LocalCatHybrid
Now I am become floof, the floofer of floofs.
- Location
- You know where...
- Pronouns
- Il/Lui
Question; Am I the only one who found it creepy that she was stripped and examined while she was unconscious?
- Location
- Calgary
Time is a rather ephemeral thing when you accidentally yourself outside of it. Kind of heard to measure it.
No bones about it, they are going to find that weird when they learn more. Still, medical check ups are important, even for skeletons.
Judgement: Velocity
- Location
- U.S.
I would say his LV is a 4, Velocity does seem like the sort to actually cause some LOVE when needed.
- Location
- Norway
LOVE is raised by *killing* though, innit? You kill something, you raise your experience, and that in turn raises your LV when you've killed enough. Just FIGHTING doesn't raise it at all. Being in the army doesn't mean you're automatically a killer, after all, even if it does mean you're far more likely to end up taking a life than, say, a storekeeper.
So, unless Velocity has actually *killed* someone, his Exp should still be at 0 and his LV should still be 1, if we're going by game terms, no?
- Location
- U.S.
I thought it was the ability to distance yourself from the act of killing and the willingness to hurt and kill? killing is not needed, just that the act makes it more familiar and as such easier to do. basically killing a lot just makes you jaded which raises LV.
- Location
- Norway
LocalCatHybrid
Now I am become floof, the floofer of floofs.
- Location
- You know where...
- Pronouns
- Il/Lui
"The more you hurt, the less you will hurt" Just remember it's a scale, where 1 is "murder-virgin", and 20 is "will literally kill the world if they could" It's not a measure of how much someone has killed, (though it does correlate) but how willing one is to do so and how able to go through with it.
Last edited:
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
Seems like the first question that needs answering is who changed the fun value.
- Location
- Calgary
Velocity triggered in the army? I must have missed that mention in Worm.
Rather hard to do that of forum, eh?
I DID
DragoNT
Hater of Plot Devices
- Location
- Australia
That information wasn't in Worm it's just another WoG from Wildbow, whether or not WoG Canon in this story is up to you.
Velocity's Personality?
Velocity is ex-military, was a callow youth who enlisted due to promises of ways to learn languages (Russian, Chinese) hoping to travel during/after the fact, and instead got stuck in the rank and file with no follow-through and longer terms than he expected.
Edit: As with many breakers, it was a confluence of factors that led to his trigger in the end - being caught in a bad situation in a bad place in a bad mental state.
Likes being a cape, and is happy to have an 'out' from the service, which could well have killed him due to the despair/frustration if nothing else, but frustration sort of permeates his existence. Duties and hours keep him from taking classes (though he has recently started putting some classes in Chinese on the local Protectorate's tab to give an edge when dealing with the ABB). This is sort of echoed in the power he got; a promise of freedom, but all he ultimately gets is a kind of helplessness and a kick in the balls.
- Location
- Quebec
I would like to refer Glitchtale on Youtube for an apercu of Gaster's abilities. At least for the hand thing.
Chapter 4
- Location
- Calgary
"Armsmaster, you have been cleared. Door opening in ten seconds."
Four hours. That is how long it has been since I was interred into a M-S Cell on a differing floor from the Parahuman once things calmed down. After the initial chaos of our becoming aware of the individual's ability to teleport at will, and avoiding an incident with the entire area being flooded with containment foam, the PRT placed me into isolation. Frustrating, while entirely understandable. I had lost consciousness twice in the proximity while also only learning of their location through apparent empathetic means. The only thing that truly annoying is how long they waited to enact the isolation.
If I really was under any parahuman influence I was walking around for nearly twenty minutes. Someone is going to need to be disciplined. Even if it is me, and I seem to be acting normally, I should have been in isolation a minute after waking up and being confirmed to be able to move.
My only assumption as to why I am being released this soon is that they learned something else involving our new resident. That and the recording suite in my suit likely caught any actions being taken while I was mentally stalled.
I'm already up and stepping out the door the instant it is open. Battery is waiting for me, with the former felon nowhere in sight. I offer a nod, which should be proper, when I step out. She returns it and then gestures towards a cart not immediately visible from the doorway that contains my armor and halberd. I ask her to wait while I get into the suit, having been wearing my undermesh body sleeve during the examination. The next time I see her I'm fully dressed. When she notices that I'm fully suited up, she turns around to head down the hallway. Following after her, I really have no other choice than to establish a dialogue to learn some of what has been happening.
"Battery, what has happened while I was under investigation?"
She doesn't look back while she answers, focusing on the hallway in front of her.
"There hasn't been many discoveries. What we did learn is that if they attempt to speak, at all, nothing has been able to understand them. The first time that a volunteer trooper encouraged them to speak they seemed to suffer the same result that you did. The trooper staggered, and all but avoided collapsing. Probably because they were ready for it.
Then we tried having them whisper. Same result, the trooper fell over. Then we tried recording it. Turns out, if you are within a dozen meters, you'll hear it no matter what. Even through walls, it seems. And it doesn't record well, either. All attempts at digital recording seem to corrupt the storage, so that's out."
We come to a halt as we wait on the elevator. Thankfully she continues without any pressing on from my part.
"Even Dragon tried some of her fancier recording methods. Turns out it broke something in her software and it took her nearly three hours to get back to us. She's fine, but she wasn't able to get anything. Then some trooper got the idea for writing things down, but seems that's a no starter as well."
"How?" They've tried a lot. The elevator hums faintly as she answers.
"Well, it was weird. We had a camera pointed at the pen we gave them, so we were able to catch that what they were writing and what was appearing on the paper were entirely different. We couldn't determine what they were trying to write, and what they did write turned into some pictographic language that got sent off for translation somewhere."
The elevator door slides open, allowing us to exit and head down the hall towards the main meeting room.
"Anything else?"
"Well, we're thinking of other ways to communicate. They can clearly understand us, but they don't always answer. Some of the troopers they will actively avoid for reasons we can't work out, while they seem less nervous around others. The only Protectorate they don't avoid is Velocity, but we're not sure why."
Velocity? Odd. We'll have to find a good way to communicate. Battery opens up the door to the meeting room, where the entire ENE Protectorate is sitting, along with the current leader of the Wards and the Director. It is a little strange, given that I know for a fact that two of them should be out on patrol.
With another short nod at Battery, I leave her side and move over to stand to the Director's left. The cheap office chairs simply can't hold the weight of my armor, so I have long since stopped using them. Even when not wearing my suit.
"So, now that everyone is here we can actually start on the discussion of our newest Parahuman."
Wait, our? Did they join while I was interred and Battery didn't mention it?
"What do we know about them, what they can do, and what they did to Cell 4?" The Director presses a button by her chair and the back wall of the meeting room lights up in a display that shows the M-S Cell the parahuman is being kept in. They aren't moving at the moment and are in the same pose that they I first met them. The wall of their cell, which they are facing, is covered in a hodgepodge of numbers and what appear to be aborted mathematical formulae. Unfortunately they aren't even close to done so I can only guess as to what their purpose is.
It was here that Miss Militia stood from her space at the Director's right. "At the moment, Director? Only a little. The only abilities they have concretely displayed is an ability to teleport, an extrasensory ability to locate individuals in their proximity, and the capacity to summon a spear. We don't know if they can do anything else. So we're either dealing with multitude of simple abilities or they could be a Trump."
I don't even need to look at the Director's face to know it likely has that pinched look she occasionally gets around myself and a few others.
"What about the medical examination?"
Militia goes over the same information she gave me. The body appears to be a skeleton, left side of rib cage has fewer ribs than right. No discernable anatomy that is not skeletal, same for some bone covered growth in the chest.
"So nothing we can use. While I do not want to rely on them, contact Panacea and see if she would be willing to come in to examine them. Hopefully that will get us something. Armsmaster, is there anything we can glean from the numbers that they wrote on the wall?"
"No. It's too fragmented. I would only be guessing."
She just nods, still scowling, and turns towards the screen. "I understand that actually establishing some manner of dialogue has been nearly impossible due to the issues that come with their attempts at speaking or writing. Do we have any ideas on how we can talk with them?"
It's here that Assault speaks up the instant that the Director has a pause after the question.
"Anyone tried sign language?"
I have to assume that I am not the only one giving this serious consideration, given the silence that follows the question. There, however, is one issue that is preventing that. Unfortunately it appears as though it falls to me to bring up the obvious issue with that possibility.
"Unless their power comes with an innate ability to understand and communicate in sign language, their lack of memories would exclude that knowledge."
Whatever Assault intended to say in response to me, it didn't matter when Miss Militia interjected.
"We are still not certain that they are actually a Case 53. While they do share the non-standard physiology that many 53s show, they lack the identifying mark that so far has been universal. Once we manage to establish a clear line of communication we should be able to discern they're status."
I can't find a fault in what she is saying, so I stay silent. My gaze draws back to the screen, where the parahuman has stood up from their immobile slump and once more have attempted writing something into the wall. Like others that dot the wall, it appears to be another math formula that is abandoned after only two symbols. The parahuman shakes in place, repeating this twice more before settling into that slump that is nearly identical to how they were when I first saw then.
"At this point," Piggot states, eyes on the screen. "We have three main tasks to complete. The first would be to officially induct this parahuman into the Protectorate. The second is to determine the full breadth of their abilities. The third would be to determine the state of their memory and if they are a Case 53. As only the third task requires two way communication, which we have yet to discern how to do, the first couple will be top priority. Armsmaster. Velocity. As you two are the first parahumans that they met, they will likely have a better reaction to both of you. This leaves the job primarily up to you both. Miss Militia, provided they join you are to work with Armsmaster and the Testing Department to learn what you can about them. Any questions?"
There were none.
In short order the collective protectorate are dismissed. The Director then calls the Deputy Director and the head of the local PR and Image department into the meeting room after we leave. I push that out of my head, moving towards the cell were the potential recruit is waiting. Velocity walks with me, his speed fluctuating between slightly slower and slightly faster than my walk. I don't often walk with the speedster, I admit that I rarely actually interact with him, so I cannot tell if this is normal for him or not.
Not once during the entire situation does he actually bring up a word to me, only on occasion looking towards me. I don't understand why he keeps looking. I assume that if he had an actual question to ask he would have already asked it, and I have none to ask him. The winding, mostly featureless hallways flow past during the travel, and it occurs to me shortly before we reach the M-S Cell that I don't even know what Velocity does in his spare time.
I pause walking when we enter into the hallway, turning my attention towards the Speedster.
"Velocity, I was previously informed about your interaction with the new Parahuman. Battery made no mention of a conversation between you except for your request for them to reenter the cell. Have you exchanged any more dialogue with them that might make this more successful?"
Velocity only shakes his head, but has likewise stays standing next to me. He does elaborate after a moment of pause.
"No sir. He appeared next to me, I asked him to head back in. They did it after staring at me for an uncomfortably long time. Not sure why, probably some small Think ability, then they went in. They've not left the cell since, and from what I can remember all attempts at communication has been done with them still in there."
I nod, and I'm about to take a step forward when he still clears his throat. "Armsmaster, I don't mean to be rude but there are times where your intensity can be off putting. Perhaps it would be best if I did most of the talking?"
Off putting? I have to frown at that, thinking back to when we I interacted with them. At no point did I ever threaten them, or even act aggressively. I want to flat deny what Velocity is saying, but there is a chance that the impacts to my memory have removed something I did or said. That could be a bigger issue. I don't recall doing acting aggressively, but I haven't had the chance to review the footage captured from my suit.
If my fellow Protectorate are following protocol, each of them would review it while I was under lockup. Assault and Dauntless likely didn't, as they tend to either skirt the rules or feign ignorance of them. Miss Militia would have, as would the Director. My opinion goes up a notch for Velocity, as I can only assume that he did as well if he's bringing this up.
But what did he see that Militia or the Director didn't? And why did someone not tell me about it?
I lose the chance to press him on this as, after staring at me while I consider this, he turns and heads towards cell door. I'll have to have a talk with the Director later, perhaps Dragon, while reviewing the recording. The breaker always did seem more inclined to work with children since joining, so perhaps he's grown more sensitive to aggressive actions than the rest of us would be.
Without a single other word spoken between us, Velocity has reached the door and I'm only a few steps behind him.
A veritable lifetime of experience is the only thing that stops me from taking a combat stance when the Case 53 suddenly is in the hall, facing the two of us. It's hard to tell which of us that they are paying more attention to, as neither of the pinpricks of light that I think are their pupils are focused on any one of us specifically. Velocity, having gone blurry for an instant when the figure appeared, disables their power and smiles.
"Ah, good to see you! You may be happy to know that we no longer require you to stay in that cell," He gestures towards the still closed door. "You'll be free to leave later, though we would like to discuss some options with you on behalf of the Protectorate. Is that alright?"
This time the skeletal head looks down towards their own palm, then back up with a focus on the Speedster. In lieu of verbal conversation, they do offer a jerky nod.
"Perfect!" The tone that he's using is… surprisingly upbeat for this situation. It's as if he's talking to a child, or doing one of the publicity shots that the image department mandates. "Follow me, and we'll head to a more comfortable room so we can talk."
There is that jerky nod again. The parahuman seeming to vibrate in place for a second before ceasing all movement. Velocity just keeps up that smile and starts heading down the hallway. When he's stepped past, the person turns to join them. This time their movement is a lot less stilted, almost as smooth as a regular person as they follow after.
Their feet clack loudly on the tiled floor.
I can only wonder why they have a black robe but don't have shoes.
Dismissing the idly thoughts, I quickly walk after them. The speedster leads us through the winding, deliberately similar hallways until we reach a small conference room. It's one we often bring prospective Heroes or Wards when we want to encourage them to join.
Velocity enters first, the skeleton second, and myself last. I opt to stand behind the table, with Velocity taking a seat after offering the opposing chair to our guest.
"Now," He begins. "I understand that this is a little sudden and this entire situation may be a little strange to you, but the Protectorate and PRT would like to offer you a position with us as a hero. We-"
Whatever Velocity was about to say was cut short when the parahuman begins to rapidly nod, the lopsided curve that I believe is their mouth widening just a little bit. Even my colleague is caught off guard, mouth hanging open.
"O-okay. Well… ah, you do understand that you will be expected to help the city by confronting villains, right?"
That very enthusiastic nod happens again.
"R-right. Well then. Armsmaster, I'll go get the paperwork drawn up. Since they've agreed, would you please bring them to the testing room? I'll let Miss Militia know."
Well, at least their eager to be a hero. For some reason that puts me a little on edge.
Four hours. That is how long it has been since I was interred into a M-S Cell on a differing floor from the Parahuman once things calmed down. After the initial chaos of our becoming aware of the individual's ability to teleport at will, and avoiding an incident with the entire area being flooded with containment foam, the PRT placed me into isolation. Frustrating, while entirely understandable. I had lost consciousness twice in the proximity while also only learning of their location through apparent empathetic means. The only thing that truly annoying is how long they waited to enact the isolation.
If I really was under any parahuman influence I was walking around for nearly twenty minutes. Someone is going to need to be disciplined. Even if it is me, and I seem to be acting normally, I should have been in isolation a minute after waking up and being confirmed to be able to move.
My only assumption as to why I am being released this soon is that they learned something else involving our new resident. That and the recording suite in my suit likely caught any actions being taken while I was mentally stalled.
I'm already up and stepping out the door the instant it is open. Battery is waiting for me, with the former felon nowhere in sight. I offer a nod, which should be proper, when I step out. She returns it and then gestures towards a cart not immediately visible from the doorway that contains my armor and halberd. I ask her to wait while I get into the suit, having been wearing my undermesh body sleeve during the examination. The next time I see her I'm fully dressed. When she notices that I'm fully suited up, she turns around to head down the hallway. Following after her, I really have no other choice than to establish a dialogue to learn some of what has been happening.
"Battery, what has happened while I was under investigation?"
She doesn't look back while she answers, focusing on the hallway in front of her.
"There hasn't been many discoveries. What we did learn is that if they attempt to speak, at all, nothing has been able to understand them. The first time that a volunteer trooper encouraged them to speak they seemed to suffer the same result that you did. The trooper staggered, and all but avoided collapsing. Probably because they were ready for it.
Then we tried having them whisper. Same result, the trooper fell over. Then we tried recording it. Turns out, if you are within a dozen meters, you'll hear it no matter what. Even through walls, it seems. And it doesn't record well, either. All attempts at digital recording seem to corrupt the storage, so that's out."
We come to a halt as we wait on the elevator. Thankfully she continues without any pressing on from my part.
"Even Dragon tried some of her fancier recording methods. Turns out it broke something in her software and it took her nearly three hours to get back to us. She's fine, but she wasn't able to get anything. Then some trooper got the idea for writing things down, but seems that's a no starter as well."
"How?" They've tried a lot. The elevator hums faintly as she answers.
"Well, it was weird. We had a camera pointed at the pen we gave them, so we were able to catch that what they were writing and what was appearing on the paper were entirely different. We couldn't determine what they were trying to write, and what they did write turned into some pictographic language that got sent off for translation somewhere."
The elevator door slides open, allowing us to exit and head down the hall towards the main meeting room.
"Anything else?"
"Well, we're thinking of other ways to communicate. They can clearly understand us, but they don't always answer. Some of the troopers they will actively avoid for reasons we can't work out, while they seem less nervous around others. The only Protectorate they don't avoid is Velocity, but we're not sure why."
Velocity? Odd. We'll have to find a good way to communicate. Battery opens up the door to the meeting room, where the entire ENE Protectorate is sitting, along with the current leader of the Wards and the Director. It is a little strange, given that I know for a fact that two of them should be out on patrol.
With another short nod at Battery, I leave her side and move over to stand to the Director's left. The cheap office chairs simply can't hold the weight of my armor, so I have long since stopped using them. Even when not wearing my suit.
"So, now that everyone is here we can actually start on the discussion of our newest Parahuman."
Wait, our? Did they join while I was interred and Battery didn't mention it?
"What do we know about them, what they can do, and what they did to Cell 4?" The Director presses a button by her chair and the back wall of the meeting room lights up in a display that shows the M-S Cell the parahuman is being kept in. They aren't moving at the moment and are in the same pose that they I first met them. The wall of their cell, which they are facing, is covered in a hodgepodge of numbers and what appear to be aborted mathematical formulae. Unfortunately they aren't even close to done so I can only guess as to what their purpose is.
It was here that Miss Militia stood from her space at the Director's right. "At the moment, Director? Only a little. The only abilities they have concretely displayed is an ability to teleport, an extrasensory ability to locate individuals in their proximity, and the capacity to summon a spear. We don't know if they can do anything else. So we're either dealing with multitude of simple abilities or they could be a Trump."
I don't even need to look at the Director's face to know it likely has that pinched look she occasionally gets around myself and a few others.
"What about the medical examination?"
Militia goes over the same information she gave me. The body appears to be a skeleton, left side of rib cage has fewer ribs than right. No discernable anatomy that is not skeletal, same for some bone covered growth in the chest.
"So nothing we can use. While I do not want to rely on them, contact Panacea and see if she would be willing to come in to examine them. Hopefully that will get us something. Armsmaster, is there anything we can glean from the numbers that they wrote on the wall?"
"No. It's too fragmented. I would only be guessing."
She just nods, still scowling, and turns towards the screen. "I understand that actually establishing some manner of dialogue has been nearly impossible due to the issues that come with their attempts at speaking or writing. Do we have any ideas on how we can talk with them?"
It's here that Assault speaks up the instant that the Director has a pause after the question.
"Anyone tried sign language?"
I have to assume that I am not the only one giving this serious consideration, given the silence that follows the question. There, however, is one issue that is preventing that. Unfortunately it appears as though it falls to me to bring up the obvious issue with that possibility.
"Unless their power comes with an innate ability to understand and communicate in sign language, their lack of memories would exclude that knowledge."
Whatever Assault intended to say in response to me, it didn't matter when Miss Militia interjected.
"We are still not certain that they are actually a Case 53. While they do share the non-standard physiology that many 53s show, they lack the identifying mark that so far has been universal. Once we manage to establish a clear line of communication we should be able to discern they're status."
I can't find a fault in what she is saying, so I stay silent. My gaze draws back to the screen, where the parahuman has stood up from their immobile slump and once more have attempted writing something into the wall. Like others that dot the wall, it appears to be another math formula that is abandoned after only two symbols. The parahuman shakes in place, repeating this twice more before settling into that slump that is nearly identical to how they were when I first saw then.
"At this point," Piggot states, eyes on the screen. "We have three main tasks to complete. The first would be to officially induct this parahuman into the Protectorate. The second is to determine the full breadth of their abilities. The third would be to determine the state of their memory and if they are a Case 53. As only the third task requires two way communication, which we have yet to discern how to do, the first couple will be top priority. Armsmaster. Velocity. As you two are the first parahumans that they met, they will likely have a better reaction to both of you. This leaves the job primarily up to you both. Miss Militia, provided they join you are to work with Armsmaster and the Testing Department to learn what you can about them. Any questions?"
There were none.
In short order the collective protectorate are dismissed. The Director then calls the Deputy Director and the head of the local PR and Image department into the meeting room after we leave. I push that out of my head, moving towards the cell were the potential recruit is waiting. Velocity walks with me, his speed fluctuating between slightly slower and slightly faster than my walk. I don't often walk with the speedster, I admit that I rarely actually interact with him, so I cannot tell if this is normal for him or not.
Not once during the entire situation does he actually bring up a word to me, only on occasion looking towards me. I don't understand why he keeps looking. I assume that if he had an actual question to ask he would have already asked it, and I have none to ask him. The winding, mostly featureless hallways flow past during the travel, and it occurs to me shortly before we reach the M-S Cell that I don't even know what Velocity does in his spare time.
I pause walking when we enter into the hallway, turning my attention towards the Speedster.
"Velocity, I was previously informed about your interaction with the new Parahuman. Battery made no mention of a conversation between you except for your request for them to reenter the cell. Have you exchanged any more dialogue with them that might make this more successful?"
Velocity only shakes his head, but has likewise stays standing next to me. He does elaborate after a moment of pause.
"No sir. He appeared next to me, I asked him to head back in. They did it after staring at me for an uncomfortably long time. Not sure why, probably some small Think ability, then they went in. They've not left the cell since, and from what I can remember all attempts at communication has been done with them still in there."
I nod, and I'm about to take a step forward when he still clears his throat. "Armsmaster, I don't mean to be rude but there are times where your intensity can be off putting. Perhaps it would be best if I did most of the talking?"
Off putting? I have to frown at that, thinking back to when we I interacted with them. At no point did I ever threaten them, or even act aggressively. I want to flat deny what Velocity is saying, but there is a chance that the impacts to my memory have removed something I did or said. That could be a bigger issue. I don't recall doing acting aggressively, but I haven't had the chance to review the footage captured from my suit.
If my fellow Protectorate are following protocol, each of them would review it while I was under lockup. Assault and Dauntless likely didn't, as they tend to either skirt the rules or feign ignorance of them. Miss Militia would have, as would the Director. My opinion goes up a notch for Velocity, as I can only assume that he did as well if he's bringing this up.
But what did he see that Militia or the Director didn't? And why did someone not tell me about it?
I lose the chance to press him on this as, after staring at me while I consider this, he turns and heads towards cell door. I'll have to have a talk with the Director later, perhaps Dragon, while reviewing the recording. The breaker always did seem more inclined to work with children since joining, so perhaps he's grown more sensitive to aggressive actions than the rest of us would be.
Without a single other word spoken between us, Velocity has reached the door and I'm only a few steps behind him.
A veritable lifetime of experience is the only thing that stops me from taking a combat stance when the Case 53 suddenly is in the hall, facing the two of us. It's hard to tell which of us that they are paying more attention to, as neither of the pinpricks of light that I think are their pupils are focused on any one of us specifically. Velocity, having gone blurry for an instant when the figure appeared, disables their power and smiles.
"Ah, good to see you! You may be happy to know that we no longer require you to stay in that cell," He gestures towards the still closed door. "You'll be free to leave later, though we would like to discuss some options with you on behalf of the Protectorate. Is that alright?"
This time the skeletal head looks down towards their own palm, then back up with a focus on the Speedster. In lieu of verbal conversation, they do offer a jerky nod.
"Perfect!" The tone that he's using is… surprisingly upbeat for this situation. It's as if he's talking to a child, or doing one of the publicity shots that the image department mandates. "Follow me, and we'll head to a more comfortable room so we can talk."
There is that jerky nod again. The parahuman seeming to vibrate in place for a second before ceasing all movement. Velocity just keeps up that smile and starts heading down the hallway. When he's stepped past, the person turns to join them. This time their movement is a lot less stilted, almost as smooth as a regular person as they follow after.
Their feet clack loudly on the tiled floor.
I can only wonder why they have a black robe but don't have shoes.
Dismissing the idly thoughts, I quickly walk after them. The speedster leads us through the winding, deliberately similar hallways until we reach a small conference room. It's one we often bring prospective Heroes or Wards when we want to encourage them to join.
Velocity enters first, the skeleton second, and myself last. I opt to stand behind the table, with Velocity taking a seat after offering the opposing chair to our guest.
"Now," He begins. "I understand that this is a little sudden and this entire situation may be a little strange to you, but the Protectorate and PRT would like to offer you a position with us as a hero. We-"
Whatever Velocity was about to say was cut short when the parahuman begins to rapidly nod, the lopsided curve that I believe is their mouth widening just a little bit. Even my colleague is caught off guard, mouth hanging open.
"O-okay. Well… ah, you do understand that you will be expected to help the city by confronting villains, right?"
That very enthusiastic nod happens again.
"R-right. Well then. Armsmaster, I'll go get the paperwork drawn up. Since they've agreed, would you please bring them to the testing room? I'll let Miss Militia know."
Well, at least their eager to be a hero. For some reason that puts me a little on edge.
Sorry about the delay! This should have been up by Tuesday, but I ended up completely culling the original chapter write up. I just wasn't happy with how it was progressing and felt too… weird.
Frozen Flame
Fragment of the Devourer
- Location
- The Darkness Beyond Time
You know, something just occurred to me. Given that Monster attacks seem to affect the SOUL of the target, what are the odds that injuries inflicted by Taster can't be healed by normal means? HP in Undertale doesn't regenerate over time, only being recovered by resting, SAVING, or eating. Meaning that damage won't naturally heal and most healing abilities are subsequently useless against such injuries.
I can see some very interesting interactions with the protectorate once things get going. To say nothing of how the possibility of SAVING and LOADING might be received.
I can see some very interesting interactions with the protectorate once things get going. To say nothing of how the possibility of SAVING and LOADING might be received.
- Location
- U.S.
karma attack Scion then gaster blaster him.
Frozen Flame
Fragment of the Devourer
- Location
- The Darkness Beyond Time
The only problem is that he's had plenty of time to build up his status. His defenses wouldn't mean jack, but there's so much of him that karma damage would be like power sanding a block of wood into dust. It'll get there eventually, but a death of a thousand cuts takes quite a while to actually happen. Which gives Zion plenty of time to show Taster a bad time.
Remember, he's almost certainly LV 19 or thereabouts. Frisk/Chara went from 20 to 99 HP over the course of the Genocide Route, now multiply that increase by however many shards Zion has left. I wouldn't be surprised if he's enough of an HP sponge to tank full-power assaults from anything short of LV 20 enemies.
- Location
- U.S.
so Gaster gotta pull a Chara and pull out a universe ending level slash?
Frozen Flame
Fragment of the Devourer
- Location
- The Darkness Beyond Time
Not that big. Karma damage can almost certainly kill Zion, it'll just take a while. A Chara would be blatant overkill.
The main issue with offing Zion is that even if you bypass his defenses, he's still an Entity whose main body is roughly the size of a continent (couldn't find exact numbers but he's an appreciable fraction of earth) and is composed of a truly massive number of pieces. Chara could overkill him because LV 20 seems to be the point where reality gives up and just lets you do whatever you want, like killing anything or recreating a world. Taster has to wear someone's HP down to 0 rather than skipping to the death/destruction in one hit. Assuming that general durability translates over to HP, something that makes a fair amount of sense given Undyne and Sans, then they would need to hit Zion's SOUL with enough power to obliterate a decent-sized chunk of a continent to destroy his core in one hit.
She/he/they can probably kill Zion, but doing it quickly would require more than just Karma. That said, if they get desperate enough, nomming a few SOULs would make that kind of power trivial to throw around.
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- Location
- Calgary
Something that might be a good thing to clarify here is what LV 20 actually means to me, and how I'm approaching it in Context to Worm and Undertale. Going exactly by how Sans referres to EXP and LV (That is their natures as EXecution Points and Level of Violence), you do not necessarily grow stronger the higher your LV. What a high LV does is represent how easily you are able to hurt others and how uncaring of violence towards yourself you can be. With Monsters, we know that their magic and their souls have some interaction with intent. So the stronger your capacity to hurt someone, the harder your strikes hit them, and the more "HP" you have to weather their attacks.
With Chara, I don't think LV had a real sense of controlling how exactly strong they were, but rather represented the level of mental removal they needed to destroy the world. At 20, Chara/The Player/Frisk/What-have-you were so mentally detached that they could bring themselves to kill everyone they ever loved, forever. They might have always had that power, they might not have. The game permits some level of personal view on the subject.
So a human being at LV 20, of which I will say there are a few in Bet, are so desensitized to harming others or causing suffering that they have zero qualms with hurting someone else. This doesn't mean they can end the world at whim, but they would pose a martial threat to Monsters when they eventually make an appearance into the 'fic.
That makes sense, yeah?
You raise a very valid point in regards to how Monster Attacks would affect people. Panacea, in theory, couldn't do anything for them in terms of healing. And you could easily explain that the only reason Monster Food heals you is due to its magical qualities. The sleep thing still counts, and if you go by what happens with Snowdin Inn, a five minute nap is literally enough to walk it off.
That is probably going to confuse people.
Yeah. But that doesn't mean it isn't frustrating.
THAT IS RATHER RUDE.
CaesriusPolybius
Worldgate Mechanic
- Location
- United States. Ish.
... perhaps the standard LV scale isn't quite appropriate for a being on the scale of an Entity; does it count his absolute lack of care for the lives of humans*? Or would it be based on his willingness to kill other entities?
*a similar question: how would taking out an ant's nest that's in their way alter a human's LV?
Frozen Flame
Fragment of the Devourer
- Location
- The Darkness Beyond Time
The thing is, even if he doesn't view humans as more than ants, Zion pretty explicitly has zero empathy towards anyone with the exception of Eden. He has nothing to live for and is only really happy when he starts killing people. Even if it's based on willingness to kill entities, I don't think that Zion would hesitate. The ease with which he adopts his kill-em-all mindset says a lot about his willingness to kill and his own life means nothing to him at this point.
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
Scion is easy to beat: he won't recognize the menu bones as a threat until after they KR him down to 1HP, at which point a stiff breeze would finish him off.