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Stitch

Roy Koopa
Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!








Since: 08-20-04
From: California

Since last post: 721 days
Last activity: 721 days
Posted on 03-03-05 11:56 AM Link | Quote
This one's being rewritten slightly to fit the other rewrite.


Domain
Part of the Paradox Island series
By: CIAHacker/Zabuza

Prologue


Deep in the gleaming metallic jungles of downtown Edge City in a jet-black building located near the borders of the business centers cowers a gifted young man shrouded under a dark leather coat. Poring himself over the keyboard contacts and displays surrounding his polished silver desk, he contemplates the intruders of old with the garbage of new. Dirty light permeating in thin strands through the musty room, he sat awaiting replies from his many cyber minions. The midday suns now on the horizon just cresting beyond the towering structures of yesterday and tomorrow, sunlight filtering through a dust frosted window and a singular hand-blown tumbler of water resting peacefully next to a small statuette of a scantily clothed anime girl, Pat leaned back in his chair watching a solitary speck of dust glide through the room. His coat shifted slightly off his shoulders as he pressed chair farther backwards in order to gain full view of his blank white ceiling. An air of solitude hanging in the mist outside, Pat decided that perhaps tonight would be an excellent night to test the machine.
The rapid descent down the turbo shaft to the ground floor twenty stories below allowed little time to contemplate the temperature outside, and the harsh conditions that come with nightfall in the heart of the City. Doors slid effortlessly to reveal a dimly lit lobby complete with a sleeping doorman at the concierge desk. Pat started his walk towards the front door, coat swaying with each step.
“Who goes there?” the doorman whispered in his sleep, head never lifting from its reposed position. The doorman’s large body and flowing blond hair didn’t really impose a threatening image on people coming in and out of the building, but the giant axe sitting next to him ready to be launched at any infidel made those who had no business in the building think otherwise about venturing in.
“Asleep on the job again, I see, eh Tom?” Pat walked past the desk and beyond to his postbox. Tom’s weight shifted underneath his seat as he tilted forward to stare at the security monitor for the fifteenth floor.
“No, I was merely resting my tired eyes,” he turned to look at Pat with eyes that glowed as green as the contacts on the security console, “I see you’re off to some place tonight.”
“Well, yeah. I can’t stand the light of day, and night is the perfect setting for…” he paused to read the incoming postcards. Hmm, he thought, seems they’re going to Zedari after all. Well, I’m not going to see some meteor shower again. Screw that.
“For?”
“Hmm? Oh nothing.” An alarm began to sound at Tom’s desk. He tilted forward and hit a few contacts on the main security console. Some thug had broken into an apartment on the fifteenth floor, north side. He ceased all lift stops to that floor, and placed the safety foam detonation on standby.
“That should do it. Hey, did you happen to hear if Rosy was heading up to Zedari this afternoon?” Tom sat up, readjusting himself in the ergonomic seat, his axe shifting and resting slightly on the security desk.
“No. In fact, I only know…” he paused to glance at his watch. The window was shrinking. “…that Tom and Crystle were going out to the fields. I received an invite for tomorrow morning.” He showed Tom the postcard, then turned towards the main doors.
“Leaving so soon?” Pat nodded at the question, and pushed his way out into the unforgiving cold of the night. He coat came to a standstill behind him as he watched what little stars he could see beyond the buildings and walked towards the Business Central plaza.


Chapter I: Millennium


A dark silhouette walking amongst the cold buildings, footsteps quietly and diligently placed on the pavement, coat swaying in the darkness. The mist began to slowly fall from far above trying to cover the ground below while Pat sifted through several thoughts floating around his dormant mind. He watched his coat shift back and forth, as he walked through the desolate night air looking for the perfect spot to unveil one of his masterful toys. Night dwellers began to surface from their inner domains to bask in the moonlight away from the harshness of the solar triplets, away from the harshness of daytime reality, to become the veritable children of the night. However, Patrick did not share the same curiosity they had for nocturnal destruction, vandalism, and overall being “shady”. He reached into his pocket producing a silver rectangular device with a single pulsating green light centered on the unit, and pointed this device towards a small cylindrical structure sitting atop the central fountain of Business Park Plaza. The unit began to pulsate rapidly as he approached the inactive cascade prompting a hidden mobile computer in his opposite pocket to awaken from its slumber.
He approached the base of the fountain only to discover a familiar night dweller standing on the initial steps leading up to the main cascade holding a long, silvered broad sword. Patrick stopped walking and sat in the shadows of the darkness.
“I see you,” the night dweller declared to Pat as she turned to face him with eyes of crimson fires. The night dweller’s long cloak and long hair indicated that her ancestors were of the old ways from the times before Edge City took over the region; existing from the great days of old when nature was the law of the land.
“Damn,” Pat whispered under his breath before lifting himself up to proceed down the stairs, “how could you?”
“Heightened senses for this nocturnal being,” the night dweller answered as she knelt down to run her blade through the clear water of the fountain, “What brings you here tonight?”
“An experiment,” he paused to look up towards Isis, the smaller second moon, and then continued, “What takes you up to Central Plaza?”
The night dweller stood from her position, stowed her sword, and turned to face Patrick—her eyes slowly fading, “How did you know about that? I guess everyone knows that Tracy has gone away on a retreat.” She paused to watch a bird fly through the buildings, “Anyway, I have to depart before Night Squadron arrives. Give my best to the others when you see them.”
“I will…later. Take care, Rosy, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Rosy stepped off the ledge and walked up towards the northern edge of the plaza disappearing behind the shadows of the buildings. Pat stared down at his watch. 1:14 AM, perfect. He walked down to the base of the fountain taking great care in placing the silvered device on the ledge of the fountain—its light now a solid green. The cylindrical object rotated slightly producing a miniature satellite dish while Pat sat down on the steps of the cascade plaza with his mobile computer. Isis shone overhead, perfectly centered over the plaza, its light dispersing among the harsh angles of the buildings.


Creative Commons License


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.


(Last edited by Zabuza on 11-09-07 09:42 PM)
Elara

Divine Mamkute
Dark Elf Goddess
Chaos Imp
Penguins Fan

Ms. Invisable








Since: 08-15-04
From: Ferelden

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
Posted on 03-04-05 01:38 AM Link | Quote
Oh wow, so much of that one was lost?

I noticed a few gender changes you missed again, but I now see kinda what you are doing with Rosy... Tracy huh?
Stitch

Roy Koopa
Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!








Since: 08-20-04
From: California

Since last post: 721 days
Last activity: 721 days
Posted on 03-17-05 02:11 PM Link | Quote
Chapter Two: The Mists


Pat dropped to one knee, his cloak wrapping around him, as he worked meticulously on the control panel he produced from an inner pocket. The device came to life in front of him, the top portion opening like a split coconut revealing a small satellite dish, spinning around to capture the secluded moonlight of Isis. Pat stood from his position stowing the control panel within his cloak starting his walk up towards the top of the plaza. Sounds of footsteps stopped his slow walk to the top; he lowered his head and placed his hand gingerly on his sword.

"These grounds are forbidden this time of night. State your purpose." the Night Squadron officer beckoned while holding his phaser rifle towards the darkened hacker.

Pat took a step forward, glanced back towards his device, then addressed the officer, "I have no purpose. However, we can do this one of two ways: you can leave, or we do it my way." The officer powered up his rifle, promptly falling to the ground in pain, his severed right arm landing next to him. Pat never moved, yet his cloak swayed despite the absence of wind. Pat lifted his head, his eyes gleaming in the soft moonlight, "I guess it'll just have to be my way, then."

The device's satellite dish whirred around towards Pat, the base illuminating blue lights around it. The officer sat up holding his rifle towards Pat, his breath irregular. He watched Pat's hand shift slightly, then gasped a bloody stream of air before collapsing backward onto the plaza floor, Pat's sword embedded deeply into the officer's chest. Pat walked up to the officer bending over to rest his weight upon the sword. The officer winced, his bluish gray blood flowing around him, "How? You never moved."

Pat stepped on his chest and pulled the sword out from his prey, "It won't be long now. Isis will take care of you." He stepped back from the officer as the device recharged emitting a single beam of pure white energy towards the officer. Instantly vaporized, the officer's only remnants being the blood stained steps of the central fountain. Pat shut down the device, ran his sword through the crystal blue water of the fountain, then walked back up the steps towards his apartment building.


(Last edited by Zabuza on 03-19-05 03:04 AM)
Elara

Divine Mamkute
Dark Elf Goddess
Chaos Imp
Penguins Fan

Ms. Invisable








Since: 08-15-04
From: Ferelden

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
Posted on 03-17-05 06:07 PM Link | Quote
Wow... that is just really interesting... must go post in discussion so that I can ask a question.
Stitch

Roy Koopa
Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!








Since: 08-20-04
From: California

Since last post: 721 days
Last activity: 721 days
Posted on 04-07-05 08:51 PM Link | Quote
He stopped his walk to peruse a shadow lurking in the depths of the plaza. It moved quickly from one darkness to another before stopping just in front of him.


"The watch, now," the shadowy figure said from behind darkened glasses, his long trenchcoat fluttering slightly in the low breeze of the plaza. He stood just slightly taller than Pat, and by the act of wearing sunglasses late at night, Pat knew that was a being sensitive to all forms of light. Pat shifted his hand towards his computer, the shadowy figure leapt backwards, his trenchcoat flowing behind him, and landed a heavy thud a couple feet away sword gleaming in the light.


"I was just playing with it, no harm done." Pat yelled as he slowly removed his sword. He dropped down to a ready stance and moved his trenchcoat away from his shoulders. The coat melted to the floor revealing the Special Ops suit from the days of the old Mainland conflicts.


"No excuses, watch, now..." The shadow shed his coat as well revealing the upgraded Special Ops suit, then stowed his sword, "Don't make me take it from you."


"I'd like to see you try," Pat stowed his sword within its sheath, and motioned for his assailant to commence, "whenever you're ready." The shadow sighed greatly, rolled his eyes from beneath the dark glasses, and appeared before Pat just inches from his face.


A swift hand appeared on Pat’s right side; he shifted his weight and drew up his left arm allowing his assailant’s hand to strike the transporter contacts. Pat disappeared appearing just behind his assailant, a few feet above launching a drop kick to his attacker’s shoulder. Just before impacting, the dark shadow disappeared in a bright, white light, reappearing just in front of Pat’s outstretched leg. The dark shadow grabbed onto his foot and tweaked Pat around into a fast-spinning spiral. He leapt up into the air dropping down with an outstretched fist towards the spinning ex-agent, but stopped short as Pat had once again disappeared.


The dark shadow leapt backwards over Pat’s sweeping leg, landing behind him and executing two quick punches to the back of Pat’s neck before disappearing and reappearing in front of him. Pat dropped down, disappeared and reappeared in front of the dark shadow forcefully open-handedly punching him squarely in the chest launching the shadow backwards. The shadow flew backwards, but disappeared in a bright flash just before hitting the ground, reappearing behind Pat with his sword stopped just a few inches from Pat’s back. Pat quickly spun around, the blade cutting deeply into his uniform and back, and withdrew his sword. The two figures, dimly lit by the rays of Isis, stood watching each other before the flowing waters of the fountain. Pat quickly lunged forward, only to have his sword knocked out of his hands and embedded into a building wall. The dark figure reappeared above Pat, sword trained down towards his shoulder. Pat flinched slightly, disappearing and reappearing as the dark shadow dug his sword deep into the Plaza ground then flipped onto his feet again. They stood watching each other until the familiar lights and sirens from the Night Squadron vehicles filled the night air. The dark shadow leapt forward retrieving his sword from the ground in one motion landing again in front of Pat.


"Fine, but next time, I take the watch with or without your cooperation," the shadow figure cast his left arm towards the trenchcoat causing it to immediately fly into his grasp before turning to face Isis, "give my regards to T’om." He flipped backwards onto his feet once more before dissolving into the shadows of the surrounding buildings. Pat dropped to one knee to retrieve the identicard that had fallen from the shadow's coat. He picked it up, held it up to Isis, and stowed it in a pocket on his suit. After gathering his trenchcoat, Pat resumed his walk to his apartment building, retrieving his sword from the building wall and ignoring the approaching Night Squadron.



A low-lying swirling mist of blue began to appear just ahead of him giving an air of mischief abound. Not his, though, because he had just finished for the night. He took no interest in the mysterious fog, and continued the last few steps to the apartment doors.



"You still have that thing?" belowed the large Taroxian from his security desk as he sharpened the blade of his axe against the edge of the desk. Pat stopped in front of the desk, and moved aside his coat, "This old thing? You know, memories sake only," he moved past the desk to his mailbox again--nothing, "oh, and Lee sends his regards."


"Really, you saw him tonight? What's he been up to?" Tom stood from the desk and walked over to a monitor showing the north end of the 23rd floor. He pushed a contact on the panel showering the intruder above in a sticky cloud of fluid, then announced over the speakers "The Night Squadron will be here momentarily to remedy your situation." Tom stood taller than Pat as well, but he was a huskier pure race built for battle, hunting, and war, not sitting at a security desk for an apartment building. No third helix here.


"We didn't speak much. Did you know he's still with them?" Pat walked over to the monitors and watched the perpetrator struggle with the enclosing foam as a small troop of Night Squadron personnel ran through the lobby in front of him.


"No, he retired long ago. You know he runs HyWire now, right? He got me the X-drive for myself and Rosy. Speaking of which, have you seen Rosy?" Tom picked up his axe and lodged it into the tritanium wall.


Pat walked back around the counter and made his way towards the bank of lifts thinking back to the beginning of the night when he had spotted Rosy heading towards the Central Plaza, "No, I haven't." He motioned his retreat, and walked off towards the center lift as the Night Squadron personnel walked passed him rolling the sticky ball away. The last officer stopped to stare at Pat.


"Problem, officer?" Pat whispered as he stared at the awaiting lift.


"No," the officer said as he turned to catch up with his partners. No, indeed, Pat thought as he boarded the lift, scenes of the Mainland flooding his mind, remembering how Lee had acted then, and whether he had changed.





(Last edited by Zabuza on 07-06-05 05:13 PM)
Elara

Divine Mamkute
Dark Elf Goddess
Chaos Imp
Penguins Fan

Ms. Invisable








Since: 08-15-04
From: Ferelden

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
Posted on 04-10-05 02:41 PM Link | Quote
Hmn... interesting. Although I am not quite sure what Tom is reffering to when he askes Pat why he still has it. Do you mean the watch? Or what?

Otherwise, after your rewrite of Paradox Island, the relationship between Lee, Pat, and Tom is much clearer. Although I do find that Lee at night is much more imposing than Lee during the day, it almost didn't seem like him, heh heh.
Stitch

Roy Koopa
Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!








Since: 08-20-04
From: California

Since last post: 721 days
Last activity: 721 days
Posted on 04-17-05 01:30 AM Link | Quote
He awoke the next morning, his face resting on the contact keyboards of his computers, feeling the need to prove that his once partner still served to betray them all. It was only a matter of time. If Lee had done it once before, he might attempt to do it again. He roused himself and appeared in the lobby, groggily, a few minutes later. Tom had left for the day, since he only served as the nighttime concierge, leaving the new guy at the counter. He walked up to the counter watching the man dressed in the long white coat watch the monitors before noticing Pat's presence.

"Yes?" he questioned staring at Pat's groggy eyes. Pat sighed internally, contemplating the urge to walk passed the desk and retrieve anything from his mailbox.

"Apartment 22-H, mail please," he grunted out watching the man's silver eyes. Venitian, he thought as the tall man dressed in white walked behind towards his mailbox retrieving a single holodisc.

"Here you are. Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Betts?" the man handed Pat the holodisc and sat back down at the desk. Pat shook his head and turned to walk back out the door disgusted at the thought that anyone could be remotely have any kind of perkiness in this world. He stepped outside into the warm sunlight of Solaris I and turned to look back at the concierge. The man lifted his head and gave Pat a nod, pressing a contact on his security desk. A BizTransNet single occupant vehicle appeared from around the corner and stopped in front of Pat, its door opening for him. He stepped inside instructing the vehicle to take him to the Mass Transit Center. He had someone to visit.

A few minutes later, Pat found himself on the AeroTrain headed for Oakridge's Mass Transit Center with the holodisc sitting in his pocket. He removed Lee's pilferred identicard and inspected it against the light of the train, his stop approaching in the next few seconds. Once on the platform for the Oakridge Mass Transit Center, he walked the seven blocks to Crystle's house hoping to find her before she left for the day.

He arrived, very disgusted with having to walk anywhere, a couple of minutes later at her front door. He stood for a moment inspecting Christine's backyard across the way for any signs of either her or Brandon. He knocked heavily on her front door. She appeared a few moments later.

"I need to talk to you," he said pushing his way into her house and walking straight up to her table. She was reading over the printouts from the nights before; all the data from the showers. Pat recognized the streams printed on the anomaly readouts; he had seen those data patterns somewhere before.

"Come in," she started sarcastically closing the door behind her, "what's up?"

He moved to the front window peering across the street to the back of Christine's home trying to look beyond to Lee's house. His car was gone meaning that hopefully he was gone as well. "He's still with them," he motioned as he took off his trenchcoat revealing the old Special Ops uniform to Crystle. She reacted adversely to his continued possession of a relic of the old glory days.

"No, he's not. You know you all retired at the same time, moved out here, and now he works for HyWire." She sat at the table and organized her papers. Frustration took hold of him as he removed the identicard he had recovered the night before and slammed it on her kitchen table.

"No! I tell you he's still working for them. I know, I have proof," he looked around the room for her holoviewer and couldn't find it.

"You stole Lee's identicard!" she picked it up and examined it. Near the bottom, clearly printed, the word "RETIRED" appeared. "See, he's still retired. It says the same thing your i-card does. All ex-government personnel have that stamp. If he was still active, he wouldn't have the stamp."

He watched as she slipped the identicard into her pocket, then turned to face the door, "I'll prove it to all of you, he's still working for them." He walked out the door, and into the sunlight walking towards the Mass Transit Center. Now we'll see who believes whom, he contemplated as he walked, his coat swaying in the sweet breeze from the Great Ocean, when Special Ops hones in on the tracer from the i-card and finds someone else has it. "Unless," he voiced out loud stopping a few blocks from the Mass Transit Center, "she calls him at 'work'." He stood for a few moments before continuing his walk towards the Center hoping that she wouldn't call. Even if she did call, he was sure they monitored the lines to HyWire, and they would eventually come for the card.

He boarded the AeroTrain headed for the SubTrain transition towards the Mainland. He had a disc to deliver, and an acquaintance to visit in San Angeles before nightfall.


(Last edited by Zabuza on 04-18-05 12:58 AM)
Elara

Divine Mamkute
Dark Elf Goddess
Chaos Imp
Penguins Fan

Ms. Invisable








Since: 08-15-04
From: Ferelden

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
Posted on 04-19-05 02:39 PM Link | Quote
Hmn, interesting... but why would the Venitian be working in Pat's apartment building?

Otherwise, you do very well in capturing Pat's personality... now I just want to know what he is plotting.
Stitch

Roy Koopa
Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!








Since: 08-20-04
From: California

Since last post: 721 days
Last activity: 721 days
Posted on 05-29-05 02:12 PM Link | Quote
The SubTrain ride was as smooth as it always had been gliding through the tunnel at speeds of over 150 miles per hour towards the San Angeles Mass Transit Station A--his final destination at least until tomorrow. He had placed a call to his contact while on the train, and hoped that he could catch that acquaintance before they left their premises.

"You have a disc for me," the subtle gentle voice of Server One filled his earpiece, "and you haven't much time for me to analyze it. Your once partner, now adversary, is on his way to intercept you."

"I know that," he huffed into the earpiece, "but I was hoping you could do something about that."

"Server One is all-knowing, all-powerful, yet powerless and oblivious."

He paused for a moment staring into the darkness of the tunnel, "Alright." He disconnected and stood to make his way to the doors. The SubTrain would arrive in a few more moments, and he had to secure transportation. If only the tunnel allowed a view into the traffic tunnels below the SubTrain tunnels; then he could monitor the presence of Lee's Marauder.

San Angeles sat in twilight as the suns dropped on the horizon just in front of the Mass Transit Center. Lights started to illuminate the myriad buildings huddled amongst each other while elevated highways and AeroTrain tracks snaked in and around the structures. Hundreds of thousand of little spots of lights permeated the skyscape, and the sweet smell of condensed city life infiltrated his lungs. The height of the Mass Transit Center platform in relation to the beach created an oceanic breeze that ruffled the lower edges of his trenchcoat. He removed his sunglasses and inspected the surrounding highways and streetways for any sign of the Marauder, and then took a turbolift to the middle levels to catch an AutoTaxi to the lower class Zona District.

The AutoTaxi's computer paused as it searched for Server One's position returning a simple answer, "Server One is everywhere. Specific destination, please?" He requested the quaint little Cafe Rodin on Castro St in Zona. The AutoTaxi confirmed his destination, subtracted the fees from his i-Card, and accelerated down the elevated highway towards the heart of San Angeles. The buildings towered high overhead blocking any attempt to view the night sky, jutting outward like huge spikes piercing into the darkened firmament. It felt like home, but that was long gone, and Edge City had become his new home.


(Last edited by Zabuza on 05-29-05 11:43 PM)
Elara

Divine Mamkute
Dark Elf Goddess
Chaos Imp
Penguins Fan

Ms. Invisable








Since: 08-15-04
From: Ferelden

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
Posted on 05-29-05 03:50 PM Link | Quote
Home? What's this? How very intriguing... do go on. Also, like you mentioned in the PM yeah a bit more descriptiveness of San Angeles would be nice, though you can add on more in the next update... which I hope shall be soon.
Stitch

Roy Koopa
Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!








Since: 08-20-04
From: California

Since last post: 721 days
Last activity: 721 days
Posted on 06-04-05 02:00 PM Link | Quote
He had lost himself in the entanglement of buildings before he noticed that all had stopped moving around him. His watch had started pulsing a blue light indicating the activation of a limited time-freeze. He pushed open the emergency latch on the door, and stepped out onto the highway. All the vehicles sat frozen in time, except for two shadows running up the highway in front of him.

He started a rigorous jog towards the shadows trying to catch up to them, dodging vehicles in the darkness of night, watching the shadows near a mass transit station. The shadows of the surrounding buildings aided in the concealment of the figures he had been chasing, so he decided to continue running passed the transit station. He glanced down at his watch surveying the few minutes still left before time-resume, and stopped a few hundred feet from the second transit station.

Nearby, a decorative pylon from an office building jutted out over the AeroTrain track. Pat walked up to a support arm holding the highway, and climbed up to the AeroTrain track. Avoiding the energized power strip that ran on the underside of the track, he clambered on top of the narrow track and placed on a pair of Special Ops gloves. He lunged forward and grasped onto the metallic pylon, both hands electromagnetically attaching to the pylon. Swinging forward and releasing the electromagnetic hold, he flipped himself onto the top of the pylon crouching down to survey the surrounding area. Off in the distance, he caught sight of the far off Elysian apartment building, a place that had been his home many years ago.

After crawling down the pylon, and forcing his way into the office building, he worked his way down to the ground floor standing in the shadows of the building overlooking a deserted streetway. He removed his PCD dialing up Server One.

"Both of you have something you think I'd like to see," she spoke while the clinging of tea cup sounded softly in the background, "yet how do either of you know I haven't seen it before?"

"Both? Is Lee already there?" he started running towards the Zona district.

"He is here, yet he is not. You are there, yet you are here. I have the datadisc, yet I don't," there was a pause on the line, "Tea? White still prevails in darkness."

Pat disengaged the call and continued running towards the cafe. Off in the distant silence, he could hear another set of footsteps running towards him. He stopped running, watching a singular slender figure drop in front of him, white cloak trailing behind him with silver eyes glowing like the moons of Isis and Usiris.

"I believe you have something I want," the figure voiced holding his hand out towards Pat. Pat glanced down at his watch; the time-freeze was still active.

"How are you able to move about during this?" Pat took a step backwards centering his body for a fight, his left hand resting gingerly on the hilt of his sword.

"By natural occurance, all Venitians happen to be immune to any artificial fluctuations of time," the Venitian stepped forward while simultaneously unsheathing a broadsword and placing the blade just inches from Pat's neck, "the disc, please."

Pat nodded, and dropped his right hand into his coat pocket producing a small flash explosive. The flash briefly illuminated the surrounding areas painfully, yet momentarily, blinding the Venitian. When his sight returned a few moments later, Pat had disappeared.


(Last edited by Zabuza on 06-04-05 05:06 PM)
Elara

Divine Mamkute
Dark Elf Goddess
Chaos Imp
Penguins Fan

Ms. Invisable








Since: 08-15-04
From: Ferelden

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
Posted on 06-05-05 12:16 PM Link | Quote
Hmn... how very interesting. I didn't know that about Venitians. Now I really want to know what shall happen.

Server One drinks tea?
Stitch

Roy Koopa
Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!








Since: 08-20-04
From: California

Since last post: 721 days
Last activity: 721 days
Posted on 07-06-05 02:02 PM Link | Quote
I rewrote the encounter in Chapter II between Lee and Pat:



A swift hand appeared on Pat’s right side; he shifted his weight and drew up his left arm allowing his assailant’s hand to strike the transporter contacts. Pat disappeared appearing just behind his assailant, a few feet above launching a drop kick to his attacker’s shoulder. Just before impacting, the dark shadow disappeared in a bright, white light, reappearing just in front of Pat’s outstretched leg. The dark shadow grabbed onto his foot and tweaked Pat around into a fast-spinning spiral. He leapt up into the air dropping down with an outstretched fist towards the spinning ex-agent, but stopped short as Pat had once again disappeared.

The dark shadow leapt backwards over Pat’s sweeping leg, landing behind him and executing two quick punches to the back of Pat’s neck before disappearing and reappearing in front of him. Pat dropped down, disappeared and reappeared in front of the dark shadow forcefully open-handedly punching him squarely in the chest launching the shadow backwards. The shadow flew backwards, but disappeared in a bright flash just before hitting the ground, reappearing behind Pat with his sword stopped just a few inches from Pat’s back. Pat quickly spun around, the blade cutting deeply into his uniform and back, and withdrew his sword. The two figures, dimly lit by the rays of Isis, stood watching each other before the flowing waters of the fountain. Pat quickly lunged forward, only to have his sword knocked out of his hands and embedded into a building wall. The dark figure reappeared above Pat, sword trained down towards his shoulder. Pat flinched slightly, disappearing and reappearing as the dark shadow dug his sword deep into the Plaza ground then flipped onto his feet again. They stood watching each other until the familiar lights and sirens from the Night Squadron vehicles filled the night air. The dark shadow leapt forward retrieving his sword from the ground in one motion landing again in front of Pat.

"Fine, but next time, I take the watch with or without your cooperation," the shadow figure cast his left arm towards the trenchcoat causing it to immediately fly into his grasp before turning to face Isis, "give my regards to T’om." He flipped backwards onto his feet once more before dissolving into the shadows of the surrounding buildings. Pat dropped to one knee to retrieve the identicard that had fallen from the shadow's coat. He picked it up, held it up to Isis, and stowed it in a pocket on his suit. After gathering his trenchcoat, Pat resumed his walk to his apartment building, retrieving his sword from the building wall and ignoring the approaching Night Squadron.


I think it adds more tension and shows that Pat used to be quite a powerful Special Ops agent...

The next update will come after this. I just have to change Paradox Island to reflect a different version of this.



(Last edited by Zabuza on 07-06-05 05:05 PM)
Elara

Divine Mamkute
Dark Elf Goddess
Chaos Imp
Penguins Fan

Ms. Invisable








Since: 08-15-04
From: Ferelden

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
Posted on 07-06-05 06:11 PM Link | Quote
Wow, that does make Pat look better... a bit intense for just trying to get the watch, heh heh... I eagerly look forward to the next update.
Stitch

Roy Koopa
Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!








Since: 08-20-04
From: California

Since last post: 721 days
Last activity: 721 days
Posted on 06-04-06 06:15 PM Link | Quote
Continuing...


He reappeared at a nearby intersection, the time freeze seconds away from lifting, and watched as two familiar figures ran towards the Zona District. He stepped out of the shadows, into their paths, with an outstretched hand towards the woman.

"The disc, please," he spoke holding out a gloved hand. She moved to retrieve the disc, but was impeded by the other man.

He immediately recognized the man as Lee. "It's mine, and you already have a copy."

Pat took a step forward, "I know. I want the original." He watched Lee move backward, and noticed as traffic resumed movement around them. He was planning something. Pat dropped down, ready to tackle Lee.

"Stop this, Pat. Let the past go. It was entirely," Pat launched forward tackling Lee in mid-sentence.

"Your fault!" Pat yelled rolling with Lee to the ground. They came to a stop in the middle of a busy streetway, automated vehicles narrowly missing them both. "This is all your fault!" Pat pulled back for a punch, but instead received a crushing blow to the face from Lee launching him over a passing taxi and back onto the streetway.

Lee flipped to his feet, looking anxiously around, "No, Pat, this is your fault. You killed Jo'Rel on your own. You stole my kill. What I did for justification was just settling the score."

Pat ached, but struggled to his feet, a small trickle of blood flowing from his nose, "What you did was vile. It serves no justification." He jumped onto a passing AngelNet bus, dropping onto Lee's shoulder, the two of them rolling into traffic. Pat reared back, producing an energy gun from his trenchcoat, and sat on top of Lee's chest, gun poised to fire. "Any last words?"

He felt a weight shift, but it was too late for him to compensate for Lee's motions. He was hit in the back, his weapon dropping and reversed back at him. "Just one," Lee retorted while pulling out his own weapon, "good-bye."

"End it. Take my life," Pat growled at Lee. He seemed to be in a distant land. He had heard that Lee was going through a series of flashbacks to the days of the Great War.

"No," Lee holstered his weapon, and replaced Pat's weapon in its holster, "you'd enjoy that too much." Lee shoved Pat off him and stood up in traffic, "We'll settle matters another day. Now," he pointed towards the Island, "go home." Pat quickly stood up to face his once fellow agent, now rival. He stared intently into Lee's crimson eyes, the solar triplets setting just beyond them.

"You're lucky you can't die," Pat hissed through clenched teeth before spatting a stream of blood onto a passing taxi. He turned and disappeared into the shadows, running towards the cafe. He was sure Lee was headed towards the cafe, and he had to reach Christine before Lee caught up to her.

He caught up to them already seated at the cafe table with Server One. After readjusting his clothes and dusting off, he walked up and sat down next to Christine. Server One dipped a finger into her tea, stirring it gently before placing the disc in her pocket, "...you will find out when the time is right." After two encounters in the city, and running that distance, Pat become greatly enraged.

He violently stood up, slamming his fists upon the table, "I want to know now." His eyes pierced the solemn eyes of Server One. Lee stood up to counter Pat, but sat down at a small gesture from Server One. She removed the disc from a pocket, held it firmly in both hands, and snapped it in half. Discs don't snap that easily. Fine, I'll play along, but I will get my information. He gathered himself, and turned to walk back towards the station.

On the way, he removed his copied disc and tried to snap it as Server One had done at the cafe. The disc gave slightly, but held its rigid form. He held it up to the moonlight of Isis, watching the colors swirl back and forth across the optical disc's surface. He was determined to discover the meaning of the information. Perhaps it was time to visit a few old Harbor West agents.

Chapter III -- The Isis Device


He sat at his desk peering out to the streetway below abuzz with traffic from the mid-day business flow. Components of the Isis device strewn about his desk, he touched a contact on the wall and placed the holodisc in a waiting tray. His holoemitters rotated around projecting a large image of a meteor in the middle of his living room. The data stream flowing just to the left of it. He stood, walked through the meteor, grabbed onto the data stream and moved it towards his desk. The stream looked highly familiar.

He depressed a contact on the Isis device housing, ejecting a small data wafer. He placed the wafer in a receiving slot on his computer and watched as that data stream flowed across his monitors. The streams were identical. His hands quickly flew across the contacts on the keyboard, mutating the stream into a format he could easily understand. His eyes grew wide. Pushing back from the desk and retrieving his coat, he ran out the door towards the elevator bank.


(Last edited by Zabuza on 06-04-06 10:15 PM)
Elara

Divine Mamkute
Dark Elf Goddess
Chaos Imp
Penguins Fan

Ms. Invisable








Since: 08-15-04
From: Ferelden

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
Posted on 06-04-06 09:11 PM Link | Quote
Wait... so the metor is connected to the Isis Device? Does that mean that Pat is responsible?
Stitch

Roy Koopa
Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!








Since: 08-20-04
From: California

Since last post: 721 days
Last activity: 721 days
Posted on 06-26-06 12:14 AM Link | Quote
only time will tell...


Pat burst from the elevator banks and ran to the front desk where T'om stood talking to another resident. He violently pulled T'om aside.

"Whoa, what's up?" T'om towered greatly over Pat.

"I have the answer. I finally have the proof that he's still working for them."

Tom rolled his eyes and sat back down at his security chair, "Can you drop it, Pat? It was years ago. We're retired now. He's retired now. Hell, it's not even active anymore. Remember the peace treaty?"

Pat huffed and was about to leave, but noticed something missing, "Where's the Venetian?"

"Oh, he called in sick today," Tom leaned his axe against the wall and sat watching the monitors.

"Really. Hey, could I get a BizTransNet please? I've got places to be." Pat stepped outside into the crisp morning air. A vehicle zipped up to his feet and opened its door. Pat stepped in, swiping his car and hitting a few contacts on the panel. Thirty minutes later, he stood in Crystle's driveway. Her little two-tailed puppy, Tyr, happily pushed its nose against the large glass window of the living room, barking at Pat.

He stood in her driveway, looking around him, noticing that she, in fact, was not home. But, it was still too early for the university, and the next showers activity would not return for a few more days. Both Christine and Lee were in San Angeles, and Brandon was at work in Xodan Flats. Ryan had been found, at his home, in Erdu. He knew Rosy was headed for Meridian City. T'om was at work. So, where was Crystle and where was the Venetian.

He fell into a flashback of the nights of the raids, shortly after he had successful execute Jo'Rel. After descending upon two other agents, he was informed that Jo'Rel had a son that worked closely with the Naturists. He paid no mind to the intelligence at the time for it held no revelance to him. But, now, standing in that driveway early in the morning, it held substance.
Elara

Divine Mamkute
Dark Elf Goddess
Chaos Imp
Penguins Fan

Ms. Invisable








Since: 08-15-04
From: Ferelden

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
Posted on 06-28-06 02:47 AM Link | Quote
Oh dear... so he's Jo'Rel's son? Oh shit. Naturists?
Stitch

Roy Koopa
Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!








Since: 08-20-04
From: California

Since last post: 721 days
Last activity: 721 days
Posted on 07-02-06 07:20 PM Link | Quote
He sat below her Elken tree in the backyard watching Tyr press his little nose on the glass and bark at him. He knew from previous intelligence that the Venetian immune system prevented them from becoming sick, so where had the Venetian gone for the day? And, why was Crystle missing?

He grew tired of sitting in the backyard, despite the soothing waves lapping on the beaches just behind him. He walked up to the little barking puppy, placed his PCD on the glass, and shattered the window. After cleaning up the puppy and carrying him across the room, he stopped at her table to read through her documentation. A holodisc labelled "Showers Data" rested in the opened tray of the holoreader. He fired up the holoreader, watching the data streams float above the table. A touch of the data mutated it into a large rectangular-like rock formation, slowly rotating. His PCD linked up to the device, he transferred his own data manipulations to the holoreader. The images morphed again, revealing what he had feared. After pocketing the disc, he petted Tyr one last time and ventured out onto the driveway.

A few hours later, he sat with Server One at the Cafe Rodin, slowly sipping on a cup of Taroxian coffee and staring at her. The last of the solar triplets began to crest the tall horizons of the surrounding apartment buildings, its orangy-red hues casting blades of lights between open areas around the buildings. Server One sat in her white robes, tinkling her small, white porceline cup as it filled with blueberry tea. She stared deeply into Pat's sunglassed eyes, as if reading what little remained of his soul.

"Do you know what you've done?" she spoke softly, still stirring her tea.

Pat sat up, "Yes. Now, how do I correct it?"

She waved her hand over the tea cup, disappearing the entire liquid contents, "You can't. But, there is someone or something that can."

He sighed, leaning back to stare at the approaching Usiris moon. "So, are you going to tell me, or do I have to find out on my own again?" He heard no response. When he turned back to face her, she was gone. "Great."

He walked from the cafe to the seashore, standing in the same spot he, Lee, and T'om had stood several years before during the height of the Great War. She had warned him that day that he had begun something so great that even he would not be able to fix. He paid no mind to her at the time. He could hear footsteps approaching him, but before he could pull his weapon, he was on his back, silver eyes staring back at him.

"G'ret," he spoke coursely, "what brings you to the Mainland?"

"I could ask you the same, ex-Agent Betts, but you seem to be aloof in your thoughts," he spoke smoothly, almost as if casting a trance.

Pat shoved the Venetian off of him, "Aren't you supposed to be in Meridian City?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in Edge City?"

It was clear Pat was not going to get an answer, "Again, my condolences about your father."

G'ret walked past him, hands behind his back, watching the moons of Isis and Usiris in the night sky, "He was Special Ops. We knew he worked a dangerous job." He turned to face Pat, "and I will find his killer." Pat smirked, and then turned to walk away.

"I have matters to tend to in Paradox."

G'ret turned to face him, "The meteor, you mean?"

Pat stopped walking, turning again, "What?"

"The meteor, good sir. That large rock formation on an eventual collision course with Earth II. Oh, don't tell me you didn't know because I know that you do."

"I don't have time for this," Pat depressed a contact on his mobile transporter appearing at the doors to the Edge City University Administration offices. He sat down upon its marbled steps and watched the sculptured water fountain dance. Isis cast its dim rays over the night area while students walked about in the moonlight. What have I done? he thought, craddling his head in his hands.


(Last edited by Zabuza on 07-03-06 07:51 AM)
Elara

Divine Mamkute
Dark Elf Goddess
Chaos Imp
Penguins Fan

Ms. Invisable








Since: 08-15-04
From: Ferelden

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
Posted on 07-03-06 04:17 AM Link | Quote
Ah, so now we know which one is Jo'Rel's son... all that is left is the mystery that is Jayarre. And how made Crystle gets at having her window broken....

Oh yes, and "Server One sat is her white robes" needs to be fixed.
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