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Summoner Quest (Celestial Menagerie)

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Chapter 159: Deals with the Devil
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Creature
    Creature Roll: (660 points)
    Category Roll D50=7 Godzilla/Pacific Rim/EDF, Entry Roll D97=84
    700 Quadruped Fortress (Too Expensive), 800 Raznid (Too Expensive), 300 Retiarus
    Category Roll D50=19 Final Fantasy, Entry Roll D127=82
    300 Cerberus, 300 Cúchulainn, 400 Diablos
    Sub-vote results: 400 Diablos
    Banked: 260 points

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    Tuesday, 04/26/2011

    My predictions from last night were spot on. The hostilities between the ABB and the Merchants resumed at five in the morning. Though I only learned about it when I reached the Rig at nine.

    There was a brief fight between Oni Lee and Skidmark at the edge of the former Empire territory. Both capes escape alive but three gang members die, and nine were injured seriously enough that their comrades left them behind.

    The hero on patrol, Triumph and Armsmaster, couldn't get there in time to intervene. It was clear that both gangs preferred short engagement to limit the risk of encountering the heroes.

    I feared that this burgeoning gang war would bring death to many more people and not just to the gang themselves. Mentally I checked on Healer still in Brockton Hospital, it was too basic a creature to have true feelings but it was pulsing regularly with something akin to satisfaction. I'll need to pass through the hospital at some point to help deal with the affliction that it couldn't handle.

    With Panacea and now my healing partner, Brockton Bay was drawing a huge amount of medical tourism from all over the country and even from outside of it. This was good for the city's economy even if putting all your eggs in the same basket was never a good idea. There was this vague plan I had to have Rex, or perhaps Eva clean up the boat graveyard. But it'll have to wait until, after the next Endbringer attack, I prefer if the public saw them as defenders first before making any big moves.

    Before my patrol with Dauntless, I had a few things to do. The first one was to continue my training program for my partners. Today would be Aylamon and Koops. And this would be an important milestone for my little sister. If my calculations were correct, and my Trainer instinct confirmed them, today she would become a Champion in truth. It would no longer be a temporary change induced by digivolution instead it would become her default state. However, the Menagerie would still allow me to summon her either as a Rookie or directly as a Champion. For practical reasons, I would continue to call on her as Floramon most of the time but the option would be there.

    Once in the Orb's dimension, I shot a glance at my lab, inside Prime, his complement of dingbots, and Bleep were hard at work putting the finishing touch on it.

    When I reached the designated training zone I didn't waste any time before calling Aylamon and Koops.

    My little sister was vibrating in place, she knew what to expect. "Come on, come one, come on. Let's go Big Brothers, I want to be a Champion for real!"

    Koops vaguely knew what was about to happen and appeared eager to see it.

    Briefly, I entertained the notion of delaying just a bit to tease my little sister before opting not to. After all, I was also looking forward to it.

    "Okay, Okay. There's no need to fret." I pick up my Digivice and focus my attention on her. "Get ready."

    I saw her tense just before I triggered the Digivolution. The flash of light that followed wasn't any stronger than the ones from previous transformations and when it dissipated it left behind a perfectly normal Kiwimon.

    My little sister was moving her legs experimentally and jumping in place.

    "So, anything feels different?"

    When she responds she sounds disappointed. "No, nothing at all. Should it?"

    I shake my head. "No, that's good." I glanced at the Digivive in my hand. "This confirms that your digivolution was stable, this is your new base form now. And…" I concentrate on the pattern in my soul that corresponds to Aylamon. "...yes now I can summon you directly like that."

    She still appeared disappointed by the lack of any new stuff to try. And then she perked up, her masked beak pointing in my direction. "I know! Now we can try going Ultimate! I'll be even more awesome."

    Koops already in awe of the previous transformation now looked ready to faint at the concept of another one.

    I seriously considered the idea and tried my best to ignore the pleading looks from my little sister. I knew that it was possible to Digivolve multiple times in a row, even going as far as going from Rookie to Mega in minutes. But that was for Digimon that already reached those heights previously. In addition, unlocking a new Digivolution often requires more than just energy and will, it needs a catalyst, often stress-based. There was no way I would force Aylamon into a dangerous fight just to unlock it, a sufficiently serious spar should do it, something that pushed her past her limit. What clinched it was the knowledge that rushing might risk a Dark Digivolution, not something I want to see for my little sister.

    I locked eyes with the giant Kivi that now was my Digimon and shook my head. "Sorry, Aylamon but no. It's too soon."

    Despite her beak, I could tell she was pouting. She stomped her feet. "Come on Big Brother, I know I can do it!"

    "I'm sure you can, little sister but it's still no. I want you to be settled in your new form before trying it. But you know what if you do well in your training today, next time I'll visit the Panda's valley I'll summon you so you can visit it and meet them all. How's that?"

    At that, she straightened up. "You promise?"

    I nodded seriously while trying to hide a smile.

    "Well, okay then."

    After that, it didn't take long to give them instructions for their training. Aylamon would focus on movement and on firing speed for her miniature bird projectiles. Koops would concentrate on improving the range and the speed of his shell when thrown.

    As I returned to the real world, for the umptieth time I heard a new voice in my head.

    "Who dares disturb my sleep?"

    This voice possessed a sinister undertone, a sort of bottomless hunger.

    "Oh, oh, I see. I never expect to be selected by The Celestial Menagerie." I heard a laugh. "Magnificent! Such an honor!"

    The combination of hissing and purring in the voice made me shudder.

    "It will be my pleasure to serve you, Keeper. I am Diablos, the Dark Messenger. Feel free to call me if you encounter an enemy worthy of my wrath. Until then I will sleep."

    The presence recedes into the depth of my soul.

    So…that was a thing./You know what, Lord Zodiark wasn't that bad after all.

    A silent agreement was shared among all my Minds.

    Hum, yeah. So Diablos is a Guardian Force and functions in the same way as Lord Zodiark. One big attack per day, contained by a bubble of unreality./And it dealt damage based on the health of the target, a little like Clockwork's Heavy Hit. But it's more potent and each time we call on Diablos it becomes more powerful./It may eventually reach a point where it can instantly kill anything that doesn't specifically resist it.

    Even if I was wary of Diablos, the perspective of unleashing him against the Endbringers was appealing. In preparation for that, I decided that I would call on him anytime I faced a foe that warranted it. I want him to be as strong as possible.

    Putting the matter out of my head, I got ready for my patrol with Dauntless. We joined up on the Rig's helipad, today we would fly together doing a big circle all around the city.

    Before we departed I gave him the earring crafted by Prime. It was a simple thing in appearance, a loop of metal with a thin needle to pierce the ear. Obviously what made it remarkable was the materials, one half was Orichalcum, a light green glass-like metal, and the other was Thaumium, a mix of purple and indigo.

    Being better prepared this time the armored hero focused on his goal, being protected from Master effect, before picking the piece of jewelry from my hand. As expected his power didn't wait for his permission before infusing the earring, and the effect was immediate, the metal changing texture under our eyes. Now the earring was made of two twisted loops of solid light, green and purple intertwined. Shawn said that this was the result with only three charges

    He put it on immediately. To test the effect I applied the constellation theme to myself and he was able to break away after only a few seconds of starring. But it was impossible to know if it was because the earring worked or because of Shawn's pure willpower.

    With no more time before we need to depart, we decided to delay any further tests.

    The armored heroes took flight and I hesitated for an instant, who to call? I strongly considered none, just use Plasma Body to take on a bird shape. Finally, I opted against it, the public knew about Plasma Body but not about the sheer versatility it offered me.

    Sometimes it felt like I was keeping a lot of things in reserve, either to avoid causing panic or to keep an ace for some specific situation. Hopefully one day I'll be able to use my powers more freely.

    Anyway, this didn't solve my current problem, namely choosing a flying mount for this morning's patrol. After much deliberation I chose Camo. I never patrolled with him before but he wasn't in any way a secret ace for me. As a bonus when we got back we may be able to use his hypnotic powers to test Dauntless's new earring further.

    A minute later I was in the air, just a little bit behind Dauntless. Today we would fly pretty high, looking for big disturbances or suspicious movement, and to be seen of course. People made a game to spot flying heroes on patrol, it made them feel safer to know that we were ready to intervene should something happen to them.

    It wasn't before noon that anything happened, right above the abandoned part of the dock. At this point I was alone, Dauntless stopped to inspect a suspicious amount of activity in an abandoned warehouse, while I kept an eye on things.

    Without my enhanced eyesight I would have missed it, a small shape running away from a group of bigger shapes and finding itself cornered into a dead-end alleyway in between two containers. This was followed by a faint scream of fear and defiance.

    With a thought, I directed Camo to dive while ordering the nearest Harvest's units to converge toward that point. As I came closer the small shape resolved into a young black teenage girl now held by the throat by a burly Asian man. The other two were nearby laughing mockingly.

    Right before we landed on the container above I was caught by surprise by Solar's voice.

    [REQUEST RECEIVED], [SHARE DATA?]

    In a flash, I realized that someone nearby was triggering, obviously, the girl. It was too late to prevent it, but should I allow Solar to influence it?

    [] Yes. Data on light generation.
    [] Yes. Data on plasma substitution.
    [] Yes. Data on heat production.
    [] Yes. Data on photosynthesis.
    [] No, better not.

    Wordcount: 1922
    Excess words: 700
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    I had the idea for this vote since we got Solar. I'm sure that you guess who's currently triggering. I hope you enjoy the opportunity.

    For the roll, 500 points.

    [] Creature

    [] Power

    Voting will be closed Friday at 3 PM GMT
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [x] Yes. Data on light generation.

    That's got to be Aisha. Not a fan of what she is like in cannon, but her power is a double-edged sword and scary as hell. Light generation is as near as opposite to her power as I could imagine, so maybe it will help her and keep her from being an OP terror
     
    [X] Yes. Data on light generation.

    Either more stranger stuff or maybe a minor Blaster rating

    Either way, good for the conceptually stranger to get some more versatile options
     
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    [X] Yes. Data on light generation.
    [X] Yes. Data on photosynthesis.

    [X] Power

    Wonder if Light Generation will allow her to makes invisible balls of light, or if Photosynthesis will make her invisibility solar powered.
     
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    [X] Power
    [X] Yes. Data on photosynthesis.
    [X] Yes. Data on light generation.

    Well I'm curious how this will go either one of these will have interesting results depending how it will interact with her power the light generation might have some interesting synergy with her Stranger power, and photosynthesis I'm honestly just curious how that will go.
     
    [X] Yes. Data on light generation.

    [X] Creature

    MetaBettaOmega said:
    That's got to be Aisha. Not a fan of what she is like in cannon, but her power is a double-edged sword and scary as hell. Light generation is as near as opposite to her power as I could imagine, so maybe it will help her and keep her from being an OP terror
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    I don't know, it's about data on light generation, that could also mean giving her a Stranger power that bends the light hitting her to appear as something else when viewed through a memory. Don't forget this is Alex's Shard we're talking about, all of it's data on the subject chosen could come from relevant observation of his other partners too.
     
    [X] Yes. Data on light generation.

    [X] Yes. Data on photosynthesis.

    Her power is pretty OP'd already. I am a little worried about nerfing it accedentally. And also wanna see if Compendium would notice her without the [DATA] sharing.
    [X] No, better not.

    [X] Creature
     
    [X] Creature
    [X] Yes. Data on photosynthesis.

    Aisha is my second favorite character in canon Worm. Just for reference regarding her shard: here is the quote from the viewpoint of the Thinker. Yes, Aisha's shard is one of the rare naturally occuring Thinker ones. Spoilered for length.

    For good measure, the entity breaks up one shard cluster, tunes it, then codes the effect into each and every shard. It studies the host species further, refines, attunes.

    It takes time, but the entity forms a sufficient safeguard. The host species will forget any significant details.

    The broken shard is cast off, joining countless others. It will bond to a host. The entity looks forward, checking.

    After the target planet has revolved thirty-three times around its star, this shard will connect to a host.

    A male guards his offspring, a female, with his size and bulk. A group of hostile bipeds cluster around them. They call out, making unusual loud sounds, suggesting intoxication. One of the hostile ones gestures, gripping its male parts, pulling them free of their coverings. A sexual gesture follows, waving the organ left and right, thrusting it into the empty air.

    Sounds of amusement, laced with hostility.

    The male and his offspring retreat as far against the nearest construction as they are able.

    The shard connects, attaching to the male.

    No. It is ineffective. The female is clearly more distressed.

    Prey.

    There is a way to maximize exposure to conflict.

    The entity taps into its understanding of the bipeds and how they operate, recognizes the signs of distress, the nuances such things can have.

    It views the future again, with changes made in the code.

    This time, the shard settles in the male, then immediately shifts to the more distressed female.

    Insinuation. The shard connects to the host's neural network.

    The bond is created.

    The shard opens the connection as the stress peaks, and the host doubles over in pain, bewildered, stunned. The shard then forms tendrils that contact each individual in the area. It retains traces of the entity's tampering, of the studies in psychology, awareness and memory, and is quick to adapt. It finds a manner in which it can operate, then alters itself, solidifying into a particular state. The remainder of the functions are discarded, the ones in the shard itself are rendered inert to conserve power, while the ones in the host fall away, are consumed by the shard. The host's neural network changes once more.

    The female disappears from the awareness of the hostile ones that surround it.

    The entity looks to the future, to see if this is sustainable, efficient. - Excerpt from Interlude 26
    Click to expand...
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    As for Aisha herself... yes, she dressed "trashy", had an inappropriate relationship for her age, and didn't have much respect for people.

    When her (yes, inappropriate) lover gave his life for hers, she destroyed the hideous conditions his siblings were being raised in, and became their guardian. At all of fourteen.

    When the world was ending and her brother had been killed, she remained with the monster her friend had become. Of her own free will, since her power could have allowed her to escape. She became her final protector and constant cheerleader to the bitter end of that Apocalypse, and in its aftermath the strongest defender of her friends reputation. She also made considerable effort to educate herself and improve herself to become worthy as the survivor of those who had died. All while raising a bunch of cranky pre-pubertal superhumans, most of whom were Masters.

    End of rant.
     
    [X] No, better not.

    If it really is Aisha, I honestly feel that giving her shard data would just make her power weaker.

    [x] Yes. Data on light generation.

    But if No doesn't win, would prefer light generation at least.

    [X] Power
     
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    Adhoc vote count started by Doccer on Feb 24, 2023 at 12:12 AM, finished with 19 posts and 18 votes.
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