotten amputated. I'm lucky I still have a hand at all. When Jack cut my eyes Avatar state was fully functioning.
I don't want to be a fucking crippled again but I can barely use my hand, and the pain is pretty tremendous. Wish I still had that Oxy. I need to get back up to max HP and see how that helps me. The storm is finally winding down, guess I should finally attempt to build a fire when it stops, that'll be difficult. Then I have to figure out where I am and find civilization again.
Simon's Character Sheet:
Name: Simon Clarence Anderson
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Race: Human (Parahuman)
Class: Teenage Runaway / Rogue
Faction: None
Money: $0.00
Title: Gentleman Thief
Level: 25 (89.06%)
XP: 61964
Primary Attributes
STR: 16 (-2.50) 13.50 (0.00%)
AGI: 23 (-2.75) 20.25 (0.00%)
CON: 55 (-4.03) 50.97 (88.26%)
INT: 30 (-1.00) 29.00 (0.00%)
PER: 12 (-9.00) 3.00 (32.48%)
WIS: 22 (-1.00) 21.00 (34.24%)
CHA: 14 (+0.00) 14.00 (0.00%)
LUC: 15 (+0.00) 15.00 (76.05%)
Unspent Points: 8
Secondary Attributes
Health Pool: 696/2772
Stamina Pool: 1677/1755
Mana Pool: 8983/9375
Stress Pool: 451/520
Attack: 19.63
Speed: 3.18
Dodge: 15.97
Armor: 0.40
Carry: 137.50
Allure: 3 (-2.00) 1
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
Injured eyeball x2: PER -8.00 ALU -1.00
Severed finger: STR -0.15 CON -0.02 ALU -0.13
Partially-severed finger: STR -0.10 CON -0.01 ALU -0.13
Crushed Wrist: STR -1.00 AGI -0.50 ALU -0.25
Broken Hand: STR -0.25 AGI -0.25
Infected Wound:
Visage of a Wuss: ALU -1.00
Skills
Max Slots: 65
Free Skill Slots: 21
Artistry: 10 (85.89%)
Athletics: 13 (8.30%)
Basic Academics: 9 (0.00%)
Computers: 10 (11.23%)
Crafting (Stone & Pottery): 10 (5.67%)
Create Mana Golem: 12 (22.50%)
Damage Resistance (Corrosive): 2 (43.31%)
Damage Resistance (Electrical): 3 (24.35%)
Damage Resistance (Fire & Heat): 4 (0.75%)
Damage Resistance (Ice & Cold): 2 (69.81%)
Damage Resistance (Physical): 12 (35.72%)
Damage Resistance (Sonic & Concussive): 1 (0.00%)
Disable Device: 12 (7.45%)
Disease Resistance: 7 (48.65%)
Disguise: 4 (25.98%)
Drug & Poison Resistance: 20 (18.65%)
Empathy: 13 (8.15%)
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 (7.85%)
Meditation: 12 (53.26%)
Melee Weapons: 4 (31.96%)
Null Resistance: 12 (29.76%)
Observe: 23 (20.27%)
Parahuman Lore: 11 (4.65%)
Power Dash: 2 (46.97%)
Power Strike: 10 (8.74%)
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 (1.25%)
Stealth: 13 (3.25%)
Strategy: 6 (10.35%)
Thievery: 11 (19.80%)
Unarmed Combat: 5 (11.10%)
Vehicle Operations: 3 (0.00%)
Video Games: 26 (16.74%)
Unspent Skill Points: 0
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%
Quick Items: Retrieve and place items in inventory instantly w/out using the window
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.
Wanted by the S9: You think they'd forget? Git gud, skrub
Affinities
Earth: 7
Water: 1
Plant: 1
Lightning: 3
Fire: 3
Air: 1
