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Hi all, Uncle Traveling Ana here!
I'm not even sure if anyone still checks this. I mean, I've been out East and thus too far to give Robin a good glower when she doesn't update. However, after a very inspiring conversation with Mel about the possibility of Techie Tales the quasi-animated TV series I've started work on character bios, maps, editing and the like. SO! If anyone still checks this once a month or so in the hope of update, would you mind filling out a little questionair? The characters in the show will have to be slightly different from who you actual are naturally, so I'll be taking all kinds of liberties with people as required, but seeing as all the characters ARE based off of real people (except Farmer Zee), you get first say in what's changed about your character form from, well, you.
Whew! That said, I would love the following filled out from everyone:
Age: Hair: Eyes: Height: Weight: Build: Born: Birthday: Zodiac: Ability: Best Subject: Worst Subject: Hobbies: Likes: Dislikes: Fears: Personality: Backstory: Backstory can be as long or short as you want, reference may or may not be made to it, but it's more fun if we DO reference people's lives before the story picks up. Thanks all!
-Ana
PS: Robin, love, I'm going to be out there in the days, and then we'll be in a small car together for a month. Best start plotting and writing again ^___^Feeling kinda: productive Music: Phil Collins? |
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Hello all,
So, I know everyone's really busy, as always, but if anyone has free time next saturday you should come to Calgary and join in the Zombie Walk. It will be fun! We're dressing up Jeremy (the giant peanut)! It's the one time of the year that biting people is encouraged! Join us!
Cap'n Rob
Part 2 Part 17 When Mel lost consciousness she had been about halfway down the stairs to the dungeons. By the time anyone else realized what was happening, she’d fallen the rest of the way. Quite loudly. Ashley swooped down to her friend’s side. Mel seemed mostly uninjured, but she was dead to the world and didn’t seem likely to move any time soon. On the other hand, the two people who had just run into the hall were moving quite rapidly. They advanced on Ashley and Mel, weapons drawn. “Min? Could you take care of these guys while I look after Mel?” she asked, picking up her friend. Min didn’t appear, and the people were getting closer. “Um, sweetie? Now would be nice!” Min’s muffled voice came from behind her. “I’m trying! Wings!” “Oh, right.” Ashley folded up her wings. By now the people were in striking distance, and sure enough the woman was raising her baton for the strike. Min stepped in front of her and turned to Ashley. “How’s Mel?” The woman hit Min’s head. It was pushed forward about three inches, but Min didn’t seem to notice. Ashley gave Mel another quick glance as she put her down in the comfiest spot she could find. “I can’t see any major injuries, but she’s not waking up either.” The woman had hit Min two more times, with the same basic result. “Did she bang her head on the way down?” The woman smacked her again. “Would you please stop that? It’s getting really annoying.” Ashley shook her head. “No bumps, no cuts, at least none that I can find. She just looks like she’s sleeping.” “Are you sure?” Steffan said, joining Ashley. “She looks kinda dead to me.” Ashley gave him a look. “How long have you known Mel?” Steffan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know, she always looks dead. But now she looks deader than usual.” “Well, she’s got a pulse and she’s still breathing, so I’d be very surprised if she was dead.” By now the woman had given up on her club. Instead, she’d grabbed the poker from the man and was trying to burn Min. Min grabbed the poker from her. “Hey! Careful with this shirt! It’s my favorite!” At the sight of a normal looking, fairly young woman holding the hot end of a poker with her bare hand and complaining about a shirt, the woman’s sense of reality shattered. She fell to her knees in shock and didn’t move again. When he saw that, the man took off down the hallway, back the way he’d come. Steffan walked over to min and took the poker. “You know that shirt is basically made of paint and already has multiple holes in it, right?” Min just shrugged. “It’s comfy.” Behind them, they heard a small groan, followed by a joyous squeak from Ashley. They turned to see Mel starting to sit up. “What happened? I feel like I did after Cabaret.” Mel stood up, and nearly fell over again as she remembered what had happened. “Oh, shit.” Robin? Not now, Mel. Mel was pissed. You nearly killed me. She felt Robin cringe as she said that. Tell me what’s happening. Is Steve dead? What? No, he’s fine. Mel heaved a sigh of relief. So who were you talking about then? Look, I’m still trying to work a couple things out, I’ll tell you everything as soon as I can. And with that, Robin cut Mel off. Mel stood there in shock for a moment, as Ashley, Steffan, and Min watched her carefully for signs of collapsing. “She blocked me!” Ashley very carefully moved towards her friend. “Yes?” Mel was still shocked. “How can she block me?” “Um, Sweetie? We can all block you.” “What? How? Since when?” Ashley could tell this was going to take a bit of delicacy. “Well, we’ve never had to use it before. Usually if we need some privacy you know.” Mel was starting to feel betrayed. “You mean you actually took the time to figure out how to block my powers?” “Um, well, we thought we might need to some times, and it’s not like we can actually block you, I mean you could break through easily enough if you tried.” Ashley started backing away from her. “I thought you knew about that…” At that moment, Steffan stepped in, and smiled at Mel. “Guys? I know this is important, but we do still have some people to rescue here. Could you maybe finish this later?” When she saw Steffan’s smile, Mel’s anger faded and all was right with the world again. She nodded, and Steffan turned back towards Min, who was tying up the woman who’d attacked her. When he turned away, some of that anger started to return, along with the realization that Steffan had just manipulated her, but his power was still affecting her enough that she could shrug that off. She joined the rest of the group and they headed off down the hall. “What happened to that woman?” “She tried attacking me.” Min replied. “Ah, right.” |
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Look! I managed to update on time! Well, okay, it's a day late, but that's way better than I've been doing! Please don't hate me anymore!
~ Cap'n Rob
Part 2 Part 16 It had taken about a minute for the fighting to start once the wall was destroyed. The guards nearest the explosion had either been knocked out or killed by the explosion, while most of those to far to be affected by the blast were in shock, to startled to move. To them it seemed as though the world had been torn to pieces in one instant, and replaced by a towering inferno. “Isn’t pyro fun!” Tessa said, watching the remains of the wall smolder. Andrew didn’t seem quite as pleased. “I still think we should have found a way to keep the colours in. I mean, plain ordinary fire is cool, but green and purple would have looked so much better.” “We didn’t have anywhere near enough fireworks to make an explosion this big and you know it. If we didn’t use the flour and the alcohol we wouldn’t have been able to blow up anything bigger than a door.” As she spoke, Tessa noticed some movement coming from the center of town. “Here they come. Time to do your transformation thingy.” Andrew sighed. “Alright, stand back.” Tessa took a few steps back and started her own transformation. “Be ready to fight the second you’re done. All those lights will basically guarantee that they come here first.” Andrew nodded, and then posed. “Moon Prism Power… Make up!” Suddenly he was surrounded by lights and almost floating in the air. There was music, and Andrew was almost dancing as he transformed. When the transformation was done he landed gracefully back on the ground and shook his head. “I love the show, and the ability to fight in ways that should not work at all, along with the fancy weapons and powers is really nice, but do I have to wear the same outfit she does? Is it really that crucial to her skills?” Tessa purred and stretched her claws. “Ready?” Instead of replying, Andrew did a kick that looked an awful lot like a grand battement and took out the first of the guards to reach them. For the first few minutes of the battle, Tessa and Andrew easily kept the enemy at bay. The guards were uncoordinated, frightened, and entirely too inexperienced to really present a challenge. That didn’t last long however. About five minutes into the fight one of the captains arrived and ordered the guards to pull back. Tessa started to follow, but Andrew stopped her. “This is supposed to be a distraction, remember? If we try to take them all out now, they’ll start running back to the mayor’s place for help and that will just cause trouble.” Tessa started pouting. “Can’t I just go take out that captain? Please?” Andrew gave her the sternest look he could. It wasn’t very effective. “No! Just tell our guys to start keeping the guards at bay. Once we get the signal from Mel you can go get him, okay?” “Fine.” They separated, moving quickly. It wasn’t long before they had spread their orders and every guard who was careless enough to show himself was met by a hail of arrows. To the guards it seemed as though they’d been met by an entire army. In actuality, the rebel forces were quite small. They’d managed to recruit about forty people, but most of them had very little training. Of the forty, there were only eighteen who were truly ready for a battle, and of those only twelve had any ability with a bow. Fortunately, the number of guards in the town had dropped significantly since the first group of techs had arrived. Something about being ambushed almost nightly and having to fight people who could invade your mind or become monsters encouraged desertion. Those guards that had stayed were very brave, suicidal, or already knew how the Emperor was likely to reward deserters. Nothing these rebels could do compared to that. The captain of the guards was not a very brave man, nor was he suicidal. Instead, he was practical. He knew exactly what reward the Emperor gave deserters. It was the same reward he gave failures. The only way for the captain to escape that reward was to win this battle, and he knew there was no possibility of that. Crouched beside him was a young corporal, maybe eighteen years old. The captain knew that this corporal was dedicated, brave, and loyal. He was also engaged to be married, and not particularly good at combat. “Corporal, I have a mission for you.” The corporal stood to attention as best as he could while crouching behind a piece of rubble. “Yes sir!” “There is a man staying at the inn. He works for the Emperor. Go to him and tell him we’ve been attacked by some manipulators working with the rebels. Ask him to send the Weapon.” The captain watched the corporal run off. He was keeping low, mostly out of sight. Still, one or two of the rebels arrows came close to him. For a few moments it seemed as though he’d be shot before he even reached the corner, but he made it. Three more minutes and he’d reach the inn. Another two, maybe three minutes to find the man and get his help. After that, who knew how long it would take for the Weapon to arrive. The captain hoped it would be quick. It could only be a matter of time before the rebels tired of waiting and went on the offensive. There was shouting coming from the rebels. The captain risked a peek around the rubble. The arrows had stopped coming, and there were now two figures struggling about halfway between the lines. It was hard to see what was happening, but it almost looked like one of them was on the other’s back. The struggle continued for a little while, and then the person on the back was thrown off. They didn’t get up again. The other figure stood, watching for movement from their enemy, and the captain was able to recognize the black uniform of the Emperor’s elite. The Weapon had arrived. |
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Hi everyone!
So, the other day I was looking out my window and I saw a pig fly past. I figured that was a pretty good sing that I should start trying to update Techie Tales regularly again. Then I procrastinated a while longer. But now, Ana is here, ready to kill me if I don't start updating again. So, here it is. I'm not promising anything, but you should all have regularish updates from now on.
~ Cap'n Rob
Part 2 Part 15 It took the techs about half an hour to prepare the rescue plan. Most of that was taken up with finding out exactly what had happened from the panicked friends of the captured rebels. It seemed that the group had just ambushed some of the guards on the wall when they were attacked by another ninja. At first they’d thought he was just an ordinary guard, but when they tried to hit him he vanished. He reappeared behind them, and took out two of the group before they realised what had happened. By the time they could attack again, he’d disappeared and reappeared in the midst of the rest of the group. The fight was over in less than a minute. Mel scanned the town to try and find the missing rebels. They’d been taken to the home of the town’s mayor, one of the richest and most corrupt people in town. Apparently he had dungeons in his basement, which was where the rebels were being kept. Mel didn’t want to think about why the mayor would have a dungeon. “They’re still alive, but they’re in pain. I think they’re being tortured.” Mel told the group. “It doesn’t seem like anyone’s been broken yet.” “Then we’d better not waste any more time.” Ashley said. “Has everyone been told what they need to do?” Steve spoke up. “They’re all in place and ready, but I’m not sure we can trust them to leave once they’ve finished their jobs. Some of them are really anxious to get their friends.” “We can’t do anything about that now.” Steffan was getting impatient. “We’ll just have to risk it.” Mel took did one final check to make sure everyone was in place. Tessa and Andrew were with the main group of the rebels, who were going to create a distraction. Mel, Ashley, Min, and Steffan were all prepared to storm the house. Robin and Steve were staying at the entrance to keep it open for their return and provide backup if needed. Mel was keeping in contact with Robin, who was going to try to tell them the best route to the prisoners. You sure you can do this? Robin thought to Mel. If I’ve opened my mind with you in it, things could get overwhelming. Mel was worried about that too, but she knew it was a chance they had to take. I’ll be fine. I’ve had a lot of practise separating out layers of thought. She didn’t give Robin a chance to argue. “Let’s go.” A moment later there was an explosion. The wall that surrounded the city shook for a moment then slowly toppled. There was some shouting, then a group of guards ran out of the Mayor’s house towards the rubble. A minute later there were some astonished cries and calls of ‘Retreat!’ Min led the way into the mayor’s house, followed by Steffan. Mel and Ashley took the rear. When they reached the front doors, Steffan distracted the guards while Min knocked them out. They were inside in seconds. Now where? Robin thought for a moment. The passage to your left. Be quiet as you go past the third door on the right, there’s two people in there. They headed down the hall as quickly and quietly as they could. Great. Now you should see a door on your left. Open it carefully, it squeaks a bit. They managed to open the door with minimal squeak. It seemed to lead into the kitchen. Robin, are you sure this is the way? Mel could feel Robin rolling her eyes. Of course it is. The cells are underneath the wine cellar. That’s the locked door in the far corner. Wait, it’s locked? Robin’s thoughts sounded amused. Yep. Don’t worry, it’s a cheap lock. Just take a poker from the fire place and jimmy it open. Mel went to grab the poker when Robin interrupted. Someone’s coming. You have 30 seconds. Guys! Company! Ashley and Min went to stand by the door, while Steffan stood directly in front of it, readying his best smile. Whoever it was, they didn’t stand a chance. The house chief was a man who liked the good things in life, and always did everything to make sure he got them. He had one of the nicest rooms in the house, clothing almost as expensive as his master’s, and of course, the first choice of the food. He always set some of the tastiest offerings aside for himself before he sent out the evening meal, and he was sure to save some for his bedtime snack. Tonight hadn’t been any different, and he was looking forward to having another piece of pie before he fell asleep. The first thing he saw when he entered the kitchen was a very pleasant looking young man who he didn’t recognise. Then he was grabbed by a happy looking girl with short brown hair. Next, he was hit on the head from behind. For the rest of his life he would wonder why that nice looking man would be working with such a mean girl and a vicious unknown person. “That was easy,” Ashley said. “I’ve gotta use rolling pins for this more often.” Mel was still struggling with the lock. “Stupid Robin. This isn’t easy! Stupid lock. I thought you were supposed to be cheap!” There was a splintering noise, and a thump. The door swung open. “Yes! I got it!” Outside the house, Robin smiled and shook her head. “They got through the door.” Steve looked surprised. “I thought you said it would take at least fifteen minutes for them to pick that lock?” “True, but it only took Mel a minute to break it. She’s got stress issues. They give her power.” I heard that. Robin jumped. Hi Mel! You guys down those stairs already? Yes, and there’s no other door down here. Just lots of dusty bottles. Robin opened her mind again. Okay, there should be a shelf, about five feet ahead of you with a funny green bottle three from the top and six from the right. Pull it. Robin did a quick check of the surrounding area while Mel opened the passage. There didn’t seem to be anyone near them yet, but there were still three people with the captives on the floor below. She was about to tell Mel when one of the three disappeared. Hey Mel, something funny’s going on. I’ll let you know what as soon as I figure it out, but keep your guard up, okay? “Aaah!” Steve screamed, and suddenly Robin knew where that third person had gone. Mel knew something was wrong at the same time Robin found out. She could feel Robin’s surprise. What’s happened? She demanded. Robin seemed to be ignoring her. It felt like she was using her power again. Mel tried again. Robin! What’s going on? It can’t be! He’s dead! At that, Mel started to panic. What? Who’s dead? Sorry Mel. Gotta go. Hope this works. Mel was about to ask what she was doing when she felt all the knowledge Robin had about the house they were in forced at her. She knew how many molecules were in the floorboards under her feet, how much hair was on the head of every person in the building, and everything that was happening in the house at that exact moment. She managed to hold all of that information in her mind for a few seconds, trying desperately to piece together the best route to the captives and back out, and what exactly was happening with Robin and Steve. For a moment she had it. Then she collapsed. |
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Hi everyone,
Sorry once again that it's been so long between updates. I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen anymore, but I doubt that I'll be able to post every week for a while. At the moment the best I can say is that whenever I get the time you'll get an update.
~Cap'n Rob
Part 2 Part 14 It was two hours since Mel had told them about Ana. The rebels had finished their training sessions and gone on to their missions for the night. The techs had all gathered in the back room. “Look, she has to be in town still. If no one saw them taking her out then that’s the only other option, right?” Even as she said it, Robin knew she was wrong. Mel shook her head. “They could have snuck her out at any time. Our spy system isn’t very good. Besides, we’ve been all over town looking and our powers haven’t been blocked anywhere. Since they’re using the amulet we should have found it by now.” “So they took her somewhere. Where?” Steve spoke up. “There is another possibility. I know none of you want to hear this, but by now they might have killed-” “She’s not dead.” Ashley looked at Steve. “If she was, I’d know.” “Look, I know you guys were close, but you have to admit there is a chance.” Steve broke off. “I just mean…” Robin spoke up again. “No, Ashley’s right. If she were dead then I’d know where she was. Since I don’t that can only mean they’re keeping the amulet with her. They wouldn’t bother if she was alive.” Steffan spoke again. “So that brings us back to where is she? What did they do with her?” Tessa spoke this time. “Well, it seems to us that they probably brought her to the Emperor. That means Graceful. And from what we’ve heard, it’s gong to be almost impossible to even get into the town, never mind finding Ana. We’ve been trying to get more information, but so far no luck.” “We’ve also been hoping that if we’re enough of a problem here, the Emperor will send the amulet her to try to stop us. No luck so far though.” Andrew shook his head. “I guess he just doesn’t think we’re enough of a threat.” “So let’s change that.” Everyone looked at Min. “What sort of things have you been doing so far?” They explained their plans. Over the past few days they had managed to steal all of the tax money from the Emperor’s guards, convince half of the guards to quit, and break everyone out of the prison. Tonight they were blowing up the wall. “How much of this were you guys actively involved in?” Robin asked. Mel explained. “We’ve done all the planning and the training, but we only participated in a couple things. We all helped with the prison break, and Tessa and Andrew are basically responsible for all the guards that quit, but we’ve been to busy to help with everything.” There was a loud boom and a bunch of dust fell from the rafters. “Also, we’ve been trying to avoid using our powers. I know that would have been the quickest way to get the amulet back here, but there’s no way we could have won that fight. Not with just the four of us.” Steffan started to smile. “Well, there’s eight of us now. We’ve taken on those odds before.” There was a knock on the door. Jen, one of the rebels who’d ambushed them earlier that night, poked her head around the door. “Sorry to interrupt, but one of the groups ran into some trouble. They’ve been captured.” |
| » Part 2 Part 13 |
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Hi everyone.
As promised, here's the extra update. It's a bit short, but full of expositiony goodness. There should be some action in Sunday's update, but as I haven't written it yet, I can't make any promises.
~Cap'n Rob
Part 2 Part 13 Mel took a moment to get her thoughts together before she started talking. There was a lot to tell the others, and most of it was bad. She took a deep breath. “How much do you know about what’s happened here?” One look at their faces told her the answer. “Well, since the last time we were here, the Emperor’s been making… changes. First, he recruited all the people with powers to be part of his forces, weather they wanted to or not. The ones that don’t have ‘useful’ powers just disappear.” “What do you mean by useful?” Steffan broke in. Robin answered. “The ones who got a fighting advantage because of their powers, right? Like that ninja who attacked Min?” “Right. We think he’s training them to fight us. But the others are different. They do things like make flowers grow, or cause spontaneous singing. They aren’t useful in a fight. We don’t know what happens to them.” Mel paused. She was getting to the harder part now. “What happens to the ones who don’t want to be recruited? The ones who fight it?” One look at Mel’s face made Min regret asking. “The Emperor kills their families.” Mel sighed. “There hasn’t been much resistance.” There was silence as everyone took that in. Then Mel continued. “There’s more. The Emperor has been tracking our movements from last year. He’s arrested everyone who helped us, and completely taken over all the towns we stopped in. There’s a few people who managed to convince him that they only helped because we forced them to, or they didn’t have any idea who we were. They’re still free, but they’re being watched. Everyone else has been taken to the main prison in Graceful.” “Has anyone tried to break them out?” Ashley asked. Mel shook her head. “Not yet. We’ve been trying to get enough people together and trained. That’s part of what this rebellion’s about. We’re also setting up a spy network, but right now it’s limited to Portsmouth. We’re hoping to get some contacts in Graceful soon, but until that happens we won’t know anything about the prison.” “Well, we’ve got Miss Omniscience here now, so that’s not a problem. Let’s go rescue these people.” Ashley said. “Get the others. Can Ana get us a portal to Graceful from here?” “Ashley, there’s something else.” Mel had been hoping to avoid saying this a bit longer. She braced herself. “Ana’s gone.” “What do you mean, gone?” “When she first heard about the arrests, she was furious. I don’t think she was thinking straight. She insisted on tracking down everyone who’d helped the two of you, even though she knew they were being watched. I convinced her to stay here until we found out more, but then she heard that the Emperor was going to arrest someone. Tucker. Anyways, she didn’t have time to get the rest of us, and she wasn’t going to let him get captured…” Mel trailed off. “What happened to her?” Min asked, not really sure she wanted to know. “We don’t know. I haven’t been able to reach her, and no one saw them take her out of town.” She paused, catching the reactions of the others. “She’s not dead! Tucker managed to escape. He said that she’d saved him, but then something went wrong. She couldn’t use her powers anymore. It must have been the amulet. That’s the only reason her powers would have stopped like that, and it explains why I haven’t been able to reach her.” There was silence. Mel carefully shut her mind to the others. She knew what she’d felt when she first heard this, and she didn’t want to go through it again.
Dec. 26th, 2007 @ 03:38 pm
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| » Part 2 Part 12 |
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Hello everyone.
Terribly sorry about the late posting again. To make up for it, I'll post again this week, probably wednesday ish. Check back then. In the mean time, hear's the latest bit. Enjoy!
Cap'n Rob
Part 2 Part 12 The unsuccessful attackers were part of a small rebellion that had begun in Portsmouth around the same time the wall was erected. They had been operating haphazardly for about a month now, attacking guards as they came off duty, smuggling information to people on the outside, and generally making things difficult for the Emperor’s people. Or trying to anyway. Mostly they’d just been a bit of a nuisance, occasionally causing a slight problem but getting caught or thwarted too often to really make a difference. A few days ago, they had come across a group of five people sneaking into the town via the river. They were about to ambush the group when the guards had spotted them. Before the strangers had managed to crawl out of the river, they and the rebels had been surrounded by fifteen guards. The rebels had surrendered immediately, knowing they were hopelessly outnumbered, but the strangers had just ignored the guards and continued trying to dry themselves off. It wasn’t until one of the guards had tried ordering the group that anything happened. He’d threatened the little one, ordering her to surrender or die. She turned towards the guard and looked at him. Less than a second later, he fell to the ground crying. The other guards watched in shock for a moment, then attacked all at once. The strangers all launched into the attack, one morphing into a cat shape, one calling upon tremendous powers to entangle or disarm the enemy, one crying out an unusual phrase before transforming and overcoming four of the enemy. The last one grumbled something about “not having powers, it isn’t fair” then picked up a rock and took out a guard. The fight was over almost before it began. When the rebels had realised what just happened, they immediately proclaimed the new group their leaders. Since then, the rebellion had become much more effective. The guards had been ambushed and robbed almost nightly, they had managed to get complete plans of the defences within Portsmouth, and the other night they had pulled off a successful prison break. The new leaders had been training the group in fight techniques and stealth, and they’d doubled the size of their forces. “So, they’ve just been hiding out playing Robin Hood this whole time?” Ashley asked, confused. “Why didn’t they come back for rehearsal then?” The first rebel, who’d introduced himself as Eliot, was about to reply when Jen, one of the rebels who’d been charmed by Steffan, broke in. “We’re here. Is anyone watching us?” They glanced around. No one saw anything. The rebels all nodded to Jen, who knocked on the door. A small slit opened up. Behind the door, someone peered out. “Password?” Jen leaned in and whispered. “The significant owl hoots in the night.” The unseen person undid the lock and opened the door. He turned out to be short, fat, and awkward looking, exactly the sort of person who would think that was a good password. He paused when he saw the techs. “Who are they?” He sounded annoyed. “Oh, move aside Trevor. We’re going to be late.” Jen started to push past him, but he stepped in front of her. “I’m supposed to be told if we get any newbies. Why wasn’t I told?” His voice had gotten a high pitched, whiney sound. Steffan stepped forward. “We were a bit of a surprise. But don’t worry about it.” He smiled. “Can you let us in?” A minute later they were being ushered into what looked like a wine cellar. It was full of people. Ashley was looking around in recognition. “This is the Bonny Swan,” she told the others, “but I don’t see any of our people around.” As she spoke, a door opened on the other end of the room. The crowd grew quiet as Tessa climbed up on a box so she could be seen by everyone. Beside her, the rescue party could see easily see Steve, and the top of Andrew’s head. They couldn’t see Mel or Ana, but they figured that was because of the crowd. Tessa began to speak. “Hi everyone. Congrats on last nights raids. They all went really well. Not a single casualty. It looks like your lessons are starting to pay off. We have a couple more jobs tonight, but first if everyone could break off into your training groups. We have a couple new people to place.” The crowd started moving apart. The techs pushed through it to their friends. When they got there, Tessa, Andrew, and Steve had all left to place the new recruits. Mel was talking to someone, and didn’t notice them approaching. “- I know what it looks like, I don’t care. There has to be something we can do.” The person she was talking to shook their head, then spotted the techs. “We have company.” Mel looked around. “Steffan? Ashley? Guys, how did you get here?” “Through a portal, same as you.” Mel got a strange look on her face when she heard that. Steffan frowned. “Mel, have you been sleeping? You look-” “Never mind.” She gestured towards the other room. “We need to talk.”
Dec. 23rd, 2007 @ 05:30 pm
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| » Part 2 Part 11 |
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Look everyone! An update! And it's sort of on time! Amazing, huh?
~Cap'n Rob
Part 2 Part 11 They had been in Grace for three days. Their supplies had run out on day two. They hadn’t slept in a bed since they arrived. And still, the rescue party had no idea how to get into Portsmouth. “Okay, so the wall was rather more slippery than anticipated, and the squirrels were completely useless since we didn’t have any nuts, but that doesn’t mean this wont work. We have to try something.” Ashley glared at Robin. “Do you honestly believe we can build a plane? And even if we could, none of us know how to fly one. What good would a plane do?” “Well, if we build it we can probably figure out how to fly it easy enough. And we’ve got lots of trees around, so we won’t run out of materials.” “We don’t have any tools! How are we supposed to build a plane with out any tools!” Ashley was rapidly loosing patience and Robin was starting to back away. “Well, I didn’t say it would be easy. But I’ve still got my multitool and Steffan’s good at carpentry… Where is Steffan anyway?” Ashley and Robin looked around the clearing. Neither Steffan nor Min was anywhere to be seen. Ashley shook her head. “They must have left while we were arguing. We’d better find them before something happens.” Robin concentrated. “They’re… about a mile east, moving quickly, but not being followed.” “Great. Let’s-” “They have food!” She broke her concentration. “Min brought pie!” Both girls took off to the east, running as fast as they could. Within a minute they had reached Steffan and Min. “Food! How? Where? How?” Steffan looked at Robin. “Don’t you know?” She shook her head. “Too impatient to concentrate.” Min handed Ashley and Robin buns and some meat. They started walking back to the clearing while Steffan talked. “It wasn’t very hard. I just went up to the guards and started talking to them. They let me right in.” Robin stared at him. “Didn’t they recognise you? I mean, you’re one of the Emperor’s Most Wanted and they’re the Emperors guards. They should have arrested you.” Steffan gave Robin a Look. “They’ve never seen me before. Why would they recognize me?” “I don’t know. Wanted posters?” Steffan shook his head. “Those things have the worst pictures I’ve ever seen. I barely recognized me.” “Well then. I guess we’re going in.” Ashley glanced up “Can we eat first?” “Of course.” Forty minutes later they were waiting outside the gate to Portsmouth while Steffan charmed the guard. It didn’t take long. “It’s really great of you to open the gate after hours for us.” Steffan smiled at the guard. He didn’t stand a chance. “Well just promise me that you won’t go stirring up rebellion or attacking the emperor or anything like that.” The guard chuckled. Steffan laughed and the guard opened the gate. The group walked in. “Thanks man. Take care of yourself.” The guard nodded at Steffan and waved as they turned the corner. Min started down the street. “The Bonny Swan is just down here. I say we-” A person dressed all in black jumped out of the shadows and pointed a sword at Min. Five others surrounded Steffan, Robin, and Ashley. There was no escape. Or there wouldn’t have been, had the Techs been normal people. As it was, they had overpowered their attackers in about twelve seconds. “You may crush our bodies, but you’ll never crush our spirits!” said the first attacker, struggling in vain to escape from Min’s grasp. “You have to be the worst ambush we’ve ever experienced. What do you think you’re doing?” The shortest one replied first. “We’re fighting against the oppressors! Overthrowing the tyrants!” Ashley shook her head. “You aren’t overthrowing anything. If we wanted to kill you, you’d be dead now.” The first one spoke again. “If you kill us a hundred more will take our place!” “But you’ll still be dead.” Robin shook her head. “What makes you think we’re the oppressors anyway? We’ve never even met.” A third spoke up. “You walked right through the gate. Only the Emperor’s people can do that.” “Well, Steffan has this insane ability to charm people. As you might have noticed.” She gestured to the other three attackers, who were still staring at Steffan, in complete adoration. “It’s useful when you need to sneak in somewhere.” The first one jumped in. He seemed determined to be right. “Well, if you were trying to be sneaky, why didn’t you just fly in? She has wings, it should have been easy.” Ashley snorted. “You want to try carrying three people over that wall?” First spoke up again. “Okay, so maybe you’re telling the truth. Even so, how can we be sure you’re trustworthy?” “Why don’t we take them to the leaders?” The third chimed in. The first nodded. “Perfect! Chisai Jin will know if we should trust them!” Robin thought for a moment. “Small Person? Do you mean Mel?” She started laughing. “Does she know you call her that?” “Well, not- Never mind! You have to come with us!” The first one looked at the various weapons that were pointed at him. “Please?”
Dec. 3rd, 2007 @ 12:21 am
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I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry. I promise that I will never go this long without updating again. If I do, you are all more than welcome to chain me to my computer and force me to write. It would be no more than I deserve.
~Cap'n Rob
Part 2 Part 10 It wasn’t long before the others realized that something was wrong. Four hours after Ana had taken Mel, Tessa, Andrew and Steve into Grace, an emergency meeting was called. It was kept very quiet, but within 5 minutes Ashley, Robin, Min and Steffan were all sitting in Nancy’s office. Nancy was very quiet and the others were very scared. “I have something to tell you. Four hours ago, Mel, Ana, Tessa, and Andrew left the arts center to visit Grace. They should have been back one hour ago. I don’t have to tell any of you what that means.” Nancy paused as this sunk in. “Now, I know how much you care for each other, so I wanted to make this clear. Under no circumstances are any of you to go after them. It is far too dangerous. Do you understand?” “Yes, we understand.” Robin replied. “We won’t do anything rash.” The others stared at Robin in astonishment. “Good, I’m glad you agree. Now, I know this is going to be hard for you, so I want you all to take the next few days off.” “Wait a-” Steffan began, but was cut off by an elbow in the ribcage. Min gave him a look. “Yes?” Steffan gave in. “Nothing.” “Alright then. I have to get back to the rehearsal, so unless any of has something else to say?” There was an uncomfortable silence. “Then if you’ll excuse me.” She ushered them into the hall and left. “What the hell was that about? You can’t expect us to leave them in Grace!” Ashley was livid. Min was much calmer. “Robin, why do you agree to stay here?” “Did I?” Robin had that annoying look on her face that she always got when she was being clever. “I thought I’d just promised not to do anything rash. And since we’re going to have a wonderful plan before we leave, how could that possibly be considered rash?” “So how do we get to Grace? We can’t make a portal. We need Ana for that.” Ashley was right. None of them had the power to make a portal, and there wasn’t any other way for them to get to Grace. “So what, we’re stuck here? We can’t do anything? Horseshit! There has to be something.” They stood there for a while, all trying desperately to think of something. It was Min who finally found a solution. “The knife!” Everyone stared at her. “You know, that magic knife that the ninjas used last year. The one that cut the portal into Studio A. I’ll bet it can get us a portal to Grace.” “Of course! Min, you’re a genius!” Robin started off down the hall. “Come on, they put it in the props loft.” About twenty minutes later they were gathered in the common room with a few supplies. They’d managed to prepare quite well for the trip, given the time they had. “Alright, everyone set?” Everyone nodded. “Good. Now, if I’m right about this, we should end up about 10 minutes away from the Bonny Swan. Should be as good a place to start looking as any.” Ashley perked up when she heard that. She had spent a fair amount of time in that pub last year, trying to get info on the missing first years with Ana. They’d met some good people while they were there. It would be nice to see them again. Robin gave a nod then lifted the knife into the air. “Kaitsu!” she cried, bringing the knife down. It split the air, leaving a thin blue line in it’s wake, and the group stepped through into Grace. The first thing they saw when they arrived was the ocean. The second thing was the wall. It was very large and very imposing, the sort of wall that caused even the most optimistic person to realise that they would not be welcome beyond it. It surrounded the town. Steffan whistled. “This does not look good.”
Nov. 25th, 2007 @ 10:54 pm
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Hi everyone! Sorry this took so very long. Unfortunately, now that school's started again, it will be more and more difficult for me to update regularily. I will do my best, but every once in a while there might be a month or so between updates, like there was this time. Please forgive me for those waits.
Cap'n Rob
Part 2 Part 9 Mel was trapped. She had been dreading this for a while now, doing everything in her power to avoid those she knew were pursuing her, but this time she had been too slow. She was cornered, surrounded, and now she had no other choice. She had to face Them. She could only hope she would last long enough for a rescue to arrive. Sighing, Mel prepared herself and faced her adversaries. “Please, Mel? I know you can convince Ana to open the passage to Grace.” Andrew gave Mel his most pathetic expression. “Won’t you try? For us?” “No!” Mel could feel her determination starting to waiver. “Nancy would kill me! You know that!” “We won’t tell her. How is she going to find out?” Tessa said, trying logic. “It’s Nancy. She’ll know.” Somehow, none of the actors seemed to have the same fear of Nancy that the techs had. Probably because they did not know her well enough, Mel decided. “We know you guys went there all the time during the summer. How can it hurt if we go to?” Tessa said, still attempting logic. “The ninjas already know about us! They don’t know about you yet!” Mel looked in vain for someone to help her. She knew she could not hold out much longer. “Um, Mel? We did fight them you know. I think they know about us.” Andrew went back to pleading. “Besides, we won’t go anywhere the ninjas hang out. We just want to look around a bit. What can it hurt?” Mel felt herself start to give in, so she tried her last, desperate move. “Guys, I’m really busy right now. Can we talk about this later?” “This won’t take long.” Tessa, putting on her most adorable begging face, went in for the kill, “We’ll love you forever!” Mel caved. “Fine. Just make sure Nancy doesn’t find out” Ana, have you got a second? Ana’s first thought at hearing Mel’s voice was that someone else had been attacked. What’s wrong? Who’s hurt? No, it’s nothing like that. Mel sighed. Tessa and Andrew are here. Ana suppressed a laugh. I’ll be right there. True to her word, Ana stepped through a portal three feet away from them, and had just greeted the group when Nancy walked around the corner. “Hi Nancy!” Ana quickly put on her overly cheerful and innocent attitude in an attempt to hide Mel’s automatic panic reaction. Both the actors shifted into their sweet and innocent attitudes. “Ana, when did you get here?” As usual, it was impossible to tell how much Nancy had guessed. “Oh, just a second ago. I had a few spare hours, so I decided to come for a visit.” Ana quickly lied. After a few more tense moments, they were able to get away. They decided that the Arts Centre was not the ideal place for planning forbidden trips, and had just reached the entrance to the college when Nancy reappeared behind them. “By the way Ana, Mel, the actors have rehearsal in 3 hours. See that they don’t miss it.” And Nancy left again. No one spoke again until they had reached the towers common room. “She knows! And she didn’t kill us!” Mel was astonished. “Who knows what?” The group had been so shaken by Nancy that they hadn’t even noticed Steve sitting in his usual corner in the common room. “Oh, Nancy knows we’re going to Grace.” Andrew told him. “You guys are going to Grace?” Steve sounded outraged. Mel started trying to explain. “Well, the ninjas already know about us ‘cause of last year, so it’s not really like we’re breaking the rules.” Steve ignored her. “You weren’t going to bring me?” “You can come too, I guess.” Ana took a deep breath and focused on the portal. “Everyone ready?” As they nodded, she opened the portal. Bright sunlight filled the room for a moment, then disappeared as the portal closed. The common room was now empty.
Sep. 16th, 2007 @ 10:28 pm
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