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11 June 2011

Posts #711-715: 29 April 2000

Post #711, by PSI322

After hours of walking, resting, and pressing on, Juliana found herself becoming very tired. Her legs felt very heavy, almost as if it was impossible for her to lift her feet to take steps through the snow. Exhausted from her long day, Juliana made her way over to a large rock beside the trail that she was currently on and flopped down for a break.
What is it with these people and rocks? Rocks are not comfortable.
She tried to catch her breath and pulled her bottle of water from her knapsack once again. To her dismay, it was nearly empty. Juliana took one small sip and replaced the bottle in her knapsack.
Not that it's a problem. You're calf-deep in crystallized water.
Juliana's eyes opened wide,
Again!
and she raised her head in an alert fashion.
"Alertly" will do. She probably had recently been through the part of English class where they teach you adverbs are bad, and actually encourage you to write clunky prose like "in an alert fashion".
She'd just heard a noise that signaled to her that she wasn't alone in these woods. It sounded like someone, or something, walking through the snow. Was she just imagining things?

Unfortunately, the answer was no. Juliana gasped softly as a creature emerged from behind a few bushed about fifteen yards away from the rock where she was resting.
Holy crap guys, that's two PSI322 typos we've spotted in the Gathering! I feel like that's a genuine upset. 
It resembled a Desert Wolf from EarthBound, only its fur was not brown, but gray and white instead. It had to be some sort of strange enemy that did not exist in the game, something that lived only in this unexplored territory in the Winters wilderness. It was probably called a Snow Wolf, or a Frost Wolf perhaps. That's it, a Frost Wolf, Juliana decided.
That's Juliana for you: something comes along to try and kill her, and her reaction is to muse about what its common species name probably is.
Wolves, you probably know, are pack hunters, and staying in a pack is definitely a good idea when you're hunting something that has incredible strength. But what the heck, the Desert Wolves fight alone, so sure, we'll suppose Frost Wolves do too.
However, as the Frost Wolf came closer, Juliana's thoughts became a blur to her. She had to attack this beast before it could hurt her, she knew that...
What's funny is that she has given no indication yet in this post the Frost Wolf actually intends to try to kill her. Maybe she's just launching unprovoked attacks on wildlife that's minding its own business.

Also, I'm putting it at T minus one hour before Chris jumps in here.




Post #712, by SuperSpeedy/Mankey Boy

(Pikachu can still talk, just to tell you.)
With the Comm. Antenna… er… on head, Poryhedron used the antenna to relay Dave. He fill him in on Pikachu's freezing, Lavos, the PSI Poryhedron downloaded into him, Falcon, and all the other stuff he felt like telling. (I'm writing that so I don't get punted, "due to inactivity", trying to type the whole thing. And to signify Poryhedron using the Comm. Antenna, I'll use "[" and "]".)
Wow. Somebody actually admits he's only writing his post to stay in the story, and not out of any interest in writing something worth reading. Honesty is a step in the right direction!
[…And that's why you must become OmegaSpeedy or OmegaSpeedy+, to stop Lavos and save my, er, our friend Pikachu from permanent perma-chyo-frost!] concluded Poryhedron.
Dave did as he was told and used PSI Power Release Gamma.
Dave became OmegaSpeedy (abbrv. OS)
OS flew out of his room.
"Lavos," said OS, in a singsong voice. "Where are you?"
Lavos appeared.
Well, that was easy.
Is he seriously about to insta-whack Lavos again? If he weren't so oblivious I'd think he was trying to piss Falcon24 off.
"Gimme the cryogen antidote!" said Dave.
Lavos replied in an un-understandable languange, which was translated, in his internal translator, as "Never!"
The word he couldn't get hold of is "incomprehensible". It's the wrong word anyway, since it's immediately followed by everyone involved understanding the object.
Also: the cyrogen what now?
Just then, in a burst of 0's and 1's, OS's Lazer Saber appeared. OS turned it on its highest setting.
OS attacks!
20 hp damage to Lavos!
Ahh, damn. He IS smart enough not to try to insta-whack Lavos again. Yet.




Post #713, by Chris

Some time earlier, Chris had gathered his wits and resolved to return to the inner island. Adventure was what he wanted, and, having recovered from the temporary terror of almost dying, he was ready to go again. He had gathered his stuff, and, after having spent many hours on his rock, he had set off again.
You know, even for me sitting here and reading this ten years later, this is getting uncomfortable. What he wants, obviously, is PSI322. I can't imagine anybody that has been paying the most passing attention to Chris's posts is under any illusion otherwise; he has made it completely obvious without ever actually saying it. This is his first post with any plot content in 150 posts; nobody thinks it's a coincidence it happened immediately after PSI322 did the same. And I haven't read the next paragraph yet, but you and I both know exactly where Chris is going.
He had made his way through the forest that served as the boundrary to the fantastic world, and started wandering around. Soon, he had found that the temperature was dropping. However, it hadn't become nightime yet, and for several minutes, Chris was puzzled. Suddenly, he had realized he must be approaching the northern part of the island, where Winters was. Soon, he had stepped out of the woods and onto the frozen tundra that was Northern Winters.
I know, right? I'll give you a few minutes to get over the shock you suffered from realizing that, of all the continents in all the world, he walked onto hers.
At that moment, he felt two psycic calls. The first one was from Tim. He was fighting the Mani Mani statue and needed the melodies to defeat it. Realizing that he still possesed the sound stone he and Juliana had used, he sent it to Tim. He hoped that with the powers of Milky Well and Lumine Hall, Tim could stand a chance at victory.
I wonder whether that will satisfy Tim.
The second psycic call was also a plea for help,
He really thinks it's spelled "psycic".
but this one more desperate. He soon realized that someone was in danger near his location, and he soon set off for southern Winters, in search of trouble...
You have to admit, this really does seem like a Lifetime movie by now, doesn't it? No matter what she does, she can't shake loose of him. It's probably only a matter of time before Stockholm Syndrome sets in.




Post #714, by PSI322
You'd think this means she insta-posted behind Chris, but no; seven hours separate these two posts.
Juliana jumped to her feet, her thoughts racing inside her brain a mile a minute.
Can't blame her for that. Getting stalked like that would drive me crazy, too. 
As the Frost Wolf came closer, she knew that a plan was of the utmost importance, but what could she do?
Oh. She meant the Frost Wolf. I knew that.
Shutting her eyes tightly for half a second, she said a silent prayer that some way, somehow, she would get through this alive. If she could only survive this one confrontation, if something could help her through...oh, if only her prayer could be answered, she swore, then and there, that she would never do something so foolish again as to wander deep into the wilderness in a snow-covered land without proper weaponry or a group of companions.
Are you starting to get the feeling she doesn't intend for the "something to help her through" to be Chris, too? It seems to dramatic a way to welcome Chris with open arms. She must have something else in mind.
She opened her eyes. The wolf was now closer than he'd been before. Juliana looked up into the sky for a moment, her eyes sad and worried, and took in a deep breath, wondering if it would be her last.
She does remember she's an AC, right?
As she gazed at the sky, knowing that dusk was approaching, Juliana pictured the stars in her mind's eye, and at that instant, she wished with all her might that all the stars would come tumbling out of the sky, raining over Winters and defeating this beast...and saving her. She wanted to be saved...she wanted to be spared.
You have to admit, it might be overwrought but it's some fine, fine prose. 
"I'm only seventeen," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes as she watched the clouds drifting by lazily.
Fact. She turned 17 a couple weeks before the Gathering began.
"Please don't let me die. I'm only seventeen..."
Veni, veni, venias
Ne me mori facias
Her voice trailed off.
Juliana squeezed her eyes shut and drew what was sure to be her last breath...and then she heard a sound, a loud sound unlike anything she'd ever heard before. It was just barely audible at first, but it became increasingly louder. Juliana felt the ground begin to shake beneath her, and she went to cry out in fear. She didn't know why, but the words that came out of her mouth were these: "PSI Comet Alpha!"
PSI isn't magic. You don't have to recite an incantation to make it work. It's psychic. But sure, I guess that's more dramatic, even if it's odd to shout seven syllables when facing imminent death.
Juliana gasped. Why had those words come from her mouth? Just then, she looked all around her and saw utter chaos breaking loose before her innocent, seventeen year-old eyes.
What is it with her and repeating every other sentence that she's 17? OK, you're 17, congratulations, can we move on now? 
She ducked behind the rock and peered out at the scene that was unfolding so rapidly...shooting stars were crashing down to the ground before her, pounding the terrible Frost Wolf. Juliana plugged her ears with her fingers as the wolf yelped in pain...how could this be happening?
I still think the wolf was merely curious and PSI322 just slaughtered local wildlife for no good reason. And while we're on the subject, all those comet impacts are going to wreak havoc on the local ecosystem.
Soon enough, the comets stopped coming...the wolf, in turn, stopped moving, stopped whimpering, stopped breathing. It was dead, all right...and Juliana had done it. "PSI Comet Alpha," she whispered once more. She glanced up to the sky, and saw that the clouds had cleared. Staring hard, she could begin to see the stars. "Thank you," she said softly. Putting on her knapsack, Juliana started off towards the civilized part of Winters with a smile on her face. She was a PSI user...and it alone had saved her.
PSI322: The one and only IF author who ever provided an elaborate backstory for why her AC can use magic. As opposed to assuming that of course she uses magic, why wouldn't she?

I also like the "it alone had saved her", which I can only assume is a jab at Chris, who I will bet will not be deterred by it.




Post #715, by Little Yoshi

*All of the Your Sanctuary location melodies posses powerful and mystical magic. You
will need these to help you battle evil. The powers of each sanctuary are:

Giant Step- Crush(offensive)
Earth Slide(offensive)
Offense Up
Enemy Teleport(Assist)
Lilliput Steps- Speed up(Assist)
Exit Mouse(Other)
Ally Teleport(ssist
Paralysis
Milky Well- Red Gyser(Recover)
Hypnosis
Poison Milk(Offensive)
Saturn Storm(offensive)
Rainy Circle- Rain(offensive)
Freeze(offensive)
Lifeup(recover)
Defnse Up(assist)
Magnet Hill- Magnet
Brain Shock
Gravity(offensive)
Moonside(offensive)
Pink Cloud- Thunder
Starstorm
Haze(offensive)
Physical Shield
Lumine Hall- Flash
Psychic Shield
Spectrum Blast(offensive
Diamond Blast(offensive)
Fire Springs- Fire
Dragonite(don't think Pokemon)
SMAAAAAASH!(assist)
Flame Wall(assist)
9th melody improves all of your attributes(like offensive, luck, etc.)*
Tim recived the power of Lumine Hall and Milky Well(from Chris)!Tim learned to use the Magic of all melodies except Magnet Hill and Fire Springs(which he doesn't have)!
Yeah. To the surprise of no one on earth, the payoff for paying some attention to Liyoshi is... this. And he remains perplexed that he has no friends.
[This message has been edited by Little Yoshi (edited 05-03-2000).]

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