Subj: [ffml] [MW] Skill, Power, and a dash of Salt; and as our free gift to you, some new characters! (A $20 value!)
Date: 99-12-02 00:51:43 EST
From: agover@midmich.cc.mi.us (Aaron Gover)
Reply-to: ffml@onelist.com
To: ffml@onelist.com (FFML)
From: Aaron Gover
Vincent ran in a pattern that would have seen random to anyone else,
but one which would lead him directly to the first of the seven Seals of
the Lizard God. There were other paths that would lead one through one
of several doors to the Sealing chamber, but if one didn't go through
the right doors in the right order, one's life essense would be sucked
into the web of the Seal. That was the nature of such powerful Seals:
they sucked all available energy into themselves, making them stronger.
One couldn't defeat them with raw power, one must have precise skill and
knowledge. Vincent ran, with the guardian Beltshmeltz close behind,
chewing up the ground with its 60-caliber gatling guns.
* * *
The high priestess of Toroia hustled through the halls of the palace to
a rampart overlooking the smoldering town. The town of Toroia was in
shambles.
"What of these nasty creatures, these -- what did you say they were
called, Jeala?"
The two women flanking the high priestess could not have been more
different. Jeala DuPrei nearly seven feet tall and smoothly muscled.
Her black hair and ginger-colored skin marked her as a native of Fabul.
The other woman, Chærií Vülé, was petite and slender. Her full-blown
albinism masked any trait of her homeland of Mysidia. Her magical gifts
were as legendary as Jeala's combat skills. They were both currently
guests of the High Priestess, and before the legion of creatures had
attacked, had been vacationing here in Toroia.
"Pikachu, your grace." Jeala replied distractedly, her emerald eyes
watching a column of unarmored soldiers close on a cluster of the
creatures and attacking them with wooden clubs. They had learned -- in
a costly fashion -- that approaching these Lightening Mice with any sort
of metal object was a death sentence.
The high priestess gave a concerned glace at Jeala, and then glanced to
Chærií, who returned the look. They both knew Jeala was thinking of her
fiancée, a local artist, who was out in the city with the volunteer
forces.
"Your grace," Chærií addressed the High Priestess diffidently, "I may
have found something that will help."
The high priestess looked at Chærií with increased interest.
* * *
Vincent could feel the strength in his legs ebbing, but didn't care. He
was almost to the sealing room. He burst into the large domelike room,
and barely had time to register his surroundingd before Beltzshmeltz
brust throught the doorway, showering Vincent with flecks of plaster.
Vincent knew that the only reason he wasn't killed as soon as he stopped
moving was that the intense mystical energies were playing havoc with
the ancient guardians sensors, but it wouldn't take more than a second
or two to lock on to him. Furiously, Vincent examined his options.
* * *
The sounds of fighting and the high-pitched squeaks of the Pikachu were
getting closer, almost inside the palace.
"We must hurry, your grace!" Chærií's normal deference and respect was
being replaced by urgency and fear.
"Im an old lady," replied the High Priestess, "and the weight of this
symbol" -- she refered to the golden mirror on a gold chain around her
neck, long the symbol of the Toroian High Clergy -- "weighs mightily
upon me."
"Yes, but we've gotta hurry to summon this guy who has so much
experience with these creatures, this legendary hero guy." replied
Jeala. "Hey, Chærií, what did you say his name was?"
"Ash," she replied, "Ash Ketchum."
* * *
Vincent spun on his heel and glared right at Beltshumelts. The
mechanical behemoth spotted him and began to align its weapons in jerky
motions, apparently the sensors weren't the only thing affected by the
intense mystical energies. It was the electrical pulses driving those
motions Vincent zeroed in on with his own power.
Sending out a thin cord of power, Vincent created a hair-thin energy
stream between the killing machine and the podium in the center of the
room.
The effect was intantanious. Huge arcs of electricity sparked into
life between the two points, and Beltzshmeltz began to writhe like a
hooked fish. With a final weak lunge towards Vincent that required him
to step back, the glowing red eyes dimmed and extinguished, and Vincent
smiled. So much for 28,000BC technology.
With that thought, he turned to the podium and prepared to break the
Seal.
* * *
In the middle of the courtyard, the High Priestess incanted from an
ancient book held by Chærií. Every so often the small woman would turn
the page. These incantations had to be perfect or the result was
disasterous.
Jeala paced nervously at the entrance to the otherwise deserted
courtyard. Everyone else - including her Fiancée - was fighting a
desperate last-ditch stand against the hordes of Pikachu.
As the High Priestess reached the last page of the book, there was an
explosion, nearly causing her to stutter - a major problem.
"Should we start over?!" Chærií asked the ancient priestess over her
chanting. Continuing to proununce the last paragraph, the hight priest
shook her head emphatically NO!
Jeala stood at the doorway. She could now see the backs of the
defenders as they gave ground, inching quickly towards the open gate
where she stood.
"KLAATU FERRATTA NICHTO!" the high priestess finished her incanting.
"I think we should have started over," Chærií said as she handed the
book to the priestess, "I'm worried that the explosion caused a
mispronounciation."
"Don't fear, little one," soothed the High Priestess. "Soon the hero
Ash Ketchum will be here to deal with these monsters."
Indeed the sky above them was already changing into a whorl, indicative
a time/space warp.
Just then, the last of the defenders burst through the doorway,
carrying the bodies of the slain. Jeala sunk to her knees and sobbed.
Among the bodies was the body of her lover, charred and bloody, eyes
frozen in death.
Chærií looked up at the sky with eyes full of tears.
"I hope you're worth it, Ash Ketchum." she murmured to herself.
* * *
Vincent walked up to the Seal and examined it. There was a cylindrical
steel podium about 4 feet in diameter and waist high. Engraved in it's
perfectly flat and level surface were ancient runes binding power to it.
In the center of the podium was the actual Seal. This seal consisted
of a book bound shut with straps of the same black metal -- 'Drium' in
the human tongue -- used to make his dagger. More metal straps bound
the book to the table. He read the title of the book -- "Necronomicon ex
Mortis."
"Sounds familliar... Hmm."
He began to incant. Breaking a spell like this wasn't like counjuring
a hammer of air to pound down a door. It was more like safecracking, and
if Vincent used any more than the tiniest bit of power, he would end up
like the lifeless hulk of Beltzshmeltz behind him.
* * *
Chærií used her power to protect the sobbing form of her best friend.
Jeala didn't appear to even know where she was, much less be able to
fight.
The last ragged defenders encircled the high priestess and prepared to
die while they waited for the spell to work. Interminable seconds ticked
by as the rift grew larger.
Finally, Chærií spotted something coming from the center of the
vortex...
But it didn't look like a man! It looked like a... CAR!?
* * *
"KLAATU FERRATTA NICHTO!" Vincent completed his incantation. He
produced the final part of the spell from a pocket -- a dash of ordinary
salt. As soon as the salt hit the seal, there was a sound like bacon
frying. A deep hum, more felt than heard, began to fill the room,
growing in intensity. A sourceless white light also began to fill the
room, growing in intensity along with the hum.
Finally, when the hum made Vincent feel like he was becoming unmade and
the intensity of the light was such that he couldn't tell if he had his
eyes open or shut, there was a sound like a million panes of glass
cracking, and all the energy that had been in the seal rushed into him.
It felt like a million pinpricks on his skin and flooded his mind with
the intensity of a million orgasms.
Then the light was gone and Vincent found that was kneeling on the
floor. He heard a deep hissing voice in his ear.
"Good work, my servant. I shall soon be free."
Vincent was happy, he had served his master well.
He stood up, suddenly aware of the massive power flowing through him.
He walked over to the hulk of BeltzSchmeltz and smiled. Suddenly, he
lashed out with his fist and struck one of the three-inch thick
carbonsteel armor plates on the robot's chest. The plate buckled and
cracked. When he removed his unharmed fist from the plate, he saw that
he had left a perfect impression of it in the metal.
"Ha!" he screamed, exhilirated. "You aren't so tought. Well, let me
tell you," he addressed the lifeless machine, "let me tell you! I'm
gonna line all your friends right up next to you!!!"
He began to laugh, and it lasted several minutes. Finally, he noticed a
pungent smell. He looked down. It appeared that he had wet his pants
during the power infusion. Thinking little of it, he used his magic to
instantly clean his clothes.
He headed back towards the Gear hangar. Now that this Seal was not
syphoning off power anymore, power would be restored to the rest of the
base. Only a matter of time.
* * *
"The little bastards are here!!!" screamed one of the defenders,
brandishing his club.
The ragtag soldiers moved forward to engage the pikachu. Chærií barely
noticed -- she was fixated on the falling form of the Car, and the
person it contained. "Ash Ketchum, come to save us!" the High Priestess
crooned.
The car fell... and fell... and fell... and landed on the massed
pikachu in the doorway.
"Huzzah! Huzzah!" cried the troops.
The driver stepped out of the car. He was clothed oddly; he wore a
blue shirt, tan pants, had a strage blade and a gun strapped across his
back, and most oddly, had a metal right hand. His face was handsome,
and currently wore and expression of confused and exasperated anger.
The high priestess stepped forward to announce the hero.
"It is the legendary Ash Ketchum! He has come to save us!" she cried.
The man looked alarmed.
"Hey! Wait a minute! My name's Ash, but I aint no Ash Ketchup or
whatever! I haven't come to save anyone, Im just a clerk at S-Mart! Now
send me HOME!"
Ash turned around and began to pound on the hood of the car in
frustration.
Angered, the high priestess began to approach Ash and prepared to yell
at him.
Suddenly, a pikachu crawled out from under the car, and with a shrill
"PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKAAAAA!!!!" it lept at her, spewing a stream
of electricity. The electricity was instantly attracted to the golden
mirror and chain she was wearing. The high priestess had time for one
strangled scream before her heart gave out under the barrage, and she
fell down dead. Her robes burst into flame. Standing at the foot of the
pyre, the pikachu squealed in triumph, "PIKA! PIKA PIKA PIKACHU!!!!"
The it noticed Chærií. Its eyes narrowed and it leapt for her.
Chærií knew she was going to die. Halfway through the air, there was
the gigantic roar of an explosion and the pikachu disintigrated into
bits of blood and bone in mid-air.
Ash, looking like the legendary hero he was supposed to be, stood on
the hood of his car, gun drawn with both barrels smoking.
"Okay, now I've saved your pretty ass. Send me home." he snapped.
Chærií flinched.
"I... I can't."
"Why not?!"
Pointing to the flaming corpse of the High Priestess, Chærií replied
"She was holding the only copy of the book we used to bring you here."
Ash began to stomb on the hood of his cars. "Dammit! Dammit! Will this
bullshit NEVER end?!" "Wait!" she yelled, "I remember! That book
mentioned another book that might be able to help send you home!"
"Great!" Ash exclaimed, leaping from the hood of his car, suddenly
amiable, "What is it?"
"A book called 'Necronomicon ex Mortis.'" she replied.
Ash stared at her for a moment, and then ran up to his car and started
kicking it and swearing.
"What did I say? What did I say?!" Chærií called after him. She looked
to the ragged soldiers. "What did I say?"
The soldiers only shrugged.
To be continued...
--
Aaron Gover, the knight of Faris.
The Grand Bastard of the FFML.
"There's never a flamethrower around when I need one."
(aka aka Vincent Valintine, Professor Daravon)
agover@midmich.cc.mi.us
ICQ: 30189072
http://egads.gzero.org
"Programming today is a race between software
Engineers striving to build bigger and better
idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying
to produce bigger and better idiots. So far,
the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
"The wages of sin is death, but by the time
taxes are taken out, it's just sort of a
tired feeling." -- Paula Poundstone
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accidentally shoot their children" -- Bumper Sticker
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that I can't stand" -- Bumper Sticker
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Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 00:47:04 -0600
From: Aaron Gover
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Subject: [ffml] [MW] Skill, Power, and a dash of Salt; and as our free gift to you, some new characters! (A $20 value!)
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