Sorry for missing yesterday. Work was an incredible pain, to the point where I didn't get time to write more than two paragraphs all day. I'm still dealing with the repercussions.
Jorlem: Point. I'mma gonna hafta Shrug of Demigod on this one- it's conceivable that Yuuno might've been at the camp, but for reasons that will be revealed later, that matters not one bit, so I can't be bothered to decide.
BA, Rob: Yep. Explosion in the camp knocked some of the stuff off its shelves, and onto me. This place isn't exactly OSHA's best friend.
**********
None of the boxes that had fallen on me were particularly heavy, by my new reckoning. None of them were impossibly large, either. If I had been asked to lift any one of them, or had been given warning that it was falling on me, I could've managed it. Heck, if they fell in just the right orientation, I could've held up five or six of them.
The problem was that I hadn't had any warning. By the time I began to react, I was laying on my chest, at least six boxes and who knows how many loose rocks already on top of me... which lead to another problem. It's sort of hard to lift things when you can't move your arms.
Fortunately, there was an easy solution to that.
"Magic Missile."
[MAGIC MISSILE]
With a single chime, loud enough to mask the more typical sound effect, a magic circle spun into existence over my back, arms, and head, centered over Malleus' core. Over it, twenty balls of blue light formed, burning away a good bit of the junk that was holding me down.
[Assign Missiles 1 and 2 to Group 1. Assign Missiles 5 and 6 to Group 2. Rotate Groups 1 and 2 perpendicular to my arms. Assign Missiles 8 and 9 to Group 3. Rotate Group 3 perpendicular to my legs.]
[GROUPS SET. REMAINDER WILL LAUNCH VERTICALLY.]
[Good.] "Fire!"
The result was basically all I could hope for. The six shots I'd re-oriented burned up a good bit of the junk weighing my limbs down, letting me spring to my feet, grab the Relic case, and make a run for it. I dashed around the table, and out the door, recreating my cape as I ran.
I got as far as the next building over before I heard the storage building creak and groan. I stopped there, my back to that building's wall, and watched it shudder and settle for a second.
Watching a group of magic missiles fall out of the sky, pulling the building down in a single volley, was quite the shock. Bwah? What the? ...those were MY missiles! Why did they fall? HOW did they fall?!
The spell doesn't work that way!
"Imma! Status report!"
Thank you, Tre. I needed a distraction. If memory serves, the extraction point is... over there. Got it. That established, I started running.
"Objective achieved. Returning to extraction point." The view from Tre's comm window had me worried; Tre was running, backlit by flames. Every so often, an orange bolt would fly past my POV; some exploded on contact, while others seemed to drill into buildings and the ground. "Do you require assistance?"
Another beam, looking for all the world like a phaser bolt, lit up the air next to Tre. She grimaced, and picked up the pace. "No. Focus on the mission. I will handle it myself."
I heard the beeping sound of another comm window opening up, and looked to my left. Cinque? I'd almost expected Uno or Scaglietti. "Cinque to Imma. I'm closing in on the extraction point. ETA: twenty seconds. Where are you?"
I skidded to a halt in a very familiar clearing. "I've reached the extraction point. No resistance. Contacting Uno now." A thought brought up a third window, this one in between my muted connections to Tre and Cinque. After a second, Uno's impassive face appeared in it. I took the time to unlock the Relic case, releasing the outer seal on the lost logia.
"Imma here. Objective recovered. Lock on to the Relic signature, wait ten seconds, and teleport it and its holder back to the lab."
Uno took this in stride, as I'd expected. "Signature locked. Countdown started. Good work."
I grinned. "Thanks. Imma out." Five... four...
As I counted down, Cinque finally reached the clearing. Two... one.... As she opened her mouth to speak, I threw the case at her. She caught it, of course; I'd expected that, and greatly enjoyed the sight of her looking down, realizing what she held, and opening her mouth in surprise... right before the countdown ended, and Uno beamed her out.
Let's just say I'd be saving that memory in great detail. Maybe I can transmit it to my Device, and have him send it to the other Numbers later? Something to figure out later.
As I contemplated that, I scanned the camp, looking for orange beams and explosions. Didn't take long to see them, especially as I got closer to Tre's position. Got it. That must be her.
Let's get dangerous.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.
Jorlem: Point. I'mma gonna hafta Shrug of Demigod on this one- it's conceivable that Yuuno might've been at the camp, but for reasons that will be revealed later, that matters not one bit, so I can't be bothered to decide.
BA, Rob: Yep. Explosion in the camp knocked some of the stuff off its shelves, and onto me. This place isn't exactly OSHA's best friend.
**********
None of the boxes that had fallen on me were particularly heavy, by my new reckoning. None of them were impossibly large, either. If I had been asked to lift any one of them, or had been given warning that it was falling on me, I could've managed it. Heck, if they fell in just the right orientation, I could've held up five or six of them.
The problem was that I hadn't had any warning. By the time I began to react, I was laying on my chest, at least six boxes and who knows how many loose rocks already on top of me... which lead to another problem. It's sort of hard to lift things when you can't move your arms.
Fortunately, there was an easy solution to that.
"Magic Missile."
[MAGIC MISSILE]
With a single chime, loud enough to mask the more typical sound effect, a magic circle spun into existence over my back, arms, and head, centered over Malleus' core. Over it, twenty balls of blue light formed, burning away a good bit of the junk that was holding me down.
[Assign Missiles 1 and 2 to Group 1. Assign Missiles 5 and 6 to Group 2. Rotate Groups 1 and 2 perpendicular to my arms. Assign Missiles 8 and 9 to Group 3. Rotate Group 3 perpendicular to my legs.]
[GROUPS SET. REMAINDER WILL LAUNCH VERTICALLY.]
[Good.] "Fire!"
The result was basically all I could hope for. The six shots I'd re-oriented burned up a good bit of the junk weighing my limbs down, letting me spring to my feet, grab the Relic case, and make a run for it. I dashed around the table, and out the door, recreating my cape as I ran.
I got as far as the next building over before I heard the storage building creak and groan. I stopped there, my back to that building's wall, and watched it shudder and settle for a second.
Watching a group of magic missiles fall out of the sky, pulling the building down in a single volley, was quite the shock. Bwah? What the? ...those were MY missiles! Why did they fall? HOW did they fall?!
The spell doesn't work that way!
"Imma! Status report!"
Thank you, Tre. I needed a distraction. If memory serves, the extraction point is... over there. Got it. That established, I started running.
"Objective achieved. Returning to extraction point." The view from Tre's comm window had me worried; Tre was running, backlit by flames. Every so often, an orange bolt would fly past my POV; some exploded on contact, while others seemed to drill into buildings and the ground. "Do you require assistance?"
Another beam, looking for all the world like a phaser bolt, lit up the air next to Tre. She grimaced, and picked up the pace. "No. Focus on the mission. I will handle it myself."
I heard the beeping sound of another comm window opening up, and looked to my left. Cinque? I'd almost expected Uno or Scaglietti. "Cinque to Imma. I'm closing in on the extraction point. ETA: twenty seconds. Where are you?"
I skidded to a halt in a very familiar clearing. "I've reached the extraction point. No resistance. Contacting Uno now." A thought brought up a third window, this one in between my muted connections to Tre and Cinque. After a second, Uno's impassive face appeared in it. I took the time to unlock the Relic case, releasing the outer seal on the lost logia.
"Imma here. Objective recovered. Lock on to the Relic signature, wait ten seconds, and teleport it and its holder back to the lab."
Uno took this in stride, as I'd expected. "Signature locked. Countdown started. Good work."
I grinned. "Thanks. Imma out." Five... four...
As I counted down, Cinque finally reached the clearing. Two... one.... As she opened her mouth to speak, I threw the case at her. She caught it, of course; I'd expected that, and greatly enjoyed the sight of her looking down, realizing what she held, and opening her mouth in surprise... right before the countdown ended, and Uno beamed her out.
Let's just say I'd be saving that memory in great detail. Maybe I can transmit it to my Device, and have him send it to the other Numbers later? Something to figure out later.
As I contemplated that, I scanned the camp, looking for orange beams and explosions. Didn't take long to see them, especially as I got closer to Tre's position. Got it. That must be her.
Let's get dangerous.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.