Thread: Mysllor RP -- Into the Territory

Day 4, continued
Rose out of bed slowly, every muscle of my body sore with fatigue. My strength was returning, though slowly. I remember casting the energy in a direction that was somewhat correct to change the temporal flow. There was something terribly askew, though...it shouldn't take that much power. After a bit more pondering (still no crushing to be had...need a bit more strength yet for that), I came up with two solutions. The first was that I was trying to change the flow of time across the entire universe, when I should instead be trying to control small pockets of time. The second was that the direction was not as precise yet. I cast the energy in more of a blanket-like fashion, which was less efficient and far more taxing. I will have to learn to fine-tune exactly where I steer the energy, or else time control would be far too impractical for any scenario.

I rose and joined the others, feeling only slightly light-headed. They were sparring and fighting, trying to hone their powers. The smell of ozone hung in the air...looks like Dex has been toying with his lightning again. He seems to have melted an object into the sand...interesting.

I'm going to give time control one more shot. As I recuperate, I will think, meditate, and (ugh) read. My helmit is equipped with a large database of Dark Magic techniques and such...perhaps something about time is there, too. Worth a shot, but god, how I hate reading. *shudder*

Day 4:
I woke up early. Wait, so I imagined that all?? That dissapointed me deeply, I had had a whole battle with Bryce and.... and.... Dammit‼ I forgot. Whatever, I guess I don't have to be enraged anymore. Those guys‼ I needed to find them, I think they knew about the robbery, they might tell someone‼ I could not do jail.
I got up, stumbled a bit, grabbed my Cobain26-16 and put the rest of my stuff in one of the cave sections and made a forcefeild. I guess this would become my hideout. Haze and Rohan were nowhere to be seen when I left. I ran (and floated) for miles, just heading stright. Eventually, I tuirned. I don't know why, it was just a feeling I had. I headed for a while until I found another mountain with a cave in it. I turned invisible and floated up, soundlessly. As I got closer I saw a firey light eminating from the cave. I looked in and saw the guy who had hit me with my sheild, practicing some sort of magic with fire. He thrusted a ball of fire down through a tunnel then brought it back. I quickly made the decisiion not to hurt anyone yet. I made a forcefeild at the mouth of the cavern. He wouldn't notice yet, as it was completely invisible to the naked eye. Then, I turned his staff invisible, as he was too preoccupied with his flares to notice. I then proceeded to lift it through the barrier and put it in a different cave and made another barrier, only this one was farther in. I then floated down and situated myself on the other side of the mountain. I needed time to think, anyway.
Later that Day:
I was deep in thought about my powers of time-slowing/speeding being out of my control sometimes when I heard the man yelling for his friends' help. I turned invisible and quickly rushed to it. The four of them were all banging on it. Bryce said, "that deviant must've done it‼ Back up, I'm going to try to ram through it, Jericho‼" Jericho backed up obediently, I quickly saw an oppurtunity as Bryce dropped his staff. He rushed toward it and I let the barrier down. He stumbled as soon as he hit where it should have been and I quickly re-engaged it. At that moment, I was very happy that the feild was invisible. The other two started banging on it again. I took aim with the Cobain26-16 and shot Dex, he fell to the ground immeadiately. they all started yelling while Dex gave a satisfying shout of pain. I slowly floated to the ground and revealed myself. The one who's name I still did not yet know said "You." In a vile tone, and raised is weapon. I simply replied, "I wouldn't make any moves if I were you, you're currently the only one who can fight, and you wouldn't want the fate of your friend Dex, now would you??" He lowered his weapon in defeat. "What do you want??" He asked, "I know that you know of my crime, and I really can't do jail." I replied. The man got a seemingly confused look on his face, "Crime?? What the hell are you talking about??" "Don't play dumb, now get into that cave." "How?? There's a forcefeild." "Okay, the two of you in there, back into that tunnel or I'll blast your friend like I did Dex." I threatened, they obeyed without hesitation. " Now, you, lean on the forcefeild." I gestured to the un-named man. He also did as he was told, fearing for his life. I then dicipated the barrier and he tumbled in. I then projected thought at the hurt man and lifted him in. I remade the barrier and also put one in the tunnel, in case it led somewhere.
"I'll be back in an hour or so. I need to get my things." I told the four of them, and ran off.

Day 4
"Jericho, we'll find a way to get you out!" I said to try to reassure him, not one of my best skills. Some kind of forcefield. What the heck are you doing, slipping off alone like this? I mentally scream to him. That's why this mission has gone crazy in the first place!.

Bryce lowers his staff and prepares to rush at the forcefield. We watch... as he stumbles right through it. He tried to get back with us, but now he's stuck in there.

"Bryce," I ask, "Can you try to get out from the inside?" We begin banging on it again.

Suddenly I feel a strange presence. It feels like Emmy's field is pulling on something small but not too far away. And right next to it, maybe even embracing it, is some energetic disturbance. Hold on -

Bang! All I feel is something rip into my back at the right shoulderblade. I smack into the forcefield and fall to the ground. I lose grip of the staff. The others begin shouting but I'm dazed.

The dude that scraped his laptop. He makes Benetio fall in like a clown and then somehow floats me in there and leaves.

Benetio moves over to where I am and tries to tend to my wound. I'm bleeding bad and in this unsanitary environment I might get infected. I try to sit up but meet massive pain. I scream and clunk back down.

"Don't try moving," Benetio says.

I sigh painfully and look at them. Jericho, Benetio, Bryce, and...

I groan and emit a cuss word. "Where is Lilia?"

The others start looking at each other. "Probably at camp," Jericho replies.

I give another painful sigh and look around. How are we going to get out of here? Nasty demons? I can't focus eletricity well without my staff, which is now located outside the barrier. Then I have a thought.

"Jericho," I say, weakened from pain. I motion for him to approach me so I can whisper. When his ear is near me I ask, "Can you use your fire to melt rock?"

"I could give it a shot." I reply. It really is a good plan. But... "Should we wait? He may still be out there with that ray gun. But then on the other hand, I've been playing with fire for some time now with an airtight barrier in the cave, so who knows how long our air supply will last."

Dex nods. "It is our only option, but you're right. He may still be out there. How long would it take to get a few feet in?" he queries.

"Not long, I guess. A minute, maybe two. Why?"

"What if we go underground? What do you think? You melt us a tunnel and we come back up at our camp site. I'd say it's a hundred feet away at most, and an hour in here is worse than a gunshot wound out there." He had a point.

"It seems like our only good option." I replied.

"Then it's all settled!" Exclaimed Bryce.

"But what do we do with all the molten rock?" Asked Dex, though they were obviously both wondering that.

I looked around for anything useful. I'd never tried to melt a tunnel before, but this wasn't a great day for trial and error. Then I saw Benetio sitting against the wall of the cave, still kicking himself for letting the Deviant bastard get away. But more importantly I saw his sword. An Accenian sword. "Hand me your weapon, d'Rangon." He handed it over, hesitating only slightly. It was lucky we both had an interest in fire, because while he didn't know the secrets of the sword, I did. I grabbed the blade with both hands and started channeling pure heat energy into it. After a few seconds, I started to pull at it and mold it. The rest of the group was gaping at me as I turned a seemingly normal sword into a giant snow-shovel type device. "These swords are a pyromancer's Swiss army knife. They can be shifted and molded into anything your heart desires. And for now we'll be using it to transport the lava anywhere but the tunnel."

He took back the sword, a little stunned, and helped me as I got to work on the tunnel.

~~~

Just about two hours later the tunnel was finished. A little crevice about two feet wide, maybe a hundred or a hundred-fifty feet long. It didn't take us long to get through, and Lilia was waiting for us on the other side.

Day 4, Continued (again)
That deviant swine showed up and got me trapped in this cave thing. This is just friggin' great. There I was, preparing to reverse time, when this goon shows up, gets me stuck in a cave, shoots my comrade, and leaves us all to rot. What a prick.

The others are tending to the wounded one. There's talk of melting the rock around the force field with fire, but the inferno would consume all the oxygen in the cave and we'd suffocate like rats before we hit the outside. I have another plan...my time-changing skills might be shaky, but it's worth a shot. I'm going to focus on the area where the force field is...I plan to reverse time around this area until a time before the force field was put in place. I'll need to summon my strength...

...this is it, all or nothing. Either we break free, or I fail and have no energy at all. No room for error.

I summoned the dark spirits...a few more than usual, just for good measure. Also called up a demon to protect me should I fail and have no more power. Now it is time.

I concentrated hard on the spot I wished to manipulate, shutting out everything else; closing out the rest of the universe. The space was isolated. Now came the tricky part: finding the right way to release the energy. I had a good idea, but it would be best to start off with some tendrils of power; a small leak to test the waters, so to speak. After some prodding about, I found what felt like the right direction. I gave the connection a bit more juice. Nothing was happening. I gave it still more power, and was instantly reminded of the feeling I had back in the dungeon when the Deviant scum manipulated time. I had it right. Fully confident, I let loose. The barrier dissolved as the sands of time erased it. A blast of desert wind hit my face. I succeeded, and the energy drain this time was not nearly so severe. I was a time bender.

The wounded one is feeling a bit better, and his injury has been treated. We are now sprinting across the desert as fast as we can. I can only hope the Deviant scum does not catch us...though I admit, revenge would be oh so sweet. I want to squash his skull like a grape, feel the bones crack beneath my hands...

Goddamn post snipers.

Day 4 Continued:
When I returned to my mountain I found found Rohan and Haze there.
"I got the prisoners back, come on." I grabbed my stuff and slung it across my back. I started running and eventually ended up speeding time to get farther (seemingly) faster.
When I got back, the prisoners had escaped yet again, a tunnel had been in the opposite side of the cavern, leading underground. I was angry, yes, very mad, but I'd rather take revenge than anything else. Cobain26-16 in hand, I rushed down the tunnel as Rohan and Haze caught up. I'd have to get rid of thm soon, they couldn't run anywhere.
When I got to the other side of the tunnel, I found those for and a third one. A human. I despised humans, they were weak and helpless. Worse than my tools‼ I'd enjoy killing her, as she probably knew about my crime too. Once agan, I can NOT do jail. They hadn't noticed me yet. I turned invisible and made a forcefeild where I expected the tools would soon reach, so as they didn't alert the group of my precense. I saw one of them with my sheild, that angered me. I raised my laser gun and fired twice at his arm that was holding the sheild. As he fell, I saw it was Jericho. I corraled them all in with a forcefeild. now they had two wounded men, the first one had been treated, but not yet healed. I revealed myself and took down the feild blocking the tools, they came running up shortly. "You know of my crime," I told the group, pacing back and forth as they looked in shock. "I'm going to have to kill you." I said grimly, with a small but noticable grin. "You've managed to escape twice, but this time I'm never letting you out of my sight." "We'll just use magick again." Bryce said, as if he outsmarted me. "Actually, you used magick on everyday things, such as laptops and rock, my forcefeild is too strong for that." I said, a look of defeat came upon Bryces face. I smiled at that. "Look, we don't know what crime you're talking about, honestly." Dex said, "Silence‼" I yelled. "I can't take that chance. I have to kill you, but not yet. First, I have some questions."

I was hit. I don't know what was going on, other than the fact that I was hit. there were two long gashes in my forearm, bleeding white blood. Suddenly my head was pounding. My blood pumping. My vision narrowing. I was in bad shape. I wasn't positive what had happened, but we were all trapped in some kind of bubble. My vision darted to the right and there, pacing back and forth, ray gun in hand, was that foul Deviant. And in the last few days he'd earned his title as a Deviant.

He was rambling on about a crime he'd committed when suddenly a wave ran over my body. I was losing my zen. My body was injured, and my magik was taking over. I cocked my head back and screamed. A scream not of human or accenian, but of beast. Of an outlandish beast of nightmare. It was absolutely horrifying to say the least. In fact, it was so terrible that it made the man protect his ears and fall to the ground, not unlike everyone else in the room. But nonetheless, his concentration was broken, and the barrier dissipated. I slapped my palm over my wounded arm and scorched the gashes shut. I felt none of it. I conjured up my sword. Everything was slow and out of my control. Magik was forcing my hand, and pushing me to my physical limits. As I dashed in the Deviant's direction, he lifted up his ray gun, ready to pull the trigger. in no more than a second I slashed through the firearm and a bright blue light filled the room. Then pain. Then black.

Day 4
I regain consciousness. My eyes are still closed and I'm fairly disoriented. Everything stops spinning and I open my eyes. My sight is blurry. I turn my head to my left, where everyone was.

The world comes into focus. There's a large dust cloud still settling. That explosion was major. The rock crevice has collapsed, blocking at least one member inside. I can't tell though.

I look over to where the explosion was. The Deviant is groaning, obviously conscious. Suddenly, I am filled with rage. This is not normal, almost frightening for me. I struggle to stand up but manage. My right arm is still numb.

As I get close to the Deviant, he notices me and tries to get up. But one of his hands is bloodied and the rest of his body is cut and scraped. He uses his arms to push himself up but by then I'm standing over him. I kick him in the stomach and he falls back down.

I get down on my knees and put my numb hand on his heart and my good one on his forehead. "Listen here, scum, I've had about enough of you." With what little muscle control I have in my bad arm - and it's not much, just enough to slightly bend my fingers - I instruct Emmy to start emitting electricity. The man starts groaning in pain, being mildly electrocuted. "Now, do you want to keep playing these games? This isn't the worst I could do. You may think I'm weak, you may think I'm some kind of battery-powered toy, but you do not know who you are dealing with!" I tighten my grip on his forehead and for a moment he think I'm about to kill him with that. "I know your little invisibility trick. I can still feel your presence when you're invisible. You give off an EM field when you do that. If you can use technology to overcome magic, so can I!"

Day 4:
I wake up and groan. What had happened?? One of them had screamed, my forcefeild had come down, then there was a flash of blue, pain, and nothing‼
Suddenly one of them was above me. He started to say something but I was in too much pain to listen. He kicked me and I groaned, even though I somehow didn't feel it. Then, he bent down and started to squeeze my forhead (was that actually supposed to hurt??) He then shocked me with his staff when I turned invisible out of habit. He said something about an EM (I automatically knew he meant EMF). I was then angered. I sent a wave of thought at him like never before, he went flying off me into a rock. The rest of the group were still unconscious. I retreived my other gun and sheild and prepared for battle with Dex. He rushed at me, staff raised. I automatically sent another wave. I felt like thousands of knives were digging into my insides as I did, but that didn't matter. I made a forcefeild around myself. Then I made two more around that one, just in case. I then slowed down time. I yelled (slowly to me, but normal to him), I know exactly what I'm ealing with‼ You are weak. I am the superiour‼" I once again made a forcefeild around the unconscious men (and human).

(OOC: Didn't you read the previous posts? I don't have my staff with me, at least not that I know of.)

Day 4
Trapped again. I chide myself for acting out of impulse like that. This isn't some kind of game where you can press Restart one hundred times! You're already down one arm. Think fast, Hangman!

I shake my head to clear my mind. Now is not the time to be putting myself down. I need to figure out how to get out of this bubble. It's energy. What kind of energy?

Kinetic energy? I begin mentally going through the choices. Maybe he's making the air around me spin? No that would cause a tornado effect. Gravity? The sand would attract to it. Thermal? No, or else I'd be hotter than this desert already makes me. Must be some kind of electromagnetic field!

I put my good hand on the field and increase the EMF around it. I can feel the difference. Then my heart leaps into my throat. It's a field of gamma rays. If this goes screwy I'm worse than toast. It also leaves out the option of modulating Emmy's field. I got a girlfriend back home, and I didn't travel 700 lightyears just to die in an alien desert because of some Deviant freak.

No more games. I'd been watching the confrontation between him and Dex. I didn't step in, of course, because the Deviant deserved everything that came to him. But now he was yet again fighting back. Some people just can't admit defeat. I brought out my shield, shoved it into the force field, and watched the sparks fly between the magik and psi. Eventually the first force field went down, as did the others.

"You can't defeat me!" He screamed, half crying from the intense stress being put on his mind.
"You and I both know that isn't true, now don't we." I said, as I approached him slowly. He tried to send a wave of thought at me, but it was too weak to even make me lose my footing. I grabbed his right hand, picked him up by it, and crushed it. "You're weak. You hide behind your little tricks, but underneath your bones are just as fragile as anyone else's."
He groaned, but said nothing.
"What is your name?" I asked him.
He once more said nothing.
"What is our name!?" I demanded.
"It's Muret, alright! Muret LeFroid!"
"Well then Muret, let this be a warning to you and your posse." I looked over to the collapsed cave still containing two other Deviants. "The Guardians are NOT to be messed with."

At that, I turned loose of him and he fell to the ground. We all left. I had Bryce move some large stones into the opening of the cave. Now he can be the one trapped.

We left as the moon rose. Our only objective now was to find out what was going on with barrier to the Territory. I refused to let us be side tracked any longer. This simply would not do. No more games.

I sat in the cave for a long while, just thinking. I had told him my name, he was going to the police, I was dead. I'd kill myself if I went to jail‼ So I lay there, sealing off the other side, just waiting to die. Until I realized, "Are there things I can do (power-wise) that I didn't know I could do??" I said aloud. I concentrated on letting my powers go free. Suddenly, time went backwards, I was back to when the Guardian was coming towards me‼ I slowed down time until an almost-standstill. The guardian stopped. I knew that he realized time had gone backwards. He looked around very confused. He looked at me and asked (slowly) "What did you do??" "I.... I don't know‼" He replied, "Well, appearently you can just reset time over and over, so I'll just have to kill you." He rushed at me but I yelled, "STOP‼‼" and made a forcefeild directly in front of him. He hit it (as obviously expected) and stumbled back. "I'll stop, just don't tell the police on me," I pleadeed, "I'll do anything‼" I had resorted to begging, something I had resolved against long ago, but it was my only choice.

"None of us know of your crime. NONE! For all we know you either stole a purse or shot the president! If you stop all this nonsense you'll be free to go, and be able to keep your life."

"Wait, so you don't know what I did?? Well, then.... uhh (akward) why are you traveling?? Maybe I could help‼

"You cannot help." I tell him. "You are not a guardian, which you have proven time and again. You are weak and easily corrupted. Now leave before I do tell the authorities!" He started to turn around and leave, but something happened. He started twitching in a very strange way. When he finally stopped, he turned right back to me and said:

"Oh how right you are. He is both easily corrupted and weak. All the easier to control like a puppet." His voice was now strange. It was raspy and hollow. With a distinguishable accent.
"I know that accent, relx! Who are you!?"
"I am known as Myrddin. I am an elder relx. My body is brittle now, but this vessel shall make a fine tool. You seem to be under the impression that what you are doing is right. But it is the worst mistake in accenian history. He is coming to purify the lands. He is coming to free them of oppression. He is coming to set the captive free."
"Who is it you speak of, scum?"
"Oh, all in due time. All in due time!" And at the utterance of that last word time flashed forward and we were back, trudging through the sand like we had been before Muret pulled us back.

This was no good. We had a new enemy now. And he had only reassured us of our worst fears. Something was coming. And we were to stop it at all costs.

I was walking away from Jericho, when suddenly, I saw a black shadow come towards me, I dismissed it as my imagination but it started to crawl up me. It soked itself into my skin and I started to twitch. Suddenly, I was looking out of my eyes with something else. I was no longer controlling my own movements, even my text was a different color (first instance of breaking the fourth wall yet)‼ I thought, "What the hell?!" as my body turned itself around. "I am a Relx being known soley as Myrddin. And you are now my host." a thought that was not my own replied. I tried to move my arm but I couldn't. It started talking to Jericho, with my voice, my words. I couldn't stand that. I retreated to a corner of my mind to think. I ended upp falling asleep (I guess you could call it that, the Relx was still awake). I had a dream, and in it, I realized I was dreaming. With my lucidity, I asked if Myrddin could hear me. No reply. Good. I started to think. I knew that I could do nothing now, but I could still make a list of things to do. I had heard of Relx before, in the Unknown Soldiers, but they rarely showed their faces in the Technology Realm. First, I would try my powers. something subtle at first, then I'd do something else.

Day 4
We continued to walk in the moonlight. Silently. We're all considering what just happened and how now, even time itself is against us.

I am not one to readily express emotions of either the happy or sad kind, so it's good that we're in the darkness, because in this way no one can see the tears rolling down my cheeks. I shake in suppressed rage and fear. Sobs want to burst out but I can't let them. This is not the right time. I grip my staff with my good hand tightly, almost to the point where the muscles cramp.

One sigh is all that comes out, and it's all that is needed for Lilia to notice my mood. "Dex, are you OK?"

I look at her, then realize my face is slightly lit by the moonlight. I snap my head back in the direction we are walking, blushing from embarrassment. I can't say for certain we're the only ones here - nothing is for certain now - but I consent to reveal just a little bit of my inner workings. "No, I am not alright. I've been defeated by that same bag of crap three, maybe four times, in that many days. Everything I do, he's able to counter. I am sick of falling in defeat."

"Dex," Lilia tries to comfort me, "He's probably been a criminal longer than you've been a good guy. I imag - "

"That's not the point!" I say a little more tersely than I wanted to, catching the others' attentions. Great. Now I'm having a hissy-fit. "I was put on this team because of my unique skill set and natural talent to operate the EMNA. And I am not going to let him whip me again. I have a girlfriend waiting for me back at home, and I did not travel 700 lightyears to die in some barren desert." I look at my staff. "When we next encounter them, I expect that his blood will be splattered on my staff."

"Iridani, that is enough!" Jericho says, irate about my last sentence. "We are not going to have anymore battles if we can avoid it. We are out here to find out what is wrong with the barrier, that is all. You are the one who can best help us understand the energy fluctuations - or whatever the heck will be found there - and that is all you will do. You are not to even consider using your skills for anything except that unless you have a very good reason. Understood?"

His tone doesn't give me much option. "Understood."

That night we made camp behind a dune. There was no wind, and the cliffs and caves were too obvious, it seemed. At least this way they'd have to be looking VERY carefully to find us. Instead of a fire we used a lantern and a heater, so no smoke would be made. There was more to fear now that an elder relx was against us. And a younger one on top of that, though I do not know what's become of him. I looked up at the stars. The moons could all be seen in full, an occurrence that only happened once every two years. It was especially beautiful.

I went into my tent. We all needed our sleep after such a long day (literally considering how many times it was slowed down and reversed). I closed my eyes, but then my tent ruffled and I heard a small voice whisper "Jericho." I hoped I was dreaming. I really wanted to go to sleep. But nonetheless I opened my eyes to see a worried looking Lilia right above me.

"Are you awake?" She asked quietly.
It was impossible to be mad at her. "Now I am." I said in a joking voice. "What is it?"
"It's Dex."
"What about him?" I wondered.
"I think he's really upset over this whole thing." She said, still shivering from the cold desert.
"What do you want me to do?" I asked sincerely. His anger could be bad for us, but I couldn't come to a reasonable solution.
"Could you try to talk some sense into him? I've tried but he won't listen at all."
"Do you think it could wait until the morning? I'm sure he's as eager to get some shut eye as I am."
"Okay. But just promise you'll talk to him."

(You guys can kill/maim/torture/do whatever with me. I don't have the time to keep up, sadly. )

Disregard the last post. Mario's character will be taken care of, just as Lilia has.

Day 5
After an uneasy sleep in this foreign land where somehow 1+1 can equal 3 with the wave of a wand, I sit up and look around. No one else is moving, so it must mean I'm the first up. I strip off my clothes and pull out from my carry-on bag a soapclothe, something designed by the folks back on Earth to compensate for the lack of water in the desert. I simply wipe my body with it and it acts as well as an actual shower. I then put on new clothes for the day.

I go to put my hair in my preferred style for it - unevenly parted down the middle - but then I decide it's irrelevant how it looks, so I just comb it all back. I take the staff outside and stand in the cool breeze for a couple minutes.

(Flashback)
"The Electromagnetic Net Apparatus, or EMNA, works like this: when you wear it, the net emits a field of a strength you preset on the master pack on the back. The small conductors in the net sense your muscle contractions and alter the field based upon how tensed or relaxed your muscles are." My instructor, the designer of the machine - which I secretly call Emmy - makes a fist. "If you make a fist, the field around your hand will strengthen to the ratio in which your hand tightens. With certain body movements preset, it's almost as though the EMNA can read your mind and do what you want it to do."

Read my mind? I think in a half-amused, half-amazed tone.
(End Flashback)

I look down at the staff in my hand. I need a whole new bag of tricks. This guy can hit from afar. And then there's that big beast that can kill with his looks. I pause and think of Jericho. What happened? He got hurt bad and something in him snapped...

I begin putting my logical thinking to use. Muret can put forcefields around himself and others. But because it's all gamma rays, I can break them, but that would require setting Emmy's field to match or exceed his. She's not designed to do that. It would be a massive power drain, not to mention the potential of someone getting serious radiation damage. Fight fire with fire...

I need better offensive attacks. I can melee easily, but there's not always that chance I'll be able to get close to them. Especially not with what we're up against. But maybe... I put my staff in front of me and drop it, quickly making a fist. It floats halfway between the ground and my arm. I put my other hand behind it, tense up muscles to make a strong field, and then begin "pushing" the staff away. When I extend that arm the full length, I make small shove movements.

The staff floats outwards about six feet before it begins to exit the EM field. So I boost the power and eventually get it to move out forty feet at half of full strength. Bingo! It isn't too hard to make it move around in arcs or the like. This will be my new off-hands technique. My hand-to-hand is already superb. I sigh. I should have killed that freak when I had the chance.

(Why didn't Jericho tell the others that the Relx has me??)

When I wake up, the Relx still has me under control. "Good, your up," it thinks to me, "What kind of powers can you use??" "I'm not going to tell you‼" I snap, "You just did," he continues. "It's pretty convenient how I can just remind you of something and then it flashes through your mind." "Why did you choose me as a host??"
"Because, we share a common grounds against the guardians," he replies to me, "No, I don't have anything against them anymore." I say, "Ah, but you don't know what they're doing in Mysllor. They are going to close the rift that seperates the masses from the wastelands." "What?!" I imply as yelling, "But.... but that's where my friend disspeared into back in the Solders...."
Epic Back Story:
Back in the Unknown Soldiers (before I left, of course), I had a close friend named Alex. He was a deviant, like me, and we were real close. One day, we were off committing a crime, robbing a bank or something I forget, anyway, it turns out the place belonged to a guardian. He chased us for a while then opened a portal directly in front of us. I stopped, but Alex ran right through. I knew where it had led, the wasteland. I had tried to open portals there with my powers, but never succeeded. If he was still there, I would be able to get him back out. I had to keep that portal open.
"Okay, I'll help you keep the portal open, as long as we can find my friend." "Good choice." The Relx said slyly, and he walked us off.

Day 5
After some time, I continued to develop skills and created a couple more tricks. The rest of the gang got up, freshened up for the day, and we all sat down for breakfast. It was still early in the day, so the sun hadn't begun beating down on us too hard.

"OK everyone," Jericho announces once we're sufficiently fed. "Our mission is to find out what's wrong with the barrier. Dex, can you detect anything out of the ordinary?"

Oh you mean besides the fact that a few of us are aliens here? No not really. "Nothing. I suggest we go to the barrier, where we can get a better look at the field."

"Good plan," Jericho says. He tilts his head up slightly to face the rest of us. "OK everyone, let's get going." We all pack up our stuff and begin trekking, ever wary of our surroundings.

It isn't too long before Jericho takes me aside and speaks in a low voice to me. "Is something bothering you, Dex?"

I glance at him briefly. "What makes you ask?"

"Well, it seems to me and Lilia that you're distressed about something."

Jeez, can't I get away from it? "It's nothing, really. I can get over it."

"Dex, I saw how you reacted yesterday. Another episode like that could get all of us killed. Now, what's wrong?"

"It's just... I don't know. I was top of my class in high school. I've always been the smartest person wherever I went. I've always been the star athlete. I was the top pick to operate the EMNA. And now I'm being kicked around by some twit who, for all I know, dropped out of high school."

"Is this a pride issue?" Jericho asks, almost quizzically.

"Pride? No, I'm not a prideful person." We both silently stare at each other realizing just how egotistical that makes me sound. "It's not pride, I swear. I guess it's just... competence. Or lack thereof."

"You feel somehow incompetent?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Getting my butt kicked around when I'm supposedly one of the most powerful people in the world."

Jericho lowers his head slightly, an Accenian expression meaning "I'm not trying to be rude with what I'm about to say." He replies with, "In case you haven't noticed, Muret and that Relx have been kicking all of our butts."

I sigh and nod in agreement. "But you seem to have no problem getting back, unlike the rest of us."

"Dex, I'm 520 of your years old. That may be young for my people, but that's still enough time for me to get pretty darn good at my magic." He puts his hand on my shoulder, an attempt to mimic human expressions. "You're far from a weak man. You're pulling out some good tricks that have saved us several times already. We just didn't know what we're up against. Now that we do, I feel you'll find you're a lot stronger than you realize."

(they already know about the relx, they were there)

Journal Day Five
We are heading off to the barrier to examine the disturbance, and hopefully find some sort of lead to guide us along.

We trudged through the abyss of sand and sky. Sand and Sky. Those seemed to be the only certainties in the Territory. After no less than five hours (it would have been ten but we found another wandering group of desert steeds) we found the tear in the barrier. I walked strait through it, proving it was still open. I had Dex measure frequencies, Bryce stand guard, and the rest of us look for anything unusual.

"Does anyone else feel that?" Said a disturbed Benetio. "It's not much, but..." He continued stepping from one place to the other. "It's like it's almost colder right here."

I walked over and stepped into where he was standing. It wasn't much, but I noticed it when I tried to. I had Bryce pull up a thermal imaging display on his helmet.

"Yea, it's there alright." He said, looking off into the distance. "It's like a tunnel leading from the rift to deep Territory. What do ya think it means?" He asked the group, though everyone turned to me.

"As far as I know there's only one thing it could mean." I informed the group warily. "An exiled Necromancer is causing this."