With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

NightmareWarden · Jul 23, 2022

No lingering red, no yellow for her neighbors or abstract things, no green for her duties, no blue from seeing technology, no indigo for her fellow captives, and no violet for her family… I'm reminded of Jade. She has some inner strength. This Tears woman is mildly interesting.

And I guess that bit if orange confirms that Krono!Paul used some of his limited orange charge to upgrade his body like Paragon!Paul did.

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 23, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
July 27th, the Year of Our Lord 2282
Early Morning

As the Vertical Bird rotates its wings and rises back into the air, Tears-In-The-Rain clutches her right hand onto her shawl to stop it blowing off her head. Rather than pay attention to the Ammonites or Canaanites raising a shout in the town of New Canaan she instead focuses her attention on the rear… Compartment? Where Warband Leader Goris is waving farewell.

Huh, a side-trip in the 'Fallout: Old World Blues' universe? And not a Krono-focused moment? What madness is this? Though that name... Ah, yes, one of the unlucky contestants in that dating program organised by the crazy robot Doki Doki... And going by the threadmark, this is after the whole thing played out...

Chief Krono bade her farewell in Denver City, since his business with the other Chiefs would require him to remain there for more time. This was the earliest they could guarantee her safety in returning her home, and if she strained her ears she could dimly hear the sound of the flying machines of the Shi tribe far over head. He did not want to take a risk because it was known that the Ouroboros tribe has their own flying machines; more primitive than what his tribe-alliance could command but easily capable of harming a Vertical Bird.

Benefit of having one of the most advanced tech caches in the Wasteland of southeast America.

She stood there, ignoring the closer shouts now calling her name.

The great machine-demon named Argos stealing her away from her people had been terrifying. She can admit that. Stealing women to wife was not unknown amongst the White Legs. Sometimes, it even produced happy marriages, though she had long ago decided for herself that anyone trying to steal her had best hope that their manhood was proof against knives.

And thankfully, those whose manhood is proof against knives, like Super Mutants or Robots, aren't interested in stealing women.

She did not think that Argos had a manhood. And if he did, it was probably proof against knives. Still, she would have tried.

A giant machine-demon stealing away women from many tribes sounded like something from a bawdy tail told by drunken virgins. A giant machine-demon stealing women for a smaller machine-demon with many bodies who thought that it was a matchmaker…

And there's Doki Doki. Good to see most people in the Wasteland think it's crazy too.

"Rain!"

Now, she turns away from the distant flying machine. Smiling, she extends her arms to catch her delighted sister Dancing-Upon-The-Graves-Of-Her-Foes as the girl threw herself into her arms.

Wow, there's a story behind that name, I bet. Probably a bloody and violent one.

"Did the metal monster take you to hell? Did you kill all the demons?"

"No." She has a better idea of what the metal creatures truly are now, though she does not think that she will ever think of them in that way. "It was just a big machine, not a demon. And where it took me, the people did not let me kill anyone."

Pity, it probably would have been great for stress relief.

The small but very powerful gun given to her by Krono weighs heavily in both her mind and satchel. Far more advanced than anything that New Canaan can make, comparable in her experience only to the strange demonically-named weapons of the steam-worshippers to the north.

She sets her adopted sister back on the ground, prompting her to grab Tears' left hand and pull her in the direction of New Canaan.

Heh. A nice little bonus prize won in the contest, I see. Hopefully with plenty of spare charge packs.

"C'mon! Father wants to know what happened to you right away!"

Yes… Her father. Who was a war leader of great power, about to hear from his eldest daughter about the people who stole her away from his house. The religion of the New Canaanites was something that he had not fully accepted into his soul as he had accepted it into his head. Tears was… Worried, about how he might react.

I'm guessing if she puts it badly, 'roaring rampage of revenge' won't be nearly sufficient a term for his anger.

The lands around New Canaan was well farmed, with water running in irrigation channels from the rivers and the water towers which collected it during the rainy months. And its people were industrious and God…

She frowns. Was it 'God-loving' or 'God-fearing'? 'Loving' would seem to make more sense, but she's sure that she remembers hearing the other as well.

Yeah, folks seem to flip-flop on that. Usually it's 'whatever will get these people to play along'.

Hard at work, then. Hard at work even this early in the morning. Some of them she half-recognises, warriors of the White Legs who have beaten their spears into pruning hooks so they may learn a new way of life as Ammonites. Apparently, that was something that God liked. Probably because spears were poor weapons compared to guns but He did not want them to waste metal.

I'm guessing former members of Ceaser's Legion, or some such?

Inside the town it was much the same. Many people that she recognised, few that she knew. Her friend would be busy with their work or their children. Her mother would be learning the medicines of the Canaanites, and unless her father 'had need' of them then her mother's sister-wives would be elsewhere as well. Her father would be in the Great Hall or in the Canaanite Temple, but Dancing was leading her towards the hall. There would also be Daniel, the priest of New Canaan who stood outside of the city when the White Legs came and tried to persuade her father to stop his attack. Her father laughed, then threatened, the argued, and never once did Daniel raise his voice or his hands. He was a good and patient mans and she had thought about marrying him, but…

You've found someone far more interesting, I bet.

That… Did not seem quite so appealing now.

"Father!"

Oh, yes. Things seem different once you get a taste of the world beyond your borders, huh?

Dancing ran ahead with no regard for propriety, pushing open doors as she searched for their father. Tears took a moment to order her thoughts, and a second moment to pray to God for guidance. What had happened to her was so outside the experience of any of the Ammonites, and while her father was patient even he had limits.

"Father, a flying machine brought Tears back!"

Yes, I suspect this will need to be very carefully worded...

And so she walked towards her father.

As she approached the chamber used for the meetings of the leaders of the tribe, elders of the Ammonites and New Canaanites began leaving. Ammonites smiled and told her that it was good that she was back, and Canaanites made the sign of the cross and thanked God for her return. And when they saw that, the Ammonites crossed themselves as well. Learning to serve a new God would take more time, but none of them refused. That was a good sign.

Good to see all the folks getting along.

And then her father, Balm-Upon-Wounds, his war helm on a shelf behind him to show that he had put war aside. And Daniel, smiling in joy at her return.

Father was not smiling.

And when a First Nations fellow frowns, he puts his whole face into it, huh? I suspect a sharp rock would seem friendlier right now.

"Tears-In-The-Rain, my daughter. So. You are a married woman."

She didn't understand. Why would he think-?

Oh, crap. They saw the show, didn't they? She is never going to live it down, is she?

Daniel looks awkward. "They broadcast it. The… 'The Wasteland's Most Eligible Batchelor'. We've still got a few working televisions here, and a couple of them picket it up."

Tears' face goes red, and her hands rise to cover it.

Yep, you're a local celebrity now, girl. Enjoy.

Father is still not smiling.

"He is a chief, and it was pleasing to see you triumph over the other women the machine-matchmaker brought. He seemed strong of body. Is he with you? I would… Speak to him."

Presumably while cleaning a shotgun or using a shovel for gestural emphasis, hmm?

"No… We are not married."

"No?" Her father shifts in his seat, right hand making a fist where it lays on the table. "He did not marry you?" His eyes narrow. "Daughter, did he..?"

"Was he a eunuch? Because if he was not, he will be when I am done..."

"No! He took-. He did not lay a hand on me. He said that it would be improper to marry me without first meeting you and my mother and seeking your blessing."

Her father breaths easily once more, his fist relaxing.

Well, guess he's happy that Krono is such an old-fashioned gentleman.

"And that the matchmaker-machine did not have permission to arrange a match anyway. It did so because it is mad, and does not know how to do anything else."

"They did not hurt you?"

And if they did, he'd probably have all the People on the warpath by the next morning, hmm? Canaanite teachings bedamned, you do not hurt his little girl.

The strange… Rope that the big machine used to steal her had left a mark for several days, but it had not hurt that badly.

"Be at ease, father. They did not hurt me. But… You remember the tale Gregor Grey-Skin told you when he joined our tribe, about the Master of all Super Mutants?" Her father nods. Bands of mutants joined the White Legs after their Master died, and the tales they told were almost all that the White Legs knew of the west. "A Super Mutant tribe to the far east tried to…" She is not stupid, but she had not had a great education. Krono used words, but… "Make an heir to it. They created a great monster, and Krono brought together many tribes to fight it."

A roughly accurate summary of that plotline, which we sadly missed out on...

"Were they large tribes?"

How can she explain it? The warbands of Colorado alone were more than what the White Legs and New Canaan had together at the height of the war, and were machines rather than normal men and women. When she saw the far larger force that joined them from the south, she could scarcely understand how there could be so many people in the world. And then they were joined by an even greater host from the east.

Yeah, you can be surprised by how large an army can get when everyone's joining in.

"Yes, father. Extremely large."

"They hold him in such regard?" She nods. "Is he their Chief-of-Chiefs?"

I mean, they probably offered, but Krono being a Paul...

Tears shakes her head. "No. He said that he is their negotiator. Their peace-maker and their shaman. He rules only a tribe smaller than the Sorrows, but their allies respect his wisdom."

Her father nods slowly.

A wise man does not seek to become a leader, for those who want power the most are usually the least suited to it.

"Do you wish to marry him?"

Does she? He was clearly a good leader. The members of his tribe that she saw were well armed, and all treated him with respect. He was patient and calm with his followers. Even when they were stealing women for him, so maybe that was not always good. His face was nothing special, but His body was strong-.

Oh, my.[/takei]

She found herself blushing again.

"I see that you do. I think then that it is time that the Ammonites got to know our neighbour to the west."

Heh. Now that's a good father. Protective, but when his little girl wants something, or someone, he'll make sure she gets it, by gum!

Well, this was quite the surprise. Quite the swerve in tone and pacing from the end of last chapter, but I expect Alan will be drilling for a while to reach the bad guys, so it's not like we need to see that. And boy-howdy, is Krono going to be in for a surprise when he gets back from Ohio, huh? Let's hope we get to see that meeting, when the time comes.

DAT_NOOB · Jul 23, 2022

Damn... I kinda wish we got to see the game show.

Duke Long · Jul 23, 2022

NightmareWarden said:
And I guess that bit if orange confirms that Krono!Paul used some of his limited orange charge to upgrade his body like Paragon!Paul did.

He might have, but more importantly he turned himself into a perfected Super Mutant.

Mr Zoat said:
bawdy tail told by drunken virgins.

'tale'

Always pleasant to see a bit of Fallout. These are some of my favourite offshoots, probably because I actually have some knowledge of Fallout, unlike most of the other settings.

Mr Zoat · Jul 23, 2022

Darko said:
"land around"

No, that's correct.

"man"
"picked"
"his body"

Thank you, corrected.

"broadcasted it"

Not usually.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Wow, there's a story behind that name, I bet. Probably a bloody and violent one.

Surprisingly, no. She's an in-game character. Two wives of a warrior were fighting over who's daughter she was. They did the wisdom of Solomon thing, but Salt-Upon-Wounds decided that the callousness the actual mother showed to her sister-wife's pain after the death of her actual daughter meant that the actual mother was unfit, and adopted the girl himself.

I'm guessing former members of Ceaser's Legion, or some such?

No. While in canon the White Legs allied to Caesar's Legion, in this they converted to Mormonism. They don't have much to do with the Legion.

Duke Long said:
He might have, but more importantly he turned himself into a perfected Super Mutant.

No, a Super Mutant is one of the things you can get when it goes wrong.

'tale'.

Thank you, corrected.

Sojiko · Jul 23, 2022

So, was that a reality TV show that she won? Sounds very much like the sort of wackiness of Fallout games.

Mr Zoat said:
. Her father laughed, then threatened, the argued

I think that should be "then"

Stsword · Jul 23, 2022

Sojiko said:
So, was that a reality TV show that she won? Sounds very much like the sort of wackiness of Fallout games.

A giant robot showing up with a bunch of kidnapped people to play "Who wants to marry Krona?" was shown in previous side adventures.

Mr Zoat · Jul 23, 2022

Sojiko said:
So, was that a reality TV show that she won? Sounds very much like the sort of wackiness of Fallout games.

See here.

I think that should be "then"

Thank you, corrected.

AR760 · Jul 23, 2022

Darko said:
Probably a lot of them since they've fought it before and have i for on it.

And I think he's obligated to tell them of such a big danger.

In this setting it only happens if a person hears the Equation.

Them knowing about the Anti-Life Equation doesn't affect them, only hearing it does and that's from a person that has it.

Yes, it is better.

But it would have been better if Quinn had help to understand it and fight.

Help from places or people like Atlantis, Mist etc.

All if these people have a lot of resources and experience that Quinn may lack.

No, it hasn't.

See above.

And that's most likely not the case here since two League members, Alan and Balewa, don't know about it.

Have they fought Anti-Life before though? Remember, this is Young Justice, and even in the setting Darkseid has yet to have ever really found or used the full Anti-Life equation.

Fighting Apocalypse fundamentally is not the same thing as fighting Anti-Life, and the number of beings on Earth, especially mortal ones who have any experience with Anti-Life, let alone knows about it can probably be counted on one's hands, with fingers left over.

Also, someone knowing about the Anti-Life equation, if it doesn't make them a memetic hazard, which I'm still not sure about still puts them in danger from attracting the wrong kind of attention, and moreover runs the risk of them finding out more.

Anti-Life in DC is the kind of existential, cosmological threat the League and company rarely ever fight, let alone in its entirety.

Why would Atlantis even be a decent study partner in this? I mean, seriously, the risks of them diving in and getting contaminated, especially since they are not Lords of Order tier beings with the kind of power and experience and skills that Quinn and the likes of those being having is immense.

Having Atlantis study this seems to be the very definition of a bad idea. Moreover, Balewa hid away from civilization for decades, and Fate has no reason to trust him from what we've seen.

Fate's been around a long time, and it doesn't seem from what we've read in passing that they've had a lot of interaction. So jumping into telling Balewa about Anti-Life if they are only just getting acquainted seems like a bit of a jump to me.

Bud-E · Jul 23, 2022

AR760 said:
Have they fought Anti-Life before though? Remember, this is Young Justice, and even in the setting Darkseid has yet to have ever really found or used the full Anti-Life equation.

Fighting Apocalypse fundamentally is not the same thing as fighting Anti-Life, and the number of beings on Earth, especially mortal ones who have any experience with Anti-Life, let alone knows about it can probably be counted on one's hands, with fingers left over.

Also, someone knowing about the Anti-Life equation, if it doesn't make them a memetic hazard, which I'm still not sure about still puts them in danger from attracting the wrong kind of attention, and moreover runs the risk of them finding out more.

Anti-Life in DC is the kind of existential, cosmological threat the League and company rarely ever fight, let alone in its entirety.

Why would Atlantis even be a decent study partner in this? I mean, seriously, the risks of them diving in and getting contaminated, especially since they are not Lords of Order tier beings with the kind of power and experience and skills that Quinn and the likes of those being having is immense.

Having Atlantis study this seems to be the very definition of a bad idea. Moreover, Balewa hid away from civilization for decades, and Fate has no reason to trust him from what we've seen.

Fate's been around a long time, and it doesn't seem from what we've read in passing that they've had a lot of interaction. So jumping into telling Balewa about Anti-Life if they are only just getting acquainted seems like a bit of a jump to me.

In this story, they fought Anti-Life before when they rescued Amon and Quinn himself isn't a Lord of Order he just gets a boost in power using Fate's old helmet so if he's qualified to study it Atlantis the premier magic researchers on Earth should be able too as well. And Dr. Mist and Quinn have worked together on several occasions along with the rest of the League's magic users. Also Quinn is not Nabu he has nowhere near the life experience nor the magical knowledge he had and if we're going with the Quinn is a golem made by Constantine theory he's only a few years old at most him interacting with Anti-Life with so little life experience could seriously mess him up.

Darko · Jul 24, 2022

AR760 said:
Have they fought Anti-Life before though

Yes, they have.

The Leagye fought it when they rescued Amon and Alan and Paul fought a cult that used it.

AR760 said:
Remember, this is Young Justice, and even in the setting Darkseid has yet to have ever really found or used the full Anti-Life equation.

True, but he has still found and used pieces of it.

AR760 said:
Also, someone knowing about the Anti-Life equation, if it doesn't make them a memetic hazard, which I'm still not sure about still puts them in danger from attracting the wrong kind of attention, and moreover runs the risk of them finding out more

Not in this story.

AR760 said:
Why would Atlantis even be a decent study partner in this

Because they have thousands of years worth of magical knowledge, the most advanced magic tools on the planet, highly trained magic users etc.

AR760 said:
I mean, seriously, the risks of them diving in and getting contaminated, especially since they are not Lords of Order tier beings with the kind of power and experience and skills that Quinn and the likes of those being having is immense

Quinn just uses an Order artifact, but is not himself a Lord.

He's also like a year old, so his experience is probably not that great.

AR760 said:
. Moreover, Balewa hid away from civilization for decades

And he's still a massively powerful, skilled and knowledgeable magician.

AR760 said:
and Fate has no reason to trust him from what we've seen.

Except for the fact that Balewa seems to be dedicated to protecting people from magic threats.

AR760 said:
Fate's been around a long time

No, Nabu's been around for a long time.

Quinn is around a year old.

Bud-E said:
In this story, they fought Anti-Life before when they rescued Amon and Quinn himself isn't a Lord of Order he just gets a boost in power using Fate's old helmet so if he's qualified to study it Atlantis the premier magic researchers on Earth should be able too as well. And Dr. Mist and Quinn have worked together on several occasions along with the rest of the League's magic users. Also Quinn is not Nabu he has nowhere near the life experience nor the magical knowledge he had and if we're going with the Quinn is a golem made by Constantine theory he's only a few years old at most him interacting with Anti-Life with so little life experience could seriously mess him up.

Thank you.

Mr Zoat · Jul 24, 2022

September 6th, the Year of Our Lord 2282
Early Evening

Father looks pensive as their convoy files into the building which the Sky Walkers have set aside for their use. Father has been looking pensive a great deal, of late.

"Daughter, I do not mean to call you a liar, but every member of the Sky Walkers tribe we have spoken to has named you their chief's wife. Is there something that you have not told me?"

Tears is a little annoyed to find herself blushing again.

The journey through the old White Legs territory was a stark reminder of how far their tribe had come. From roving hunters to farmers. From living in tents of hide to living in buildings of brick and stone. In truth, Tears had not recognised the site of their former main camp until her father pointed it out, so little was there to mark it as a place of significance. Some people still lived in the ruins of the town of Lincoln, operating its foundries and hunting the lands around for meat, but it was a tiny fraction of the numbers who once dwelt there.

And in the lands they had conquered between Lincoln and New Canaan it was almost as if it had not happened. The strange people of the Timekeepers tribe from Vault 24 were still building their clocks, the only change to their lives being that they now sold their excess to the Canaanite trade caravans rather than chasing them away. The Tar Walkers had paid them tribute, but now that had been cancelled to try and persuade them to listen more to the missionaries. The only change that Tears found in their lands was her father's youngest wife -only a few years her senior, which explains how he keeps his strength up when not on campaign- introducing them to her family.

But there were Ammonites who walked these lands. Though they had not precisely been White Legs territory, since there was only barren wasteland between Lincoln and the settlements of the Sky Reavers, neither side saw the need to an exact border. The people of Lincoln told them that was no longer the case when their caravan passed through, but to see so much land turned to not just farms but actual forests with such strange birds and animals in them… It was a strange sight.

And the great town of Groom Lake itself! Tears had seen robots and motor-driven carts called 'cars' and 'trucks' in Colorado. Utah had simple vehicles, usually little more than engines strapped to welded-together frames. In Groom Lake, the vehicles were like the vehicles from before the war left stranded on or next to the old roads. Only they were new and they still worked!

And the people dressed as Krono's warriors in Colorado dressed hailed her as the wife of their chief, and offered them hospitality and bade them enter. Did Krono think they were married? Did his tribe have a custom where they were betrothed until the moment when he met her mother and father and then they were immediately married? She had thought that they would have a Mormon ceremony, but he did not say anything about how his tribe does marriages.

"I do not think so, father. I think that they saw the same broad cast that you did and have not spoken to their chief since then."

"They believe that the machine-matchmaker is legitimate."

"Honestly, it's more that we're glad-" A man dressed in the manner of the Sky Walkers walks towards them, two Ammonites walking just behind him as an escort. "-that he's interested in anyone. This is a new situation for us. With our last chief-. The Whisperers, our old ruling council, had a kind of group arrangement to preserve their power. We're all hoping that Krono has something a little more conventional, and you fit the bill."

Her father frowns, causing the Sky Walker man to raise his hands.

"Not that Tears-In-The-Rain isn't a great woman to have as a wife! The Chief's a lucky man! She proved that when she won the contest! It's just that he's been Chief for three years and still hasn't married."

Her father is still frowning, but less aggressively.

"Is his manhood sick? Can he not function as a man?"

"Um."

The man clearly doesn't like thinking of his chief in those terms. Tears knows a few brews which can help with some difficulties, but she knows of warriors whose loins were injured and were never able to function again. A warrior should not feel ashamed by an injury unless it was gained foolishly, but she does not envy them. She does not think that she would feel complete if she could not bear a child.

"No, I don't think so. When we got the showers working, ah… I saw him, one time. It works."

Tears is not quite so sheltered that she does not know that might still mean that he isn't interested in marrying a woman. Still, he is a chief. He has an obligation to sire an heir. Just… Not with her if that is the case. She wants more than one. And she's fairly sure that Mormonism frowns on brother-husbands.

"Anyway. I'm Keanan Smith of the Sky Walkers, and I've been assigned to be your guide to Groom Lake. At least until Chief Krono gets back from Colorado."

Her father nods. "I was told that the monster from Los had been destroyed."

Keanan-Smith nods back. "Yeah, we all felt it. But there're a lot of important people over there right now, so the chief is using the opportunity to have everyone talk face to face. Sort out trade agreements and military pacts while everyone's in the same place."

Tears only remembers one such meeting of equals, when her father sat down with Chief Thunderbird of the Eighties to trade for a part of their territory which he needed for the attack on New Canaan. Thunderbird agreed, since he wanted to capture lands to the west and had no interest in the east. Other than that, her father's meetings were with war chiefs and the elders of defeated tribes. He was clearly in charge.

"What agreements does he seek?"

"Well, who gets the territory that the Super Mutants overran. Texas claims the part near Los, but there's a whole lot that used to belong to the Legion that needs someone looking after it and they don't think they could hold that much. The NCR had a research team up there and they wanted help backing them up. Except that's WARDEN's territory, so they had to sort out a treaty that would let them work there but acknowledged that they were WARDEN's guests and don't run the place. Rio Grande wanted the NCR navy's help with the Cartels, and they needed to agree a timetable for fighting Caesar's Legion. And the Chief wanted to make sure that the different Brotherhood of Steel chapters around there were cooperating with everyone. And he's probably going to talk about our accession to the NCR."

Her father looks around, frowning once more. "Has the NCR conquered your tribe?"

"No, but-. The NCR is a federation of tribes, with a great council that decides matters which affect them all. Given that we're friends and that almost all of our trade happens with the NCR, it makes sense for us to join as a new state."

"Would Krono still be your chief?"

"In the NCR, the chief of a tribe is called a 'governor', the chief of the federation is called a 'president', and the people who represent the tribe in the great council are called 'senators'. He could pick either job, but he couldn't do both. Or he could do something else. He said that if the Sky Walkers joined the NCR then he'd rather be the chief shaman of the NCR than Governor of the Sky Walkers."

Tears didn't know if the Ammonites would maintain the tradition of spirit walks. It wasn't something New Canaanites did but she didn't remember anything about it being explicitly forbidden. She did remember Krono's voice sounding in her head, but-.

Did the television show that sort of voice?

Her father looked confused. "Shaman? He talks with spirits?"

"Oh, no. Sorry, I forgot that your people haven't had much to do with ours. Like this."

Keanan-Smith turns away, than reaches his right hand out towards a crate on one of the wagons. It shakes for a moment, then rises into the air. It stays there for a moment, then floats over to a pile of similar crates and lands.

"Krono wants everyone to have this sort of-."

"Magic."

Tears can hear the tension in her father's voice. Not fear, but caution at suddenly discovering that something you believed about the world was fundamentally wrong. A White Legs shaman might assist someone in discovering something about their own nature, or show surprising insight into a situation, but she could not remember any story about them lifting things with their minds.

"Did you barter with demons for that power?"

"No. No, God no. This is-. We used pre-War technology to alter our minds. Demons-." He shakes his head. "I was part of the warband we sent to Oregon to stop the Odious King. He had a demon in his head, and right before Krono and Andrew Shaw banished it we all got a look at its mind." He shakes his head again, more vigorously. "None of us are crazy enough to barter with something like that."

"It is technology?"

"Yes. I can-. If Tears-In-The-Rain and Krono marry, we'd be offering it to her as well."

"I would like to see this 'technology'."

He sounds sceptical, but he has seen a great deal in recent years that in his youth he did not think that he ever would.

"No problem." Keanan-Smith nods happily. "Once you're settled in, I can show you around."

Someguy Somewhere · Jul 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
And the Chief wanted to make sure that the different Brotherhood of Steal chapters around there were cooperating with everyone. And he's probably going to talk about our accession to the NCR."

Steel for Steal, unless the brotherhood is now better known for highway robbery.

Vanbers · Jul 24, 2022

Someguy Somewhere said:
Steel for Steal, unless the brotherhood is now better known for highway robbery.

Well, I mean, from what I recall some *are* huge assholes like that, and steal all old-world tech anyone finds/invents.

So it ain't in-accurate, is what I'm sayin'.

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
September 6th, the Year of Our Lord 2282
Early Evening

Father looks pensive as their convoy files into the building which the Sky Walkers have set aside for their use. Father has been looking pensive a great deal, of late.

"Daughter, I do not mean to call you a liar, but every member of the Sky Walkers tribe we have spoken to has named you their chief's wife. Is there something that you have not told me?"

Looks like someone didn't get the memo. Sadly, I doubt there's much point trying to put the truth out there, since all those rumours have been through in their best running shoes.

Tears is a little annoyed to find herself blushing again.

The journey through the old White Legs territory was a stark reminder of how far their tribe had come. From roving hunters to farmers. From living in tents of hide to living in buildings of brick and stone. In truth, Tears had not recognised the site of their former main camp until her father pointed it out, so little was there to mark it as a place of significance. Some people still lived in the ruins of the town of Lincoln, operating its foundries and hunting the lands around for meat, but it was a tiny fraction of the numbers who once dwelt there.

It's amazing how quickly things can change, sometimes. I mean, her father probably looks at her and still sees a little girl in pigtails...

And in the lands they had conquered between Lincoln and New Canaan it was almost as if it had not happened. The strange people of the Timekeepers tribe from Vault 24 were still building their clocks, the only change to their lives being that they now sold their excess to the Canaanite trade caravans rather than chasing them away. The Tar Walkers had paid them tribute, but now that had been cancelled to try and persuade them to listen more to the missionaries. The only change that Tears found in their lands was her father's youngest wife -only a few years her senior, which explains how he keeps his strength up when not on campaign- introducing them to her family.

Well, if she can keep his spirits high, more power to them.

But there were Ammonites who walked these lands. Though they had not precisely been White Legs territory, since there was only barren wasteland between Lincoln and the settlements of the Sky Reavers, neither side saw the need to an exact border. The people of Lincoln told them that was no longer the case when their caravan passed through, but to see so much land turned to not just farms but actual forests with such strange birds and animals in them… It was a strange sight.

Heh. More Garden of Eden Creation Kits, huh? Good to see Krono's people spreading the technology to clean up the Wastelands.

And the great town of Groom Lake itself! Tears had seen robots and motor-driven carts called 'cars' and 'trucks' in Colorado. Utah had simple vehicles, usually little more than engines strapped to welded-together frames. In Groom Lake, the vehicles were like the vehicles from before the war left stranded on or next to the old roads. Only they were new and they still worked!

...Hopefully with nice, safe containment on their nuclear fuel sources...

And the people dressed as Krono's warriors in Colorado dressed hailed her as the wife of their chief, and offered them hospitality and bade them enter. Did Krono think they were married? Did his tribe have a custom where they were betrothed until the moment when he met her mother and father and then they were immediately married. She had thought that they would have a Mormon ceremony, but he did not say anything about how his tribe does marriages.

It's more likely that they're really hopeful about this working out... Krono's a nice guy, but he just won't sit still, will he?

"I do not think so, father. I think that they saw the same broad cast that you did and have not spoken to their chief since then."

"They believe that the machine-matchmaker is legitimate."

Eh, I doubt anyone could think that about Doki Doki. Bot's crazy, but in an entertaining way. You watch what she does and laugh, ideally from a safe distance from the splatter zone.

"Honestly, it's more that we're glad-" A man dressed in the manner of the Sky Walkers walks towards them, two Ammonites walking just behind him as an escort. "-that he's interested in anyone. This is a new situation for us. With our last chief-. The Whisperers, our old ruling council, had a kind of group arrangement to preserve their power. We're all hoping that Krono has something a little more conventional, and you fit the bill."

Her father frowns, causing the Sky Walker man to raise his hands.

Yeah, best not to talk about his daughter like that within earshot, or you might find a tomahawk sharing space with your sinuses.

"Not that Tears-In-The-Rain isn't a great woman to have as a wife! The Chief's a lucky man! She proved that when she won the contest! It's just that he's been Chief for three years and still hasn't married."

Her father is still frowning, but less aggressively.

Hey, he's a busy man. Acts like it's his personal mission to fix... Pretty much everything.

"Is his manhood sick? Can he not function as a man?"

"Um."

...I mean, I doubt the Perfected Forced Evolution Virus would have the kind of drawbacks Super Mutants suffered from... (Aim at the crotch in-game, and...

"Ha! We do not share that weakness!")

The man clearly doesn't like thinking of his chief in those terms. Tears knows a few brews which can help with some difficulties, but she knows of warriors whose loins were injured and were never able to function again. A warrior should not feel ashamed by an injury unless it was gained foolishly, but she does not envy them. She does not think that she would feel complete if she could not bear a child.

"No, I don't think so. When we got the showers working, ah… I saw him, one time. It works."

Not that he was looking on purpose, though.

Sheesh, some guys.

Tears is not quite so sheltered that she does not know that might still mean that he isn't interested in marrying a woman. Still, he is a chief. He has an obligation to sire an heir. Just… Not with her if that is the case. She wants more than one. And she's fairly sure that Mormonism frowns on brother-husbands.

"Anyway. I'm Keanan Smith of the Sky Walkers, and I've been assigned to be your guide to Groom Lake. At least until Chief Krono gets back from Colorado."

Heh, her own little brood of psychic kiddies, huh? Hopefully said powers don't start too early.

Her father nods. "I was told that the monster from Los had been destroyed."

Keanan-Smith nods back. "Yeah, we all felt it. But there're a lot of important people over there right now, so the chief is using the opportunity to have everyone talk face to face. Sort out trade agreements and military pacts while everyone's in the same place."

Instead of having dash around like a headless chicken from town to camp to outpost? Very sensible.

Tears only remembers one such meeting of equals, when her father sat down with Chief Thunderbird of the Eighties to trade for a part of their territory which he needed for the attack on New Canaan. Thunderbird agreed, since he wanted to capture lands to the west and had no interest in the east. Other than that, her father's meetings were with war chiefs and the elders of defeated tribes. He was clearly in charge.

"What agreements does he seek?"

...Do the Eighties' braves spray their faces with chrome paint and howl 'Witness me!' as they leap into combat?

I detect more than a hint of Mad Max theming in that faction...

"Well, who gets the territory that the Super Mutants overran. Texas claims the part near Los, but there's a whole lot that used to belong to the Legion that needs someone looking after it and they don't think they could hold that much. The NCR had a research team up there and they wanted help backing them up. Except that's WARDEN's territory, so they had to sort out a treaty that would let them work there but acknowledged that they were WARDEN's guests and don't run the place. Rio Grande wanted the NCR navy's help with the Cartels, and they needed to agree a timetable for fighting Caesar's Legion. And the Chief wanted to make sure that the different Brotherhood of Steal chapters around there were cooperating with everyone. And he's probably going to talk about our accession to the NCR."

So, what you're saying is, Krono's not gonna be slowing down anytime soon.

Sheesh, talk about burning the candle at both ends. When does he sleep?

Her father looks around, frowning once more. "Has the NCR conquered your tribe?"

"No, but-. The NCR is a federation of tribes, with a great council that decides matters which affect them all. Given that we're friends and that almost all of our trade happens with the NCR, it makes sense for us to join as a new state."

Logical, though that means that new encounters might see you tarred with the NCR's reputation at first...

"Would Krono still be your chief?"

"In the NCR, the chief of a tribe is called a 'governor', the chief of the federation is called a 'president', and the people who represent the tribe in the great council are called 'senators'. He could pick either job, but he couldn't do both. Or he could do something else. He said that if the Sky Walkers joined the NCR then he'd rather be the chief shaman of the NCR than Governor of the Sky Walkers."

Since he assumes they'll need someone with more than three brain cells and a healthy amount of Common Sense to head off any missteps?

Tears didn't know if the Ammonites would maintain the tradition of spirit walks. It wasn't something New Canaanites did but she didn't remember anything about it being explicitly forbidden. She did remember Krono's voice sounding in her head, but-.

Did the television show that sort of voice?

...I'm gonna go with 'no'. Which would have made for some amusing moments when a girl yelled at Krono about something only she heard...

Her father looked confused. "Shaman? He talks with spirits?"

"Oh, no. Sorry, I forgot that your people haven't had much to do with ours. Like this."

Though to be fair, in this context, Shaman works. He is basically going to be their Wise Man...

Keanan-Smith turns away, than reaches his right hand out towards a crate on one of the wagons. It shakes for a moment, then rises into the air. It stays there for a moment, then floats over to a pile of similar crates and lands.

"Krono wants everyone to have this sort of-."

"Magic."

Ah...

Whoops? I'm guessing the Canaanites have a thing about paranormal stuff.

Tears can hear the tension in her father's voice. Not fear, but caution at suddenly discovering that something you believed about the world was fundamentally wrong. A White Legs shaman might assist someone in discovering something about their own nature, or show surprising insight into a situation, but she could not remember any story about them lifting things with their minds.

"Did you barter with demons for that power?"

Only the demon called Science. And it's fairly easy-going about sharing its stuff.

"No. No, God no. This is-. We used pre-War technology to alter our minds. Demons-." He shakes his head. "I was part of the warband we sent to Oregon to stop the Odious King. He had a demon in his head, and right before Krono and Andrew Shaw banished it we all got a look at its mind." He shakes his head again, more vigorously. "None of us are crazy enough to barter with something like that."

"It is technology?"

I'm sure the good Book is a lot more forgiving on the subject of technology, rather than 'sorcery most foul', huh?

"Yes. I can-. If Tears-In-The-Rain and Krono marry, we'd be offering it to her as well."

"I would like to see this 'technology'."

...I mean, I doubt it would look all that exciting. But if it's something his little girl might be harmed by....

He sounds sceptical, but he has seen a great deal in recent years that in his youth he did not think that he ever would.

"No problem." Keanan-Smith nods happily. "Once you're settled in, I can show you around."

I get the feeling there's going to be some very heated discussion amongst his superiors, then...

And the side-trip continues. I'm sure the Chief was expecting some things to be done differently out amongst the Wasteland, but not like that. Still, if they can put a good face on it, perhaps the Canaanites will have to update their book with rules about mentalism and its righteous uses...
At any rate, I'm guessing Alan's about done drilling, since we're heading back to the A-plot tomorrow. Time to see how fucked up Blackbriar Thorn is by Anti-Life, and how hard they have to kick his bark.

NightmareWarden · Jul 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Anyway. I'm Keanan Smith of the Sky Walkers, and I've been assigned to be your guide to Groom Lake. At least until Chief Krono gets back from Colorado."

My goodness, this guy must have expertise in Diplomacy. He is passing skill check after skill check. Paul, you have an eye for talent. I guess the ability to read minds helps with that.

I doubt Paul's prep work for him included discussion of Paul's meat and two veg though. Nice improv work.

Assblaster5000 · Jul 24, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Hopefully with nice, safe containment on their nuclear fuel sources...

Assuming the cars are working off of nuclear fusion like their Pre-War counterparts were supposed to be then containment it's not that big an issue. Don't stand right next to one if it's ruptured while active obviously, but you don't need a very high-heat reactor to run an electric engine so at most a centimeter of tungsten as an absolute last resort failsafe would... maybe not save your skin, but you'd probably be alive, and with Fallout medical tech plus biomancy you'll be right as rain in a few weeks tops.

Mr Zoat · Jul 24, 2022

Someguy Somewhere said:
Steel for Steal, unless the brotherhood is now better known for highway robbery.

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Do the Eighties' braves spray their faces with chrome paint and howl 'Witness me!' as they leap into combat? I detect more than a hint of Mad Max theming in that faction...

No, they come from before that film.

Windona · Jul 24, 2022

Gotta give the dating sim robot credit, she really knew how to pick the bachelorettes. Especially since it looks like Tears isn't just a good personality match but will help bring another tribe into the alliance.

And excellent delegation to show the visitors around. Interesting.

Tyrantviewer · Jul 24, 2022

Windona said:
Gotta give the dating sim robot credit, she really knew how to pick the bachelorettes. Especially since it looks like Tears isn't just a good personality match but will help bring another tribe into the alliance.

And excellent delegation to show the visitors around. Interesting.

Oh God- if this marriage works out and people KNOW that it worked out- the dating sim robot might not only pull a sequel, but people might deliberately go to her for matchmaking. That is pure fallout marriages arranged by a dating sim gone sentient, that ACTUALLY works out.

Mr Zoat · Jul 25, 2022

8th November 2012
11:57 GMT -5

Alan nods, pulling back his right arm and dismissing his construct.

"I'm through."

I nod. "You can take a nap. It's been a long day, and you're pretty-"

He exhales sharply in amusement.

"-old."

"Through the soil, jackass. You got the vines down that far yet?"

"Yes, it-."

I hear a faint crackling noise, and my connection to the vines wavers.

"Someone is trying to block me. I-."

Dr. Balewa winces. "Anti-Life. I can hold it off, but little more."

I glance at Alan. "I'll shoot the crystals if you keep Thorn's attention."

He nods. "On three. One." I stop touching the vines through the Green, since they've got as far as they're going and I need to focus. "Two. Three!"

We both fly over the hole and then down. I'm not too worried about construct armour. Anti-Life infused vines will probably punch right through it. What I am worried about is getting so much Anti-Life exposure that it still manages to affect me. So rather than physical armour-.

Something lands on my left leg, and I immediately react with a construct-spike. The brownie with its left claw embedded in my armour uses its right to slash apart the spike. Its claws aren't long enough to get through my armour, but it's still-

"Brownies!"

-capable of disrupting my constructs from there.

Alan hedgehogs, thin spines surrounding him in order to make a direct teleport strike impossible. Just in time, as three brownies appear around him. Two go to work attacking the structure, but the ablative spine lattice forces them to destroy each smaller construct one at a time. The third gets stuck in the gaps, and Alan restrains it so that it can't brings its claws to bear.

Decent idea-.

Another brownie appears, this one on my helmet. This time I don't use a spike. I use an x-ionised knife. I think it has time to see the glow and it definitely tries to interpose its claws as the blade leaves subspace, but all that means is that it loses its hand just before its neck. It falls in bits towards the tunnel end below us, and I adopt the defensive measure of having my remaining x-ionised knives orbit around me at speed. The brownie already on my leg gets special treatment; since it's not all that fast I have the time to aim at its forearms, slicing through them and denying it access to its claws. It teleports-

More brownies shimmer in and then leave immediately to avoid being slices up by my knives.

-away, and I knit my armour back into one piece.

"Need help?"

Spines shift and pin the other two brownies before-.

All three teleport away.

That's going to be annoying.

Coming up fast I can see the furthest extent that the vines I sent down reached, white flowers seeming to shimmer until about a meter into the interior of the underground chamber and then-.

Black crystals, writhing vines a dreadful sense that I'm in the wrong for being here.

Railgun, track a crystal with a mage slayer round and fire.

A vine darts out, taking the hit and being broken in two but succeeding in shielding the crystal but knowing that the feeling is artificial doesn't make it go away. Second railgun, track crystals at random and fire when charged.

Compliance.

It used to worry me when my irises turned into the orange sigil. Now I know that my head is glowing orange as I effectively offload the stress of accelerating my thoughts to a speed that actually lets me handle situations like this onto constructs. As Nabu's mind ran on structures of Order magic, so mine is running on the orange light.

That would have worried me.

But as Alan drifts past at a relative crawl… No. I need this.

Guns track and fire, vines shift and churn, the mass trying to prevent me getting a clean shot but I'm dealing with omniscience, effectively. It-.

I halt my forward motion at the entrance to the cavern, the few vines that lunge for me being sliced from the parent plant by my knives. We're come out in the upper surface of an ovoid cavern, vines and their black crystals covering the floor and ceiling both. I know that the vines also reach through the soil and out into the fields above us, but I can't see either those connections or the roots. These have to be at least in some senses normal plants; magic only gets you so far.

Alan flies ahead, spinning rotary saws cutting through the vines that drop down at him from above. His environmental shield is glowing brilliantly, hope being a better natural counter to Anti-Life than avarice. My railguns aren't getting anywhere, so maybe-.

Alan forms a grenade launcher and fires actual.. phosphorus grenades around the chamber. They burn brilliantly where they land, but the light is swallowed by the unnatural darkness of this room. I think I dimly see where Blackbriar Thorn might be, a mound of vines in the approximate centre of the floor. Or it could just be the locus of the vines. I take a shot that I don't expect to get anywhere and sure enough it hits… Can't see clearly, some sort of solid surface that just absorbs the hit.

I should have thought this out better-.

Ah HAH! Did you think we wouldn't notice?

I leave my railguns to it, while I transmute the air around me into illegally strong defoliant.

Did you think that we don't know the sound of our own thoughts?

My thoughts are usually disordered, jumping from one-.

Oh, STOP.

No. I'll make you stop.

The vines coming at Alan are replenishing themselves so fast that he can't afford to fly forward quickly any longer, rather he's forced to do what he was on the surface but with less room to manoeuvre. More importantly, his environmental shield has shrunk.

There's a basic rule of magic that the Anti-Life appears to have never learned. If something is touching you, you're touching it.

We open the Honden in the Black that is touching us.

"Purposelessness → Desire → Purpose."

I feel a sudden uplift as the oppressive blackness recoils, but it's too late. The vines spasm but they're not being replenished, my railgun rounds finally start hitting their targets and the crystals start shimmering with beautiful orange light. With the spell lifted I see Blackbriar Thorn embedded and impaled by vines, only his upper torso mostly visible in the mass at the centre of the room.

He snaps out of his stupor as the crystals start to shatter on their own, unable to contain the conflicting energies. For a moment we make eye contact, and he recognises me.

Then lightning flies from his hands and smashes me into the wall!

Darko · Jul 25, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
irises turning into the orange

"turned"

BlueMangoAdea · Jul 25, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
They burn brilliantly where they hand, but the slight is swallowed by the unnatural darkness of this room.

"light"

Laundromat2.0 · Jul 25, 2022

Did he just mindfuck the anti-life right back? I LOVE THAT - can you imagine, these anti-lifers having to second guess THEIR thoughts and feelings... the best way to fight a virus is another virus

ALSO, does this mean that when he does thought acceleration, he effectively has a halo of avarice?

Bramble Thorn · Jul 25, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
He snaps out of his stupor as the crystals start to shatter on their own, unable to contain the conflicting energies.

Why would they have to confict?

It seems they'd go together like peanut butter an jelly.

The Black deformats someone's desires to bleak emptiness.
The Orange fills the hollowed out space the the desire to enact the will of the one wielding the Orange light.

I mean, what does Darkseid do to use Anti-Life as a method on control? He takes the base equation and bolts obedience to his will onto the end after the normal effect softens them up.

And what does Branding do? It stamps an superseding desire set on someone, only it's harder because their base desires haven't been compromised by anti-life first.

Handlewithcare · Jul 25, 2022

So Paul can now at least partially counter the Anti-Life. Awesome.

Now get Alan and one of the Greens to do the same thing and then incite a rebellion or two on Apokolips.

Bud-E · Jul 25, 2022

Bramble Thorn said:
Why would they have to confict?

It seems they'd go together like peanut butter an jelly.

The Black deformats someone's desires to bleak emptiness.
The Orange fills the hollowed out space the the desire to enact the will of the one wielding the Orange light.

I mean, what does Darkseid do to use Anti-Life as a method on control? He takes the base equation and bolts obedience to his will onto the end after the normal effect softens them up.

And what does Branding do? It stamps an superseding desire set on someone, only it's harder because their base desires haven't been compromised by anti-life first.

I think the crystals are filled with Order magic. So it would be Order crystals being filled with Orange light.

dw7thdoctor · Jul 25, 2022

is the orange text supposed to be OL's thought or ophidian's I got a little confused cause he seemed to be talking to him?

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 25, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
8th November 2012
11:57 GMT -5

Alan nods, pulling back his right arm and dismissing his construct.

"I'm through."

Hey, nothing to be ashamed of, Alan, some guys just can't keep the pace up at your age. Though I don't think the little blue pill will help in this situation. Or did you mean something else, old fellow?

Phrasing is important!

I nod. "You can take a nap. It's been a long day, and you're pretty-"

He exhales sharply in amusement.

"-old."

I see OL's mind went to the same place. Cocky young pup.

"Through the soil, jackass. You got the vines down that far yet?"

"Yes, it-."

See, got to be careful how you phrase things. Some folks can turn anything into a dirty joke.

I hear a faint crackling noise, and my connection to the vines wavers.

"Someone is trying to block me. I-."

Ah, there's Blackbriar Thorn. No doubt very aware of the threat the modified vines would pose to him.

Dr. Balewa winces. "Anti-Life. I can hold it off, but little more."

I glance at Alan. "I'll shoot the crystals if you keep Thorn's attention."

Time for the railgun equivalent of a Death Blossom Attack?

He nods. "On three. One." I stop touching the vines through the Green, since they've got as far as they're going and I need to focus. "Two. Three!"

We both fly over the hole and then down. I'm not too worried about construct armour. Anti-Life infused vines will probably punch right through it. What I am worried about is getting so much Anti-Life exposure that it still manages to affect me. So rather than physical armour-.

Because even the bottomless light of Enlightenment can be smothered by enough darkness.

Something lands on my left leg, and I immediately react with a construct-spike. The brownie with its left claw embedded in my armour uses its right to slash apart the spike. Its claws aren't long enough to get through my armour, but it's still-

"Brownies!"

-capable of disrupting my constructs from there.

Oh, these guys. Of course Thorn has plenty of them playing guard.

Alan hedgehogs, thin spines surrounding him in order to make a direct teleport strike impossible. Just in time, as three brownies appear around him. Two go to work attacking the structure, but the ablative spine lattice forces them to destroy each smaller construct one at a time. The third gets stuck in the gaps, and Alan restrains it so that it can't brings its claws to bear.

Decent idea-.

Boy, Alan is being damn sneaky here, with multi-layered constructs and smart restraints. Good to see he hasn't been resting on his laurels.

Another brownie appears, this one on my helmet. This time I don't use a spike. I use an x-ionised knife. I think it has time to see the glow and it definitely tries to interpose its claws as the blade leaves subspace, but all that means is that it loses its hand just before its neck. It falls in bits towards the tunnel end below us, and I adopt the defensive measure of having my remaining x-ionised knives orbit around me at speed. The brownie already on my leg gets special treatment; since it's not all that fast I have the time to aim at its forearms, slicing through them and denying it access to its claws. It teleports-

Not so easy to disrupt monomolecular blades, huh? Kind of messy, but these guys are pretty much gone anyway...

More brownies shimmer in and then leave immediately to avoid being slices up by my knives.

-away, and I knit my armour back into one piece.

At least they're not that suicidal to throw themselves on his blades pointlessly.

"Need help?"

Spines shift and pin the other two brownies before-.

Merciful, but that's Alan for you. Hope doesn't lend itself to cold pragmatism as Avarice does...

All three teleport away.

That's going to be annoying.

At least the ones you disarm won't be back...

Coming up fast I can see the furthest extent that the vines I sent down reached, white flowers seeming to shimmer until about a meter into the interior of the underground chamber and then-.

Black crystals, writhing vines a dreadful sense that I'm in the wrong for being here.

Oh, that's not good. Full-on area-effect Anti-Life.

Railgun, track a crystal with a mage slayer round and fire.

A vine darts out, taking the hit and being broken in two but succeeding in shielding the crystal but knowing that the feeling is artificial doesn't make it go away. Second railgun, track crystals at random and fire when charged.

Fill the air with enchanted iron, see how many he can block at once. No way can it be enough... See if you can imitate a Touhou boss barrage.

Compliance.

It used to worry me when my irises turning into the orange sigil. Now I know that my head is glowing orange as I effectively offload the stress of accelerating my thoughts to a speed that actually lets me handle situations like this onto constructs. As Nabu's mind ran on structures of Order magic, so mine is running on the orange light.

Heh. Acceleration level 2: no need to burn out your own brain meats!

That would have worried me.

But as Alan drifts past as a relative crawl… No. I need this.

Guns track and fire, vines shift and churn, the mass trying to prevent me getting a clean shot but I'm dealing with omniscience, effectively. It-.

It's probably a good thing you aren't using your meat-brain for this, it'd likely have cooked by now.

I halt my forward motion at the entrance to the cavern, the few vines that lunge for me being sliced from the parent plant by my knives. We're come out in the upper surface of an ovoid cavern, vines and their black crystals covering the floor and ceiling both. I know that the vines also reach through the soil and out into the fields above us, but I can't see either those connections or the roots. Theses have to be at least in some senses normal plants; magic gets you so far.

On the upside, if they can kill the core, the vines might well die from the center out.

Alan flies ahead, spinning rotary saws cutting through the vines that drop down at him from above. His environmental shield is glowing brilliantly, hope being a better natural counter to Anti-Life than avarice. My railguns aren't getting anywhere, so maybe-.

Alan forms a grenade launcher and fires actual.. phosphorus grenades around the chamber. They burn brilliantly where they hand, but the slight is swallowed by the unnatural darkness of this room. I think I dimly see where Blackbriar Thorn might be; a mound of vines in the approximate centre of the floor. Or it could just be the locus of the vines. I take a shot that I don't expect to get anywhere and sure enough it hits… Can't see clearly, some sort of solid surface that just absorbs the hit.

Aw, he's covering the weak point with shields. Guess you gotta beat on the edges long enough to make him open up.

I should have thought this out better-.

Ah HAH! Did you think we wouldn't notice?

And there's that backup thinking bit coming into play. Self-correcting error-checking for the win.

I leave my railguns to it, while I transmute the air around me into illegally strong defoliant.

Did you think that we don't know the sound of our own thoughts?

Taking 'Slash and Burn' to the next level, eh? Entirely necessary, though.

My thoughts are usually disordered, jumping from one-.

Oh, STOP.

Now, imagine if he did this back during the New Cronus situation. Would have settled things much quicker.

No. I'll make you stop.

The vines coming at Alan are replenishing themselves so fast that he can't afford to fly forward quickly any longer, rather he's forced to do what he was on the surface but with less room to manoeuvre. More importantly, his environmental shield has shrunk.

No time to play nice, Alan. Crack out the big guns and drop those smart bombs.

There's a basic rule of magic that the Anti-Life appears to have never learned. If something is touching you, you're touching it.

We open the Honden in the Black that is touching us.

Well, hello there. Let's see how you handle a direct injection of WANT.

"Purposelessness → Desire → Purpose."

I feel a sudden uplift as the oppressive blackness recoils, but it's too late. The vines spasm but they're not being replenished, my railgun rounds finally start hitting their targets and the crystals start shimmering with beautiful orange light. With the spell lifted I see Blackbriar Thorn embedded and impaled by vines, only his upper torso mostly visible in the mass at the centre of the room.

Nice, disrupted all the defences.

He snaps out of his stupor as the crystals start to shatter on their own, unable to contain the conflicting energies. For a moment we make eye contact, and he recognises me.

Then lightning flies from his hands and smashes me into the wall!

Oh, right, Druid. Not just good with plants.

The joy of boss fights in confined spaces. Gotta keep the additional mooks under control while you pound on the boss. While keeping your head on a swivel for their attacks. This is why I never tried to do endgame content in MMO's: too much to concentrate on. Fortunately, OL has a lot more brain to think with, especially now he's learned to offload some of it outside his own skull.

With any luck, this should be over soon.

Assblaster5000 · Jul 25, 2022

dw7thdoctor said:
is the orange text supposed to be OL's thought or ophidian's I got a little confused cause he seemed to be talking to him?

Both. The pronoun "we" is used whenever Paul and The Ophidian are fused, fully or not.

Mr Zoat said:
plants; magic gets you so far.

"magic only gets you so far" unless this is meant to be some funky statement about magic plants.

With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Versed in the lewd.

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Accused of writing in a far away land

Glomerulus

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Getting sticky.

Versed in the lewd.

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Experienced.

Stand up so I can push you down!

Connoisseur.

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The Critical Fumbler

Well worn.

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Versed in the lewd.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

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Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

lord of all I survey

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Connoisseur.

Alive. For now.

Know what you're doing yet?

Verified Silhouette

Versed in the lewd.

Stand up so I can push you down!

Getting sticky.

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I trust you know where the happy button is?

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